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Year: 2017

Album: Ryan Adams — Prisoner

Written by Tariq Salarbux on . Posted in Music.

Released 17th February via PAX AM

7/10

Divorces are tough: take Ryan Adams’ word for it. Prisoner, his sixteenth album, is so inextricably linked to the recent breakdown of his marriage to pop singer Mandy Moore that it might have well have been titled Hey, Let’s Get a Divorce!

The record predictably delivers heartbreak coddled in Adams’ mismatched sonic universe, happily jumping from vicious power chords to handpicked folk; an impressive blend that he always brings together with his unmatched flair for melody.

On the album’s title track, he proudly wears his influences on his sleeve — his love for the Smiths bleeds through the jangly riff, whilst the broad, welcoming warmth of the song tips its hat to vintage Springsteen. The result is rainy Americana that sounds as familiar as it is new; it reminds us that Adams’ palette has grown considerably over the years (the wild, incomprehensible hair remains a distant remnant of his days as the enfant terrible of the alt-country scene).

‘Shiver and Shake’ is deliberately gloomy hark back to Adams’ take on ‘Shake It Off’, from his recent cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989. Both 1989 and Prisoner tackle the breakdown of relationships, but whilst the former had Adams capturing Tay Tay’s confident “It’s not me, it’s definitely you” sentiment, here he is excruciatingly fragile, vulnerable and regretful, his shaking a literal physical manifestation of how much he misses his ex-wife, rather than the figurative purging of so-called “haters”.

‘Breakdown’ has a magnificently curated sound. Built around an achingly handsome twelve-string riff, it is joined by a heavy melancholia of swirling guitars and heart-wrenching vocals from Adams, breaking back into his Nashville sensibilities. Unfortunately, the lyrics stop the song from being the centrepiece of the record; “Thorn in my side / Pain I can’t hide / Diamonds that won’t shine” comes across as a clichéd, even trivialised tirade.

This is peculiar, since it comes from someone whose previous work is littered with distinctive and unforgettable takes on heartbreak. However, given that the record is inspired from what he has admitted as being the toughest period of his life, it is tempting to take the words as ultra-transparent. After all, clichés almost always come from a place of great and terrible truth.

‘Do You Still Love Me?’ is another song that seems to suffer from the problem of sub-par lyrics being overlaid over a fantastic track. Still, the incandescent, epileptic sound of crashing guitars infuse the song with an intimidating insecurity, making you wonder if Adams’ question is more of a pathetic plea to not be hurt rather than one asking for the truth.

‘Doomsday’ finds him in better form with his words “my love, how can you complicate a kiss”, which features his trademark mournful harmonica, while ‘We Disappear’ is an ethereal closer driven by an unflinching drum-beat over which Adams finally seems to find acceptance. His echoing guitars accompany the album to the end, with a mild sense of something new on the horizon.

A couple of lyrical missteps aside, Prisoner is an accomplished addition to the canon of classic break-up albums. Tellingly, it leaves you inconveniently and impatiently waiting for your next heartbreak, for a passable excuse to stagger back into the all-too-lucid pain of the record.

Do not use ‘girl code’ to destruct ‘girl power’

Written by Sarah Jane Thoms on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Today, the term girl code gets used a lot throughout everyday conversations, films, television shows, and social media posts. If girl code was used in the way that it was originally intended, to support other women, to discourage cheating, to encourage honesty, and to ultimately enforce girl power, then I would not be able to fault it. As a concept, yes, girl code is something amazing and should empower women. However, this on most occasions never appears to be the case.

It has been brought to my attention how girls use the theory of girl code to punish another woman for a man’s actions. This act not only encourages a girl to remain in a relationship that she is not valued or respected in, but also belittles the place of women within society against men. It suggests that men can live a sexually free life with no consequences but that women cannot.

It is understandable that a girl that has deep emotional feelings for a boy would choose to believe anything that he says in order to keep him in her life. However, the story of a girl forgiving her cheating partner and remaining in a relationship with him whilst ridiculing, targeting, and holding an undying grudge against the ‘other’ girl has become too common within our society. The point that I am trying to make is that men and women should receive the same treatment in regards to their sexual behaviour.

If you forgive your partner, you do not have the right to mistreat the ‘other’ girl. Girl code encourages women to expose cheaters but what happens nowadays if you tell a girl that her boyfriend is cheating on her? You are automatically deemed as the one in the wrong so it has now become easier to just keep quiet. There is a reason that there is no such thing as ‘boy code’, but I’ll leave you to think about that one.

It is ironic to have a concept named girl code that has grown to ultimately revolve around men. You should be able to trust that your boyfriend will not cheat on you, rather than relying on other women to not engage in a relationship with him.

Some girls do not know that a boy has a girlfriend when engaging in sexual relations with him, yet more often than not, the boy gets away scot-free and all blame is placed onto the ‘other’ girl. At the end of the day, it is him that has loyalties, not a stranger. As hard as it may be, emotional feelings must be pushed aside when dealing with a situation such as those mentioned in this article and you must try to see the bigger picture.

A concept that once was about unifying women has become something that is now used to weaken them. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie claimed that “we raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments… but for the attention of men.

“We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.” If girl code continues to be used in any other way than its original intended form, we run the risk of strengthening gender inequality rather than eliminating it.

There are more important things to be in competition with a fellow woman for than for the attention of men. We cannot risk mistaking the need for ‘girl power’ with the use of girl code.

Record Reappraisal: Ryo Fukui — Scenery

Written by Jack Greeney on . Posted in Music.

At the beginning of the 1970s, American jazz at its most creative had long since been and gone. There floundered a genesis of newer genres, more innovative, exciting and popular than ever before. Over the years, jazz dropped lower and lower down the pecking order, increasingly playing second fiddle to rock, funk and soul.

Even the most revered of artists tried to keep up, welding their musical styles with more commercially lucrative music. Fusion grew and fusion failed. The United States had grown tired of the increasingly experimental and complicated developments, and people wanted music they could dance to. American jazz had become a musical underclass.

Elsewhere in the world at this time however, the genre experienced a rather contrasting fortune. In ’70s Japan, jazz was only just beginning to dig its feet into the ground. After World War II had come to its atomic conclusion on the western shores of Honshu and Kyushu, American culture was seen as being too, well, American. In fact, during the 1940s, there was even an attempt to ban jazz music wholesale, being labelled “enemy music”.

This hostility did not prove to be so steadfast. During the post-war Allied Occupation, the presence of American troops in the Land of the Rising Sun began to increase. Growing weary of native traditional music, slow and folky, troops lusted for the music that had once graced their ears back home. Musicians were hired, shown, and taught. Japanese jazz was kicked off with a swing.

As the years went on, Japan’s newfound national obsession with jazz ballooned. It was in 1976, though, that the genre came to a previously unreached summit, when Hokkaidoan pianist Ryo Fukui released his debut record Scenery. Incredibly, Fukui had only began to learn his instrument six years prior, self-taught from the age of 22. Encompassing mastery seemingly far beyond these few years of experience, Fukui stunned Japanese audiences with distinct takes on classic jazz standards.

Entirely instrumental and driven by the piano playing of Fukui, the hard bop style is remarkably accessible, and yet to no detriment of quality: a combination considered almost fictitious to most. Playful tunes meet possessing ballads: grippingly melodic keys sweep and swathe backwards and forwards amongst themselves, a musical winding forest pathway. It’s gorgeous.

