The Hoya: The Guide: December 3, 2021

MUSIC Adele’s “30” explores personal revelations, disappoints with monotonous sound B4

FILM “House of Gucci” confuses with its themes but amazes with its star-studed cast B6

WTDIDC Spread the holiday cheer with a visit to Park View Holiday Market B5

December 3, 2021

A Cappella Groups Strike a New Chord A cappella groups scale to success with technological innovations, new inclusion tactics.

Clayton Kincade, Mason Leath and Varsha Venkatram Hoya Staff Writers

ILLUSTRATION BY: TIMOTHY GOH/THE HOYA

A Cappella Groups Promote Inclusivity, Introduce New Audition Practices After Returning to the Hilltop Georgetown’s a cappella leaders demonstrate their ability to learn from online campus life, seeking to promote group inclusivity and accessibility for prospective members.

Clayton Kincade, Varsha Venkatram and Mason Leath Hoya Staff Writers

Riffing and harmonizing, Gaston Hall has often been filled with the sounds of beats and vocals, as the stage comes to life with an a cappella performance. Meaning “in choir style” in Italian, a cappella is known for lacking any instrumental backing and has long been a mainstay of Georgetown University’s campus music scene — with

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some groups founded as long as 75 years ago.

A group performance where members’ vocals create background harmonies for lyrical tunes, a cappella is an entertaining way for students to engage in performance based arts, whose exact style can often vary by group. Georgetown is host to its own set of distinct a cappella groups, each of which has its own history and performance style.

Differing in musical preferences, Georgetown is home to six a cappella groups: The Phantoms, The GraceNotes, Superfood, The Georgetown

COURTESY ISABELLE WISCO

As Georgetown’s myriad a cappella groups look back on their first in-person semester since 2020, leaders within the community reflect on their efforts to improve accessibility for auditionees and strengthen commitments to socioeconomic diversity.

Saxatones, The Georgetown Chimes and The Capitol G’s. Each one has its own traditions and performance techniques.

With a cappella, the singers of each group rely on being able to hear and riff off of one another to create their pieces, but with the onset of COVID-19, many a cappella groups found it difficult to replicate their practices and performance styles in a virtual setting. However, this time away from campus proved important, as groups returned to Washington, D.C., this fall with more innovative

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021

and inclusive approaches to promoting a cappella on campus, allowing their medium to be reestablished within the campus community.

Coming back from Georgetown’s virtual year, campus a cappella groups have reimagined their operations. They are focusing their efforts on increasing accessibility through the use of online sheet music and virtual auditions, as well as promoting the racial and socioeconomic diversity of club members, all in an effort to facilitate a collaborative future for the many musical groups on campus.

A Cappella Innovation

Though Georgetown’s a cappella clubs are grateful to be back in person, the university’s current public health safety guidelines, like masking, have made a cappella function differently than in previous years. The Phantoms, GraceNotes and Saxatones have all implemented lessons learned from the pandemic, like using new sheet music and practice techniques, to respond to struggles that have accompanied their return to campus.

Isabelle Wisco (MSB ’22), president of the Saxatones, said the virtual academic year taught her the importance of community bonds within her performance group, and coming back to campus, engagement within her group was a priority.

“If anything, going through the virtual year made many of us more appreciative of this community that we’ve found on campus,” Wisco wrote in an email to The Hoya. “From this, we’ve put in extra effort to further strengthen the bond between our members and continue to develop.”

The return to campus for other a cappella groups has similarly offered new areas for growth in their practices, as some groups have used technology popularized during the pandemic to improve their previous rehearsal methods. Ria Pradhan (SFS ’23), a member of the GraceNotes, found that online practices last year led to the development of a more efficient way to work with their sheet music.

“One of the changes we’ve implemented over the pandemic is we started using new score and sharing our screens and learning our music that way,” Pradhan said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya.

“Whereas before we literally just used to go over the sheet music and play on the piano, and now in our in person rehearsals we still use new score even though there’s no need to — just because we figured that it’s a really nice way to learn music.”

