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Month: February 2014

Long live the Audacious Church

Written by Lauren Wills on . Posted in Opinion.

From the horrendous allegations against priests in the Catholic Church, to pastors in evangelical Churches living in million dollar mansions, one might ask whether the Christian Church has had its day. In a modern-day, multi-cultural and secular society, do we really need the Church?

It only takes a minute when walking into Manchester to realise that this city needs help. You can give some change to a homeless person and get that warm feeling inside, only to turn the corner and see a whole row of people living on the street. There is addiction, prostitution, homelessness and trafficking in our city. Whilst not undermining individual help, it’s evident these people need structure and consistency; an organisation who are 100% committed to deliberate kindness and altruism.

Last week, the BBC reported that Audacious Church in Manchester took 100 homeless people out to the Red Hot World Buffet for an all-expenses paid meal. To even watch this on the news was heart-warming; people who had never been to a restaurant before were enjoying a fantastic evening. Perhaps more importantly, this wasn’t a single act or a publicity stunt. The Church opens its doors to the homeless every week for food and drinks. The Church has 1000 people every Sunday attend their 3 services, diverse in background, ethnicity and class. At Christmas, the Church even hired a limousine to take the homeless women for a spa day.

This portrays the Church in a light contrary to what we’ve been shown by the media. No brainwashing, no exclusivity, no ‘Christian bubble’ when it comes to helping people, but a genuine altruistic desire to make a difference. Francis Chan considered this in his book ‘Crazy Love’, discussing the many people who say ‘I don’t believe in organized religion’. He argues that people wouldn’t say this if the Church really lived how they are called to live by their values. The Audacious Church appears to be changing the face of religion in secular society, which evidently is well needed.

The vision of Audacious Church involves displaying the love of God to others. Its desire is to be a ‘Church which stops the traffic”. It has a culture of being-all inclusive, all-accepting and committed to helping others. When we attend on the odd occasion at Christmas or Easter, we have fears of being rejected or looked down upon for being different, for being ‘sinful’ or not truly believing. Audacious turns this ideology on its head with its radical 21st century style and its inclusive culture.

In fact, sometimes I wonder where it all went wrong. The bible shows that Jesus interacted with cheaters, liars, outcasts, the contagiously sick and even prostitutes. On one occasion he let a prostitute wash his feet and then wipe them dry with her hair. If that’s not outrageous, I don’t know what is. I sometimes wonder how that could have possibly turned into an exclusive club of religious people coming together every Sunday.

I for one am glad there are Churches like Audacious changing the perception of religion in the UK, ensuring they are inclusive, and committed to making a difference in the outside world. The Church is certainly alive and well, and is committed to doing its very valuable job.

Album: Wild Beasts – Present Tense

Written by Jonny McAreavey on . Posted in Music.

Released 24th February, 2014

Domino

7/10

Now on their fourth effort, Present Tense captures Wild Beasts in some kind of musical Autumn, in limbo of direction and sound and in the process of shedding many of their most recognisable characteristics.

The band’s gentle percussion, reverb-soaked timbres and sense of perversity, persevere. Meanwhile Hayden Thorpe’s extraordinary countertenor voice and Tom Fleming’s rustic growl remain. Present Tense, however, finds Wild Beasts coming out of the woods, as it were, and moving towards a much more accessible destination.

Forthcoming first single and first track, ‘Wanderlust’, is the best instance of this. Other than the odd ‘Devil’s Crayon’, Limbo, Panto and Two Dancers were albums that required several listens to be fully rewarding and ‘Wanderlust’ is by far the most challenging thing here, if only for its atypical pop structure and metronomic, almost crazed beat, in 3/4 time. The song is also cloaked in brash electronic timbres which those albums (and third effort Smother) held, but would not have housed to such a degree; a prevalent feature of the rest of Present Tense.

Most commonly such electronic timbres manifest themselves in lewd saw wave form (‘Sweet Spot’, ‘Wanderlust’) or as chiming leads (‘Daughters’, ‘Past Perfect’, ‘Nature Boy’). Meanwhile, there is the scent of danceability in the almost funk basslines of ‘A Simple Beautiful Truth’ and ‘Past Perfect’.It’s not quite synthpop – the band have not lost their sensitivity or sense of mysticism – though, there is certainly a ‘bigger’ aura surrounding Present Tense, than on previous work.

Indeed, much of the album resembles Kate Bush (on Hounds of Love) and Talk Talk (on The Colour of Spring) at their most pop-centric, whilst retaining a dedication to delicate and nuanced song-writing. Common pop chord progressions are a staple of Present Tense, whilst big choruses are another.  Highlight, ‘Mecca’ revolves around two such choruses in succinct loveliness, with Thorpe cooing in typically reflective and yearning mood “All we want is to feel that feeling again”.  If it weren’t for such sensitivity, ‘Sweet Spot’ could almost be a Peaches song, though it does capture Wild Beasts love for the suggestive, with Thorpe intoning “Between the womb and the end” at the song’s stripped climax.

What is questionable, however, is if this breaks any new sonic ground. There are no dulcimers, no ‘Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants’ and generally nothing difficult. “Throw the ball up into space” says Fleming on ‘A Dog’s Life’. It’s not difficult to see a band gazing skywards.

Review: Pangaea – The Lost City

Written by Patrick Hinton on . Posted in Music.

25th January

UoMSU

8/10

As an event fuelled by post exams celebratory spirit, Pangaea was always going to be an enjoyable affair. Yet this January’s The Lost City edition displayed the event’s worth beyond being just a place to get wrecked before starting work and lectures again on Monday.

