tn2 magazine Issue 1 2012-13

FEATURES//INTERVIEWS//OPINION//REVIEWS

GIVING

TWO YOU

ISSUE 1 18TH SEPTEMBER 2012

THE

LOOK LOOK

50 SOUTH WILLIAM STREET DUBLIN 2

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CONTENTS

Metronomy // 15

4 19 20 21 22 28 30

OPENERS HOMEGROWN THE ODD COUPLE THE CITYGUIDE FACES UNTIL NEXT TIME THE FINAL SAY

THE REVIEWS

THE FEATURES

THE REGULARS 8 9 10 12 14 15 18

RESHAPING THE BARD DECISIONS, DECISIONS RAFA’S CACHAÇA PLAYING THE GAME ON THE BOX TO THE BEAT A CITY OF BOOKS

24 25 25 26 27 27

ART FILM THEATRE MUSIC FOOD & DRINK TECHNOLOGY

Editor & Creative Director Aaron Devine Deputy Editor Henry Longden Copy Editor Eoin Tierney Online Editor Ciar Boyle-Gifford Editorial Staff Gabija Purlyte // Tom Lenihan // Deirdre Molumby // Declan Johnston // Paige Crosbie // Hugo Fitzpatrick // Paul Casey Alison Connolly // Jenny Duffy // Gheorghe Rusu // Alana Ryan // Katherine Murphy // Fionnuala Gygax Isabella Davey // Ciaran McGrath // Claudia Carroll Photo Editor Matthew Wilson Illustrator Alice Wilson Creative Consultants Dargan Crowley-Long // Éna Brennan Special Thanks Damien Carr, Matthew Taylor and the Trinity Publications Committee // Nora Eastwood Alex Towers // Ronan Burtenshaw // Gabriel Beecham

TN2MAGAZINE.IE // 3

OPENERS

A BLOCK OF ART DESIGN I once overheard ner roof courtyards (do climb a student showing her friend around campus say, “This is the Arts Block. In UCD, the whole campus looks like this” - that is, terrible. This is a popular opinion among students, yet undeserved upon fairer examination.

Designed in 1978, the project was for a multifunctional building in a very restricted site. From Fellows’ square, it appears to rise in terraces - a clever solution that can only be appreciated once you imagine how menacingly a flat, full-height façade would loom.

Moreover, large expanses of glazing allow light to pass through, while the grey concrete resonates with the

up to the fifth floor if you haven’t seen them) with many nooks to study or lounge, while the lower level concourses provide circulation intersections and social hubs.

The design entirely escapes the dreadful institutional flavour and long monotonous corridors of many similarly sized public buildings.

Much more could be said, but I’ll just leave you to explore with a pair of fresh eyes, keeping in mind how wonderfully the building expresses the trends of the era when it was built, how honestly it displays its materials and functions, and how boldly it celebrates the inherent beauty of its utilitarian parts – such as the glori-

granite and limestone of neighbouring structures.

Inside, the design is even more ingenious: each level is different, animated by in-

ous ventilation pipes in front of Arts Café, which could easily pass as a sculpture in any modern art museum.

Gabija Purlyte

READER LOOKE/NOT ON HIS PICTURE, BUT HIS BOOK

LITERATURE Early Print- collection of the Bard’s plays. ed Books is an exciting section of the Trinity library, down a long corridor and up a spiral staircase, which houses some very rare and beautiful old books. From fairytales illustrated by Harry Clarke, to ancient illuminated manuscripts, to unpublished works by various authors, it is a real literary treasure trove.

The first folio, published after Shakespeare’s death, is the earliest collected volume of his plays and a key source for modern editions of the plays. This first edition, printed 1623, contains his comedies, histories and tragedies.

Over 900 pages in length, it was compiled by five men, including two actors who undertook the

BRB FILM Most major film posters nowadays tend to heart on the left side of its chest. Its glasses exude feature actors as their major selling point. Indeed, the majority of posters promoting The Terminator had the name SCHWARZENEGGER as their headline. Perhaps the Austrian bodybuilder/actor was not yet familiar to Czechoslovakia, the country (at the time) from which this poster hails, for the figure here does not exactly call attention to Arnie’s star status.

In any case, this poster tells us much about the protagonist of the sci-fi cult classic. Besides its (his?) distinctly humanoid face, its insides are raw machine, with the notable absence of a 4 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

coolness, in more than one sense, and the peeling of the metal around its skull reveals nothing but wires inside - this robot is programmed for one objective and no rationalising or empathy will get in the way of that.

While the immobility of the character in this poster lies in stark contrast to the relentless tension, thrilling chase sequences and violent shoot-outs of the film, the futuristic look does draw attention to the fact that the film featured what were, at the time, impressive special effects despite its limited budget.

Deirdre Molumby

1000 copies were printed, a second folio followed in 1632 and a third in 1633. Before this, many of the editions were pirated, often compiled from notes taken during a performance.

Also included in this volume are the printers’ accolades to Shakespeare, appeals to readers to buy the book, and dedications: “Be sure our Shake-speare, thou canst never dye,/But crown’d with Laurell, live eternally.”

Leather bound with fragile, age-spotted paper, the book itself is a treasure, but its contents are truly amazing.

And in EPB you can actually hold this valuable book, turn its pages and savour it.

Jenny Duffy

OPENERS

COOKING UP A STORM

FRONT SQUARE FASHION

FOOD

BUTTERNUT SQUASH NOODLE SALAD FOR THE SALAD 250g noodles 2 cloves crushed garlic 2 inch piece of ginger 3 peppers 1 chilli 1 small butternut squash 100g pineapple 1 spring onion Fresh coriander Rapeseed/sunflower oil

FOR THE DRESSING 2 tbsp sesame oil 6 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp honey The juice of 1 lime 1 tbsp wine (or sake)

1. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.

2. Add the crushed garlic, finely sliced ginger and chilli to oil heated in a large pan. Leave for 2 minutes.

3. Add the chopped butternut squash and peppers. Cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft.

4. Remove from the heat and add the chopped pineapple.

5. Cook the noodles in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Strain and __plunge in iced water.

6. Combine the noodles and the dressing. Add the vegetables.

7. Chop the spring onion and coriander on top to serve.

Paige Crosbie

JUKEBOX FLASHBACK SEPTEMBER

2007

MUSIC Black Francis releases Bluefinger, his first album under that name since his Pixies days, inspired by controversial Dutch figure Herman Brood (“prettier than Brando, he was punker than punk”). The choice of moniker is no coincidence: these rough, fast, loud, artful songs serve as a Whatcould-have-been if the 2000s Pixies made peace in the studio as on stage. However, they serve mostly as a reminder that Francis’s songwriting is as strong as ever.

Gheorghe Rusu

STYLE Iseult Gillespie, JS student. We couldn’t really have asked for more of a perfect start to this year’s edit of the bestoutfitted on campus. Capes are completely where it’s at in outerwear right now – Chloé and Valentino showing stellar examples – and are well worth considering as an alternative to the humble wool coat for something to live in for the season ahead.

The equestrian-inspired blouse adds to that fairly heritage look whose classicism we happily admit will never get old during the harsher months, and the whole thing is finished off with a pair of ever-popular Acne-Pistol-alike boots.

Stephen Moloney

AECHT MARZEN SMOKEBEER DRINKS The year is 1849. Most of your family have passed away from starvation and the rest of them are on their way across the Atlantic. On the side of the Connemara hill where you live, the wind howls outside and the doors and windows of your tiny house rattle violently. All hope is lost.

The only thing keeping your spirits up is the turf fire crackling in the corner. The smokey aroma of peat is beginning to fill the room, warming your insides. It’s the smell of the Irish countryside that you love. Now imagine that aroma in your mouth: that is what this beer tastes like. It really is incredible with its lingering, smokey aftertaste catching you seconds after each sip. It’s a pity it has to come all the way from Bavaria. However, look out for West Kerry Brewery’s new Carraig Dubh Porter for a similar, albeit inferior, effect.

Aaron Devine 19TH SEPTEMBER 2012 // 5

OPENERS

AN OLYMPIC HANGOVER

TAKE FIVE // NUMBER 1 1

THE BOX SET // BORED TO DEATH // About to have its third season on Sky Atlantic, Jonathan Ames’ show centres around a failed novelist moonlighting as a private investigator. Ted Danson steals every scene and it made a movie star out of Zach Galifianiakis. Must-watch comedy.

GAMES “It’s a bit silly, this Apple II, I wanted to make a game,” says Bennett Foddy, the maker of Poleriders. It certainly is.

Poleriders, a twoplayer pole-vaulting game, can easily descend into absurdity as you launch yourself at a ball hanging from the top of the screen. The aim is to kick the

pole-vaulting game,” Foddy explains. “I made a pole-vaulting prototype ... but I didn’t want to just make it about jumping over a bar.”

Bennett Foddy is also the creator of the equally silly game QWOP and works fulltime at Oxford University as a

2

3

4 ball into your opponent’s goal.

It’s all about momentum and the physics-based nature of the movement allows for some truly ridiculous moments to emerge: players crashing into each other, vaulting off their opponent’s pole or even skewering the other player, eschewing the pole-vault and opting to joust instead.

“Ever since I played Epyx’s Summer Games on an

researcher in philosophy and applied ethics. He taught himself how to make games to put off working on his dissertation in 2007.

