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Day: 2 October 2012

Increasing gap between rich and poor universities, study reveals

New figures show there is a wide and increasing gap between the finances of UK universities.

In 2010-11, gross income per full-time equivalent student income per student ranged from over £65,000 at Cambridge to just £7,050 at Edge Hill University, with the national average being under £15,000. A funding inequality that is greater than the gap between private and state schools.

Liverpool Hope University’s Roger Brown, who published these findings, believes this inequality is only set to increase as the government cuts off funding to research that is not deemed “world-leading” or “internationally excellent” by the ‘Research Assessment Exercise’ (RAE).

This could mean universities that don’t place a greater emphasis on research risk losing vital funds increasing the gap between the richest and poorest. Brown has also revealed university wealth is highly concentrated, with the research-led Russell Group’s 24 members, including the University of Manchester, owning 52% of the sector’s assets.

The amount spent per student also varies widely. Oxford spent an average of over £11,000 per student in 2009/10, Cambridge £8,600, with the national average being just £3,400.

The University of Manchester fairs well with regard to spending per student, having recently been ranked 8.23 out of 10 by the Guardian’s 2013 University guide – the 8th best figure in the country. Salford University ranks at 3.99, slightly higher than Manchester Metropolitan University’s score of 3 (the 9th lowest of 119 universities they measured).

However, this figure does not show how much of that money is being spent on research rather than, for example, undergraduate teaching.

Brown worries that as university fees treble this year, students don’t know whether their money is being spent on providing a “genuinely excellent education” or to just plug the shortfall in the research budget because of the government’s cutbacks in education spending (as the Chair of University College London has admitted considering – an action the president of the National Union of Students described as “intolerable”).

“Universities are sold on status rather than educational effectiveness”, so in order to create a fairer system Brown recommends universities provide evidence of how staff research benefits student learning – something which universities are currently not required to do.

Azealia Banks

Miss Banks bounces onto the aqua-lit Academy stage on the highly anticipated opening night of her Fantasea tour. Sporting a light-up Swarovski crystal bralet, the relative newcom

er started with ‘Out of Space’, which unsurprisingly, few audience members were familiar with. Despite initial microphone issues, the 21 year old managed to well and truly energise the diverse crowd of young teens, student ravers and middle aged house/hip-hop lovers.

Leaving DJ Cozmo to improvise and the audience in a state of perplexity, she then fled the stage. To our relief, Azealia reappeared to perform ‘Fierce’ with support artist Zebra Katz. With lyrics that run at 100mph, the Harlem rapper delivers line after line with unique precision; it really was amazing to witness her cut-throat lyrical style firsthand.

Miss Banks leaves the stage for the third time, forcing us to endure a performance by one of her backing dancers, ‘Bambi’.  The dance act did very little in providing entertainment, as it diverged drastically from the energy-pumped performances that defined the Fantasea set. The Caribbean-influenced ‘Jumanji’ signalled her re-entrance, followed by a performance of the popular hit ‘L8R’.

The crowd went wild for her performances of ‘1991’ and ‘Luxury’, but perhaps the best reception from the crowd came during “The Azealia Banks Anthem”- ‘Liquorice’.  ‘Esta Noche’ resulted in an alcohol induced rendition of the sampled chorus to ‘Get It On… Tonite’, from the 90’s R&B classic by Montell Jordan. The well-known ‘212’ provided the finale, with the sold out venue throwing cups, removing shirts and screaming “I guess that cunt getting eaten” in unison before bursting out of the venue, desperate for the cold mancunian air.

“Soon writers will be the only artists left”: Panic in the face of technology?

Earlier this year, online journal thethingis.co.uk published an article with the premise: ‘Soon writers will be the only artists left’. The writer in question draws on established viewpoints that technology has taken the originality out of art, as the increased developments of technology have stunted creativity and replaced any need for talent or hard work. However, writing has been spared the tirade, described (by the writer) as the last remaining ‘pure’ form of art. I want to put forward a slightly different take on this technophobic argument.

Andy Warhol noted that everyone would get his or her 15 minutes of fame. The writer recognises this point, claiming “Art [became] no longer about the hand that drew… it was about…the ability to promote it”. He criticises people’s focus on ideas, but then complains that “Big ideas are dead”. It doesn’t work both ways. Moreover, surely art and ideas go hand in hand? And creation and artistic innovation can only occur through the promotion and distribution of ideas.

