Leisure

Reviews and think pieces on music, movies, art, and theater.

Leisure

Talking tough with Wire writer George Pelecanos

While working at his father’s D.C. diner as a teenager during the ‘70s, writer George Pelecanos had already identified a physical line of segregation between urban city dwellers. Referring to the diner’s counter as a tangible barrier between the working class—the immigrants and minorities—and the paying customers who were mostly white professionals, Pelecanos could see a microcosm of society within the confines of an unassuming small business.

By October 11, 2012

Leisure

Artists retell history at National Gallery’s Shock of the News

“Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray / South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio.”

By October 11, 2012

Leisure

Taste of DC: The battle for the culinary crown

On Columbus Day, I ventured to Pennsylvania Avenue and scouted out some of D.C.’s best culinary offerings at the 2012 “Taste of DC” festival. More than 50 of the District’s top restaurants opened small stands and sold specialty items from their menus. The plethora of options made it difficult to choose between all the enticing flavors. Not surprisingly, I was “that guy” who walked back and forth in search of the most appetizing entrees, surveying unique food that expanded both my palate and my cultural horizons.

By October 11, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: The Script, #3

As a judge on The Voice UK, The Script front man Danny O’Donoghue ought to fully understand the difference between passable music and efforts that don’t quite measure up. Unfortunately, this logical assumption does not hold; the London-based outfit swung for the fences and grounded into third on its arrogantly entitled LP #3.

By October 11, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Ellie Goulding, Halcyon

If Ke$ha embodies the crass and gaudy character of American electropop, singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding brings a British sensibility and sensitivity to the genre, asserting that, in the words of Downton Abbey’s Lady Grantham, “vulgarity is no substitute for wit.” In her sophomore release, Halcyon, Ellie Goulding showcases her strength as a subdued vocalist, building upon her recognizable brand of synthetic, high-energy folktronica. Lyrically, however, the album lacks originality and fails to channel Goulding’s voice into anything more than sweet, medium-paced dance records—a style she’s already perfected.

By October 11, 2012

Leisure

You’ve got issues: Breakfast at Tombs

Dear Emlyn, I’m a sophomore and it’s housing selection time for me. I live in Southwest Quad with one of my friends from freshman year, but this semester we haven’t been that close and even disagree pretty frequently. I don’t want to live with him next year, but I don’t really know how to break the news. Advice? -Gloomy Roomie

By October 11, 2012

Leisure

Plate of the Union: Cookbooks are literature, too!

Even as Amazon packages filled with copies of International Economics and the Oresteia arrived on campus, almost every Georgetown student was still missing a crucial text. If you already own a college cookbook, you can stop reading now. Go make yourself some mushroom risotto and study for midterms.

By October 10, 2012

Leisure

Junk food and movies: The American dream at Angelika

The glass walls and marble floors of the Angelika Film Center and Café give the impression that this art-house complex would be more at home in New York City than in Fairfax, Va., and rightly so—the original Angelika debuted with Soho in 1989. But this upscale movie theater is out to take the D.C. area by storm, starting in Fairfax’s trendy Mosaic district. With its eclectic selection of films you’ve never heard of (think indie knockouts, vintage classics, and foreign films) and a gourmet menu designed by Chef Lee Anne Wong of Top Chef fame, Angelika attempts to make going to the movies a high-end escape from the drudgeries of daily life.

By October 4, 2012

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Zero Cost House:Japan, Walden, and animals, oh my!

This past weekend I was lulled into a peaceful reverie by two people dressed in rabbit suits and playing ukuleles. This moment was brought to me by the Pig Iron Theater Company’s production of Toshiki Okada’s Zero Cost House at the Davis Performing Art Center.

By October 4, 2012

Leisure

Liam Neeson Commands the Screen in Taken 2

Taken 2 is the kind of movie that most people will immediately deride as another cheap money-grab by a cash-hungry film studio. Well, those people are partially right. Inevitably, as with all sequels, part two is not nearly as original as the first blockbuster action flick, which starred Liam Neeson as a coverts-op dad on the hunt for his abducted daughter. Nevertheless, those who claim that Taken 2 is nothing more than a rehash are wrong—it’s easy enough to deride any formulaic action film sequel, but it’s undeniable that Taken 2 is pure entertainment.

