AltWeeklies Wire
Socio-Economic Anxiety Never Rocked as Hard as it Does on the Hold Steady's Latestnew
Though the Hold Steady's musical style has always been of the lunchpail-swingin' bar-rock variety, Craig Finn's lyrics have usually been less about the rundown poor than the burned-out party kids. That changes on Stay Positive: Finn more directly addresses working-class themes, spinning tales of slightly older characters who are actually sweating their way through the drudgery.
Washington City Paper |
David Dunlap Jr. |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: The Hold Steady, Stay Positive
A Friend's Death and a Cop's Support Spawn a Go-Go Bandnew
Highly Respected wanted enough money to buy a headstone for a murdered friend. Enter Mitch Credle.
Washington City Paper |
Angela Valdez |
07-10-2008 |
Music
Wheat and Lowdown: Wheat Beer Nosed, Swallowed and Ratednew
In the hotter months of summer, our fridges take on wheat beers -- the mellow, citrusy brews that are many people's first foray into craft-beer drinking. There are lots of wheats available: Belgian, German, and American bottles crowd the display cases. With all the choices, how does one separate the swell from the swill?
Washington City Paper |
Orr Shtuhl |
07-03-2008 |
Food+Drink
Alexandra Walks the Line between its Anti-War Message and Family Talenew
The plot may be simple, but Sokurov's message is unmistakable, his babushka'd mouthpiece even once complaining that it's time for the military to rebuild instead of continually destroying. Still, Alexandra washes over you like a gentle slice-of-life movie rather than polemic.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
07-03-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Aleksandr Sokurov, Alexandra
Hercules and Love Affair Offer a New Take on '70s House and Garagenew
Hercules and Love Affair's Andrew Butler is entirely serious about disco. His band's self-titled debut is a loving homage to the dance music of the late '70s that doesn't require a pair of platform shoes or an ironic leisure suit -- really, you just need an appreciation of New York garage and Chicago house.
Washington City Paper |
Aaron Leitko |
07-03-2008 |
Reviews
The Disillusionist: One Man's Quest to Teach Magic Some New Tricksnew
David London has a problem with standard-issue magic. His solution involves celebrity toenails and a lot of Wonder Bread.
Washington City Paper |
Oliver Lukacs |
07-03-2008 |
Performance
How One Ginseng Farmer is Rolling Back America's Trade Deficit with Chinanew
At a time when the Chinese are getting rich exporting to Americans, Larry Harding is a countertrender: an American getting rich exporting to the Chinese. In the world's most populous country, ginseng is like coffee, Viagra, and Prozac all rolled into one, with a dollop of quasi-religious mysticism on top.
Washington City Paper |
Franklin Schneider |
06-26-2008 |
International
Nachtmystium Unsettles Black-Metal Formulas on its New Albumnew
In the same way that no one thinks of Ride the Lightning as just a thrash album or Remission as just a metalcore album, on Assassins the riffs are so fierce and the choruses so memorable that it doesn't matter what flavor of metal it is. It's just metal.
Washington City Paper |
Brent Burton |
06-26-2008 |
Reviews
Who Has the Better Cookie: NYC or D.C.?new
Although both cookies represent cities that occasionally indulge in comparison to each other, the salty oat and the black-and-white defy comparison. So let's not quibble about which city has the better cookie (we do) and start instead from the beginning.
Washington City Paper |
Jule Banville |
06-13-2008 |
Food+Drink
Sergio Mendes Revisits His Roots on 'Encanto'new
The new album was mostly recorded in Bahia, Brazil, and Mendes' hometown of Rio de Janeiro, and it includes a duet with original Brasil '66 vocalist Lani Hall on the soft-jazz love song "Dreamer," which also features Mendes on vocals, Rhodes electric piano, and acoustic piano.
Washington City Paper |
Alfredo Flores |
06-13-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Sergio Mendes, Encanto
What Happens When Corporate Art Goes 'Urban'?new
Since launching in 2004, the D.C. art collective AM Radio has found some key supporters for their urban art project: People trying to sell stuff to an "urban" demographic.
Washington City Paper |
Amanda Hess |
06-13-2008 |
Art
The Anatomy of a Fatal Turf War in One D.C. Neighborhoodnew
The Shaw of yesteryear has disappeared, and yet its crew history is still evolving. The 7th Street crew perpetuates the neighborhood's intractable crime problem. Over the years, it has carried on feuds with groups in three directions, feuds whose origins no one can really pin down.
Washington City Paper |
Ruth Samuelson |
05-30-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Maryland's Pupusa Trucks Try to Survive a Crackdownnew
Reina Ramirez estimates she's received a ticket a week since late November, when Prince George's County began cracking down on the mobile pupusa and taco trucks in Langley Park. This crackdown, fueled by business and residential complaints, has killed off one of the tastiest, most intense food cultures in the entire D.C. area.
Washington City Paper |
Tim Carman |
05-30-2008 |
Food+Drink
'Surfwise' Captures what a Family Gained and Lost by Living the Beach-Bum Lifenew
Doug Pray's documentary may be about a brood of 'boarders, but it's less about hanging ten than living off the grid.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
05-30-2008 |
Reviews
Rhythm and Jews: How a Cache of Classic Soul Got Made in the Promised Landnew
The extraordinary story of a group of Black Hebrew expats, whose music is collected on Soul Messages From Dimona, can stand alongside any of the classic myths of funk and soul. And amazingly, the music itself -- a mix of soul, funk, psych, gospel, and Hebrew traditionals -- can match the drama of the musicians' lives.
Washington City Paper |
David Dunlap Jr. |
05-30-2008 |
Reviews