The Saxatones are also working to include all members’ voices when deciding on their music selection, according to Wisco.

“The way our music decisions are made (i.e. selecting songs for our repertoire, choosing soloists) is done democratically, where every member regardless of seniority has an equal voice,” Wisco wrote.

By implementing these new updates into their ensembles, Georgetown’s a cappella groups are taking lessons learned from last year in order to help facilitate their returns to campus.

Increased Inclusion Efforts

forts within their organizations after reflecting upon how they could change certain practices that have traditionally been in place.

This semester, the GraceNotes developed resources for applicants who may not come to campus with extensive musical training in an effort to be inclusive of students who did not have access to music classes before Georgetown. The group has introduced coffee chats with current leadership, weaving together the new members since this summer and hosting workshops for students who did not have previous musical training who want to audition, according to Pradhan, who witnessed these changes.

The Saxatones have put parameters in place with their recruiting process to further support prospective members, according to Wisco, including disregarding applicants’ musical backgrounds to promote socioeconomic diversity within the club.

“This means someone that has been classically trained all their life and someone that has never sung before both have an equal shot of getting into the Saxatones,” Wisco wrote. “In our current group, we have members who cannot read music, members who have never been in a singing group before, etc. I find this essential for fostering diversity as many communities do not have access to resources like music classes, singing lessons, etc.”

According to Pradhan, the a cappella spaces on campus appeared predominantly white.

However, during her own audition process, Pradhan said she did not feel like an outsider in the GraceNotes as a woman of color.

“When I was going into the a cappella space at Georgetown, it can feel predominantly white. Performing arts in general are predominantly white, and so you can feel like an outsider going into these spaces,” Pradhan said. “The GraceNotes did not feel that way to me when I was auditioning, and that was one of the positives for me. I actually actively did think about that when I was a freshman auditioning.”

In addition to efforts to increase socioeconomic and racial diversity in their clubs, a cappella groups are also seeking to make applications more accessible to all applicants; the Saxatones, for instance, are working to be increasingly flexible with applicants and now accept video auditions, according to Wisco.

“As with many things, the pandemic allowed us to rethink different processes that we’ve often just copied from year-to-year. A lot of these have allowed for minor but effective changes. For instance, we now accept video auditions that give people another way to audition for our group in case they’re out of town or have too much going on that weekend,” Wisco wrote.

Since being back on campus, these efforts of some a cappella groups with applications and other aspects of their organization reflect changes that are intentional to make the processes more approachable for prospective members.

Competitive Auditions, Collaborative Culture

Coming back from Georgetown’s virtual proEven with an emphasis on inclusivity in applicagramming last year, a cappella groups on campus tions by some a cappella groups, the audition cycles have used the transition to in-person operations for these performing arts groups on campus are still as an opportunity to further bolster inclusion ef- competitive. Jalen Benjamin (MSB ’22), president of

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

COURTESY RIA PRADHAN

By hosting audition workshops and coffee chats with leaders, the GraceNotes have improved accessibility for applicants who did not have the opportunity to receive musical training before coming to the Hilltop.

the Georgetown Phantoms, said he wished there was more space to grow the a cappella community.

“I would love to have it not be so exclusive.

That’s one of the things that I dislike about all clubs at Georgetown and Georgetown culture. I think it can be very exclusive and selective, obviously just because of the space issues,” Benjamin said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “There’s finite resources, of course, but I would love to have more people in the a cappella community because it does feel pretty small at times.”

Moreover, Benjamin said that it would be a good thing for a cappella groups on campus to be less exclusive.

“I do think that there are a lot of positives and benefits that can come from being less selective, and accepting more people. I think a lot of positives and benefits can come from it,” Benjamin said.

According to Wisco, auditions are often competitive across Georgetown’s six a cappella groups, since they are often looking to attract the same pool of applicants. Wisco said that while campus a cappella groups are all trying to gain new members, there is normally no bad blood between the ensembles.

