Music | Issue 11

Salient Issue 11

Music

Vol. 79

Contents Features

16

To Spend More Time Looking at the Sky

20

Soul, Freedom, and Bluesfest

26 Got Lemonade?

28

Is Underground Music Journalism Relevant?

5

Cash ruins everything about migration (IRD get da money)

5

Lester is more for students

6

Not the most uplifting experience

8

Govt says mental health services are fine

News

10 Gowning around

Regular Content

12 MÄ ori Matters

12

One Ocean

36 Fiction

37 Visual Arts

13

VUWSA Exec

30

Single Sad Postgrad

42 Games

31

Women's Space

43 TV

31

Reaching Out

44 Books

32

Being Well

45 Theatre

32

Token Cripple

46 Puzzles

33

Brodie Helps You Figure It Out

46 Notices

33

Dr Feelgood

13 Gee-mail

38 Music 40 Film

Editors: Emma Hurley Jayne Mulligan

Editors’ Letter razor sharp quips - she was a sight to see. It was powerful to hear such a prominent figure of the feminist movement being receptive to the concerns of our generation. Where other attendees of the festival were keen to blanket all young women of our generation as ‘millennials’, and ridicule and criticise us for taking selfies, Gloria identified the space of ‘choice’ that our generation occupies.

She articulated the very crux of empowerment - that it depends on whether it comes from a place of power or submission. Gloria finished the night with a zinger, joking about what it would be like if men had a sexual organ that was designed only for pleasure. The context was perfect, and the entire auditorium laughed and imagined what that world would be like.

The best part of the weekend, was in the auditorium after Gloria Steinem. With tears in our eyes, not from her, but from the amount of passion and energy in the room.

There were women of every generation in the room, some who got up and bravely asked questions, some who challenged her, some who even challenged each other.

We stood together, and approached women who had spoken about needing more feminists in their life, we commended their bravery, swapped twitter handles, and made our merry way to a bar to debrief.

In the magazine this week, we have great contributions from Charlotte, Faith, Kate and Rhys. Each one looks into different aspects of music as we live and breath it today.

Charlotte Forrester interviews a Wellington musician i.e. crazy, and their discussion is beautiful and poetic, and dissects the fundamentals of creating music. Faith Wilson looks into the hysteria around Beyonce’s Lemonade and calls out the problems with white feminism in this context.

Kate Robertson relives her adventure at Bluesfest, where she meets her folk music hero, finds musical soulmates, and goes glamping. Rhys takes on the current state of music journalism, and challenges the ‘participation award’ mindset of so many music media outlets who compromise true journalism for sales.

Congratulations to all recent graduates, and if this is you and you’re also reading this, congratulations for continuing to read Salient and having refined literary taste.

Emma graduated last week, and, after much anxiety, due to graduating on print day and leaving Jayne in the lurch to finish the magazine.

This last week we’ve been surviving off the high we had in Auckland. We, a few Salient folk, and a few friends, trekked up to Auckland for the Auckland Writers Festival. We spent our Friday night in the front room of our Air B’n’B, sipping on red wine from the bottle, slicing double cream camembert with the handle of a teaspoon, sitting on the rug which was just one of the thousands of ‘eclectic’ pieces in this quintessential ponsonby house.

In between the cafe visiting and street wandering, we found ourselves comfortably nestled in crowds of people at the Aotea Centre, listening to writers discuss their ideas, and share their writing.

We had tickets to Gloria Steinem, and so did half of Auckland. When the moment came we lined up, and the line kept snaking through the auditorium. An annoying bald man behind us loudly observed “I didn’t realise she would pull such a crowd”, gosh, us woman just love our feminist icons, huh? Such a surprise!

We took our seats, far away from the ignorant bald man. An older woman sat down beside us, and, seeing how young we were, felt compelled to ask us how we “found out about all this”. It’s a funny thing to be asked that kind of question, it presumes that feminism isn’t a normative idea to have. When you engage with feminism, there’s a canon of figures; you hear a list of names, and Steinem is one of them.

Gloria Steinem was the main reason we made the trip. To see such a bold, powerful women speaking her opinions on American politics, on abortion, on equal rights for women, on her work with indigenous American women, was incredibly uplifting. But looking around the crowd we saw our own privilege.

Gloria, though certainly not without fault in her feminism, was invigorating and refreshing - despite the fact she is older than Emma’s grandmother. With her trendy studded leather jacket on, her perfect hair, and

Enjoy the read.

Emma & Jayne xoxo 03

*Interview* with the Heaters at Te Puni

Going Up •

Mount Chimborazo

•

Lifts

•

Sea level

•

Graduation caps

•

Belt placement

Going Down

What’s the best part of your job?

Feeling needed.

What’s the worst part of your job?

Being taken for granted 90% of the time, then having all your ‘friends’ turn on you when you make one, simple, mistake.

•

Everest

•

Lifts

•

Tax

•

Ice caps

•

The Cable Car

What’s the worst thing about the bachelor?

I’ve seen a lot of weird shit going on in those rooms. I literally can’t look away. First years are like a train wreck.

Keen to kōrero

How do you feel about heat pumps?

They wouldn’t be where they are right now if it wasn’t for us.

They gotta keep their respect.

“He tiamu tenei waiata!”

Kanye or Kendrick?

Whitney, I wanna feel the heat baby. lol.

“This song is a banger!”

Humdingers Turns out Mount Everest is not the highest point on the globe. Measured from sea level Everest still takes the cake, but due to the earth’s bulge around the equator, Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is actually closer to space, and further from the earth’s core. Edmund Hillary still rulz tho.

NASA has been investigating the Alpha Centauri star system and believes it could contain an earth-like planet. The Alpha Centauri system actually consists of two stars, the closest neighbours to our earth’s sun. The US are working on a $100 million plan to send bullet like probes into the system that travel at a fifth of the speed of light and should get there in about 21 years.

04

23.05.16

news@salient.org.nz

News Lester is more for students Wellington mayoral candidate Justin Lester, and candidate for Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) Daran Ponter, announced a plan to cut bus fares for high school and tertiary students if elected. They also promised a freeze on rising bus and train costs for public transportation users.

“Wellington currently has the highest fare-box recovery of any large city in New Zealand, which means we’re charging public transport users more than is necessary,” Lester said. “That’s wrong and I want to change it.”

The proposed fare cut would see the standard fee being cut in half, saving the student $3.80 on a three zone trip and up to $900 annually (provided they use either a Snapper or a Mana card). This discount would be valid to all transport undertaken by students.

Lester acknowledged there was one problem with his current plan, as the Wellington City Council does not regulate public transportation fares. This responsibility is governed by the GWRC, hence the partnership between him and Daran Ponter.

“The technology exists now for the GWRC to provide free transfers” Ponter said. He admitted that this student discount would mean a loss of $5 million to the transportation budget, a shortfall that would be handled with extra rates from ratepayers or funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency. New bus contracts begin in 2017, which would also lessen the budgeting problems.

VUWSA attended the campaign rally, supporting the promises made by these two candidates. The plans align with VUWSA’s stance on “fairer fares” for public transportation in Wellington. This is a fight they’ve supported since 2014, in response to Wellington’s developing position as a student-friendly city.

When asked what he thought of the announcement VUWSA President Jonathan Gee stated, “it’s great to have a strong commitment to a 50% discount being made a priority. We’re looking forward to hearing more commitments from local body candidates towards a student-friendly city.”

Justin Lester is the first mayoral candidate to endorse a decrease on bus fares for high school and tertiary students, with other candidates yet to specify a stance on this issue. While VUWSA is not explicitly endorsing Lester for mayor, they appreciate his proposal, and they are encouraging other candidates to come forward with their own commitments.

“We will applaud any candidate who makes a commitment to tertiary bus fares or some of our other student-friendly policies, like a rental warrant-of-fitness,” Gee said.

A new tax bill passed through parliament will make it easier for the government to get information from the Australian Tax Office on expats across the ditch who are not paying back their student loans.

The bill also allows the government to report those caught out to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).

Tertiary Education Minister Steven ‘Dildo Baggins’ Joyce claims the implementation of the Taxation Bill (in regard to, Residential Land Withholding Tax, GST on Online Services, and Student Loans) will allow the IRD to collect a further $100 million from overseas borrowers in order to support the next generation of students who need government loans.

Loans are interest-free until a student lives outside of New Zealand for more than six months.

For some living in Australia who took out student loans 10–20 years ago, their loans have doubled or almost tripled since they were students as a result of the added interest.

Expats in Australia will now be subject to Australian debt collectors, court action, and could face being arrested at the New Zealand border (aka reaching peak NZ celeb status on Border Patrol).

VUWSA President Jonathan Gee said “the wider issue here is the level of student debt, which reaches $15 billion this year.”

“The government can’t just make plans to rake-in student loan repayments without also planning how they will retain graduates in New Zealand by creating jobs that allow new degreed-professionals to actually pay back their loan.”

Gee added, “students are an easy target when it comes to getting tough on things like student loan repayments. The new bill might scare students into compliance, but it doesn’t solve the problem of retaining skilled graduates in New Zealand.”

NZUSA President Linsey Higgins told Salient “NZUSA believes that there should be less punitive measures in place for students to pay back their loans.”

One third year BA student told Salient that these measures have made her “less inclined to want to move overseas” without paying her loan off. She added that she is worried for her fellow students, also graduating next year, who will want to move overseas and might find themselves in this situation.

05

Alexa Zelensky

Alex Feinson

Cash ruins everything about migration (IRD get da money)

23.05.16

Not the most uplifting experience

A fire in a flat on Castle Street has highlighted the importance of smoke alarms in student accommodation.

The fire broke out on Saturday, May 14, at 660 Castle St, namesake of the band Six60. While there were no fatalities, the fire led Otago University student Robby McPhail to break his ankle as he jumped from a first floor window to escape.

According to the Otago Daily Times, East Otago area fire commander Laurence Voight said new smoke alarms installed by the landlord were found in cupboards in the flat.

“Smoke alarms can’t do their job if they’re not on the wall to do it,” said Mr Voight. “Taking them down is an act of stupidity.”

“Working smoke alarms would have given them more warning and more time to escape.”

New government regulations come into force from July 1 requiring smoke alarms within three metres of each bedroom door for all residential rental properties.

The landlord will be responsible for making sure smoke alarms are in working order at the beginning of every new tenancy, with tenants responsible for replacing batteries.

VUWSA President Jonathan Gee noted this would, “go some way to ensure smoke alarms are installed and maintained in rental housing.”

He stated that VUWSA was working on making more resources available for first-year students moving into flats.

First year students in Boulcott Hall found themselves trapped in a lift Thursday evening.

While going from New World Metro back to their hostel, via a parking building, twelve people became stuck in an elevator, waiting 40 minutes for firefighters to safely remove them from the situation.

The first call to the lift operators was a problematic affair, with the company not actually knowing where Boulcott Street was in Wellington.

The students called Boulcott Hall RA, Jason Sutton, and he was able to get in touch with the fire department.

He stayed on the line with the students in the lift to make sure that they were safe throughout their 40 minute ordeal.

When approached for comment, Jason Sutton was not interested in building a public profile as a hero, he told Salient “It is now historical and I have nothing further to add.”

When the firefighters arrived they initially went to the wrong level, adding to the students’ trauma. When the lift was located, a firefighter called out to those trapped asking if they were okay, but no one inside heard.

Although the temperature outside remained chilly, the walls of the elevator soon dripped with condensation and those trapped inside began to get sweaty.

There is no idea yet as to why the lift became stuck, all the occupants were below the recommended weight limit of 100 kg.

This story comes three months after another lift malfunction, again at Boulcott Street Hall, trapped 15 students on their first night in the hostel. Power was cut and firefighters had to pry open the doors.

A one-man protest calling for action on fossil fuel divestment disrupted the University of Auckland’s recent graduation ceremonies.

Blaze Forbes, receiving a degree in Health Sciences, unfurled a banner stating “Alumni for Divestment” in front of the Chancellor and the audience while he crossed the stage at the ceremony.

The action was staged by the campus group Fossil Free University of Auckland, which aims to push the university to divest its $80 million endowment fund from fossil fuel companies contributing to climate change.

Blaze Forbes stated, “I’m ashamed that the University of Auckland, my alma mater, is funding climate change and wrecking the future that its graduates have to live with.”

