The event- issue 109- 16th Feburary 2000

wednesday, february 16, 2000

I SIDE AND OUT

can you judge a book by its cover? ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

insight:

inspected:

gay tv moby campag velocet inside the militia from books to film sou dtracks millen i do • no future?

the beach • giselle & swan lake • kool here • end of the affair· top 10 love songs • football world manager 2000 • queer as folk· soaps p the f. st listings uide on campus •••

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in the beginning

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contents: short cuts: 04

how to be ...

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dome doom: where now for the horrible hump?

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smalltalk: orangecan

insight: 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

premier league: coldplay & campag velocet guns & ammo: the man who met the militia bible bangin': moby confesses screen shift: are books bungled into films exposure: homosexuality on the small screen film forte: the importance of movie soundtracks skin deep: the truth under the covers

inspected: 14

15 16

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music: kraftwerk, jj72, the beach soundtrack, smashing pumpkins, gorky's zygotic mynci, my life story, kool here, recoil, it's jo and danny, eels film: the beach, house on haunted hill, the end of the affair arts: giselle, swan lake, touch poetry, ensemble bash video-game: go, spec ops ii, wild wild west, football world manager 2000 tv: queer as folk 2, miss this: my hero, top :10 love songs, soaps

event horizon: 19 21

cinema: now even bigger guide to all the films showing in norwich listings: the comprehensive guide to all that 's happening in norwich until the end of term

people: editor-in-chief: j ames tapsfield edit or: Iuke t urner arts editor: alex mcgregor assistant arts editor: elln jones music editor: darcy hurford assistant music editor: Iuke chilton screen editor: adam chapman assistant screen editor: astrid goldsmith tvvideogame editor: steve collins listings: elin ]ones anna castles elaine leggett alice messhan copy editing: claire saunders ruth levis dtp: Iuke turner, caroline ]eater, mark edwards contributing writers: katle holzwart - gemma o'do.nnel - anthony loveli - duncan gatestania neuman - martin brock - thorn dunn - kate forbes - james moran - markland starkle - laurie swan-ingrey - amanda perklns - marcus alexander - ayo mansaray fiona cameron - mlscha gilbert - brian train - kate wenlock - ash verjee- gemma catchpole - metln alsanjak - louise wickendon - matt garner - pollie harrlson - james goffin thanks t o: tart and the slapper - le gaufin - darren mulioy for homegrown revolutionaries pies - elin

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~Ce$:

the event is produced fortn ightly by concrete: po box 410, norwich , nr4 7t b t el: 01603 250558 tax: 01603 506822 e-mail: su.concrete@uea.ac.uk and printed by: eastern counties newspapers, rouen road , norwich nr11rb

the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

win uci tickets win uci tickets Those lovely people at the UCI have once aga in agreed to part with seven pairs of tickets t o a screening of Brit flick Whatever Happened to Haro/d Smith. Whi ch is a very good question, because I haven't seen him fo r some ti me. Anyway , don 't let the description of Whatever Happened ... as a 'feel good movie' put you off. The all star cast, including Stephen Fry, Tom Courten ay , David Thewliss and er, Lulu , perfectly carry off thi jolly little comedy about the strifes of wearing fla res and growing up in the Seventies. All you need to do to win a pair of tickets for the screening this Friday, February 25, is put t he answer to th e following question into teh Concrete competition box in the Hive, all alternatively pop up to the office in Union House: What is Stephen Fry's biggest facial feature?

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loose talk: can't cope with courting W

hen girls were first invented in around about 1993 (post-Homby train set, pre Kestrel Super-strength cider), the art of courting in the Bromley area of Sarf East l.ahndan was a decidedly awkward attempt to catch up for thirteen years' ignorance (a whole lifetime in those days). The heady effects of a class-A hormonal cocktail coursing through the gangly frames of Kelsey Park School's third year had galvanised them to lurch parkward, in order to smoke fags as nonchalantly as possible and inflict their inchoate social skills upon the hapless denizens of the neighbouring girls' school. Sex, romance and (far more distantly) something gir1y called love existed as a sung-about unlikelihood which looked roughly like the dark and far-off shapes that would commingle outside the off-licence and inside the public park after Neighbours.

Now, considering that, when you read this, the fetid residual whiff of St V********s Day will still be in the air, it would perhaps be interesting to conduct a wee conceptual experiment. For if we were to stick a roof on said park, add some very loud Britney Spears songs and then take away all light, oxygen, space and trees, we would in fact be left with something not dissimilar to a certain gathering which visits our fair university every Thursday evening. For when stripped to its naked, lumpy essentials, the art of pulling, and its attendant ceremonies, is still as unadvanced and, well, bestial at the level of tertiary education as it was way back when you were listening to Nirvana. Indeed, throughout the animal kingdom, the quest towards finding a mate is a huge, primal, squelching furry

mass off unbridled passion, devoid of all pleasantries and aesthetic niceness. Hoards of wildebeest descend upon watering holes with the sole intention getting down and dirty like the beasts they are (presumably whilst trying to co-ordinate all four _legs to Tragedy); whales perform spectacular

whales perform spectacular mid-air shag shows only minutes after their initial meeting dow~ in the depths mid-air shag-shows only minutes after their initial meeting down in the depths; beachfuls of sea lions clog the coastlines with huge, heaving, orgiastic mountains of wailing, copulating blubber. And you wouldn't believe what ducks get up to. In short, the courting business as Mother Nature intended it is not meant to be pretty cards and chocolates, no way.

So why, then, must we persist in the depressingly twee rigmarole that is Valentine's Day every bloody year? Is it a mere symptom of the evil capitalist plot to drain the People of their cash by throwing another wallet-emptying celebration at them? Or has the idea of romantic love as being an objectified, wholly independent thing been so cemented in all the books, films and songs of popular culture that everybody takes its existence

for granted, even if they've never experienced it?

Terms connected with the concept illustrate this pretty well: love is a 'thing' you fall into or out of (much like the aforementioned watering hole), something you give or receive, which is quantifiable ("I love you more than ... "), easily identifiable and ready to package in cards, gifts and sentimental objects. lt is also undying, endless, priceless and utterly justified. In short, it is the perfect product, infinitely popular and very expensive.

OK, so maybe this sounds like the sad joyless ramblings of a barren soul pre-empting the disappointment of his equally barren pigeonhole come the fourteenth, but honestly I really don't think all this Valentine's business is at all necessary.

The only animals that pair off apart from humans are geese and sea horses (and probably some others too crap to remember), and both of them are bloody useless.

So if you're sitting reading this after the big day, trying to reassemble the shrapnel of your selfrespect after realising that even your mum doesn't bother anymore, then don't worry. Maybe you are ugly and wholly unlovable, but you can still console yourself in the fact that The Event reckons that this love business is all a complete farce made up by greedy people to get others to spend money and divert their attention away from death. So all you lovey-dovey types can go back to your cards and your chocolates and your matching cardigans, cos come the fourteenth I don't even want to find any stupid cards in my SOC 2 (C) pigeonhole, oh no. Or chocolates. Teddies. Letters. Anything. Er, so there.

Steve Colllns

the tickler: YENOMEHTROFTINI FASPE I ATALOTNDS LSREDNALDOOWEHT ICASAGLALESKCAW NPTSLGPVIMGAOLE TLTFOEYAUQNIXAM SOILBROSLUNRARL T N E I E NRNKEA ET T U OBERONERAARCTIC NKNRLPI JCRENXCW EF I CLPN I GLDUVHM SILARODINMKOMOE AERZEREREJ I BAKR Q N E A N D E R T HA L D E J UTMFNFRAPFSZEAN didn't get missive on valentine's day? well we've a thing to make you gay. it doesn't matter how you look, fill in the tickler and win some books. all you need to do to win a fantastic prize of books is bring a completed tickler up to the concrete office, or stick it in the competition box 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9:

Di Vinci, di Caprio (8) tricky album (10) the modern stone age (11) veg - jerusalem or globe (9) early man (11) arthur's wizard (6) hardy novel (3,11) mercenary supergrass album (2,2,3,3,5) can be gold silver or bronze (5)

10: 11: 12: 13:

king of the fairies (6) what volcanoes make (4) sculptor of the kiss (5) neighbours dog or nightclub employee

(7) 14: where the north pole is (6) 15: mole's friend in wind in the willows (6)

16: they pull santa's sleigh (8)

the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

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so you want to be a: beatnik beatniks are cool. either they become alien ginsberg, or else they die of too much gin and too many snouts. want to be one? here's how ... what do they do?

The Beatn1k likes nothing better than to sit. While one sits one can th1nk great thoughts, expand the mind and come up with all sorts of crazy philosophies and 1deas for short stones. The beatnik loves to write, though they eschew the new tangled computer things for a crashing old typewnter or n1ce antique fountain pen. When not writing the Beatnik loves to s1t w1th a book of Gmsberg poetry, smoking Gaulo1se and watch1ng the world go by.

what do they wear?

The Beatnik's clothes reveal a certain complexity and contradiction of character. While they will deny the power of modern fash1on, refus1ng to wear expensive des1gner labels. the Beatnik IS always very concerned about their appearance, and makes a great effort to look self consciously unconsciously cool. Th1s w1l l involve some form of outda ted headgear, a battered old jacket of ve lvet or corduroy, some knacke red trousers and a well cut, but crumpled shirt. The old skool Bea tnik wi ll also sport a cravat or perhaps even a beret.

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where do they go?

In an ideal world the Beatnik would sit outside a cafe in left bank Paris, where he could enjoy h1mself with thoughts of the Other and generally think up ideas for those aforementioned stories. When the air gets a bit too cold of an evemng, the Beatnik will hop into the latest jazz bar and spend the evening leaning intelligently against the bar.

where will they go?

Though the average Beat.D1k expresses a laid back cool, they are secretly extremely ambitiOUS. Th1s means that they w1l l either become world changing philosophers and wnters, or should everything fa il, often become old alcoholics before dy1ng trag1cally at the age of 43.

intended as a monument to past achievements, the millennium dome is turning into a farce of the present. katie holzwart asks just what has gone wrong ... hat strange wh1te mushroom next to the Thames has been headline news for years now, from the days of fear that it had been built on top of a whole load of unfnendly chem1cal pollution to the nightmare v1sion of New Years Eve guests having to watch the festivities perched on scaffolding whi le builders knocked and banged around th em .

And now, even with the doors open and visitors, er, trickling in there has been hard ly a day without

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the dome seems to be a testament to the sanitised, pc view of britain that tony b and his chums like to excrete some form of negat1ve comment 1n the media, prompting claims of unfairness from the New M1llenn1um Expenence Company, and causing the financ1al backers such as Boots to recoil in horror from such damagmg associations.

In the harsh world of bus1ness and PR these s1tuat1ons call for the wheeling out of guillotines and the rollmg of heads, and soon that of Jennie Paige, the former Chief Executive, was rolling in the straw filled basket.

Pa1ge was the woman who nurtured the project from 1ts early days, and to everyone's disbelief pulled a m1racle out of the hat: the dome was finished on t1me with everything just about in working order.

Nevertheless, the openmg on New Yea r's Eve fa iled to 1mpress. Though the ir we re no builders scratchi ng their bums and drinking tea, hundreds of VIPs without tickets were left out in the cold .

Then when the doors opened to the plebs like us, the situation seemed to go from bad to worse.

There are innumerable machines in the Dome which simply fail to work, a!ld after being open for six weeks, each Zone has at least one game with one

BOX OFFICE: Theatre Street Norwich NR2 lRL

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or two broken stations. For example, the heart beat 1n The Body has become irregular, the 1997 robots do not work - wh1le strangely those from 1951 work fine. So much for modern technology. The Learning Zone has 16 of its 50 computers down, and 1n the Money Zone half of the Spend-a-Mil lion computers are not working. it seemed that there was a conce rted effort on the part of the Dome's sponsors to boot Jennie Page out, raising important questions as to whether it is right tha t business shou ld have sucl1 a big influence in what is essen ti ally sti ll a govern ment project.

The problem faced by the New Millennium Experience Com pany was that it was not on ly necessary to iron out all the technical problems, bu t also to restore the shattered public confidence 1n the Dome. And they only have ten months in which to do it.

The man chosen to take on this Herculean task is 34 year old management consultant P1erre-Yves Gerbeau, one of those responsible for the rema rkable rescue of the originally disastrous Euro Disney venture.

Unfortunately for Gerbeau he has quite a job ahead of him , and the Dome's problems are far worse than he has encountered before. At Disneyland Pans, YP oversaw the fixing of all the broken rides : he found the broken machinery and then hired a repair company. But at the Dome along with the broken games comes a package of long queues and pnces beyond the reach of much of the population. The games can always be fixed but what is most 1n need of repa1r is publiC perception of the Dome, w1th the popular opm1on that the money used could have been better spent on more useful things like hospital beds or c1v1c parks.

However, it remains to be seen if Gerbeau can actually help the dwi ndl ing and faded image of the "beacon for the mi llenn ium" ; wil l his addition rea lly all ow the Dome to get back on track?

Maybe the problem began with the actual conception of the Dome. Although we have th e benefi t of hi ndsight, it does seem as if the whole concept of the dome was fatally flawed from its ince ption. What was intended as the worthy successor to the Great Exhi bition of the Nineteenth

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Century; a celebration of British cultural and scientific success, seems more of a testament to the. sanitised, PC view of Britain that Tony B and his chums like to excrete.

B

ut at this point it seems unwise to continue to question the building of the Dome; the damage is done and now let us deal with

there has been no end · to terrible .desecration of songs at the altar of capitalism the aftermath. A fair amount of money is at stake, and if NMEC does not think quickly the Dome will go down in history as a disastrous failure. But could a worse fate await the Dome at the hands of Gerbeau - could his past work result in it ending up Disneyfied?

Will the Millennium Experience become a series of fluffy rides with a cuddly mascot? NMEC's mission for the Dome is to "inspire, entertain and educate everyone", but will Gerbeau turn it in to yet another outpost of American cultural Imperialism, a long way away from the remit of its function as celebrating Britain.

Perhaps fortunately for everyone else the outlook does not look good for Gerbeau or NMEC. First of all, th'e Millennium Commission will give them little or no money for additions.

Therefore all repairs and addons must be done within what small amount of money available. Next, the Dome will only be open for this year and therefore there is limited time to

work with, and furthermore two months have already been misused. But if there is to be added construction, when will they find the time to do it?

The attraction is open seven days a week, and in less than two months will be open during the evenings.

The idea that the Dome will become a Disney upon Thames looks unlikely irr the foreseeable future due to the massive obstacles in the way of Gerbeau, significantly the lack of time and money.

However, the appointing of Gerbeau may only be a ploy by NMEC to assure the public that something is being done about the expensive and flawed development. The pedigree that Dome minister Lord Falconer attributed to Gerbeau in order to impress the all important commercial backers tias been revealed to be somewhat of a sham. The reality of the situation is that Gerbeau's past at Euro Disney is not exactly that of a Saviour, it was merely felt by the government that a slight generosity of the truth would help sell the reshuffle to the financial backers.

The Dome ought to become a symbol of British ability and ingenuity, people should be encouraged to come from all over the country and to create an impressive monument dedicated to triumphs of the past, while looking forward to the 999 years remai~ing of this millennium.

how did you begin?

Jason (vocals/guitar): We started off in this unit we hired in Greenwich and built it into a rehearsal space, took a couple of loans out and got it together with some equipment. We've all been playing in other bands until we got it together as Orange Can. Lee [bassist] has done loads of stuff in Leeds, me and James [vocalS/guitar] and Rory the drummer have been doing stuff since way back.

do you think you 're going to be big?

James: We got played on the radio last night, that was a bit of excitement.

Jason: What we want to do is put on wicked shows, which may not work in a stadium, but then again, if Oasis want us to support them at W~mbley and want to give us half a million quid then we ain't gonna say no ... we're all skint. Actually, we probably would say no.

i've heard that you have a lot of visual stuff, is that animations or do you do them yourselves?

Lee: it's a mate of mine, he just goes out and films loads of different stuff like ...

Jason: on the underground, street stuff...

Lee: underground street stuff - lots of gritty urban realism!

who would you like to play with then?