The music spun throughout the night enthralled the present revellers. Despite the aqueous theme, Paul Woolford managed to ignite Academy 2 with the fire that is his remix of ‘Renegade Master’, whilst Manchester legend Zed Bias caused the outdoor tent to erupt with a slick edit of ‘Get Get Down’ and ‘Hackney Parrot’. Artwork impressively MC’d much of his own set, declaring “I like Manchester, they know how to dance”, whilst throwing down disco classics such as Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ and Todd Terje’s utterly ecstatic ‘Inspector Norse’.

The smaller rooms in the Union were overtaken by a number of Manchester’s dance music promoters and they superbly showcased the city’s musical diversity. Bank and Mekka kept their room raw and dark with bass heavy techno; Hi Ku proved their eclecticism by mixing the likes of Marvin Gaye’s soulful ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ and Lone’s erratic ‘Airglow Fires’; the M20 Collective room went on a journey from funk and hip hop, through electro swing, to Breakbeat and DnB.

Being in the Union makes Pangaea particularly novel, the site of exams and rushed pre-lecture coffees is transformed into a hedonistic setting filled with elaborate costumes and music that isn’t someone murdering Fur Elise on that piano. In terms of University sponsored events, it can’t be beat.

Top 5: Rising stars of 2014

Written by Jackson Ball on . Posted in Film.

5. Dane DeHaan

After bursting on to the scene with great performances in the likes of Chronicle and Kill Your Darlings, DeHann looks set to keep his momentum high. He’ll be starring in off-beat comedy Life After Beth opposite Anna Kendrick, before playing Harry Osborne in this summer’s The Amazing Spiderman 2.

4. Imogen Poots

This year, Poots is really going places. She will be starring opposite Zac Efron in rom-com That Awkward Moment, and then it’s on to this summer’s Need for Speed. Lastly, she’s landed a role in Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, scheduled for a late 2014 release.

3. Joel Kinnaman

The Swedish star from The Killing is set to take the action genre by storm, landing the titular role in the Robocop remake. If that was not enough, Kinnaman will get to flex his acting muscles in Malick’s much-awaited Knight of Cups too.

2. Juno Temple

Easily the busiest actress this year, you might find it difficult to avoid Juno Temple this year. First she is opposite Daniel Radcliffe in Horns, followed by roles in Maleficent and Truck Stop. Finally, Temple will cap off the year by playing Sally in the hotly anticipated sequel Sin City: a Dame to Kill For.  

1. Chris Pratt

Previously best known for his hilarious antics on Parks and Recreation, Pratt is going to have a humungous year, starting by voicing the lead character in The Lego Movie. However, this summer he’ll reach dangerous levels of awesomeness, playing Star-Lord in Marvel’s new franchise: Guardians of the Galaxy. 

Preview: The Double

Written by Angus Harrison on . Posted in Film.

“It was a little before eight o’clock in the morning when Yakov Petrovitch Golyadkin, a titular councilor, woke up from a long sleep. He yawned, stretched, and at last opened his eyes completely. For two minutes, however, he lay in his bed without moving, as though he were not yet quite certain whether he were awake or still asleep, whether all that was going on around him were real and actual, or the continuation of his confused dreams.”

So begins Dostoyevsky’s The Double, a bizarre novella of mistaken identity and the source material for Richard Ayoade’s second feature. He hasn’t given very much away as of yet, opting for a trailer that, unlike most, doesn’t detail every major plot point or all the best jokes. Yet there are still some fantastic details worth picking out from the stirring teaser. Most notably the stellar cast he has gathered together. The film will star Jesse Eisenberg, not once but twice as he plays the protagonist Golyadkin and the films antagonist –  his doppledanger. Surrounding the two Eisenbergs are Mia Wakowski, Shawn Wallace, Noah Taylor, the elusive Chris Morris and Yasmin Paige (who is working with Ayoade again after her turn in Submarine).

Beyond the cast the trailer actually gives very little detail on plot. One option would be, of course, to read the novella which would most likely give a fairly good synopsis. Mostly I’m a pretty staunch advocate of ‘reading the book’ – it can give the film a much greater context and allows the director a more space to breathe, not being tied to spelling out narrative details. However in this case, I think I’m going to watch the film first. The very aesthetic of the trailer is intriguing enough, suggesting an charming yet somehow ugly concrete landscape of nondescript offices and bureaus. Eisenberg’s character is clearly going to be challenged by his double, in his work life and his social life, yet the coiled tension of the trailer certainly suggests that this conflict will be played out slowly. This simmering quality should create a perfect atmosphere for sharp comedy and dynamic interactions between the excellent cast.

Finally there is Ayoade behind the camera. Now more than ever he is more than Moss from The IT Crowd, but if he needed anything to truly cut the chord it will be this film. Described by those who have seen it as ‘weird as fuck’ and ‘knowingly niche’, it seems he has stepped far beyond the groundwork he set out in ‘Submarine’, breaking into new bewildering Gillam-esque territory. The film has gone down a storm at Sundance and can be expected in the UK in April.

Cornerhouse Pick of the Week: How to Survive a Plague

Written by Tom Bruce on . Posted in Film.

If you’re interested in the upcoming drama Dallas Buyers Club, which sees Matthew McConaughey as an AIDS suffering activist, How to Survive a Plague is the perfect companion piece. Howard France’s decade spanning retrospect on the ACT-UP AIDS movement got a best documentary Oscar nod last year, and by combining ‘talking head’ style exposition with the activist group’s amazing raw footage, he has created an extremely informative and inspiring feature.