Last year the group delivered a petition with 2,800 signatures to the University Council calling for fossil fuel divestment, however this was rejected.

In its accompanying press release, the group threatened to, “escalate its actions over the next few months,” in order “to make the university council consider its requests seriously.”

The campaign to divest follows on the heels of decisions by Victoria University of Wellington and the Otago University foundation trust to divest from fossil fuel companies in recent years.

“The limit does not exist.”

VUWSA choose their Mathletes team VUWSA have selected their team to represent Victoria in the 2016 season of television quiz show University Challenge.

The team—consisting of four men and one woman— were chosen following a test in which they had to answer 100 questions in 20 minutes.

The average score of those who trialled was between 30 and 50, with the top scorer correctly answering 77 of the 100 questions.

The team is made up of Taran Molloy, Alasdair Keating, Hamish Hirschberg, Kieran Ireland, and Harriet Plant.

Four of the five team members competed in the challenge last year.

VUWSA Engagement Vice President Nathaniel Manning said he believed this year’s team is well placed to take out the top prize after only reaching the semi-finals last year.

Filming will take place at Avalon Studios in Lower Hutt later this year.

The show’s air date is still to be confirmed.

06

Kate Robertson

Alasdair Keating

Fossil fuel divestment protest

Alexa Zelensky

Alasdair Keating

Fire alarms Castle Street

23.05.16

Quiz 1.

What is the collective noun for a flock of crows?

2.

Benjamin Franklin advocated for which bird to be the national bird of the United States?

3.

What country bans Facebook, Skype, and Twitter?

7.

Which ancient general named 19 cities after himself and one after his favourite horse?

8.

Max Key recently jokingly blamed what problem on his famous father?

9.

Jemaine Clement was recently praised by which famous Hollywood director?

10. House of Cards’ star Robin Wright petitioned for what from her producers?

11.

Which VUW hall of residence went a few days without heating?

12. What are the national languages of Finland?

13. King Louis XIV of France was known as the “what” king?

Which language has 17 different words for “surrender”?

5.

What is the capital of the state of Alaska?

6.

Which country recently won the Eurovision song contest with their entry “1944” by Jumala?

1) A murder. 2) The turkey. 3) China. 4) French. 5) Juneau.

6) Ukraine. 7) Alexander the Great. 8) The housing crisis.

9) Steven Spielberg. 10) Equal pay. 11) Te Puni. 12) Finnish and Swedish. 13) The Sun King.

4.

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23.05.16

Victoria hero graduates VUW student Michael Boyes, who helped seven people in need by donating his organs following his sudden death earlier this year, has graduated posthumously.

Boyes was presented with a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Art History. His sister Jessica Boyes—who graduated with Honours in Psychology—carried his hood across the graduation stage for him.

VUW wrote to the family before the graduation season, informing them he could be capped posthumously.

With the graduation also coinciding with the graduation of his sister, the family agreed to it.

Boyes collapsed on Cuba Street in February after suffering a brain bleed, dying before paramedics could resuscitate him.

Obeying his last wishes, his family donated his organs which helped people in both New Zealand and Australia.

New Zealand lags behind many other developed countries in rates of organ donation, with only 29 donors in 2009 and 53 in 2015.

The Ministry of Health has recently undertaken a review of New Zealand medical practices to see if these rates could be increased.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has released a statement saying that people are receiving the mental health and addiction services they need.

He pressed the importance of people having access to these services within an “appropriate time frame,” adding that it was “encouraging” to see youth access had apparently improved.

2015 figures released by the Ministry of Health show that more than 44,500 young people (aged 19 and under) sought help for mental health issues. Seventy per cent were seen by counselling services within three weeks, and 91 per cent were seen within two months of the initial consultation.

Coleman also noted that over the last five years there has been a 21 per cent increase, and “mental health and addiction services across the country are responding to increased demand.”

The National-led Government has increased mental health and addiction services funding by $300 million since the 2008/9 Ministry of Health report.

One VUW student who had received counselling through Student Health said that they had been able to book an appointment within two weeks, but that “it was at the beginning of this year, so was most likely not a busy time.”

They went on to say they were lucky, and if they had to wait two months between the initial consultation and first appointment (as per the statistic reported by the Ministry of Health) they would have felt “fairly frustrated.”

“Quick access to facilities like this is integral to making sure that the student body’s mental health is well,” the student said.

Conversely, another student said they had tried to book a counselling appointment in September of last year, but would have had to wait at least eight weeks before they could be seen. This led her to forgo booking an appointment, and has made her “dubious” of turning to Student Health for counselling. She said at the time she was “very distressed and wanted help after being diagnosed with pretty serious depression.”

According to the latest New Zealand Doctor / IMS Health fax poll, nearly 75 percent of GPs don’t feel equipped to deal with the increase of mental health cases.

President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Professor Hopwood said responsibility for mental health support falls equally on health care providers, but notes that GPs are typically the first people consulted for health needs, and so proportionally would see the majority of mental health cases first.

Alexa Zelensky

Jennie Kendrick

Govt says mental health services are fine

Everybody Poops

08

Alexa Zelensky

Students at Rotorua’s Waiariki Bay of Plenty Polytechnic have successfully petitioned for more unisex toilets on their campus.

The campaign began in February and was led by the tertiary institute’s LGBTQ group. This push follows a report from a transgender student, who said they were harassed in a female toilet.

The petition received 826 signatures and was seen by the interim Chief Executive of Waiariki, Dr Neil Barns. He pledged to include unisex toilets in all new buildings on campus, available for use by all, and noted that he had no issue supporting the petition himself.

This result is heralded as a success by Amy Uluave, former Student Association President and the organiser of the petition, who said, “you often hear about petitions going around but nothing ever comes from them, so to have ours gain more than 800 signatures and actually see a change in an institute as big as Waiariki was a huge triumph for us.”

The initial reaction from some students was not positive, though, with concern that all current bathrooms would be converted to unisex toilets. When the miscommunication was cleared up, the petition was viewed with positivity and backed by many students.

23.05.16

WCC put in naughty corner by central government

Charlie Prout

Let them lean in!

An executive pay survey, conducted by the NZ Herald, has revealed there are no women at the helm of New Zealand’s top 50 businesses, proving that the glass ceiling is still well in place.

Theresa Gattung, who was the first woman CEO of a large New Zealand public company—Telecom, told Radio New Zealand she was “gobsmacked” that in 2016 there were no female CEOs in the top 50 companies.

“Models of leadership tend to be male, it’s harder to get there [for women], it’s harder to stay there, and the penalties for failure or only perceived failure are higher for women.”

She added, “there’s always—in both business and politics—a much narrower range of attributions and styles are acceptable for women. If you’re too tough you’re a bitch, if you’re not tough enough you’re too soft, and yet we have to be authentic otherwise what we say doesn’t ring true.”

The survey also revealed growing inequalities between workers and CEOs. CEOs from New Zealand’s largest listed companies had an average pay increase of 12 percent in 2015 compared to 3.2 percent for employees, which means CEOs now earn 40 times the average person.

The average remuneration (including salary and bonuses) received by the heads of big public firms surged 12 per cent in 2015 to $1.68 million. This is a percentage increase three times more than the average worker last year.

The average CEO remuneration increase was $180,000, while the biggest total salary earned was by Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings at $4.49 million.

The average pay increase for employees was $988, and the average salary was $57,000.

The NZ Council of Trade Unions (CTU) criticised the disparity between the pay rises of company bosses and their workers, as it highlights the wealth imbalance in society.

CTU president Richard Wagstaff said, “we’ve had large companies for a long time. They haven’t always had this kind of disproportionate pay being given to the top while thousands and thousands of people are under the living wage in this country.”

Wagstaff continued, “these people are earning something like 40 times your average person. They’re not doing 40 times the work or adding 40 times the value.”

“Everyone does a valuable job. All jobs, if they're not done, can bring the organisation to a halt.”

Alexa Zelensky

Wellington City Council (WCC) has decided to not automatically extend its living wage policy to future contractors, following backlash from the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive, John Milford said that the living wage was “not practical,” and called for WCC to engage in discussion about future plans.

“What we have agreed is that any future contracts for the living wage, with third party contractors, that it will not be a requirement for them to pay the living wage,” said Milford.

Despite this, not all WCC contractors will go without the living wage, with current cleaning and security contractors receiving it from July of this year. WCC currently provides the living wage for all internally employed staff.

If the Chamber of Commerce opens the discussion again, WCC said they will again advocate for the living wage.

The Living Wage Movement—which calls for worker’s hourly wages to be enough to cover their basic life necessities—was started in Auckland in May 2012 and Wellington in August 2012, before spreading around the country.

The living wage is currently set at $19.80, $4.55 more than the standard minimum wage determined by the government.

More tax cuts for rich people

09

Olly Clifton

Prime Minister John Key is planning on facilitating “$3 billion, I reckon” in tax cuts as part of the National Party’s next election campaign.

Key added that tax thresholds might increase to accommodate for the rising average income.

The Labour Party are opposing this move, with Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson saying the money would be better spent in areas such as housing, the health system, and education.

According to Robertson, the Treasury reports there will likely be a $1 billion surplus in 2018, not enough for National to afford the kind of cuts they are advertising.

Andrew Little called the proposed cuts “a reckless approach” and an election bribe.

Despite this, Robertson said Labour also had policy that would see them adjusting tax brackets due to inflation.

ACT Party lone-ranger David Seymour weighed in on the proposed policy, saying that even if National made the cuts, it would barely compensate for the more than $2 billion lost in “bracket creep” in the eight years since tax brackets were adjusted.

The last time NZ saw tax cuts was in 2010 when National increased GST from 12.5% to 15% to compensate.

NZ is currently more than $115 billion in debt.

Gowning around

The sickest new dean

Coming off the back of six graduation ceremonies, VUWSA President Jonathan Gee has turned into an academic gown.

Vice Chancellor Grant Guilford said Gee had appeared his “usual chirpy self” the first two days, saying he took a turn for the worst during Thursday’s afternoon ceremony.

“One minute he was smiling Gee-fully at a graduate crossing the stage, and the next he was a pile of borrowed robes on the floor, a pile of robes that had definitely never seen the inside of a dry-cleaners.”

Speaking exclusively with Salient, Engagement Vice President Nathaniel Manning said the VUWSA office “simply wouldn’t be the same without Jono’s socks and and signature navy bomber jacket.”

Manning refused to comment when asked whether or not he would pursue the President’s role if Gee was forced to step down, or whether VUWSA would pay the late fee incurred by failure to return academic dress on time.

Gee’s hood now operates in the manner of an early 2000s mood ring, serving as the VUWSA exec’s sole decision making tool.

Gee can now be found draped over a computer chair in his VUWSA office. All email enquiries for the VUWSA President should be redirected to academicgown@vuwsa. org.nz.

Professor David Murdoch, the current head of the Department of Pathology and a microbiologist for the Canterbury District Health Board, has been appointed the new dean of the University of Otago in Christchurch.

He will replace incumbent dean, Professor Peter Joyce, when he steps down in September.

One of Murdoch’s goals for his time as dean is to grow the global influence of the University of Otago in Christchurch, and encourage interaction between it and the rest of the world. He has already branched connections with the wider Canterbury health community.

The appointment has been well-received from all corners of the university, with praise coming from the incumbent Dean, and from the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago, Harlene Hayne.

Professor Joyce remarked, upon hearing the news, “David will further enhance the campus international reputation as a centre for health research and education.”

David Murdoch has long-standing ties with the University of Otago, having earned his medical degree there before moving to Nepal.

In Nepal he worked as a doctor, where he saw people grow ill from vaccine-preventable diseases, and influenced his work in infectious diseases.

Besides his involvement with the university and the district health board, David Murdoch is one of the leaders for One Health Aotearoa—an alliance between human, veterinary, and environmental health researchers.

Alexa Zelensky

Kate Robertson

23.05.16

Students strike sky-high rent

Major protests in PNG

A strike against the cost of student accommodation in the UK that began with 150 University College London (UCL) students has swelled with a drastic increase in new members from across London.

Now included in the strike are frustrated students from Goldsmiths, University of London, the University of Roehampton, and the Courtauld Institute of Art. The ongoing strikes are being driven by the excessive financial strain of studying.

In response, the rent of 1224 UCL rooms have been halted or reduced. Further, the university has implemented a 2.5% reduction in rent prices across their entire housing program.

