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Day: 16 November 2012

5 songs in the field of…Fire

Written by Sam Bartram on . Posted in Music.

The xx – Hot like Fire

Fire is definitely hot, The xx got that much right. Well, actually, they got more than that right because, as expected, this Aaliyah cover is a charming track from the London trio. This song is more mellow than a firecracker, think along the lines of gentle smouldering coals.

Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire

Imagine what the great Johnny Cash would make of the popular drinking game which shares its name with this song? Food for thought. But seriously, this track’s  nearly fifty years old,  and you’d be hard pushed to find someone who doesn’t know these lyrics.

Busta Rhymes – Fire It Up

It’s never made exactly clear who, what or indeed, why Busta wants to ‘fire it up’, but he’s certainly very serious about it. And who would argue with him? Exactly. Lets just take his word for it and do what the nice man says.

Magnetic Man ft. Ms Dynamite – Fire

Ms Dynamite rates relatively high on the all time list of cool female singers, so if she tells you to play with fire, you’re probably going to play with fire, no questions asked. The rolling bass could only ever be made by Benga, Skream and Artwork and as ever, Dynamite’s fiery rap compliments it perfectly.

SBTRKT-Wildfire

For a track with vocals from Little Dragon, it seems appropriate that fire is involved. As for the wild part, SBTRKT always know how to spark up a good night and continue to sell out wherever they go. Overall, Wildfire, remains a firm favourite among on the club scene.

MMU students exhibit protest art

Written by Anthony Organ on . Posted in News.

Manchester Metropolitan University students have had their protest-themed artwork exhibited at the Students’ Union (MMUnion).

The exhibition is titled ‘The Art of Protest: MMUnion Edition’ and is a collaboration between the Union and the award-winning arts charity NOISE.

Katie Parker, MMUnion’s Community Officer, who organised the event, said: “It’s absolutely incredible. We couldn’t have predicted the standard of work that we have received.”

The project was intended to be a reaction to the upcoming #Demo2012 student protest, and asked students to create something based around the theme of “The Art of Protest.”

Ms Parker said: “When I came into office we had to prepare for the demo, but the feedback from the student community, officers and staff was quite critical.

“They thought that it would be another opportunity for the media to portray students as anti-social or unengaged members of society.

“The exhibition is about reimagining what the concept of protest could be and encouraging students to be creative as they protest.”

Exhibited work included Barbie dolls hanging from the ceiling with notes about eating disorders attached and a painting of last summer’s Manchester riots, alongside work by prominent figures such as Banksy and Billy Bragg.

It took three months to organise and involved around fifty volunteers from all of the MMU faculties.

Collette Curry, a postgraduate researcher of Artificial Intelligence, created a piece highlighting the effects of isolation and depression, based on her own experiences of suffering with bipolar disorder.

She said: “I feel quite honoured and very happy to have my work selected. The whole exhibition is so good.”

80 people turned up to the launch night which featured films, live poetry and live music all by Manchester students.

Daniel Collins, in his third year of a degree in Fine Art, used “desecrated” flags to comment on the Euro crisis and said: “To see people engaging with my work and actually discussing it is really exciting on a personal level.

“This is the first time my work has actually been selected to be exhibited anywhere, so it’s really exciting and a great opportunity.”

The artwork will be placed into an online gallery and will be considered in the national ‘Art of Protest’ project, with a chance to be exhibited at the People’s History Museum.

GMP hires apprentices to work for under Minimum Wage

Written by Ellen Conlon on . Posted in News.

Great Manchester Police is recruiting apprentices to be paid under the National Minimum Wage, in a cost-cutting drive.

There are 22 apprenticeship positions available, whose role will be to help the neighbourhood teams. They will be paid £10,500 a year, while the minimum wage is around £12,000 a year.

Greater Manchester Police is currently trying to cut £134m, and will eventually see 2,700 posts axed.

This comes as a Manchester has just elected a new Police Commissioner, who will receive a salary of over £100,000 and needs no prior experience in the police force.

The apprentice role will mostly involve doing paperwork rather than being on the beat, and police force bosses are hoping to recruit from ‘hard-to-reach’ communities where people tend not to consider a career in law-enforcement.

They hope to recruit people with ‘potential’ rather than experience.

The title given to those on the year-long apprenticeships will be Operational Support Officers (OSO).

After six months in the job the wages would rise to the equivalent of £12,900-a-year and once it was finished the apprentices could join the force either as civilian workers or constables in the future.

Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy said that he hopes the recruitment of young blood will help to keep his workforce fresh.

A report published on the scheme said: “The introduction of apprentice OSOs in GMP represents a cost-effective approach to workforce planning.

“If the OSO apprenticeship scheme is successful, there is considerable potential to extend apprenticeships across the wider organsiation.”

One police officer said: “It’s policing on the cheap.”