With the new college year commencing, Bennett leaves us with some sage advice: “If you procrastinate hard enough, you can do anything you imagine!” - foddy.net/PoleRiders.html Hugo Fitzpatrick

THE DJ SET // MARCO RESMANN @ WATERGATE, BERLIN // Having established himself as one of the German capital’s most prolific producers, this 90 minute set was performed a fortnight ago at the now-institutional club alongside a star-studded lineup including Joris Voorn http://bit.ly/RcptnX THE BOOK // NW BY ZADIE SMITH // The author’s long awaited fourth novel follows her common theme of urban postmodernism without the esoteric form that may be expected. The adoption of Joycean narrative may put some off, but readers will be greatly rewarded with a rich text from one of Europe’s most eminent writers.

THE DOCUMENTARY // THE WAR OF THE VOLCANOES // Entirely based on archive footage of the beautiful volcanic island of Stromboli off the coast of Sicily, this film follows the love story of Ingrid Bergman, director Roberto Rossellini and Italian actress Anna Magnani.

Sky Arts - also available on go.sky.com

JOIN THE CONVERSATION @tn2magazine facebook.com/ tn2magazine 6 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

5

THE APP // WHEN TRINITY TALKS // This app picks up signal from specifically placed nodes around college and narrates the history and character to the eager listener. A bit insular, but a good opportunity for Freshers’ and continuing students to look up what they otherwise pass by. www.whentrinitytalks.com COMPILED BY HENRY LONGDEN

indigoandcloth.com @indigoandcloth

Indigo & Cloth Basement 27, South William Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

STAGE

RESHAPING THE BARD

As the Dublin Theatre Festival approaches, we speak to two of the companies involved and discuss their innovative approaches to Shakespeare's work

S

WORDS Katherine Murphy

hakespeare may not be of an age, but his works are certainly present around festival time. His words are malleable and fluid, running over the director’s fingers and seeping into the audience’s mind. They are “like a base, like a springboard” and this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival sees an adaptation of King Lear by Ireland’s homegrown talent, Pan Pan Theatre. Not only do they reverse the running order but they also root the infamous tale in the actor’s own onstage flat, therefore compounding the sense that Everyone Is King Lear In His Own Home. But the festival is also the Irish debut of the internationally renowned, experimental Wooster Group as they perform a technological composite of Hamlet based upon the 1964 Richard Burton film. While both productions are indebted to the Bard’s source material it is already apparent from the festival program that it will foreground the theatrical approaches, underscoring the importance of the director’s singular vision.

Pan Pan’s Gavin Quinn is one of Ireland’s most consistently innovative directors, and since graduating from Trinity College has worked to showcase new writings but also reinvest other writings “with all kinds of meanings”. The plural in meanings emphasises the duality and complexity of their upcoming production. Cordelia and Lear are never only father and daughter: they are Judith Roddy and Andrew Bennett, two actors onstage, friends and lovers, caring for one another and destroying one another. The very moment one relationship is established it disappears, unveiling another potent power struggle.

Despite the hefty emotional weight of the subject matter the sense of fun in the rehearsal room is overwhelming: Gavin fastidiously watches the in-between-scenes repartee and incorporates it into the scene. Judith’s playful dancing and incessant chanting was 8 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

purely amusement for the actress during downtime, but her naturalistic and spirited bouncing caught Gavin’s eye and was incorporated into the scene. It is these moments that show Gavin steering clear of the “crass adaptations in the 80s”, grounding himself in everyday humour, and therefore highlighting the ubiquitous nature of the elderly condition.

However, it is the human condition that Hamlet legendarily embodies. With the internationally renowned Elizabeth LeCompte at the helm the Wooster Group “wanted to bring the ghosts [of past Hamlets] into the room without competing with them”. This is a formidable task as the iconic performance of Burton hovers over the stage incessantly, but LeCompte sees this as adding to the “layers of history” already drenching their performance. In a bold and daring move she acknowledges these performers, past and present, without letting this production be compared to them. In one deft manoeuver she weaves the disparate threads of classroom association and pop-culture references together. A “number of impulses” added to these layers but the “wonderful, disjointed, more modern quality of the language” let the show flow “in a more modern way”.

The reoccurrence of the word modern and the emphasis on language underlines the parallels between the New York-based collective and the Irish alternative.

But the similarities do not end there. Pan Pan and Wooster are in agreement that pacing is of the utmost importance when performing Shakespeare. While Andrew Bennett (Lear) achieves this by treating everyday speech with the same depth and scope of purpose, Wooster utilizes technology by fast-forwarding because “people talk faster now than in [Richard] Burton’s time”. But speed and rhythm are not the only ways in which they differ. As an established, intrinsically Irish ensemble Pan Pan have become one of the regular fixtures all around the country. In contrast, Wooster and LeCompte’s debut is stirring up excitement throughout the theatrical community. These ripples of excitement were echoed in all of LeCompte’s sentiments, including her assertion that “[i]t’s about time”.

And it seems as though the time for the Bard is here once again.

PURCHASE

PAUL SMITH

STYLE

The man that holds this look has a girlfriend that resembles Jean Seberg. He probably spends too much time on South William St. and retains his back pocket for a Penguin book and ciggies. He may be a total ponce, but hey, who does that exclude these days anyway?

The Paul Smith Spring Summer collection was decidedly chic, simple and sexy, and the quintessential sixties sharp edge has yet to be lost from the backbone of Mr.Smith. The bolts of colour saw double-breasted two-pieces immersed in Cadmium red, Zaffre blue and amber. Not one to scare off the boys, Smith ensured these eclectic combinations were seamlessly interspersed with excellent tailoring on subtly shaded designs, while nodding to the prints-on-man trend dominant this season and sticking his hunks of male magnificence in fragmented rose graphics and tailored trousers of overlaid scissors.

Paul presented exactly why he is both a commercial success and a catwalk cougar at the same time: from the side-zip ankle boots up to the tie slides he created a collective image of the modern man that’s ever so irrevocably, undeniably, well, cool.

Our guide to the latest menswear collections WORDS Isabella Davey

DEC S ONS

PONDER THOM BROWNE

Ah the potential of plaid. The man who plaid with fire. Plaid it again Sam. Work hard, plaid harder. There may be a vast array of cheap thrills available from the puns possible, but there is only so much print, pattern, paisley or plaid one can handle on one man. Thom Browne has done a commendable job in avoiding the picnic rug look however, and has kept his Spring Summer collection light, bright and breezy. Now that one thinks about it, perfect for a boating picnic really.

All his signature detailing is there, but the array of quirky motifs keep Thom Browne still in the game as the goto guy for a damn good suit.

His double-breasted short-sleeve jacket created with the whale motif on a russet peach backdrop is certainly eyecatching and wouldn’t look entirely ridiculous on a normal human being, while the pink and green lobster trousers read more kook than car crash.

As a collection, remarkable yet not ground-breaking. All the components of Browne’s classic cuts are there, in a more adventurous print. An old reliable, certainly, but one has yet to be blown away.

PARRY

MARKUS LUPFER

Imagine every trend you ever hated. Worn by that guy you always hated. Who DJ’s in that club you utterly hated. He probably shagged your girlfriend too.Now imagine it paraded through Paris Fashion Week. Oh Markus, where did it all go wrong?

Should we start with the startlingly sequined shorts? Even the length is unable to make its own mind up as to what it’s trying to be, lost in a swarm of trends all clawing for a second chance with the crowds. A centimetre north and they would be drag show; a centimetre south and they would be comical. At least they would hold some prowess on the catwalk though, unlike this pair, which disappear in one’s mind before they have even made it down the runway. This indecision, which seems to be an overriding theme of this collection, follows down to the boots, which are a cross between the elegance of a Grenson brogue, the eponymous Doc Martin and those awful military boots Penneys made a small fortune from ripping off.

It must be said though, you could do worse than the beetle knits: a more palatable version of the infamous Christmas jumper. As for the man-skirt, I leave that up to you.

18TH SEPTEMBER 2012// 9

SHAK THIN U

STAGE DRINKS

Y

“

ou can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.” As is well known to beer drinkers and writers of forewords to books about beer everywhere, Frank Zappa had some pertinent theories. Accordingly, Ireland - a nation obsessed with relentlessly espousing the features of its national identity - is deeply wedded to its own drinks. It’s almost a relationship of fidelity too. There have been flirtations, sure. Aspirations to differentiate hints and bouquets and to discuss monopoles and talentos; desires to quaff cocktails in a trendy display of twenty-first century ebullience and refined hedonism in the

ing flavours previously unheralded appear under the radar on the Irish market. Drinks that have little to do with ends and much to do with means. Rafael Agapito’s Fubá cachaça is one of those.

Cachaça is a cultural phenomenon in Brazil. It is the spirit that defies Zappa’s first law of nationhood. A remarkable 1.3 billion litres, distilled only from fresh sugar cane juice, is consumed annually in caipirinhas, Brazil’s favourite cocktail. Cachaça is often mislabelled as rum. In fact, cachaça predates rum by a century to the 1530s when Portuguese settlers in Brazil realised the potential in seemingly wasted sugar cane juice that had fermented under the sun. It was Dutch settlers from the north of Brazil

to make him a drink and he taught me how.

That smell reminds me of my grandfather.”

And the smell is the first thing that greets the senses. Aniseed is present, but not in the overpowering way it is in arak. The taste is decidedly herbal. Too raw by itself, sweeteners and cocktails provide a vehicle for the taste to express itself and that aroma carries right through. It’s not to everyone’s liking either, but it is a unique flavour that deserves tasting.

So comfortably at home in a Dublin bar, it’s hard to fathom that Rafael only arrived in Ireland in 2005. It was then too when he decided that he wanted to make a career out of bartending after a stint in an Irish bar in Portugal. Soon, he was entering

While Rafael Agapito always attempts to bring something a little different to drinks made in bars using unusual ingredients and complex techniques, he also has a selection of cocktail recipes for the home, that can be made up using ordinary kitchen utensils.

