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Month: March 2011

Live: Reel Big Fish @ Academy 2

Reel Big Fish
Academy 2
23rd February 2011
5 stars

Co-frontwoman of ska-infused reggae London band, The Skints, Marcia, is one talented lady. As well as taking on the role of vocals, she demonstrates her incredible music flexibility, picking up a whole range of instruments from saxophone and flute to keyboard and melodica. The Skints’ addictive and popular reggae tracks like ‘Murderer’ and ‘Get Me’, taken from last year’s Live, Breathe, Build, Believe album, go down an absolute treat, managing to reignite my own love for the reggae scene.

Californian septet, Suburban Legends, on the other hand, are all about their pop spunk (that’s ska-punk, before you start assuming we’ve had a Freudian slip up) and choreography. While they are seriously good fun to begin with, covering the infamous Youtube hit ‘Hide Your Wife, Hide Your Kids’, it doesn’t take long before mild turns to mature cheddar as the cover of ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King’, (which, thankfully, ends the set) is enough to provoke a tiny sick in the mouth.

Tonight was always going to be about Reel Big Fish though and with this gig being one small part of their massive 20th Anniversary World Tour, it’s pretty much a given that what will ensue will be rather spectacular. That is, if they can get the microphones to work. With the gig already delayed by a tense 10 minutes, the lights finally dim and no time is wasted as ‘Sell Out’ strikes up, sending a surge of skankers into bouncing their way closer to the front. From then on in, the floor never fails to die down as a guest appearance from Sonic Boom Six frontwoman, Laila K, in ‘She Has a Girlfriend Now’, as well as crowd-favourites ‘Monkey Man’, ‘Trendy’ and ‘Beer’ keep the sweat pouring, leaving the ceiling dripping by the time their ‘Take On Me’ cover ends the night.
They say a ska gig is the perfect work-out and with bands like Reel Big Fish still around, it’s hard to disagree.

Rebecca Cocking

Album: Cut Copy – Zonoscope

Cut Copy
Zonoscope
Modular Recordings
2 stars

After 2008’s insanely popular In Ghost Colours, Cut Copy were always going to struggle to follow up with an album that packed the same punch and ability to fill the dance floor. The Australian quartet’s third instalment provides us with a more serene landscape in which, whilst still maintaining the summertime bounce and sunshine appeal of old, also offers a more experimental insight into the path the band may now take. After due consideration, this particular path appears one I do not want to hear much more from.

Although well constructed and listenable, Zonoscope just never seems to take off or break away from mediocrity. The recurring attempts to hark back to ‘80s synth-pop are emphasised with the use of the hook from Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’ in second track ‘Take Me Over’, becoming somewhat irritating. At the risk of sounding clichéd, this appears to me to be the traditional stylistic third album and comes across as over-produced and over-indulgent. With most songs lasting more than five minutes and the album itself lasting well over an hour, tracks that could be far shorter and hence far catchier are left to drawl out into monotonous, hedonistic bores. None more so than the album’s closing track. Very much a marmite creation, you will either love or hate the expansive 15-minute album closer ‘Sun God’ which begins with great promise but eventually slopes off into a meandering quarter-hour of synth-driven tedium.

This final track goes a long way to summarise the entire album. Don’t get me wrong, there are more than enough stick-in-your-head melodies to fill the thoughts of any nightclub goer. Nevertheless, the steady deterioration towards the long, the irritating and the repetitive, means Zonoscope just doesn’t manage to reach the dizzy heights of its predecessor.

Tom Hickman

Album: Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

Lykke Li
Wounded Rhymes
Atlantic Records
4 stars

Apparently, if Swedish songstress, prolific hipster go-to girl and all-round drama queen Lykke Li “ever got as big as Madonna”, she “would want to run away and die”. As charming as this news is, her message, loud and clear, is that the Top 40 simply isn’t for her. She doesn’t need chart figures or sales numbers, especially not when she is producing material on the level of quality of sophomore effort Wounded Rhymes.

Swerving toward an alternative direction from her debut, Li has dropped the endearing frailty and replaced it with neurotic pining flecked with spells of romantic rebellion. Opening track, ‘Youth Knows No Pain’, calls for an end to the moping and depression of teenage love, while ‘Unrequited Love’ floats back into the hormonal despair she manages to write about so well.

This slightly bi-polar attitude toward l’amour keeps the listener on their toes throughout, reaching a peak with ‘Sadness is a Blessing’. Lines such as “Sadness is my boyfriend / Sadness is my girl” pinpoint the characteristic melancholy stomping she seems to effortlessly produce. Countrywoman Robyn seems to also have the formula locked down, albeit with an electro dance-pop backing track. What is it with these Swedes and their sadness?

As pleasurable as listening to a consistently brilliant album is, there, of course, have to be tracks which stand above the rest. ‘I Follow Rivers’, the album’s second single, re-uses instantly recognisable imprints from ‘Little Bit’ mashed up with aggressive, commanding lyrics. An impressively powerful song, it’s an excellent example of her ever-improving song writing, production skills and clear evidence for why Swedes do it better.