A review of “unacceptable” living conditions at the beginning of the year started a poor relationship between UCL officials and its students.

The university was forced to pay out £400,000 (over $850,000 NZD) to redeem the substandard quality of their halls of residence.

Students from across the city are concerned that high rent prices will detrimentally affect the amount of London uni-goers altogether.

Director of UCL estates, Andrew Grainger, has defended the fees, saying it’s a “fact of life” that not all will be able to afford the cost of study in London.

University officials are now facing a possible fourth rent strike in 12 months.

Protests at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) have escalated, and armed police have moved onto both Port Moresby campuses at the request of the university’s administration.

Students have been boycotting classes for the last two weeks, protesting Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s refusal to step down from office despite being embroiled in an ongoing corruption scandal.

NBC News reported that the protesting students had notified police that the boycott would consist of “peaceful awareness activities,” and had received verbal permission to continue with their plans.

UPNG’s student leader Hercules Jim said that alongside wanting O’Neill removed, they wanted to raise awareness of the dire state of PNG’s economy.

“Peter O’Neill must respect the integrity of the office of the prime minister of this nation. Because there are many allegations attached to him, and the people, the university students have lost confidence. That is why we ask him to respect the integrity of the office of the prime minister. Simply, step down and face the full force of law,” he said.

UPNG Vice-Chancellor Albert Mellan issued a statement saying that campuses will be sealed off as some of the students’ activities have become increasingly criminal in nature.

The police force was “called upon to perform its constitutional duty to protect lives and properties,” the notice said.

Opposition MP Belden Namah has stated that O’Neill is using heavily armed police to shut down the protests against him, and this is removing students’ constitutional rights.

Jennie Kendrick

McKenzie Collins

23.05.16

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Maori Matters

One Ocean

Anthony Wanakore

Brenda Leasi and Laura Toailoa

“Music is God’s gift to man, the only art of Heaven given to earth, the only art of earth we take to Heaven.”

Music has been an integral part of our lives as Pacific peoples. Before colonization arrived on our shores, music was a major form of communication. It served to maintain our history, genealogy, and cultural knowledge through different oral forms. Traditionally there was no accompaniment, only lyrics (which resembled chanting, more than the melodic form we understand in contemporary music).

I can see that the evolution of Pacific music has been engulfed in modernisation, but maintains some structures of the old forms. I dig the modern day Nifoloa and Te Vaka remixes of the classics because not only does it sound good, with its upbeat tempo and popmusic catchiness, but it also teaches us a thing or two about our heritage. These contemporary renditions of traditional songs do hold old meanings.We're in the age of hip-hop influenced Zipso (or another more updated reference), acoustic guitar covers with solo people going hard with their trills, islandery ukulele (which were brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants), summer jams, and basically an undefinable “Pacific music” genre (hey SOL3 MIO). However there is an existing fear that in these changes (for whatever reason it needed to be adapted) there could be a loss of conviction and truths that were once conveyed in traditional forms.

If you're an arts student (or just a human paying attention) you'll be familiar with the idea that culture is never static, change is inevitability, there is no single “authentic” culture to go back to etc. It's futile to go back to our very oral culture passing wisdom, genealogy, and histories through songs and chants. But as I bop my head to contemporary Pacific music—with its bass, rhythm, and melodic vocal line—I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on something, like something has fallen through the cracks, like my ancestors voices are getting more and more faint.

Deep? I know. While we all celebrate New Zealand’s music month, I thought I’d kick things off with this beautiful quote. No, it’s not some mysterious Māori one that folks love to bash, but from a poet—Walter Savage Landour. Not Savage, who sung “Swing” in an old dusty laundromat with super non-sexy women dancing around a washing machine. Rather, he’s a poet from the 18th century, whose quote seems so irrelevant these days.

Chris Rock reckons that, “in the old days it was easy to defend rap music on an intellectual level, why it was art on an intellectual level. Oh, it’s hard to defend some of the shit these days […] it’s hard to defend ‘I got hoes in different area codes’, it’s hard to defend ‘move, bitch, get out the way’.” He’s right though, isn’t he? Music doesn’t seem to be about anything anymore, the lyrics are superficial and the choruses are hideously repetitive, but annoyingly catchy.

Just one peek into NZ’s top 40 reveals the truth about what the general population consider good music nowadays. It’s all in the names: “I took a pill in Ibiza” / “Cheap Thrills” / “Panda”. Don’t get me wrong, these songs are the jam when you’re staggering into Estab on Saturday night, pissed off two bottles of the most inexpensive horse piss one could find. But take it from me and try actually listening to some of the music these days, truly listen to it.

Try making sense of how it is art, try to convince yourself of why it’s poetic. Do it to gain an appreciation for how horrible some of the lyrics are these days, mourn the diminishment of true musicians. Appreciate good music when you hear it and keep bangin’ to ones that have the sickest beats but the dumbest lyrics, because at the end of the day if you enjoy a bit of “I’m an Albatraoz” then kei a koe te tikanga.

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Gee-mail

VUWSA Exec

Jonathan Gee VUWSA President

Nathaniel Manning Engagement Vice President

Last week I had the pleasure of attending six ceremonies for Victoria’s biggest graduation ever—over 3000 students were awarded qualifications. That’s a heck of a lot of graduates, and seeing Lambton Quay at a standstill as we marched in the parade made me think about the amazing accomplishment of these 3000 graduates in completing their qualifications. It was slightly bittersweet. I was happy for all the graduates successfully completing a life-changing chapter of their lives, but also envious that I still have another two years of study left (why did I do a double degree!?).

For many of you reading this, you will be in the same boat as me. Happy for the graduates walking round campus in their Hogwarts gowns taking photos with loved ones, but sad that you still have another year (or two, or three…) of trekking up and down Mount Street in that fierce southerly wind (hi winter lol) with a pile of textbooks in hand.

As winter kicks in and exams are just around the corner, it can be very easy to feel disempowered and to wonder if you’ll ever get through ECON130, let alone complete your degree. My message to you is hang in there. Imagine the joy of walking across that stage to receive your $30K piece of paper, wearing your fanciest outfit and Hogwarts gown, while being cheered on by your loved ones and fellow graduates. This is where you want to be.

And remember you’re not in this alone. There are people available to help you along the way. Talk to your tutors (use their office hours!!!), make an appointment with Student Learning, ask your class-rep if they can set up some study groups. Seek out support during your time here, so that dream of walking across the stage can become a reality.

I was thinking, I could use this column to recommend a playlist for upcoming exams, but tbh, why do what a computer’s already done? That’s what Spotify’s Discover Weekly algorithm-magic was made for.

There are many online articles exposing how the magic works, but in many ways it’s similar to how Facebook suggests new friends based on mutuals—you listen to song A, I listen to songs A and B, it suggests song B to you, and suddenly everyone from your thirdform class are in your friend suggestions.

But like waiting for Netflix to buffer, and being told to “please restart to install update 3.1.4.15.9265.x” of whatever, it’s not perfect, but still cooks you up an amazing personalised playlist of songs you’ll mostly love (and just a couple that are shite).

I’ve never been sure how to categorise my personal music tastes—Female-Scandinavian Electronic / Canadian Indie / 80s-Rock / Everything Stevie Nicks / a spattering of the Top 40 / whatever—but Spotify seems to have found connections between many of these artists, and already has huge playlists that are similar to Discover Weekly, but for entire music genres.

For example, if I were to check out Spotify’s “Sounds like Indietronica” playlist, it seems to tick all of my above boxes, with over 700 songs from artists I love, and ones I’m still yet to enjoy. Similarly, Spotify’s “Sounds of Synthpop” has enough music for me to have a two-day, non-stop party in my ears.

Even more specifically, Spotify has an online list of their 994 genres (which also helps influence Discover Weekly) that you can search and use to discover music of your own tastes (just google “Spotify genres”).

Anyway, back to that study music recommendation?

Niki & the Dove’s new album is pretty sweet, and I’ve been jamming a bit to MØ recently too. Good luck!

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To Spend More Time Looking at the Ground Than at the Sky A conversation with Claire Duncan aka i.e. crazy

Photo by Veronica Crockford-Pound and Joseph Griffen. Featuring Midnight, Lamb #2 and Mottle. Thanks to Sean Kelly for lamb-wrangling, Tommy Stayton for frizzing my mophead and Jenna Todd and Hazel Gibson for providing post-mortem sheep solutions

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Charlotte Forrester aka Womb

To speak with Claire of music, or experience, or life at surfacevalue alone would be to ignore the rich and endlessly layered way in which she gets lost in the world around her. There is a sense of marvel in the most mundane: the sound of a lawnmower you hear in your neighbourhood; the persistent drip of a leaky apartment tap; the brown paper bag that’s clogging up the gutter. This week Claire and I chatted via email about her project i.e. crazy and those projects of her musical comrades—ruminating on suffering and happiness, plasticbag-American-Beauty-moments, and madness.

We live in a society that actively undervalues music. It’s a pretty normative notion that if you’re a musician desiring to “make it,” the odds are stacked against you. Claire directed a stunning documentary last year called The Land of the Long White Stain: A Love Letter to Music on the Margins, which followed some of Aotearoa, New Zealand’s best musicians— Seth Frightening, Girls Pissing on Girls Pissing (GPOGP), Shab Orkestra, and i.e. crazy (herself)—as they toured the country.

I spoke with Claire about music, about her own, and about the marginalisation of these musicians:

see a very safe boring pool of mainstream music and an interesting underground who make better art for knowing they'll probably never make money from it. That said, the underground is full of as much contemptible behaviour as the commercial world—there is no such thing as pure art or intent.

I think that the commercial ideal is for art and artists to mutate in a very controlled way. I think when someone accepts too many corporate bribes or becomes overtly capitalistic in their approach it can become hard, but again it depends on what you make and for what reasons.

Some people make intentionally commercial music with the hope of commercial appeal and consumption, and I don’t have a problem with it. It’s just not for me, I’m not competitive enough. In Franny & Zooey (the novel from which the moniker i.e. crazy is adopted) Franny’s lover tells her that she is afraid of competing, and her response is that yes, she is afraid—she’s afraid of what kind of person she would become.

As a disclaimer—I didn’t write the documentary’s byline; it was added by the series producer. I think it’s accurate, though there is obviously much, much more marginalised music than was featured in the film. There’s a lot at play in the systemic side of the music industry; what gets popular and why and whether it’s better or worse than less popular music. I don’t really care to think about it too much, I don’t think it’s good for making art, unless you want to make that very system the subject of the artwork itself. The latter is too post-modern for me to really pursue; I’m too romantic.

So what, then, is the relationship between the musician and the industry? The musician and their consumerist backdrop? In The Land of the Long White Stain the narrator suggests in a low, drawling voice that, “the moment when a musician might begin to make good music is the same moment at which they accept that no one will buy their records.” I wondered if by being “mainstream” the quality or sacredness of one’s music would somehow be eroded:

Seth Frightening says in The Land of the Long White Stain, that “every human being wants to be happy, but often in life it doesn't work out that way.” Then he shrugs it off with a laugh. He suggests that music is the one place where things can go to plan; a beautiful scenario where you’re free to “compose.” In the next scene, GPOGP convey that they “suffer and struggle a lot to keep doing this thing.”

They unearth a magnetic and almost sublime relationship between suffering and happiness. I asked Claire if she believed suffering to be integral to the process of writing music:

I don’t think the relationship between the production and consumption of art is that simple or mutual. Some people have a lot of energy and power that can spread across wide groups and through many channels without corruption of their message. Mutation inevitably occurs; humans mutate constantly and necessarily and so should art.

Labels themselves can be elastic creative entities, as can publishers and promoters. This isn't the case in NZ as the market is too small and there is no room for risk. So we

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I make music primarily as a mode of survival; it is a cathartic function.

Maybe if I was a happier person and the world were less fucked up, or if I could just stomach the putrid bullet of being a good capitalist and expressed myself through home renovations and new curtains, I wouldn’t feel the need to write music at all.