1. Take an empty jam jar and ‘muddle’ half a juicy lime and two teaspoons of caster sugar in the bottom with a rolling pin.

2. Fill the jar with crushed ice.

3. Add a shot and a half of cachaça (60ml).

same way Victorian well-to-dos spent the entire economic output of African colonies on penny farthings and Christmas crackers.

These relationships have not developed beyond casual flings though. Well over half of all drinks consumed in Ireland are beers - a statistic matched only by the likes of Germany and the Czech Republic. Yet, every little while, genuinely exciting new drinks bring-

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4. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.

5. Close the jar and shake vigorously to mix.

6. Serve in the jar with straws for an authen- tic Brazilian cocktail experience. Saude!

carrying their knowledge of cachaça distillation and applying it to molasses in the Caribbean that produced rum. Rafael can recall his first encounter with cachaça fondly, “I was probably around eight years old and my grandfather taught me how to make a caipirinha, because he used to go to my parents house every Christmas and cook the Christmas dinner. As he was cooking he’d ask me

and winning bartending contests. He has since represented Ireland four times at international competitions. The joy of bringing new creations to an unknowing audience provided an exhilaration that couldn’t be matched. So when the opportunity to do something larger arose – to create a whole new drink – it proved irresistible. The idea formed in his family home in Santos, late

KING NGS UP

STYLE DRINKS

WORDS Declan Johnston PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Wilson

one night in 2010, while celebrating his brother Cassiano’s birthday. “It was during the ash clouds and my flight home had been delayed by eight hours. And when I got to São Paulo there had been a barbeque but everything had finished and it was just myself, my brother, his wife and my mother .

We sat down and he said he’d got this amazing cachaça. Sitting there, he said, ‘people in Europe don’t know about this, do they? It would be great if they could have this over there’, and I said ‘why don’t we make our own brand?’”

A passing conversation that could easily have been relegated to idle dream now manifests itself in bottles of artisanal cachaça on European shelves. Initially sceptical of the selling power of their local produce abroad, a family farm was won over by Rafael’s offer of partnership. From the beginning, it was decided that the cachaça should go from farm to bottle all on one site. The drink is very much a family product. The tree which adorns the Fubá bottle was chosen because of its obvious symbolic value for a family business. An artist friend from São Tomé and Príncipe Rafael had met while living in Portugal provided the design from his own paintings. They have just two full time employees. “We’re not in this just as a business to make money. We’re in it to show what a family can do. To show what kind of product you can make when you really care about it. We didn’t want to make the most popular, we wanted to make the best.

When we started we said we wanted people drinking good cachaça.” What sets artisanal cachaça apart from industrial counterparts

is that it is made in batches in copper stills rather than being continuously distilled and is flavoured with spices, herbs and cracked corn, known as fubá. Honing in on that smell, Rafael describes the difference the fubá makes, “There is a peppery taste and you can get it on the nose. That is what the fubá adds. The industrial cachaça flavour is a lot less complex.” Rafael is a man keen on standing apart, naming his drink after what

“WE DIDN’T WANT TO MAKE THE MOST POPULAR, WE WANTED TO MAKE THE BEST” makes it different was an easy decision.

That enthusiasm carries over into the way Fubá is marketed. Rafael does not just stock bars but trains bar staff. “Drinking habits in Ireland are really hard to change, but it’s the bartenders’ job to introduce new flavours, new ideas, new techniques. I am really happy that the times when every single bar would open their doors and instantly make a lot of money are over. It’s a lot better for the customers. The bars are really struggling to make something different, with quality. Something unique, which you have to leave your house and go to that particular

bar to have.” Sometimes that requires a little sleight of hand. “Lately I have been trying to remove Mojitos from the menu. The bars will always ask for it and I’m trying to convince them not to, because people won’t stop asking for Mojitos. So your menu has to show what you can do apart from that – what sets you apart from the crowd. Once everyone starts asking for one of those new drinks on the menu, we take it out of the menu and start again.” He is quick to press that this is not an attempt to force habits on people but to promote creativity that rewards the consumer. “You’re trying not to educate people, but let them know that they can do a lot more if they want to. I’m looking for more creativity in the Irish bartending scene. I have plans to do a cocktail competition very soon.” Contrast, novelty and creativity are at the heart of everything he says and does.

Cachaça has struggled to emerge from Brazil up until now. Rafael’s explanation lies in the quality and consistency of the drink. He reckons once the standard in distillation improves, the opportunities for export will increase. “Once it starts to become more consistent people will know exactly what they’ll get. It happened to Tequila about twenty years ago.” However, it is Fubá’s difference that sets it apart. A difference that Rafael Agapito hopes might just encourage the breaking of a long standing marriage.

Fubá is available in most Dublin cocktail bars and many top off licences such as Drinkstore and The Celtic Whiskey Shop. www.fubacachaca.com

18TH SEPTEMBER 2012// 11

A

GAMES

s video games have evolved as a medium, creators have embraced divergent philosophies. It is difficult to avoid the seemingly endless debate over choice versus the storytelling possibilities of a linear experience. “I want to play a game!” is uttered by folks who are enraged by the cut-scenes in Metal Gear Solid. “Is it art?” by the other lot, who won’t stop recommending Shadow of the Colossus to Roger Ebert. Music in video games, more than motion capture acting or a robust online multiplayer, provides an answer to how best engage the player. It is also, for now, one of the few remaining places where a musician can make a living.

Rich Vreeland is the composer for such games as the brilliant Fez, franchise entries like Bomberman Live: Battlefest, as well as his own music creation mood piece January. January (http://www.colorcave. com/january.html) is a simple, wonderful experience. It involves the player going for a walk in the snow. To create music, the player catches snowflakes on their tongue.

The more snowflakes caught on the tongue, the more music the player creates. “I think some of the design process came as I was working on it, in terms of making it an inviting experience, without hand holding. I wanted to give the player freedom to make creative contributions to the music, but still within a curated framework.”

While Guitar Hero and Rock Band draw lazy criticisms from the pub cover band crowd, they remain good examples of games that draw the player into a creative process. It is not about cultivating applicable musical talent, but allowing those who search for it and fail, to feel that release. I Got a Feeling alongside McCartney and Lennon is serious catharsis. Playing Knocking On Heaven’s Door, sloppy, at a three chord party cannot compare.

The much overlooked Donkey Kong Jungle Beat developed by Nintendo

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was in many ways the precursor to the successes of the Wii. Following on from the musical rhythm game Donkey Konga, Jungle Beat is a vibrant, extremely physical platformer. In a similar way to more experimental ideas, like Vreeland’s January, Jungle Beat involves the player as a creator. It is music in movement. Choice has nothing to do with it.v

For Fez, a platformer operating around a simple, elegant conceit of a character realising that his two-dimensional world has a hidden third dimension, Vreeland composed music which he felt suited the experience. “There was very little if any musical direction, I simply directed myself. I was playing the game all the time, and I started planning out where music was needed based on the scope and flow of the game, and how to approach it.” Vreeland’s work on Fez resulted in a collection of superior ambient as well as more anxious electronic tracks.

Fez does not have the same level of musical interactivity as Vreeland’s January, but composing for it still demanded attention to how the player interacted with the world created by Polytron. Even though Vreeland decided that the music should depend on location, there were times when he had to directly address the narrative. “An example of this is Reflection, which happens right after Gomez leaves his village for the first time. It’s an extended, ambient take on the village theme, and you only hear it the first time you leave. It’s supposed to capture the emotion of leaving the place [where] you’ve always been.”

One of the challenges of composing music for video games is accounting for the interactive nature of the medium. Even when the player feels that they are simply “watching a movie”, the composer has to judge the way in which the environment reveals itself to the player. “Sometimes, an interactive idea is complex enough that

GAMES

Very few people are lucky enough to make money off their art. But there are many musicians who are doing just that by adapting their skills for the games industry.

We caught up with some of them to find out more

WORDS Paul Casey ILLUSTRATIONS Alice Wilson

it totally informs your writing. Fear, for instance, involves the mimicry of thunder and rain, which involved a system that triggers the next chord at a random time. This had to be carefully thought out. How long should the tail of rain after each chord be? What is the sequence of chords, or should they play randomly?”

In some games, like Sega’s hypnotic shooter Rez, the music is linked directly with the gameplay. Even at its most linear though, video game music informs an involvement beyond the other passive mediums. Consider the impact of Manami Matsumae’s work on Capcom’s Mega Man. There is one goal, true. There is one right way to do things, and yet when that drum machine and synth kicks with Guts Man or Fire Man, you know that this is your sound, not the character’s. You may be locked in to a story, but that story is yours, every time. More traditional modern soundtracks, like Andrew and Simon Hale’s work on L.A. Noire, are integral to the authenticity of the story, even more than the appearance of Charlie Parker’s horn.

As it becomes increasingly difficult for musicians to dedicate themselves purely to creating, Rich Vreeland stands as an example of the potential of the medium to provide a living. “I am indeed able to devote my-

self to my music full time. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to do so. Breaking in was not too hard for me, but it definitely didn’t happen on its own, and I think everyone will have a different experience. I was already writing chiptune music for a couple of years before I started doing game music. I also took two game audio internships in college which proved to be very beneficial, and used college loan money to go to GDC, which is how I got one of my first contract gigs.”

As the recording industry fails to counter the impact of free music for all, and those musicians who are not U2 or Bruce Springsteen try to work a razor-thin profit margin on live performance, it seems that video games may provide a future. The more musicians pursue a career in video games, the more we will see the medium’s interactivity affect the music we listen to.

“Games really unlock the potential for music to carry on new responsibilities. It’s a natural fit for exploring non-linear forms of music, and music that evolves logically and organically based on variable conditions. I think these are exciting things to be involved with, though I also think that when it’s done really well, the average person is not even going to notice that anything special is happening.”