Writers become the ‘last ones standing’ in the eyes of the romanticised art disciplines, as literature is ‘pure’, free from the corruption of technology. But wasn’t 50 Shades of Grey, the fastest selling paperback of all time, first released online as fan fiction? It was not only written, edited and improved, but made popular, through technology. Whether or not we treat 50 Shades as ‘literature’, the book’s success still proves that far from writers “still work[ing] by hand, unaided, transcribing the contents of his heart without a computer to interpret his brush strokes or iron out the flaws in his voice”, they survive on technology as much as any other creative discipline.

Writing takes skill no matter what medium it’s put on – paper or electronic, just like any other art form. Perhaps writers aren’t aided in the same ways that, for example, Instagram aids photography? In this sense, literature may be distinct. But just because there isn’t yet a ‘WriteaBook’ app (yet) doesn’t mean that writers should be placed on a pedestal above musicians and other artists.

Thethingis.co.uk acts as though the wool is pulled before our eyes, claiming that “the dumb terminal is not the machine, it is you”. It’s too conspiratorial and too generalising. There are many people, activists and celebrities, who fight against airbrushing to extremes. The point I’m trying to make is that so many people assume technology is a way of cheating and shortcutting, and that it’s killing artistic disciplines. This is not always the case.

Computer-aided art has not replaced manual, traditional art. As times change and technology becomes ever prevalent in our lives, the creation of programmes like Autotune and Instagram become inevitable. We must make room for new art forms that make use of, and do not decry, technology. New experiences and innovation allow for artistic ideas to bloom, and technology cannot be excluded from this. It’s not all doom and gloom ahead.

Manchester Literature Festival begins 8th October

Manchester’s annual literature festival begins its two-week occupation of the city today. The festival celebrates the local, with the bests of new writers in Northern Debuts (Monday 8th) and locally situated writing featured in city picks Manchester (9th October), which sits against the international – from which it now can barely be distinguished.

Some big-name authors will steal the attention, and prove the credibility of the festival; Zadie Smith appeared discussing her lastest novel NW in a preview at the end of August, Michael Chabon, Richard Ford, Carol Ann Duffy – the current poet laureate and honorary Mancunion. Jeanette Winterson, author of the recent memoir Why be happy when you could be normal?, who joins the University of Manchester as a creative writing lecturer this year, will appear with American author AM Homes on the 22nd October in the Martin Harris Centre here on campus.

But alongside these established authors are the unfamiliar gems and genres that can be discovered in the corners. There will be Asian Superheroes (15th October), the Blog North Awards, Bio Punk; and literary walking tours: the Boho Literary Pub Walk (20th October), Poems of the City (11th October) and a Dickens Walking Tour (13th October). So take your pick!

Tickets vary in price, and can be bought from http://www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/

Is Daniel Day-Lewis the best working actor?

There are only a handful of actors working today that absolutely commit to a role. Devoting themselves to the research and studying for a film so they can fully embrace their character’s existence. This is essentially the concept of ‘method acting’, and Daniel Day Lewis has redefined the nature and boundaries of this revolutionary art form. His drive for authenticity, integrity and reality in his roles, to a great extent, rival any film actor of the 20th century.

Now these are bold statements, but when you see the uncompromising lengths and risks Day-Lewis has taken to pursue his roles, they are certainly substantiated. In My Left Foot (1989), a true story about a severely paralysed Irishman who learns to communicate through his left foot, Day-Lewis assumed his characters cerebral-palsy symptoms off-screen. For several weeks of shooting he confined himself to a wheelchair and consequently broke two ribs due to his prolonged hunched-over position.

In The Last of the Mohicans (1992), set during the 1757 French and Indian war in colonial America, Day-Lewis learned to live off the land and forest where his character lived, camping, hunting, fishing and even skinning animals.

Whilst filming In the Name of the Father (1992), about a Northern-Irish man wrongfully convicted of an IRA bombing, Day-Lewis spent several stretches in a prison cell and insisted that, on set, crew members throw cold water and verbally abuse him.

He even contracted pneumonia during the filming of Gangs of New York (2001), and refused to wear warmer clothing or seek medical treatment, as it would not be in keeping with the nature of life in the 19th century.

This uncompromising devotion certainly comes through to the screen and perhaps explains why Day-Lewis is one of the few men who have won two Best-Actor Oscars. In fact with his Oscar for There Will Be Blood Day-Lewis joined Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson, as the only Best Actor winners awarded an Oscar in two non-consecutive decades. This incredible consistency throughout his career explains why he is one of the most sought after, and selective, actors in the film industry. In fact in the last 15 years Day-Lewis has only taken on five acting roles.

