Arts & Culture

MUSE profiles the local artists whose work is on display at two Davis cafes. This week, Common Grounds and Mishka's are featured.

Three-day weekends don't really mean much to anyone in college. The extra day meant a lot back when attending class was a mandatory Monday through Friday ordeal, but when some of us don't even have classes on Friday, having a three-day weekend really isn't a big deal at all.

Watch out, prima ballerinas: The men of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo are in town.

The notorious Vagina Monologues are back, and will be showcased this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Theater. An extra performance at 2 p.m. will be held on Saturday.

The UC Davis Department of Theatre & Dance will be presenting two new choreographies, "Jointedness" and "Dances for Non-Fictional Bodies," starting Feb. 12. The pieces are created by Master of Fine Arts graduating candidates Jess Curtis and Nina Galin. This week, Muse previews the two works.

ART / GALLERY

Chances are you've heard her but you just don't know it. At 51, Sade Adu has been making music for 25 years, during which her music has been played in drugstores, dentist's offices, jazz clubs and elevators. Soldier of Love is no exception to the type of neo-soul, jazzy music she has been creating over the past years, with even a touch of reggae in \

Formerly known as Alphababy, Yukon Blonde changed their name, packed up their van and moved their belongings, band-mates and production from Kelowna down to Vancouver, Canada to head into a new musical generation.

The Glasgow trio Zoey Van Goey released two singles - "Foxtrot Vandals" and "Sweethearts in Disguise" - in the past few years with the help of Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch. Last year they self-released The Cage Was Unlocked All Along, produced by Paul Savage (Delgados, Mogwai), which was re-released by Chemikal Underground in January.

Newly formed super group Them Crooked Vultures turn out their own blend of vintage rock and roll with a soothing melodic twist that will bring music fans to their knees on their debut self-titled album.

With the expansion of urban development, radio stations are constantly working hard to expand coverage and improve communication through their broadcasting network in metropolitan areas.

MUSIC

If some musician's music can be classified as a self-portrait, The Album Leaf's music is a beautiful landscape painting. If not edgy, Album Leaf's songs are soft and soothing. They don't strive to make you dance, nor do they incite mosh pits. Rather, the cathartic instrumentals are the defining ingredient of their music. From start to finish, the song names read like chapters in a book that portray man's path through life using the metaphor of naturalistic forces. The album's first chapter begins with "Blank Pages," and ends with "Tied Knots" - an appropriate way to end the album, because it is simultaneously melancholic and hopeful.

Corinne Bailey Rae's sophomore album is just what its title implies. It's softer and smoother, and like most second albums, it explores a more emotional and deeper level of the artist.

For an artist that's seemingly been featured on every hip-hop track since 2007, Lil' Wayne is surprisingly able to make progressively worse and worse music. With his generic auto-tune vocals and poorly thought out raps, this cross-over rock-rap album belongs less on someone's iPod and more in Sparta's pit of death.