GMP declined to comment, but Councillor Steve Bashforth, of Greater Manchester Police Authority, said: “It’s an imaginative way to get people into work who may not get that opportunity.

“It’s a great idea.”

Live: Rolo Tomassi

Written by Joe Goggins on . Posted in Music.

27th October 2012, Deaf Institute

7/10

I first saw Rolo Tomassi play live about four years ago and they gave me the shock of my life. The evening’s headliners were Blood Red Shoes – for the uninitiated, a Brighton-based two-piece who sound like Fleetwood Mac if they’d made a grunge record – and when you go to see a band who make comparatively straightforward rock music, you don’t tend to expect them to have handpicked an outfit quite like Rolo Tomassi to support. They’re halfway between math rock and hardcore, and they won me over that night with a thrillingly energetic live performance, although their debut record, Hysterics, was decidedly uneven.

Their second record, Cosmology, was startlingly controlled by way of comparison, bringing frontwoman Eva Spence to the fore by introducing angelic, sung vocals alongside her demonic screaming. The result was a tremendously well-honed album that moved away, sonically, from their chaotic first, and left you wondering exactly where they’d progress from here.

Judging by the opening one-two of tracks from new full-length Astraea, still a week from release, they’ve moving to slightly more direct territory than the experimental – and occasionally ponderous – Cosmology; ‘Howl’s tension-building, synth-driven intro quickly gives way to an avalanche of guitars, while ‘Ex Luna Scientia’ makes excellent use of the vocal back and forth between Spence and brother James, who sounds a little road-worn tonight. The band do a good job of incorporating Hysterics‘ better moments; ‘Oh, Hello Ghost’ slowly thunders its way towards a frenetic climax that leads nicely into early single ‘I Love Turbulence’.

It’s disappointing, then, that some of Cosmology’s finest cuts are overlooked; ‘French Motel’ and ‘Unromance’ would’ve gone down a storm and provided a break, midset, from the unfamiliarity of Astraea material, and therein lies the problem when you’re touring behind a record that most of the audience won’t have heard yet. Absolutely criminal is the decision to omit Cosmology‘s title track, the peak of the band’s recorded output, and while an explanation is offered – they don’t have the right gear on the road with them – and Astraea closer ‘Illuminare’ proves a decent substitute, the set still feels a little flat without it.

Genre-wise, Rolo Tomassi are a little tricky to pin down, but a live show as hectic as theirs is a real breath of fresh air in the current musical climate – if only the show had come a fortnight later, the crowd might’ve been able to fully appreciate Astraea beforehand and, therefore the entirety of tonight’s set.

How to Improve Grades and Alienate People…

Written by Grainne Morrison on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

The University of Manchester Library, formerly and affectionately known as John Rylands, is a microcosm of Manchester’s student population. One witnesses fellow academics at their best, but mostly at their worst.  The number one activity of JRUL – procrastination – means the outfits of every scholar are scrutinised by those who should be focusing their attention on more ‘important’ tasks. Yet, if we are all aware of this, why have I had to experience numerous fashion offences that are truly detrimental to my studies? I’m not asking for Blue 3 to resemble the front row of Chanel , but is it really that difficult not to wear a bright pink onesie to the library? Those, and crocs, are universally offensive- just don’t. In fact, please refrain from wearing anything that could interrupt an innocent student’s thought process.

I’d forgive every clothes disaster if JRUL made entry dependant on personal hygiene. I have once justified giving up on a days revision due to the stench of overworked and unwashed students. And girls: keep the make-up to a minimum; there’s nothing more frightening than the sight of panda eyes mid essay. We all want to express ourselves, but if that means horrifying others in doing so: save it for the holidays.

Students to face random ‘smart drug’ tests?

Written by Jonathan Breen on . Posted in News.

Students may face random drug tests during exam time due to concerns an increasing number are taking ‘smart drugs’.

10% of students in the UK and 16% in the US admit to taking ‘cognitive enhancing’ drugs to help them stay up late, concentrate and cram for deadlines, a November report found.

The widespread use of ‘cognitive enhancers’ has led to concerns among colleges and universities it may be necessary to begin random drug testing, said Barbara Sahakian a leading Cambridge psychologist who worked on the report.

Sahakian told the Indepedent, “People are starting to think about drug testing. Some of the students who don’t use cognitive enhancers may demand it because they are concerned about cheating. Some admissions tutors are also concerned about it.”

The most popular drugs are Ritalin, usually prescribed for attention deficit disorder, and Modafinil, prescribed for narcolepsy, named in the joint Academies study into ‘Human Enhancement and the Future of Work.’

The report says the drugs are favoured because they do not have any serious side effects, such as mood changes or ‘highs’, commonly associated with recreational use.

Sahakian also said some senior academics had admitted to using performance enchancing drugs.

“The head of one laboratory in the US said that all of his staff are on Modafinil and that in the future there will be a clear division between those who use Modafinil and those who don’t,” she said.