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There is a sensation of madness that runs through Claire’s work: the name itself—i.e. crazy; the hand-made tee-shirts adorned with the print, non compos mentis; lyrics like “it doesn’t take a full moon to act insane….” I wondered what this focus on madness meant to Claire:

No, I think suffering is integral to life, everyone struggles; through every age and era, it’s part of the human condition. Some people choose to make art to enhance the light and some to enhance the dark. What I love about both Seth Frightening and GPOGP is that they take incredibly dark aspects of human experience and turn them into something confronting but beautiful. They acknowledge, explore, and transform territories that most people don’t know how to deal with and suppress. They usher people into a space they probably can’t get to on their own. It’s ultimately a gift to those brave enough to accept it.

I’m not exploring and embracing madness and images of madness as something comfortable, productive, or positive. I don’t believe madness should be released or unrestrained, as Foucault might advocate. There are countless personal and systemic complexities to mental health issues and I can’t speak on those beyond my own experience. I guess what I’m interested in are the social symptoms of “madness” or “insanity” that I’ve seen/see manifest in my own life and mind. I try to answer my own questions: Why am I so anxious? Why am I a depressive?

What factors are at play that make life so seemingly shit and near unliveable? Why do I hate every job I’ve ever had? Why do I get bored so easily? Most forces at play in our society do not serve middle and working class people, even those who bust their balls to get by.

“Non compos mentis” literally means “not of sound mind.” It’s a term employed in courts of law when a person is not capable to give testimony / their testimony cannot be trusted according to the court’s standards. A dictum given by the powerful to silence the marginalised. I’m trying to reclaim that label as a self-descriptor rather than something cast down from above, choosing my own silence and opting out of the game of words which is the court, the law, civilised life. i.e. crazy functions in a similar way. To me, it’s about living in a state of crisis at the blurry intersection between the crude and the sacred; sanity and madness; foolishness and profundity. The world is full of fraudulence, greed, and false-selfish ambition. It’s a kind of reminder to keep my ego in check. Destruction is only so important to music as it is in life more largely—which is to say, very. Capitalism is death-denying and relentlessly hungry. We try hard to counter the natural rhythms of the world, which are light/dark—life/death. We stay up all night in grey boxes drowning in white light. Everything has to die.

In the Land of the Long White Stain GPOGP talk about how there’s something more “absurd” going on in making music, as it is not the road to “success.” They suggest that in the end their music is essentially about love. I asked Claire about what drove her to make music: I make music primarily as a mode of survival; it is a cathartic function. Maybe if I was a happier person and the world were less fucked up, or if I could just stomach the putrid bullet of being a good capitalist and expressed myself through home renovations and new curtains, I wouldn’t feel the need to write music at all. I guess there’s an absurdity in that art and music—something fundamental and personal to many artists—is something most people consume or accumulate without much feeling, or for a simple “pleasure.” I don’t want to make music that is too easy or desirable as an accessory or as a product to be hyped. I’d rather it annoy people or surprise them. But I understand this is dangerous territory for many people psychologically, to really be honest about how they feel about their lives would shift a lot of long unturned stones.

That’s part of the magic of Claire, a raw honesty to the point where I wonder if I’ve pried too much. She’s a storyteller, and her songs and performances function in exactly this way: a fine balance between personal catharsis and revelations on the human condition, spanning from the sacred to profane. She strips the world of all glamour and glory, and yet what remains is strange and startlingly beautiful—you cannot tear yourself apart. I asked what inspired her:

Speaking with Claire feels like you’ve been brought down from a daydream to be rooted back on the ground. You see every blade of decaying grass, feel the chill of this approaching winter. Yeah, it feels pretty bleak, but you don’t run away: you surrender to it. That’s what I love most about i.e. crazy. It’s not escapism. It’s not trying to be anything other than what it is. It’s unapologetic, unfazed by its own marginalisation. Gaze cast on the cement, Claire speaks the unspoken. It’s a little like opening your eyes for the first time in long time.

I’m pretty short-sighted (I was for years incredibly myopic before I had laser surgery on the advice of my optometrist before I became legally blind) and spend more time looking at the ground than at the sky. I guess that’s where the idea of the gothic comes into play for me; it’s a lens through which to see the immediate physical world that makes it a whole lot more compelling—a kind of game.

Stuff that is rejected or ignored is suddenly pregnant with possibility. I’m constantly having stupid plastic bag American Beauty moments. But it’s also a tradition of storytelling—everything on stage has significance, and in relation to the NZ landscape and national psyche, it’s the neurotic horror of the banal as well as our repressed emotions and postcolonial amnesia erupting symbolically and violently.

You can fill your earholes here: https://iecrazy.bandcamp.com/ And your eye-sockets here: http://video.lumiere.net.nz/ land-of-the-long-white-stain/

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Soul, Freedom, and Bluesfest Kate Robertson

It was on the flight over that we uncovered a grave miscommunication, we had just one $16 Necessities brand two-person tent to last six nights in the middle of the New South Wales storm country. Rad. As someone with so much chill it can get me in trouble, I just shrugged it off as something we would figure out. “Surely Byron would be big enough to find a tent? They host three major festivals a year,” I naively told myself. It wasn’t until we landed and entered into conversation with our shuttle driver called Phil, Roger, or Nigel that I realised the enormity of the fuck up. When I asked where we could acquire a tent, he simply shook his head with the air of a disappointed parent. He proceeded to quiz us on whether or not we had done any research before coming over (we hadn’t).

Phil/Roger/Nigel was concerned because despite there being more surf shops per capita than any other place in the entire world, there were no camping stores in Byron Bay—a real gap in the market in my opinion.

Upon arriving at the walk-in camp area, we were greeted by high luxe four-person tents. Some of them were so big you could stand up in them. We were disheartened—our tent taking just 90 seconds to assemble—but we soldiered on. Luckily for us, our new family of fellow revellers welcomed us with open arms, and more continued to over the coming day. A wideeyed, slightly drunk, 18-year old called Maddy offered to let me stay in her huge tent for the entire festival. I’m sure she lived to regret this—particularly when I snuck a ‘special friend’ in one night—but we are now great friends and I don’t think this would have happened had we not been forced together in such a situation. Sam and Joseph survived six nights, including one storm, in the world’s smallest tent. Said tent was sacrificed on day six, left to die in a NSW landfill. They went home with back pains, and I went home feeling as though I’d spent a week glamping at Coachella.

The idea of throwing a massive birthday party is my worst nightmare. So it should come as no surprise that when the time came for me to plan my 21st birthday, I avoided giving anyone who asked a straight answer. Mum wanted a party, I wanted out. I wanted to run away. I was enrolled in an MA I didn’t want to do, I was restless and I needed some fresh air if only to preserve my sanity. Don’t get me wrong, I love an old fashioned hoedown as much as the next person, hell, I’m one of the biggest extroverts I know, but not this time.

Cue the Google search, “gigs happening around the world over Easter.” I was led down a bleak path; there were several of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds gigs, a bunch of old crooners touring around Australia, and a few really big names hitting our neck of the woods either side of Easter, seeming to strategically avoid the long weekend.

I was puzzled. With my senses heightened, it occurred to me there might well be some kind of event drawing them together in Australia. But what kind of event would draw Kendrick and Kamasi as well as Jason Isbell, Tom Jones, and The Wailers? An angel answered my prayers and I found it—the Byron Bay Bluesfest. A five-day indulgence that would restore my faith in music festivals and to some extent, humanity. I rallied some troops—fellow music lovers—and got to work selling everything I owned to get me a ticket to the Promised Land.

I’m gonna be honest here, the trip got off to a hella underwhelming start. The Wellington International Airport departure lounge was so dimly lit we may aswell have been in a preschool nap-room. So that’s what I did.

I napped and I waited. When we finally stepped off the plane in the GC, I was overcome with disappointment.

What a shit airport. It was like a scene right out of The Walking Dead, only the walkers were unhelpful grumpy old white men. But we were there. We had bid John Key adieu and entered into Turnbull territory, ready to show our Aussie siblings what this riff-raff trio of Kiwis had in us.

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Fast-forward to 6.00pm that night at the Crossroads stage.

I was sipping on a Gordon’s Gin & Tonic with a couple of beautiful frenchmen, we were grooving unexpectedly hard to the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, and all of a sudden the heavens opened.

It didn’t rain, it poured.

On day three a major shift occurred. The sky had been looking particularly moody, and festival veterans had been warning that “it wouldn’t be Bluesfest if there wasn’t a storm.” Fuck. Being the shit packer that I am, I didn’t bring gumboots, a rain jacket or any kind of practical rainwear.

The closest thing I had to a jacket was denim. D-E-N-I-M. What rational person does that? I prayed for the clouds to blow over. Surely there was a desert somewhere that needed some rain? Australia lives in drought this time of year.

Fast-forward to 6.00pm that night at the Crossroads stage. I was sipping on a Gordon’s Gin & Tonic with a couple of beautiful frenchmen, we were grooving unexpectedly hard to the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, and all of a sudden the heavens opened. It didn’t rain, it poured. The crowd became tighter as those on the fringe attempted to seek shelter under the giant tent above us.

Before long, the weight of the rain on the tent became too much. The ceiling tore, causing a gushing waterfall to rain down around us. Anywhere else this would have been a crisis, but not here, the incident was more than accepted, it was embraced. Within seconds people were taking their clothes off and dancing under the waterfall—one of the dreamy Frenchmen included. We danced in the rain with people our parents’ age, not an unhappy face in sight.

Rain does funny things to people. Kids will do anything to play in the rain, but as adults we spend most of our lives trying to avoid it. In the festival environment, the rain let everyone become someone they’re very rarely able to be. Strangers embraced, couples slow-danced, mud was spread across bodies in places mud should never go, and for that night we stood united.

Between Hiatus Kaiyote and Tom Jones, I was most looking forward to an opportunity to meet veteran of the American country and folk scene, Steve Earle. Festivals like this give diehard fangirls, like me, the chance to meet their heroes. I grew up listening to Steve Earle, because my dad, Dave Robertson, loves Steve Earle. Like, really loves him. He bought a weird thumb pick because that’s what old mate Steve uses and he owns a set of dvds in which Steve teaches you how to play guitar just like him.

He’s purchased most of his back catalogue on iTunes and more recently, a hard copy of his latest album The Tennessee Kid (read: very good). It should come as no surprise that after a childhood of being subjected to his music against my will, he would come to be one of my must-see acts.

Steve’s first set was on Friday night, and we strategically arrived at the Jambalaya stage just as Blackberry Smoke finished up, to secure a spot on that goddamn barrier as their fans dispersed. In hindsight, I probably didn’t need to be so eager—the youngest people nearby were older than my parents and weren’t really the moshing kind. When the overweight, plainlooking bearded man walked onto stage, the crowd erupted. Anywhere outside of that venue and you wouldn’t

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father’s child. Modest Mouse were so Portland it hurt and I relished every second of it. Nahko and Medicine for the People let me live the flower crown Snapchat filter in real life. City and Colour looked like he needed to sleep for a week. D’Angelo made me thirsty as fuck for I don’t even know what. Harts’ music has a lot of Hendrix parallels.

Hiatus Kaiyote deliver a big set and are so ‘Melbourne’ they put even the most ‘Wellington’ of us to shame. Lukas Nelson is not as exciting or interesting as his dad Willie.

Shakey Graves was cool, but then I met him and he was a bit arrogant. The Cat Empire had me dancing so hard my feet ached. The Pierce Brothers brought me more joy than I’d possibly ever felt in my entire life you should google them. Blind Boys of Alabama are hella cute. One of the guys from Bob Marley’s band The Wailers is so old he has to perform reclining on a beanbag—it warmed and broke my heart all at once. Tom Jones is still a sex bomb.

have known him from a bar of soap, but right there, in that moment, he was our everything. And so for 60 minutes, we were treated to everything from the classics “Copperhead Road” and “Galway Girl”, right through the his Tennessee Kid club bangers.

I’d purchased myself a Copperhead Road t-shirt—the only merch Steve’s had for the past 30 years—and was on a mission to get it signed. With my fuckboi cap on backwards (I meant business), I patiently waited in line to meet the man himself. Those around me were puzzled, “why are you here?” they asked, to which I responded “I just really love Steve Earle.” When my moment came, my hands were clammy, I felt like I might swallow my tongue if I wasn’t careful, and I had the woman I’d befriended in line two minutes prior ready to take a sweet pic. I have enough experience to know that these situations never play out as cool as you imagine, but true to what my Dad had told me growing up, old mate Steve was one of the kindest, most genuine musicians I have ever had the pleasure of interacting with. We talked about my Dad, the new album, and Steve apologised for not being able to make it to Christchurch this time round. He said he was off to holiday in Titirangi. Dad told me later he likes fly fishing.