By October 4, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Muse, The 2nd Law

Before Muse’s latest album dropped, front man Matthew Bellamy announced it as a “Christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey, with some ambient rebellious dubstep and face melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia.” That may sound like a bunch of attention-starved gobbledegook, but the album The 2nd Law lives up to this bizarre description. Managing to sound both like an iconic Muse album and an amalgamation of only the most diverse musical styles, 2nd Law descends into chaos while miraculously preventing the absurd mixture of influences from becoming repulsive.

By October 4, 2012

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Critical Voices: How to Dress Well, Total Loss

Nick Krell, under the moniker How to Dress Well, is at his best when his music feels personal and heartfelt. And on his sophomore release, Total Loss, Krell is undoubtedly at his best.

By October 4, 2012

Leisure

Idiot Box: I’ve seen those English dramas

This summer, I found myself taking a class at Fordham University that converted me from a skeptic to a believer. No, it wasn’t the standard philosophy or theology class that usually leads its students to classroom epiphanies. This was a class on early 20th century British literature, with a professor who was merciful enough to show movies or television shows during one of our inhumanly long classes per week. And I didn’t find God or purpose, but I found Downton Abbey.

By October 4, 2012

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Haute Mess: The runway in the White House

Fashion and politics lie on opposite ends of the spectrum, right? It is difficult to imagine that these two could possibly go hand in hand, since a ‘strong political figure’ is one who wears solely black and gray suits with an occasional touch of color in the form of a tie.

By October 4, 2012

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Pig Iron Theater Company partners with Georgetown

It’s not often that an experimental play touting a mix of Thoreau and reflection on Japanese natural disasters comes to Georgetown’s campus, but one has arrived--an autobiographical piece by avant-garde Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada, Zero Cost House is the product of a collaboration between Georgetown and acclaimed Pig Iron Theater Company. With the company coming to campus straight from the play’s premiere at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, the Davis Performing Arts Center will be host to a weekend of actors doing everything from wearing rabbit costumes to playing the ukulele as they ponder Okada’s evolving attitude toward Walden in the context of Japan’s recent environmental disasters.

By September 27, 2012

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Lez’hur ledger: Women, diplomacy, and all that jazz at Kennedy

If you just glanced at the ads for the 2012 Thelonious Monk International Drums Competition you might have thought it was going to be just another jazz show at the Kennedy Center—buttoned up and impersonal, but still a straightforward show and contest.

By September 27, 2012

Leisure

Growing pains become pleasures in Chobsky’s Perks

The transition from book to the big screen is one widely feared by authors and audiences, as movies almost universally fail to live up to their printed predecessors. Proving the exception to this rule, The Perks of Being a Wallflower shines in the film adaptation of this coming-of-age tale, bringing heart and a star-studded cast together to capture the emotional roller coaster that is growing up.

By September 27, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Lupe Fiasco, Food and Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album

Lupe Fiasco has come a long way since his pop-rap days of “Touch the Sky” and “Superstar.” With a shift in focus towards social consciousness—and a new hairdo making him look like an older Chief Keefe—Mr. Fiasco has become a more aggressive and sophisticated hip-hop artist. This new style and attitude was first displayed in his mix tape Friend of the People, released last Thanksgiving. Friend was heavily criticized in a review on Pitchfork for being “sour, half-assed, and defensive,” and for failing to use “viable rap beats.” With his new album, Food and Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album, all eyes were on Lupe to see if he addressed these faults.

By September 27, 2012

Leisure

Critical Voices: Mumford & Sons, Babel

Following three years of tours, Mumford & Sons is at last set to release its sophomore album. In a method contrary to popular practice, the English folk band has been road-testing material for the latest album, Babel, to perfect an already well-recognized sound. Though it is familiar, the resulting cacophony of acoustic instruments and front man Marcus Mumford’s rough, agonized vocals grows exhausting.

By September 27, 2012

Leisure

Plate of the union: It’s time to holla for challah

This summer, I found myself between an aisle of pan-Asian foods and shelves of Tex-Mex trying to recount the story of Passover to a salesclerk at Safeway. I needed matzo for breakfast, because I refuse to eat cereal as the most important meal of the day, and I know how to whip up matzo brei in less than 10 minutes.

By September 27, 2012