Jason: If we're able to play with anyone, it would be with the Manic Street Preachers somewhere, I think we'd play with them anywhere in the world. it's really something to aim for, supporting the Manic Street Preachers. it's the pinnacle of rock music - I think.

Kate Forbes

IJ[b(B '(!1 [?[} (j] (]] [}ij(B ~ij[]] (j] (B [llij ©0(]] ~ POOL COMPETITION Alternate Wednesdays Starts Feb 16th Frida 18th Feb uar

ANNA MEDUKA & ·BABA SIMBA Frida 3r

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60's EVENING Open liceilce - all welcome Cocktail Night Mondays Quiz Night Tuesdays

HAPPY HOUR 7·pm-8pm Fri the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

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the nme carting premier tour made its regular stop off at uea last month. mark/and starkie found hotly tipped campag velocet sadly lacking, while amanda perkins saw greater hope for new band cold play ...

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here is an old rule that has run for many decades through celebrity social circles. A rule so fundamental to the egos of celebrity minds that, no matter how lowly the star, it seems almost innate within them. The rule goes as follows: the later you arrive at an event, the more important you seem to those around you. So, after waiting nearly one hour and 45 minutes for Pete Voss, front man for London-based.band Campag Velocet, to turn up, I am beginning to picture a huge, Liam Gallagher style icon to come striding through the doors, surrounded by petite, blonde personal assistants offering coffee, biscuits, sexual favours, sandwiches, and the like. My dreams are semi realised when Liam Gallagher actually does walk through the door

i've always welcomed the chance to get pissed up and go to clubs in my general direction. Except it's not Liam Gallagher. it's Pete Voss, doing an extremely good impersonation of the mono-browed one: the hair, the beard, the stance, all pretty near perfect. But, there are no personal assistants, and no coffee. In fact, he looks far from being the acclaimed notoriety I had begun to depict, especially due to the fact that several crumbs from the rather large sandwich he is munching on have got caught in his beard.

Campag Velocet have been touring universities with three other bands; Coldplay (elsewhere on this page), Les Rythmes Digitales, and Shack). as part of"the annual NME tour. Asked which of the shows he has liked best so far, he immediately responds: ''Leeds was a laugh! Very amusing- a lot of Leeds [United] fans turned up, and they were all really playing up to the idea of the 'barmy army', so yeah, that was good." His mood shifts slightly when asked how he is getting on with the other bands on the tour: "Hmm. Well. that's another question." Well

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yeah Pete, you' re right- it is. Although Pete neatly manages to avoid answering this question, it is clear from the distinct lack of 'oh yeah, we're one big family' type of answer that usually accompanies such queries, that there are some rather interesting feelings floating around between Voss and his tour buddies.

The Campag Velocet album, Bon Chic Bon Genre, mixes Voss' baggy vocals over keyboard samples and drum loops, as well as the more traditional band ingredients of guitar (lan 'Arge' Cater), bass (Barney Slater), and drums (Lascelles), drawing comparisons in the music press with such bands as Primal Scream and lan Brown. Pete , however, is quick to reject such comparisons - "I wouldn't agree with that. I would say [we were] more like MC Vibe meets Public Enemy." having now seen Campag Velocet in action, I would personally agree with the former comparisons; one thing the music press is good at (much to the distaste and disapproval of the artists) is making comparisons between bands, and a hip-hop act is one thing Campag Velocet are not.

But if Pete says that's where they're rooted, then, I suppose, there must be some truth in the argument. The bands' music, and their onstage presence promotes a very rock & roll ethos, reminiscent of the Happy Mondays. One such example can be seen in the lyric "Walking around like a sloth in a trance/Having a whitey at the dance", in the song Only Answers Delay Our Time.

This ethos is something that's been a part of Voss for most of his _life: "I don't think I was any less rock & roll before I was in a band than I am ·now. I've always welcomed the chance to get pissed up and go to clubs. Nothing's changed for me there." And with this statement the front man for the "best underground band to emerge from London since the Sex Pistols" (well , according to the record company's press release, anyway), gives a little smile before turning his interest once again to his sandwich. How very rock & roll.

c ean rnrLe .,:arLt:e

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"A hundred thousand welcomes" --~·

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10 real ales always available Probably the largest selection of Irish Whiskeys in the country ~ Great value Sunday lunches and our 'Taste of Ireland' menu "'• Sky Sports on the big screen ·~ Come and joi n us for good beer, a great atmosphere and mighty " craic" ~ UEA Crawl Society award winner ~

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the event, wednesday, february 16, 20 00

nyone who went to the NME Carling Premier Tour.back in January will have had their ears graced by the sound of Coldplay. You may not have heard of them before , and may even think their name sounds too much like Colgate, or Alldays, or - gasp - even Green Day for comfort, but be not mistaken. Their mix of folk rock blues comes together to produce a style which has won them comparison with Radiohead .

They're a fairly young band as well. Coldplay's four members all met up while they were students at UCL in London, and they have only recently graduated.

Now, just a year later, they find themselves in the glamourous location of the Bill Wilson Room in Union House, where, amongst other things, drummer Will Champion and bassist Guy Berryman revealed their passion for Greek and Roman sculpture. So, they're not exactly all sex, drugs, and rock & roll then,( I mean, can you imagine, say, Primal Scream sitting around backstage discussing art and antiquity?) but Coldplay's laid back image already fits a band likely to meet success, grapple with it, and win. Obviously they've come along way since the early days spent taking jobs as barmen and cleaners to fund their studies, but asked whether they want to hit the big time, it seems it's not all about personal glory: "Al l we want is for our music to become successful, and if stardom comes with it then we'll take it."

Although the band seems apprehensive about what the future holds, they have an impressive repertoire, having previously supported Catatonia and playing their own sell out London ULU gig. Coldplay's appearances at last summer's festivals (Glastonbury and Reading), were reported to have been mightily impressive, and now they're just looking forward to the this summer's gig in a field circuit.

Being compared to Radiohead can be like having a millstone hung around the neck for an up and

A

coming band - it's certainly not helped poor old Muse and The Unbelievably Unimpressive Truth to get successful. Therefore, it's understandable that they'd rather be judged on their own merits, as the band themselves point out: "We don 't like being compared or identified with one particular band", and claim to be influenced by a diverse array of bands and styles, ranging from Stevie Wonder to the Super Furry Animals. They're also good friends with similarly student types Gomez, with whom they've also worked in the past.

Short though their career has been so far, it's been

you can 't imagine primal scream sitting around backstage discussing art and antiquity fairly hectic for Coldplay. Having released a mere 500 copies of their self-financed debut E~ Safety in ~pril 1998, they scraped a place in the prestigious new bands' competition In The City in the summer of 1998.

Playing in, of all venues, a Cuban cafe, they were spotted by the venerable Simon Williams, NME journalist and man behind the Fierce Panda label.

Williams gave them an impressive write-up and invited them to record a single for Fierce Panda early in 1999. The result, Brothers and Sisters, crashed into the charts at the much coveted, ahem, number 92 slot, staying there for a week. it got better though, when they signed to Parlophone, their current home. The Blue Room EP was released last October with more success.

Life is certainly looking rosy for them these days.

Let's hope the charts give Coldplay a warm welcome.

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• ever since the oklahoma bombing in 1995 controversy has raged over the true beliefs and intentions of the american militia movement. Iuke turner meets eas postgrad student darren mulloy whose recent book homegrown revolutionaries attempts to deconstruct some of the myths of the militia ... magine believing that at any moment a SWAT team will burst through your door. Imagine believing that every military helicopter flying over head is watching you; keeping an eye on your house and movements.

Imagine believing-that your own gQvernment is planning to send you away to a remote concentration camp.

You might think that these thoughts would only occur to those living under autocratic regimes - the peoples of Indonesia, Serbia or breakaway Russian ¡republics. But there are many within the supposed home of Democracy, The United States of America, who believe these things; that Bill Clinton and the American political system are part of an internationalist conspiracy to create a New World Order under one supreme government. lt is in resppnse to these beliefs, and the excess of

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the important question is to ask why they believe these things, instead of saying they're just nutters governmental force seen at Waco, that in the early 1990s people began to group together in unofficial state militia movements. They largely have in common an anti-gun control coda based on the Second Amendment of the US constitution, which states that 'A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed'. lt is these militia movements that have been at the

centre of a great deal of controversy and debate in the US in recent years, implicated - perhaps unfairly - in the bombing of Oklahoma City, and subject to a great deal of governmental investigation and attempted legislation.

But is it right to see those who belong to the militia as a group of crazed extremists who hold anti-social Neo-Nazi and AntiSemitic ideologies?

EAS post-graduate student Darren Mulloy has been one of the first to question this belief. His recent UEA published reader Homegrown Revolutionaries not only airs the concerns of Governmental and Militia Watch organisations, but also attempts to remove some of the generalisations and preconceptions the media and the general public have of the militia movement.

Mulloy believes that "The important question is to ask why do they believe these things, what is going on that makes them so fearful instead of saying well, they're just nutters." From the start Mulloy set out to be as objective as possible in his research, though he believes that he had to tread a very fine line with what he wrote and printed. "The militia were interested in me because I could promote them; to them I was trying to help get their views across. I also had to be cautious that I wasn't just acting as a mouthpiece for them - I wanted them to be real, I wanted them to speak, but I didn't want to be an apologist." Mulloy's position as an outsider also facilitated this quest for objectivity: "I think being British meant I went over there with fewer preconceived notions. lt is very difficult for people working in the area that I am in. Most of those who

are concerned about these issues tend to be civil rights groups, and they want to protect other people from what the far right is doing, so they're always alert to the dangers rather than anything else.

That's their job, that's what they do, and we need people like that" ithout any political agenria, Mulloy "wasn't coming to say these are dangerous people who must be stopped and we mustn't listen to them. What I was trying to say is let's listen to them before we decide. it's that geographical distance from the events that helps". As he points out "if I'd lived in Oklahoma at the time of the bombing it would have been very difficult to have any kind of objective point of view.

Much of the portrayal of the militia in the media has been far from objective. As Mulloy explains the belief in the Black helicopter conspiracy has entered popular culture; as he says "it's parodied in King of the Hill and The Simpsons, and it enters the culture as just an expression of craziness. That means people don't ask why do they believe it and then address the reasons for such beliefs."

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interesting about all the evidence presented in

Homegrown Revolutionaries is how in many waYli many of the militia members come across as 'normal' members of society rather than the fanatics that the media portrays them as. This is never more apparent than in Mulloy's interview with the Missouri 51st Militia, the execution of which he was extremely apprehensive about: "When I went to interview the militia I had no idea what to expect. I was quite anxious, and I had arranged beforehand that people knew where I was, what time I was due back and all that kind of thing." However, Mulloy soon found that his fears were unfounded: "When I got there we had coffee in the kitchen, had a

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these people weren't going to take me out into the woods and shoot me. And what I realised as well is that they were pretty much ordinary people who had sometimes strange, but quite often pretty regular, views." ' Indeed , when reading the transcript of the interview it becomes clear how various members of the Missouri 51st often air opinions that seem to express a better grasp on the problems of American society and culture than those possessed by the more 'normal' American. For example, at one point militia member Rick Hawkins says that he believes the dominance of sport in society and on American television stops people from thinking, from waking up "to the realities of their situation. What Mulloy

i realised that these people weren't going to take me out into the woods and shoot me finds interesting is that "They have a critical take on American culture. Their point of view on sport is traditionally a left wing criticism; Marxists would argue that the reason people aren't bettering themselves economically and taking control of the means of production is that because they've been dulled into watching football ."

For Mulloy, all this goes to highlight the fact that "it is. difficult to argue that they're just right wing fanatics, it's a real mix." One of the members of the Missouri 51st is a Buddhist, hardly the standard philosophical choice from the supposed image of the militia members as Nazi, Christian Identity crazies.

However, during the course of his research and writing Mulloy never lost sight of the reason that many of the Militia's were formed; namely to oppose any increase in gun control. The principle of taking up arms against law enforcement agencies to protect the right to bear them is the crunch scenario for many militia, including the Missouri 51st whom Mulloy interviewed. I asked him if he could ever see these friendly, suburban-dwelling, intelligent people actually being prepared to take the lives of others, and even sacrifice their own should a government official come to take their weapons away.

His response is sobering: "I'm convinced that they are genuine in their beliefs. I think that if one of their members had police come round to fine them for not having the proper weapons licence or whatever, and they called up the rest of the group, I think they would all come and help. And that's the scary thing."

.. the eYent, wednesday, februa!y_16, 2000

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case has recently emerged, however, where the novel has proved too extreme for the · movie. While most adaptations strive to build on the book by making it sexier or more violent, the struggle over Hannibal, the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, has proved that chucking huge amounts of money at an author before he has even written the book does not always pay dividends. Universal Pictures reportedly shelled out $10 million for the rights to make Hannibal and, due to it's content, the film adaptation faces the prospect of never being made. After the primary script by David Mamet was rejected , there were rumours that Jodie Fost~r, who originally played Clarice Starling, was not keen on the content of the film, especially the ending where Hannibal Lecter and Starling become lovers and feast on one unlucky chara"cter's brain. it has since been announced that she is now committed to another project with Clare Danes.

Inevitably, feverish speculation has developed as to

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the current fear is that harry potter will be recast as an american high school studerit

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adapting books for the silver screen always provokes purists into complaints of dumbing down. adam chapman asks if cjnema always sells books short to get bums on seats ... ollywood can rarely be accused of originality. The whole process of selling a script to movie executives usually consists of paraphrasing the plot into an easily digestible sentence: "it 's a Wonderful Life meets Pulp Fiction" or "Basic Instinct crossed with Chariots of Fire". You really need something snappy if a studio is going to invest • millions of dollars of capital into the project.

The growing reliance on literary adaptations should therefore come as no surpnse. They are already written, have a ready-made audience in those people who have bought the book and, if the author is dead, are quite cheap to acquire the rights to. it

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if dicaprio had been cast as a Iondoner it could have ended up as dick van dyke does-thailand doesn't take a genius to conclude that an executive who has a few more 'lunches ' to fit in before lunch is going to opt for the tried and tested formula. God forbid they might decide to try something new. Take, for example, the numerous reworkings of the many works of William Shakespeare in recent years.

Imagine, however, if Shakespeare had been alive today and tried to sell the idea for A Midsummer Night's Dream to MGM: Shakespeare: "Well, it's about these four lovers who get lost in a forest inhabited by faeries, who get up to all kinds of mischief. " MGM: "Fairies? You've got to be kidding, Will. We want a large audience. We're aiming for the family dollar here, not some art-house movie about cottaging".

You get the idea ... The big studios would rather go with something that has already proved to be a success than risk shareholders ' money on a potential flop.

The onslaught of literary adaptations has already seen both The Beach and Ange/a's Ashes hitting our screen this year. However, this reliance on literary works runs the risk of clleapening the original product. While Ange/a's Ashes saw Alan Parker producing a film reasonably faithful to Frank McCourt's best-selling novel, Danny Boyle's

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was critically praised, it wasn't exactly box office interpretation of Alex Garland's The Beach has gold, which from the studio's point of view is really already sparked off controversy among purists for the point of making movies. Brannagh has the liberties taken with the book.

The main change made to The Beach was, of responded, therefore, by cutting two thirds of the language in Love's Labour's Lost and replacing it, course, due to the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio in rather strangely, with ten Cole Porter songs. Is this the title role of Richard. Instead of being a taking the trend for literary adaptations just a touch backpacker from London, Richard was now an too far? While it is true that Brannagh's film, to be American. lt could be argued that Danny Boyle and the big wigs at 20th Century Fox have done us a released in March, is likely to fair better at the boxoffice due to a cast including Alicia Silverstone, favour. Imagine if DiCaprio had been cast as a Matthew Lillard (Scream) and Natascha McEihone Londoner... the end result could have ended up (The Truman Show) , isn't it merely a case of selling more as Dick Van Dyke does Thailand than what Garland originally had in mind. out in the search for more money? lt is true that stage directors are constantly re-interpreting This habit for reworking adaptations for screen by material to keep it fresh and interesting to the cutting characters and changing nationalities has audience, isn't the whole point of works like been argued to completely destroy the essence of the original work. The reason why Angela's Ashes Shakespeare's the language itself? To remove the words is to remove the heart and soul of the piece. worked so well was because Parker couldn 't really . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . - - -.,----.,......., re-write what is basically an autobiographical novel. The dirth of originality in Hollywood or a reluctance on the studio's behalf to recognise it, now means that the genius of certain writers is being bastardised just so that DiCaprio can cop off with his sexy French eo-star and that the movie can appeal to the all importantAmerican market.