“I do find there is some sense of competition during audition season, but that feels inevitable

and inherent in the process. We’re all trying to get singers that will fit our group. Naturally, people will audition for multiple groups,” Wisco wrote. “There are typically no hard feelings if someone chooses another group over us.”

As the fall semester comes to a close, campus a cappella groups will be uniting for one event to mark the final weeks of the semester — the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony on Healy Lawn, according to Benjamin Eneman (COL ’22), a member of the Capitol G’s.

“We’re doing the Christmas tree lighting, so the a cappella groups are performing at that,” Eneman said in a Zoom interview with The Hoya. “That’s always a lot of fun.”

Looking forward, Wisco said she was happy to see Georgetown’s a cappella community working to increase collaboration since returning to campus, and hopes this attitude continues into the future.

“As for the greater a cappella community, I’ve also had an awesome time watching and developing friendships with other groups over the years. The current state of the a cappella community is definitely the most collaborative I’ve seen during my time at Georgetown, and because of that, it’s also been the most fun,” Wisco wrote.

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ADELE/FACEBOOK

Stunning, out-of-this-world vocals cannot save Adele’s latest project from feeling like an unoriginal song heard too many times before, but listeners may appreciate the singer’s personal touches.

MUSIC

Adele’s ‘30’ Features Monotonous Standard Sound, New Personal Insights  Madison Burnett Hoya Staff Writer

Adele’s “30” is an empathy-filled, wonderfully lyrical and heart-wrenching album — that sounds exactly like her last three.

Over the years, Adele has proved to be a true musical genius and garnered one of the largest and most dedicated fan bases with her soulful and evocative lyricism. Receiving over 60 million streams on Spotify on the first day of its release, Adele ended her fiveyear hiatus with a bang.

With 12 songs that total 58 minutes, Adele begins “30” with a beautifully written farewell to her marriage in “Strangers By Nature.” Her ethereal tone and the multitude of voices build on top of each other, becoming truly alluring. However, it quickly becomes evident that the only new part of the album is the depth that Adele’s vocals reach.

Many artists choose a niche in the music industry, and as their career progresses, this

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niche often evolves and changes as vocalists experiment with their sound. This is not the case with Adele, as “30” remains true to her traditional sonic style: pervasive, with emotional lyrics and slow melodies. Most of the album’s songs are composed of a melancholic tone with solemn words. Her music has traditionally been predicated on downcast beats, sometimes shrouded in a lighter background, and this album was no different.

As the album continues, only two of the singles stand out in their construction. “Easy On Me” and “My Little Love” feature a variety of instruments that include piano, bass and most importantly, conversation. These sonic structures differentiate “30” from her previous albums by offering a more personal glimpse of her life.

In “My Little Love,” she breaks popular song construction conventions by including vocals and snippets of conversation between the singer and her son, Angelo. In “Oh My God,” Adele begins with her traditional

downbeat lyrics and tone that then develop into a fun and catchy internal argument with herself.

In general, most of the album seems reminiscent of a love letter detailing her emotions surrounding her recent divorce that she could later give to her son. The fragments of conversation in “My Little Love” provide insight into the difficulty of having to explain divorce to a child, and although the conversations between Adele and Angelo sound scripted at times (perhaps for the purpose of selling the album) this insight into her life is a welcome touch.

Throughout the album, audiences are given an intimate glance into Adele’s personal life in a new way. In “30,” her heartache from her divorce is raw and messy, unlike the emotions shared in her past albums. Concluding with the final three songs, “Hold On,” “To Be Loved” and “Love Is A Game,” Adele shares the message that even though you might be lost, patience and time will resolve most issues.

Although Adele has not matured or changed her sonic niche, she maintains staying power by being able to consistently release music of the same cadence and melancholic tone. Her fans continue to be pulled into the great lyrical depths of her sadness, no matter the song.

