Words, music, images and more from Jim Barnes
Breaux Vineyards opened the spring wine-tasting season this year with a supply of 2,000 high-end crystal wineglasses manufactured by Riedel. The popular winery in western Loudoun County has only about 200 of them left.
Customers are stealing them, company Vice President Jen Breaux said.
The Washington Post, Sept. 17, 2017
Two sinkholes that formed during the construction of a parking garage for the Loudoun County courts complex on the Pennington lot in downtown Leesburg have set the project back by about five months and raised the cost by more than $5 million.
The Washington Post, Sept. 10, 2017
“Car Seat Headrest performed a set that felt entirely euphoric.”
–Jessica Goodman on The Line of Best Fit, Sept. 2, 2017
“…one of the best live acts around.”
–Daisy Summerfield on Too Many Blogs, Sept. 1, 2017
One of the luncheon guests used to work in the White House. One taught African American children in a segregated school. One had been a fighter pilot. One grew up on a cotton farm.
Although the 15 people who gathered for lunch in Broadlands on Aug. 25 had diverse life stories, they also had a few things in common. All had volunteered their services to help others in the past year, and all were at least 90 years old.
The Washington Post, September 3, 2017
When the Hillbilly Gypsies wrapped up a spirited rendition of “Bile ’em Cabbage Down” last weekend to the applause of a small but appreciative gathering of bluegrass die-hards, announcer Bob Veatch walked in front of the Lucketts Community Center’s gazebo stage and proclaimed, “That’s it for the Lucketts Fair forever.”
With that, its run as one of the most popular country fairs in Loudoun County ended.
The Washington Post, August 27, 2017
Renée Dawson, a 16-year veteran of Loudoun County public schools, will be at the helm when the newest one, Brambleton Middle School in Ashburn, opens Thursday with 1,124 students.
The Washington Post, Aug. 20, 2017
Ridgetop Coffee & Tea is not your ordinary coffee shop.
The Washington Post, August 13, 2017
After eight years and more than $20 million in cost overruns, the trouble-plagued upgrade of Loudoun County’s aging financial management systems encountered more problems in a critical test last week.
The Washington Post, August 6, 2017
“…chief songwriter Will Toledo has carved a reputation with something that really shouldn’t make him stand out from the crowd, but in today’s world, does: the ability to make genuinely exciting rock music.”
–Jochan Embley on Independent, Aug. 31, 2017
“Car Seat completely won this one and showed little intimidation from the size of the night. ”
–Tom Churchill on BrightonsFinest, Aug. 29, 2017
“Featuring plenty of Will Toledo lyrical prowess and a punctuated drum beat, War Is Coming (If You Want It) strays away from the witticisms of Teens Of Denial to deliver a straight up pop-rock tune with an unambiguous message.”
–Tom Geraghty on The 730 Review, August 19, 2017
“Daniel Craig took the whole ‘Logan Lucky’ cast to see Car seat Headrest”
–Chris DeVille in Billboard, Aug. 18, 2017
“Lots has already been said about how prolific of a songwriter Will Toledo is, and he’s on his way to becoming one of the most iconic American indie stars of the decade with elements of Sparklehorse, Julian Casablancas and Weezer intertwining nicely.”
–Cai Trefor on Gigwise, Aug. 17, 2017
“It Turns Out James Bond Is A Huge Fan Of The Band Car Seat Headrest”
Corbin Reiff on Uproxx, Aug. 17, 2017
“While being a moody, yet inspiring tune with a brilliant performance by Andrew Katz on drums, it’s message speaks volumes. ”
–Ben Potts re: “War is Coming” on WFPK (Louisville), Aug. 16, 2017
“Accepted far and wide as one of the defining albums of last year, the artist lesser known as Will Toledo has headed back into the studio to deliver the stark and potentially prophetic ‘War Is Coming (If You Want It).'”
–Robert Blair on Tenement TV, Aug. 16, 2017
“At the moment America is going through a radical change. The country is continually overshadowed by efforts to whitewash their celebrated culture with a deeply unsettling mindset of ‘normalcy.’ Car Seat Headrest is doing all they can to help.”
