Where'd the love go: Back in February, Jonathan L. Fischer dug into how small-time, local artists were racking up Grammys despite not being famous. He concluded it was a result of top-notch networking, particularly membership in the local Recording Academy. Then in April, the Grammys shed about 30 categories, including the urban alternative category, in [...]

Begin your Civil War sesquicentennial celebration by attending the panel "Political Cartoons of the Civil War and Their Role in Shaping History," sponsored by the National Archives. The War Between the States wasn't all Glory, teary letters from home read in Ken Burns' voiceovers, and valiant battles for a doomed way of life—no, there was [...]

Ancient Egypt, 1800s Illinois, and modern-day chat rooms are all taking up residence in D.C. theaters. Synetic Theater Company's wordless version of Antony and Cleopatra brings sparks-flying fight sequences and body contortions to the classic tale, at Shakespeare Theatre Company's Lansburgh Theatre through February 28.
If talkier plays are more your style, check out Ford's Theatre's [...]

Solvent dignity is an unfortunate casualty of these hard knock economic times. This became pointedly obvious to me after a tiff (just short of scene-making) with an equally cash-strapped barista who overcharged me 25 cents–that's for bus fare, ma'am! So who can blame musicians like Cat Power and now Joanna Newsom for licensing tunes to [...]