Take for example, Warner Bros. and their recent purchase of the rights to the Harry Potter trilogy. The critically acclaimed books by Joanne Rowling have sold around 30 million copies world-wide and, only last month, came second in the prestigious Whitbread Awards. The current fear is that the character of Harry will be re-cast as an American high school student, no doubt complete with cheerleaders and American football teams. Warner are keen to dampen such rumours and have begun searching the country for a suitable actor, perhaps recognising that the Britishness of the novels is the very reason for their appeal in the first place. it is a pity that the same couldn't be said for Kenneth Brannagh, whose search for a Shakespeare film with mass appeal has led him to adapt one of the Bard 's less fa miliar plays, Love's Labour's Lost.

Although Brann9gh's four hour Ham/et

february 16, 2000

who will take her place, ranging from Gillian Anderson to C~lista Flockhart - who could probably do with eating a bit of meat. The case of Hannibal, and the onslaught of John Grisham movies in the late Nineties, just goes to show that paying for work that is not even completed does not always bring about the best conclusion . Far better to take a risk and show a little imagination, such as in Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's Good Will Hunting. The main problem with this reliance on literary adaptations is simple. More often than not the tried and tested formula does work, and as studios are businesses it would seem silly for them to take unnecessary risks. lt is true that novels have given birth to movie legends such as Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz, but to saturate the cinema with mutated copies of what were fairl y average novels in the first place could mean that fewer people are willing to take a risk on those screenwriters who are able to produce truly commendable fi lms. Who, for example, can name an outstanding Grisham adaptation? Anyone? I thought as much.

The Beach is reviewed on page 17

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edith piaf

can moby really be the clean-living christian vegan music lover he appears to be? anthony love// discovered his dark side before his recent lcr gig ... he short, nearly bald man suggests that we sit down. He's clearly at ease obviously the veteran of many interviews.

Friendly and helpful, he shuts the door and puts the tape recorder belonging to the nervous woman from Cambridge University on correctly. He leans forward expectantly. This, then is Moby.

Moby is one of the most diverse musicians in the world. He plays all of the instruments on his records, and writes and sings all of the songs. He has played everything from trance and techno to hard rock. Why does he refuse to be pigeonholed?

He answers directly: "lt wouldn't be natural to be pigeonholed. I'm 34 years old, and I started playmg music 24 years ago, and m that time I've played a lot of different kinds of mus1c. lt doesn't make sense to me why musicians would only work within one narrow genre". Moby is very clear on this. He is very, very passionate about what he does, and says he wants to make "n1ce records, which I find compelling and emot1onal."

With such diversity in h1s output, a question on his influences would surely lead to a long list being reeled off. But surprisingly, Moby remains nonspecific: "I can't say that I'm particularly influenced by one musician, or even a few musicians." He listens widely, and it would seem that it IS more likely that genres in themselves are his influences.

He is surprised that his current album (Play) is doing so well in Britain, considering the fact that it first came out last year. Remaining modest, he says "it's amazing, because it came out nine or 10 months ago, and there's no single attached to it and there's no big marketing campaign, so it's really just based on word of mouth." Play is also !I relatively commercial record compared to its hard rock predecessor, Animal Rights, and the thought occurs that it could have been a sales necessity not to continue in this vein. Why move away from rock when it is coming back into vogue? He answers well: "I like punk rock and I like heavy guitar music.

I also feel like I can like that in my own t1me, or if I want to indulge that I can do it as a side project." He clearly will do whatever type of music he wants when he wants to do it.

The latest single to appear from Play is Natural Blues. lt is similar to its predecessor Run On in that it features an entirely sampled vocal part. However Moby is unconvinced that this is the way forward for music: "I think that wonderful records can be made with samplers and I think terrible records can be made with

T what's the big fuss then?

Our Ed1th's only the most famous chanteuse in the history of French music. Born in Italy to a c1rcus flea-traming mother and one of thirty children, Ed1th Piafs life was never far from controversy. She was brought up 1n a brothel, nearly lost her sight to conjunctivitis, was arrested early in her career for allegedly murdenng her manager, lost a lover 1n a plane crash, and later on in life became addicted to both morph1ne and alcohol. She died in 1963 and is buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, the same rest1ng place as Oscar Wilde and Jim Momson, amongst others. who did what?

Ed1th P1af did it all. Celebrated for her powerful voice, she came into the music world early on, recording under the name of La Mome Piaf (the Sparrow Kid), before the untimely dem1se of her manager. Despite being booed off stage all over France after this, she was able to re-establish her career w1th a little help from her friends, and became the big name in music halls during the 1930s and 1940s. As public tastes changed, .so did her style, and she became less sentimental and melodramatic and more emotive and dramatic. sold a few records then?

Definitely. She was signed to EMI France in 1946, and toured throughout Europe and North Africa, going as far afield as Egypt and Norway. People were still attending her concerts until three years before her death; although it's cruelly said that some only went to see her last perfomnance at Paris Olympic 1n 1960 in the hope that she would die onstage. When she finally did pass away, thousands attended her funeral. Fans still flock to the place m Paris where she was first discovered and many people continue to love her music, although younger generations of Frenchmen regard it as 'un peu ringard' (a bit dated). which Is best?

Hmm. Your best bet is to buy a nice compilation, such as L'lmmorte//e, for which your best source will be charity shops, bargain basements, and the Easy Ustening section of HMV. But what does she have to offer a cynical English spectator such as myself?

samplers." He regards a sampler with the same respect as he would any musical instrument, cla1ming that all musical instruments are artificial.

To Moby, the musical end result is all. From this, it 1s easy to draw a conclusion as to what Moby's attitude to his profession is. He loves what he does, and wants to make the listeners happy while satisfying his own personal creative drives and

to claim that animals are not ours to wear and then wear leather shoes· is surely latent hypocrisy needs. When talking about his mus1c, he is open, modest and articulate. He is also honest about what he thinks, and as the interview moves away from music, things begin to liven up. n the sleeve of his new single, Moby gives thanks to Christ, and also states that "animals are not ours to eat, wear, or experiment on."

This would seem to indicate that Moby's beliefs and ethics are very clear cut. it is well publicised that Moby 1s a vegan, though he 1s not judgmental of meat eaters: "If people want to eat hamburgers that's the1r cho1ce. I don't think that there's anything inherently unethical with someone eating a hamburger. it's the process that led to 1t being a hamburger; that's the unethical aspect." lt could be argued that Moby is being hypocritical. He is willing to condemn as unethical the death of an animal, but not its eating by humans. Surely the two are inextricably linked? Later on in the interview, I glance at Moby's feet, and notice that he is wearing leather trainers. My enquiry as to why, beanng in m1nd he is against the wearing of animals is somewhat unsatisfactorily answered: "When we made the Natural Blues video, the stylist went

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out and bought these shoes for me. I would never buy leather for myself, but 1t seems really wasteful if someone gives you a pair of leather shoes not to wear them. I had to wear them for the video for stylistic reasons. If I threw them out afterwards, it would have seemed really disrespectful."

Hmm. Perhaps Moby is not the staunch vegan he is cracked up to be. Despite his earlier claim that it IS the death of the animal that is wrong, not the product which results from the death, to claim that animals are not ours to wear and then wear leather shoes is surely latent hypocrisy.

Moby is even more contentious when asked about his g1v1ng thanks to Christ. He says that though he believes in Christ and loves his teachings, he isn't a Christian. His reasoning as to why not is controversial: "Christians think that they're right and everybody else is wrong. That is what I think keeps me from being a Christian; I can't be so presumptuous as to say that what I think is right.

I'm just not comfortable with that. When it comes to matters of belief and ideology, it just seems so bizarre that people are willing to fight each other and argue about something that is unproveable."

Faith is obviously a deeply personal thing for Moby, and he deserves credit for his honesty. -But many people would take issue over his opinions on Chnst1ans 1n a far more intrusive way than a JOurnalist.

Moby IS a believer in individual opinions and choices. He claims he would never tell anybody that they were wrong, and his own choices are his affair only. But promoting animal nghts and then wearing leather shoes? Thanking Christ and then claiming Christianity is intolerant of other faiths? Stick to talking about what you are gooc at Moby: making music.

Piaf has plenty of connections with the Englishspeaking world. She was popular both here and in the United States, and after the Second World War her records were even printed in Hayes for a while, owing to the destroyed state of French machinery.

According to a sleevenote, "Piaf absorbs the pains and pleasures of her listeners, returning them in song". So perhaps she could provide a nice change from the Manic Street Preachers then.

In retrospect ...

"Non, je ne regrette rien ... •

..the .event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

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DID as the controversial series queer as folk returns to our tv screens this week astrid goldsmith asks whether the supposedly groundbreaking programme merely creates new stereotypes of homosexuality ... he billboard adverts for the new two-part seri es of Queer As Folk announces that it is "back with a bang". This is a not-verysubtle reference to the fact that the first series, screened last spring, had, well , a lot of banging in it. Th is is not such a new concept for TV, especially for Channel Four, but what was deemed so shocking at the time, particularly in the tabloid press, was the fact that this was an all-gay programme. No, not just two token soppy homosexuals in an otherwise heterosexual soap, a la Eastenders, but an entire series set in Manchester's 'gay village ', where the few straight characters were mainly parents. But this is not what caused the outrage · Queer As Folk showed an awful lot of graphic sex between men, including orgies, threesomes, oral sex and much more besides. lt did not really come as a surprise, then , that those bastions of middle England had something to say about 1t. What did surprise, however, is the fact that a

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large proportion of the gay community rejected it as a negative portrayal of the gay lifestyle. Despite being written by a gay man, there were numerous comp laints that it was too stereotypical and just served to reinforce the notion that being gay means

by trying so hard to shock, queer as folk merely sells itself to the voyeuristic inst inct and sets itself up for ridicule lust, prom1scuity, drug-fuelled clubbing, but definitely not love .

However, Queer as Folk was an admirable attempt to redress the balance in television. After all, since Anna Friel's much publicised lesbian kiss in Brookside and the obligatory few gay men sprinkled

around other soaps, there has been a noticeable lack of believable, credible gay characters in TV. But by producing a programme where so few characters are heterosexual, surely this is just as negative a portrayal? Especially since the straight characters are so badly drawn. The parents of Nathan (the 15 year old coming out with er, well a bang) are shown as mean, oppressive and dictatorial; Nathan is frequently heard to wa il "you just don't understand".

But how many parents would understand their only son who, at the grand old age of fifteen , wants to screw a cocaine sniffing, E-popping, heartless man twice his age? Other straight characters Include Nathan's best friend, Donna. To get all his PC points in, writer Russell T. Davies has made Donna a black girl. This means (let's take this one slowly) that she's part of a minority group. So, hey! That makes her just like Nathan . Scriptwriters are very fond of making this parallel . In Eastenders recently, it has been the black girl who befriends the gay character, and then explains to her homophobic mother that her homophobia is just as offensive as racism, and "we're all the same underneath" blah blah.

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o why can nobody get it right?

Why does homosexuality in television always have to be an issue, central to that character's life, and not just incidental? Surely that would be a far more realistic way to look at things, and actually far more PC, as 1t wouldn't be an obvious differentiation which encourages prejudice. But perhaps this is where the problem lies. Political correctness is such a restricting force, that the sanitised version we end up being presented with is actually far more offensive in its

the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

inaccurate inoffensiveness.

This is not to say that the days before the PC explosion were any better. Funnier, yes, and certainly much more camp, but still stereotypical in the extreme. For example, John lnman 's character Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served is camp on a stick (''I'm Free" etc.), and was welcomed with open arms by the British public in the Seventies.

The same goes for the screamingly queeny Julian Clary. But popularity is no measure of quality or credibility, and it certainly does not help that all the "accepted" gays on television raise laughs by dressing up in over-the-top costumes (Ciary), or by ta lking in a sickening stream of awful sexual innuendoes (Dale Winton, Graham Norton). lt would seem that this is the version of homosexuality that the public is prepared to accept, where gay men dress up and become extravagant objects for the purpose of entertainment. This lessens the threat they represent to the majority of ever so slightly homophobic heterosexuals, as they are so extremely different in appearance (for example, Barry Humphries as Dame Edna Everage) and manner (Ciary, Winton, Norton), that they do not seem "real".

in its desperate attempt to include every aspect of homosexuality, queer as folk actually conforms to stereotypical expectations So where does Queer As Folk fit 1nto this history?

Despite its 'shocking' content and ·groundbreaking· claims as the first gay soap, isn't it the same? In its desperate attempt to include every aspect of homosexuality, it actually conforms to stereotypi cal expectations. There is a very camp one, a young one who 's just come out (Nathan), an old gay man who makes dirty innuendoes about the very young one, one who always gets laid (Stuart). one who never gets laid (Vince ), one who dies from drugs after getting laid , and a gaggle of lesbians thrown in for good measure. This nicely selected cross-section is as crashingly obvious (and, therefore, unreal) as the Bennetton adverts with their careful blend of races.

But this is not the only reason why Queer As Folk is conform ist. By trying so hard to shock, it merely sells itself to the voyeunstic mstinct and sets itself up for ridicule. lt shows out-of-the -ordinary situations and presents them as if this sort of thmg happened every day. For example, Stuart, a gay character, has a baby w1th his lesbian fnend through artificial insemination. On the evening when his friend gives birth to their son, Stuart (who IS nearly 30) is having sex w1th a 15-yearold virgin, Nathan. Threesomes, orgies and random blowjobs are scattered freely about the series as if to say, This Is What You Do When You Are Gay. People watched the programme to see something outrageous, something different (well , let's face it, they didn't watch it for the quality of the acting).

And isn't this just as negative for the gay image as any overtly camp, ridiculous performer? lt is reassurance that the heterosexual world is a safe, "normal" place to live and very far removed from the homosexual one.

Television has a huge role in educating and shaping opinion in this society. At a time when the campaign to lower the age of consent for homosexual sex to 16 is being continually rejected by the House of Lords, TV programmes like Queer As Folk have a lot of responsibility to project a positive image of homosexuality.

Shock tactics and exploitative content are just as bad as super-inoffensive political correctness. Is television ever going to get it right?

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film soundtracks have come a long-\Yay since days when there was no sound save for a chap accompanying the screening with a piano. ash verjee looks at the importance of music in the motion picture

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movie without the music is like sex without a partner... it is very hard to get involved. However, it has to follow the strict rule of being in context to what is going on up there on the screen, it has •. to grab you by the ears and make you want to watch. Only when you're sitting there in the movie theatre will you know if it has worked or not. Take Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan for instance; whose aural tinkerings have most recently been heard in Rupert Wainwright's decidedly hit and miss Stigmata. Corgan has followed up a technique

the music has to be in context to what is going up on screen, it has to grab you ·by the ears and make you want to ·watch he and his PumpkJn buddies experimented with on the album Adore when they found themselves drummerless, where sampled drum riffs and analogue electronics are married with. the traditional rock elements. Say what you want about Stigmata (as long as you say that it is unbelievably bad) the sight and sound do operate impeccably together in the film which, after all, is what a good score is all about. Strings-arranger Craig Armstrong attempted the same thing for Jake Scott's Plunkett & Mac/eane last year. Much like Stigmata, the young Scott's film invited the same MTV-based critique, yet the score, all sweeping strings and choral arrangements mixed with Tricky-esque, post-club, chill-out break-beat did much to shape and craft the film. Which, again, uidn't stop it from makJng very little impact at the box-office. Elsewhere, filmmaker/composer partnerships have proven to be an integral part in the makJng of the movie. Where would Tim Burton be were it not for Danny Elfman's orchestral fusion of menace and childlike wonder in Edward Scissorhands or The Niglltmare Before Christmas? And then there's the inseparable Steven Spielberg and John Williams, with the latter having started the rebirth of Leitmotif. The technique, invented by Wagner, involves giving each person, place or event its own theme, and has virtually produced Spielberg's films for him, ensuring that William's compositions remain some of the best known.