The album is a dreamland: at once as sombre as it is uplifting. The second track, ‘I Want To Talk About You’, aches the heart: a slow, pleading yet peaceful tone gracefully wanders by. Astounding both in aesthetic and technique, gliding keys simply ooze one into the other as smooth as butter. And yet immediately afterwards, the third track ‘Early Summer’ erupts into a sky-high tempo piano solo, a tip-toe chase as frantic as it is wonderfully crafted. ‘Scenery’ is a melting pot: its stirrer, Fukui’s consistently powerful, elegant style.

Out of everything, the truly great feature of this modal masterpiece is the creation of such originality from such often heard jazz classics. There is a clear presence of creative improvisation, refreshing and reworking plenty-played tracks from Crosby and Coltrane in a distinctly unique manner. And for as much as the piano leads the way, the others in the trio only add to the superb aural quality of the music: the drums are resounding yet skillfully tethered and the bass pleasantly wanders, cumulating in a brilliant solo on the penultimate track ‘Autumn Leaves’. It’s really quite a combination.

The album ends with the eponymous sixth piece ‘Scenery’, sublimely mingling the noticeable dichotomy of mood throughout the album together into one track. Both gleeful and earnest, this final track is almost ceremonial of the album’s impending conclusion. As easy as it is to become saddened by the definiteness of the music, it is just as easy to become saddened by a reminder of the absolute absence of acclaim this album and its creator received. It feels such a shame that a wondrous creation of sound borne of supreme natural talent went by almost unnoticed around the world.

After crafting another beautiful album the following year, Mellow Dream, Fukui rarely visited recording studios. He was a believer in the power of live music over anything else: to him, performance and improvisation were essential. Frequenting the jazz clubs of Tokyō and Nagoya, Fukui became a fan favourite: revered only by word-of-mouth. A year after his final recording, a live album from his time at the ‘Slowboat’ jazz club closer to home in Sapporo, Fukui sadly passed away with malignant lymphoma in March 2016.

The music world is rife with injustices. Surely amongst these, one most prominent injustice can be said to be the music the Western zeitgeist has failed to even acknowledge. Japan may have been late to the jazz party, but they brought one of the best gifts to the table. Scenery didn’t attempt to break barriers. It is simply an incredibly personal, supreme blend of jazz from all eras: and a crying shame that it is as little-known as it is exquisite.

Are the police letting students down?

Written by Simon Taylor on . Posted in Opinion.

Last week, my close friend was violently assaulted on Oxford Road in broad daylight. She was walking down the busiest university street a mere 200 meters from the Students’ Union. While heading into Subway, she made eye contact with a homeless man. He must have taken this the wrong way as he followed her to the door and began aggressively yelling at her and then proceeded to punch her in the back of the head three times.

Fortunately, four men, to whom I will always be grateful, came flying out of Subway to her aid. They scared him off while managing to capture a photo. Apparently, he claimed that he had tried to “flirt” with her and she had not responded so he found it necessary to attack her. Worryingly, as he fled a pair of sharp pliers fell out of his pocket — the incident could have been far more severe. As it was, my friend escaped with a mild concussion.

I have come to realise that this sort of story is not too unfamiliar to Manchester students; the majority of people I have told have reported similar incidents (though few as violent) along Oxford Road. Even worse, this story, so far, is not the most remarkable, but what followed was. The four men who helped my friend continued to look after her in Subway and then called the police.

They waited over an hour and, after calling again to check if they were still coming, the police said they were too busy to come in person. They took my friend’s number but gave her no log number and only called her briefly two days later to confirm her name and basic details of the incident. They didn’t ask for the photographs of her attacker nor were they clear as to whether anything would be done to find the perpetrator. If the police were to have done their job, they would have four witness statements, pictures of the assailant, and CCTV of the whole incident. I think this would be considered a ‘watertight’ case.

Instead, a mentally unstable and violent man still roams the streets, a danger to himself and others. Having reflected on these events for a few days I have come to the conclusion that the police have neither the budget nor the inclination to properly protect students, and perhaps the rest of the population. Either way, this is a local and national embarrassment.

I myself was burgled at the start of this year and it took over a week for the police to come round to take statements. In fact, the thieves even made the mistake of ordering from my housemate’s Amazon account, allowing us to view their address. Yet, even then the police did not seem capable of apprehending them. It must be noted that all the individual officers and staff that I encountered were incredibly professional and helpful. Rather, it appears that there are just not enough of them.

Hence, this is a systemic issue. After calling the police for the sixth time, my friend was told that Greater Manchester Police would not investigate the incident because a) it would not be in the ‘public interest’, and b) it was not worth the expenditure of resources.  The person she spoke to on the phone also said the reasons why there are “seven officers out in the field for South and Central Manchester” was excessive paperwork, not cuts to police funding. I find this to be unacceptable.

Perhaps most worryingly, the official she spoke to recommended that, for “personal satisfaction” my friend could take things into her own hands by publicising the details of the incident on social media. This seems very desperate and dangerous advice. The homeless man that attacked my friend was not an evil man but, rather, a highly unstable one. If someone were to see this man in the street, perhaps after hearing a warped version of the original incident, his safety may be put at risk.

If the police are failing to keep university students safe on the road which runs through the heart of the campus, then the university has a responsibility to provide more security. There appears to be fewer guards patrolling the university campus this year compared to last.

Moreover, the homeless problem is worsening. In my first year as a fresher I was struck by the number of people sleeping rough and begging on the streets of Manchester, especially along Oxford Road. Many of them would ask you for change. For the most part, they would wish you a good day regardless of your level of charity. However, there is a more worrying nature to many of those on Oxford Road. They ask more earnestly, even fervently, often not taking no for an answer, with some even following you meters down the road. The university must react to the challenges stemming from the growing homeless problem because it compromises the safety of students. I am not certain of the best solutions moving forward, but if students are paying the university £9000 a year we should feel safer while walking through its very centre.

I believe that students should demand more from the police force and more from the university; I would like to see more.

We should not give in to ‘alternative facts’

Written by David Moseley on . Posted in Opinion.

On Meet the Press, 22nd January, presenter Chuck Todd questioned counselor Kellyanne Conway about the administration’s claims that Trump’s inauguration crowds were the largest ever. The conversation was spirited and evasive on Conway’s part. Todd pressed, demanding an answer as to “answer the question of why the president asked the White House press secretary to come out in front of the podium for the first time and utter a falsehood?” At this point, and with a gulp as if she was swallowing back vomit, Conway said that the administration had simply presented “alternative facts.”

The phrase has stuck. Since its conception in that fateful interview, the spectre of the alternative fact has become a mainstay of modern life. Did you make an unverifiable claim on a large public platform? Invoke an alternative fact. Unable to prove that three million voters were shipped into New Hampshire for electoral fraud? That fact was alternative. Lose a bet that you could down a pint in under three seconds? It was alternative beer.

Unfortunately, the “alternative fact” excuse seems to perfectly crystallise the new world of ‘post-truth’ politics. The phrase embodies all the contradictions and linguistic contortion of the Trump presidency, as well as the general lack of social consensus of objective fact. It seems to be something from satire rather than a serious statement from a Washington representative. It’s so fitting that it makes one wonder if it was intentional. The term even has its own Wikipedia page (“Part of a series on Misinformation and Disinformation”).