Perhaps this is why the film world is buzzing with the approach of historical-epic Lincoln, directed by Spielberg and starring Day-Lewis in the leading role. Forgetting that the actor bears an unsettling resemblance to the beloved American president, with one look at the historically rich and climactic period Spielberg intends to cover (the end of the American Civil-War, the abolishment of slavery and the president’s inevitable assassination), this could be one of the most significant roles Day-Lewis’ career has seen. And let us not forget that with one more Best-Actor Oscar, Day-Lewis will have surpassed any other actor in Academy Awards history.

So in the run up to what is likely to be the biggest flick of the winter, true film lovers must delve back into the movies which have made Daniel Day-Lewis one of the most critically acclaimed actors in the business.

Review: ‘Looper’

Ever since the time-travel sub genre was redefined by the excellent Primer (2004), the onus has been on films of the sort to make sure their tangled webs of narrative remain as consistent as possible. Gone, it seems, are the days when films like The Terminator (1984) or Back To The Future (1985) could gleefully dance around the many gaping holes that there plots threw up. Looper is a joyful throwback in this regard: it’s an old fashioned, incredibly intelligent science fiction adventure that doesn’t worry itself with the kind of fastidious time-line management that Primer spent so long dwelling on. Old Joe (Bruce Willis) says it best when Young Joe (Joesph Gordon-Levitt) questions him about the mechanics of time travel: “It doesn’t fucking matter”!

Between 2044 and 2074 time travel is discovered and promptly made illegal because of the obvious ways in which it could ruin absolutely everything for absolutely everyone. It is only used by the world’s largest criminal organisations who use it to send people back in time so that they can be killed without a trace by hired killers called Loopers. One of these ‘Loopers’ is Joe. Joe is someone who loves the past: he collects vinyl records, dresses like James Dean and insists on driving flashy sports cars without the solar panels that adorn the rest of the populace’s cars.

This fetishism for the old fashioned is challenged when he is tasked with killing his older self (this is known as “closing the loop”). Old Joe’s not one to lie down easily though and manages to escape and promptly sets his sights on killing the evil, crime boss of the future (known as The Rainmaker) before he grows up, Terminator style. Young Joe is faced with a dilemma: either kill Old Joe and return his life to the luxury that he previously enjoyed or help him kill The Rainmaker to ensure the safety of the future.

Even though the action ramps up to slightly ludicrous heights towards the end, the sense of wonder at the world that writer/director Rian Johnson has created is not lost. This is sci-fi at its best: a smart film that has you asking questions but never once leaves you confused or bewildered. Even though the identity of The Rainmaker is fairly obvious, the ending still manages to twist and turn in completely unexpected, but wholly satisfying, ways.

ODEON Cinema Listings 1st – 7th October

LOOPER (15)

DIRECTOR: RIAN JOHNSON

STARRING: JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, BRUCE WILLIS, EMILY BLUNT

RUNNING TIME: 119 MIN

GENRE: ACTION, SCI-FI, THRILLER

SHOWING: 1430, 1530, 1720, 1820, 2010, 2110

 

TAKEN 2 (15)

DIRECTOR: OLIVIER MEGATON

STARRING: LIAM NEESON, MAGGIE GRACE

RUNNING TIME: 91 MIN

GENRE: ACTION

SHOWING: 1315, 1415, 1530, 1630, 1745, 1845, 2000, 2100

 

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER (12A)

DIRECTOR: STEPHEN CHBOSKY

STARRING: LOGAN LERMAN, EMMA WATSON, EZRA MILLER

RUNNING TIME: 103 MIN

GENRE: DRAMA

SHOWING: 1520, 1830, 2030

 

OUT THIS WEEK: ON THE ROAD (15)

DIRECTOR: WALTER SALLES

STARRING: SAM RILEY, GARRET HEDLUND, KRISTEN STEWART

RUNNING TIME: 124 MINS

GENRE: DRAMA

RELEASED: 12/10/2012

 

OUT THIS WEEK: RUBY SPARKS (15)

DIRECTOR: JONATHAN DAYTON, VALERIE FARIS

STARRING: PAUL DANO, ZOE KAZAN, ANNETTE BENING

RUNNING TIME: 104 MIN

GENRE: ROM COM

RELEASED: 12/10/2012

 

 CINEMA INFO: 

ODEON Manchester
The Printworks
27 Withy Grove
Manchester
M4 2BS

 

 

Richard Hawley

Richard Hawley’s sixth album, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, seems a striking departure from the retro melancholy of his past work.  Nominated for the prestigious Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize for the second time, a number of the award’s inquisitors have undoubtedly diluted the customary crowd of drape coat wearing, side burn sporting Hawley lookalikes. Still, the coiffured quiff, seems to be in-vogue at Oxford Road’s Manchester Academy.