Credit where it's due though, some composers in the business have been responsible for not only the making of the film, but also the making of the franchise. For 25 years John Barry was responsible for making James Bond the man all men wanted to be. Picture some casino in some foreign clime, women with dresses like napkins and the man

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could walk into the cinema and know, from the music, that James Bond was up on the screen. The shooting of Ucence To Kill in 1989 was eveo delayed in the hope that Barry would overcome his temporary illness to be able to score the film.

Admiration for Barry's work has continued into the 90's with David Amold, orchestral arranger on Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough.

Amold has remained utterly faithful to Barry's themology and structure whilst successfully introducing underplayed synth parts and unobtrusive break-beats into the mix, making sure that the Bond franchise develops with the times. owever, there is always the danger that commercialism will rear its ugty head and as a result. soundtracks will have less and less to do with the film, and at worse, become entirely irrelevant. We have all seen in the past albums claiming they are "songs from and inspired by the motion picture". You only have to look in the CD sleeve for the "*" next to a track title with the accompanying footnote that reads "not contained in the film". However, the public do not seem too · perturbed by this blatant cashing in process - after all who doesn't have the Soundtrack to Tralnspot.ting or Romeo And Juliet? Although in these cases their reasons for buying are noble, the songs are, after all, featured in the film. (The exception, of course, being the Trainspotting 11 'green' soundtrack album which had all sorts of dubious nonsense on it). They are none the less contributing to one of the many marketable factions of the film, and let's face it, that's what the movies are all about.

There have, also, been collaborations that have attempted to unite the composer with the Commercial Artist; such as in Paul Anderson's

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unbelievably stupid people who fancied Lecnardo DiCaprio bought Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On. The passengers on the Titanic would have thanked their lucky stars to meet their watery end if Celine had been warbling her poison at the time of their deaths. Other filmmakers like to be more selfindulgent, composing the score themselves (otherwise known as gtory hunters). John Carpenter first broke out his Casio keyboard over 25 years ago to score his own movie Dart< Star, and since then, through films such as Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), and Prince Of Darkness (1987) through to

millions of unbelievably stupid people who fancied Ieonardo di caprio bought celine dion's my

heart will go on 1998's Vampires, his unique brand of plinky-plink analogue minimalism has become synonymous with the films he makes. Similarly, Mike Figgis also likes to score his own work, having been educated at a London Music college. His films Stormy Monday, Liebestraum and Leaving Las Vegas, amongst others, have all benefited from his brooding

introspective je~zz-orientated touch. And full hedonistic marks to Vincent Gallo, who not only wrote, directed and starred -in the outstanding Buffalo '66, but provided the deeply depressing d,own-beat score, and also l)'lanaging to keep it in the family by getting his dad, Vincent Gallo Sr. to sing Fools Rush In. The task of scoring a movie is indisputably a wonderful opportunity to add that last dimension to the film, making it not just good but head and shoulders above the rest.

In a time when so many films are let down by composers with little or no passion for their art, or the unimaginative use of contemporary popular music, it is a joy to hear a score that fully absorbs the environment of the film to such an extent. To remove it would be to renounce the movie itself.

Scores like these are few and far between, but anyone who has seen Terence Malick's The Thin Red Une (1998) will have heard the evidence themselves: Hims Zimmer's profoundly lyrical score gtides exquisitely over the course of Malick's threehour masterpiece. There is a scene in the movie, where Malick leaves an intense and horrific war sequence, and the camera is simply allowed to float over the Guadalcanal fields of long grass, whilst the music slowly unfolds with burning intensity. We are back in elemental cinema; a place where sight and sound are workJng not in conflict, but in complete, absolute ~nd magnificent harmony.

Event Horizon (1997) in which Orbital's sinister drum patterns and squelchy bass patches nestle.nicely alongside Michael Kamen's orchestrations.

This was also seen in Antonia Bird's Ravenous (1999), where Michael Nyman

(The Piano) teamed up with Blur front man Damon Albarn to compose a series of disjointed, diooonont

pieces. Sadly, though, the trend has meant that millions of

the event , w~dnesday; februa,Y 1.6; '2000

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in our visually obsessed twenty first century culture how things appear on first sight is paramount. even works of music and literature, some great, some not so great, have their covers designed to be as visually appealling as possible. but does the content live up to the expectations created by the sleeve? elin jones and gemma o'donne/1 investigate ...

COMPUTER

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GRUB ON AGRANT

grub on a grant: cas clarke

homage to catalonia: gemge orwell

genre:

genre:

Cheap and foolproof recipes for all students - at least, all those with no taste o r cooking ability.

histo rical autobiography

what does it look like?

what does it look like?

The cover of this novel shows a poster from the David King Collection. Has anybody heard of the Spanish civil war? Of course you have, but we bet you never knew that it was fought by red -necked giants who carried about with them white sheets that they use to strangle the ir prey. On a more serious not e, we can see that the men in dungarees have elevated to a higher status as a result of passion for soc ialism.

How many stereotypes can they fit into one picture?

There are the empty fi les and discarded essays, the classic melting candle in a bottle, two students huddling by the fire in multip le layers of cloth ing because their

paltry grant- sorry ... loan - won't stretch to proper heating. They're stil l smil ing, though, because now they can eat delicious and affordable meals!

cover judgement:

cover judgement: The cunning use of the words "cheap" and "grub" in quick success ion works for me every time - even if using the recipes in this book wi ll resu lt in me acqu iring a penchant for Pat Butcher-esque purple earrings and , wearing sacks around my feet like t he unfortunate girl in the illustration! The title, however, is m isleading and slightly outdated. Perhaps it should be re-named Lunch on a Loan or even Omelettes on an Overdraft?

the odyssey: homer genre:

The

Odyssey .

Mythological peotry in the epic form

what does it look like?

Painted during the nineteenth century by Jean Antoine Theodore the wate r colour that makes the front cover is imaginatively t itled Coastal Landscape with Fishermen Launching a Boat. Strangely enoUgh the picture depicts a group of fishermen launching a boat. What the t it le doesn't say, though, is that they're clearly having a bit of trouble launching it. Ostensibly, this has as much to do with Homer and The Odyssey as penguins have to do with app les.

cover judgement: The irony is that the golden hues emanating from the setting sun, the sandy beach, the jagged sho reline and . the scantily clad men perfectly refiects the lyrical words that lie within. Indeed it is that dusk quality which mirrors the long journey Odysseus is forced to make.

the dialling code book: prefers ·to remain nameless genre: Public information services

what does it look like?

Dull and dross. Recogn ise the font, the telephone motif? Surely you must be famil iar with its yellowy cove r. Yes, that's right, irs the dialling code book, without which no coffee table d isplay is complete. If we may draw your attention to the north of the book, you will notice that the lettering quite blatantly plagiarises that of the Thompson Directory. Its colour echoes that of its rival The Yellow Pages, and the cartoon 'phone is remin iscent of the sketchiness that we associate with good or British Telecom.

Five pages in and I have found no mention of the Big Friendly Giant or even Sophie, his co mpan ion .

the clash: Iondon calling what does it look like?

pulp:

•

-· ......

Description of its cover: The ultimate rock & roll pose. We witness the guitars' dying moments, guessing the outcome of its fate.

Suspended in the air, it has just nanoseconds before splitting in tvl/0, its wielder (Joe Strummer) is focused on concentrating his aggress ion. Alternative ly, Strummer cou ld be using the end of his guitar to produce a series of Morse-code taps on the ground, thus signa lling fo r his legion of th ree-legged beavers to come and take over the wo rl d.

cover judgement: Th is album cover makes you want to don a studded leather jacket and smoke dodgy roll-ups whilst simultaneously sneering at ·posh fo lks'. Which appropriate ly enough is what the reco rd itself makes ·you want to do.

britney spears: baby one more time what does it look like?

Take a look at this poor, misguided -pop urchin. The cover leads us towards the word 'virgin', and we ain't talking about Richa rd Branson here. Can't say that "Hit me baby one mOre time" sounds like the kind of th ing a good Christian virgin would say, but that's the music industry for you. lt appears as if she's 'written" her name just for you! it's the little things in life that matter.

Young Miss Britney is captured here in frOnt of a white backing, her deft fingers locked together in prayer. Her prayers, though unspoken, are obvious: '"Please God, just let me go out to parties and drink cheap cider with my o ld school pals.·

cover judgement: If it"s a pop fix you're after then Britney can provide it (she was born to make you happy, after a ll). The innocence of the cove r is reflected in the cheap throwaway pop within , which is fantastic if that's your thing. If not, you'l l just have to rub your hands and wait for her inevitable incarceration in The Priory - and that's not the TV programme.

this is llardcore

radiohead: ok c omput er

what does it look like?

what does it look like?

Judging by the title you'd think it was obvious to have a halfnaked blonde with glossy red lips on the cover - especia lly if you know that the album's t itle was inspired by Jarvis" late nigtlt viewing habits wh ile touring the world .

Set am idst a bfeak, wh ite. background, the co l l~ction of sketches and modern images a re transparent and, I m ight add, a little disturbing. We are confronted with what appears to be t he nose of an aeroplane, a road and the si lhouette of a 'lost child' everything is a powerfu l motif for the problems faced by the individual in today's soc iety.

cover judgement:

,_. ·-·

Anyone who knows anything abut Pulp will rea li se that the a lbum cover has no real relevance at all- it's all part of the image.

Despite Jarvis' attempts to seem coo l a11d tota lly un -fazed by the music industry. it"s quite obvious from his escapades with Michael Jackson that he loves be ing a celebrity - even if it's only so that he can· bare his skinny backside on nationa l TV. However, as this cover shows, he's st ill a loveable eccentric with a deliciously seedy side.

Radiohead trans mit a musical beauty that many othe r .bands can on ly aspire to. The lyrica l content is a tangl€d web of images and ph ilosophies and that are some of the most challenging written by any artist in recent years. Pretty much rNery song on the album has the ab ility to send the listener into a temporary trance, powers that must not be tampered with .

jason donovan: t he very best of••• what does it look like?

robbie williams: life thru a lens what does it look like?

Jason in his pre-gay (a llegedly), pre-heroin (er... all eged ly, again), pre-total collapse of career and repLJtation phase i.e. blonde, blue-eyed Scott 'n' Charlene era. That fioppy f ri nge and endearing grin remind me of someone ... Ronan Keat ing, is that y9u? Oh no, I fo rgot, you're a "serious musician".

A sl ightly egotistica l, if disturbingly accurate, portrnit of Robbie being harassed by the press. Any Media student wi ll tell you that his distinctive and individua l jacket symbolises his split from Take That, h is severe hair-cut is the emergence of a t ough new character, his gaze into the camera is an attempt to form a personal bond with his audience, arid the zoom lenses a re phallic symbo ls. Or someth in g.

covet judgement : What you see is what you get. The "very best" of Jason may not be particu larly good by most people's standards, but sure ly everyone must have memories of snagging to Sealed With a Kiss at school d iscos o r be ing able to like Denise and Johnny·s rendition of Especially for You because it was 'kitsch'. I'm hoping for a full -sca le Jason Donovan reviva l, Steps are leading the way by using the same composers {and I use that term very loosely!} and if Jason was to rep lace 'H' I don't think anyone would notice.

Lead the way by requesting "Too many broken hearts" at the next LCR.

•

The Very Best Ot

JASON

DONOVAN

cover judgement:

cover judgement: In his first so lo album Robb ie was, understandably, trying to distance himself f rom Take That in order to estab lish a new reputation and fan -base. The cove r to th is album m ight show him to be a bit up his own pie fed arse, but the British pub lic adore him, so' what does it matter? He's trying so hard to be different and 'grown-up' in Life Thru a Lens that I alm ost feel sorry for him.

Or, at least I would have had he not made bucket-f ulls of cash out of it.

Desperately flicking through the pages for a word I recogn ise I rea lise that I have stumb led upon a History book. fJ.s I berate myself for my fool ishness I begin to learn about. fasc ists, Franco and poli tics in the 1930s, all im portant issues that are a ll too eas ily forgotten when compared with the greater evi ls that occurred in Germany.

jeet kune do bmce lee

genre: Martial arts the Bruce Lee way

what does it look like?

I apologise to any serious followers of Lee's teachings, but I can't look at Bruce Lee without thinking of the new McDonalds advert. I know that he was a profound and gifted man, but it has created in my mind an image of him jumping over the counte r at McDonalds with dubbed laughter to preserve the "ancien t " McRib recipe. Anyway, the cover features Lee in standard kung fu pose, all ripp ling arms and the general feeling you wouldn't like irritate him on a dark night down a back a lley.

cover judgement: This book is full of handy hints fo r a fight on Fri day night down Magdalen Street from the great man him se lf. Fo r examp le 'If one determ ines to risk his life to. bite his enemy's nose off, there is a great chance he may succeed." Or how about ' HOw can one respol"\d to the total ity with partia l, fragmentary pattern?' If you can understand that at t hree in the morning after 10 bottles of VK you're guaranteed to win any fight.

t he little book of c alm paul wilson genre:

llo

Self help gubbins at a nice price

what does it look like?

Nothing harsh or troub ling about t his cover, not ice that it doesn't addle our stressed brains by the horror of modem life with confrontations of red and yellow. The spine is blue, a colour rega rded to be one of the most relaxing to look upon. The little quiveri ng cloud is a metaphor for modern society, blue on the outside yet white and fiuffy on the inside- there is a silver lining tO all of us.

cover j udgement:

cover j udgement:

This little numDer simply reeks of telecommunicat ions.

The interior of th is cave of knowledge is impressive looking (if mm1~~ <Jild numtJe r~ in lung ruw~ me your bagl}, but it lackS: real substance. The plot and character development are as sketchy as the illustration on t he front cover, it cou ld eas ily replace Tamazapan as the tranqui lliser of cho ice in the pillpopping Y2K. Read it if you must.

If you fel l for that, you'll fall for t he vacuouS 'gems· of knowledge you'll find inside. ·caress the bac k of you r 11and", go on, a•e you calm? TI10ug1n nol. Wilson suggests Wea ri ng Donald Duck underpants', personally, we recommend the Eastenders omnibus .a nd a chocolal.e m ilkshake. Imagine Mantel Williams, Esther Rantzan and Raj Persaud crammed into a paperback and you have the ingenious money sp inner th at is The Little Book of Calm.

the event, wednesday, febr!Jary 16, 2000

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the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

event

inspected: music

14

singles:

albums: its jo and danny

lank haired..• it's nice to be proved wrong. Jo and Danny sound like some couple you might have known at school, the kind .who've been inseparable since they first clapped eyes on each other in the playground while waiting for registration. And lt's Jo and Danny would be the compilation tape they sent their friends to celebrate their engagement. Eugh.

Except it isn't. In an age where the underground barely exists, Jo and Danny have come up with that rarest of things - a good indie album. Despite the title and being on a label called Double Snazzy, this album does not venture into the Valley of Twee;

there'll bQ no his & her& T-shil't$ for our Jo and

Now, let us play the game Which of These Does Not

Danriy, this is a damn fine album. Starting with the six minute guitar blaze of first track Solar Plexus, Lank haired ... is a short, sweet burst of beautifullysung, beautifully - played music with a hint of the Dot Allison/Madder Rose about it that conveys feeling without ever turning maudlin. The only problem is that, weighing in at a mere 35 minutes, the whole experience is over too soon. Damn.

Belong: Blur, New Order, Underworld, and AII .Saints.

Yes, All Saints have contributed a song to this otherwise excellent compilation. Pure Shores adds a little twist among the rest of the hard-hitting and beautiful songs. Let's just pretend that it is isn't there. Overall, this soundtrack has a bunch of brilliant groups who have contributed their talent to make a great album. Hopefully, the movie will follow Katie Holzwart in its footsteps.

Darcy Hurford

.

the beach soundtrack

With such acts as Blur, Moby and Orbital, this soundtrack already has good potential.