And this is in the wake of 2016, which has been hailed as ‘the year that facts died’. Indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary chose ‘post-truth’ as its word of the year, due to the increasing reliance on how true something ‘feels’ rather than whether or not its provable. As Stephen Colbert aptly summarised it a decade ago in his satirical White House Correspondents Dinner, “We go straight from the gut, because that’s where the truth lies.”

Unsurprisingly, sales of George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four have rocketed in the wake of the Newspeak-esque coinage; the novel reached #6 on Amazon’s best seller list. Twitter users have been quoting eerily apt extracts from the book: “If all other accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth.”

The alternative fact looms large not only in the US, where the President claims to have had the largest electoral college winning margin since Ronald Reagan (which was immediately shot down by a reporter), but also on our side of the pond. You may remember the infamous Leave-campaign bus, with a £350 million per week promise of funds for the NHS, a claim that seems to hold no water and shows no sign of materialising.

The problem lies in part with the deluge of information we face everyday. While the unprecedented access to data is no bad thing in itself, the sheer volume is overwhelming and clearly leads to conflict about the ‘facts’ of reality. On The New York Times website, William Davies observed that, “There are too many sources, too many methods, with varying levels of credibility, depending on who funded a given study and how the eye-catching number was selected.” Furthermore, he noted that it’s possible to have almost any fact endorsed by an ‘expert’ or other institution.

However, the situation is not as bleak as it may seem. Luckily for us, there is an objective reality which no amount of falsehood can alter. Take one of President Trump’s central campaign promises, the border wall with Mexico. Before his victory at the election, Trump estimated that the wall would cost around $8 billion, the number creeping up over the course of the campaign to around $12 billion. But, the actual cost would be around $25 billion for raw materials alone, excluding labour and maintenance. In addition, the US government has attempted previously to build border-walls, which have failed due to the difficulty of violating private property and burial ground rights. This particular issue was discussed in great detail and with much hilarity by John Oliver on Last Week Tonight.

The wall then, like the inflated inauguration crowds or the elusive £350 million for the NHS, is contradicted by reality. What John Oliver does on his show is the kind of journalism we need: to take claims and facts and interrogate them not just in satire for comedy’s sake, but in the wider media.

We may not be able to enlighten the Trump administration about the nature of its lies, but for the sake of the world’s citizens, we have a duty to stand by principles of truth. We should not let the demonstrable lies of others lead us to abandon fact. We should not allow post-truth politics and alternative facts to hijack meaningful conversations. As the above-mentioned quote from Nineteen Eighty-Four goes, the lie only passes into truth if everyone believes it. It is critical, then, that we resist falsehood and pursue truth.

Review: The Lego Batman Movie

Written by Andrew Wong on . Posted in Film.

The Lego Movie was a surprise to many, it overcame a lot of people’s expectations and due to its success we now have The Lego Batman Movie; directed by Chris Mckay and starring Will Arnett as Batman. The Lego Batman movie is ultimately a spin off to its predecessor rather than a sequel, as the entirety of the film stays within the Lego DC universe; thereby having fewer references to other Lego franchises as a whole. The film centres around our favourite caped crusader who’s really quite a narcissist, which is not what people expect when they think of the mainstream Batman.

The huge advantage this movie has is the property of Batman itself. Over the years Batman has had a large range of media that this film can pull from, you have weird characters and that you may even ask yourself, “were they actually real?”. The film embraces this by poking fun at all the other incarnations of Batman over the years – having references to as far back to his first appearance in 1939 and even brave enough to delve into the really camp era of Batman in the 1960s. There are call-backs to all versions of Batman, and if you are a long time Batman fan being well versed in the Batman mythos, a lot of the subtler jokes are only going to enhance your viewing experience.

The beginning of the film immediately establishes the tone of the movie, maintaining that huge sense of humour, giving the film such a high level of energy. This is apparent throughout the majority of this movie, where they have a continuous flurry of jokes, to the point where the jokes are so tightly packed together it can sometimes be exhausting to process it all. There are parts where the film does slow down to the point it can be a shock, in contrast to the first half an hour of this film of high energy — you aren’t initially segued into the more heart-felt family dynamic of this film. That being said, the theme of family and how people need one another is a strong element in the story, and one that works well.

One of the highlights of this film has to be the Joker, depicted by Zach Galifianakis. Galifianakis’ portrayal of the Joker has the character in a love-hate relationship with Batman. It’s presented in a version of a lovers spat, as the Joker wants Batman to admit that he loves to fight him and hates him, and above all else he needs the Joker to feel complete. But Batman can’t admit that as he has emotionally isolated himself from everyone, which creates a hilarious scenario leaving the Joker feeling betrayed and unappreciated.

Moreover, the animation is a delight to look at, with its unique aesthetic style of looking like the actual Lego sets you can purchase. The colours are done brilliantly, with the use of dark colours and bright oranges to make Gotham city look visually pleasing. The presentation of the Lego style of stop motion animation makes everything in this film that much more endearing. The fact that Lego are building blocks for creativity, the film is only limited by its imagination.

If you are a long time Batman fan, I would highly recommend this film for you. However, if you are a fan of films in general, there’s enough in this film to keep you engaged and certainly enough to have you laughing out loud. The Lego Batman Movie is a breath of fresh air, highlighting the lighter sides of the Dark Knight — showing us that Batman is a superhero that doesn’t need to be constantly dark and serious to be enjoyable.

4/5

The style file

Written by Talia Lee-Skudder on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Most of the time I don’t tend to follow the rule ‘less is more’; instead I live by the motto that more is absolutely fabulous. This mantra means that I often mix leopard print with fur and/or feathers and my trusty leather look trousers.

My style is similar to a child in a sweet shop; I want to wear all of my favourite items at once so my feather jacket from Mimi and Bow with my faux fur stole from Zara is not an unusual combination for me. Whilst I have a few daring pieces, I tend to keep my top and trousers/skirt simple and in plain colours. A classic V-neck t-shirt is the ultimate companion to my wardrobe, while in winter I usually opt for a fluffy grey jumper or a turtleneck.

Leopard is my go to print and is usually the only pop of colour in my otherwise monochrome look. About four years ago I bought a leopard print cocoon style coat from Tesco — yes, Tesco which happens to be amazing for the odd designer inspired pieces at super affordable prices — which has seen me through the seasons.

It is light enough to wear in the spring but also great for winter when you can layer underneath it. It is perfect for throwing on at university to brighten up my outfit when my daily look is a boring uniform of jeans and trainers. Somehow the Baltic library doesn’t seem to be a worthy destination to rock my feather jacket.

Whilst prior to university I was adamant that I would not convert to a casual everyday look, it had never been my style; I have found myself wearing a variation of the same items each week. Comfort and warmth have overtaken my desire to be well dressed — but my university look of jeans and a jumper definitely does not define my style.  Jackets are my absolute weakness. Biker, bomber, fur, or fringed you name it and I probably have some variation of the style hanging in my wardrobe.

Encouraged by my mum from a young age that a good jacket is an investment piece, I have acquired a huge selection over the years. Luckily I have bought the same size in jackets for the past six years so I now have quite a collection of different styles.