Beginning with the title track of his sixth album, Hawley’s voice can be heard far more strikingly than it is on the record, as the intensity of the electronic effects is lost around the venue. His burdened voice has maintained its impressive tone, which cuts through the chatter that’s spread throughout the hall.  “You lot must be loaded” Hawley accuses, “if you want to talk, why not stay at home?” As a hypocritical raucous cheer erupts, the band begins ‘Don’t Stare at the Sun’ a second track from the critically acclaimed new release.

“That song’s about flying a kite with my child” he tells the crowd, “but it’s not as auspicious as it sounds, I was off my fucking head on acid”. Hawley’s between-song anecdotes are nearly as entertaining as his music, with tales of 2 day benders and drunken attempts at chores.

The gripping, ‘Down in the Woods’ tells of “stolen love under a canopy of tress”, which seems fitting as the stage is decorated with half a dozen spindly birches. Whilst, the instantly recognisable ‘Tonight the Streets are Ours’ which featured on the Oscar nominated 2010 Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop is entrancing and has the crowd captured by the dreamlike sound.

Despite, for the majority of the concert, not being fully persuaded that merely being slowly soothed into a comfortable haze was enough, the tender delivery of the 2009 track ‘Open up Your Door’ was a convincing showcase of Hawley’s tremendous talents as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter and cast away all previous doubt.

University of Manchester women storm to Varsity victory

University of Manchester women’s first team eased past Varsity opponents Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), fulfilling the advertised expectations of being ‘proud, prepared’ and needing ‘no excuse’ for their performance.

Early nerves could have been expected for potentially the biggest match for both sides this season, but this was not the case for the UoM women. They pinned Man Met to their try line for long periods of the first half, Hale crossing the line after just three minutes for her first try of the afternoon.

UoM continued to exert pressure, with a further three tries in the first half-hour from Lockyer, Watson and Hale who picked up her second – an impressive display of dribbling from the halfway line. Watson succeeded with two conversions and this early start looked to put the game out of reach.

Although MMU had chances, they would always struggle to make up the 29-0 half-time deficit. They did have extended spells of pressure in the UoM third, and strong performances from Grey and Bridgeman kept their rivals on their toes. However, the strength of the UoM pack was a constant throughout the game, making turnovers in vital areas in the pitch, particularly within their own 22 when slightly under pressure.

Despite the second half being a far more even affair, it was still the University of Manchester who struck first as Shutter exposed the gaps in Man Met’s defence following a well-worked turn over. UoM’s final try of the night was set up by a strong scrum and the pace of Lockyer, who Man Met struggled to deal with all afternoon. Lockyer eventually passed to Hale who powered over the line for her hat-trick.

Manchester Met did score a consolation try towards the end of the match, after a quick tap penalty allowed Bridgeman to slip through the UoM defence. The result never looked in doubt, with UoM in total control for the 39-7 victory.

University of Manchester captain Katy Mulqueen said: “It was a hard game with it being the first of the season for us, I was really impressed with our performance – even though we had girls playing who’d been away for a year.”

The team will be hoping that this result will not be a flash in the pan, but will act as a catalyst for a quick return to the top division. Mulqueen said “I’m feeling confident about the season. If we keep playing like that then we will win games and hopefully get back into the Premiership.”

New music: Trimbal – ‘Confidence Boost’ (Harmonimix)

Considering the limited commercial success of Trimbal, don’t feel stupid if the former Roll Deep member and grime MC is not top of your iTunes most played list. However reworked by Harmonimix – alias of the  acclaimed James Blake – Trimbal will undoubtedly benefit from such an association.

After bursting into the hearts of the ‘post-call-it-what-you-want-step’ followers, Blake went on to attain runner up in the ‘BBC’s Sound of 2011’, as well as being shortlisted for a Mercury Music Prize. Indeed, this is all very charming, but the production of ‘Confidence Boost’ slightly cuts away from the soulful styling of such track as: ‘Limit to Your Love’, and resorts to a more grime and bass influenced sound. At first Blake’s construction features a punchy grime beat for Trimbal’s lyrics to thrive on. However, as the track moves forward into a harmonic contrast, Blake’s trademark synth and bass move in to underpin the entire track until the depth of sound is such that its combusts together in an inspiring crescendo.

Though Blake’s production steals my attention, Trimbal himself must also take credit for the emotive lyrics which give this track purpose. Nevertheless, the mirroring of Trimbal’s flow with an auto tuned voice is testament to Blake’s talent, and only adds to the list of reasons for why this single should be a crossover success.