18TH SEPTEMBER 2012 // 13

T.V.

ON YOUR TUBE

The autumn TV season is shaping up to be the loser in an inversion of the usual annual scheduling template. The largely mediocre new shows premiering in the US will depend on returning hits to save face following an Olympic high rather than offering a welcome jolt of energy after the summer lull, perhaps evidence of the effects of the recession finally hitting our screens.

The most ambitious new show is easily Revolution.

Following the current fashion for dystopia, Revolution aims to expose our society’s dependence on technology (and get in plenty of not-so-subtle power struggle metaphors) by setting the story in a world recently bereft of electricity. The series’ strength is its creative team: heavyweight producer J.J. Abrams is accompanied by Iron Man director Jon Favreau and creator Eric Kripke, best known for cult hit Supernatural. In this, the latest attempt to find a new Lost, it remains to be seen whether US execs have

yet to realise the integral role of strong character writing in making even the flashiest of shows a long term success. However, with Kripke’s deft hand for famWORDS Claudia Carroll ily dynamics to ground Abrams’ sense of scope, the show has all the ingredients of a high-concept hit.

Things are more secure on the side of returning dramas, most notably for Homeland, easily last season’s strongest debut.

Much of the show’s success was due to its hold-no-punches story philosophy and here’s hoping the writers continue to provide material worthy of Claire Danes and Damien Lewis’s compelling performances. Even more reliable but perhaps slightly less exciting is Boardwalk Empire’s third season. While regularly turning out quality television, Terence Winter’s period drama has yet to provide anything truly remarkable in the vein of former HBO crime hits The Sopranos or The Wire.

Curtain calls rather than debuts will probably make the most impact this year. Two ping the show away from funny shows looking to fill a serial-kill- in a favour of preachy sarcasm. er shaped hole in the schedule More familiar comic territory once Dexter bows out in spring comes in the form of Moone Boy, after seven years of righteous currently airing on Sky1. Writslaughter are Hannibal and The ten by and starring home-grown Following. Both scheduled for comedy star Chris O’ Dowd, the midseason, the former is pro- series relies heavily on his own duced by Pushing Daisies’ Bryan recollections of his childhood in Fuller and stars Bond villain Boyle, and is directed by Father Mads Mikkelsen as the epony- Ted’s Declan Lowney. mous cannibal before he was A far cry from 80’s Rofamous, and the latter Kevin Ba- scommon is Downton Abbey’s con - hopefully doing something third season which features the more interesting than playing return of the Crawleys’ Irish the usual flawed but heroic FBI revolutionary chauffer turned agent. son-in-law along with a whole

Those with lighter host of other variably disreputaviewing tastes won’t be so spoiled ble characters. Melodrama will for choice following final calls ensue. For those who require for 30 Rock and possibly Com- a (relatively) more realistic acmunity this season, with the count of British history (and for future of The Office also uncer- whom the latest crop of Doctor tain. Of the host of new sitcoms Who episodes prove not too conordered to fill the vacuum, the centrated a dose of British namost intriguing is The New Nor- tional identity) Sky1 docudrama mal from Glee showrunner Ryan The British continues Thursdays Murphy. Centred on a gay couple at 9pm with interviews with the and their surrogate, Murphy’s likes of Russell Brand, Helen personal investment in the issues Mirren and Anthony Horowitz. at hand could be in danger of tip-

“FOLLOWING THE CURRENT FASHION FOR DYSTOPIA, REVOLUTION, EASILY THE MOST AMBITIOUS SHOW OF THE AUTUMN SEASON, AIMS TO EXPOSE OUR SOCIETY’S DEPENDENCE ON TECHNOLOGY” 14 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

TO

Metronomy frontman Joe Mount tells tn2 about what has been a surprisingly successful year for the band, while revealing his disdain for Coldplay along the way WORDS Alana Ryan

BEAT

THE

MUSIC

J

“THE MUSIC I LIKE SURPRISES ME ...

WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING THINGS OUT AND GOING A BIT CRAZY”

oe Mount’s brow furrows as he pauses to weigh up his words. A sincere and introspective interviewee, his cautiously constructed answers seem a little at odds with the haphazard nature of our meeting.

The lead singer of English band Metronomy is sitting cross-legged on my rather manky and aged raincoat behind a row of meticulously kept camper vans – while his manager frets from afar at the lack of free media tents. His rain coat, an 80s-esque sports jacket, was too beautiful to be sacrificed to the Stradbally mud, while mine could only gain in credibility from such an intimate acquaintance with Joe’s buttock. Thus, after much clumsy shuffling, awkward laughter and fervent insistences, Mount is perched upon the now infamous mac while I sit smugly opposite. Our fifteen minutes of analysing fame has begun.

Metronomy’s musical trajectory has been far from predictable. In many ways the association with a metronome is laughable given that both the band’s sound and membership have been anything but steadfast. Their initial output was 2006’s Pip Paine, an album which exudes a manic energy and frantic charm. As a debut, it’s easy to identify its key influences, yet it still managed to carve its own niche in the ever-expanding genre of dance electronica. With sharp rhythmic loops, strong percussion, synths and bleeps, it’s a far cry from The English Rivera, the latest electro-pop album which brought Mount’s music to the masses. Along the way there was Nights Out, a concept album which parodied night club culture and demonstrated a newfound talent for witty and perceptive lyrics, as

16 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

exhibited on songs such as Heartbreaker and On Dancefloors.

Yet to the naked ear, there’s little clue that the three distinct records are actually the work of one highly imaginative musical mogul. It’s a tricky situation to be in. If an artist fails to push their limits they’re branded as “banal” and “boring”, but if they veer too far from the initial sound they’re “directionless” and “confused”. Surely the hypocrisy of the music industry must grate at him, no?

Apparently not. To Mount such charges are simply the product of ignorance of the creative process – ‘‘For me, I hear all the ideas between the albums, there’s like a route that it’s all going down, but for everyone else there’s just these kind of points where there’s a record so the difference is a bit more stark.’’ Indeed, the furthest he’ll go towards rebuking the criticism is to brand sites like Pitchfork ‘‘ridiculous’’ and accuse them of having little understanding of how difficult it is for small bands in the current musical climate.

The struggle for recognition and reward in today’s industry is a subject close to Mount’s heart. After a hectic year of touring The English Riviera he appears pretty shook. As well as being the most accessible Metronomy album to date, the record has also received the most critical acclaim and was deservedly nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize. Crucially, it was also the first of their albums to be formally released in the US. In fact, its universally likeable pop hooks and catchy lyrics gained them the opportunity to support Coldplay on the band’s North American tour. A rather un-

MUSIC

likely pairing but a necessary step Mount elucidates candidly. ‘‘I kinda hate Coldplay... there are a million bands I’d rather be asked to support ... I said never in England but in America I think it would be harder to justify not doing it.’’ Indeed, this quest for a broader audience leads him to proclaim, with a hint of an impish grin, that he’d rather support Mumford and Sons than Hot Chip as the former’s fan base ‘‘definitely haven’t heard of us’’.

It’s clear Metronomy are very driven and determined to capitalise on this new success – words such as “legacy” and phrases such as the “whole package” routinely dot the conversation – and while at times these are used in a jocular sense there is little doubting the underlying commitment to the band. Mount is clearly appreciative of the increased attention, but it really is the music which motivates him. Quite simply, ‘‘Even if the records weren’t getting released, because I love learning about music, I’d still be doing it.’’ Frequently he appears genuinely overwhelmed by the band’s current status and seems slightly unsure as to what to make of all the newfound exposure. For instance, with respect to the past year of insane touring, he begins by describing it as something akin to an obligation: ‘‘A lot of things you have to do nowadays that you probably didn’t have to do in the 70s and 80s, if more people bought records it really wouldn’t be a problem ... ’’ Yet after a moment’s reflection, he checks himself and argues that at times it really was ‘‘exhilarating’’. Upon further consideration he admits it’s actually very hard to articulate a fixed opinion, purely because ‘‘I guess I never really imagined it would be such a big part of my life.’’ Similarly, when the topic turns to the iconic lightbulb live shows Mount explained that what was initially a “thrown-together” aesthetic became habitual because “if we had suddenly got rid of them it would seem like we were making this bid for stardom ... to try and be nice to the older fans we’d keep it as it was.’’ But he then counters that really they can’t use them any more as to keep things the “same as they’ve always been ... is a bit depressing’’. Hesitancy and fluctuation in judgement are a running theme of the interview. It’s telling that Mount began his career as a drummer, shying away from the limelight to concentrate instead on the beat. Although incredibly warm, it would be hard to describe him as extroverted – or naturally disposed to self-analysis with strangers in caravan parks.

Yet, for all the thoughtful pauses, corrections and clarifications, whenever the topic returns to the songs Mount talks confidently and definitively. ‘‘The music that I like – it surprises me, the era of music I like especially is when people are trying things out and going a bit crazy and I kind of feel there’s not a great deal of that happening these days.’’

His early years were spent immersed in the music of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Beach Boys, and he is at pains to emphasise how important it is to be constantly learning about music and pushing the boundaries. Mount shouldn’t be worried; even to the casual observer Metronomy’s best-known attribute is their chameleon like ability to transcend constrictive labelling. It’s why nobody questions the use of a string quartet on The English Riviera – just six years after Danger Song helped to define the “angry computer” electronica age. So with the studio booked for recording in November what can the world expect from Metronomy? With a little chuckle Mount leans forward and declares “I think you can afford to be a little bit out there on the fourth album, so I think a sprawling, psychedelic mess is what’s planned.’’ Clearly en-

thused by the subject he continues “I need to start taking drugs really to get into that zone. Acid. Things like that. Yeah!” He grins, trails off and begins an attempt to raise himself off the raincoat into a standing position. Yet, in a rather comical turn, mid-movement he stops, slumps down again and hurriedly states a timely reminder for the cool kids of today: “I’m not really going to do that though ... and no one else should... It’s very dangerous.”