Adele has one of the most interesting fan bases of modern artists. While there seem to be no true Adele fans or “stans” — someone who says that their favorite artist is Adele and exclusively listens to her music — this could be because she has not released any new music in five years, or because audiences are only drawn to her music when they are in a certain mood or when they need the comfort that her voice provides.

While “30” features Adele’s tried and true lyrical style, the album excels in reaching a new level of rawness from the artist in terms of her personal experiences. The album gives closure for Adele and her fans as she ends one chapter of her life and begins another.

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021

MUSIC

‘Voyage’ Evokes Nostalgia Despite Thematic Shortcomings  Anjali Paye

Hoya Staff Writer

“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” some more ABBA. November 2021 marked the unexpected return of a band most thought had taken its last bow.

With its newest album, “Voyage,” ABBA made its return to the radio and to the limelight with a disco pop splash. While the band’s newest set of songs is far from a flawless glide back into the music scene, “Voyage” satisfies longtime fans with nostalgic tunes and yet another opportunity to reminisce on the heyday of the famous Swedish pop group.

In the 1970s, ABBA produced a slew of singles that would eventually become decade-defining bops. The band’s music has continued to see fame in the form of jukebox stage musical “Mamma Mia!” and its two movie adaptations.

Comprised of two once-married couples —

Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus with Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad — the group’s iconic music features upbeat melodies, enthralling and poignant lyrics and a wide range of topics from references to the Napoleonic era to a cheery anthem universally used for 17th birthdays. In some ways, “Voyage” follows closely in the band’s esteemed tradition.

Despite the album’s new successes with certain singles, continuity on the album is largely lacking, with some songs presenting a pop beat, others employing a country twang and still others embracing the slow simmer of the ballad. “Voyage” sounds like a hodge-podge of songs discarded from previous albums and modern imitations that have been thrown together to facilitate the reunion album fans have been clamoring about for decades.

ABBA, known for its creativity in songwriting and production, does not disappoint in this regard on “Voyage.” The songs do feature catchy rhythms — an inherent part of any ABBA record.

The fourth single on the album, “Don’t Shut me

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Down,” features a vibrant background keyboard, evolving from a slower, melodic beat to a discoinfused anthem. “Keep an Eye on Dan” enlists the cowbell to add dimension to a surprisingly subtle yet solemn melody. “Ode to Freedom” draws on a variety of instruments to provide a powerful conclusion to the album.

The lyrics themselves leave something to be desired. With songs as classic as “Waterloo” and lyrics as pervasive as “You are the dancing queen / Young and sweet / Only seventeen,” ABBA was perhaps doomed to lyrical failure in its new album. Phrases such as “You look bewildered / And so you should, I would,” fall flat in the face of its previous musical genius.

But regardless of the somewhat disappointing lyrical performance of the group, the vocals of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad continually provide listeners with the breathy, powerful soprano vocals that they have been craving for close to four decades.

What some might see as a cleverly-planned press stunt, others view as the genuine reunion

By Adriana Guzman

JENNIFER LOPEZ

JENNIFER LOPEZ/FACEBOOK

of four great musical artists. Regardless of the motivation, ABBA provides its audience with what they want: a window into the past and a unique opportunity to hear the powerful vocals of an iconic group in a new context. What “Voyage” lacks in lyrical composition and continuity it compensates for in subtle nods to previous hits and moments of ethereal disco.

“Voyage” does not exist in a cultural vacuum, but rides on the continued relevance of ABBA and acts as an ode to an era long-gone. Without the significance of the band’s reunion, the album seems to fall flat as listeners’ interests might fail to be sustained through the largely whiny ballads that speak to arguably geriatric concerns. Yet, riding on the 40-year-old wave of ABBA’s original success, it offers as much enjoyment as one might expect from the reunion of a once-powerhouse group. With “Voyage,” ABBA might fail to draw a younger generation into a new era of Swedish disco-pop, but successfully reminds an older fanbase of what once was.