In 1987, hospitals in Manhattan’s East village were taking pneumonia stricken, blister covered AIDS victims and turning them into the street. There was nothing anybody could do; there were no known treatments, nobody even knew how it was contracted and worst of all, the immune disorder was surrounded by an inescapable, homophobic stigma.  Largely due to the efforts of a group of New York based AIDS activists, a drug called AZT became widely available as the first line of defence against their deadly, invisible foe. Unfortunately, AZT was purely a stopgap; meds cost around $10,000 a year, it was heavily toxic for the users’ organs and it did not cure the symptoms, it merely abated them.  How to Survive a Plague tracks the relentless efforts of people like Peter Staley, Ann Northrop and Larry Kramer, who started the ACT-UP movement to promote awareness about the ever growing AIDS epidemic.

Discrimination, internal divisions and tragic death were just some of the many obstacles faced by the ACT-UP movement as it campaigned for more effective treatments of AIDS. Almost all the people you meet in the documentary are HIV positive, and fully aware that their lives may be cut short due to the apathy and ignorance of the ‘men in charge’. Knowing that they had but little time, this afflicted majority banded together in a most remarkable way. The fact that ACT-UP members never resorted to violence to achieve their means is highly commendable, even keeping their cool when dealing with the corporate faces and policy makers that were actively preventing breakthroughs in AIDS  medication. Rather than conflict, ACT-UP leaders gave impassioned speeches and carried out headline-grabbing hijinks. In response to homophobic Senator Jesse Helms’ disparagement of AIDS prevention (he labelled sufferers as ‘obscene’ sodomites), ACT-UP slipped a 35 foot tall condom over his house. Activism will never be that cool again.

Over time, the emaciation and declining health of the central campaigners becomes quite upsetting, and sadly some don’t make it to see the AIDS advancements of the mid -90s. How to Survive a Plague eradicates the ideology of ‘sodomy’ as an evil that causes AIDS; men, women, homosexuals, heterosexuals – all can be affected. This documentary makes a powerful statement, reminding you that AIDS isn’t a ‘gay thing’, it’s a human thing.

Twitter Tw*ts

Written by Dana Fowles on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Twitter. For most of it’s become the daily newspaper: the first thing we check in the morning and the last thing at night.

According to statisticbrain.com 645,750,000 of us are registered on the social networking site, with this figure increasing by around 135,000 each day. On average 9,100 tweets are posted per second, with this amounting to a whopping 58 million every 24 hours. Home to the latest local, national, global and celebrity news, it’s easy to see why. For us students, it’s a good place to start scanning for internship and graduate opportunities. It’s also a good place to find out the every move of virtually every single person we know.Now, there are those whose Twitter feeds are a pleasure to stalk, I mean, browse. Unfortunately there are also the Twitter tw*ts, whose 140 character updates us with no choice but to contemplate – SHOCK HORROR – unfollowing them. I’m sure we’ve all committed the odd Twitter sin, but here are four of the repeat offenders.

1)      The loved up couples

Love my boyfriend @girlfriend

In bed with @boyfriend having #snuggles. #lovehim #myboo #togetherforever

Love my girlfriend @boyfriend

Loving every second @girlfriend, but stop taking up so much room. #bedhogger #nightinwiththemrs #loveher

You’re in the same room! Please talk to each other. These culprits are also likely to have checked in on Facebook at ‘my baby girl/boy’s bed.’ These kind of tweets are only set to get worse as we approach Valentine’s Day, so brace yourselves #vom.

2)      The football fanatics

MUFC 4eva @thebeautifulgame                   3m

Two men sent off in the space of three minutes.

MUFC 4eva @thebeautifulgame                   2m

That’s much better from United #MUFC.

MUFC 4eva @thebeautifulgame                   30s

Defeat was due to injuries and fatigue caused by lack of depth to squad. #football

Who needs to watch the game when you can get second by second updates from all of your male friends? Go forth and have long and fruitful careers as commentators.

3)      The super organised

Little miss amazing @Iamperfect

Finished all three of my essays for this semester two months early. Time to let my hair down at Gold Teeth tonight. #woo #gome #workhardplayhard

Just how? HOW!? These Tweets make you feel really, really bad about yourself. Like us, they regularly OD on vod. Unlike us, they still find the time to produce First class essays way in advance of the deadlines. They are ‘time management’ personified. #teachus

4)      The gym bunnies

Squat Queen @mybodyisatemple

Got up at 6 for a run then ended the day in my favourite way with 50,000 squats. Not as many as usual, but I’m feeling lazy this week. #stayhealthy #befit

When you’re sat reading these Tweets in a tiger onesie, while shovelling the contents of a share bag of Milky Stars into your mouth, these kind of Tweets are not what you want to see. This person is also likely to post a selfie of ‘the view’ on holiday, which is actually a view of their perfectly toned, bronzed stomach and pins to die for stretched out on a sun lounger. Please. Stop.

So, it’s official. We can now blame the Twittersphere for making us feel terrible about our own  #snuggle-less, squatless, unproductive daily lives. And find out how the game’s going, of course . . .

Trainspotting: Book vs. film

Written by Pam Kaur on . Posted in Books.