Moby's Porcelain is a sorrowful love song about saying goodbye, the piano in the background and Moby's quiet voice overshadow the helplessness expressed by the lyrics. A definite tearjerker. Blur's fastpaced remix of On Your Own is a catchy dance tune, though Orbital's Beached has the faint reminder of a song from the Rght Club soundtrack. • Leonardo DiCaprio, as did Brad Pitt, speaks above this song accompanied also by Angelo Badalamenti.

live : · 'SOLD OUT' - that much was obvious by the situation in Soundclash on Wecfnesday afternoon.

With people coming in every five minutes, they only had to start "Have you any tickets for. . ." before they were turned away. it was pretty obvious that the Def Tex launch party was about to blow up. And it did.

Although the biggest name draw was Kool Here, the evening was kickstarted by Force 10, who without wanting to sound too nJde boy, ripped s**t up. Def Tex were introduced nicely by the Norwich based but internationally known team. Their set got everyone moving, with their new song, Syncronize being a . favourite among the audience, the acapella also going down really well. Kool Here appreciated the crowd, the props everyone gave him, and also the 'Englishness'. Sounds strange, but the advice he gave was all about being yourself, pretty good advice for anyone. Congratulating Def Tex on keeping it real, he pleaded with all wannabee mcee's not to change their style: "You. don't have to be DMX to be good". Apart form giving fatherly advice, Kool Here got the crowd rocking with a James Brown instrumental"(Sex Machine). The set

kool here mojo's was pure Old Skool - nearly pre-skool, as DJ Noize style turntable trickery was replaced by lots of funk and your basic pure quality tracks. Despite some troubles with the upstairs entertainment, it was obvious that the Turntablists have (successfully) tapped into a demand for decent music. Their only obstacle seems to be small m inds in high places overcome in time no doubt. lt was good to see that the crowding didn't lead to any bad attitudes everyone was simply there for a good term. Some didn't realise Kool Here's significance: father of beat juggling, Grand Daddy of hip hop. If they did, they were cool about it, or maybe just not as obsessed as some. Kool Here is pretty quiet these days, although he's recently worked with the Chemical Brothers, amongst others. The pes>ple getting bigger that nigh were definitely DefTex, who provided the excuse for this launch party. Despite a slow start to their career, R-Key, their main man, and the boys at Soundclash label have remained strong and supportive. As the show went on, I think everyone was glad that they did.

lames Moran and Kate Forbes

my life story joined up talking There comes a point in every man's life when he suddenly de<!ides that proper shoes are much better than trainers and he starts ironing creases into his jeans (the type with the elasticated waistband, of course) . This is known as 'becoming middle aged', and it appears that My Life Story's Jake Shillingtord has reached this stage. Gone is the gold lame jacket, probably to be replaced by a cardigan with leather patches on the etpaws. In the musical sense the string section which provided the lush orchestral arrangements on.such 'hits' as Sparkle and 12 Reasons Why, has been banished as My Life Story slim down to a tight knit four piece. Unfortunately, the music is also middle aged, for no matter how hard it tries to be interesting, it ultimately only succeeds in being a little bit boring. No stand out tracks, just 12 average tunes topped off with Shillingtord's distinct voice. What next in the My Life · Story camp? Mid-life crisis back to roots return, or pipe and slippers LP? Only time will tell.

Martin Brock

i4 .., .

Uquid is the brain-bastard of Alan Wilder who used to be in Depeche Mode. lt gets worse. This album appears to be little more than chunks of morbid depression, heaped onto each other to form a rotting compost of darkness. it starts with Black Box Part One which has lots of foreboding violins and stuff. Then Marvin the Paranoid Android turns up and starts whinging about how dark everything is blah blah blah. And that's about it. The other tracks have exactly the same orchestral dirge and pretentious-toss narrative but with a beat which thrashes lethargically like a pig stuck in beans (if you thought Tricky was dull you ain't heard nothing yet). Wilder; in the 'hand-shandies-all-round' press release, would have us believe that Uquid is "like having to solve a conceptual puzzle." Arse. lt is like having your legs squeezed in a vice while a Bengal tiger chews your ears. Alan, dark does not necessarily mean good. Remember that.

to what they do best. it's hard not to salivate over the return of both drummer Chamberlain and Corgan's beautiful songwriting. If this single is anything to go by, the album will be incredible.

Marcus Alexander

also released: kraftwerk expo 2000 Expo2000 is their attempt to move synthesised keyboard sounds into the future. Although not a bad effort, it is too reminiscent of their much earlier, pre-2000 offerings. lt seems that the man· machines of pop are resolutely stuck in their vision of the future - somewhere in the past

Ayo Mansaray

jj72

snow This one doesn't grow on you. This pretty but sentimental dirge slips self-consciously into crude power chaos. JJ72 aren't quite sure what they want to be, and this single sees their style wavering. Their apparent confidence seems misplaced; Mark Greaney has an adequate and at times very effective voice, but little sounds particularly Fiona Cameron individual.

eels mr e's beautiful blues

TRAVIS

The Eels would have had something with their quirky bluesy sOund, if Beck hadn't already hip-hopped his way there first and then left for greener pastures.

This latest offering, from their album Daisies of the Galaxy, is a summery sounding pop song.

Unfortunately though, that's really all it is.

the man who

Mischa Gilbert

02

BRITNEY SPEARS

gorky's poodle .rockin'

03 04

GABRIELLE

Thpm Dunn

rt

! Ch

.

01

b~by

one more time

With this single, you can really see why the likes of Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley have been raving about this band for so long. The Mynci, or 'monkey', if you 're English, have crafted such a tuneful, zestful song that, dare I say, they might hold a claim to being Wales' best band at the minute.

rise MACYGRAY

on how life Is

05 come on over 06 exterminator 07 pieces In a modern style 08 westlife 09 best of slmon and garfunkel 1 Osclub7 s club 7 PRIMAL SCREAM

WILLIAM ORBIT

•

WESTLIFE

TALES FROM NEW YORK

16, 2000

After the interesting but abstract approach that

Adore took, it's great to see the Pumpkins returning

Eighties electronic maestros Kraftwerk are back.

recoil liquid

SHANIA TWAIN

tfae··~ve"nt, 'wednesday, febru·ary

smashing pumpkins , stand inside your love

Brian Frain

the

event i& starring:

released: showing at:

inspected: film

15

the beach Ieonardo dicaprio virginie ledoyen robert carlyle tilda swlnton out now ucl, odeon, abc

lt can hardly be said that Danny Boyle's adaptation of Alex Garland's novel comes to our screens as this quiet unassuming little film that no one has heard of. Ever since the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role led to immediate criticism that the character's nationality had been changed from British to American just to accommodate him. Add to this environmental concerns that the film crew were destroying the island (blown out of proportion by the press) and The Beach became known more for its problems than for anything else. So it came as somewhat of a surprise that the film isn't all that bad. lt follows Richard, an American backpacker who, while staying in a Thai hostel, meets Daffy, a mad Scotsman (played unsurprisingly by Robert Carlyle) who tells him of this paradise island where he used to be, and later gives him a map on how to find it. When he finally reaches the island, accompanied by French couple Francoise and Etienne what originally starts out as a paradise, eventually ends up spiralling out of control into a violent climax.

In no way can it be said that the film of The Beach is any better than the book. However, this is not really to do with the casting of DiCaprio. In many ways he works. The new nationality of Richard, to some extent, helps create the idea of him being an

outsider on the island, which is inhabited by pretty much every single European country under the sun ... and no Americans. He does cope well with the part which is thankfully well-fleshed out (a far cry from his cardboard cut-out performance in Titanic). However, Richard's descent into paranoia 路 towards the end of the book is too sudden a character development to be given any credence, while in the book it made far more sense. This fundamental flaw in the film is largely due to the way the script keeps most of the other inhabitants of the island in the background, excising some key characters from the book. We are only given a glimpse of what these people are really like, and, as a result, the film stumbles due to the onedimensionality of potentially interesting characters who could have given the leads something to drive them along.

That is not to say that The Beach is bad. lt isn't, and it does manage to hold your attention throughout purely because of the likeability of many of the characters, particularly Virginie Ledoyen's Francoise, Richard's love interest.

Contrary to claims that the consummation of the relationship that never happens in the book would spoil the film, it instead adds some dramatic drive to the film and an incentive for Richard's fragile mental state, albeit a slight one. Virginie Ledoyen will surely be destined for Hollywood after her performance here. As a result The Beach is an entertaining film with beautiful cinematography (the island is definitely worth all the fuss), but, I feel, Danny Boyle missed an opportunity to make something truly outstanding.

Adam Chapman

house on haunted hill starring: released: showing at:

geoffrey rush famke jansen out now uci riverside

If you 've not seen it yet, you could be forgiven for thinking that House on Haunted Hill has a certain cheesy charm. Stanley Price (Geoffrey Rush) introduces himself not only as 2000's Rollercoaster Designer with the Worst Sense of Humour, but also a better Vincent Price impersonator than even Vincent Price was. He is in a loveless marriage to the beautiful Evelyn (Famke Jansen), who decides to

hold her birthday party in an abandoned lunatic asytum. If you think I'm spoiling you, he then chucks out her guest list and invites four people of his own choosing. These are not the same people who turn up at the house. Soon we are all well away. The security system suddenly leaps into life, giving the cast no possibility of an easy escape. One guest wanders around ghoulishly filming everything, the fatalistic-Rick Moranis owner sits in a comfy chair and drinks, Mr and Mrs Price blame each other for everything. Every one of them eventually finds their way down into the mother of all "You don't want to go down there" basements and are gradually scared witless before being bumped off in a variety of

entertaining ways. At least they would be if it was entertaining. The largely unknown cast can't scrape together a single likeable character between them, the dialogue is like the Dark Side of panto ("Where are we going to get another body? ", "My father and my grandfather died but I'm still OK") and the plot twists, especially the so-much-of-a-cop-out-wordscan't-do-it-justice ending, are as laughable as the tendency to work the word "f**k" into as many sentences (and even words) as possible. But by then you've seen the first scene. lt treats us to the moment when the inmates of the asylum rebelled against the equally mad Dr Vannacutt and slaughtered the staff, only to be roasted alive in the

i7 starring:

released: showing:

ensuing fire. There's nothing entertaining about this - it's just plain nasty, showing how sickening cinema can be when it wants to. If you can at least get through this without leaving, just see if you can stomach the images of the "sanity tank".

Don't have any illusions about this film. If you don't feel like watching it, then for God's sake don't. This isn't any better than the dozens upon dozens of shock flicks you wouldn't give a second glance in Blockbuster, notable only for their viciousness. If, of course, you are morbidly curious about such things then don't let me stop you. But believe me you'll get what you wish for - and if you've any sense you won 't want it.

Duncan Gates

the end of the affair ralph fiennes julianne moore stephen rea out now uci riverside

Having never seen The English Patient due to the thought of Ralph Rennes and romantic gush disturbing me beyond belief, it seemed at the outset that this was not an ideal film to be watching.

However, this adaptation of Graham Greene's 1951 novel was, in comparison to the most recent onslaught of literary adaptations, quite watchable. lt is also, for its sins, said to be true to the original; unlike in boy-ma11 Leo's case, Rennes has no shortage of naked flesh . Nudity apart, to dismiss the film as merely "serious" would probably undermine the film's true meaning. Backdropped against the Second World War, the film centres on the established love triangle of Sarah Miles (Julianne Moore), her husband Henry (Stephen Rea) and writer Bendrix (Ralph Rennes). The affair comes to an end, but memories are revisited when Bendrix has a chance encounter with Henry and the three are reunited two years later. After a sudden bout of the green eyed monster has a second wind, the film then follows a sequence of flashbacks as Bendrix readdresses the affair that occurred between him and Sarah. Fraught with jealousy and senses of duty, the complexities that subsequently evolve from this scenario may, on the one hand, seem

predictable, but are treated by director Neil Jordan with a sincerity that focuses on the moment rather than the inevitable. As the fracas of war continues around them, Sarah and Bendrix are drawn together by a passion that no longer exists in the world they know, yet their love is continually marred by the latter's jealousy. After a life-changing event, the two are thrown apart and Jordan begins to address the second focus of Greene's novel. Without meaning to put most of-you off, prior to writing the novel Greene had developed religious inclinations and through Sarah's eyes The End of the Affair adopts the same attitudes. lt does not however become a soapbox for preaching and just as it looks at the recognisable emotions of the romance, it also focuses on a side of religion that everyone should be able to empathise with.

Unlike the end of the war, the story of these lovers fails to find a merry ending, so don't expect too many laughs. The occasional appearance of a private investigator (lan Hart) does however provide some light relief. Despite being rather heaw going at times, it is well worth the trip for Julianne Moore and Stephen Rea who are both excellent as their respective characters, especially Rea who portrays a perfectly woeful husband, constrained by his reserve.

As for Ralph, his green eyed monster efforts and moments of sheer hatred are well portrayed; but as for the love interest, his upper lip is firmly starched.

She could have done much better!

Tanla Neumann

the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

.... th

16

l!vent

inspected: a rts

eview: ballet

iew: ballet

swan lake theatre royal The ra re opportunity to adm1re the skills of Russian dancers so close to home was certamly appreciated

by Norwich ballet-goers. There was not a spare seat left 1n the house - a clear mdicat1on that the people of Norw1ch welcome the chance to savour the talent of compan1es such as the St Petersburg Ballet 1n our very own Theatre Royal. The aud1ence was decidedly mixed , with both young and old enJaymg the even1ng's entertainment. For those unfamiliar with the story, Swan Lake IS the tale of young Prince Siegfried who falls in love w1th Princess Odette.

The only problem is that the wicked magician, Van Rothbart, has turned the princess into a swan and the spell can only be broken by true love. Seigfried vows to save Odette. Meanwhile, evil Van Rothbart tncks the hapless prince into proposmg to h1s daughter. Predictably, Siegfried breaks the spell, gets the girl and good tn umphs over ev11.

As a ballet novice , I was a little concerned that I would not be able to follow the plot so I had read up on it beforehand. I need not have warned , though, as the programme provides an excellent synopsis.

giselle theatre royal I must adm1t that I was not ove rly impressed w1th the scenery and costumes in Act 1; however these seemed to 1mprove throughout the even1ng. Van Rothbart's costume was spectacular and IS sure to have g1ven at least a few small children nightmares. lnna Kolesn1kova was fantas tic in the demanding roles of both Odette and Ooelle and she had no difficulty in g1v1ng a convincing portrayal of both characters. In addi tion to th is the muscu lar Yu riy Glukhikh made a wonderfully dashing Prince Siegfried. The performance lasted a good three hours and thankfully the company had the sense to break it down into three parts w1th two intervals partly to preven t bottom ache on the part of th e aud1ence and partly to prevent sheer fatigue on the part of the dancers.

The evening was a definite must for ballet lovers but 1t was also accessible to those for whom ballet was a new experience. it is certainly encouraging that ballet of such a high calibre is being brought to reg1onal theatres as it undoubtedly allows a far greater audience to enjoy it.

Louise Wickendon

review: theatre

;7

------------------------------------------------------------~---

ensemble bash norwich playhouse

We arrived at the Pl ayhouse with no preconceptions.

Admittedly this was because we had never heard of Ensemble Bash before but that's beside the point.

What we were not expecting was four suit clad , nine to five office worker looking, white males to serenade us with tribal songs from around the world played on some of the most biza rre loak1ng (and sounding) instruments we had ever seen. Anyone ever heard of a gankogui or a caxixi? What becomes clear as the songs are introduced w1th wit by our hosts is that these guys respect and love the music they are playil}g - why else would a grown man be lying on his back with a huge drum between his legs wh ile he beats out an unbelievably complicated rhythm? Although the main emphaSIS of the performances were on drum based sounds, the performers were equally as competent and expressive with the more unusual instruments.

These p1eces were admirably varied , ra nging from energetic Ghanaian pieces to compositions performed solely with cow bells. Our personal

favourite, however, was the performance that ushered in th e second half of the evening. it was call ed Chew Chew Chatterbox and was played using wi ne glasses, chopsticks and noodle 9owls. Some may say that these are not instruments; well maybe they' re not 1n the traditional sense of the word , but Ensemble Bash made a fantastic attempt at redefining this definition.