18TH SEPTEMBER 2012 // 17

LITERATURE

PUTTING OUT FIRES WORDS Alison Connolly PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Wilson

Hands up who loves 1998 rom com You’ve Got Mail?

The on-screen chemistry between Meg and Tom is, of course, enchanting, but something far subtler keeps the royalties rolling in. I like to think the real beauty of the movie lies not in the drawn-out exchange of flirty emails, but in the ancient battle of Independent Bookseller versus Chain Superstore.

This David-and-Goliath subplot is not limited to the talkies. It is becoming a more and more

CHAPTERS Parnell Street The Mecca of secondhand bookstores, Chapters is also Ireland’s largest independent bookshop and an easy-to-navigate but still easy-to-get-lost-in gem. For those of us who spatially cannot afford to purchase any more without losing sight of the carpet, Chapters also buy books and CDs.

common reality in large cities across the globe. The Guardian reports that in June of this year print sales in the UK reached a nine-year low. With e-books increasingly controlling the market, the bookshops most likely to weather the storm are multi-branch megastores, not local independents. Luckily Dublin still has its fair share of stores where the emphasis is placed on quality bookselling by knowledgeable staff. Now the trick is to keep them open ...

THE SECRET BOOK AND RECORD STORE Wicklow Street If truth be told, trapped between buildings and accessed through a poster-laden hallway, the Secret Book & Record Store is a bit of a mess. But it manages to be so in an endearing way. Definitely a place to have a rummage rather than find a particular title, its prices are cheap and it’s vaguely reminiscent of a grungy basement. In a good way, of course.

DUBRAY BOOKS Grafton Street A family-run chain of independent bookstores stretching across the country, Dubray Books is as popular with literature students as with American tourists. With three floors on Grafton Street it can afford to house a large art section as well as shelves of biographies, current affairs, history, and a full floor of fiction.

BOOKS UPSTAIRS College Green

THE GUTTER BOOKSHOP Temple Bar

THE WINDING STAIR Ormond Quay

Opposite the entrance to Trinity and up some stone steps, Books Upstairs feels somewhat like a hoarder’s paradise. Stocked full of books you won’t find in any other store in Dublin, and with a brilliant Irish literature section, the store also attracts some great characters.

Bargains aren’t hard to come by and an impressive Women’s Studies section only adds to the appeal of this cramped and personal shop.

One of the newest stores in the field, this has already become a firm favourite and was awarded Independent Bookseller of the Year 2012 at the Bookseller Industry Awards. Owner Bob Johnson is a seasoned pro in the book business and the quality of titles stocked in the small space is testament to his experience. A full wall of staff recommendations and a beautifully laid out store make browsing a pleasure. And it’s across the street from Queen of Tarts, which is just an added bonus.

One of the more recognisable independent bookstores in Dublin, The Winding Stair is also one of the oldest. While not necessarily the neatest stocked store in the world, the back section more than makes up for it. You’ll be met with shelves and shelves of secondhand classics, many of whose copyrights have expired, meaning you can pick them up for a few euro. Absolutely worth a visit for that alone.

18 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

In each issue, we will be meeting some of the most promising up-and-coming Irish musical talent. This time round, Benny Smiles discusses his new EP, Sunshine/Moonlight WORDS Alana Ryan PHOTOGRAPHY Matthew Wilson

HOM EGR OWN “I’M THIS GOOFY FUCKER WHO ENJOYS HAVING A LAUGH’’

C I S U M

Ross Fortune, the Dublin-based musician who works under the moniker Benny Smiles, is sitting on a garden bench, selling himself short.

Fortune may have made his name through his collaboration on the comedic hit NCAD Girl, sample lyric: “The afterparty is in Andrew’s Lane … Oh my god, the music is so amazing. There’ll be jizz and crunkstep, UK garage toolbox, grime, retro future cyberwave and a new minimalist techno from Berlin. It’s so minimal it’s actually silent … it’s so coooool ... ” But there’s far more to Smiles than just wry observations set to a catchy tune.

Classically trained and with a Music BA to boot, Benny Smiles’s sound is multi-faceted.

Citing an eclectic array of influences ranging from Aphex Twin to The Band and Smashing Pumpkins, debut EP “Sunshine/ Moonlight” is the product of that ‘’weird, obsessive, male trait that makes it OK to sit locked up in your room for ten/ twelve/ fifteen hours a day and forget to eat.’’ Upon hearing it once you’ll be glad Fortune felt food was so overrated.

“Sunday Morning” is full of the joys of life: exuberant and

playful, it opens with a strong beat which is then complemented by a melodic interlude as the song progresses. And “Sunshine”, with its upbeat tempo, is sure to get you dancing. My favourite track “Not So Far” is a pertinent example of how creative the Wicklow man is. Inspired by a final year Ethnomusicology class, it seamlessly weaves original recordings of slaves in the Deep South over the highly unusual arrangement of a 10-beat-per-bar, chilled, soft melody. “Moonlight” is a delicate piece which highlights a dexterous use of percussion aligned to a solid rhythmic structure. It also features the vocals of Ham Sandwich’s Niamh Farrell, who as Fortune notes has a “stunning voice”. As a musician he’s generous in his praise of his peers, and stresses the importance of supporting one another on the Irish scene – ‘’There [are] tons of great stuff happening at the moment ... so many people are doing stuff to such a high standard.’’

You can tell he’s also brimming with ideas and passionate about their realisation. As the conversation turns to one of his heroes Aphex Twin – “It’s always Aphex Twin at the bottom of it … such a huge inspiration for so many years” – a discussion on the art of the live show arises. Fortune is determined to add a touch of the theatrical to his own sets in the future, admitting that until now “I’ve had all sorts of mad ideas that I haven’t really had the confidence to pull off ... but there’s all sorts of stuff I want to work into it.’’

Despite the fact the EP was only launched last month, Benny Smiles is clearly in high demand: he’s already played Electric Picnic and secured a spot at the Hard Working Class Heroes Festival.

Yet, never one to rest on his laurels, Fortune has reunited with Ballz Deep for a follow up to NCAD Girl: Old Ladies Who I Wanta Shift. The track is an ode to the likes of Carol Vorderman, Meryl Streep and our very own Miriam O’Callaghan, and Fortune assures me it will be another ‘’pop sensation’’. Do give it a listen – but don’t forget to check out Sunshine/ Moonlight for the real goodies.

Benny Smiles plays The Grand Social as part of Hard Working Class Heroes Festivals on 4 October 2012 at 8.30pm.

18TH 18TH SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 2012 2012 //// 1919

SEX-OP

THE ONE WHERE HE

JUST COULDN’T LET GO

CROWD FUNDING:

DOES IT WORK? GAMES

I can’t bring myself to discard the little reminders of my pathetic endeavours. The German girl’s single grey sock on the bottom shelf of the nightstand is still soft but coughs tiny clouds of dust when that softness is tested. Beside that, a pair of red plastic earrings hang from a black bobbin which is, in turn, tied around a hairbrush clogged with bottle blonde hairs; respectively representing a Japanese student, a House Six hack and a Phist hack. There’s an almost full bottle of pink perfume, a battered copy of the Tao Te Ching and some other odd mementos. None of it is mine and none of it matters. I spend the day in bed and stare at the wardrobe, thinking of the box inside.

Tuesday

“I’m getting rid of a load of shite,” my housemate says. “Do you have much upstairs?” I stand in the middle of the kitchen with a mug of tea.

“Em,” I hesitate, before simply shaking my head to signal a negative response. He leaves with three black bags of crap and returns with 24 cans of Guinness, forty fags and a lighter because he’s my best mate and knows me. We watch Geordie Shore. We get ‘mortal’. We go out, only to the Czech Inn I think.

Wednesday

I meet my tutor before term starts. He’s listening to Bruce Springsteen in his office. We end up in an argument because I admit that I can’t stand the smack of white privilege off Springsteen, while he is adamant that ‘The Boss’, obviously a dickhead icon of white male patriarchy with a nickname like that, is actually a socio-political savant. Books fly through the air. I’ve known this man for nearly four years now but I’m shocked at how these arguments happen. We eventually hug it out.

Thursday

“Throw out the box.” He must have looked through my wardrobe. He ignores my disgust and goes upstairs, bringing the box down. “Stop being a girl about this.” I want to tell him that framing this along crappy TV show gender lines is a really regressive practice, and that he’s being insensitive to my mental wellbeing. “Ah here,” is all I can muster.

Friday

I wake up amid newspaper clippings and glossy magazine pages. There she is wearing wedding dresses. There she is wearing ski gear. So much time has passed. I put in a booty call, via text, as I want to be “the sanest man on earth, bled of his seed, rid of his mind”, as Donleavy wrote. I shower. My lady caller arrives a few hours later with two bottles of wine and we watch Geordie Shore before ‘tashing on’. Afterwards, I contemplate the concept of sanity while tracing my ex-girlfriend’s freckles on another girl’s arm. I don’t want her back but I need her memory as a golden calf for my personal unhappiness.

Submit your anonymous sex diary // www.tinyurl.ie/tn2sexdiary

20 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

You’re sick of mass-appeal media. What you really want will never see the green light as risk-conscious executives refuse to fund projects that aren’t guaranteed to turn a profit.