Trainspotting is the controversial first novel of Scottish author, Irvine Welsh. Set in the late ‘80s, it exposes us to the world of Edinburgh’s underclass antihero, Mark Renton, and his group of hedonistic and heroin addicted friends. The darker side of their Scottish psyche is peeled back, revealing complicated and controversial issues: HIV/AIDS, nationalism, abortion, the dole, heroin. Despite failing to reach the same level of mainstream success as the film adaptation directed by Danny Boyle, the book is a cult classic and critically acclaimed.

Admittedly, at first it isn’t a ‘fluid’ read. There is something awkward about reading the phonetic Scottish dialect. I mean, God help any foreign language students. Trying to get your head around passages like “ah whip oaf ma keks and sit oan the cold wet porcelain shunky” is a challenge for native English speakers. Yet it is well worth the effort; the ability to ‘read Scottish’ will become second nature after a while. It does add so much depth and character: you can hear them talking in their gritty accents as you read, making Trainspotting hard to put down.

What is interesting about Boyle’s adaptation is the way he manages to capture the zeitgeist of the ‘90s, which is less clear in Welsh’s work. One reassuring correlation between Boyle’s films is his ability to pick the right songs for exactly the right moments, changing the way you perceive and remember the scenes completely. I love the scenes featuring ‘90s britpop band Elastica: Justine Frischmann’s seductively gritty voice flows effortlessly around the shenanigans of Mark Renton. Altogether the soundtrack really epitomises the early to mid ‘90s music scene from the underground androgyny of Elastica to then club royalty Underworld. Boyle simply sums up a time and a place through good music, good directing and good casting.

Technology’s the one that needs a chastity belt

Written by Lauren Arthur on . Posted in Lifestyle.

First came Tinder, then BreakupText  – ‘end your relationship in just a few taps’(?!) – and now it seems technology has wormed its way into the bedroom as well. Japanese lingerie company Ravijour have developed ‘The True Love Tester’, a bra that only opens ‘for true love’

Apparently when truly head over heels, we secrete a hormone called catecholamine which is what increases our heart rate. The bra contains sensors that measure this and uses Bluetooth to connect to the app on your phone for analysis of the data. If the readings fall into a certain category the bra unhooks automatically.

Great, so the slightest increase in heart rate and ping, there goes your underwear. What if you have to run for a bus? Or you like the look of the Nandos waiter? I don’t fancy having to fear a wardrobe malfunction every time I sneeze.

If the idea isn’t stupid enough, the promotion advert is somehow even worse. ‘A revolutionary bra that knows how women truly feel’ says a creepy woman’s voice who sounds as though she’s trying to imitate an evil Disney character. Pause. Rewind. My bra doesn’t need to know how I feel, it needs to support me, make me feel better. ‘The True Love Tester’ with its barely there, diamante studded cups certainly doesn’t look like it would do either.

‘Until now, the bra was a piece of clothing to remove, but now it is an instrument to test for true love’ – brilliant, what we’ve always wanted. It then continues with the sweeping statement that ‘women always seek true love’. What cretinous creature has made this? You can’t just throw sexist statements here there and everywhere and think women will start hailing your company as the new Victoria’s Secret.

Men should be able to design women’s lingerie if they so please but I struggle to see how they can redesign the concept of a garment they don’t wear. And if the advert is a real representation of the ‘automatic unhooking’, the only thing your bra will succeed in doing is knocking your beloved out.

Short stories come to life at Selfridges

Written by Elizabeth Linsley on . Posted in Books.

On a rainy Friday I put on my best coat, straightened my hair and trotted off to a short story reading at Selfridges. I was hoping to look like a glamorous, swishy-haired professional, using my lunch break to feed my brain and not my upper thighs, instead of a late, lazy student.

Three authors, Emma Jane Unsworth, Richard Hirst and Marli Roode each read a short story as part of Selfridges Festival of Imagination. There are events running in Selfridges nation-wide, including Manchester Exchange Square, until 20th February. They include talks and workshops, covering imagination, science, crafting, dinosaurs, music and art. The Whitworth Art Gallery has curated an exhibition in the store.

At a reading the story becomes more than just words on a page; the story becomes transformed by the room you’re sitting in and the person sitting next to you. An amusing sentence becomes much funnier when you’re laughing with a group of people. Characters are brought to life by a comedy French accent. The slight shake of the authors hand on their papers betrays their nerves and is a reminder that they are putting their lovingly crafted words out into the world to be judged.

The stories were excellent; funny, entertaining, thought provoking. ‘I Arrive First’ by Unsworth was a tale of love, where the protagonists communicated entirely through the titles on book covers, until the closure of their library forced them to speak. Hirst’s ‘Bait’ was a darkly comic narrative, as a man used a Snickers bar and a lobster soup to kill his first and second wives by their respective peanut and shellfish allergies. Roode finished with ‘Animal Sentinel’, a melancholic portrait of the end of a marriage. I left the reading feeling inspired and entertained, an excellent way to fill a rainy lunchtime hour.

 

Selfridges Festival of Imagination runs until February 20th. For a list of events, click here.

Ones to watch for 2014

Written by Susie Coen on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Image: uk.burberry.com

The Model: Neelam Johal

Move over Cara, this 18-year-old from Coventry set to be the model of 2014. With those class-cut cheekbones, long luscious locks and envy-inducing eyebrows what more could you want? Johal demanded our attention when she stormed down the runway for Burberry in September wearing an elegant pastel blue lace ensemble and red sandals. On top of this she has been revealed as one of the latest faces for Burberry’s campaign, making her the first Indian model ever to be featured in Burberry fashion campaign. Her success should be an inspiration to other Indian women trying to make it in an infamously harsh industry.

