Oddisee made the best DMV album of 2011. But I’m tired of reading about him in Arts Desk posts.
On the national side of sounds, the year was mostly about slowing down and turning up the bass (see: James Blake, Drizzy Drake, The Weeknd, Bon Iver, Girls, Frank Ocean). However, some Haterade for all the buzzy [...]
By its own count, DC9 hasn’t had any trouble attracting musicians since Ali Ahmed Mohammed died feet from the 9th Street NW venue one year ago. “Hundreds, if not thousands, of bands have played since that time,” says Steve Lambert, who books acts at DC9 and other venues in the District. “DC9’s been booking full storm [...]
For this week's issue, I reported a lengthy oral history of the annual concert series at Fort Reno in Tenleytown. But we couldn't fit in everything! Keep checking Arts Desk for more.
Though not always monochromatic, the crowds at Fort Reno skew white. The bands—with a few exceptions—have usually been white, too. In a city that [...]
Crowd-Sucked: The Smithsonian American Art Museum announced the 80 titles it will feature in an exhibition on video games—as voted by gamers. Putting on a serious exhibition says a lot about how important and, well, artistic video games are; having gamers, who are not curators, vote for its content utterly belies that impulse. Basically, this [...]
Local label Sockets Records has been a D.C. fixture for more than half a decade now, but 2010 has been a banner year: A handful of strong releases, a live showcase last January, a pretty awesome zine. And yesterday, its latest seasonal mix.
It draws from the label's regular roster as well as other locals, from [...]
Damn. We were getting used to having the cover story. I've no immediate ideas for an arts angle on Vincent Gray, so let's get into it.
Kriston Capps leads the Arts section with his look at the forthcoming book 100 Washington Artists and its author, Lenny Campello—who, it happens, is also an art dealer who's represented [...]
D.C.-based politically and socially conscious hip-hop band The Cornel West Theory dropped its latest mixtape this morning. The group released its debut album, Second Rome, last year, and and its namesake, the public intellectual and Princeton African American Studies professor Cornel West, to appear on a few tracks.
In Her Hands: Embryo Capital Vol. 1 has a [...]
Good morning! Wale has offended Baltimore. Later today on Arts Desk, we'll ponder: Why does D.C.'s biggest rapper have the lamest controversies ever?
The Washington Post Magazine thinks this air-guitar champion is worth your time. Plus: The National Pinball Museum is coming to the beleaguered Shops at Georgetown Park mall.
Why does WaPo's Blake Gopnik get to review the Hirshhorn's Yves Klein retrospective twice?
City [...]
Good morning! Or as the Romanians might say: Bună dimineaţa!
The 24th Filmfest DC kicks off today, and in this week's City Paper, we laud the festival's organizers for their spotlight on forward-thinking works of the Romanian cinema. The Romanian New Wave—or the New Romanian Wave, or the Noul Val Românesc—has lit up the international festival [...]
Sean Peoples posted a huge update to the Sockets Records blog last night. Here's what the label has coming up:
A new HUME EP this summer, with a tour to follow.
A Laughing Man EP.
An Aaron Thompson LP, with lotsa guests.
An EP from N'Digo Rose, who plays keys in the Cornel West Theory.
A Cornel West Theory mixtape.
A Sean [...]