Andrew Gott

Album: The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

The Vaccines have been tipped to be one of the biggest bands this year – even featuring in the BBC’s Sound of 2011 – yet it has been hard not to be sceptical of their success due to the contacts they apparently have at their disposal. Vocalist Justin Young used to be flatmates with Marcus Mumford and guitarist, Freddie Cowan, is the younger brother of Tom from the Horrors, which could suggest that they have the potential to be another over-hyped pop outfit. However, What did you expect from the Vaccines? suggests that they also have the talent to compliment their address book.

The album opens with debut single, ‘Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)’, which clocks in at just under one minute and twenty-four seconds and features distorted guitar noises over a no-nonsense drum beat before Young unleashes an instantly memorable vocal melody over the top. The addition of a ‘50s style guitar solo that harks back to Chuck Berry makes this an almost perfect pop song, giving the album an exciting and refreshing opener. ‘If You Wanna’ follows, featuring another hook-laden number with guitars that are comparable to The Ramones, and a danceable drum beat that is reminiscent of the beginning of the last decade. There are more subtle moments however such as ‘Wetsuit’, which captures some of the atmosphere that is present in Interpol’s first album.

What did you expect from the Vaccines? is an infectious debut that isn’t particularly groundbreaking but has emerged at the right time and gives respite from the arty and experimental music that has dominated best album lists over the last few years. For this reason, it is likely that this will positively influence music in the future.

Mitchell Holmes

Pancakes

Easy and versatile

By Alex Wardall

Pancakes: great with sugar, excellent with jam, and supreme with golden syrup. But this year why not try something different, or simply use up extras, by making savoury pancakes.

Easy One-Cup Pancakes

Ingredients:

  • Plain Flour
  • Milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 egg

Method

Crack the egg into a bowl.

Fill a mug with flour and add it to the bowl. Then using the same mug fill it with milk and add to the flour. It can be any mug, or glass, just simply use the same one for the flour and milk.

Whisk it together using a whisk or fork.

Heat a pan on the hob, add a knob of butter and let it melt. Pour in a spoonful of batter to the hot pan, swirl the batter to coat the pan equally and let it cook. Small bubbles will form on the surface of the pancake when it’s ready to be flipped over and cooked on the other side. Continue with the rest of the batter.

Pancake Tortellini

Ingredients:

  • 1 onion
  • Mincemeat (beef or lamb)
  • 1 Oxo cube or 1 tbs Bisto
  • x2 Tinned Tomatoes
  • x1 tin of cannellini or Kidney beans (optional, but great)
  • Pancakes (4 pancakes will make a filling meal for one)
  • Spinach
  • x1 jar of passata (like tomato purée, and available in all supermarkets)
  • Chedder cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 180-200 degrees.

Gently fry the onion in oil in a roomy pan for a couple of minutes.

Add the mincemeat and cook, stirring.

Crumble in the stock cube/ Bisto.

Add the tinned tomatoes and the cannellini or kidney beans.

At this stage chuck in any sauces/ or extras that you normally would in your Bolognese sauce- such as a squirt of ketchup, HP or mushrooms.

Once the filling is cooked, let it cool slightly.

Take one pancake and lay it flat. Spoon a large spoonful down the pancake in a line slightly to one side. Roll up the pancake carefully into a tube and place this into a baking dish.

Repeat and continue laying each pancake tube tightly alongside each other.

Sprinkle over the spinach.

Pour over the passata, and top with the grated cheese.

Cook for about 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and a browning.

Preview: Warehouse Project – 22nd April 2011

The second of four Easter weekend nights at the Warehouse Project sees the return of a series of bug names.
Skream is back after an appearance with Magnetic Man in October and with huge new releases under his belt including the recent collaboration with Example, ‘Shot Yourself In The Foot Again’, and his remix of Cassius’ ‘I Love You So’, be sure to expect a memorable set of chart-toppers, dubstep favourites and everything you need to party to.

As organisers have proven in the past though, Warehouse Project has so much more to offer than just the headliners. Jakwob will weave together a collection of his remixes and productions before two of the biggest artists in drum and bass return to the Piccadilly Arches.
A pioneer of UK jungle and drum and bass, Shy FX has proved time and time again that his live performances are a perfect ingredient for any weekend, especially when he’s got hard-hitting anthems like ‘Original Nuttah’. With an album on the way this year and production credits for Yasmin’s first single ‘On My Own’, Shy’s recent work is just as likely to impress as the old classics, hitting the spot with ravers of all ages.

Another old favourite, Andy C, will follow with another huge set of straight-up drum and bass which promises to keep the atmosphere lively and intense – just be sure to expect a Relentless to keep you going throughout. Having already headlined a brilliant night in October last year, Warehouse attendees should place their faith in Andy C for another great night.

To top it all off, Skream will provide the climax, fresh from his DJ appearances on Radio 1, and is guaranteed to round up an eclectic night of great dance music in a venue which constantly retains the ability to thrill.