Image: myflashtrash.com

The Designer: Ashely Williams

She’s been deemed the new Henry Holland with her ‘tongue-in-cheek’ prints and refreshing styles. The recent graduate from Westminster University wooed everyone from Vogue to Wonderland in her A/W 2013 shows. She has also just launched a jewellery line with her good friend Pixie Geldof (as you do) called ‘FunkyOffish’. She explained that the phrase implied “an alleged humorous style mash up, but it can also be employed to describe the unexpected cool of anything and everything: from an old snap of Chloe Sevigny playing guitar in a circus leotard through to next season’s Chanel backpack”.  Their gold jewellery ranges from earrings to necklaces with a vintage feel and seems to be just the beginning of what we have to see from Williams.


Image: Flikr Creative Commons @Los Guiltys de Pinguirina

The Actress: Lupita Nyong’o

This star of Steve McQueens 12 Years a Slave star has not only wowed us with her incredible performance, but with a string of style YES’s on the red carpet she has started the year as our style icon of 2014 – a position I can’t see her losing. The 30-year-old actress commanded our attention at the Critic’s Choice Awards in a custom Calvin Klein white dress creating a clean-cut silhouette and leaving the other stars in her shadows. She showed us she wasn’t afraid to experiment at the Golden Globes while wearing a red Ralph Lauren dress with an eye-catching cape. With 12 Years a Slave being her first acting job since leaving Yale School of Drama in 2012, this can only be the beginning of our relationship of envy and adoration with Lupita and her wardrobe.

What goes up must come down

Written by Susie Coen on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

What’s Hot: 

Image: Flikr Creative Commons @Vladmir Serov

P-P-P-Poker straight
Sleek, straight hair is set to be the hairstyle of S/S 2014 with models for names such as Chloe, Helmut Lang and Proenza Schouler  donning it on the runway.

 

 

Image: Flikr Creative Commons @A. Franskoy


Feminism
With Elle magazine campaigning for a rebranding of feminism and Joseph Gordon-Levitt telling Ellen Degeneres he is ‘absolutely’ a feminist, feminism is slowly losing its negative implications.

 


Top 29.99 Zara. Image: zara.com


Pastels
These soft hues are going nowhere this season. Although pink still takes the lead, invest in some lemon yellows, baby blues and mint tones too and clash, clash, clash.

 


Image: thehunt.com

Sportswear
Gym clothes are now a double investment as they move to the front of the fashion scene. First stop, Tiffany blue Nike Free Runs.

 


Image: asos.com

Loose Silhouettes
Figure hugging ensembles are gathering dust in wardrobes while culottes, circle skirts and boyfriend jeans take the limelight.

 

What’s Not:


Image: office.com

Bright Trainers
My eyes bleed when I walk into office – having five different colours on a pair of trainers was never a thing. Stop it.

 

 

Image: Flikr Creative Commons @jaydeeford

Smokey eyes
Time to loose the kohl I’m afraid, ladies. Instead try this season’s staple orange lips or if you need something on your lids opt for a rich solid blue.


Image: topshop.com

Tights
Bare legs are back, oh how we missed you. Spend the money you save on hosiery on taxis to your legs don’t freeze off.

 


Image: debenhams.com

Wedge-heel trainers
It never ceases to amaze me that people ever did, let alone do, wear these. They’re so wrong they should constitute an 8th deadly sin.

 

 


Image: asos.com

Dangly earrings
Drop earrings were all the rage this time last year but ear cuffs have well and truly ousted them as the ‘it’ accessory of 2014.

 

 

February Events

Written by Annie Muir on . Posted in Books.

‘The Other Room’ at The Castle Hotel: an evening of experimental Poetry, featuring Frances Presley, Gavin Selerie and Chris Stephenson. Free.

Wednesday 5th February, 7pm. The Castle Hotel, Oldham Street, Manchester M2 4PD

 

‘Poets and Players’: Poetry read by Alice Oswald music by Chris Davies and Beth Allen. The music on the theme of ‘breath’ that Chris and Beth will perform was commissioned originally by the National Aspergillosis Centre, which treats patients with fungal disease of the lungs. Free.

Sat 8th Feb, 2.30pm. Reading Room, John Rylands Library, 150 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3EH

 

Carol Ann Duffy & Friends: An evening of poetry and music hosted by Manchester’s much-loved Poet Laureate: with readings from students and graduates of the Manchester Writing School at MMU, led by House Poet Liz Venn. £10 for concessions.

Mon 10th Feb, 7pm. The Studio, Royal Exchange Theatre, St Anns Square, Manchester, M2 7DH

 

‘Evidently Stand Up’: Poetry every second Monday of the month at the Black Lion, Salford. Their aim is to bring poetry back to the masses and prove that it can be more than you were taught in school. £3 Entry.

Mon 10th Feb, 7.30pm. The Black Lion, 65 Chapel St, Salford, M3 5BZ

 

Young Enigma, Jackie Kay & guests: Renowned authors and poets Jackie Kay, Patience Agbabi and Gerry Potter join Manchesters young LGBT writers collective Young Enigma for an evening examining the theme of identity. Only £5 for concessions.

Tue 11th Feb, 7.30pm. Contact Theatre – Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6JA

 

An Evening of Canadian Poetry: Canadian poets Sheri Benning, Richard Greene and Nyla Matuk escape the polar vortex to read in Manchester at the Burgess Foundations Engine House. Free.