KALI UCHIS AND OZUNA

‘ON MY WAY (MARRY ME)’

‘ANOTHER DAY IN AMERICA’

Made for the soon-to-be-released romcom “Marry Me,” this ballad is a fun, if not overly-simplistic love song. Similar to previous tracks, Lopez sings about seeing her past as a road. Despite her wide vocal range supported by simple piano instrumentals, Lopez’s work failed to innovate with cliche lyrics and themes.

Inspired by Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” Kali Uchis and Ozuna use this song as a platform to sing about their experiences as Latin Americans in the United States. The song is consistently engaging, and Ozuna’s fast-paced lyrical storytelling complements Uchis’ slow melodies.

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THE LUMINEERS

DIONNE WARWICK AND CHANCE THE RAPPER

‘A.M. RADIO’

‘NOTHING’S IMPOSSIBLE’

Soft guitar plucking and raspy vocals create an engaging tone in this mellow track. The lyrics explore the importance of unconditional support and descriptive imagery shows the singers being there for people in the past and promising to be there in the future. They sing on the bridge, “Long as you run / I couldn’t give you up.”

Dionne Warwick teams up with Chance the Rapper in this track featuring Warwick’s mature voice and lyricism. While Chance and Warwick blend well musically, the duo ultimately fails to produce a catchy, radio-worthy tune.

 DIONNE WARWICK/FACEBOOK

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

KALI UCHIS/FACEBOOK

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THE LUMINEERS/FACEBOOK

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FILM

‘House of Gucci’ Cast Succeeds, Plot Falls Short Directed by: Ridley Scott

HOUSE OF GUCCI/IMDB

A confusing and often messy plot hinders Ridley Scott’s high-wire, expertly cast drama.

Starring: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto

 Nathaniel Ting Hoya Staff Writer

Spinning a sprawling tale of decadence, betrayal and crime, “House of Gucci” attempts to span the gap between satire and true crime, resulting in a tonally confusing, jumbled film.

While showing signs of excellence from its cast performances, the movie’s disjointedness ultimately kills it at the finish line.

“House of Gucci,” director Ridley Scott’s second film of 2021, following October’s “The Last Duel,” depicts the inner workings of the family behind the fashion powerhouse, centered around outsider Patrizia Reggiani’s (Lady Gaga) marriage into the family and her orchestration of the murder of her husband, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). A top notch cast portrays the rest of the Gucci clan. Jeremy Irons plays Maurizio’s father Rodolfo, Al Pacino is uncle Aldo, and Jared Leto is unrecognizable as cousin Paolo, rounding out the family members who become embroiled in a struggle for money, power and influence in the Gucci brand.

The movie begins by establishing the relationship between Gaga and Driver’s characters, and the first half of the film maintains an intriguing yet understated satirical grit with its over-the-top characterizations. The focus on

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the dynamic relationship between Patrizia and Maurizio is the centerpiece of the beginning of the movie, but unfortunately, like the powerhungry Patrizia, the film has a lot of ambition that is left unfulfilled.

The film covers over a decade’s worth of familial turmoil, and this is reflected in its lengthy, soapy runtime of 158 minutes. Scott seemed intent on making an extravagant melodrama to capture the inherent absurdity of a high fashion family feud but was too tied to the biographical details to make it convincingly camp. For example, the numerous chronological jumps needed to get through the entire narrative are disorienting and create an unclear presentation of events.

Toward the second half, the pacing suffers as the film unenthusiastically introduces story beats necessitated by the film’s biographical nature. These essential components cause the ending in particular to feel incredibly rushed and unsophisticated, cramming a messy divorce and a murder plot into the final stretch.

Though its writing is unexceptional, the individual performances shine in “House of Gucci.” Gaga’s portrayal of Patrizia is the movie’s driving force, as she brings a surprisingly menacing intensity to her role. For Gaga to receive similar praise for “House of Gucci” as she did for her Oscar-nominated perfor-

mance in 2018’s “A Star is Born” would hardly be surprising. Additionally, Driver expertly conveys the subtleties of Maurizio, the initially hesitant heir to the Gucci dynasty who is consistently corrupted by the allure of power and prestige.