Daniel Willis

Preview: Warehouse Project – 21st April 2011

As expected, The Warehouse Project returns this Easter, dragging us in our droves to get up to all kinds of mischief until the very early hours of the morning. Headliners include the French techno DJ Laurent Garnier, Steve Angello of the Swedish House Mafia, dubstep producer Skream, as well as further regulars to the Manchester scene Andy C and Shy FX.

It is, however, the opening night, with 2manydjs topping the bill, that has got me the most excited.  Ever since the release of ‘As Heard on Radio Soulwax’ back in 2003, the Belgian indie/electro duo have been regarded as a ‘must-see’ on the live circuit. Having botched my chance to do this in 2009, by staggering my way around V Festival and coming very near to accidentally watching Alphabeat instead, I knew I needed to get my hands on tickets for this.  Ever since that fateful night I have had to sit quietly as others recall their highlights of the festival, which always results in 2manydjs receiving nothing but praise.  Knowing that my bank balance would receive a deadly blow, I was forced to watch as tickets for this night sold out.  Somehow I managed to be in the right place at the right time though and managed to respond within seconds (dramatization) to agree to review the night.

So, if you like the idea of listening to the duo perform a mashup of great songs from a wide spectrum, ranging from the likes of David Bowie and 10CC to Basement Jaxx and The Clash, as well as spending a night in what must be the best venue Manchester has to offer, then it may be necessary to make the trip from home back up to Manchester this Easter holiday.

Michael Beer

The Week in Washington 2

Joe Sandler Clarke

As of 26th February 2011, thousands of people were outside the State Capitol in Wisconsin fighting to prevent Republican Governor Scott Walker taking away the collective bargaining rights of trade unions in that state. Despite Walker’s claims that the apparent assault on trade union rights has been made necessary by Wisconsin’s sizeable budget deficit; the move is widely seen as being part of broader Republican plan to dismantle the powers of trade unions and boost those of large corporations. “Some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin seems like more of an assault on unions,” said President Obama when questioned on the subject. The University of Washington History Professor James Gregory was firmer in his comments on the events, calling the move by Walker “unprecedented” and “deeply troubling”. Yet there are some in America who do not find the events so “troubling.”

Members of the Tea Party Movement were quickly bussed into Wisconsin to hold counter-demonstrations against the trade unionists. Armed with their usual banners and incoherent ramblings, they shouted, chanted and eventually went home; a pattern likely to be repeated many times over as the fight between Governor Walker and the trade unions continues. Yet while there was nothing new in these Tea Party protests, the counter demonstrations did give some of their rhetoric real meaning. Since they emerged in 2009, the numerous factions of the Tea Party Movement have repeatedly professed their desire to “take their country back” – but until now from whom and to where they’d like to take it back has been unclear. The head of the Tea Party support group, FreedomWorks, has argued that the movement wants remove America “from moneyed special interests, leftist advocacy groups and arrogant politicians,” yet for most within the movement such rhetoric has a more emotional, rather than political, appeal.

“When the Tea Party supporters talk about ‘taking our country back’, they are, in part, expressing nostalgia.” British journalist Gary Younge argues “They literally want to take it backwards to a past when people had job security, and a couple on a middle class wage could reasonable expect their children to have a better life than their own”. Indeed, for the overwhelmingly white, middle-class, fiscal and social conservatives that make up the Tea Party, the notion of ‘taking America back’ has tremendous appeal in an age of economic uncertainty and changing social norms. They literally want to go back to a time when atheism wasn’t known, when abortion was illegal and when a middle-class family could afford to own their own home. The Tea Party-supported Republican’s in the House of Representatives have recently written a bill that would effectively make getting an abortion impossible in the US, if passed; while Tea Party-backed Republicans in some states have, remarkably, hinted at making attempts to retract child labour laws passed in the early 20th century. This then is what the Tea Partiers mean when they say they want to “take America back.”
In the words of professor James Gregory, the move to end the collective bargaining rights of trade unions in Wisconsin “is a threat not just to unions but to American democratic institutions. The past century has seen a significant expansion of civil rights, including workplace rights, and democratic institutions, including the principle that employees have the right to negotiate terms of employment and be represented by unions.” The Tea Party Movement showed in its counter-demonstrations in Wisconsin that it wants take America back to a time when American’s did not enjoy workplace rights.

Liberal Hypocrisy

Lucy Hall

“What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the cold war, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the endpoint of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” (Francis Fukuyama)

Since the end of the cold war, Liberal democracy as we know it has been almost universally championed as the ideal endpoint for all nation states. Colonising nations engineered their colonies to mimic this form of government under the notion that it is somehow more civilised, more ‘modern’ than anything these countries previously had. In truth, the ‘modernity’ of nation-states and Liberal Democracy is an idea that was profoundly and deliberately manufactured by imperialism, partly to justify it.