Tue 18th Feb, 6.30pm. International Anthony Burgess Centre – Cambridge St, Manchester, M1 5BY, GB

 

Kate Tempest, Brand New Ancients: Poet and spoken word artist, Kate Tempest tells an everyday epic over an exhilarating live score played by tuba, cello, violin, drums and electronics. £7 for concessions, book it now!

Fri 21st Feb, 8pm. Contact Theatre

 

The Wasteland: Manchester’s pre-eminent new music ensemble Psappha in collaboration with The International Anthony Burgess Foundation presents Anthony Burgess’s musical setting of T.S. Eliot’s masterpiece. £9 for concessions.

Fri 28th Feb, 6pm. International Anthony Burgess Foundation

 

 

 

Top 5 Campus Novels

Written by Annie Muir on . Posted in Books.

 1. Engleby, Sebastian Faulks

This is not just another campus novel about a boy, Mike Engleby, who attends an ‘ancient university’ and falls completely and unrequited-ly in love with a girl, Jennifer Arkland. It is so much more than that. Read it and find out.

2. Starter for Ten, David Nichols

Set in 1985, Starter for Ten is the story of Brian Jackson from Essex’s first year at an unnamed university, and his two obsessions: Alice Harbinson and the TV Quiz show University Challenge. It was made into a film starring James McAvoy in 2006.

3. This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald’s debut novel examines the lives and morality of post- World War I youth through his protagonist Amory Blaine, a student at Princeton University. The novel evolved from 80 pages of an unpublished novel called The Romantic Egotist which Fitzgerald himself wrote during his own time at Princeton.

4. Gaudy Night, Dorothy L. Sayers

Gaudy Night – set in Shrewbury College, an all-women institution in Oxford – has been called ‘the first feminist mystery novel’. In the novel, published in 1935, the prestigious college is a place of mischief and malice, where pranks, sinister poison-pen letters and vandalism are everyday occurrences.

5. The Rules of Attraction, Bret Easton Ellis

The novel is famous for beginning in the middle of a sentence (the first word is ‘and’), throwing you straight into the lives of a group of spoiled bohemian college students at the fictional Camden College, a liberal arts school on the East Coast of the United States. The story is told in first person accounts by the love-triangle of protagonists, who do drugs, don’t go to class, and throw a few “End of the World” parties.

Album: Neck Deep – Wishful Thinking

Written by Donald Spencer on . Posted in Music.

Released January 14th 2014

Hopeless Records

8/10

When alternative legends New Found Glory played Leeds Festival in 2013, their backdrop on stage read ‘‘Pop-Punk’s not dead.’’ The debut release from U.K. (yes U.K.!) outfit Neck Deep lets these words ring true. Granted, the pop-punk scene is strongly linked to the late 90’s and bad haircuts, but the raw emotion and honesty bleeding from this record breathes contemporary life into a seemingly dormant genre.

The record opens with ‘Losing Teeth’ which lyrically deals with the trials of growing up, with a sound that yells “we aren’t just any band, we’re Neck Deep.” The song has a very angst ridden aura where front man Ben Barlow delivers lines such as “Give a fuck if we don’t fit in, we don’t need them, they don’t know a thing about us.” This cracker should give the crowd a reason to get off their feet and for those hearing the song at home, lyrics with which to identify with.

Wishful Thinking maintains its thunderous momentum with lead single ‘Crushing Grief (No Remedy)’ which went on to become a video made by the fans which showed short, homemade clips of Neck Deep unit fans doing what made them happy. Certainly the song deals with relationship difficulties and the heartache pop-punk lyrics are renowned for, but the fast paced and upbeat guitar tones create a positive essence. Following this is the album’s high point ‘Staircase Wit’ which delivers the typical Neck Deep formula, but with extra wow-factor. The lyrics in this song display just what Neck Deep are capable of and display Barlow as a true poet and down to earth chap “Don’t judge me on my bad habits, I could pick out every flaw of yours, unearth all your imperfections beneath the surface I have seen, the ugly truth behind the beauty queen.”

‘Staircase Wit’ might be the peak, but the album doesn’t go downhill by any means. The mid-section of Wishful Thinking contains some infectious riffs and sing-along worthy chorus’s as well as the second single ‘Growing Pains’ which could brighten the day of even the grumpiest of grumpy gits.

The back end of Wishful Thinking pales slightly in comparison to the preceding bangers. The minute long track ‘Say What You Want’ doesn’t really bring much to the overall package, but is a salute to the aggressive element seen in their debut E.P. Rain In July. There is also a re-recorded version of a song from the same E.P. This does nothing for the record really, but may be a pleasant surprise for hardcore ND fans. The album closes with ‘Candour’ – a heartfelt ballad which demonstrates Ben’s vocal diversity, the lyrical content is open to interpretation but is clearly very personal.

In conclusion, Wishful Thinking is by no means a perfect record, but what defines perfect? Wishful Thinking is a fantastic milestone for the band to build upon, and it wouldn’t be a longshot to state that this is an album people can grow up to.

Men-Hancement

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

In the animal kingdom, the lion’s mane portrays signs of intimidation, sexual maturity and vigour with the lion having an increased chance of mating the more impressive his mane. Similarly, in the human world it is no secret that becoming bald is generally an undesirable concept but are the stakes for having less hair as high? Apparently so. Research finds that women on dating websites are five times more likely to contact men with a full head of hair than those who are thinning on top (Telegraph Online). A full head of hair is a strong indicator of a man’s vitality; he appears to be more youthful, active and strong where as balding men are apparently rated as less attractive, inactive and unkind*. So how can those balding amongst us reverse their situation?