He was going to go fly fishing in Titirangi. Never have I met an international act and left liking them more than I had when I walked into the situation. I always leave feeling like a bit of a dick, but this was an exception. If you’re a fan and are ever so lucky as to cross Steve’s path, go and say hello, trust me.

On the other side of the six day high was the inevitable, earth shattering, come down. Packing up camp was a deeply bleak moment; each mud encrusted, slightly ripped or dented item seemed important. It dawned on me that everyone in our multicultural haven was heading off to a different part of the world, and it wasn’t mine they were headed for.

A person I consider a mentor once told me not everyone loves music as much as I do. For 20 years of my life I’d taken it for granted that everyone was consuming it in the quantities I did. Turns out I was a special breed, and the more aware I became aware of this, the more isolating I found it to be. Bluesfest allowed me to be on that level, with people like me, for five days straight. The energy you feel is indescribable. My peers weren’t there to do drugs, get the best Instagram, or to be able to say they “went to a festival.” They were there for the music—for the late night jam sessions, for the chance to consume 14 hours of music a day, for the enriching conversations, for the dancing, and for the freedom music gives people.

Music is a deeply intimate and personal thing, and when you a let a stranger into that part of your world, you jump right to the top of the intimacy pyramid. It allows you to see so deep into someone’s soul that you can know more about them in one day at a festival than some of their closest friends and most immediate family. They became my family, and I theirs—their smiles, conversations, and presence growing to become something I’ll always remember.

Every act I saw in one sentence, because it was a festival: The National played for two hours and their set included every single one of their coffee shop bangers—I mostly just made googly eyes at frontman Matt Berninger.

Mick Fleetwood kept touching and talking about his “package” and I felt my vagina dry up like California in a drought. Kamasi Washington’s double bass player Miles Mosley’s original song “Abraham” will change your life.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds were meh, but seeing a Gallagher brother in life was a pop-culture dream.

Kendrick is a baller and his set was tight, but too many people sang along when they shouldn’t have—if you don’t understand what I’m saying here you’re part of the problem. Jason Isbell closed the festival on my birthday and I almost cried because it was so beautiful, but also I was very hormonal and very alone. Playing for Change made me feel like I lived in a hippy commune, but in a good way, not a Home and Away circa 2005 way. Blind Boy Paxton is the funniest person I’ve ever not met. I would’ve had more fun shovelling shit than I did listening to Graham Nash’s lengthy anecdotes. Cold War Kids frontman is a bae. The better half of UB40 touring the world right now are great to dance to while tanked up on Gordon’s Gin & Tonics. Steve Earle confirmed that I was infact my

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Leo Langridge @blakstaks

Got lemonade?

Faith Wilson

or “Lemonade” are mentioned—usually followed by a diatribe of some regurgitated crap about political wokeness and black lives matter by people who know fuck all about it—is, in my opinion, annoying as hell, and shows the effects of the gentrification of hip-hop and RnB culture.

The gentrification of hip-hop—its commodification into mainstream white culture—is a difficult subject to approach. Can anyone own something as nebulous as culture; can something then be stolen if it was never owned in the first place? Is appropriation wrong if those doing it mean well, if they’re doing it out of a place of respect? And then when commenting on this topic, who can meaningfully speak about it? Whose say is more important? Can someone of the colonising culture have a say? These are all open ended questions, ones that I don’t

When Beyoncé’s Lemonade dropped a couple of weeks ago, white girls the world over fizzed their Elle Macpherson panties. Finally, their political ‘wokeness’ was legitimised by the Queen herself. Beyoncé has become the conduit between the politically charged African-American artists, whose work could be deemed by the mainstream as ‘polarising’ (such as Killer Mike), and the hip-hop loving, radical wannabes whose engagement with racial politics is troubled by their ability to speak about such things as non-people of colour (POC). This pisses me off.

I have my own opinions on Beyoncé’s ‘awakening’ but that isn’t the point of this piece. It’s not up to me, or anyone for that matter, to police a woman of colour’s personal awakening, whether genuine or fabricated. It’s just that having to witness every second middle-class white girl practically cum whenever the words “Beyoncé”

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So it’s not cool to like Iggy Azalea or Macklemore anymore, but Kendrick is ‘lit’ right? Hate on Kylie Jenner for wearing braids, but ‘fam’, Beyoncé’s are kosher, aye? Many of the young white population seem to be occupying a schizophrenic state of mind right now, and it’s a phenomenon that is as intriguing as it is disturbing.

What concerns me the most is that on the one hand it’s all very superficial, but on another hand, it appears that the concern and engagement with African-American politics is, in-as-much as this word has any gumption these days, genuine. It’s as if this generation has no ability to look outside of themselves and see the contradiction that they inhabit. That the causes they are so concerned with they are also complicit in.

What disturbs me the most when I think about the gentrification and commodification of hip-hop is that it is literally becoming just another commodity of colonialist, capitalist white culture. If there were a mutual cultural exchange happening, or some other method of maintaining the power of the thing being appropriated intact, or if it wasn’t being used for sales or public image, then maybe this could be a different conversation. But mutual exchange is dependent on both parties being equal, and the white majority versus the black minority is far from equal.

I am not saying that white people can’t like hip-hop, I’m not even saying that you shouldn’t wear braids in your hair—but understand your position in this system. Don’t claim wokeness when you don’t even know what it’s like to have your culture ripped from you and turned into a commodity, when every year at the Grammys a white person wins a hip-hop award.

If this is hard to hear, think about the multitudes of cultures who have been victims of their precious culture turned into colonialism’s play things. If you’re white, you can decolonise your mind. If you’re brown or black or whatever, you can decolonise your mind. We’re all complicit in this to a certain degree. You can still appreciate other cultures, you can still listen to hip-hop.

Understand that the process of decolonisation means first assessing your place of privilege in the world. It means dismantling the ideas you’ve accepted as truths and if you’re white it means accepting that your worldview, the world that you’ve so easily grown up in, is not the only one. Recognise that it can and will be dismantled.

Beyoncé might have provided an easier version of racial politics to swallow, but when you’re sipping your lemonade and getting into formation, remember that for some, this isn’t a trend. If you’re really as woke as you say you are, then commit to decolonising your mind and your consumption of colonialism dressed as radicalism. Don’t go half way. Don’t add sugar. Suck that lemon and get used to the sour.

think anyone really has the answer to, but they should all be considered when a meaningful discussion of cultural appropriation is had.

Cultural appropriation commentary has been the shining star of newsfeeds, timelines, blogs and magazines (radical and mainstream) over the past while, so much so that the term “appropriation police” is hurled at anyone who dares write about the issue. Though not a new concept, it’s part of a wider politically charged movement from mostly young POC around the world, with a strong focus in the US, that seeks to decolonise the ostensibly sturdy structures of colonialism that are the matrix of the world most of us here live in. So I guess, if we think of it like The Matrix, when we take the blue pill, and (okay fuck) become ‘woke’, we see that everything is really fucked up and the givenness of everything we have come to accept is all bullshit. This awakening is happening, and bad news for white people… it incriminates them and threatens the status quo that their privilege is so firmly rested on.

Hip-hop as a movement was born in the South Bronx (the South South Bronx), New York in the 70s as the streetwise child of African-American kids. Hip-hop is more than just music. It has five essential elements (later to be added to by KRS-One in his song “9 Elements”): emceeing (rapping), DJing, B-boying (breakdancing), graffiti, and fashion / street knowledge (interchangeable). The Temple of Hip Hop gives cultural currency to these elements, calling them “our intellectual property [...] our capital.”

It’s not just music and fashion that people are ripping off when they appropriate hip-hop culture, it’s the mana of that movement that they’re leeching.

But, you say, just because the subsuming of hip-hop culture into mainstream could mean the dilution of the cultural elements from which the culture was born, it doesn’t mean that the mana or strength or power of the movement is any less to the people who care about it.

Sure, I say, in fact, it could mean that they’ll guard it more fiercely. But think about it in your own life. If there was something that you cared about immensely, that is unique to you, that gives you power and a sense of purpose and well being, and you woke up one day and there were people taking this thing away from you, relinquishing your right to ‘ownership’ or ‘guardianship’ of this thing. Those people take it because they like it, and because they have more power than you. But they don’t just take it, they also give it to lots of people, regardless of what you say. They make money off it, and even sell it back to you in a shiny new package, and when you speak up about this they tell you it was never yours to begin with: your special thing is now being worshipped for other purposes than intended, mutilated, discarded, treated like yet another piece of commodified junk. So yeah, you would guard it more, and you would fear for its well being, and you would grieve that it was taken from you, and grieve that the sanctity of this thing was not lost to you, but it was lost to those who might take something from it.

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Is Underground Music Journalism Relevant?

Rhys Stannard

During my lifetime the internet has rapidly and comprehensively replaced verbal discussion and physically printed mediums as the main forum for commentary and critical discourse on local music. The internet quickly became a place where the audience could interact with underground artists both directly and indirectly, and as a result artists began to articulate and design their own online personas. It has meant that in this day and age an artist’s persona and their artistic output are closer together than ever before in music history, and as a result these two aspects have become inseparable from one another. The positive side of the move to the internet is that it is easier to reach wider audiences and articulate your artistic intention. It doesn’t matter how fringe an artist thinks they are, as my friend once said: if you’ve got the kind of ego to make music in the first place then you’ll want other people to hear it on some kind of level.

Another side to the transition is that it has provided an environment in which an artist must politically occupy a space using a carefully curated online persona. It seems to me that artists are rarely criticised for their artistic credibility these days, but instead their internet personas are evaluated for how many Facebook likes, Bandcamp streams, and Lorde tweets they have accumulated. I doubt this is going to change anytime soon, music is such a personally ambitious undertaking, whether you play in

Rhys Stannard has been in various bands over the last few years, and is an active member of the Wellington music scene. He is currently a member of the band Kobra Club.

If you’re reading this and are unaware of local underground music or haven’t been to a local music show yet, then I encourage you to take an interest and support Wellington music. There are some incredible artists making all kinds of different music that deserve attention.

The Wellington music scene is as persistent as ever.

From the days of my teenage years to my mid-twenties I’ve been drawn into music and in doing so have opened myself up to countless experiences of enjoyment, creativity, and friendship. However, in a similar way to how we develop double chins, protruding jowls, and unsettling folds during the ageing process, music has left its own imprint on my life—warts, creases, and all. My relationship with music has changed since my interest in the scene first began. The descent saw me go from audience member to performer, and eventually hitting rock bottom with forays into music journalism. And it was here, amongst a seemingly endless proliferation of glorified artists and three and a sixth star reviews, that I first started to feel confused, disinterested, and eventually, violently ill.

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is heavily influenced by 1980s shoegaze and post-punk.

The fact that it is more likely for journalists to attribute the legacy of Dunedin’s 1980s scene as a major influence on the local Wellington musicians is a shame, because there is a virtually unknown musical lineage that has been operating here unreported—and has therefore been unable to influence subsequent generations of musicians.

Another important database is the current Kick out the Jams feature of The Wireless. The documentation of local artists will provide a video archive from which we can make inferences about Wellington and the country’s sonic landscape: it’s visible musical progression; its continuity and difference.

For example, from my own memory the late 2000s/ early 2010s were dominated by bands such as So So Modern that carried their own distinctive and energetic brand of math rock, that was no doubt attributed to the success of bands like The Mint Chicks and Die! Die! Die!.

So So Modern existed amidst a resurgence in guitar music that was extended and altered by artists like Glass Vaults, who incorporated guitars although noticeably with an emphasis on slower and more melodic structures.

Simultaneously during So So Modern’s lifespan there were artists that characterised what is now being classified as the “New Zealand gothic” folk aesthetic, of which Seth Frightening is a notable example. Wellington’s Folk musicians alongside other noise artists (I.Ryoko and others) were also important members of the scene at the time, and contributed to an evolving change in the style of music. This period in underground music could be romantically referred to as when audiences started sitting down, but I mean this in the most literal sense. There is a parallel between the expectations of the sedentary audiences that attended folk gigs, and a hypnotic style of guitar rock music that eventually developed as a result of this trend in music culture.