A solution has been proposed in the form of “crowd funding” where you provide the funding for the creative endeavours you are interested in. Crowd-funding hopes to solve the stagnation that is especially apparent in the film and videogame media as production costs continue to rise. A personal direction or creative vision is rarely allowed to flourish as design by committee and focus-group testing dampens out any sense of personality or originality. It then falls to the independent scenes to innovate where the big productions cannot. The issue that they face is money, and crowd-funding aims to provide it for them.

Crowd-funding has been heralded as the wave of the future, but it has drawbacks of its own which are often ignored.

The popular stance is that crowd-funding is a flawless new method to fund creativity, but it is not without its shortcomings. Websites that aggregate and publicise crowdfunded projects like Indiegogo and Kickstarter both require a minimum goal to be reached before you can receive your money. If you say your project needs €10,000 and you only get €8,000 you receive none of the money. Some funding is better than no funding at all and a failed Kickstarter can leave you worse off than if you had not attempted it in the first place with many weeks wasted on the campaign and your brand sullied. Aggregate websites also require a lot of information about the product to be presented up front, and that limits the evolution of your vision. Creative works change over time as certain ideas don’t work, or better ones emerge. Assassin’s Creed famously started out as a sequel to Prince of Persia. If Ubisoft had run a Kickstarter for a Prince of Persia sequel there would have been no room for Assassin’s Creed to evolve from it: the people funded a sequel to Prince of Persia.

Getting funding from the people who love your product can also prove problematic. They are fans, of course, and can act fanatical indeed. Notch, the developer of Minecraft, received thousands of comments and emails bemoaning changes he made, or complaining about not updating fast enough, throughout the development of the game. While you can phase these people out, it is them you are trying to please in the first place, and it is only natural to feel some sense of apprehension about your approach when inundated with messages vilifying it. Self-doubt can ruin any personal endeavour.

Crowd-funding remains unproven. It is wonderful to see a change but unhelpful to ignore the drawbacks of the new approach. As the number of crow-funded projects grow, so too are the number that reach fruition. As more and more products made on its back are released, this coming year will be a proving ground for the method.

Hugo Fitzpatrick

OP

SEX

Monday

TRAVEL

ONCE UPON A TIME IN CATALONIA

Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain, is recognised as one of the world’s most culturally exciting cities, meaning it is perfect for kicking off our series of guides to the top urban destinations around the globe. Characterised by the distinct architecture of Gaudi, the art of Miró, the football of Iniesta, and by a vibrant nightlife scene, Barcelona provides an experience that is impossible to sum up in one page. Nevertheless, you’ll find some great ideas and recommendations below to make a visit there all the more enjoyable.

WHAT TO DO ...

• •

•

You could take the standard bus tour, but if you’re after a really intimate view of the city (and a bit of exercise), there are some great cycling tours on offer for a reasonable price. You don’t need much experience, and all the gear is provided - www.barcelonaciclotour.com The Picasso museum is an obvious attraction for art enthusiasts but, for something arguably lesser-known and with more variety, the Joan Miró Foundation houses a very comprehensive collection of the eponymous artist’s work as well as some very exciting exhibitions of contemporary artists. It’s a mere bonus that the outdoor Olympic pool is just up the road, offering a chance for a spot of sunbathing with panoramic views of the cityscape.

In the same Montjuic area is El Poble Espanyol, a unique, microcosmic slice of Spain and its history and architecture. Complete with museums, craft shops and eateries showcasing the best of Spain, it could be seen as a momument of Spanish nationalism in the heart of Catalonia. Either way, it also acts as one of the city’s most picturesque councert venues (Bon Iver lit up the main square this summer).

WHERE TO EAT ...

La Malandria Julivert Meu Carrer de L’Almirall Carrer de Bonsuccés Cervera Right in the city centre, Just a stroll from the this traditional Catalan seafront, this quaint restaurant serves up family-run restaurant proper tapas (you serve wine, sides and know they’re proper an incredible steak, all when the word ‘tapas’ for under a tenner. isn’ t on the menu).

WHERE TO DRINK ...

Cafés El Magnífico Carrer de L’Argenteria While purveying snacks and cakes, this cafe serves incredible coffee, made with laboratory precision and from an unrivalled variety of beans.

Bar El Born Paseo del Born With pints at around €3 and with a young, relaxed crowd, this is a great spot for a long drinking session. It gets busy, so arrive early to get a good seat.

Bar Mediterráneo Coming in Carrer de Balmes Issue 2 Another popular spot and open from 11pm TORONTO unti 3am, ‘El Medi’ has free live music every night. It’s also within SAGE ADVICE Gaixample, Barcelona’s Keep your stuff safe gay vllage.

3 GREAT FREE ACTIVITIES IN BARCELONA • • •

Climb to the top of Park Güell This Gaudi-designed park offers some of the most stunning views of the city. There are plenty of his creations to enjoy along the way, especially the mosaic masterpiece that is the serpentine bench.

Watch the skaters at the Museum of Contemporary Art There are usually some pros hanging round for video shoots, so you can be sure of high quality entertainment while resting after a morning’s shopping or museum-going.

Grab a can in Plaça Reial OK, so it’s not free, but grab a €1 can off a street vendor (semi-legal) and soak up the nighttime atmosphere before heading into one of the nearby clubs and bars. Just consider it predrinks; European-style ...

on the Metro as Barca is renowned for pickpockets. It’s also a good idea to grab a 3-day or weekly travel ticket as things are fairly spread out so you will be using the Metro/bus a considerable amount.

F A C E S

MARY ELLARD HIGHER LIBRARY ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE RETIRING THIS MONTH AFTER 17 YEARS

“WILL MISS FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES AT THE LIBRARY”

ART DRINKS FILM FOOD

R

MUSIC STAGE TECH TV

V I E S FEATURING WHITEWASH THE MOON // BY GABIJA PURLYTE

REVIEWS

WHITEWASHING THE MOON PROJECT

ARTS

CENTRE

PHOTOGRAPH Matthew Wilson

I

ART Perhaps best known for featuring a programme of some of the city’s most interesting theatre, the Project Arts Centre, housed in an enviable spot on East Essex Street in Temple Bar, also regularly hosts compact, but very high quality contemporary art exhibitions.

The current group show, Whitewashing the Moon, takes its title and theme from an 1869 short story by Edward Everett Hale, ‘The Brick Moon’. Published as a single edition for the occasion, the work is available for visitors to leaf through in the gallery, and can also be freely read online.

What is so appealing about this exhibition, as with previous ones in PAC, is how strongly it is held together by the multiple conceptual and aesthetic threads which run through it, so that the show becomes more than just the sum of its parts. The twilit setting here not only brings out the qualities which are often subordinate to colour and form in the visual arts – luminosity, reflectance, warmness, sound, smell – but also adds to the science-fiction feel of the show.

One of the main ideas within the exhibition is the defamiliarisation of objects - the potential for materials and forms to become strange and acquire new functions and meanings when appropriated for an artwork. Another is the human desire to understand the world by organizing it into conceptual systems. For exam24 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

ple, Caroline Achaintre’s ceramic pieces are inevitably interpreted as anthropomorphic masks; the sculptor Jean (Hans) Arp even insisted on calling his sculptures ‘human concretions’ because of this universal tendency to see human features in abstract forms. Visually, certain geometric shapes recur among the works, most notably the Rhombicuboctahedron – the shape of both the ‘Brick Moon’ in Hale’s story and the National Library of Belarus in Raphaël Zarka’s film.

Eleanor Duffin’s Tephra is one of the works I would like to single out as particularly interesting. This set of 5 modular sculptures is the first known attempt to cast obsidian (impressively collected at volcanoes by the Irish artist herself and pictured above).

My hands-down favourite, however, is From them but not of them, an installation by Barbara Knezevic, in which a huge slab of yellow beeswax is kept at interior temperature of a beehive, slowly changing in appearance over the course of the exhibition and emitting a heavenly smell. If you have not yet been to Project Arts Centre, look for a blue building with a chaotic mass of black bitumen-coated struts sprawling out of its balcony and over the façade – a major new installation/ performance by Ruth Lyons entitled The Forgotten Works. Whitewashing The Moon runs in the Project Arts Centre Gallery until 27th October.

Gabija Purlyte

REVIEWS

A B O U T E L LY ASGHAR

FARHADI

I FILM A group of friends stick their heads out the car windows and scream in celebration as they drive through a tunnel. Over lunch they tease each other and joke around. It seems a light-hearted road movie is being introduced as the film tells the story of a group of friends and family who decide to travel together to a villa on the shores of the Caspian Sea. While it would seem like a simple weekend away, one of the group, Sepideh, intends to use the trip to set up her friends Ahmad, a divorcee, and Elly, a school teacher.

After spending a night in the villa, there is a dramatic occurrence which brings all into upheaval.

With surprising immediacy, Academy Award-winnng director Farhadi brings us intimately into the seemingly close-knit group, and the tragedy is made only more poignant following the initial sentimental and humorous moments. The discreet cinematography achieves each necessary atmosphere - be it warm, fearful, or despairing - as they come. The performances given by the ensemble cast (which includes Golshifteh Farahani of Body of Lies and A Separation’s Shahab Hosseini) are excellent. The group as a whole is

distraught and traumatised but each member’s distinctive personality comes through and we find ourselves riding an emotional rollercoaster with them.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this film is how it achieves such drama without excessiveness. Had this story been put to almost any producer in Hollywood, there would be some dramatic booming soundtrack playing in the background, excessively shaky tracking shots (the likes of which we see frequently in action or disaster movies), and an over-sentimental script delivered by pouty-lipped actresses and men running their fingers through their hair to imply their distress. This would all distract from the raw emotion that pervades this story.