Nowadays, the model is still championed, but Britain and the USA’s reaction to revolts in the Middle-East highlight contradictions within. We celebrate, on moral and ethical grounds, the liberation of the people, the triumph of democratic values, yet for years and years we have courted dictators and tyrants for economic benefit. Throughout history, Britain’s foreign policy credentials in terms of morality are shockingly low. How can we continue to maintain this paradox? To pretend to promote and influence the adoption of liberal democracy abroad, and yet continue to embark on foreign policy initiatives that are – sometimes openly – not rooted in values or morality and undermining the pursuit of liberal democracy. Even worse, is the smugness we feel when watching the Egyptian revolution – they’re catching up with us; they’re realising what’s best. In fact, the struggle of the Egyptians was as much a struggle against the West’s economic support of Mubarak, as against the man himself (whether they realised it or not).
Last week, David Cameron travelled around the Middle East shamelessly promoting the sale of British arms to the very governments who undermine every single aspect of ‘Liberal Democracy’. This example is only the latest of the hypocrisy that has defined British foreign policy for years under both Labour and Conservative governments – a hypocrisy that is rarely ever acknowledged by the mainstream press. Few people know of what happened to the small Island of Diego Garcia in 1966, under Harold Wilson’s Labour Government. There, the residents of the island, who had been there for generations, were forcibly evacuated from their homes in order to set the Island up as a military base for the USA. The inhabitants were given minimal help and many were left homeless and helpless. This incident was kept quiet from the British public and even from MPs for years. In light of this, maybe we ought to rethink the meaning of the word ‘democracy’ before we get on our high horse about it. The west’s approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict highlights further how self-interest takes precedence over morality in worldly affairs. Rarely is the daily suffering of Palestinians ever properly acknowledged by politicians, as British and American governments continue to supply arms to Israel.
Former foreign secretary Robin Cook once spoke not of “ethical foreign policy” but “a foreign policy with an ethical dimension.” This may seem like a shameless admission of self-interested foreign policy, but personally, I sometimes struggle to see where the “ethical” dimension comes in at all.

The Week In Washington 1

Joe Sandler Clarke

Today in America, approximately 50.7 million people cannot afford health insurance. Further, an estimated 10 per cent of the population are unemployed; there are 5 applicants for every job going in the country; the percentage of Americans in poverty has been climbing gradually to 20 per cent for more than a year, and in January, almost 80,000 homes were ‘taken back’ by the banks. With all this going on, you’d think that the Republican Party would offer some kind of legislation to promote job creation or make some effort to stimulate the economy. Yet America is a strange land with an even stranger political system. Republicans, despite winning control of the House of Representatives in November, have offered nothing to stimulate the economy – except extending George W. Bush’s criminally unfair and fiscally unsound tax cuts for the top 1% of Americans, and demanding that draconian cuts be made to social security and unemployment benefits upon which hundreds of millions of American’s are dependent.
Instead of focussing on the economy, the GOP has resorted to familiar vote catching territory: the uterus. The ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act’, a bill put forward by Representative Chris Smith from New Jersey would, as Emily McFadden of the University of Washington newspaper The Daily has stated, “drastically limit financial assistance for abortion in many rape cases”. The bill states that only victims of ‘forcible rape’ would qualify for federally funded abortions. Here the word ‘forcible’ appears to mean an act of what McFadden terms “outright violence”; yet as many have pointed the use of this term would mean that victims of incest or statutory rape, as well as those who were drugged or incapacitated in some way during the act, would be denied the right to an abortion. More heinously, in Texas, Republican lawmakers are discussing a bill that would mean that women wanting an abortion would be forced to view an ultra-sound of their baby and have the foetus described to them by a doctor at least two hours prior to the procedure, and regardless of why the abortion is taking place.
The sad irony of these pieces of legislation is that they come from a party who spends all of its time championing small government and individual rights, yet seems determined to have the most intrusive government imaginable: a government that decides what goes on in American women’s wombs.
So with poverty becoming more widespread, health insurance costs spiralling, unemployment increasing and the American economy seemingly in a state of permanent decline compared with the likes of China and India; the Republican’s have decided that the most pressing issue in America today is abortion. Teddy Roosevelt’s famous maxim that “a typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues” has never been more apt.