Contrasted with Gaga’s triumph, Leto’s performance as Paolo Gucci, the inept and delusional black sheep of the Gucci family, is by far the most disjointed aspect of an already disjointed film. Leto forgoes any comedic subtlety — overacting to the point of complete caricature. He jokes and spouts one-liners in an Italian accent that would feel more at home in a Saturday Night Live sketch than a crime drama.

This absurdity would not be such an issue if Scott employed Paolo as the occasional comic relief in a large ensemble cast. Instead, he becomes a very prominent character halfway through the film, emphasizing the film’s inability to choose between soap opera decadence and dark realism.

Leto’s clown-like Paolo and Driver’s pragmatic and subdued Maurizio do not belong in the same film. Admittedly, Leto’s performance in isolation is humorous and entertaining, and his acting is so ludicrous that it demands attention from viewers.

Still, any humor Leto does bring does not justify the character’s distracting presence in the film.

Befitting a movie about a luxury fashion brand tainted by fraud and murderous plots, “House of Gucci” excels aesthetically. The film’s wardrobe, carefully put together by Oscar-winning costume designer Janty Yates, beautifully showcases the opulence of the Gucci family.

The film’s scenery is also captivating, with Scott shooting the movie on location throughout Italy. The architecture and greenery of Villa Balbiano, the bright blue of Lake Como and the snow-covered Alpine ski slopes all provide the audience with visually stunning imagery. The dark blue tint familiar to fans of Scott’s work, however, hampers the otherwise impressive cinematography, alluding to the sins that tarnish the Gucci family’s opulence.

“House of Gucci” is more frustrating than bad because it tries to be both a flamboyant drama and a true-to-life crime saga. Choosing either one of these paths would have likely yielded a great piece of entertainment. By choosing both, and failing to strike a balance, the film cannibalizes its viewing experience with conflicting plot goals.

While the superb performances from most of the cast and the striking set design make “House of Gucci” worth a watch, be prepared to be distracted by the clunky and unfocused elements of the film.

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021

@BRUNOMARS/TWITTER

The soulful, funky fusion between R&B and pop was repetitive in its sonic variety but maintained a soothing beat and evocative lyrics.

The album would have greatly benefitted from a more diverse feel between the sounds of all of its tracks.

MUSIC

Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak Mesh R&B , Pop in ‘An Evening with Silk Sonic’  Drew Lent

Hoya Staff Writer

Old-school funk may make a comeback, thanks to Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak.

Mars and .Paak, also known as Silk Sonic, released their debut album “An Evening With Silk Sonic,” featuring a unique pop and R&B sound that flounders at times when many of the songs attempt to recreate the success of the duo’s standout hit “Leave The Door Open.”

The two soulful pop singers formed Silk Sonic less than a year after .Paak released a critically acclaimed single in 2020 entitled “Lockdown.” Both artists had previously decided to collaborate on an album after .Paak

opened for Mars’ world tour in 2016.

Silk Sonic’s debut single, “Leave The Door Open,” released back in March, received great acclaim for its old-school R&B sound.

This recognition was well deserved — the track stands out as one of the album’s best.

In the track, Mars and .Paak present a soothing beat and lyricism that discusses passionate love. Between Mars’ luscious harmonies and .Paak’s alluring rasp, the debut single set a high standard for the album.

Unfortunately, the album as a whole does not meet this standard, since most of the album attempts to recreate “Leave The Door Open.” Many of the other tracks are lathered in the same impersonality as this famous

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021 | THEHOYA.COM

song, and they lack individuality due to their efforts to resemble it.

As the album progresses, Mars and .Paak’s sexual desires dominate several tracks. The lyrics of “After Last Night” epitomize this hyper-sexualization: “You put it on me like I never felt before / That gushy, gushy good, girl, I want some more.” The songs that feature a focus on this sensual content can become quite distracting at times, taking away from Silk Sonic’s instrumental construction.

