A few upcoming shows that didn’t make it into this week’s print edition:

Tonight (Thurs 8/31): Shellac at the Black Cat

Legendary punk/indie rock producer Steve Albini and his veteran Chicago noise-rock band are on the road in a big way for the first time in years. Loud, scratchy, angry and probably vaguely insulting.

Fri 9/1: Comets on Fire at the Black Cat

These West Coast psychedelic rockers lean more towards the heavier Jimi Hendrix guitar-wrangling side of the genre than the Byrds or the Beatles; think less “Yellow Submarine,” more “A Day in the Life.”  Their new record Avatar is much more melodic and all-around friendlier than their older stuff, so don’t be surprised by any “Freebird” or “Layla” style piano interludes.

Sat 9/2: Violent Femmes at the 9:30 Club

LEMME GO WHIIIIIITE!! LIKE A BLISTER IN THE SUN!!!! That’s really all you need to know, but yes, they do have other songs, and yes, those are good too.

Wed 9/6: Radio Birdman at the Black Cat

The Land Down Under’s finest ’70s punk rockers are back in action, and back in the U.S. for the first time in maybe 25 years. Aussie Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi and all that.

Posted by Chris Norton, Editor in Chief

A good fashion article has a way of convincing readers that if they pursue a certain sensibility in their accessory and apparel choices, they will have a more successful life. A bad fashion article dictates to readers exactly what the most current trends are, exactly what they should buy, and from where. Those most current trends are usually so very current that by the time the article goes to print, people are already moving on to the next big thang. This second type often even presumes to plant the seeds of addiction to material accumulation, in making such lists as “Fall Must-haves,” which should never be taken at their word.

But then there were cut-off jeans for boys.

This trend is not yet widespread enough to be considered mainstream, but the rapid turnaround of blogging enables a play-by-play take on its unfolding. “Cut-off jeans?” you say, “I’ve seen that… aren’t all the girls wearing shorts this season?” Why yes. But when we flip the gender, the context completely changes.

These cut-offs for men can be made in a variety of lengths, as long as the longest does not go beyond the knee. And they can be made to fall as high up the thigh as that man desires. The jeans are typically tight-fitting or at least streamlined, and should be cuffed for maximum expression of style. The great thing about these shorts is that every man already has them in his closet. They are already your favorite jeans; all it takes is a pair of scissors and some gumption. The second leg is always easier.

These cut-offs on men are not just this season’s way to cool down hot legs. These shorts mean so much more. Shorter and tighter clothing on men was avoided over the last decade as male wardrobes grew baggier, larger, and longer. The old double standard between the sexes became more pronounced, as women in more revealing clothes were judged more harshly on their bodily appearance than most men, who could hide behind bagginess. Now the tables are turning back, or at least leveling out, because now everyone’s legs and butts will be fair game.

Posted by Lauren Gaskill, Associate Editor

Get down with Brown!

This needs no explanation.

Posted by Mike Stewart, Features Editor

The Washington City Paper’s Loose Lips column this week published a sweet photo of Washington’s former mayor Marion Barry sporting a trademark brimmed hat in what appears to be his own little patch of Ward 8.

Despite Barry’s dapper appearance, the column goes on to note that the seventy-year-old fixture
of Washington politics is quickly fading as a significant force in the city’s Democratic party. As the columnist notes: “His [Barry’s] public pat-on-the-back will do little to bring voters out for his chosen candidate. There is no Barry machine to get busloads of senior citizens rolling to the polls for Fenty or Cropp. The once-powerful operator has now been relegated to the role of symbolic political helper.”

It seems that city council Chair Linda Cropp was banking on Barry’s endorsement in the mayor’s race. Her staff is peppered with former Barry appointees and her own husband was once an aide to the crack mayor.

Now, however, Barry is leaning toward the favorite in the race: Ward 4 Councilmember Adrian Fenty. We’ll see what favors Fenty throws in turn toward Ward 8 if he is selected to be the Democratic contender (and hence the de facto mayor in this Democractic city) in the Sept. 12 primary.

Posted by Chris Stanton, News Editor 

Georgetown has decided to take further steps to embrace its Catholic identity by ousting private Protestant groups outside of the office of Campus Ministry. It seems that there were “communication and coordination problems” between Georgetown’s official bastion of Protestantism in Campus Ministry and private groups like Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, spokesman Erik Smulson told The Washington Post.

According to an article by United Press International, the issue at hand is that University does not want these groups proselytizing. Controls were previously in place such as requiring the private groups to attend official Campus Ministry events as well as sign a pledge not to “proselytize nor undermine another faith community”. Is the other ‘faith community’ the University-sanctioned version of Protestantism represented by Campus Ministry?

The Post quotes Smulson as saying that there is a “desire within the Protestant chaplaincy to build the ministry from within . . . rather than rely on outside groups or fellowships.” I’m all for decorative banners and Jesuit sayings plastered all over campus, but I’m not sure I want the University to have a monopoly on non-Catholic opinion on campus.

Posted by Michael J. Bruns, Assistant News Editor

Might as well get this party started by saying, it’s about time the government caved and let us have all the consequence-free unprotected sex we want (except for the danger of, y’know, AIDS ‘n stuff).  The FDA’s decision on Thursday to permit over-the-counter sales of Plan B birth control to women (and men) over 18, while not actually meant for drunken promgoers who forgot the Trojans, has been a long time coming and makes sense no matter which side of the abortion debate you’re on.  And for those worried about the promiscuous behavior angle, the price ($25-40 per dose) still makes wearing a raincoat to bed (and even shelling out a few extra bucks for the ‘extra-pleasure’ ones) worth it.

What’s likely to be disappointing, though, is Georgetown’s reaction.  The school’s arcane opposition to contraceptives (as if that ever stopped your roommate from sending you to the couch six Saturdays in a row) and birth control should be a hint that the hospital pharmacy might be Plan N for finding this stuff, as in ‘Never gonna happen.’  Should these policies change?  Absolutely.  Will they?  Don’t get your hopes up, especially not with a lot more noise out of students. 

Posted by Mike Stewart, Features Editor

Welcome to the new blog of The Georgetown Voice, Georgetown University’s weekly alternative newsmagazine. We, the editors, have decided to launch Vox Populi as an official companion to our print and web editions to transcend our once-a-week publication schedule, to expand the scope of the Voice’s coverage and commentary upon campus, city and national affairs, and to provide a reader-friendly forum for issues that might not otherwise make it into the paper.

Look for twice-daily updates across all of our traditional areas and some new ones, and let us know what you think by commenting, emailing or writing in. Let the Voice be your forum for commentary, debate and ideas as well as ours.

Posted by Chris Norton, Editor in Chief