Elections, Elections, Elections

Jessica Brown</strong Politics Editor

Anyone who has made the disproportionately epic journey from Piccadilly bus station down Oxford road will have undoubtedly noticed MMU’s ‘Elexions’ campaign, clothed in word play, yet, ready to embrace the changing tides of student politics. Behind the slightly odd word play – and my own grammatical snobbery is something much more serious – the embarkation of the student body on this year’s academic electoral proceedings. The University of Manchester Students’ Union’s hustings occurred last Monday, a defining episode in the academic term encompassing the lengthily campaigning season, the tawdry Facebook groups and the eventual selection of new students for office. The process indeed spans much of second semester, hopeful candidates stand, full of promise, of hope and of inspiration for the coming year. They arrive, perhaps overly optimistic, yet encouraged to produce an exceptional Union body, a union that will work harder and better in future semesters.
Among many of my contemporaries, over the course of my degree programme I have often noted a very cynical attitude towards such elections. Some have branded them internally pre-destined, petty, party political and even pointless, a small scale and needless political exercise designed merely to bolster the already strong position of those already keenly involved with the Union and its politics. True, there are the stalwarts of the Union, some of whom have been intrinsically connected to UMSU from their very first day of university life at the. Those that have grown through the union, participating in Fuse FM, working tirelessly in the Mancunion office or campaigning heavily for reduced tuition fees, for women’s rights or perhaps even as continual members of the bar staff.
Fundamentally, these elections should generally be regarded as incredibly positive for the development of the student body in two key and unwavering instances, in the process of electing a new union, and in the benefits the process itself has on individual political aspiration and the promotion and progression of political activity that is personal and representative. The benefits of electing a new set of Union representatives are incredibly apparent. Those who are chosen will form the basis and foundations of the new academic cycle will become the people that work tirelessly hard to make sure the Union functions effectively and in the interests of the voting electorate. Whether it be as Mancunion Editor or as General Secretary, the influence and impact the Union Executive have is first hand and undeniable.
However, the course of my dialogue is not to reciprocate the point of voting in the guise that you will be setting forth a new, exciting and inspirational executive, not that you should vote for the benefit of your fellow students or that they will revolutionise your experience of University, even though undoubtedly the above are all true. My perspective on the forthcoming elections is that they have an importance that is incredibly personal and can be seen as a pillar for an individual political development and progression. Most of the students currently at the University will have been gifted with the opportunity to vote in the recent General elections. However, over the course of a term in parliament, there will be a large sector of the student electorate who, due to age constraints will have been unable to cast their decisions in such ways. I would like to proffer that the importance of the Students’ Union elections is hence vital in providing a bridge, a link between personal belief systems and the utilisation of political voice in a national environment. Even though the actual system of voting is incredibly different (who in their right mind would actually choose FPTP as a coherent voting structure? Oh yes, the British government) the practises and template remain incredibly similar. Voting is all about being informed about your choice and making a reliable and educated decision.
The Students’ Union voting system, like all elections, allows the experience of the vote to be experienced and participated in by all those eligible. One can dance carelessly through the manifestos, jovially attend the hustings; proffering questions on financial management or Union policy and skip down the halls of knowledge, branding in ones hand the gift of the student vote. For Union elections, just like a general election require the same process, the same experience. Educate yourself on the candidate pledges, experience the thrill of the political campaign and finally, cast that vote. In a dismal era where generally only half those eligible to vote in a general election actually manage to turnout, the Students’ Union elections and other more localised instances of political interaction offer a reliable and intrinsic pathway to political development. It is this small scale, perhaps grass roots involvement that needs to be instituted within the frameworks of national political discourse, if there should ever be the possibility of increasing and expanding the community of informed voters in this country. Even if you don’t agree with Union politics or you don’t feel like you are currently informed enough to make a decision, as students of this University, you have a certain duty to make your opinions heard. Yes, the Students’ Union elections may represent a hypothetical bridge between personal belief and national participation, but ultimately, it is an individual choice to take the opportunity, to participate in the localised process, to extend one limb aloft and cross the gulf to embrace union life.

“Sorry mate, no can do, ‘Elf and safety an all that”

Tom Hoctor

An early action of the coalition government was to commission a report into the merits of health and safety legislation. This was much trumpeted by the media, and was seen as a victory for the papers that had campaigned tirelessly for common sense against the incursions of the nanny state telling people how to live their lives. When the report was published, however, it failed to see the light of day in any of the papers that are so obsessed with ‘’elf and safety’. Perhaps the reason for this was that the conclusions of the report found several interesting things about the realities of health and safety legislation, findings that tallied poorly with the media narrative.

The first thing to point out about health and safety legislation is that it is exactly the kind of thing that the trade unions fought for so long to bring about. Creating mandatory levels of safety to stop people being injured unnecessarily is desirable in and of itself. It is also a useful way of codifying standards should a tribunal be necessary. In this respect legislation is eminently sensible, protecting both employer and employee. Vaguely rational explanations of the subject are not something that one would expect to find in the papers though. This was the first thing that the report pointed out: tabloid hysteria about health and safety legislation is totally disproportionate to its application to everyday life (surely not!). A story in Richard Littlejohn’s column in the Daily Mail, for example, reported council employees applying health and safety legislation to force a blind man to pick up his guide dog’s poo. This story later proved to be untrue but few people read the corrections pages. These stories are a staple of newspapers: ‘jobs worth’ council employees bossing everyone around and snooping about business allows people to get suitably furious about perceived incursions on individual privacy.

A second and perhaps more worrying development the report found was the tendency of local councils to use ‘elf and safety’ as a justification for not providing services. Health and safety legislation was almost never the underlying reason for these cancellations. The most common factor was expense. Even things like village fêtes, or cheese-rolling spectacles costs money, and cash-strapped councils found that it was easier to blame Health and Safety than explain that actually it was rather expensive to staff and supervise all this stuff, and they didn’t much fancy footing the bill. ‘Elf and safety became convenient shorthand for these occasions.

Of course this masks something that should be a very real concern to all of us. Our councils are both falsifying the reason for not subsidising public events, and incredibly underfunded. Another potential use for this kind of smoke and mirrors tactic is when councils use it as a means to stop people getting involved in local politics. In a recent case reported in Private Eye, Oxfordshire County Council closed a staircase in order to stop people entering the council chamber and exercising their right to be involved in debates. When this didn’t work they then seated the same group as far from the councillors as possible, because there were loose video cables that presented a tripping hazard.