Leading hair extension brand ‘Great Lengths’ have introduced new ‘Men-Hancement’ range.  This allows men to add length, thickness and texture to their hair by using extensions that are specifically designed for men, used not as a replacement for hair but to add body and volume. The bonds are cut super small so aren’t visible and since the extensions are made from real human hair they feel and behave exactly like natural hair. Is there a catch? Despite obvious styling and ego advantages, will male hair extensions help or hinder your love life? A study finds that men with bald heads rank higher for masculinity, strength, dominance and leadership potential** and social networking sites reveal mixed opinions from the ladies. But what does this matter? Male hair extensions have become increasingly popular over recent months – could it be possible that this primal mating prerequisite has transmitted between mammals? Or are men just getting vainer? Either way, boys you can get your hair extensions for £60-80 and they last between 2-3 months, there is a ‘Great Lengths’ salon in Deansgate for your convenience.

 

*Subliminally Exposed: Shocking truths about your hidden desires in mating, dating and communicating. Steven Dyan, 2013

**The University of Pennsylvania, 2012.

Let’s visit… Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

Written by Moya Crockett on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Nestled in a fold in the Pennines, Hebden Bridge is a town with an unusual blend of old-school Yorkshire and hippyish sensibilities. Like much of the North, Hebden flourished during and after the Industrial Revolution, but during the 1970s and 80s the town saw an influx of artists, writers, and activists. Today, the high street is largely made up of independent stores and chip shops, there are annual festivals for the arts and blues music, and it’s been voted the “fourth quirkiest place in the world.” The main draw for my friends and I, though, was the promise of a good old country walk. South Manchester in the bleak midwinter can feel like a bit of an urban wasteland, and of course, there’s nothing like revision to make you desperate for an adventure. The craggy hills of West Yorkshire are a world away from Fallowfield’s grey pavements and chicken shops, but Hebden Bridge is only 30-40 minutes from Manchester Victoria by train (£6.15 day return with a railcard). So in early January, we pull on our most sensible shoes and escape to the country.

We spend most of the train journey gaping out of the window at the wild green land flying past, like those WW2 child evacuees who’d never seen a cow before leaving London. Going somewhere with a gang of friends will always feel like a school trip, even when you’re all in your early twenties. As we zoom through a particularly pretty village, the boys even join in: “Ah, mate, that’s actually sick.” Upon our arrival in Hebden, we continue to impersonate people who have literally never experienced the countryside before, squeaking with joy at the sight of the town. Hebden Bridge is tremendously beautiful in its stout, Yorkshire sort of way, with yellowish stone houses, grey clouds swirling in a wide sky, and a canal lined with painted riverboats. It looks like it should be populated by lots of mysterious, grumpy nans. It looks like the setting of a really great children’s book.

We’ve barely taken three steps out of the train station before we are accosted by a stout old hippy. “Going up the hills?” she asks, giving Ruth’s white Converse a dark look. “Cos those aren’t walking shoes.” After buying giant chip butties from Crown’s (each weighing as much as a two-year-old child), we pop into the Hebden Bridge Visitor Centre, staffed by an elderly man who seems absolutely thrilled to see us. “What sort of walk are you after?” he beams, spreading a map across the counter. The walk to Hardcastle Crags is easy going: two miles, mainly flat. Or we could make the short but steep trip up to Heptonstall, where Sylvia Plath is buried. “Or perhaps you’re looking for something more strenuous?” Oh, we can handle strenuous, we assure him. We’re young, we’re sort of healthy, we have legs that move.

With a new map and an almost entirely unearned sense of confidence, we set off on the 10km climb to Stoodley Pike, a huge stone monument on the upper ridge of the Calder Valley. The climb is over a thousand feet, and feels it: the hillside is seriously steep, particularly at the beginning. In addition, the old hippy’s warning about impractical footwear turns out to be true. It’s wet and muddy, and while those of us wearing wellies can rediscover the joy of puddle-jumping, Ruth’s poor Converse get stuck in sludge on more than one occasion. But it’s a bright, blowy day, we’re in high spirits, and there’s something immensely satisfying about pausing for breath and seeing Hebden Bridge looking suddenly small and faraway at the bottom of the valley. Student life is spent largely indoors − on sofas or in lecture halls – and leisure time takes place in the dark, in a state of disarray, in black-walled clubs or sweaty house parties. Marching across the moors, jumping over stiles in the middle of green nowhere and giving one another piggybacks through puddles, feels like being seven years old again in the best possible way.

Particularly magical is the wooden shed we stumble across, a little way from a ramshackle farm. Inside is a cupboard of Pot Noodles and teabags, a freezer stocked with homemade ice cream and sausages, a kettle and a camping stove. A note reads, “Please help yourself to anything you like and leave something in the honesty box. Enjoy your walk!” Someone got robbed with an axe near my house recently, but out in the wilderness, somebody’s trusting strangers to pay reasonably for ice cream. It’s enough to make you weep.

When we reach Stoodley Pike, we discover that it has an inner spiral staircase leading up to a stone balcony, from which you can gaze across the Pennines. At the top of the ridge the wind is almost enough to lift you off your feet, but we linger before beginning the journey back to Hebden Bridge. The scramble back down to earth takes us through a wood, across stepping stones, and over a waterfall. As we reach Hebden Bridge, dusk is falling. That night, exhausted in the best possible way, I sleep better than I have in months.