The B-side to ‘Confidence Boost’, ‘Saying’ also possesses fascinating sound which is more in line with both Trimbal and Blake’s solo work. If you’re lucky enough to read this before tickets go on sale (they will sell out in seconds), then James Blake will be performing an intimate live show at the Gorilla in Manchester on December the 6th, as well as two other small dates in London and Bristol.

Venetian Snares

Hailing from deep within the Canadian wilderness, Aaron Funk, aka Venetian Snares, occupies a similarly unique artistic habitat as an icon of musical ferocity and experimentalism. For those less familiar with this end of the musical spectrum, Funk is an exponent of breakcore, an outsider genre devoted to exploring the outermost limits of conventional rhythmic structures. Its protagonists borrow influence from jungle, gabber, hardcore, and techno to produce impenetrably complex and unpredictable soundscapes.

Without need for gentle introductions, the night was instantly plunged into a cacophony of violent syncopation around a backbone of roided-up breakbeats that even Lance Armstrong would be proud of. For the following hour, no let-up was forthcoming as recent gabber-leaning eccentricities of My So-Called Life collided with the immortal neo-classical compositions of Rossz csillag alatt született.

Picking apart the individual components and ideas of Venetian Snare’s live output doesn’t do much justice to the overriding sense of aggression, power and fervor conjured up. The level of the second-to-second unpredictability is rarely found in other musician’s performance palettes and it seems unlikely that many could manage it anyway.

A perennial fine line between genius and insanity is precariously balanced as the performance delves into perpetually harder and faster territories, yet the atmosphere whipped up in doing so certainly gives credence to the idea that this man possesses something pretty exceptional.

It goes without saying that Venetian Snares isn’t for everyone, but for those who take an interest in his unique brand of sound experiments the man unquestionably pulled it out the bag for the umpteenth time. Whether you want to marvel at intricate programming or become enveloped within the sheer sonic muscle on show, there are few that can do what Aaron Funk does and once more did.

Column: Shut Up and Make a Documentary

Irrespective of your opinion on LCD Soundsystem, and the three records they produced before calling it a day, very loudly, last April, the documentary covering the band’s final days proves a strangely fascinating watch. Everything is in place for a tale of rock and roll excess; a final show at the legendary Madison Square Garden, a sell-out crowd composed of the hardiest of the hardcore, flown in from around the world, and a mammoth four-hour setlist prepared, but in actuality, Shut Up and Play the Hits is a fairly tame affair.

It’s this, though, that makes it such an interesting watch; the film draws on the obvious juxtaposition between the euphoria of the show and the thumping mundanity of the next day; rather than waking up miles from the venue in a pool of his own vomit, or overdosing, frontman James Murphy walks his dog, meets his manager and starts deciding what to do with all the leftover gear. He talks, at one point, of the difference between the mystique he perceived to surround his favourite artists, and the normality of a musician’s everyday existence. That’s exactly what the film is about, and it’s proof that the rock documentary can provide the sort of insight you’d struggle to find anywhere else.

Murphy comes across as a pretty affable chap, but whilst so much of the press surrounding the final LCD record lauded the band for taking the unusual step of quitting whilst ahead, the film shows us how wracked with uncertainty he really is about the decision. Elsewhere, this kind of window to the artist’s world has been provided before; Radiohead’s Meeting People Is Easy makes the band’s relentless cycle of shows and press for OK Computer seem at best exhausting and at worst nightmarish. loudQUIETloud, the film about the Pixies reunion, presents a pretty sad story of a group of people revelling in their music onstage, but almost completely unable to communicate with each other off of it.

Last year’s Hole documentary, Hit So Hard, paints a hugely unglamorous picture of the rock and roll lifestyle, chronicling as it did the descent of drummer Patty Schemel from playing for tens of thousands of people to prostitution, via drug addiction. The scope of these films, and the way they can, when executed properly, broaden our understanding of an artist often extends beyond the artist themselves. Scorsese’s No Direction Home draws heavily upon an extremely rare interview, given over the course of ten hours, by Bob Dylan, but the film’s real points of interest stem from discussion with those around him, from poet Allen Ginsberg to Dylan’s ex-girlfriend, Suze Rotolo.

Regardless of what you might make of the movie itself, Shut Up and Play the Hits demonstrates the power of the documentary to let the outside world in on the inner workings of a rock band in a manner that no other medium quite achieves. If interest in this criminally-underused format spikes, then LCD’s legacy might reach further than just their music.