This was followed by the emergence of electronic music, championed by Ian Jorgensen (founder of A Low Hum), which may have contributed to a resurgence in audiences demand for more energetic music, and therefore folk gave way to louder and more danceable styles of guitar music and electronica. A legacy my eardrums are still coming to terms with today.

It’s important to represent local music, to show the way it paves the way for artists to walk along today. Now, more than ever, we are at a stage where we have the ability to draw from a variety of online resources and we can properly give them the credence they deserve. We need to map out a more accurate representation of the music community by giving a greater degree of legitimacy to artists through constructively critical journalism and by recognising musical lineages that have preceded us. Due to the small size of the music community and the lack of resources at its disposal, it is unfortunate that the majority of the credit and legitimation given to artists is often the product of a retrospective review—sometimes years after the fact. I think that’s why it’s important for not only music journalists, but also artists themselves, to acknowledge and support one another as allies within a shared local music scene.

a group or by yourself, and the most successful artists survive on their own self-interest. I do feel that aspects of the local underground music scene can be improved and one of the ways in which we can do this is to develop a more critically engaged music journalism. The Wellington music scene is tiny compared to other larger countries like the US and UK and it is currently preoccupied with developing local music in a safe and warm environment.

The overt lack of constructive criticism is partly caused by an anticipated fear of drawing unwarranted or excessive attention to the journalists or the artists involved. But it is also because our music scene values participation and encouragement above all. Like any good gardener knows, maintenance of a plant requires first growth and then careful pruning of the plant to encourage the development of fruit. Metaphors aside, the current journalistic attitude towards music dilutes the understanding of what is good and what is poor.

Constructive criticism isn’t another word for shitslinging, it’s an important discourse that aids an artist’s understanding of how to improve and define their work in relation to other local artists. It also provides a degree of legitimation to artists if they have received positive critical feedback. If we develop an environment where music is discussed using valid and well-reasoned opinions then people will start to treat local music more seriously. This is crucial because artists are not currently treated equally among members of broader society. Music is regarded as a hobby in New Zealand unless you are commercially successful and the social identity of an artist still has the connotations of an unemployed moocher. If we want to change that we will have to be critical and demand representation with an authoritative voice.

One of the complications that prevents critical discussion being used in music journalism is the absence of a forum for it to exist within. For underground artists the main website in which to display your wares has until recently been Under The Radar (UTR). While we all have to thank UTR for promoting independent music tirelessly over the years, their ability to provided critically engaged music journalism is undermined by the fact that they review and advertise artists while simultaneously operating as a ticket service for gigs. As an independent company free from New Zealand On Air funding, UTR relies on advertising and ticket sales to continue operating, so it would definitely be awkward to give the latest Beastwars album a poor review after displaying full page advertisements for three straight weeks.

The other complication is that the amount of music being uploaded and promoted on the internet creates an ocean of information that can be confusing to navigate.

Helpfully, the accumulation of this information is resulting in the formation of several archives. Wellington City Libraries recently created an online database for Wellington musicians that dates back as early as the 1940s. It features many underrepresented artists such as Beat Rhythm Fashion, an excellent post-punk band that is described as part of Wellington’s virtually unknown “Terrace scene.” Beat Rhythm Fashion are a band that would easily fit into today’s current sonic landscape which 29

Single Sad Postgrad Sharon Lam

I Want To Break Up With My Thesis the blackest of magic it has lodged itself deep into my thoughts. Any moment of relaxation is quickly ruined with thesis’ voice. “Just because Tom Hanks is an architect in this movie doesn’t mean you’re doing work,” it nags. “You haven’t spent time with me all week….” But it’s never any fun when we do! When I feel insecure, my thesis does nothing to reassure me. It just sits there, as incomplete and lacking in substance as before—expecting me to give, give, give.

Honestly though, I should have seen this coming. I have commitment issues and even one month assignments seemed too long. I can barely pay attention to anything for more than five minutes, so the fact that I’m struggling in an arranged one-year-minimum relationship is not surprising, although it is miserable. Can you imagine dating someone on the condition that you had to date them for at least a year? Hardly any postgrads are married, yet we’re expected to remain faithful to our theses for so long. How am I meant to be academically available when I’m not even emotionally available? And you can’t even have sex with a thesis! I am banned from the library now, don’t try it!

I hope my thesis and I can work through our rough patch. I’ll admit I could probably sacrifice some time from Australian reality cooking shows and constant day napping, but listen thesis—you’ve got to start giving me something too. And tired eyes and paper cuts don’t count.

This week I have begun to completely lose it—sending insane emails to my supervisor, eating fortnight old rotisserie chicken, and bursting into tears after the last chocolate Wheaten—all because of a suffocating relationship I am in and cannot get out of. That relationship is with my thesis, which refuses to be broken up with. “You’re obliged to stay with me until February next year,” it keeps saying. “You should spend a recommended 30 hours with me each week.” As a strong independent woman the only thing I enjoy devoting 30 hours a week to is the Church of Me, so if my thesis thought it was getting that much attention then we have obviously both entered this relationship under false pretenses. What my thesis thought was: “she’s going to turn me into an academic and artistic contribution to the world.” What I thought was: “I’m halfway through my Master’s I guess I’ll try to finish it.” And now here we are, three months into our relationship and I already want to call it quits.

It was all so promising at the start. It didn’t seem like other academic relationships. No lectures! No group work!

No exams! Thesis would be different, it coaxed. You were a girl, now you’re a woman. Procrastination, creative ruts, all the problems I’d faced in the past wouldn’t matter.

We would love each other, and with our love we’d work through anything. Little did I know that my thesis would turn into the clingiest thing I have ever known. Through

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Reaching Out

Women's Space Charlie Hann

If you’ve been feeling extremely unmotivated to finish the rest of the trimester, you’re not alone. Someone I know once used being homesick as an excuse to get an extension on their assignment. Procrastination is not the best solution. Why not cope with the struggles of being away from home more positively?

For many international students the year end is the time we look forward to the most—going home, catching up, and eating home-cooked food. Let’s be honest here, there is still a long way to go for that!

Sometimes during the course of the study year we might lose focus or get caught up with other commitments.

You might go through the entire trimester feeling confident, only to be tripped up during the final weeks wondering how you let time slip by.

My advice? Stop thinking about the what-ifs and should-haves. In the weeks leading up to exams, plan your study. Allocate your time and make sure you have all your notes in order. Studying for finals is overwhelming. It is easy to get flustered with the workload and time constraints, but being smart and proactive ensures the most can be made out of your time. In my first year I put off studying until the last minute as I had no idea where to start. I crammed five weeks of work in a day because I didn’t know any better.

This might work for some, but aren’t we here for the learning process?

Remember to make the most of the services provided to us. Student Learning Services at Victoria offer individual help and organise plenty of workshops throughout the year to help you academically. If you are feeling down or lonely, head on down to Student Health.

There are plenty of people who are available to support you at university, including V-ISA. We will be holding an exam study tips workshop on the first day of Stress Free Study Week! This workshop is open to everyone, but will be particularly useful for first year international students to understand the examination styles in New Zealand. Methods of assessment differ across countries so we think it would be helpful to give you some guidance in tackling exams here.

Alternatively, come down to the VUWSA meeting room every Wednesday from 2.00–4.30pm to have a chat. We really do enjoy meeting all of you. Feel free to drop us an email at vuwvisa@gmail.com with suggestions and queries.

This column contains discussion around homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, mental illness.

The Women’s Group have had a safe space since before half of us were even born. But for some reason, queer students at Vic haven’t had the same privilege to a space where they know they’ll be free from persecution and bigotry.

The Women’s Room is awesome. Like, really lovely tbh. There are couches and cozy blankets; cute posters on the walls. There’s even a kettle and some teabags.

The space is designed to be separate from the rest of uni, tucked away behind the Hunter Lounge, so women and non-binary students can have a safe haven from the shitty gender-based discrimination we so often face around campus. We try our best to make sure everyone who visits the Women’s Room is super friendly, so we can all benefit from a community that will support and listen to us. You know when you really need a cry but you have class in an hour and it feels like the only place to go is a bathroom? The Women’s Room is really great for that.

In the same vain as the day-to-day misogyny that women students face, queer students are constantly dealing with being discriminated against.

They face day-to-day micro-aggressions, as well as more institutionalised forms of oppression. Despite campaigning by Uni-Q, the University still keeps trans students’ dead names (the names they were given as babies, which usually don’t match their gender identity) on their academic records and official documents, preventing them from fully living as the gender they identify as. There are a limited number of gender neutral bathrooms for non-binary students, which forces them to conform to a gender that isn’t theirs. Queer students also are far more likely to suffer from mental illness than straight/cisgendered students. A safe space, which would be overseen by Uni-Q, would ultimately improve the university experience of queer students by offering an escape from the bigotry and oppression they face on campus, as well as creating a supportive environment that helps queer students feel included and valid. In this space we could freely be our fabulous queer selves.

Despite Victoria’s liberal image, Otago and Auckland universities are already ahead of us and have queer spaces. It’s about time we get one too.

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Being Well

Token Cripple

Ellen Barg-Walkow

In-and-out of taxis Henrietta Bollinger

Why is it that we turn to sad, melancholic music when we’re going through heartache, turn up “Eye of the Tiger” before a football match or afternoon run, find the classical music station on Spotify when we’re writing essays, and listen to Beyoncé on repeat when are power-walking to the bus or fighting evening traffic in the car?

Music is a common and useful way to express ourselves. As humans, we experience a wide range of emotions and music helps us tap into what we’re feeling. Do you ever feel like you can’t quite find the right song to match your mood? If so, check out some recommendations below. Enjoy!

Who was helping you?

Was she your mother / carer / sister / aunt?/ Was he your father?

It is nice you live with your parents / amazing you live alone You are a smart / brave / good girl My sister / brother lives here but not / but also / our parents.

I came to study business / commerce / have a better life.

I go / won’t go back/ I go back sometimes / hope I go back.

Does your father like daughters?

I have sons. The bread is always gone. If I had daughters they would share with their mother.

A suggested music playlist to match your mood Feeling inspired: “I Will Remain”—Matthew and the Atlas; “The Stranger”—Lord Huron; “I of the Storm”—Of Monsters and Men.

Your wheelchair is so heavy / different / interesting.

You had an accident? / Were born like this?

I’m sorry.

You are a smart / brave / good girl.

Feeling sleepy: “Green Eyes”—Coldplay; “Shelter”—Ray LaMontagne; “Lovers’ Carvings”—Bibio

Why do you have this wheelchair?

I take other wheelchairs. Other wheelchairs are easier for you.

I was an engineer / studied psychology but here I drive taxis.

You saw the rugby / the cricket / the election?

At university in Korea I studied German too.

Feeling light and joyful: “Otis”—Houndmouth; “Simple As This”—Jake Bugg; “Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight”— Amos Lee Feeling nostalgic: “Coming Home”—Leon Bridges; “But It’s Alright”—J. J. Jackson; “Come Go With Me”—The Del-Vikings

Born‘n bred. They had cabs here in 1840. Horses.

You are lucky to live here.

This country is going to hell in a hand-basket.

People think talkback radio hosts are their friends.

You are a smart / brave / good girl

Feeling ready to work out: “You Be Killin Em”—Fabolous; “Little Secrets”—Passion Pit; “Hold You”—Gyptian Feeling sad: “Skinny Love”—Bon Iver; “Midnight On The Interstate”—Trampled By Turtles; “Don’t Wait For Me”— Josh Garrels

This is a Punjabi song. He sings he loves her more than the moon.

Do you have a boyfriend yet? Sometime you will find him.

You remembered! Nobody knows how to say my name, my friend.

Jesus / Stem cell research will change your life. They can already print you a liver!

You are a smart / brave / good girl.

That’s $29.90.

Feeling the love: “Fool For You”—John Butler Trio; “Work Song”—Hozier; “The Mtn Song”—Rayland Baxter Feeling relaxed: “Flowers In Your Hair”—The Lumineers; “Will Do”—TV On The Radio; “Intro”—The XX

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Brodie Helps You Figure It Out

Dr Feelgood

Brodie Fraser

STIs: Love bugs you do NOT want to catch

Wellington’s winter of constant horizontal rain and gale force winds seems yet to fully arrive, and I think a lot of us are finally starting to see the impact of global warming. I’d like to think that I’m doing my bit to look after papatuanuku, but I know I could be better. So here’s a lil list of things we can do to look after our lovely planet.