“Put On A Smile” deviates from this trend by intimately considering a deeper and more emotional love. Alongside an anthemic drum beat, Mars and .Paak sing about the facade they adopt to win a girl back. The personal nature of

this track may be because R&B legend Babyface — who is well-respected for his love ballads — is a co-writer. The track also showcases Mars’ greatest vocal performance, and his frequent high notes toward the end of the song demonstrate the emotional passion behind the lyrics.

Mars’ unmatched vocal ability may put “An Evening With Silk Sonic” in the running for Album of The Year. As opposed to the youthful, pop-intensive sound of his first two albums, “An Evening With Silk Sonic” shows a more mature side to Mars, one where he has refined his vocal skills and found his own style. In “24K Magic,” Mars experiments with the funk genre, and in “An Evening With Silk Sonic” he fully establishes his funk abilities. .Paak also has phenomenal vocal performances and holds his own alongside Mars in the album. While .Paak often raps in his solo career, he has transitioned to mainly singing with Silk Sonic. .Paak is one of few artists today who can both sing and rap well.

Funk artist Bootsy Collins’ interjections throughout the album are another standout of “An Evening With Silk Sonic.” In various songs, Collins introduces Silk Sonic and sets a sultry tone with his reticent voice. Furthermore, his introductions immerse listeners by creating the atmosphere of a live show, providing the intimacy that the album’s lyrics fail to deliver. If Silk Sonic ever embarks on a tour, Bootsy Collins is a necessary addition.

Most importantly, the heavenly harmonies of the tracks seem to define “An Evening With Silk Sonic.” In almost every song, Mars layers his vocals on top of each other, and this harmonic component is necessary in creating its old-school R&B vibe. These harmonies not only demonstrate Mars and .Paak’s singing capabilities but also highlight Mars’ vocal production ability.

With “An Evening With Silk Sonic,” Mars and .Paak have clearly established themselves in making sensual R&B music, and the album may catapult them into legendary status in the genre. Still, the album underwhelms, especially in the shadow cast by the smashing commercial success of “Leave The Door Open.”

In the future, Mars and .Paak should create an album with more distinct tracks. But for now, “An Evening With Silk Sonic” will suffice in bridging the pop and R&B divide.

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FILM

‘Licorice Pizza’ Overcomes Confusing Plot With Strong Performances Hoya Staff Writer

Four years after the release of his last cinematic opus, acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson has returned with “Licorice Pizza,” a movie that proves as bizarre as its title.

Anderson rekindles his cinematic love affair with California’s San Fernando Valley, which he previously explored in “Magnolia” and “Boogie Nights,” in this 133-minute joyride. “Licorice Pizza” follows the precarious romance between Alana Kane (Alana Haim), a 25-year-old woman who works for a high school yearbook photography company and Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman), an endearing 15-year-old who attained minor fame as a child actor in 1970s Hollywood.

As the film sprawls and deepens, the events onscreen become increasingly strange — and simultaneously captivating.

Despite their problematic age gap, Gary falls for Alana, and the film chronicles all of the familiar trials of first love. Meanwhile, the lovers’ 1970s milieu rages around them and their adventures lead them to colorful

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U.S. CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREE/FACEBOOK

WHAT TO DO IN DC

NATIONAL CHRISTMAS TREE

President’s Park

Check off two items on your bucket list this year by seeing one of D.C.’s most popular holiday attractions at an iconic location: the White House. The First Lady and her team style the National Christmas Tree with handmade ornaments from 56 U.S. states and territories and is free to visit and open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. beginning Dec. 4.

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a sobering depiction of one of the idiosyncratic individuals who built 1970s Hollywood.

Excessive commentary, however, becomes the film’s most indelible quality and only major flaw. By shoving a host of increasingly risible characters onscreen, the movie attempts to comment on many 1970s events and conditions, from eccentricity in Hollywood to intolerance in politics to the short attention span of a capitalist society.