This evening was one of both entertainment and education . If someone asks us what a Dondo is we can confide ntly rep ly, "why it's an hourglass shaped talking drum " . The Playhouse was only half full wh ich was a great shame because Ensemble Bash gave us one of the most unusual and entertaining evenings in a long t1me. So we 're off now to try and find the nearest music shop that can supply us with a marimba!

Matt Garner and Pollie Harrison

the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

The St Petersbu rg Ballet Company concluded their residency at the Theatre Royal with their excellent 1nterpretat1on of Gautler and Sa1nt-Georges ' Gise/le.

Inspired by Victor Hugo's poem Les Phantomes and The Legend of the Wilis as recounted by Hemnch Heine, Gise/le is a mythical fa irytale set in the German countryside. Past performers of the title role have included Pavlova, Margot Fon teyn an d Fanny Elssler. lt is Elsser's interpretation of the role, especially of the "mad scene" in Act One , that the St Petersburg Ballet Company's conception is based on. In this version Magarita Kulik brings a youthful innocence and naivety to the role of Giselle, reflecting the delicacy and romance of the young peasant girl who is in love with a man who is revealed to be an impostor by h1s rival for her affections.

Kulik is easily the most graceful and charismatic member of the cast and was given ample opportunity to shine by Corall i and Perrors superb choreography. When Giselle dies at the end of the first act from the shock of discovering her loved one's deception, she is drawn into the supernatural world of the Wi lis. These are the spirits of young

girls j ilted by fai thless lovers, who dance in their bridal dresses by moonlight, luring men to dance w1 th them until they d1e from exhaustion. lt 1s 1n the world of the Wilis by the moonlit pond that the lovers have the best opportunity to show off their considerable ta lents, although the toils of week- long perform1ng were beginn1ng to show 1n some of the less-than-perfect synch ronised sections. The Queen of th e Wili s was extremely co nvincing in her ruthless and vengeful role as well as being a quite superb dancer. She also provided a highly effective contrast to Giselle's romanticism. Indeed, these two characters seemed more at ease with each other than Giselle and Albrecht, her lover in the first Act. Both Albrecht and Hilarion (the game-keeper who 1s in love with Giselle and revea ls Albrecht's true identity) are technica lly brilliant dancers, but neither seemed totally at ease with Gise/le and made the duets looks unconvi ncing and somewhat stilted.

Criticism aside, Gise/le was thoroughly enjoyable, the beautiful set, costumes and music providing an evening of mythical escapism ... and a welco me break from pantomime.

Elin Jones

review: poetry touch uea creative writing A lot of modern poetry suffers from being written by near-establishment figures, marked by a stock vocabulary of Mediterranean fruit and red wine; coming out of an EAS publishing course , there was a risk that Touch could fall foul of this trend .

The poems in th is first issue, however, shy away from those contemporary poetry buzzwords - no patinas, thankfully - blend1ng instead atmosphere and landscape using a clean mix of everyday language. On the whole they deal with the personal, and sadly every one of the poets here seems to have had a bad time in relationships. Perhaps it's easier to wri te about rejection than pleasu re, because when you're happy you're too busy enjoyi ng yourself to find your notepad - that's not to say that any one these poems are easy. Both Rachel Crookes and collection editor Ramona Herdman work simple but effective conceits th roughout their poems. Ross Sutherland's Toxic is a thoroughly modern affair, and suffers because of it. Replacing "to" with "2" seemingly plays no role other than to

distract the reader from the force of the poem, adding an unnecessary layer of coding. In his pieces, Bernard Towers, seems a lone social conscience in the collection. While not to my taste , the poems work well internally, and have an admirable lack of pomposity. GDS' snippets of verse also work well. To is a strong haikul, but his untitled piece, while playing with startling imagery, fai ls to develop it far enough . But the anthology is on the whole a strong one. Clare Heald's Painted faces crying is a delightfully self-aware piece, and Althea Cribbs' Together Singing has a spontaneity that is skilfully sustained. Writing poetry well is incred ibly difficult, and letting it loose to arrogant critics is commendably brave. This collection, wh ich I'm glad to say also uses copious illustrations (something the locally published Rialto conspicuously dropped), has a lot of promise and is a convincing start towa rds a serious vehicle for poetry on campus.

Contact: R.Herdman@uea.ac.uk James Goffin

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event IB Swingers director Doug Liman's Go is a brilliant, Tarantino-esque tangle of multiple plotlines, hyperkinetic action and supercool characters, and what's more it's out to rent this month. Splicing together three separate stories which stem from a bungled drug-deal, taken on by !ent-stressed cashier Ronna (Sarah Polley) when her British eoslave and part-time drug runner Simon (Desmond Aske~. decides to go on holiday to Vegas. When approached by two jobbing soap actors posing as Simon's customers, Ronna gets herself embroiled in a police set-up overseen by Burk, an oversexed narc with lusty intentions for his colleagues.

Dawson's Creek's Katie Holmes plays her sultry part as Ronna's friend Claire"to pouty perfection, although as is perhaps to be expected her TV persona spills over perhaps a bit too much.

Timothy Olyphant prowls through the film as the dashing yet devious bastard of a drug dealer Todd, slinking a kind of droopy-eyed sinisterness into his character. Token Brit Askew may perhaps annoy as the ever-chirpy cockney Simon, but then that's what happens when you've had a Grange Hill education. For a part that lasts in the main for only on~ of the stories, Polley's Ronna character is

15 Do you want to 'control up to four rangers in campaign-style single player mode'? Well I tried to and to be honest it was an absolute nightmare. If you want to exert any form of serious control you need to spend about six hours in the library memorising which particular combination of buttons to press in order to get your team to 'hit the dirt' at the right time. lt is somewhat reminiscent of French vocab tests at the age of thirteen, and equally excruciating. That isn't to say that there isn't a good range of things to do with your buddies in the '25 deadly new missions', which span 'from exotic Thailand to inhospitable Antarctica ' (I'll leave that one to Scott, thanks), but it is simply too much of a chore. There is no logical progression through the missions, which results in a wide spectrum of difficulty due to the fact that, simply enough, in certain terrains it is easier to get shot. This is obviously a slight problem when you're forced to take on half the Taliban single-handedly because you're not too useful at roughing it out in the barr~n

inspected: video---game

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video: go lighly likeable, and that's perhaps the best sign of. ·the cast's achievement; you really do care about most of these characters, and as a result the absurdly complex storyline never loses its . audience. Perhaps the nicest thing about it, is that it constantly surprises; the fast -cut style of editing the story's "multiple plot-lines together manages to defer its numerous denouements again and again, with twists, er, twisting through the knotty assemblage with the sort of fast-paced complexity that keeps you grinning for the full hour and forty minutes. Fantastic set pieces abound; notably a hilariously desperate car chase through Vegas during the second story (which follows the antics of the absent Simon on holiday in the City of Dreams). Performances overall are impeccable, with the young and beaj.ltiful characters complimenting each other with sharp, lively performances and filling out the perfectly balanced cast with a well-thought out chemistry. Oh dear, I seem to be gushing - erm bad bits? Too short, perhaps, and it could have done with a bit less MTV-esque snip-happy editing, but then that's the nature of the genre, innit?. 'Go' rent this film now.

Steve Colllns

game: spec ops ii land and you have already lost the rest of the team. · The fact that you can become another team member when you invariably get toasted is very kind, but for the reasons above, it gets somewhat more difficult to stay alive due to sheer weight of numbers, despite your "crack" training. A note about this training: What kind of fun is it to get a game which requires you to invest valuable hours familiarising yourself with every weapon available to US Special Forces? My idea of a game is one that you actually play, rather than have to revise for.

Obviously if you are one of those people who enjoys the challenge of a specialist game then you will love it, as technically it is faultless and is therefore deserving of effort if you want to play regularly.

However, if you like to shoot vast numbers of people after you get home from the LCR in a somewhat inebriated state, then you will have to sacrifice a fair few outings to that bastion of student life before you can indulge. As they say, the choice is yours. But do Laurle Swan-lngrey choose wisely.

J6

video: wild wild west ·

Despite garnering some of the worst reviews this side of The Avengers, wickie, wickie, Wild Wild West still managed to earn over one hundred million dollars at the US box office alone. All of which proves, if nothing else, the infallibility of Big Will.

The critics' reviews were uniformly bad. There are two reasons for this, one is that the expectations of Wild Wild West were not met for the critics, and the film and its performers' brash, confident style caused the reviewers to be not just uncomplimentary but downright rude. The second reason is that Wild Wild West was marked. The film, like Jim Carrey's The Cable Guy, was always going to be shot down by critics who historically decide that three big hits in a row are enough and the fourth will not join them. lt may be a cliche but they really do build you up to knock you down.

The story is set in the immediate post civil war United States, and concerns secret service agent, Jim West (Will) teaming up with crazy inventor/agent Artemas Gordon to defeat the evil Dr Arliss Loveless;

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who, embittered by the loss of his legs, wants to see the break up of the United States and the restoration of the Confederacy. The duo encounter evil civil war genetals, decapitating flying saucers, of course the eighty foot mechanical spider and Salma Hyeck on their adventure to save the President and the country from certain death. ~ is a mess, the narrative is disjointed and full of holes but we're not expecting to see something well plotted here, and therefore criticising the film for its story is a moot point. Indeed there is much fun to be had whether it be Big Will talking himself out of a lynching or Big Will (again) backflipping onto the top of a runaway train . In addition to which Kenneth Brannagh's super villain is played with full gusto, adding a real pantomime feelin to the proceedings. ~ is essentially a James Bond film set in the 1860s and also to its credit can claim to be the first big budget Hollywood film to recognise that Will Smith is black.

Which, whether you like it or not, makes it a pretty A/ex McGregor important film.

game: football world manager 2000

Hey, look people! Your prayers have been answered! Yes, that's right, it's yet another football game. But that's not all, folks!

Because it's a managerial sim game, and this one ~ts you do all the seriously boring stuff, like negotiating transfers for your team for extortionate amounts of money (only to find out that they are utterly oseless and spend 70% of their time injured), instead of forcing you to do fun things like actually playing a match.

Okay, so spending an evening shedding blood, sweat and tears in an attempt to create the perfect team, only to watch it plummet swiftly down the league tables, is personally not my cup of tea.

But for those of you who thrive upon similar games (e.g Championship Manager) the sequel to Football World Manager is a pretty good alternative.

With an overwhelming 70 countries to choose from, incorporating 95 divisions, FWM 2000 boasts a far larger playable selection than any of it's competitors.

Many improvements have also been made in regard to its predecessor - you can now edit tactics, formation, and the like during match-play; and you can even change the appearance of your players, from nose

shape to facial hair; this I found very entertaining. There are still a few problems with it, though.

The speed at which weeks are processed (which was a draw back in the original FWM) has apparently been dealt with and is supposed to run faster. However, moving from week to week can still be a painfully slovl operation, made more • tedious by the fact that you can't actually do anything while it is doing this; except maybe reflect on why, even after much publication about the realism of the game, Jamie Redknapp still looks exactly Michael Owen.

Having said this, FWM 2000 is not so awful to play as I would like, even for complete novices like me. Getting to grips with the basics is easy to do, while there is plenty of depth in the game for the more experienced player to get their teeth into. For example, you can control, regulate, and modify the day-to-day training of each player in your team to ensure maximum effectiveness.

So people, it's up to you. If you like playing God to a group of men and a ball, go for it. If not, I wouldn't bother, if I were Mark/and Starkle you.

the event, wedne~day, february :1,~, ~090 •

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essential tv: soaps Good lord. If you've been watching Eastenders since the last essential soaps mstalment then your ghast w1ll no doubt have been flabbered by the stonking mother of all episodes that was Matty's Revenge. The Event would like to fo rmally extend its heartfelt congratulations to l1ttle Maffyoo; we love you and you will be sorely missed with your vi ll age idiot haircut and cheeky elfin ways. Sob! Yet life in the square goes on apace, with Freddy Fonseca's leaving bash nearly being scuppered by the rozzers, courtousy of the still-bitter-atDan Rikhaaay-ah giving them a tip off about the lock in at the Vie . Luckily in steps Melanie to save the day by claiming to be said doctor. Lisa·s worried about being pregnant by Phil (we can only hope she'll have a little bald baby that looks just like him!), wh1le lan's about to get a new nanny who he'll probably fall for. Not that he deserves happiness, the pasty git. Round the other side of the planet 1n Neighbours,

Harold 's quest for the Helmeted Honeyeater has born little fruit as his photos haven't come out very well. Joe Scully (possibly the Hardest Man 1n Soap now that Grant's gone from 'Stenders and Alf from Home and Away is getting on a bit) continues to be unfailingly rude to everyone 1n the world, while Bil l and Anne finally look like they're going to be getting back together now that the evil Fanto has been exposed for the arty-tarty snake in the grass tha t he tru ly is. But will Bill be able to convince his boss-eyed love of his newly developed maturity? And, more to the point, wi ll we be able to look forward to a stonking Scott and Charlene-style wedding? We can on ly hope.

Meanwhile, back in good old Blighty, Susannah and Mick share a passionate embrace in Brookside, and Emmerdale also sees a hot, five-nigh t extravaganza this week! Cupid is in town as the Wool pack has a sense of aphrodisia in

the a1r. Sarah is re- living her youth through passionate clinches with Ritch1e, how long will it be before they get between the sheets? The Oysters don't seem to be having the desired effect on Viv as she becomes ill while throwing herself desperately at another poor sucker. However, Betty's on heat as she proposes to Seth. After decades of compa nionship, it seems they might . finally tie the knot. Further along the bar, Berrise and her mother have pulled.

Wi ll Alan keep up with man-muncher D1ane? And what will Ash ley make of Bernise's encounter with Marlon? Oo a more serious note, it looks like Graham w1ll fina lly get his comeuppance as he whisks Kathy off to the coast. Pollard and Marlon sussed him out a while ago and are trying to do something about it as they realise Kathy's life is in danger.

But are they too late as psycho Graham lures Kathy to go on a clifftop walk ... ?

Steve Col/ins, Kate Wenlock and Gemma Catchpole

miss this: 01 my hero

essential tv: 01 queer as folk 2 c4

bbc 1 fridays The termmally dappy Ardal O'Hanlan returns 1n th1s new sitcom, based around a vaguely realised premise of one 'wouldn't it be funny 1f that Dougal bloke off Father Ted was a superhero?' joke and flogged to death as said O'Hanlan ·s undeniable talent for addmg a kind of bemused fluffiness to the weakest of jokes is pushed to the l1mit. Why these diluted approximations of single JOke ·comedy' workouts persist in assailing our screens remains a rather baffling question, and after the horrendous slur on the memory of Father Ted that was the Arthur Mathews/Graham Lmehan-penned Hippies it would have been nice to see something wh1ch actually lived up to expectations. Alas, not here. O' Hanlan plays the mild -mannered, hypochond ri ac shopkeeper George who leads a double life as the superhero Thermoman.

H1s love for nurse Janet Finch (whom he saved from certain death in last week's episode) becomes complicated by h1s double life as, 1n true Clark Kent stylee, the bumblmg sweetheart prevaricates as to whether or not he should disclose his big secret to her.

Will he reveal h1s true Identity? Who exactly does she want: Thermoman or the hapless George? And will you keep watching long enough to find out? Not without a b1g boost 1n the quality of the script and some sort of sllift away from the formula1c, mert premise of the show.

This week's ep1sode (Fnday February 18) sees Thermoman gett1ng his outfit d1rty, with hilarious results.

Honest. Right then, that's one more new show denied a second series by the all -powerful word of The Event.

What else to avoid? I'TV continues staunchly refus1ng to show anything decent: 'h ighlights' 1nclude Carol Vordeman's Stars and Their Lives, wh1ch really IS as desperately pointless as it sounds; the bastard Grimleys are still hogging airspace in the1r terminally unfunny situation comedy set in the Sevent1es (with Brian Conley!); Chris Tarrant cont1nues to raise his eyebrows in that annoying fashion in his ·on 'TV' program and that damned quiz; Andi Peters bothers some boy bands on Channel Four (Sunday, Feb 20th), and those kerazy kids on Shipwrecked are still arseing about chasing pigs. In short, then, the perfect reason to turn off the telly and do something worthwhile .