I am a total hoarder when it comes to clothes, so I very rarely throw anything out, meaning that I do have some questionable items hanging in my wardrobe, but as my wise mother says ‘fashion comes round in a full circle’ so I must hang on to my more out there pieces because they will almost definitely be cool again. For now I am waiting for purple sequin blazers to make a comeback…

Heeled boots are my ultimate footwear choice but I am also majorly coveting mules at the minute, my favourite are my mules in, you’ve guessed it, leopard print that I spotted in River Island just before Christmas and have been a firm fixture of my wardrobe ever since. Currently I am styling them with my leather look jeans. The shoes are perfect for dressing up a plain outfit. Despite having a heel, the shoes are comfortable and great for transitioning my outfit from day to night.

When it comes to jewellery, I am definitely not a simple kind of gal. I am usually draped in bangles, necklaces and rings by my favourite jewellery designer Daniella Draper, a brand started by a local girl from Cleethorpes.

A battered silver aesthetic complete with stunning stones from citrine to amethyst and rose quartz, the jewellery is completely different to styles you would ordinarily find on the high street. These accessories complete my look and give me, along with most of the female population of Cleethorpes, a signature jingle jangle with every movement. Not quite appropriate for the lecture theatre.

According to my housemates I channel the Posh Spice look circa ’96, I am not sure that’s entirely true but I’ll take that over Sporty Spice any day. Long live the LBD and fabulously high heels.

Personal style

Written by Kitty Mitchell Turner on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

In my eyes, having your own personal style is of paramount importance. In a sense I would say I am massively into fashion and style, perhaps not in the high fashion sense, but I really love looking for new styles and trying out new things. If I had to sum up my style in three words it would be mad, pink, rainbows.

There are most definitely recurring themes throughout my wardrobe. I am almost always wearing Doc Martens, and more often than not I’m also in leggings (Black Milk and American Apparel are my favourite). I love love love pink, bright patterns, and characters such as Mulan, Hello Kitty, Miffy, and My Little Pony. I’m not so good at dressing smart or looking sophisticated, and in my eyes nothing beats high waisted leggings and a crop top on a night out.

I would say that a lot of my inspiration comes from Japanese fashion, particularly the streets of Harajuku. There are a lot of different denominations of J-fashion and I wouldn’t say I subscribe particularly to one; but rather I enjoy forming new ideas from exploring a variety of them. Growing up in Brighton has also had a large influence in shaping the way I look. With so many people expressing themselves through their appearance and countless individual shops, it’s so easy to be influenced by all the cool characters around you.

Alongside clothing, I believe hair and makeup are just as important within personal style. I have never focused particularly on accessories, and despite having twelve piercings I tend to always keep the same jewellery in them, so not very exciting. Like the rest of my clothes, my hair and makeup are tainted with glitter and rainbows. My hair is currently pink with streaks of blue, lilac, lavender, and green in it. I frequently change up the colour, but some sort of pink is always involved. I’m super into make up as well, hence why I write for the fashion and beauty section, and I love experimenting with lots of highlighter, different lip colours and fitting as many shades of eyeshadow onto my eyelids at any one time (my record is eighteen, in case you were wondering).

Even when I am working out or in my pyjamas, my look is consistent. My pjs are usually pink with Hello Kitty or Miffy on them, and my gym clothes tend to be made up of patterned leggings and bright pink tops, feeling good within yourself and your clothing is important whether you’re working out, napping, or doing a food shop, so I always leave the house in an outfit I’m happy with.

I do get a lot of stick from strangers because of my appearance, laughing, pointing, staring, making comments and on one occasion a man at the bus stop gave a small scream when I turned round and he saw my green lipstick. But the positivity that stems from my wardrobe, make up collection, and the compliments on the street makes me so happy, so who cares what anyone else thinks?

I truly believe that surrounding myself with cute characters, bright colours and a load of pink makes me so much happier and brightens my day, and is enjoyed by those around me.

 

 

Photo: The Mancunion

Where will this populism lead us?

Written by Liam O'Brien on . Posted in Opinion.

The inherent instability of Donald Trump’s administration will end in one of two ways. Either, a) the President with be arrested or impeached, or b) the United States will declare war against a weaker, and predominantly Muslim, nation, under the pretext of security. Soon, it will not be enough for President Trump to enact security at home, and so he will take measures abroad. As well as security issues, such actions will also serve to cover for his apparent lack of ability to lead a nation of any size, let alone the U.S. This lack of political ability is well demonstrated by the recent resignation of Michael Flynn from the administration.

This turbulence, though, serves a purpose; it is part of a observable pattern within authoritarian political movements, which can be summarised as follows: Step one: identify a grievance unique to a particular group in society (the target base). Step two: reinforce and exaggerate the extent of the grievance. Step three: scapegoat a group as the supposed cause of national problems. Step four: conditioning the base target group to associate a problem with the scapegoat.

Step five: promise solutions to solve the problem, and punish those causing it. Step six: pass the solution onto the target base, stating that they must share the weight of the burden such as sacrificing liberty for security. Step seven: continually state that the problem is not yet solved and more must be done. Step eight: take steps to (further) militarise aspects of the culture and society. Step nine: portray those who are not a part of the base as traitors to the cause. Step 10: declare war against internal and/or external enemies.

Whilst all of these processes are carried out, there are also attempts to silence dissenters, and a gradual but overt elevation of the candidate to increasingly high levels of status to the point that a cult of personality begins to form. In addition, there is also the constant use of emotion over reason as a tool of persuasion, typically coupled with a growing language of struggle and violence. Those who critique the movement are referred to as weak or infantile to reinforce the beliefs of the base.

In every populist, nationalistic, and authoritarian movement these steps are followed. The exact order may vary, as this is dependent on the nature of the movement itself and its context. Nevertheless, it is clear that many of the tactics utilised by Donald Trump and his puppet masters, as well as the various other demagogues across the world, follow such a pattern.

Within the British media, too, there are people responsible for recent tides of populism. Propagandists in multiple outlets have frequently scapegoated immigrants as the causes of all problems in society, whilst reinforcing irrational attachments to dogmatic nationalism and identity. In fact, it is more accurate to say that they are beneficiaries of it. Increasing nationalist sentiments results in increased profits for outlets peddling it as a product.

If this current period of Western politics results in a declaration of war by a strong country against a weaker one, people must recognise what is unfolding before them, regardless of the morality of the weaker power. Whilst terrorist organisations such as so-called ISIS must be defeated, it is likely that the major powers involved in the conflict will find ways to prolong it. Either the focus will move to another group, or there will never be a decisive victory, and so some form of conflict against an ever-present threat will continue. If Vladimir Putin is allowed to acquire even greater power in Syria, under the guise of being an ally in the fight against ISIS, victory will never be achieved by the democratic and liberal world.

Freedom by its very definition entails a degree of insecurity. But with it comes potential and power to choose how we live. Life might feel safe within a cage, but this is not really any sort of life. Plans are underway to surround the Eiffel Tower in a blast and bulletproof wall. Whilst such a construction might defend the tower from attacks, it furthers that sense of required security — of total safety over freedom and risk.