–Jack Whatley in Far Out Magazine, Aug. 16, 2017
“According to Toledo, it is ‘a song about not murdering people.’ A tad more information can be gleaned from the title — an homage to John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous anti-war campaign, which included the message ‘War Is Over (If You Want It).'”
–Gary on somethinggood music, Aug. 15, 2017
“This is a very earnest song about how much violence sucks, and Toledo, with a great balance between restraint and despair, pulls it off.”
–Kevin Lozano on Pitchfork, Aug. 15, 2017
“Today’s track has the radio-ready feel that wrapped ‘Teens of Denial’ without abandoning the messianic aspirations of Car Seat Headrest’s earlier work.”
–Aaron Vargas on Best Before, Aug. 15, 2017
“According to Will Toledo, ‘War is Coming (If You Want It)’ is about ‘not murdering people.'”
–Huw Baines on stereoboard, Aug. 15, 2017
“Car Seat Headrest Invoke The Spirit Of John Lennon On Their New Single ‘War Is Coming (If You Want It)’”
–Corbin Reiff on Uproxx, Aug. 14, 2017
“Now Matador has put out the glossier, significantly-altered version of the brittle and politically-tinged song as a single.”
–Winston Cook-Wilson on spin.com, Aug. 14, 2017
“In typically wry fashion, Car Seat Headrest’s Will Toledo described ‘War Is Coming’ as a song about not murdering people, which unfortunately feels all too necessary for the current state of our society.”
–Meredith Nardino on Baeble Music, Aug. 14, 2017
“Car Seat Headrest has released the official version of their new single ‘War Is Coming (If You Want It).'”
–Tyler Schmitt on Variance Magazine, Aug. 14, 2017
“Car Seat Headrest’s new song is here in earnest, and it’s a doozy.”
–Scott Russell on Paste, Aug. 14, 2017
“According to bandleader Will Toledo, the unabashedly political tune is ‘about not murdering people.'”
–Sarah Murphy on Exclaim!, Aug. 14, 2017
“On the next album, Car Seat Headrest could be playing much bigger rooms. Seeing them now only underlines the fact that we’re watching someone’s rapid ascension.”
–Ryan Leas on Stereogum, Aug. 7, 2017
“‘War Is Coming’ as a whole is a clarion call, an incendiary plea for us to ‘Reach out [our] hands and save someone’s life.'”
–Sean Hannah on blinkclyro, Aug. 6, 2017
“‘War is Coming (If You Want It),’ at least the version we get to hear today, harkens back to Will Toledo’s past as a one-man bedroom-indie factory on Bandcamp.”
–Tom Breihan on Stereogum, Aug. 4, 2017
“We haven’t heard much in the way of new tunes from Car Seat Headrest since last summer’s superlative Teens of Denial, making the acclaimed indie-rock outfit’s release of a brand new song today particularly thrilling.”
–Scott Russell on Paste Magazine, Aug. 4, 2017
“It’s hard to say how different this take will be from the final single, but it certainly seems a lot more spacious and outward-focused than much of CSH’s discography.”
–Ben Kaye on Consequence of Sound, Aug. 4, 2017
“Today, Bandcamp is donating all of its proceeds from music sales to the Transgender Law Center and Car Seat Headrest is one of the artists using that as an opportunity to share new music via the platform.”
–Jasmine Albertson on kexp.org, Aug. 4, 2017
“Participants include Car Seat Headrest, King Britt and Speedy Ortiz, as well as dozens of record labels including Sub Pop, Merge, ANTI-, Kill Rock Stars and Greenleaf.”
–Anastasia Tsioulcas on npr.org, Aug. 4, 2017
“Car Seat Headrest have announced a new song, to be released tomorrow in conjunction with Bandcamp’s sitewide fundraiser for the Transgender Law Center.”
–Noah Yoo on Pitchfork, Aug. 3, 2017
One year after the Loudoun Museum faced the possibility of having to close because of the potential loss of county funding, museum officials say they have taken the necessary first steps to straighten out the organization’s finances.
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors directed the museum’s trustees to make fundraising a top priority, officials said. So in May, the trustees hired Leslie Mazeska, who has a professional background in fundraising and grant-writing for nonprofit organizations, as the museum’s executive director.
The Washington Post, July 30, 2017