This is pretty disgraceful behaviour, devaluing the original purpose of health and safety legislation that David Cameron described as ‘good, straightforward legislation designed to protect people from major hazards’. Instead people view it as the advance guard of the nanny state come to take over their lives. In reality the association arises because the media wants to create a narrative that will work people into a lather.
Furthermore, the local councils want either to save large amounts of money or prevent the population from exercising their democratic rights within the framework of local politics. Crucially, even though the original purpose of Health and Safety legislation was built on a foundation of good intention it has been used as a vehicle for the manipulation of the population through local councils and the national media.

Choice, competition and markets: Andrew Lansley and the future of the National Health Service

Martin Scott

The recent guidelines proposed by the Health Secretary undoubtedly mark a major shake up of the function and future of the National Health Service. On the surface, the plans seem rather democratic. Foundation Trusts are the embodiment of the Government’s commitment to devolution and decentralisation in the public services, and are at the heart of a patient led NHS. By 2014, every hospital will be a foundation trust. Foundation Trusts seem to behold all the values that a democracy holds dear: accountability, community driven, sense of ownership, and, most importantly, ‘they have a primary purpose of providing NHS care to NHS patients according to NHS quality standards and principles – free care based on need, not ability to pay’. It would be easy to surmise that a National Health Service consisting of Foundation Trusts can only mark a step forward for creating a more efficient and more democratic system, but this is not necessarily the case.
The reforms proposed by Lansley are not based on bringing the NHS to the people, they are motivated by a desire to inject the virtues of the market into the NHS in the hope that this will raise efficiency and keep costs down. Foundation Trusts will be run like small businesses owned by the staff and competing against their local ‘rivals’. Referring to the reforms in the guise of ‘devolution’ is perhaps a rather overly optimistic way of looking at it, the government is keen to divert any burden of failing practices away from themselves and blame their inevitable dissolution on the forces of the market.
Lansley believes that the NHS is suffering because it has not been kept on its toes by the invisible hand of the market, that it has been complacent and lazy. He is therefore planning to implement market forces into hospitals. As a result, they will be given the option to become ‘mutual’s’, a system based on the principle that the staff ‘own’ the service. This has damaging implications for equity among staff; new employees could be shut out of the NHS pension scheme and the plan would also introduce variable pay schemes across the NHS. In addition to this, Lansley has suggested that there will be no bailouts for failing hospitals; they simply will be allowed to go bust. Implementing such a strict sentiment of market driven principles into an institution that is state owned and was founded on the principle of providing a national standard of care for all seems slightly unfair.
How does this impact on the patient? This new pro-market agenda has been focused on a ‘patient-led NHS’. The coalition’s plans are driven towards empowering the patient (or consumer) with the ability to choose the practice they prefer based on information that they are provided or on the advice of their GP. The constitution states “You have the right to make choices about your NHS care and to information to support these choices. The options available to you will develop over time and depend on your individual needs”. Based on this, the plans seem rather empowering. They appear to be driven towards the patient’s needs and preferences and are very much in line with the pledge to make the NHS patient-led. However, yet again, there is a catch. It has been argued that ‘choice’ is a reflector of class. Writing for the Guardian, Yvonne Roberts has suggested that choice is relative and will be exercised most effectively by “those with the greatest confidence, eloquence, and sense of entitlement”. It is believed that ‘choice’ is primarily beneficial to the white middle class. Other patients, such as the old and those whose first language is not English are thought to depend much more on the advice of their GP.
It is important that we evaluate Andrew Lansley’s plans for what they are; an injection of market forces into public services in the hope that this will drive costs down, rather than for what it appears to be on the surface, a democratisation of the NHS to promote efficiency and greater patient control. The plans put forward by Lansley are detrimental for the provision of a national standard of care. Competition among practices will arouse a pressure to dominate rather than collaborate which could bring new tensions to inter-organisational relationships, a distraction that is damaging and unnecessary. The patient will slowly become the consumer and will ‘shop around’ for the most appropriate choice. This could lead to one provider becoming commercially unviable and, as a result, the services are limited or stopped, while another provider becomes commercially viable with its services being stepped up. For me, there is only one possible outcome of these proposals, marketisation can only feed and strengthen a two-tier system which represents anything but a national standard of care that promotes equitable treatment among its patients regardless of location, income or nationality.

Live: The Creole Choir of Cuba @ RNCM

RNCM — February 12th 2011 — 4 1/2 stars

The Creole Choir of Cuba’s invocatory, cultural whirlwind of a performance at the RNCM left me both astounded and invigorated; grateful that at least in other parts of the world there are musicians who stick to their roots rather than becoming over-produced and losing that raw ‘spirit’ of music. The Creole Choir is not simply a group formed to showcase the outstanding natural talent of their individual voices, they fervently fight to depict the plight of their ancestors who were bought from Africa and forced to work in slave conditions in the sugar and coffee plantations of Cuba.

