As a native Staten Islander—keep your comments to yourself, please—I’m crestfallen that my hometown’s most illustrious musical export is coming to town the day I head back to Shaolin for the holidays. Tonight, Wu-Tang Clan returns to State Theatre, the Falls Church venue that probably hosts more cover bands than hip-hop shows (its website offers [...]
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 [...]
If Super 8 were set in the present, its E.T. would likely want to Skype home. But so what if J.J. Abrams (the second "J" is for Spielberg Jr.) wears his influence on his celluloid? Super 8 is enough of a homage that you can't help but notice it but not so blatant that it [...]
Read This Blog for Your Sanity: Soon-to-be Postie Maura Judkis writes on TBD about three new studies about the effects of arts consumption on men, the elderly, and the depressed. The first study, commissioned in Norway, found that "cultured men who go to museums, ballet and theater are happier than their philistine counterparts." A Missouri [...]
For the second time in as many years, a big Hollywood production about the presidency of Abraham Lincoln will be filming in the rebel states. Steven Spielberg's long-planned biopic of the 16th president will be shot (zing!) in Richmond and Petersburg, the Virginia Film Office told The Washington Post earlier today.
Spielberg's Lincoln, which stars Daniel [...]
Only two shopping days to go!
On TBD, Maura Judkis has another thorough analysis of the ongoing fracas over the National Portrait Gallery's "Hide/Seek" exhibit including a rundown of a Monday discussion on the matter at the JCC. The latest:
Co-curator Jonathan Katz still objects to Canadian artist AA Bronson's desire to have one of his pieces removed [...]
The holiday season is nearly upon us. In this time of love, family, and being touched by a stranger at the airport because you refused to embrace modern technology, it's important to remember: Every day is Festivus in the Roundup! Here comes another airing of grievances, you molested Luddites!
As if the Fare Assessment she received last [...]
Sometime in the 1980s, a comedian joked about the lost paintings of Norman Rockwell—one was titled "Boy Caught Masturbating." Yet, since the exhibition "Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg" opened at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in July, it seems like it's been critics who've been caught with their pants [...]
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas created some of our most beloved cinematic memories (Indiana Jones, Star Wars) and then destroyed them (Jar Jar Binks, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). Now these Hollywood behemoths are teaming up again to curate "Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven [...]
*'Tis the Season For Your Consideration: The Independent Spirit Awards announced its nominees, with the much-ballyhooed abused-teen drama Precious and yet-to-be-released Leo Tolstoy biopic The Last Station leading with five nods each. Joining them for the Best Picture contest is (500) Days of Summer, Amreeka, and Sin Nombre. It's not surprising that three of the [...]
