Photo by kimberlyfaye

This weekend’s New York Times Magazine feature takes up the fine tradition of New York media safari stories examining Washington nightlife under President Barack Obama’s administration. It could easily become a regular segment, even #nerdprom notwithstanding. Specifically, Ashley Parker’s feature — a cute look at young politicos who work in the administration — has something of a time-warp feel to it.

If I’d gone to a party over the weekend and heard Jay-Z’s remix of Punjabi MC’s “Beware of the Boys” — which Parker overhears at a Logan Circle house party thrown last year by the subjects of her story — I would assume I was caught in the grip of high irony. Jay-Z’s released three chart-topping albums’ worth of singles since 2003. Maybe it was an early ’00s–themed party?

The throwback playlist is one thing. But the graphic that companies the story, a map showing where Washington’s “younger half lives,” might have been produced on a North Korean knockoff of Mapquest software 5 years ago. This mapticle lists Rice, not Sticky Rice; Java House, not Chinatown Coffee; Stoney’s, not ChurchKey — and, sure, Stoney’s is always a solid option, but c’mon, the hottest beer bar in the country is just up the block. And what’s with the jazz trumpet clip-art meant to symbolize to the 9:30 Club?

Fair warning: Parts of this story may deeply irritate anyone who’s lived in the District, well, longer than President Obama has.