In its efforts to represent the disparate aspects of life in 1970s California, the film falls short, and Anderson’s haphazard coverage of such a broad range of topics ultimately leads to a jumbled mess that fails to give each facet of the movie’s intriguing setting its due.

However, this messy construction is salvaged by the captivating, unorthodox love story that unfolds between Alana and Gary — an unlikely match. Their paths, though fraught with challenges and twists that threaten to tear them apart, inevitably lead into each other’s arms.

Unexpectedly, it is Alana who comes of age in “Licorice Pizza,” while Gary, though much younger, has in many ways already done so. As Alana is pulled in different directions by the characters around her, she must navigate the turbulent world of Hollywood and learn to follow her heart.

The unconventional design of this romance is

what ultimately makes the film so special.

In the film, Anderson successfully highlights the magnetic nature of love and how attraction can span distances and time periods to draw very different people together, even if it means breaking social convention. In terms of Alana and Gary’s age gap, Anderson leaves most of this aspect of the relationship up to interpretation, neglecting to provide explicit commentary on the nature of such a romance.

Anderson also manages to transcend coming-of-age tropes by subverting audience expectations. With the help of his talented young leads’ nuanced performances, Anderson artfully displays an uncommonly self-assured teenager with worldly experience well beyond his years and a young woman on the cusp of adulthood who has yet to find her way. This reversal of dispositions relative to the characters’ ages makes Alana seem younger than she really is and Gary, conversely, seem older than he is, so their relationship feels unexpectedly plausible.

“Licorice Pizza” is another vibrant, complex creation from Paul Thomas Anderson. Though its messy execution may confuse some viewers, those that ruminate on the plot and follow each character on-screen will find themselves immersed in a unique world and wiser about the otherwise elusive nature of young love.

By Haley Resnick

PARK VIEW HOLIDAY MARKET

3400 Georgia Avenue NW

Handmade candles, pottery and traditional Chinese desserts all available at a local holiday market? What more can you ask for? The second annual Park View Holiday Market is happening at Hook Hall on Dec. 4, 11 and 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, so be sure to grab a bite to eat and a gift for your secret Santa!

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LIGHT YARDS/FACEBOOK

James Pocchia

characters who dance in and out of their lives.

The acting was the most enjoyable aspect of the film, as the cast’s characterizations made the plot come to life. Anderson took a significant risk by casting two young actors with minimal experience as his leads, but his gamble was a success. Alana Haim, vocalist of the eponymous band, Haim, delivers a lived-in, poignantly vulnerable performance as Alana Kane. Haim portrays a conflicted young woman struggling to discover her calling in a volatile era, producing one of the finest performances of the year.

Haim’s subtle characterization of Alana as being outwardly confident, yet inwardly unsure of herself is juxtaposed with the virulent charisma of her co-star, Cooper Hoffman, who lights up the screen as the amicable Gary Valentine. The son of the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was a frequent Anderson collaborator, Cooper Hoffman is effortless in his role, using charming grins and grandiose gestures to evince the confidence and theatricality one would only expect of a child actor.

Perhaps the most unforgettable supporting performance is that of Georgetown’s own Bradley Cooper (COL ’97), who plays Jon Peters, an eccentric real-life film producer who dated Barbara Streisand in the 1970s. Cooper brings Peters’s erratic character to life, generating some of the movie’s funniest moments while offering

PARK VIEW HOLIDAY MARKET

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This Issue’s Quiz

LIGHT YARDS

355 Water Street SE

Step directly into a fairytale this winter at Yards Park’s annual festive light display.

This year’s celebration features 22-foottall trees and creative light patterns that will be sure to get you into the holiday spirit — and some good Instagram content! The free ceremony is open every night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. until Jan. 1.

Take this week’s quiz to find out which classic holiday song you are!

THEHOYA.COM | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021