Whenever a cog in the propaganda machine starts to call for support of a dear and all-powerful leader, they do so to control the ideas of the audience. Those who disagree, even if they are demonstrably right in what they are saying, are silenced. All the while, the believers feel safe in their echo chamber of group-think. This is already the case in Britain and the United States, wherein both the left and the right wings attempt to pressure the centrists to conformity in one way or another.

Collectivism inevitably leads to conformity, which in turn suppresses rational thought, then unstable and vicious political movements. And so the cycle goes. Those wishing to oppose all of this need to realise that it is not inevitable. All of this can be prevented if centrists, united, speak out in a louder voice, and take action more visibly than at present.

Only when there is no opposition can demagogues succeed. This is no time for apathy.

READ THIS: Pewdiepie and clickbait

Written by Joseph Whitfield on . Posted in Opinion.

The popular Youtuber, ‘Pewdiepie’, or Felix Kjellberg, has recently been the subject to a media storm concerning allegations that he had made ‘anti-Semitic’ comments and advocated ‘fascist’ beliefs. He has been coined an anti-Semite by multiple major news outlets, most notoriously, the Wall Street Journal. 

One action that has led to these accusations derives partially from a video in which Pewdiepie displays two men holding a sign that read ‘Death to all Jews’. For this — and nine other videos which the Wall Street Journal found to contain anti-Semitic or Nazi imagery — the young Swede has faced fairly severe consequences. His network, Maker Studios, cut ties with him and his show, Scare Pewdiepie, which has been cancelled. He has, however, retained access to his 53 million YouTube followers.

What startles me is the unbelievable power that some media outlets have that allows them to twist the truth without facing consequences. I believe that, whilst his jokes were indeed crass and a little puerile, upon closer inspection it is clear that Mr. Kjellberg is certainly no ‘anti-semite’. The headline ‘When did fascism become so cool’ from The Independent is an outrageous misrepresentation of the Youtuber.

Whilst his choice of words were stupid, Mr Kjellberg has clearly stated that he was demonstrating the lengths to which people would go to for five dollars. He even says in the video, “I didn’t think they’d actually do it!”, and that “I’m not anti-Semitic or anything”.

The Wall Street Journal, took his video completely out of context. They portrayed the man as an active supporter of anti-Semitic beliefs. They even used a video of him dressed in a fascist uniform as evidence for their claim, one in which he was satirising the media’s representation of him by dressing up as a racist. Because of this horrible and repeated falsification, his reputation has been inexorably tarnished. Even esteemed author J.K Rowling jumped on the bandwagon without proper research, re-tweeting the aforementioned article from The Independent.

By no means am I excusing him of all blame. With such a large viewership, he simply must act as a role model and should have been more sensitive to the fact that many of his viewers are children. However, this relentless personal attack on him is extremely worrying.

Furthermore, there is an underlying issue in journalism here: fake news, clickbait, and hyperbole. Larger news outlets are capable of spreading malicious rumours, influencing millions of people and sometimes simply lying to their readers unchecked. This is particularly the case in regards to online news. Do we receive much real news anymore, or is it just another clickbait title made to draw you in?

Part of the reason Pewdiepie was targeted is that he is the most subscribed-to, and arguably the most successful, Youtuber on the planet. This means that any story defaming him, or portraying him in a negative light was bound to generate a lot of attention. The result has been the spreading of unfair and malicious lies.

He is not the first online figure to have been publicly defamed. In 2016, there was a particularly nasty case of false reporting, whereby one Youtuber, Keemstar, who runs the news channel ‘Drama Alert’, accused a sixty two year old Twitch streamer of being a paedophile and in doing so reduced the man to tears on his own video game stream. Whilst Keemstar made a public apology, the spreading of spiteful rumours about an innocent person for clicks — in a similar vein to the Wall Street Journal‘s work on Pewdiepie — borders on psychotic.

Perhaps one reason for the recent prevalence of this issue is that so many more people use online sites to get their news, rather than picking up a physical paper. Of course, for online media outlets, the more clicks, the better. Therefore, there is a temptation for writers and editors to use fantastical, eye catching headlines to lure in the reader. As a result, many outlets are running similar stories in order to captivate as large an audience as possible.

My final example of ‘false media’, is the incredible blunder that many outlets made in sharing the headline that CNN “Aired 30 minutes of pornography”. This headline went viral and was reported widely across social media, until it was revealed that the source of this news was a single tweet saying “uhhh CNN is straight up porn right now”. After this was discovered, many sites either deleted the headline or changed it to “CNN denies airing pornography”. The fact that insufficient checks or background research was performed for these articles exposes the illegitimacy of certain outlets and the danger that they pose.

All of this makes the reader further question the accuracy of all online content. One might presume that, as technology advances, and knowledge becomes more readily available, the reliability of these articles would improve. However, we are faced with quite the opposite: a degenerative news system whose main priority is money. I would simply advise caution with what you read online.

Live: Blaenavon

Written by Amy Matthews on . Posted in Music.

Thursday 16th February 2016

9.5/10

Upon my arrival at the Albert Hall to see Sundara Karma, I was told very good things about Blaenavon, who were tonight’s main support act. Arriving just in time for Blaenavon’s performance, I was far from disappointed. The band’s presence was instantly entrancing when they stormed the stage, receiving roars from the brash Manchester crowd. The atmosphere felt like I was watching their own headline show. Beginning their set with ‘Hell Is In My Head’ I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing. Lead singer Ben Gregory dressed in a beautiful beige suit, instantly made an impression. “I’ll be the only one you’ll ever find” he beams, the sensual guitar riffs that follow, result in the crowd moving everywhere, bodies flailing to the beat. “Lets Pray” shortly follows, an upbeat and melodic track, sees all the crowd singing “Lets pray, lets pray, lets pray for death” in sequential unison, whilst a mosh pit opens in the process. Before playing their next track, Ben takes a quick moment to thank Sundara Karma for taking them on tour “It’s been sweet”, announcing that this is their last night of the tour. Talk about going out with a bang.

After a short pause, filled by the crowd roaring “Manchester La la la” common courtesy of Manchester night life, the band proceed to play ‘My Bark Is Your Bite’ clearly an old, fan favourite. Fans’ hands, whether old or new flail in the air; the crowd surging from front to back. New single ‘Orthodox Man’ shortly follows, already a familiar track with many of the audience members who can be seen singing the song word for word. ‘I Will Be The World’ beams loud, euphoric guitar riffs, the band proceed to throw themselves across the stage, using every ounce of their energy, with Ben throwing himself to the ground, the trio still retaining immense synchrony. No wonder the crowd are going wild in response. Closing their set with ‘Prague’ it seems like a fitting end to an astounding set. All the crowd jumping around going mad, screaming the lyrics “It’s you I said, keep running in my head. I swear its old” the dark, tuneful guitar riffs that follow create a euphoric environment. Ben then proceeds to go into the crowd, who seem elated by this “We’re a band called Blaenavon, thank you so fucking much”, and with that it was all over.

Blaenavon’s performance was something special. They made an everlasting impression on myself and countless others.  If this is what Blaenavon’s support slots are like, who knows what’s in store when the band return for a headline show at Deaf Institute in March. One thing’s for sure, if tonight is anything to go by. It will be something to remember.

You can follow Blaenavon on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Sir Gerald Kaufman, Labour MP for Manchester Gorton dies aged 86

Written by Barney Weston on . Posted in News.