This then is quite a tall order for an ensemble who hardly speak a word of English. This is, however, achieved through passionate, dulcet and textured harmonies as the effortless switch between leads and the bongo drummer proudly takes centre stage allowing the previous lead to take a backseat and play the cowbells. Chant ‘Peze Café’ uses the analogy of a boy shouting for his mother as he is robbed when taking the family’s coffee crop to be weighed symbolising the difficulties faced in everyday life, whereas others such as ‘Chen Nan Ren’, meaning chains around the waist, are more revolutionary, defiant cries for freedom.

After the interval the tone of the songs take on a more celebratory character as audience members are invited to dance on stage and to sing along with the choir but the most evocative moment came at the humble ending. The choirs final prayer like song, performed as they ascended into the audience to systematically shake hands with as many of the transfixed crowd as possible, stands a million miles away from the typical climactic, boastful ‘encore’ of a show we are used to nowadays. Instead, they sealed the gracious and community strong image that their songs had invoked throughout the night. The choir then proceeded to leave out of the doors that we entered through, and there they waited, eager to thank everyone who walked past them and to sign copies of their album Tande-la, which now has pride of place on my desk at home.

Ryan Charafeddine

Chopping Block: James Blake


James Blake
James Blake
R&S Records

Verdict 1: ‘A spine tingling example of the direction in which pop music should be moving.’
4 stars
Sophie Donovan

Beguiled by the exciting experimental EPs released in the last few years by the Goldsmiths alumnus, critics found it hard not to tip James Blake for greatness in 2011. However, his unfortunate involvement in the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2011’ poll saw his name become a buzzword for ‘trendy’ radio presenters to prove their interest in electronic producers and endangered him in becoming over-exposed baloney in the eyes of previous fans. Lucky, then, that he reassured these haters with a spine tingling example of the direction in which pop music is, and should be, moving with his self titled debut album.

Whilst having sampled his own vocals before, this release sees Blake move away from the use of the dulcet tones of iconic 90s RnB favourites, such as Kelis and Aaliyah, and become an all-singing all-pianoing one-man show. If you’re concerned that this means farewell to rimshots, handclaps, snaps and snares then never fear, they remain as he continues to display the skill of production which sparked such interest in his EPs. Opener ‘Unluck’ showcases his honeyed, soulful voice as it saws over eruptions of beats and melodic piano chords skate below.  While, tracks such as ‘To Care (Like You)’ and ‘I Never Learnt to Share’ demonstrate how to escape the singer-songwriter label through his use of electronic effects and push the record into a grey area between genres resulting in an enthralling yet challenging listen.

Signed to a major label, a far cry from his first single released on Untold’s independent- Hemlock, the record is sure to secure a vast audience. Let us hope then, that the precision and skill with which this generous debut was crafted doesn’t go unnoticed, that his approach to the production of pop-music is applauded, and that James Blake is remembered for more than coming second to Miley Cyrus’s songwriter in a crap poll.

Verdict 2: ‘Studying popular music at Goldsmith’s may give you the technical know-how but not the charisma.’
2 stars
Phoebe Hurst

James Blake stormed 2011 with a flurry of internet hype and critical praise for his innovations in post-dubstep, described as ‘hard and heavy in a surprising, thoughtful way’ and lauded for the integration of warm vocals into what can often be a sparse genre. Going by the reviews, his debut album seems to have been worth the wait, with the 22-year-old Londoner receiving second place in the BBC Sound of 2011 poll, numerous radio plays and a 9.0 Pitchfork review.

Never being one to doubt the accuracy of Pitchfork Media, I endeavored to put aside my preconceptions about dubstep or overhyped artists and listen to James Blake. There’s no questioning Blake’s musical talent, as a classically trained pianist he knows how to push melodic hooks until they become infectious and expertly weaves the analogue texture of piano chords with cold industrial samples. Similarly, throughout the album his voice flits from the robotic to a kind of strangled Jeff Buckley and ends with a full blown gospel choir on ‘Measurements’, thanks to the mixing of his own and sampled vocals.

But for all this experimentation James Blake still feels like a very thought out album. Although this is no bad thing, the perfectly timed silences seem a little self-satisfied (Blake has admitted to extending ‘the silence slightly, because I was enjoying it so much’) and the over-dramatic lurches from thick drum beats to  bare piano chords stifle any real emotion that could come from ‘Limit To Your Love’. Blake’s background goes some way in explaining his painfully calculated approach to music production (studying popular music at Goldsmith’s may give you the technical know-how but not the charisma).

If the critics are to be believed and James Blake is the pioneer bringing dubstep to the masses, surely he can do it with a few less moody silences and a bit more personality.

The White Stripes’ end is an example to us all

The music world erupted in both tribute and despair last week when The White Stripes announced they were no more. After having made some of the classic tracks of the last decade, the end was strangely understated.

A statement from the record company to the fans, saying both were fine and well and the reason for the split was “mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way”. But for all your ‘Seven Nation Armies’ and festival headline shows, that one sentence could be the bands greatest achievement.

Far too many bands go on well beyond the limits of their welcome or their talent. Guns N Roses live on more as Axl Rose’s ego than a real band. KISS are gearing up to release their 24th studio album, no longer the cutting edge but just sad old men wearing facepaint.

