Leisure

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

Leisure

Critical Voices: Belle & Sebastian, Write About Love

Few bands embody the rise of independent music over the last decade better than Belle & Sebastian. This Scottish seven-piece began their career as the final project of front man Stuart Murdoch’s college music class in 1996. Since then, Belle & Sebastian have been hailed as the triumphant return of classic British pop.

By October 14, 2010

Leisure

Warming Glow: Glee is bigger than Jesus

In 1966, when John Lennon quipped that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus,” people went nuts. They burned records and religious groups pounded home the argument that Satan loves rock and roll. A little ironically, the Beatles have since become so canonized that these days comparing any musical act to them is decried as blasphemy.

By October 14, 2010

Leisure

Rub Some Dirt On It: The no-saline-solution blues

The hardest-working organs in any college student’s body are probably the eyes. They are continuously glued to a computer-screen lit in harsh, artificial light, gazing at power-point slides during class lectures, pouring over glossy textbook pages into the early morning, or adjusting to the strobe-lights at a Saturday night party.

By October 14, 2010

Leisure

Considerate comedy with Mike Birbiglia

On Tuesday night, comedian and Georgetown grad Mike Birbiglia (COL ’00) spoke with the Voice about his current tour, upcoming book, and his time on the Hilltop. Interview conducted and transcribed by Heather Regen.

By October 7, 2010

Leisure

Lez’hur ledger: There are no winners at the Air Sex World Championship

So here’s the thing about showing up to the D.C. leg of the Air Sex World Championship alone: it’s awkward. Like, hanging out alone at the back of an indie rock concert by yourself awkward, with the fear that everyone around you will think you’re some kind of pervert.

By October 7, 2010

Leisure

Should have stayed Buried

Perpetual frat-boy Van Wilder trades in his iconic red Solo cup for the confines of a coffin in Rodrigo Cortès’s new thriller, Buried. From the very first scene of the film, the audience is also resigned to this tragic fate, as the camera stubbornly remains trapped inside of the coffin for the entire 94-minute duration of the film.

By October 7, 2010

Leisure

Tragic but “fun”

Anyone who read Macbeth in high school knows the basics of the tragic play: it’s long, heavy, and ominous, and its costumes and sets echo its grim themes. But, as director and professor Nadia Madhi explains, her interpretation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Blood Wedding is intended to be anything but the typical tragedy.

By October 7, 2010

Leisure

Critical Voices: Salem, King Night

This year’s buzziest new genre boasts the most ridiculous title the Internet genre-naming gods have ever bestowed (and that includes “purple” and “chillwave”): “witch house.” So named for its ethereal synths and ominous, DJ Screw-influenced beats, this new genre includes bands with names as ridiculous as oOoOO.

By October 7, 2010

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Critical Voices: Sufjan Stevens, Age of Adz

In 2004, Sufjan Stevens announced an audacious plan to write an album for each of the fifty states, beginning with 2003’s Michigan and moving south to Illinois in 2005. Then, in 2009, Stevens announced that the “Fifty State Project” was nothing more than a publicity stunt, and that he was starting anew.

By October 7, 2010

Leisure

Literary Tools: No, but I saw the movie

Adapting a book can be a tricky business. On rare occasions, an adapted movie can transcend its source, but more often than not, it loses some of the elements that readers loved. Book snobs, the lot of pretentious bastards that they are, often rightly criticize adaptations for failing to live up to original texts.

By October 7, 2010

Leisure

Suffer for Fashion: Dirty jeans, done dirt cheap

Jeans may have won their first fans during the California Gold Rush, but proper jean care has come a long way from simply plunking down your pan and dunking your dungarees into the stream in between sifting sessions. Some have caring for denim down to a science, but is the extra effort worth it?

By October 7, 2010

Leisure

A Social success

There is an important scene early in The Social Network, bass heavy dance music throbs as the screen cuts deftly between two symbolic set pieces. The first is typical montage material: the first party of the year at Harvard’s most prestigious clubs, a debaucherous scene of hedonistic excess.

By October 1, 2010

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Tombs manager lays his career to rest

Last weekend, William Watts had a lot to handle. Homecoming Weekend brought a flood of customers to the Tombs, and a private party had reserved F. Scott’s for the evening. At the same time, these were just the last few days of his 35-year career managing three Georgetown restaurants. Just one last push.

By September 30, 2010

Leisure

¡Ay caramba! Muchas peliculas

Between limited releases and an Oscar category that nobody pays attention to, Americans don’t give foreign films the credit they deserve. But not the American Film Institute—they’ve been offering D.C. an outlet for foreign films for decades. At the head of their current battle: the Latin American Film Festival.

By September 30, 2010

Leisure

Lez’hur ledger: Frolicking freaks at FreeFest

At 9:59 a.m. on a Saturday in July, I entered an epic Internet battle. The stakes? A free ticket to the Virgin Mobile FreeFest. My challengers? The 30,000 others vying to see Pavement, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A., and Ludacris without dropping an obscene amount of cash. By 10:03 a.m., the ravenous hordes had claimed all of the available tickets.

By September 30, 2010

Leisure

Critical Voices: Mark Ronson & The Business Inl., Record Collection

Mark Ronson can play a mean guitar, but his extensive knowledge of rap, funk, and soul was what got him noticed in the first place. Ronson’s past two records have been slick, sample-heavy dance records that hint at his formative years as a club DJ. The formula is no different on his newest album, Record Collection.

By September 30, 2010

Leisure

Critical Voices: Lazerbeak, Legend Recognize Legend

As the primary producer for the Minneapolis-based alternative hip-hop crew Doomtree, Lazerbeak has been responsible for the bass-heavy beats heard behind rappers P.O.S., Dessa, and Sims. With hip-hop credentials like these, and Doomtree’s reputation for aggressive, punk rock- infused hip-hop, you might expect Lazerbeak’s first solo album, to be filled with club hits.

By September 30, 2010

Leisure

Warming Glow: Sympathy for the devil

You’ve just watched a man drug and kidnap someone. He ties the victim to a table, waits until he wakes up, then ritualistically stabs him in the chest, dismembers the corpse, and dumps it off a small boat into the Atlantic Ocean. Moments later, you see the same murderer holding an infant, cooing and singing the kid to sleep.

By September 30, 2010

Leisure

Rub Some Dirt On It: Addicted to the pump

If you’re anything like me, when you go to the gym, you agonize over the clock as you wait for your 20 minutes of cardio to be over. Or you’re gaping in admiration at the energizer bunny in front of you, who has been running hard since before you got there and shows no signs of slowing.

By September 30, 2010

Leisure

Beauty is in the eye of the professor

Have you ever taken a snazzy picture of the Potomac from your walk across the Key Bridge and thought “Wow, look how beautiful D.C. is?” Probably. Have you ever thought the same about a photo you took of the grimy outside of a Metro car, or traffic moving through DuPont? Probably not.

By September 23, 2010