Sir Gerald Kaufman, Labour MP for Manchester Gorton, has died aged 86. His family made a statement on the evening of the 26th of February. He had been suffering from a long-term illness for several months. Kaufman was known as the Father of The House of Commons. He was it’s longest-serving MP, having represented Manchester for 47 years.

As shadow environment secretary in 1980, he criticised Labour’s left turn in the 1980s, famously describing the party’s manifesto in 1983 as “the longest suicide note in history”.

Kaufman was first elected as MP for Manchester Ardwick in 1970. He became MP for Manchester Gorton in 1983 following constituency boundary changes.

In 2015, he won the seat with over 67 per cent of the vote, and a majority of over 24,000 votes. The Greens beat the Conservatives to second by a mere 45 votes. UKIP came fourth, with over 3,400 votes.

They comfortably beat the Liberal Democrats who had over 1,780 votes, who had previously come second in that constituency in every general election since 1997.

A possible date for the by-election is the 4th of May, coinciding with nationwide local elections, including the GM Mayoral election.

The constituency is in student territory, covering the electoral wards of Fallowfield, Gorton North, Gorton South, Levenshulme, Longsight, Rusholme, and Whalley Range. The southern boundary coincides with the Fallowfield Sainsbury’s. The northern boundary is Whitworth Park.

Following Labour’s loss of Copeland last week — the first gain for a governing party since 1982 — questions may be asked about whether will be able to hold the seat, however it is considered to be one of Labour’s safest seats.

The Manchester Town Hall flag is being flown at half mast as a mark of respect for Sir Gerald. Books of condolence are also being opened at Manchester Town Hall, and Arcadia, Fallowfield, Gorton and Longsight libraries for those who want to pay tribute. An online version is available at www.manchester.gov.uk/sirgerald

Will Patterson, GM Mayoral candidate for the Greens, wrote on twitter: “Today we wake to the sad news that Sir Gerald Kaufman, a political legend, has died. My condolences to his friends, colleagues and family.”
Shneur Odze, GM Mayoral candidate for UKIP, wrote on twitter: “Just because someone’s no longer of this world, doesn’t mean we should suddenly forget his delusional & divisive rants. Shneur Odze, GM Mayoral candidate for UKIP, wrote on twitter: “Just because someone’s no longer of this world, doesn’t mean we should suddenly forget his delusional & divisive rants.

Andy Burnham, GM Mayoral candidate for Labour and MP for Leigh wrote on twitter: “Truly saddened to hear the passing of my friend Gerald Kaufman. Always a gentleman & a dedicated servant of his Manchester constituents.”

Manchester Metropolitan University Union hosts second GM Mayor election hustings

Written by Barney Weston on . Posted in News.

The Union at Manchester Metropolitan University hosted the second hustings in the build-up to the election of the Greater Manchester Mayor last Thursday. Over 100 people, most of which were students, watched the hustings.

Andy Burnham for Labour, Jane Brophy for the Liberal Democrats, Sean Anstee for the Conservatives, and Shneur Odze for UKIP, were all in attendance. Following the death of Deyika Nzeribe from a heart attack in January, it was too late for Will Patterson’s attendance, as the Green Party’s replacement candidate, to be organised. Stephen Morris for the English Democrats, and Peter Clifford for the Communist League, were not in attendance.

Organised by the Manchester Metropolitan University debating society, the four candidates answered three questions: how they expected to grow Greater Manchester and live up to the idea of a Northern Powerhouse within the context of local council’s budgets being cut, and how they planned to control the policing budget within the context of the Reclaim the Night march, which happened immediately after the hustings.

The Mancunion asked the evening’s opening question: “With over 100,000 students in Greater Manchester, how do you expect to win their vote?”

Sean Anstee for the Conservatives described how he wanted to put Greater Manchester’s economy in a position where it could stop students from leaving the region having graduated. He cited the importance of working with employers, creating skilled jobs, and affordable housing.

Jane Brophy for the Liberal Democrats, who has a child at the University of Manchester, cited the importance of remaining in the EU to students, referencing the ERASMUS programme. She also spoke of the importance of the issues of climate change, job security, and getting people on the housing ladder. Within the context of Reclaim the Night, she described how “some students don’t feel safe walking around the city at night”.

Shneur Odze for UKIP explained his intentions to regulate transport, making it economical and to allow for it to get you round all Greater Manchester. He dismissed Jane Brophy’s concerns over ERASMUS in favour of the belief that they want us as much as we want them. He also spoke of suiting the need for accountability within the context of students paying tuition fees. He cited this as a way for students to get involved in civic and communal life. Testament to this, he described his intention to work as Mayor with a council of leaders from all walks of life in Greater Manchester, students included.

Andy Burnham for Labour spoke of the need to outwardly value students: “We value you, we welcome you, and we want you to stay here.” As a reflection of this, he cited the need to lower travel costs for younger people, get tough on landlords, protect the community in the context of policing cuts, get carbon neutral with support for cycling lanes, and end rough sleeping.

Asked who students thought performed the best at the debate, the answer was unanimously Andy Burnham. Asked who they would vote for if there was an election tomorrow, the answer was the same. They cited his experience and his oratorical skills as reasons why: “He was very clear and concise, I thought” said one student, “he’s got the best vision for students” said another.

One student cited Shneur Odze as performing second best: “I’m surprised how well he came across.” Another common comment amongst students was on the lack of difference between the candidates.

“Basically, they’re all the same” said one student.

Upcoming at HOME: La Movida

Written by Laura Joyce on . Posted in Arts.

Issued as part of ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival 2017, La Movida is set to be HOME’s next major exhibition. The piece offers a contemporary view of the socio-cultural movement La Movida – literally translating as “the movement”.

The movement took place between 1977 and 1985, and was set in post-Franco Spain. During this period, the country aimed to rid themselves of the cultural delay that had followed Franco’s reign. In order to move into a state of democracy, La Movida opened up the public eye to the taboo notions of open debate, sexuality, pornography, clubbing and drugs to name a few.

The popular Spanish saying “If you lived in the 80s and remember it, then you didn’t live it.” is said to encapsulate what it is that La Movida stands for.

Pedro Almodóvar, renowned Spanish film director and former member of the movement explained, “It’s difficult to speak of La Movida and explain it to those who didn’t live those years. We weren’t a generation; we weren’t an artistic movement; we weren’t a group with a concrete ideology. We were simply a bunch of people that coincided in one of the most explosive moments in the country.”

The exhibition boasts new commissions inspired by this problematic time period, along with various national works that revolve around the themes of freedom and excess. La Movida was certainly a movement ahead of its time, and it is no surprise that we see it coming up as inspiration for contemporary artworks to this day, forty years after the transition to democracy.

Group exhibition: La Movida at HOME, Manchester. 14 April–11 June 2017.

£14,000 tuition fees planned for shorter courses

Written by Emily Hulme on . Posted in News.

Proposals for a ‘short course’ degree programme has been put forward by the government, in order to offer students the option of a more intense, more expensive but shorter degree.

University Minister Jo Johnson has announced the proposal today, in an attempt to offer students more choice when it comes to their higher education plans. Instead of paying £9,000 per year for the usual, three-year long course, students would pay up to £14,000, which is a higher fee than some courses in the USA.