It might start as an itch or a rash. Maybe you’ve got some gross goo, or your downstairs smells a bit iffy.

STIs are common, generally a lot less scary than you think, and are usually very treatable if you get on it early. Even if you used a condom you should book a free appointment at Student Health with each new sexual partner, or go to the Family Planning clinics on Victoria or Willis Street and get check-ups (free if you’re under 22). Your clinician will ask you about various risk factors and give you the corresponding tests. Males will most likely be asked for a pee sample or swab, and females will usually get a pelvic exam or do self-swabs. It should all be quick, easy, and painless.

Buy a reusable water bottle.

Buy a good water bottle! Preferably one that’s not plastic, but anything that only lasts more than three uses is good. I have a metal one that’s secretly a thermos, which is the bees’ knees!

Stop using take-away cups.

Takeaway coffee cups are THE WORST. Spend an extra five minutes and sit down with your drink, or invest in a reusable travel mug. Lots of cafés give you a discount when you have your own takeaway cup.

Chlamydia Chlamydia is the most common STI in NZ. Most people get no symptoms, but females might experience discharge, bleeding, tummy pain, or pain when peeing or having sex. Males may get discharge or pain when peeing.

Garden!!

This one’s so important it deserves two exclamation marks. Gardening has so many benefits! Whether you buy a houseplant for your room, start a bee garden, create a full scale veggie patch, or plant a tree—you’re still helping the planet enormously. Growing your own food is cheap and good for you, and plants help to absorb nasty stuff in the air.

Gonorrhoea Gonorrhoea is the second most common STI in NZ. If any symptoms appear, they will be very similar to chlamydia.

Syphilis Syphilis usually appears as a painless ulcer which can progress into a rash, and more serious symptoms may develop if left to progress.

Consume less.

One of the easiest ways to stop producing landfill is to buy less. Less packaging, less unnecessary junk you never use, less clothing. The fashion industry produces so much toxic waste, so contributing to it as little as possible is fab. Op-shops are a wonderful treasure trove, and more and more independent labels are getting into sustainable fashion.

Herpes The cold sore virus causes herpes and is interchangeable orally and genitally. While some people may never get an attack, those that do will get painful blisters or sores.

It is only during an attack that a person can be tested for herpes, meaning that most people don’t know they have it. The virus cannot be cured but can be kept at bay with medication. It’s important that you have no sexual contact with your partners just before, during, or immediately after an attack, as this is when you are the most infectious.

Sex is fun, but you have to be careful when you’re exchanging bodily fluids. Plus it’s completely irresponsible (and gross) to keep sharing your junk around if you have one, or even suspect you might have one. Get to the clinic—it’s free for fuck’s sake!

Get into a thrifty DIY spirit!

Make your own cleaning products (vinegar, baking soda, and eucalyptus oil are essentially all you need), your own dry shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Also mend things before throwing them away!

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CLOSED FOR UPGRADE 7 JUNE - 31 JULY The Wellington Cable Car will be closed from 7 June to 31 July 2016 inclusive for the replacement of the electric drive and control systems and for the refurbishment of the Cable Car carriages.

A replacement bus service will operate during the shutdown between Lambton Quay and Kelburn via The Terrace and Victoria University's Kelburn Campus.

Visit www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz or call 04 472 2199 for more information. www.wellingtoncablecar.co.nz

The Arts Section 36 Fiction 37

Visual Arts

38

Music

39 Music 40 Film 41 Film 42

Games

43 TV 44

Books

45 Theatre

The Arts Section is sponsored by:

Thanks to Vic Books for providing copies to review.

Thanks to Reading Cinemas Courtenay for providing two complimentary tickets this week.

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Thanks to Gordon Harris for providing a $100 gift voucher for the centrefold submission.

Herne Bay

Tim Grgec

There were no questions, just a careful click of the door. Shut up, we can’t wake them!

She held my hand in the blue-black: Fiction

prized paintings, antique vases— prerequisites for any Dio Girl.

The night spilled carelessly in lines along her skin; I was far from home.

Salient wants your words to fill this page. Email your submission to editor@salient.org.nz Word limit - 800 words

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Set my breath free

Lucy Wardle

Stefan Riebel BEING EVERYWHERE / balloon in cardboard box / 2016 (BEINGEVERYWHERE.NET)

Are we ready for this?

Order your balloon from here: beingeverywhere.net

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Visual Arts

There was an industrial lift that provided another entrance to the studio for the artists. It was open so I wandered in. On the floor, in the right hand corner, was the box. The lid was open and a white balloon rested comfortably in bubble wrap.

BEING EVERYWHERE (2007) is a utopian space project

by Stefan Riebel, which involves filling a white balloon with his breath and sending it to people around the world.

When one receives the balloon, they are asked to destroy it in a place and in a way they choose. Riebel’s breath is released into the chosen surroundings and he will become present in that space; his breath will be set free.

All these works travelled from Berlin to New Zealand, sent digitally or via mail. The lift is a feature that references travel and how the exchange of art, ideas, conversations, and even breath, can manifest a connection beyond a physical platform.

Post-opening the balloon was set free. It playfully bounced around the studio and at this moment I began to fear for it. I observed my surroundings. I had my eye on the balloon, on other people, and on objects and potential hazards. I cared for the balloon like a dear friend. It was vulnerable as it floated, bouncing off people’s heads and being caught by others. Be careful please! Why did I feel like I needed to protect the balloon? The whole idea is to destroy it, to release the breath that is kept inside.

By nature we know it will eventually deflate, yet at any unexpected moment the balloon might pop—with or without intention.

I had been anticipating this moment for a long time. Ever since I saw the unopened box in her bedroom—I could not contain my excitement. I knew what was inside, but I had to wait two weeks until I could see it.

It was the opening night of freunde sind künstler, a group show of ten Berlin-based artists. It was held in a studio above Pyramid Club, and looked after and curated by my friend and artist—Jordana Bragg.

Following a long, pale blue corridor, the sound of murmuring voices led me towards a narrow staircase.

Entering the room, the space was filled with hot bodies.

Everyone had their eyes on everyone. I saw familiar faces and smiled at a few.

I noticed how my body felt in the space. The low ceiling brought my attention to the ground. Two upturned analogue television sets, one resting on a blue milk crate, first caught my eye. Brushing shoulders with many, I eagerly leant over and watched water turn and unfold.

I spent a while there, mesmerized by the waves and motions. The water soon turned into ice, puffy white clouds billowing in and out.

As I stepped away I needed some room to breathe, even if that was to go to the bathroom or have a cigarette downstairs—I knew I’d be here for a while.

The space was confined, but only because it had been divided into two rooms. A hanging cage-like fence separated a quarter of the room from the collective shared space. This structure was also used as a mechanism to display series of photographs. The studio itself was large, with a collection of accidental assemblages such as broom on ohp, plywood rests on paint buckets, and trash behind glass wall. The carpet too was an interesting feature. Its outdated beige and green repetitive triangular pattern consumed the floor. I was kind of into it.

Is there a Future for the Major Label?

Music

Review by Jack Woodbury

When you gamble, your prerogative is to win. When you bet on a horse, you base your decision on history. If ‘The Schlong Machine’ has won every race for the last three years (without injury) that’s where you put your money.

The music industry works the same way.

At its core the music industry is just that, an industry.

Music industry businesses exist, just like every other business, to make money. Like betting on a horse, a label’s prerogatives are profit and longevity; commercial worth over musical worth. Labels put their money on the frontrunner to minimise risk and maximise profit. As ruthless as that may sound, the sheer vastness of available talent makes this possible. If you were tasked with discovering and developing a potentially Justin Bieber-esque artist, wouldn’t you choose the most commercially viable option?

In many cases, artists hoping to be signed to a label must prove they have an established fan base, live presence, or existing base of commercially viable music.

The businesses are less concerned with talent, as they are with one’s ability to successfully market talent. Resources are also given in accordance with a musician’s ability to sell content. It’s for this reason that Kanye is given lenient due dates for his finished solo efforts, access to vast ranges of resources, and support from scores of talented personnel. After all, he can hit number one and earn it all back. It’s unlikely less popular acts would receive such favourable treatment.

This business strategy is present in other industries too. Its why Fast & Furious keeps getting shitty sequels and Deadpool took over a decade to make—film studios are also more concerned with generating profit with market tested releases. Still Mission Impossible 45 may provide the resources needed to fund an innovative new film project with an unproven target market. These ‘bread and butter’ films have their uses, they allow budgeting of

riskier films. Films like the original Star Wars: a low budget gamble which evolved into the rampant success it is today. The same goes for the music industry. It’s a ruthless ecosystem, but it’s one that has worked for decades.

The Record Deal It then begs the question, why pursue a deal at all? If you’ve already established a fanbase, a live presence, and recorded a selection of quality music, what can a major label possibly offer you? We have a culture in Western music of associating signage with success—look no further than hip-hop culture to see this. Bobby Shmurda, the mastermind behind “Hot N***a,” had racked up over two million hits on YouTube, started the Schmoney dance trend, and began work with hit-smith DJ Mustard all before signing with Epic Records in July 2014. In other words, Shmurda had essentially cracked the mainstream before he was signed. He celebrated on Instragram all the same: “deal is done @bobby_shmurda #EPIC no one does the underdogs better than me. Brooklyn this 1 is for you!”

It makes sense in some respects. Signage entails a sense of entitlement; someone with experience in funding successes is telling you they think you’ll succeed. One can only imagine that feels pretty great. Plus the label will take care of the administration and provide you with the resources to make your music! You can outsource the tricky jobs to experienced parties. Parties that merely require you split most of your earnings between themselves and distributors. Shockingly the Recording Industry Association of America puts the average label artist’s earning at $23.40 out of every $1000 of music sold.

You may also hand over the ability to veto your album structure and content to the label; they want to ensure its commercially viable—artistry is secondary. Not so fun now, is it?

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music. Piracy and bedroom producers are common—sales are beginning to matter less and less, and live shows and merchandise more and more. Is it very surprising, therefore, that Chance chooses to release music for free?

He bypasses piracy and sales, while spending his resources on acquiring a fan-base willing to purchase his tickets and merchandise.

Fan-base management is thus the future. Again this begs a further question: why remain signed at all? Take Drake’s most recent album, VIEWS. Selling 600,000 in a single night, it’s not unimaginable that the Canadian rapper could have achieved just as much without the support of a label. He certainly has the resources, influence, and talent to do so. By releasing through a label, he diminishes his profit. While the label provides many benefits, it’s just as easy to outsource these functions to less restrictive parties, with greater gain and freedom on Drake’s part.

It seems the independent artist is the Uber to the major label’s taxi. While it may take some time for the behemoth industry to be fully disrupted, there is certainly a future in which labels are no longer the preferred option for artists. Convincing arguments can be made for artists, both established or up and coming, to stay or become independent. Despite the possible benefits, if you can earn greater profit, retain artistic freedom, and maintain genuine relationships with fans, why would you not?

The future of commercial success lies in managing and taking advantage of diverse fan-bases and creating personal relationships with fans. Simply, a wall of business is not personal.

The Future?

It’s this fanbase cultivation and management that marks successful acts in the 21st century. The introduction of the internet and more advanced production technology allows anyone with a computer, an internet connection, and a roof over their head to absorb, create, and share

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Music

The Indie Artist It’s unsurprising that many an artist chooses the independent path. The term indie describes a party which has achieved moderate success without a label, or a party which has left a label to pursue music alone. This option is becoming more popular, look no further than the general population of Bandcamp to find thousands of indie rock artists. Chance the Rapper is a prime example of a mainstream, celebrated artist who has remained independent throughout his career.

Chance has never sold an album. That didn’t stop 2015’s Surf from being downloaded 618,000 times in its first week. He’s never been signed. That didn’t stop him providing a feature for “All My Friends”—one of the songs of summer 2016. He’s never been artistically restricted and he’s never had to share his profits with a business. He’s able to make a comfortable living on merchandise and ticket sales alone.

Perhaps most important of all, he appears infinitely more genuine for it. Chance’s marketing is grassroots (though now on a worldwide scale). To the average fan, he releases music because he wants others to share in his experience of the world. He releases it because he loves it, and he does nothing more than market it and hope we love it too. This implies, in turn, that label content is somehow less genuine, more commercial. While this isn’t a blanket rule, this prejudice is certainly present when any hipster discusses pop music.