Steve Col/ins

tuesday, february 15 1999 saw one of the most daring programme in the h1story of television hit the screens, caus1ng people up and down the country to talk about what should and shouldn't be allowed to be aired. The first episode of Queer as Folk contained some of the most explicit gay sex scenes ever to be shown on 'TV, and caused the programme to be as w1dely publicised as Channel 4 could have only dreamt about. So what was all the fuss about? If it was only a cheap sex stunt why the all the positive criticism? On one side there were cheap cracks about the relatively bonng lives of the straight people in the programme, such as "Can you believe it, they have toilets where no one's ever had sex!" and at the same time there were a lot social and moral issues raised, such as the relationships between families and their gay children, racism and paternal responsibilities . Although well written it did get a bit formulaic: Stuart and Vmce go clubbing,

'cop off' Stuart wakes up with strangers, Vince feels depressed. This seems to be reflected in the programme makers' decision to make this the final series, m fact 1t almost seems as if the series has been made to tie up the loose end of the last senes mainly that of Vince's unrequited love for Stuart. Cra1g Kelly, who played Vince, IS ent1rely happy to see the series end . ''I'm glad the show is going out in a gooa light. The two one hour episode format is perfect. I'm pleased that the producers haven't tried to milk its success ... The pressure could be another reason why Channel 4 are putting an end to the radical drama. A march on February 12 seemed to be reactionary backlash to try to put 'TV back in its conservative place. The march organisers have singled out Queer as Folk in their letter to the home secretary claiming that the 'explicit perversion' shown in the programme is linked to bestiality and sado-masochism . With this kind of publicity Queer as Folk 2 looks set to be JUSt as promising the second time around.

Metin Alsanjak

·essential tv~ fJ2 top ten: love songs c4 saturday, february 12

21:00 The desire to li st, prioritize and rate even the most banal corners of popular culture seems to be a peculiarly 1990s habit. OK, so there's always been the hit parade to gather the family round the wireless of a Sunday evening in order to listen to the warm, welcom1ng tones of that lidderally bankers Dr. Fox, but what w1th Nick Hornby's fetish for making the 'nineties man' seem like a relentlessly number-crunching anal retentive uberbloke, it's become more of a trend in recent years. Of course you could also concoct some half-arsed alternative theory about the new Mi llennium and the natural desire to take stock, sort, tidy and prioritise the sprawling mess of stuff that we've left behind over the past two thousand years, but either way the deluge of 'whose the best/worst/biggest/most spankingly fantastic' polls that we've seen recently seem to ask ultimately one thing: if you haven't worked out your favou rites by now, how do you expect to survive in the twenty-first century? And what are you gomg to tell your grandchildren when they ask you who your favourite band was? What's wrong with you? Well , here to solve all such problems of rating, ordering and generally sorting out your likes and dislikes for you is the lovely Phil Jupitus (one of those poor portly sorts doomed to be foreve r "la rger th an life comedian PhiI Jupitus"), whose Top Tens show has been around for quite a while now (don't say we don't keep our finger on the pulse on this page), and has so fa r made handy and contentious lists of all sorts of things such as punks and one-hit wonders, designed to cause heated living-room arguments and broken television screens. This week sees the Top Ten Love Songs, in which the illustrious smoochies of Chris de Burgh, old quivery-lips Whitney

the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

Houston and walrus of LOVE Barry White (here's a picture to whet your whistle) rub shoulders in a sensual, sexy kind of way.

Hosted th1s time by the one and only Errol Brown, this particular mstalment m Channel Four's bid to put the whole world in its place should provide a perfectly romantic night in on the sofa.

Just don't get too carried away when Barry comes on eh?

Steve Col/ins

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the essential guide to what's going on in norwich over the coming fortnight

event horizon: film union films

downs from the Marx Bros. Three crazy guys ruin, then save an opera company. Umm ... interesting?

top gun tuesday, february 15th 19:00 Naval pilots Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer fly big fast planes to become 'the best of the best'. They fight to make it to 'Top Gun' and to win the heart of Kelly McGillis. How profound.

an'alyze this tuesday, february 29th 21:00 Comedy starring Robert De Niro who plays a Mafia boss (surprise surprise!) and Billy Crystal who plays his shrink. Also includes Usa Kudrow in this slick humoured comedy.

american pie thursday, february 17th 19:00 You'll never look at apple pie the same again after watching this crude teen school comedy. lt will make you laugh as you relate to what it was like to finally discover sex, it might even make you wish you hadn't. See Essential Rim 02 election friday, february 18th 21:00 Despite what the title suggests, this film doesn't feature a great deal of politics when a high school girl, played by Reese Witherspoon, stands for her high school election. Mathew Broderick eo-stars.

Possibly one of the best films of last year. Do not miss. orphans monday, february 21st 18:30 A family are reunited at their mothers funeral. They endeavour to conquer alcoholism, revenge and anger in this gritty comedy full of .oddballs. grease tuesday, february 22nd 21:00 The infamous musical to which the whole nation knows the lyrics to 'You're the one that I want'. This classic 50's set musical stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. fight club thursday, february 24th 19:00 Edward Norton and Brad Pitt star in one of the most outstanding films of 1999. If you have been put off by the controversy, then think agqin, for the violence in Rght Club is not gratuitous. Apart from that, it is also a very funny film. never been kissed friday, february 25th 21:00 A predictable romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore. She finds herself back at school as an undercover journalist given the assignment of uncovering revelations about "the youth of today". A disturbing trend for wearing Kappa then ... a night at the opera sunday, february 27th 19:00 A cheeky comedy full of famous gags and witty put

cinema city happy texas In a sleepy town in Texas, two escaped convicts pose as gay beauty pageant directors and end up arranging the Uttle Miss Fresh Squeezed pageant.

Sorely over-looked at the box office last year, the performances of Steven Zahn and Jeremy Northam are definitely worth seeing. tuesday, february 15, 14:30, 20:15, wednesday, february 16, thursday, february 17, 20:15

a be

casper A young girl befriends a friendly ghost when she moves into a haunted house with her ghost therppist father. S~rring Christina Ricci in a rare moment of crapness. saturday, february 19, 14:30

the haunting Uam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones get swallowed up by massive scary house. Now they know what bungalows are for, don't they? Reminiscent of traumatising childhood rides on hammer-horror ghost trains.

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hlndi film Title to be confirmed sunday, february 20, 17:00

the mummy A group ofegyptologists,' including Rachel Weiss as the original randy librarian, bump into the wrong kind of mummy. If they had bumped into the right kind of mummy they probably would have been able to put their feet up for the rest of the film instead of grappling with the living-dead and getting covered in swarms of dong-beetles. Hmmm.

the Iron giant Based on the Ted Hughes novel, features the voices of Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick Jr. A giant metal machine falls to Earth and befriends a 9 year old boy. monday, february 21, friday, february 25, saturday, february , 14:30 black narcissus Continuing the Powell and Pressburger season of films. sunday, february .20, 14:30 •

jakob the liar WW2 drama sees Robin Williams as a Polish Jew who hides a 12 year old girl with attitude. He become a hero and raises hope by pretending to have a radio and produces fictitious bulletins. Not a very promising premise I think we will all agree. wednesday, february 16, 14:30, monday, february 21, 20:15 the st raight story Don't know about it being a straight story, but it is certainly a strange story! Based on a true story, a road movie with a twist. 73 year old Alvin decides it's time to visit his brother in an attempt to mend a ten year rift. He sets off on a carefully prepared six week cross country trip on his John Deere lawnmower. Critically lauded and a potential Oscar hopeful. friday, february 18, 17:45, saturday , february 19, 20:15, monday, february 21, 17:45, tuesday, february 22, 14:30, 20:15 wednesday, february 23, thursday, february 24, 20:15 the tlchbourne claimant An amazing true story. lt tells the stdry of a man who retumed from Australia claiming to be the missing heir of the aristocratic Tichboume family.

With depth and sophistication it is witty as well as fascinating. friday, february 18, 17:45, saturday, february 19, 17:45, monday, february 21, 20:15, tuesday, february 22, wednesday, february 23, 17:45 thursday, february24, 14:30, 17:45 friday, february 25, saturday, february 26 , monday, february 28, 17:45 go A black comedy which follows the stories of two actors, a supermarket check-out girl and a drug dealer, and how their paths cross on one unforgettable night out. friday, february 18, 11:15

night of cabirla This French film tells the story of a woman who often finds herself ending up with a broken heart. wednesday, february 23, 14:30 bringing out the dead We see Nicolas Cage as a paramedic in New York's Hell's Kitchen. He begins to question his sanity when he becomes haunted by patients who won 't die and the ghosts who won't live. friday, february 25, saturday, february 26, monday, february 28, 20:15 the blalr witch project The low-budget film shows a new side to the word horror. Three film students vanish in the woods while making a documentary on a witch who haunts the woods. Their footage tums up a year later and that is exactly what you see. With very convincing performances, it makes you wonder if it's real or not. friday, february 25, 11:15 point blank When Marvin is double crossed by his wife and his feilow gangsters he seeks vengeance, only to find that he's way out of his depth. sunday, february 27, 17:00 wonderland Having received critical acclaim at the London film festival, Wonderland tells the tale of three generations of a family and how one weekend sees their lives tumed upside down. tuesd(ly, february 15, wednesday, february 16, thursday, february 17, 17:45 the red shoes Classic Powell and Pressburger film starring Moira .Shearer as a ballet dancer juggling her personal commitments with her career. Excellent. sunday, february 27, 14:30

toy story 2 Woody's gang try to save him from the clutches of an 'evil' toy-collector, who has obviously been tuning into Antiques Road Show in order to fathom what the antiques of the future will be. Woody is tom between loyalty to Andy and the chance to start a new life in sunny 'Oijapan. 'Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today ... double jeopardy.

Tommy Lee Jones does his brooding hero-despite the odds act, coming to the rescue of broody damsel in distress Ashley Judd, who, as she informs .us many time throughout the film, 'did not kill her husband.' the phantom menace Its back to days of yore when space was so much bigger, and when the aliens were so less ·humanlooking than on Baby/on 5. Take tiiSues to be used whilst contemplating cute little Annakin Skywalker's eventual fate. Boo-hoo. sleepy hollow A small town wakes up as it is victimised by a dark and vengeful headless horseman who is still looking for his head. Of course, the fact that he doesn't actually have one of his own explains why he manages to take all the ones that look nothing like him.

Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci star. sixth sense Bruce Willis looks to be out to prove (once again) that there's more to him than muscles and Demi • Moore. Small kid outplays him in every way. When Brucie's in retirement this kid will be making millions.

Tarzan 'Me tarzan, you jane .. .' little did the world know, when those immortal words were first uttered, that one day they would be high-jacked by Disney and brought to the populace. I can see posters of • Disney's weirdly proportioned Tarzan covering all traces of Boyzone in pre-pubescent schoolgirl's rooms all over the country. He's just sooo ... cutel

use our searchable listings database at www.concrete-online.co.uk •

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the event, wednesday, february 16, 2000

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american beauty Clever film which manages to be arty without any trace of pretentiousness. The boredom of suburban life prompts Kevin Spacey to start acting like an unruly teenager (what fun he must have had making this film) whi le his precocious daughter finds herself growing up. W1fe gets to have a farcical affa1r whilst playing With handguns. More evidence of the Edina/Saffy divide between parents and children I fear.

ode on toy story 2 The toys are back, and defy the old rule that sequels are generally well. .crap . Woody is kidnapped and the other toys have to save h1m. Tom Hanks returns as the vo1ce of Woody. To 1nfin1ty and beyond, as Buzz would say. See Essential Film 01. the beach Leonardo DiCaprio stars 1n heavily hyped adaptation of Alex Garland's backpacker's nightmare novel. Leo plays Richard who finds a map to the aforementioned beach and attempts to find h1s paradise. Reviewed on page 17. space jam Cartoon from Warner Bros. starring Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Loony Tunes characters. Plus M1chael Jordan the US basketball player. Obviously aimmg for a widespread audience ... house on haunted hill Ternble horror mov1e starring Geoffrey Rush and Famke Janssen of Bond girl fame. W1th Rush offenng $1,000,000 to 5 people if they spend the n1ght in an asylum. Watch this film and you might JOin them. Rev1ewed on page 17. i nspector gadget I w111 personally pay every s1ngle person who has contemplated seeing th1s film £100 each . lt is so bad you may feel the need to get your go go gadget gun out and blow your go go gadget head off.

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izon uci riverside toy story 2 Woody and pals are back and this time with a host of new chqracters, (including Barbie, who has apparently left Ken) as well as some of the old gang. Go see it. See Essential Film 01 the beach Leonardo DiCaprio stars 1n Danny Boyle 's latest film based on Alex Garland's best-selling novel. Also stars Robert Carlyle and Virginie Ledoyen as Leo's love interest. Fans of the books may notice it strays a little from the plot. Where is Jed? Reviewed on page 17. american beauty One of the most talked about films of the year, starnng Kev1n Spacey as an unhappily married suburbanite who decides to do something about his seemingly direct1onless life. house on haunted hill Some films are so bad they are actually good. This horror film starring Geoffrey Rush (where is your career gomg mate?) is unlikely to reach cult status.

Avoid like mad. Reviewed on page 17. stigmata Ditto on this one. Poor performances from Patric1a Arquette and Gabnel Byrne as well as ludicrous direct1on make th1s another "horror" fil~ worth missing. inspector gadget For some reason people are still going to see Matthew Broderick play the cartoon detective. One can only assume that the audience are children who don't know better, or utter retards with the imagination of a squirrel. end of t he affa ir Ralph F1ennes and Julianne Moore star in Nell Jordan's adaptation of Graham Greene's 1951 novel. A good remake of the 1955 Deborah Kerr, Van Johnson version. Reviewed on page 17.

So-so "thriller" with Ashley Judd as the wronged wife who gets ban~ed up for the murder of her husband.

Although, quelle surprise, nothing is quite as it seems ...

The most successful Bond of all time. Pierce Brosnan returns as 007 trying to save the world from an oil crisis. eo-starring Sophie Marceau and Judi Dench.

angela 's ashes Adaptation of Frank McCourt's best-selling autobiography set in Limerick, Ireland, starring Robert Carlyle and Emily Watson. Rather bleak at times but definitely one worth catch1ng while you still can.

the iron giant Cartoon from Warner Bros. w1th the vo1ces of Jennifer Anniston and Harry Connick Jr.. A sweet tale about a boy who discovers this big iron g1ant (hence the title) 1n some woods. An everyday occurrence then ...

sleepy hollow Tale of the headless horseman retold by Tim Burton.

Starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. Very hammy and overplayed and is for the majority of the fi lm all the better for it.

east is east Highly successful film about arranged marriages 1n an As1an family from Salford . Starring Om Puri and the doctor from Eastenders, this is one Brit1sh film you shouldn't m1ss.

the sixth sense Ooooh look, ghosts. Desp1te being rather s1lly when you think about it the Sixth Sense 1s still noteable for the performance put in by Haley Joel Osment.

the bachelor AWFUL film starnng Chns O'Donnell who is given just 27 hours to get married in his grandfather's will.

In return he gets $120 million. Renne Zellwegger 1s one of his love Interests apparently (there is zero chemistry between them.) Not exactly h1gh-brow I can assure you.

the world is not enough

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american beauty house on haunted hill double jeopardy angel a's ashes sleepy hollow stigmata the bone collector inspector gadget the sixth sense the world is not enough

Listings written and compiled by Anna Castles, Elaine Leggett, A/ice Messhan, Carofine Jeater and Adam Chapman

£2,836,678 £1,068,862 £876,733 £554,655 £433,992 £385,102 £322,657 £314,303 £305,358 £305,358

double jeopardy

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toy story 2 showing at: uci riverside, abc, odeon

american pie showing at: union films

The toys from Andy's bedroom ace back. When Woody (Tom Hanks) is stolen by a toy collector, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Alien) sets out on a rescue operation. He discovers that he is, 1n fact, part of a valuable collection of toys based on a 1950s TV show ca lled Woody's Roundup. Toy Story 2 introduces a whole new set of characters including Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete the prospector (Kelsey Grammer, TV's Frasier) and a particularly cute horse ca lled Bullseye (I'm a sucker for doe-eyed animals).