The “holiday-gone-wrong” narrative is one that is not unfamiliar to us, but the Iranian director brings the story back to what it ought to be about - the characters. His storytelling abilities are undeniable, and he will surely keep you on the edge of your seat until the mystery comes to its final resolution. Now showing exclusively at the IFI cinema.

Deirdre Molumby

ELEVAT OR THISISPOPBABY STAGE THISISPOPBABY have quickly become one of Ireland’s leading young theatre companies, carving a well-respected name for themselves in the Irish theatrical circle. Philip McMahon’s Elevator, directed by Wayne Jordan, is unsurprisingly one of the most highly anticipated productions at the Fringe Festival. In a land of excess where everything is available we are asked the question “Just when is enough, enough?”

Dressed in beautifully chic eveningwear, six attractive

PROJECT

ARTS

CENTRE

Alma Kelliher’s haunting soundtrack evokes a sense of other-worldliness with almost hallucinogenic quality. Animal masks and long white neon lights flashing behind the black screen direct the production into a warped fairytale.

While being visually stimulating it is disappointing that we are rarely given the opportunity to engage or empathize with the characters in a tangible way. There is hope initially that relationships may form or friendships may blossom. Fickleness, however, soon seeps through, making it difficult to empathize in any way.

Each character’s incessant need for a new sexual partner creates the sense that all human relationships in their world are meaningless.

Our inability to truly relate to these empty vessels makes us indifferent to their decline into self-destruction.

McMahon’s text is at times rich and beautiful, exposing the character’s vulnerabilities through short anecdotes, delivered delicately by the talented cast. The scarcity of these moments however, makes us crave a deeper level of insight and understanding, which unfortunately never arrives. There is no defining moment where the beautiful characters on stage must return to reality and face the consequences of humanity. Instead the piece ends with another line of coke, commencing an illusory party once more.

While Elevator is entertaining and stylish, it is not a production that reverberates in the mind. Answering the original question of “What happens in a world where everything is available, yet nothing ever satisfies?” THISISPOPBABY certainly do capture the loss of meaning and the inescapable shallowness within this bubble of excess. And perhaps that is enough. Elevator runs until 22 September in the PAC Space Upstairs.

Fionnuala Gygax

II.I

young people gather for a party in a swish mansion in the woods of an unknown country. The glossy floor and appropriately large whiteleather couch are instant indicators that we are entering into an environment of affluence. Almost immediately, a party begins and we are brought on a tumultuous journey of self-loss and mindlessness.

In a dreamlike montage of sexual-mingling and drug-snorting, we are dragged into a sphere of no consequence, where nothing really makes sense, but where nothing needs to.

18TH SEPTEMBER 2012 // 25

REVIEWS

MENOMENA MOMS BARSUK

MUSIC The most striking thing about Menomena is that they perpetually look 25. Every photo shows them in some kooky situation, with cheeky smiles and playful energy. That’s not to say they’re immature: only curious. Until recently made up of three members, they now consist of a songwriter and capable singer each sharing equal space on the record.

By democratically taking turns to add layers and sections to an idea, a chopped idiosyncrasy emerges, like the B-model option in a Lego set, with the same pieces put together into a less obvious consistency.

The end product is refreshing and unpretentiously complex, darkly anthemic but certainly not brooding, and oddly catchy.

These guys know they’re getting old, but what’s striking is that as they hit their mid-30s they still refuse to brood, and they open with the most upbeat, sugary, major-key song of their canon.

Hands clap and a cheery guitar twitters, blossoming into a 50s pop gem complete with bops from Brent Harris’s saxophone, obscuring for a second his desperate pleas - the true agenda.

This is a personal record, and the theme of self-doubt runs strong. With the departure of Brent Knopf and now becoming a twosome, there’s a lot more openness. Vulnerable lyrics come easier when they only have to be heard by one other person, even more so when that person is a childhood friend, as Seim and Harris are.

A lot of this vulnerability is tongue-incheek. On Harris’s end, we’re privy to confessions of insecurity in love (“I’m overlooked and undertouched”), spurred by fear of age closing previously wide open doors, as he projects this onto a Mormon allegory on Don’t Mess With Latexas (“Half my age and half undressed / It’s morally ambiguous”). Seim does the same, self-consciously poking fun at it too, wishing for time to freeze on Capsule. Maybe the humour makes it more real: the very need to joke about it lends the issue importance.

RECORDS

But it can be hard to tell through the musical smokescreen - strong vocal earworms and dense, adventurous arrangements. The duo breathe life into the old setup and employ strings, weird synth sounds, and small frills like xylophone or bells; enough to augment but not to intrude. A synergy is obvious in these choices and even the song structure - the ideas flow smoothly into fuller-sounding songs. No start-stop dynamic as before; what’s left is not three separate voices but two indistinguishable ones. Fuzz pounds for immediacy or squeals emotively. Sax punctuates and pierces. Knopf’s contributions on piano aren’t missed, and neither are Seim’s previously tight, attacking drums. Here they fade in the mix to serve the songs better.

Strangely, Harris, the arrogant male, has the more obvious heartfelt moments, if only due to the more appropriate backing: “Heavy are the branches falling from my fucked up family tree,” he sings over urgent quivering piano chords. Seim has on Baton a moving eulogy to his mother, but Harris references his own only by lamenting his lack of a father figure, hence the album title. The lyrics claw desperately away, for time lost and unmade memories. Is it in bad taste for Seim to compare himself to “a nervous stranger at a gloryhole” when he talks of feeling empty? Not here, where Harris jokes defensively and later spits disdain (“You made me, with no clue how to raise me ... Now I’m a failure, cursed with male genitalia”). A catharsis? What we hear are manics laughing forcefully through tears with clenched fists, masking their pain with it, for hollowness is easier to bear than sorrow, but this is impermanent and the sadness reveals itself. It’s beautiful. It’s a microcosm of the play between loss, grief, denial, anger, the album a reflection of these difficult emotional states. Menomena knowingly buried it there, under pop songs and goofy press photos of riding a tandem bike through a fountain. Maybe that’s a coping mechanism too. Gheorghe Rusu

II.I

DANIEL BACHMAN SEVEN PINES 22 year old Bachmann has, in true era of Internet backlash fashion, been biding his time with small label releases (cassette tapes and all) and relentless touring, under his own name and as Sacred Harp, an allusion to the Southern Protestant singing tradition. A thoroughly “old America” way of life for a Fredericksburg, Virginia man who makes music that sounds thoroughly like old America. Coming from a background of banjo and drone, he works in sprawling singular instrumentals.

This seven-track record out next month sees him turning to guitar, weaving hypnotic melodies he describes as “psychedelic appalachian”. Earthy and yet shimmering, it’s soothing, familiar and adventurous in the same ways as the kind of fingerpicking Sweden’s Tallest Man on Earth is reviving. GR

It’s no longer uncommon to see teenage bands come to the forefront these days, but it’s refreshing to see them stay sounding young even as they put out credible tunes. It’s not that surprising seeing as this thrashing debut from five Chicago youngsters was written when they were sixteen, done and dusted at 17, and named after a now-closed record store that served them as a suburban oasis. The only thing more impressive than their spectral knowledge of 50s pop, garage, punk, post-punk and alternative rock is their songwriting chops. Hear them echo girl groups, Stooges, Black Flag, Joy Division, Galaxie 500, with unstifled grit. Maybe a much poppier U.S. analogue to Iceage, all unpolished amp static and singing themselves hoarse, they’re derivative for sure, but their melodic turns are hard to resist. Single Mallrats (La La La) propels with scary efficiency and Midwest ennui. GR

26 // TN2MAGAZINE.IE

REVIEWS

COPAN 304

RATHMINES

ROAD

LOWER

II.2

DRINKS Lingering aromas of tobacco stored in three-legged velvet topped stools which stand like vats of presmoking ban nostalgia; dark wood bars using shadows and varnish to mask decades of stains better not contemplated; pictures of a main street once in blurry black and white, now faded into a sweeping grey by sunlight permitted by the solitary window: why does it seem like so many Irish bars were mapped from the one blueprint?

(And who exactly drew this blueprint?

It would seem they have made the single most influential contribution to Irish interior design in the twentieth century.)

Dublin’s new bars though go to great pains to create something different from this formulaic scene. Yet it seems veneer flooring, lampshades smothered in Victorian wallpaper patterns, and a series of seemingly random objects and glass panels strung up on the walls and backlit by deep purple and blue form a set of new basic ingredients for a bar. And so it is with Copán cocktail bar on the Lower Rathmines Road.

They have their own touches, of course. A Mayan theme manifests itself most evidently in the bizarre smoking area. This jungle clearing complete with waterfalls, raised canopy and clay hut is at odds with the rest of the bar, which is a visual cacophony of candles and neon – a temple of trendiness. A definite sense of going through proverbial motions pervades. There is a satisfying juxtaposition in the front

bar though, where lampshades fashioned into oversized orbiting copper bullets adorn a well-stocked bar that could actually resemble any other in Ireland. It even has regulars propping it up with stout and wrinkled copies of the Evening Herald. Blueprints colliding.

What should set Copán apart though is the menu. The selection shows a pleasing level of innovation.

There are some creations, some standards and some shooters. The price of €5 per cocktail is one that encourages experimentation. Myself and my drinking partner were enticed. We had a Summer Breeze (vodka, elderflower liqueur, cranberry and apple juice) and an Artlantic (Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, amaretto, Blue Curaçao, lime and apple juice) to start. Though generous in proportion, they lacked a significant punch. That said, the cocktails provided a vessel for some interesting liqueur flavours – the elderflower and amaretto were followed by cachaça in a Copán Caipirinha and sloe gin in a Sloe Comfortable Screw. While the staff are laid-back, the bartenders know what they are doing, a quality not to be undervalued in Dublin.

