Delivering American University's news and views since 1925 | Thursday, October 1, 2020
Jesse Hughes tries to learn a bit of the local language wherever he is. The charismatic frontman for garage act The Eagles of Death Metal said addressing someone in their own language - even if just to tell them you don't speak it - is always much appreciated.
Chicago instrumental icons Pelican often get filed under the post-metal genre, sharing the label with atmospheric forbearers like Isis and Neurosis. But 2007's "City of Echoes," the record the band stopped at the Black Cat in support of this past Wednesday, draws inspiration more from Midwestern shoegaze and the towering soundscapes of Mogwai than it does Metallica.
Ama Wertz never had a proper last day at Olsson's Books and Records, the independent bookstore she managed in Dupont Circle. Chapter 7 bankruptcy strikes quickly - locks are changed in the night, professional liquidators auction off company assets. The workers - and the customers - never know what hit them.
Stephen Merritt has never been one to rest on his laurels. The pop virtuoso has added numerous side projects to the already impressive discography of his main group, indie rock darlings The Magnetic Fields. The band's performance Sunday night at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium was enough to leave the heads of Merritt's fans spinning for its career-spanning set list.
For William E. Smith, being a jazz musician is a lot like being a kung-fu master. The saxophonist, composer and former College of Arts and Sciences professor said he sees similarities in his approach to music and Bruce Lee's approach to martial arts. "He created his own style by incorporating a lot of different styles, and it worked for him," Smith said.
On a sinister-looking mountain road on the border of Montenegro, Richard Gere sits brooding - his perpetually squinting eyes squinting over some deep truths about war. This is the description of most frames of Richard Shepard's latest film "The Hunting Party.
VHS or Beta "Bring on the Comets" (Astralwerks) Grade: A- Sounds like: A harmless dance-rock record that wants to be a party playlist anchor. The beginning bars of the title track sound like the credits from one of those not-quite Brat Pack movies always aired on Comedy Central.
Memories of my first party at AU: "Hey, what's your major?" "Are you a freshman?" "I've got some great Dave bootlegs up in my room." There are better ways to spend your evenings with that cute new classmate you're looking to impress than at the party those weird dudes are offering you a ride to.
The other night I caved. I fell asleep on the streetcar and missed my stop, and when I woke up, there it was - its golden arches shining through the Zagreb evening like the fleece on the mast of the Argo. I'd only ventured into a McDonald's once since coming to study in the former Yugoslavia.
Studying in the former Yugoslavia, it is hard not to see history everywhere. The place that once was a country has played a pivotal role in world politics for over a century. In Sarajevo, the situation is no different. There is no major monument on the spot where Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie.
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