It’s all too easy to get hermetically sealed in the student bubble, and you could shuttle up and down the Oxford Road for three years without ever venturing further afield. But every so often, try spending your Sunday up on the moors, not on a comedown. A change of scenery’s always good.

Live: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks

Written by Henry Scanlan on . Posted in Music.

15th January 2014

Gorilla

8/10

Indie hero and ex-Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus brought his sun-soaked rock to a rainy Wednesday night in Manchester. Ambling onstage with the ‘Jicks’, loose-shirted and flicking his hair out of his face, he has the air of a man in perpetual teenager-dom. After a few wry mutterings he launches into ‘Planetary Motion’ and ‘Rumble on the Rambo’ before a swig of beer and some nonsensical back and forth with the crowd. But don’t be fooled by the slacker vibe: here is a supremely skilled and professional guitarist, with a razor sharp band, and he’s not afraid to show it off with a set full of 70s style prog jams that fall just the right side of indulgent.

‘Tigers’ and ‘Senator’ draw the biggest crowd response, but for my money, tracks from the new LP Wig Out At Jagbags are his best in years and the most enjoyable of the night. ‘The Janitor Revealed’ sounds like a classic Malkmus merry-go-round of shifting tempos and lazy crescendos. Breezy new single ‘Lariat’, which Malkmus admits he has “no idea how to play live”, is transformed into something more unhinged in this setting. It threatens to derail until he brings it full circle with a killer solo, which is a common feature in the set. In fact, more than the songwriting or renowned wordplay, it’s Malkmus’ amazing musicianship that holds the attention.

There’s no room for Pavement nostalgia tonight, and no one’s asking for it. The one track from the canon we are treated to is a B-side from their last album – one for the die hards. The biggest slice of nostalgia he affords himself is a tongue-in-cheek cover of Led Zeppelin. “We’re gonna play Stairway to Heaven….Backwards!”, he jokes during the encore. On current form I wouldn’t put it past him.

From the Vault: Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Music.

Apollo

Released February 1992

Ambient’s juxtaposition between Selected– constrained- and Works– petrochemical- sets the scene. With song titles reading like chemical compounds, where can ambient ease be found in this bleak, industrial landscape?

For 74 minutes, Aphex Twin, or Richard D James, provides the answers in a sonic balancing act between light and dark. Sure, the unnerving, harsh noises one might typically associate with James are there. ‘Hedphelym’, with its demonic clanging, is chilling, as are the just-audible vocal snippets that lie under several tracks. The theme continues with deeper-than-deep bass on ‘We Are The Music Makers’.

But from subterranean depths we’re gracefully brought to the surface again. Melodies and leitmotifs ping-pong around James’ orchestra of early synth and drum samples. This is Aphex to whistle to. ‘Pulsewidth’’s three note charm is an exercise in artful simplicity. Better still, catchy basslines abound. That on ‘Ageispolis’, creeping in half way through, is perfect. With so many light at the end of the tunnel moments, this should be Samaritans’ dialling tone.

Later, we’re again treated to a lesser seen side to James. As it sounds like things are winding down, we’re asked back out again for a sunrise groove on ‘Ptolemy’. The same goes for ‘Delphium’, which is pure booty-shaking fun. ‘Green Calx’ sounds like early 90s house hauled across the Atlantic and dropped onto a roundabout in London. To be precise, Elephant and Castle, where -legend has it- James once took up residence.

You’re reminded of this LP’s prescience when considering its (where-were-you-in) ’92 release. ‘Xtal’’s booming kick drum nods at the UK’s burgeoning rave scene at the time, which managed, just like this record, to find light in a gloomy, depressed landscape. Equally importantly, a decade or so later Radiohead got interesting (see: Kid A). For Thom, “Aphex Twin opened up another world that didn’t involve my fucking electric guitar”. When that world sounds like this, who can blame him?

Live: Swing Ting presents Zed Bias

Written by Ben Allan on . Posted in Music.

17th January

Soup Kitchen

9/10

Following a string of stellar bookings in 2013 including Spooky and DJ Q, Swing Ting returned to the Soup Kitchen basement for their first dance of 2014 and it didn’t disappoint. A sell-out crowd greeted Manchester legend Zed Bias, who topped the bill alongside residents Samrai, Platt and Joey Bashment, with Fox on MC duties.  As I arrived the basement was already full and Platt was setting the pace with a fine hip-hop selection, followed by Samrai with a blend of soca and bashment that has become synonymous with the Swing Ting honcho.

By the time headliner Zed Bias stepped up for his two hour set the party was in full swing. Bias has gained contemporary fame through a number of releases on Loefah’s Swamp 81 label showcasing a sound grounded in House and Techno; most recent being his acclaimed album ‘Boss’, but he reminded Swing Ting why he is one of the godfathers of UK garage. Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘Boss – Zed Bias’ he played anthem after anthem including: ‘Together’ – 24 Hour Experience, ‘Urban Hero’ – Jameson and his own smash-hit ‘Neighbourhood’ which arguably got reaction of the night as it was pulled back.

In the second hour Bias moved towards the sound more recognisable from him now, playing tunes such as Boddika & Joy O’s ‘Mercy (VIP)’ as he wound his way from garage, UK funky and grime to house and techno. He finally ended his set with a few ragga tunes, a nod towards to the resident sounds of Swing Ting before relinquishing control to Joey Bashment for the last half hour, playing dancehall and bashment to keep the party going. The energy in the Soup Kitchen basement was palpable all night long, a testament to Swing Ting’s ability to throw a first-rate party time after time. I’m eagerly waiting to see what the next dance brings.