Johnson says the proposal comes in response to students “crying out for more flexible course and modes of study which can fit around work and life.” But a spokesman from the Russell Group advise that the most appropriate way for students to study for research-intensive degrees, is full-time across three years.

The Mancunion asked University of Manchester students what they thought to the prospect of putting their three year course into two years at a more expensive rate.  Riannan Singh, Third year Maths student said “I could not imagine the pressure a student would feel if they were to try and cram my course into two years — and to have to fork out more debt for it at the same time? I think it would be a lose-lose situation for students. For maths, that is anyway.”

In response Johnson says, “I absolutely recognise that for many students the classic three-year residential model will remain the preferred option. But it clearly must not be the only option”.

There is a further concern, displayed by The University and College Union that it would do little to open up the university experience to more students. They suggested the government should avoid a “pile ’em high and teach ’em cheap” approach to students’ education.

On the other hand, students and parents would have one year less to pay for accommodation and other living fees. Students would also have the opportunity to increase their earnings by entering the job market a year earlier than before.

The government would have to vote on the proposal and consider to advise from education professionals during the parliamentary process before it became a solid piece of legislation.

A Student Life: The Revolutionary Marxist

Written by Jacob Nicholas on . Posted in Features.

There are few things you can say definitively about the current political climate, but one of them is that parties and groups further away from the centre are growing enormously, and have been for several years. Ed Rosier, chair of the Marxist society, agrees. “Yeah definitely, I think that point now is almost beyond doubt,” he told me, going on to argue that “there’s no way around it, people’s lives are getting worse because of the material economic conditions they’re living under, and that’s driving them to the left and the right in terms of voting trends.”

You might well think that this would see a boost for the Marxist Society, but Ed’s not so sure things are that simple. “I think it’s not so much the polarisation, I think the single biggest factor that’s affected the society in Manchester is Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader of the Labour Party,” he explained, adding that whilst this could be seen as a result of this polarisation, “this isn’t simply a reaction to the present situation, this is people seeing a leader who’s come out and said he’s going to break with the last twenty years of Labour Party doctrine about capturing the centre ground”.

Ed believes that Corbyn is now being seen, “rightly or wrongly,” as “a great hope for future success of the left”, and so although “whether or not he delivers that is yet to be seen… for Marxists now, the Corbyn movement is still an incredibly exciting thing in that people are now willing to go out and find alternative answers.”

Surely though, the Corbyn movement is more likely to benefit Labour Students than the Marxist society? “I think a lot of people have joined Labour students because of the Corbyn movement, which I think is a good thing,” Ed agreed, “but people are recognising the fact that Corbyn’s economic and social policy, as good as it is and as radical as it is, that isn’t actually going to rescue us from the crisis that we now face… whilst the Corbyn movement’s good, it needs to go further.”

So, the Marxist society is, like all more radical groups, on the up, but what does it actually do? “The main function of the society comes from our weekly meetings,” Ed told me, explaining that they alternate between public meetings and reading groups each week. “With public meetings, someone comes in — either a student from the society or sometimes we get outside speakers in, and they come and give a talk analysing the situation or analysing whatever topic we’re looking at that week, and then we throw it out to the floor to have discussions,” he elaborated.

Ed was keen to emphasise how good these discussions can be, claiming that “the level and the quality of discussion has really improved this year due to more people become more politically aware and active, due to the situation they’re in,” and that it is not just arguing over finer details whilst mostly in agreement — “we often have dissenting views which always make for good discussions.”

People with dissenting opinions are actively encouraged to attend the meetings, not just Marxists, and Ed spoke about how often people attend “who aren’t Marxists, people who disagree with the majority of opinion on certain issues,” leading to great debates, and that only those with “views that are obviously unacceptable such as racism or sexism” are not wanted.

“If you want to learn about Marxism or discuss Marxism then I’d encourage you to come along, whatever your political views are,” Ed concluded.

The society is not just a talking shop though, and according to Ed they “often attend protests and conferences as a group, which is always great and we really encourage it”.

There is also a more social aspect to the group, and “after every meeting we’ll go down to the pub, both to continue the discussion and just to have a nice time”, Ed said, and I got the impression that these trips to the pub are more of a highlight than he was letting on. “In addition”, he told me, “we do try and hold at least one, but usually two,  socials each semester. So, last semester at the end we had a Cuban social which went down well, we had cocktails and traditional South American food and people really enjoyed it, so we’re hoping to do more stuff like that in the future.”

But why Marxism in particular? “That’s obviously quite a big question… you’re going to edit this, aren’t you?” I assured Ed I would.

“Well… it’s actually the situation we’re in at the moment which has meant that I, like many other people, have realised that capitalism can’t continue for the reasons that Marx puts forward. And by that I don’t mean that in any other time of history it would’ve been irrational to be a Marxist, what I mean is that… capitalism at this point has reached an impasse, there’s no route to grow through it, and so alternatives to this neoliberal consensus have to be looked at, and if you read Marx he explains very clearly the reasons that crises in capitalism happens”, was the, somewhat edited, response.

“Capitalist crisis is essentially holding the world back, not just in terms of economic growth but in terms of cultural growth and improvements in society”, Ed went on, “so, I suppose in a nutshell that would be why I think Marxism is absolutely necessary now.”

Ed was also keen to challenge common criticisms of Marxism, such as the idea that it works in theory but not in practice. He used the example of “the early years of the Soviet Union, in which it was obviously a very imperfect system, but if you look at some of the art produced, the level of healthcare and housing that was achieved — free healthcare for everyone, little to no homelessness, the first country to legalise abortion was the Soviet Union in the 1920s, and although that revolution eventually failed, it’s important to look at the successes of Marxism in that context.”

He argued that “it was the material conditions”, that led to the failure of past attempts at creating socialist states — “it was fact that they were isolated in one country and didn’t spread into the advanced western economies that could have easily managed a successful socialist economy. The fact that so many people in Russia were illiterate starting off meant that there was a huge opportunity for the bureaucracy to take over and create a degenerated workers state in Russia.”

These past material conditions now no longer exist, according to Ed, who argues that “socialism’s more possible now than ever”, citing the increasing growth in technology making automation easier, as well as the “very small numbers of very large businesses dominating the economy and they already have systems of distribution”, which could make a planned economy far easier to run than it was in the past.

Finally, and perhaps surprisingly, Ed said that he believes capitalism is not all bad. “Although socialism’s what we want, and communism’s what we want, capitalism actually played a huge role in advancing mankind”, he argued, “it created forces of production that advanced all over the world, it created the material conditions for socialism to exist in — that of advanced economies on a global scale capable of producing on a level that would’ve been unimaginable to people before capitalism.”

Despite these past successes, he now argues that capitalism “always creates a cycle of crisis that there’s now no longer any route out of, and that’s why capitalism now has to end in favour of socialism, because capitalism’s done all it can and now it’s a fetter, it’s a backwards influence on society and mankind’s progression.”

And how to end capitalism? “Through the forceful overthrow of the ruling class by the proletariat.” Of course.

 

Best bit: “I guess learning and discussing Marxism in an environment that’s friendly, welcoming and often has a high level of discussion and analysis.”

Worst bit: “The hangover the next day.”