Universally acclaimed for being funnier, slicker and better looking than the original, Toy Story 2 counts as the exception to the rule that sequels can never be as good as the first.

Final showing of one of the surprise hits of last year which has gone on to launch quite a few ca reers, most notably Mena Suvari. If anything, American Pie is not able for upping the anti on infantile set pieces, a scene involving the lead character masturbating 1nto an apple pie being the most publicised. While it could hardly be argued that this teen h1gh school movie is subtle it is very hard not to be won over by this ta le of a group of boys who pledge to lose their virginity come Prom-time (not with eacl1 other) . While the premise of the movie verges dangerously on slightness, an "interesting" scrip\ keep the pace flowing nicely.

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event wednesday: february 16 art nouveau sainsbury centre - exhibition Still running from February 01, this exhibition includes furniture by Galle and Majorelle, posters by Alphonse Mucha and a William Morris carpet.

soho story Norwich playhouse - play "the beggar's opera set loose in 1950s and 1960s London" superfly mojos - club night Go shake your funky thang at superfly this Wednesday.

event horizon 11:00a.m. Tickets £4 1930s night maddermarket theatre - theme night In preparation for Noel Coward 's Present Laughter, the Maddermarket is hosting a 1930s night including a free fashion show, an exhibition of the theatre's costumes and a talk on Coward's work.

friday: february 18 norwich playhouse - musical Norwich regresses to the 1930s - the hey-day of the music hall traditton. In fact, some may say that Norwich has never progressed! Leave your mhibitions at home for an evening of laughter, music and glamour.

elegant mojos - club ntght If you don't go to the Playhouse tonight you can still get all the glamour you need at MOJOS with the added benefit of some decent music.

pure swing manhattan's - club ntght If you're still feeling loved-up from Valentine's Day, bring your other half to manhattan's for a bit of bump 'n' grind.

gorgeous manhattans - club night Party 'til 4 a.m. at Manhattan's.

zoom - club ntght the drinks may not be free, but they are only £1.50!

As Zoom's dj flob says "don 't be apathetic - be paralytic" . Surely saying that to UEA students is asking for trouble?

masterclass

ikon - club night The elite of Norwich? That's a sight worth paytng to see.

mojos - club night I'd rather not rewind to any of my Saturday nights out in Norwich, but if you are braver than me, Mojos ts the place for you.

ricks place - club night I hope their music is more imaginative than their cl ub night name!

time - club night Not as big as their Thursday night efforts, but sti ll the closest you'll get to civilisation you'll get in Norwich thts weekend.

hys - club night Feel guilty for abandoning the poor Norfolk clubs for the 'new kid on the block'? Then head on down to hys to show your solidarity.

learn break-dancing

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art college From 7 'til 9 wtth the turn -tabltsts soctety.

lcr - gig Gavin and pals play the lcr m thts rearranged gtg for you lucky uea folk.

hytimes

saturday: february 19

monday: february 21 sanctuary ikon - club night Is this shelter from the barrage of retro music pouring out of the other clubs?

carwash liquid - club night Anyone see the film 'Carwash ' the other night? No? Then Carwash at Uquid is obviously so good it has more fans! An extra treat for you disco people this week - The village people tnbute band!

underground MOJO's - club ntght Strut you stuff for some lo fi indie at Mojo's.

sunday: feb uary 20

furry box student night

sunday service manhattans - club night If you can be bothered to go out on a Sunday night, Manhattan's will make you glad you made the effort.

theatre royal - family show Based on Hans Christian Anderson 's enchanttng tale.

Performances at 1:00 and 3 :00 Tickets £3-£6.50

commercial dance and party

theatre royal - opera Running from 15-19 February, Masterclass stars Jane Lapotaire as "the greatest opera diva of them all ". Described as "Magnificent" by The Sunday Telegraph, the Opera ts the story of Maria Callas and takes us through her life, recalling stories of Nazi-occupied Greece and her extraordinary life.

thursday: february 17

saturday rewind

the ugly duckling elite

club tropicana

hys - club night Do you get satisfaction from dancing to great music tn a lovely atmosphere? If so, get on down to Hys thts weekend .

dance club music hall with hiss and boo

rammed ikon - club night Weekdays are the only time to expenence the joys of ikon before the townies take over at the weekend , so make the most of it.

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york tavern - club ntght Trip hop, with a smattering of funk and house with dj's act and monkey boy. With cheap drinks and chilled tunes, this looks like becoming one of the staple monday nights out in the traingle.

Levi Tafari lcr- gig Cub poet Levi Tafan hits the lcr to entertain the hoardes. £4/ £3

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the pasadena roof orchestra theatre royal - gig Th is orchestra plays close attention to period detail, playtng showband music mustc of the 1920s and 1930s.

Performance at 7.30 Tickets £3-£10

extra smooth sunday the garden house - club night For a mellow sunday, head to the garden triangle and to one of norwich's top pubs for some drum and bass, mstramentation and hip hop.

revival time - club night The bustest student night in town, so good that the locals get their pastel shirts and wet-look gel out and join us. So good , m fact, that even a Steps tribute band are Joinmg us too.

Free entry with nus

richard alston dance company theatre royal - contemporary dance This successful dance company returns to Norwich after their debut here last year with dance set to music from the Baroque and Alston 's smash hit Roughcut.

Performance at 7.30

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lcr disco uea - club night Those of you who want to escape from the onslaught of cheese in the 'main arena' can enjoy the sounds of drum & bass in the Hive, expertly provided by our friends Prophet, fresh from their deck sharing experience with the likes of Peshay, DJ Die and Photek.

essential time - club night This week nme have managed to lure the huge talents of Brandon Block to sunny Norwich. I wonder what the boys at nme have been telling these djs?

How can they possibly choose to come to play here?

However they do it, we're very grateful for our weekly dose of civilisation.

british gas ballet central norwich playhouse ballet The Norwich playhouse plays host to a 'show-case evening' to up-and coming ballet stars this evening. The company tours Bntatn for six months a year, giving the ballet students a chance to show-off their talents.

student night liquid - club night If you make the trip into town for your Thursday night entertainment, an evening of cheap drinks and 'bangin tunes' await you at Uquid along with a smattenng of townies m case you're getting bored of campus talent.

the monastry of sound rick's place - club night Harass the bouncers with as many monk jokes as you can think of until they let you in for freel

charty handbaggy the loft - club night Popular, long-running gay night.

the pied piper norwich playhouse- children's show A twist on the usual tale of the Pied Piper using shadow play, video technology and clowns.

classic anthems and dance floor fillers time - club night Once again, nme brings us an up-todate view of what's going on in the world of mUSIC.

re:fresh ikon - club night Go and see just how 'fresh' their music is, my guess is that it's exactly what's being played at every other club this weekend.

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Tickets £3-£14 martyn bedford and toby litt uea- gig A talk by Martyn Bedford, author of Revision, Exit, Orange and Red, and The Houdini Girl; and Tony Litt, author of Adventures in Capitalism, Beatniks and Corpsing.

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live in the hive hive - club night UEA CMS bands Kensuke Kimachi and Sennen play in the LCR tonight, in support of an up and coming band who aren't nearly as important.

wednesday: february 23

thursday: february 24 the magic box norwich playhouse - children's show An entertaining story for adults as we ll as children, with a strong educational content.

Performances at 2.30 daily(24 - 26 february) the monastry of sound ricks place - club night Go and see if there's more to this club night than just the obvious monk jokes. charty handbaggy the loft - club night Long-running, popular gay night, but open to all for some commercial toons.

superfly mojos - club night More seventies music. But this time with a funk edge. Remember to buy you r surgical soap to help remove the lovely stamp you will receive upon entering the club . Hurrah! rammed ikon - club night Go out and get 'rammed'? Yes please! pure swing manhattans - club night Some more silky smooth grooves at Manhattan's.

You might bump into a few locals, but don't worry they don't bite. Usually. contemporary dance theatre royal - gig For more info see tuesday february 22

lcr disco uea - club night I'm not going to slag the LCR off- it's cheesy and it's great! £2.75 in advance, £3 on the door essential time - club night it's the Mix Mag tour, slightly more expensive than usual, but definately worth it for such a great mix of music. £6 or £5 with nuslmembers student night liquid - club night it's changed days, but the mix of cheap drinks, chart music and students is still the same.

Free entry with your student ID.

friday feb uary 25

waterfront - gig The dance supremo's hit the waterfront, get your handbags out and be ready to party. £11/£9 nus advance.

norwich world wide club belvedere community centre - club night Dance to world music, reggae , R 'n' B etc in a friendly atmosphere.

7- 11pm Admission: £1 (non-members) elegant mojos - club night They obviously named this club night 'Elegant' tn an attempt to inject a bit of glamour into Norwich.

Good luck to them.

saturday: februarv 26 classic anthems and dance floor fillers time - club night Dance the night away with the 'new boys' at Time.

Become a member and your costs will be cut by a whole British pound . Oh and be prepared to queue, this is Britain after all. re:fresh ikon - club night - Fresh mixes of the latest chart hits. Get your boob tubes (ladies) and Ben Shearman shirts (men) and shake you r thang in town.

gorgeous manhattans - club night Go clubbing with the beautiful people at Manhattan 's. elite ikon - club night Go on, there's nothing going on at the UEA on the weekend so you may as well make the trek into town for a spot of dancing and romancin '. commercial dance and party time - club night Not the catchiest of titles, but at least you know what you're getting at time! hy times hys - club night Get a natural (if alcohol-induced) high at Hys. miss moneypenny's

saturday rewind mojos - club night More chart music in the beautiful surroundings of Mojo's. dance club ricks place - club night A club that you can dance in. it's that simple. melt down waterfront - club night Bounce your way around the waterfront to indie and rock classics. Be prepared for a queue at the bar and that if you wear a white top you will go all flourescent, lovely.

anderson collection of art nouveau e

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The Sainsbury Centre once again comes up with another exhibition for those of you willing to amke the long trek up past BIO and the Henry Moore sculptures. Sir Colin and Lady Anderson are two toffs who gave their collection of art nouveau furnitu re, jewe\lry , glass posters and rnore to UEA in 1978, which was very nice of thern indeed. So now you can appreciate the orientally influenced artwork on display until Sunday, April 23. And don 't forget all the other stuff on display in the Centre, and enjoy a small srnackeral of something in one of the cafes after your visit.

TRIP HOP, FU NK AND HOUSE WITH DJ'S ACT AND MONKEY BOY CHEAP DRINKS CHILLED TUNES

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FREE Large function room with bar available for private bookings

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Lau ndrel~ ~ TSB ~ ~ G¥ Un thank Road

York Tavern Junction of York St and Leicester St (j) 620918

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directory: sunday february 27 manhattans - club night What a great idea- if you 're feeling a bit guilty about not attending Church on a Sunday you can always tell your Gran that you're off to Sunday Service. That's your inheritance in the bag, then. extra smooth sunday the garden house - club night Drum 'n' bass and live scratching with a pint. What more could you ask for on a Sunday afternoon?

monday february 28 carwash liquid - club night Your afro wig may be getting a bit beer-stained and your flares may be frayed after a whole term and a half of Carwashes, but no-one will notice under the disco lighting at Uquid.

Free entry to UEA students with ID sanctuary ikon - club night A sanctuary from what, exactly? Drunken students and smoke? I don't th ink so, but the music is great so go along anyway. t he underground mojos - club night

A club night for home-sick Londoners. Go deeper underground as Jamiroquai would say and head up above Boss Hoggs to the chilled beats at Mojo's.

tuesday february 19

the wannadies waterfront - gig And its going to be you and me always .... .and forever. The Wannadies seranade the waterfront with the You and Me song and others from their latest album.

revival time - club night lt's student n1ght again! Doesn't it make you feel special?! Get there early to avoid the queues, drinks at £1/£1.50 guarantee a hangover on wednesday. slinky hys - club night ... And another student night! Watch out for any dodgy blokes trying to look up your skirt on the glass dancefloor. the seagull • theatre roya l - play Chekhov's funny and moving play set by the side of a lake on a beautiful countryside estate. performance at 7.30 Tickets: £3 - £17 dj vadlm and guests arts centre - g1g Ever-expanding turn-tablists' net-work provides yet another night of banging tunes.

levi tafari - dub poet

if you have a gig, club night, play, reading, sock darning event you'd like to tell the lovely folk of uea about, just put the details on a piece of paper and drop them into the concrete office so that we can include them In this very listings section.

621155 hys 623559 the loft 629060 manhattans 621541 ikon 611113 liquid 632717 the waterfront 622533 mojos 630760 zoom 767671 concept 660288 rick's place 627478 canary cue club 624677 abc cinema 622047 cinema City 621903 ode on 620917 maddermarket norwich arts centre 660352 766466 norwlch playhouse theatre royal 630000 592272 uea studio 629921 norwich puppet theatre 766129 king of hearts 508050 uea union ents 223624 norwich castle museum 0800192192 scoot t alking pages 0800 600900

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listings written and compiled by Elin Jones and Caroline Jeater all details correct at time of going to press

the hive - monday, february 21

£4 Following the success of the reading by John Cooper Clarke, UEA's very own Chill 'em Out

Jazz Cafe presents dub poet Levi Tafari. HAiling from Uverpool , Tafari has won widespread respect for his politically aware, rythmic performance poetry. Born in 1960, Tafari 's background was in catering, before the call of the pen took him on a literary journey that won respect from the increasingly high profile Benjamin Zephania.

While criticising things of the past, such as the slave trade central to Uverpool's development, Tafari also writes about positivity, denying the ghetto mentality and drawing on black culture and heritage as a source of strength.

A great oppurtunity to see an example of a rare talent.

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THE WANNADIES + SOULWAX

TUE 29 FEB

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SUN 5 MAR

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£7.00

COMPLETE STONE ROSES

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139 • 141 King Street Norwich Tal 01603 632717

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£6/£5 SU

EAT+GUESTS STATIC WED 8 MAR (NEW DATE) £8.50

NITIN SAWHNEY THU 9 MAR £8.•00 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

'RAWKUS'

ROCKJNU·METALJSKATE FRI18 FEB

£4/£3(£2 WITH FLYER)

+GUESTS

MELTDOWN + BALLISTIX

SAT 19 FEB

£4/£3(£2 WITH FLYER)

MISS MONEYPENNYS (10pm-4am)

FRI 25 FEB

£11/£9 NUS ADV

MELTDOWN +WRAITH

SAT 26 FEB

£4/£3(£2 WITH FLYER)

WAX MAGIC WED 1 MAR

DRUM 'N' BASS

£3.50 B4 11/£4

THATCHER YEARS £4/£3(2 FOR 1 WITH FLYER) MELTDOWN

FRI 3 MAR

+ ALL OUR YESTERDAYS

SAT 4 MAR

£4/£3(£2 WITH FLYER)

90'S POPLUCK

FRI1 0 MAR

£4/£3(2 FOR 1 WITH FLYER)

MELTDOWN

+ GENERAL ZOO'S DISCO

SAT 11 MAR

£4/£3(£2 WITH FLYER)

ATRIBUTE TO THE JAM SUN 26 MAR (NEW DATE) £5.00

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'ALL MOD CONS'

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ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION

TUE 28 MAR

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WISHBONE ASH

30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR THU 27 APR

(RE-SCHEDULED DATE, ORIGINAL TICKETS VALID) FRI18 FEB

RENAISSANCE

SAT 19 FEB £10/£8 NUS ADV

CLUB RETRO SAT 26 FEB

£3 ADV

DUB POET

MON 21 FEB

FRI 10 MAR

+GUESTS

£11.00

STAIRWAY TO ZEPPELIN TRIBUTE BAND

FRI 17 MAR

£5.00

BLUETONES +GUESTS SAT 20 MAY

£TBC

TICKETS FROM UEA UNION, SOUNDCLASH, HMV, ANDY'S & OUR PRICE.

1603 50 80 50

All prices are advance only & may be subject to a booking fee.

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LIVE BAND+ DJ'S

CREDIT CAR

£4/£3 SU

PRIMAL SCREAM +GUESTS

LATIN CLUB SAT 4 MAR

£10.50

LEVI TAFARI

SUN 12 MAR

+ P.M.T

TUE 21 MAR

BUSH

£12.00