When Oasis, Britpop’s sacred cow, unsurprisingly and acrimoniously exploded in Paris in 2009, fans mourned. But they mourned for ‘Morning Glory’, not ‘Don’t Believe the Truth’. More bands should follow The White Stripes and end at the top of the game, rather than becoming pale imitations of their former selves.

[‘Sad old men?’ I refute this claim. Any band that wears facepaint and breathes fire is, in fact, the shit: Music Editor Tom]

Album: PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

PJ Harvey
Let England Shake
Universal Islands Record Ltd.
4 stars

Let me first begin by stating that I like PJ Harvey. I like concept albums. I like history. And I like weird, plinky music. If these things are not true of you, you may not share my enthusiasm for Let England Shake. Polly Jean has created a magical album that follows the theme of war, wriggling its way under your skin and into your heart. Critics are going crazy for her experimental music, powerful lyrics and Bjork-esque high-pitched wail. It’s sure to be a festival and awards favourite, but is certainly not for everyone. Give it a listen, and then give it another.

Jenny Novitzky

Live: Simian Mobile Disco @ Sankeys

Simian Mobile Disco
Sankeys
10th February 2011
4 stars

Bugged Out! has been at the cutting edge of electro since its conception at  Sankeys in 1994. However, the drought of bodies at the door suggested that the excitement surrounding electro-house at the end of the last decade had finally subsided. Luckily, the night left a convincing impression of where the future of this sub-genre may lie.

James Holroyd opened in the main room with a set that imposed a nonchalant feel onto the energy of electro-house with the use of saxophone samples and percussion, resulting in an effective introduction to the night. This kept the clubbers involved but still left enough leeway for the headliners to make an impact. When SMD took to the decks it was evident that the duo had abandoned the pop laden hooks of their first two albums in favour of the more low-key approach of their third, Delicacies. This marks an important transition, which has seen the pair move towards a concentration on the club scene and the effectiveness of their material on the dance floor over their previous, more universal success. The set retained its electro-house roots with the use of distorted and compressed bass lines but was notably more minimal and leant towards techno, suggesting that the duo have learned that less is more. However, throughout the set, the use of effects and laconic yet resonate vocal samples produced wide soundscapes which overlapped the more minimal elements and kept the set macroscopic.  Whereas in previous DJ sets, Simian Mobile Disco have often given the impression that they are primarily studio producers, it seems that they have now mastered the DJ booth as well.

The intimacy of the venue and the innovation of the DJs resulted in a highly successful night and documented the new direction in which Simian Mobile Disco and electro itself may be heading.

Mitchell Holmes

Live: Kylesa @ Moho Live

Kylesa w/Okkultokrati, Iron Witch & Hammers
@ Moho Live
February 10th 2011 
2 & 1/2 stars

Not often does a night split itself into extremes as much as this. Opening act Hammers start the night painfully dull for such a crushingly heavy band and, whilst anything but dull, following act Iron Will’s haphazard set leaves you wondering if it is deliberate that they sound so incredibly out of time from one another. No surprise then that they announce to the waiting crowd that they are looking for a new drummer.

Okkultokrati begin to pick up things with a spooky, sludgy set, which was genuinely impressive, despite their frontman appearing to be a poster for the campaign against meth. Nonetheless, arms stay folded until Kylesa’s dual drums kick in, energetically paced, yet melodic. Outplaying all three bands of the night, they end changing pace with a haunting and surprisingly beautiful tune which surprisingly rings in the ears long after the end of the night.

Tom Geddes

Album: The Streets – Computers and Blues


The Streets
Computers and Blues
Atlantic Records
4 Stars

News of the eagerly anticipated final Streets album release has excited fans, hearing claims that Mike Skinner had returned to the high standards of ‘Original Pirate Material’ and ‘A Grand Don’t Come For Free.’

Once again Mike Skinner has produced a fresh and impressive album, reminiscent of the early work that made him the success he is.  Many feel that it is definitely not his best album, perhaps third in line, and I would have to agree.  Whilst this may seem harsh, this still gives Computer and Blues ample high praise.

‘Without Thinking’, a classic bouncy Streets song about living life for the moment and going out on a whim is a highlight of the release. ‘Soldiers’ and ‘OMG’ manage to be even better, the latter being an unlikely success- somehow managing to divulge the information of a change in Facebook relationship status without with out making you want to stab yourself in the eye. However it is probably the album’s final two tracks that give us the perfect farewell to The Streets. ‘Trust Me’ is produced in a style, resonant of his debut album. This leaves Mike Skinner handing in his notice with ‘Lock the Locks’, a powerful track that manages to end the album perfectly, just as ‘Stay Positive’ and ‘Empty Cans’ have done before. This itself is a fine piece of work, that is sadly let down occasionally by a weak chorus or the occasional line. Nonetheless it was always going to be hard for Mike Skinner to gain critical acclaim when he has such a prestigious back catalogue for comparison.

The record is an appropriate and enjoyable release to end Streets saga on – that is, until the money runs out and we see the inevitable comeback.

Michael Beer