Uni life/society life balance: “Well it’s gotten a bit more difficult in third year, but I think that the fact there are other people in the society who talk and chair and do some of the administrative stuff is useful. People are willing to help out and make the society successful, and the it isn’t something I see as work, it’s something I want to do and I want to make it successful.”

Where do you see yourself in the future? “I want to go into teaching eventually, but next year I’m just going to try and get a job around Manchester somewhere”

How to get involved: “Meetings are at 6.30 either in the Lass O’Gowrie pub or in the SU and join our Facebook group!”

UK’s first LGBTQ+ retirement community opening in Manchester

Written by Yasmin Mannan on . Posted in News.

Manchester city council has released plans to open the UK’s first retirement community aimed at primarily lesbian, gay, and transgender people, including all those who identify as non-heterosexual.

The announcement follows a report by the Manchester-based LGBTQ+ foundation, commissioned by the council, showed that older LGBTQ+ people experience higher levels of isolation and loneliness than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.

The Guardian noted that the report revealed that many older LGBTQ+ residents were fearful of discrimination in retirement homes and wanted a safe environment to express their identity.

Paul Martin, chief executive of LGBTQ+ Foundation, told Pink News that: “Our research highlighted that over half of the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGBTQ+) people over 55 surveyed felt that their sexual orientation would have a negative impact on getting older, with social isolation identified as a major concern. Manchester prides itself as an Age Friendly City, and we welcome the announcement of this scheme as a significant move towards improving the lives of older LGBTQ+ people in the area.”

The suggested retirement community will house both heterosexuals and LGBTQ+ residents but there must be a minimum of 51 per cent LGBTQ+ residents at all times.

The housing will have specially trained staff based on site and pets will be welcome. As well as the LGBT Foundation, the project is being supported by Stonewall Housing and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Bob Green OBE, CEO of Stonewall Housing, told Pink News that: “Stonewall Housing has been talking with our communities about the need for older LGBTQ+ housing for some time because we need and want a better choice of where we live in our later lives. It is very exciting that Manchester City Council are leading the way in delivering the dream of LGBTQ+-affirmative Extra Care housing and we look forward to working with them and a range of partners in making this dream a reality.”

The Guardian reported that Manchester has the highest number of LGBTQ+ people outside London and is due to see a rapid growth in the number of LGBTQ+ residents over 65 in the next 20 years. They further highlighted that more than 7,000 over-50s living in Manchester identify as LGBTQ+.

Carl Austin-Behan, who last year became Manchester’s first openly gay lord mayor, told The Guardian: “In this day and age, when people are more open and able to speak freely about their sexuality, some of the older generation are still a little bit more reserved with it.

“It’s important that once they’ve come out and been themselves … that 20 years later they don’t feel like they can’t be themselves, and aren’t discriminated against.”

No specific site or launch date has yet been announced.

The Refuge Sunday lunch

Written by Jennifer Sterne on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Let’s face it, it’s not often students cook themselves a full Sunday Roast, and if they do it just doesn’t quite compare to one cooked at home. So instead they do what millennials do best, we eat out. There are hundreds of options to go for a great Sunday Lunch in Manchester, but so far I have found none better than at Refuge.

If you haven’t ventured down to Refuge at The Principal Manchester you are definitely missing out. My last visit was my second experience, but this time rather than sharing their mouth-watering small plates, we decided to experience their newly launched Sunday Roast sharing platter.

The platter will be known to anyone who has experienced Volta in West Didsbury, and if you have you will understand me when I say it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Luke Cowdrey co-curator of Volta and The Refuge, described the platter as being “the same family style sharing vision,” and in my mind this highlights perfectly what Volta and the Refuge do so well. The experience of eating with them is shared, it feels like a family dinner – although your surroundings at The Refuge may be a little more upmarket than most of our family kitchens.

But despite this, the shared nature of the meal means you cannot help but feel comfortable and at home in your surroundings, the fact that the food works both in the cosy venue of Volta in West Didsbury and in the grander situation of Refuge is testament to this.

The platter for two people has three types of meat; rare roast beef, suckling pig and chicken, with roast potatoes, carrot and swede, red cabbage, buttered greens, Yorkshire puddings, heavenly cauliflower cheese and pan gravy.

The addition of cauliflower cheese is a stroke of genius and really adds to the feeling of it being your traditional home cooked Sunday lunch, although I don’t think I’ve ever tasted cauliflower cheese quite like it.

It is strange however, the Vimto-braised red cabbage I have not been able to get out of my mind since I went. As a massive fan of red cabbage generally this was a real treat, and even once almost bursting I was still not able to leave any left on the plate.

Our food was served with the most lavish Bloody Mary I’ve ever seen, definitely an order I’d recommend if you do decide to make a visit, although the Refuge also have a wide selection of craft beers which were also very tempting – considering the strength of the Bloody Mary I resisted this temptation.

Our meal ended with a shared apple tart, served with Madagascan vanilla ice cream – although sticky toffee pudding is definitely something I’ll have to go back for – be smarter and faster than me before you go so you have room to not have to share.

Sunday Lunch at The Refuge is served from 12 noon and priced at £39

Tracks of the Week: 27th February

Written by Alexander Corns on . Posted in Music.

‘Love’ – Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey recently claimed that whilst she had made her previous four critically acclaimed albums for herself, her fifth would be for her fans and this, the first single from the upcoming album, is unlikely to leave any of them disappointed. Whilst ‘Love’ is by no means a major reinvention, with a generally relaxed feel and familiarly short, repetitive verses, there is a noticeable transition from earlier singles like ‘Born To Die’. She is no longer ‘in the moment’, so much as looking back with experience at others, evidenced by the song’s opening lines: “Look at you kids with your vintage music / You’re part of the past now you’re the future”. Whilst her songs have often tackled the difficulties and complexities of love, she has now taken a more awoken tone, ready to embrace the emotion that has for so long driven her songs and to reassure her listener that it’s “enough”. For fans of her music, this track, for now, certainly will be.

 ‘I Bow Down’ – Pixx

With this new single (which introduces the 21-year-old’s upcoming debut album The Age Of Anxiety) the British indie-pop singer Pixx is at her most ambitious. The song’s lyrics are in themselves dramatic and, especially in the chorus (“I salute your kindness / I bow down / to your good will”) appear almost sarcastic, but it is her beautiful, unique, haunting vocals which really impose a fascinating feeling of trepidation: going by the title of the album, it is likely this is intentional. Sung over creeping ’80s-style synths and a woody guitar, the emotion of the song is easily felt. That’s not to say it’s all doom and gloom: the more the drums kick in, the more danceable the song becomes. The wonderfully inventive and spectacularly shot accompanying music video is also well worth a watch.

‘My One and Only Love’ – Bob Dylan

In anticipation of his 39th (!) studio album, a three-disc set comprised of songs from the Great American Songbook, the septuagenarian enigma that is Bob Dylan has released a second single, and a second cover of a Sinatra classic (lyrics by Guy Wood and Robert Mellin). His notoriously smoky voice sounds far more relaxed, happier even, than it has in years and the track is all the better for it. Dylan’s admiration for Sinatra is obvious and it is for this reason that this song comes across with all its intended emotion. Dylan’s arrangement of string, horns and steel guitar work perfectly here and, whilst fans of the Nobel-prize winner may crave another album of original songs, Dylan continues to sing what Dylan wants to sing, to nobody’s great surprise.