There are bars in Dublin with more of that mysterious quality reviewers call “character” and bars which craft better cocktails, but Copán (especially for its pricing scheme which allows for a variety of drinks) provides a comfortable, if not particularly memorable, night.

Bring good company.

Declan Johnston

WEATHERCUBE appsuberb

II.I TECHNOLOGY After a summer that came and went in two-hour bursts, it’s more important than ever to tell at a moment’s notice whether you’re about to face torrential downpours or Sahara-like conditions. Luckily, the new generation of smartphone weather apps prizes clarity and minimalist style over bells and whistles.

Weathercube (€1.59, iPhone) is the latest such app, adding slick animation and understated sound effects to its clean design. The result provides all the information you’re likely to need at a glance while keeping extra details just a tap or a swipe away.

The home page presents that day’s forecast, and tapping any element will flip it to reveal information for the morning, afternoon and night.

However, the home page is just one face of an interactive cube that you can rotate to view hourly and weekly forecasts, as well as more detailed information for the next three days. Opening up the cube reveals preferences or sharing features.

Weathercube is a well-polished gem of an app, and the only thing it really lacks is a weather radar view. Although it faces a lot of competition in the weather apps market, something this slick and simple deserves a shot at securing a place on your home page.

Ciaran McGrath 18TH SEPTEMBER 2012 // 27

UNTIL NEXT TIME ...

... SOME EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES TO FILL THE CULTURAL VOID

Tuesday 18th Cabaret Briefs Meeting House Square, Temple Bar 20.00 // €20 (until 23rd Sept)

Film Natural Born Killers IFI 18.10 Jazz Lean Left Whelan’s 20.00 // €16

Wednesday 19th Circus This Is What We Do For A Living Smock Alley Theatre 18.30 // €11 (until 22nd Sept)

Theatre Constellations D-Light Studios 19.30 // €15 (until 22nd Sept) Spoken Word The Last Ten Years St Patrick’s Cathedral 19.30 // €10

Theatre Bandit Bewley’s Café Theatre 18.00 // €10 (until 21st Sept)

Friday 21st Event Culture Night City Wide Free

Film Far and Away IFI (Outdoor Screening) 20.00 // free

Theatre Souvenir The New Theatre 20.00 // €10 (until 22nd) Clubnight Skream Twisted Pepper 23.00 // €20

Rock - Pop The Cast of Cheers Whelans 20.00 // €12.50

Saturday 22nd Theatre Green Street Courthouse, Green Street 19.00 & 21.00 // €12 (until 22nd Sept)

Sunday 23rd Art New Faith Love Song by Garrett Phelan IMMA Free

Food & Drink Oktoberfest George’s Dock Free

Ballet Masterpieces of World Opera and Ballet NCH 14.00 // from €20

Classical RTE NSO Elgar, Schumann, Tchaikovsky NCH 20.00 // from €9

Rock Jesca Hoop Workman’s Club 20.00 // €16.50

Dance Sigha Kennedy’s 23.00 // €10

Clubnight Vinyl Sound Clash King 7 21.00 // €5

Monday 24th Film Persepolis IFI 18.30

Tuesday 25th Art Real Life? Hogarth’s Images of Love, Death and Family National Gallery Free

Art Chester Beatty: The Paintings Chester Beatty Library Free (until 24th March)

Thursday 20th Film Vertigo (70mm) IFI 18.20 // €10

Rock Whelan’s New Music Night Whelan’s 20.00 // €5 Clubnight Panda Party Button Factory 23.00 // €3

Dance Mirror, Mirror Filmbase - Roasted Brown Café 15.30 // €12

Wednesday 26th Art Future’s I2 Royal Hibernian Academy Free (until 28th Oct)

Rock Jason and the Scorchers Whelan’s 20.00 // €18 Dance Paleman Kennedy’s 22.30 // €7

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WWW.TN2MAGAZINE.IE

Thurday 27th Exhibition A Change In The Air Oliver Sears Gallery Free

Friday 28th Food & Drink Irish Village Market Grand Canal, Percy Place 11.30 – 14.00

Saturday 29th Food & Drink Temple Bar Market Meeting House Square, Temple Bar 10.00-16.00

Event Arthur’s Day City Wide Free

Theatre The Select (The Sun Also Rises) O’Reilly Theatre 19.30 // €30

Theatre The Picture of Dorian Gray Abbey Theatre 19.30 // from €18

Theatre Dubliners (Opening Night) Gaiety Theatre 19.30 // from €10§

Comedy Ross Noble Olympia Theatre 20.00 // €30

Electronic Brenmar Twisted Pepper 22.00 // €12

Electronic Aeroplane The Sugar Club 23.00 // €12.50

Film Act Without Words II/ Endgame IFI 14.30 Electronic Toby Kaar Twisted Pepper 20.00 // €12

SOCIETY EVENTS An Cumann Gaelach Gig Mór na bhFreshers HamsandwicH le tacaíocht ón JPTrio Workman’s Club, Déardaoin 20ú lá Doirse 8in // €7-€10. Bí ann!

DUDJ DUDJ, TTV and TFM Present: Paleman @ The Underground

College Historical Society TTH hopes Science will be the death of Faith

Kennedy’s Bar, Westland Row 26 September, 10.30pm

The GMB 20 September, 7:30pm

Fresher’s Week Big Gig HamsandwicH and the JPTrio Workman’s Club, 20 September // 8pm // €7-€10

DUDJs are proud to present Paleman, as their first international guest. Backed by BBC Radio 1 and Rinse FM Paleman is going to be a big ting.

Will the ultimate victory for science, reason and rationality only be realised when the last vestiges of faith and ‘superstition’ are eroded?

In week one, we ask whether we should kill God, or if faith should remain woven into the fabric of our society.

ADVERTISE YOUR SOCIETY EVENT - CONTACT THE EDITOR

THE FINAL SAY Neasa

Conneally

“IT’S NOT ADULT LIFE IF YOUR PARENTS STILL PAY FOR YOUR BLACKBERRY”

The Trinity academic year has many faults, and one that isn’t complained about much, but that is still definitely true, is that the summer break is in fact too long. We can only be entertained by minimum-wage jobs and unpaid internships for so long and all J1s and jaunts across Europe or the far east must eventually come to an end.

While we wait for the dog-days of the “glorious” Irish summer to turn into the brisk coolness of the Michaelmas term, we find ourselves filling our hours catching up on DVD box sets and illicitly acquired TV series, with Revenge, The Newsroom, Game of Thrones (for those who liked Lord of the Rings, but just felt it wasn’t porny enough), and Breaking Bad all being very popular among my Twitter feed.

One of the more quietly interesting shows that aired early this summer was Girls on HBO. Written, produced and starring 26-year-old Lena Dunham, along with Judd Apatow, Girls focuses on a group of four friends in their early twenties living in Brooklyn and navigating their way through life, relationships and fledgling careers. Comparisons to Sex and the City are inevitable, but I would argue that Girls says more about our generation than the slightly pathetic Carrie Bradshaw could ever do.

Along with Dunham’s award-winning 2010 film Tiny Furniture, Girls captures the essence of Generation Y, the Millennials, whatever you wish to call us. We are the generation that were teenagers throughout the biggest boom in this country’s history and who are now shocked to be emerging into adulthood in a world where things aren’t going to be as easy as we were promised.

Of course, Dublin will never be Brooklyn, no matter how many hipster cafes open in D7 and D8 or how much we try to convince ourselves drinking lemonade out of jam jars is a fun thing to do. Despite this, Girls touches on subjects universal to us all, such as pregnancy scares, drug use, STDs, losing your virginity and unemployment.

However, it is not some stateside version of Hollyoaks, but deliciously funny and very, very real.

It is incredibly refreshing to see normal people with “real” bodies having “real” sweaty, awkward sex (it is HBO after all), instead of the

airbrushed perfection we are so used to seeing from Hollywood.

Girls has also captured perfectly that claustrophobic, suffocating feeling of returning to your small hometown and the feeling of smug self-congratulation you award yourself for managing to escape, as well as the feelings of post-graduation “what’s next?” inertia and stasis when fulfilling careers don’t immediately present themselves. It is an interesting study on how women our age relate to each other, such as the simmering resentments that can bubble under even the strongest of female friendships. And of course we all have danced around our bedrooms to Robyn (um, haven’t we?).

Of course, the reception wasn’t all positive, with feminist website Jezebel arguing that Dunham portrayed a whitewashed version of New York with few ethnic minorities represented and that it is very difficult to sympathise with the “first world problems” of a group of university-educated, white, upper-middle-class girls who are almost entirely funded by their parents. However, if I may be so bold, I would say that this could describe a large proportion of the Trinity population.

Despite this, our generation does not deserve the unfair accusations that we get in the media, that we are spoilt “tiger cubs” too busy stabbing each other at Swedish House Mafia gigs to contribute anything useful to society. I would argue that there are a myriad of ways that people our age are making their voices heard.

Siren magazine, produced by Trinity students, deals mainly with women’s issues and politics and has been hugely successful and well-received. Despite the difficult economic situation, there has been a great emergence in small tech start-ups, with the upcoming Dublin Web Summit being a fantastic opportunity to showcase new developments and new talents. Young artists are also producing very interesting work, with the illustrator Fuchsia MacAree being a particular favourite of mine.

Instead of wringing their hands and crying “It’s a disgrace, Joe!”, we should be given an opportunity to show what we have to offer, and Lena Dunham with Girls is one of many ways that we are doing that. As the protagonist says herself, it may not be the voice of the generation, but it is “at least a voice. Of a generation”. www.twitter.com/neasaconneally