Film

The Cabin in The Woods (2012)

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

Directed by Drew Goddard 4.5/5

Directed by David Lynch 5/5

Review by Benjamin Lister

Review by Finn Holland

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: a group of college kids decide to go on a fun getaway to a cabin in the woods except horrific, violent, and fatal events ensue. Of course the answer is yes, because it's a premise that has been done a million times and something writers Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard are painfully aware of. While it isn’t a new idea to poke fun at horror convention (if you haven’t seen Wes Craven’s Scream please do), Cabin in The Woods takes it a step further, not only by laughing at these conventions but by playing straight into their hands and embracing them as part of the narrative.

The most blatant and obvious example of this comes from our five central characters, with each of them fitting into a specific horror film character stereotype. As part of the film's narrative, the characters must die in a ritual that is very reminiscent of a basic horror film plot. The ritual must begin with the death of the whore, followed by in no particular order the jock, the fool, and the scholar; and, in the end, the last character, the virgin, may live or die.

The virgin obviously represents the famous final girl of the horror genre.

The film's narrative is pushed along by two “game-controllers” in an underground facility. While simultaneously controlling the events as they occur these characters are enthralled, entertained and at times titillated by said events.

While these are only a few examples of the great meta-­commentary in the film, The Cabin in The Woods stands out as an amazing horror film. It comments on the horror convention, and deconstructs itself in an entertaining and satisfying way.

If Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Interstellar, and The Shining all went to a pre-school together, Mulholland Dr. would steal all their crayons and send the lot home in tears.

Some may label it as crazy, while others regard it as one of Lynch’s finest works, but it is undeniable that Mulholland Dr. is an intoxicating liberation from sense, with little narrative order and several instances of temporal disruption. The film is about the nature of the studio system and the sycophantic fantasies of Hollywood, veiled in the story of one young actor (Naomi Watts) and their brush with fame and doused in suspense, psychological horror, mystery, and eroticism. You’d be forgiven for not realising this after your first viewing. After escaping a planned car crash on Mulholland Drive, Rita seeks refuge in a vacated apartment nearby. Betty (Watts), a hopeful young actress finds Rita shocked, confused, and carrying an unusually large sum of money. The two set off to find out more about Rita’s lost identity, becoming tangled in a interweaving web of character developments that eventually connect in various ways.

To navigate through Lynch’s complex storyline, he breaks the film into three sections. The first section—“Part One: She found herself the perfect mystery”—parodies Hollywood cinema style by way of grossly lit scenes and cringe-inducing dialogue. “Part Two: A sad illusion” builds on this further, introducing the protagonists realisations and continuing the film’s comment on Hollywood cinematic style. “Part Three: Love” is where the plot’s accelerating spiral of insanity hits fifth gear.

Upon exiting Mulholland Dr. one can only know that they have witnessed something disturbing, yet special. It’s the kind of film you watch and realise you will never be done pondering its mysteries. Alas, maybe the best way to sum this film up is to refer to the last sentence of its blurb: “No-one comes out with their soul intact.”

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Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen 2/5 Review by Henry Bennison I am a big fan of the Coen brothers. I’m also both a dude and kind of lazy, so maybe that isn’t too surprising, but I think that somewhere between the stoned giggles of The Big Lebowski, the dark wit of Fargo, and the sombre violence of No Country For Old Men, the brothers have tapped into a vein of cinema-awesome that everyone can enjoy.

So when I saw the trailer for Hail, Caesar! a few months back I was duly excited. It promised me an incredible ensemble cast, embroiled in a bizarre plot to keep hostage the star of a 1950s Hollywood production.

It looked fast-paced, beautifully shot, and as a Hollywood film about Hollywood I figured maybe there would be some clever meta commentary too.

After watching the full film I realised these impressions weren’t wrong, but it was so disappointing.

The story delves into the scandalous lives and dramas of Hollywood actors, beginning with Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin)—the head of production at Capital Pictures and a PR figure who tries desperately to keep the lives of the actors out of the press. However, his job is not an easy one. After discovering unmarried synchronized swimming actress Dee-Anna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) has fallen pregnant and big shot actor Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) has been drugged and abducted on set, Mannix’s dilemmas become increasingly complicated.

Meanwhile, singing Western star Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich) is cast in a period drama that is quite out of his 41

Film

comfort zone in an attempt to broaden his appeal. After discovering that he is indeed hopelessly incompetent, Doyle tries to break free from the role but finds he is locked in by a non-negotiable contract.

Hail, Caesar! has at least five great films going on inside it and you don’t get to see any of them. Take Frances McDormand’s (a film editor for Capital Pictures) role for example, I don’t want to spoil anything, but she’s great. Her character is idiosyncratic and fascinating to watch, and her scene had everyone in the showing I was at in stitches. But that’s all she has, one scene. She’s there, she has her shtick and then she’s never heard from again. What the Coen brothers have against Frances McDormand I don’t know, because clearly there was a whole story there that I never got to understand. All the subplots in the film feel this way. Underdeveloped, inconclusive, and unfair on the actors who so masterfully bring them to life.

Don’t get me wrong, the film is funny. But it is incredibly hard to make a film that goes nowhere feel satisfying. Maybe that could be forgiven if there was some perceptive or topical commentary on the film industry going on below the surface, but honestly, the brothers haven’t given us that either. Maybe the point they were trying to make with characters like McDormand’s is that films are made by hundreds of individuals, many of whom go unrecognised in the finished product? Maybe they were just trying to show us how complicated moviemaking is without boring us with the technical bits?

Maybe they just wanted to teach us a little bit about the history of Hollywood à la Trumbo? But I can’t say if any of those are the point because none of those are really pursued in the film.

The road to nowhere is a fun one, but Hail Caesar! is too loose and unfocused. For those of us waiting for the next Coen brother’s masterpiece, well, we’ll just have to abide a little longer.

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Transistor: Soundtrack Review “I’m so sorry, Red. They took your voice. I couldn’t stop them.”

5/5 Games

Review by Wellington Tremayne The moods of tracks are eclectic, combining both low and high-fi processes throughout the composition of layers which include electronically-generated and recorded material. There are elements of light and dark in every song, so that one gets a sense of Red’s current predicament in contrast to her previous role. In instrumental songs, elements are intensified either one way or another, giving a track a whimsical edge in relation to the past, or darkening the composition to signify the danger at hand. In songs where Red does sing with lyrics, music’s role as a vehicle for emotion is again revealed. The bonus track “She Shines” personifies Cloudbank, painting the city as a beautiful but watchful maiden and hinting at the control she has over her own residents. Conversely, Red illustrates the genesis of her disillusionment through the cool and fluid structure of “The Spine,” singing, “Just skin and bones, nothing inside… I see the spine of the world.” In “Paper Boats”, Red illustrates her determination by masking it in terms of a love song: “I will always find you, like it’s written in the stars… you can run but you can’t hide. Try.” It is evident that Red’s power remains despite her inability to speak, and that the Transistor soundtrack has been designed specifically to illustrate this fact.

Music serves its purpose eclectically and beautifully, emphasizing emotion inherent in the overall narrative and making the play-experience even more worthwhile. It is certain that Transistor would not be the same without the work of Darren Korb and the vocals of Ashley Barrett.

The soundtrack is available to purchase in full on Steam, Supergiant Games, and Bandcamp.

Step into the shoes of Red, a displaced chanteuse from Cloudbank—the iridescent cyberpunk metropolis in which Transistor takes place. The city is beautifully reminiscent of an art deco space station, a blue-green paradise that glows primarily with accents of white, red, and orange.

But despite its magnificence, there is darkness at work in Cloudbank. Something is happening to its citizens, and something terrible has already happened to Red. Her voice has been taken, but she is determined to get to the bottom of things. Thankfully, she has Transistor, the massive glowing sword she carries and uses to fight enemies.

Transistor’s soothing voice talks the voiceless Red through the game, helping to piece together the overall narrative.

The game would most certainly be lacking without him, particularly given his relationship with the protagonist. He has a technical and sentimental role in the construction of the narrative, and so his presence is integral.

However the game would also be lacking if not for the music and the role it plays in the structure of the narrative.

Like Transistor, music’s thematic role becomes a technical one in developing the mood of the game and in helping to construct the mystery of Cloudbank. The soundtrack consists of 23 tracks of instrumental and vocal works, though some songs are also wordless. These last are haunting, featuring only five vocals in various formats. The singer (presumably Red) hums and calls these wordless melodies alongside lightly cyber-fied electronic scores.

The wordlessness is symbolic of recent events, while the tonality seems to articulate Red’s fall from grace and her desolation in the face of tyranny. Despite this, the vocals retain a certain power that emphasizes Red’s determination and inner strength.

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Hannibal 4.5/5 Review by Katie Meadows

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TV

working from within the FBI to ensure his longevity as a killer, and deal with any loose ends that may arise and lead to his capture.

Not one to waste, Hannibal keeps trophies from each of his murders in the form of organs and cuts of meat, which he then serves to his unaware guests. The best part of each episode is these dinner parties, and you can’t help but smile with Hannibal as he listens to his diners wax lyrical about his cooking. The show employs a “culinary consultant” to advise on the proper preparation of these meals. The beautiful and mouthwatering montages of Hannibal’s creations convey the twisted respect the doctor has for his victims, giving them beauty and purpose in their gruesome demise. Hannibal’s success is in the elegance it brings to its brutal content, where a television adaptation of the source material could so easily have the taste of a Saw sequel. Madds Mikkelson is incredible as the titular antagonist, basing his characterization on Lucifer, stuck amongst the living and manipulating them into being their darkest selves. You root for him constantly, even when he’s cutting off ears and stretching corpses into nightmarish angels. However this is almost at a fault to the show as it becomes difficult to sympathize with or support any of the other characters, especially Will—who is given six dogs in a desperate attempt to make him likeable at all.

Running for three seasons, Hannibal was met with critical acclaim but fell victim to poor ratings due to viewers primarily downloading and streaming it instead of tuning in each week to watch. While it’s not an end to Lecter’s story, it’s disappointing that it wasn’t allowed to truly flourish. It remains a brilliant and devilishly intelligent show that doesn’t just blow other thriller television shows out the water, it murders them. Watch with snacks.

I’ll be honest, I would eat a person. Before you start subtweeting me, I mean if the opportunity presented itself as some kind of culinary event—like the year Hokitika Wild Foods Festival really ups its game, or when I am a member of the A-list cultural elite and at some $250,000 a head restaurant with Richard Branson and Soulja Boi. In 2012 Japanese artist Mao Sugiyama had his genitals surgically removed and then cooked, and served them to a select group of paying guests. Cannibalism is not a crime under Japanese law. It is where murderer and cannibal Issei Sagawa lives, having managed to escape life imprisonment through a series of loopholes in the law, serving only two years for murdering and eating a young French woman in 1981. He has since gone on to write several books and even make films about his crime, because ultimately there is a huge fascination around cannibalism—one of civilized society’s ultimate taboos.

Dr Hannibal Lecter is one of pop culture’s iconic villains. A charming and cultured cannibalistic serial killer, created by Thomas Harris in his 1981 novel Red Dragon.

Famously played by Anthony Hopkins in the film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), NBC’s 2013 series Hannibal brings a faithful but deliciously fresh interpretation of the character. Written as a prequel to Red Dragon, Hannibal is a forensic psychiatrist assigned to supervise Will Graham, a genius FBI profiler with the ability to empathise with psychopaths but with a psyche as fragile as those he investigates. Will is tracking a man known as the Chesapeake Ripper—a serial killer with a penchant for the theatrical who contorts his mutilated victims into pieces of art—unaware his psychiatrist is the very killer he is looking for. Fascinated by Will’s ability to understand who he truly is, Hannibal pursues Will’s friendship while

What Happened, Miss Simone?

Megg & Mogg in Amsterdam: And Other Stories

Author: Alan Light Publisher: Canongate

Author: Simon Hanselmann Publisher: Fantagraphics Books

5/5 Review by Cassie Richards

4/5 Review by Cassie Richards

Books

“Music is a gift and a burden I’ve had since I can remember who I was.”

Inspired by the Netflix documentary of the same name, this biography charts the tempestuous life of musical prodigy and civil rights activist Nina Simone.

Simone was born Eunice Waymon, in North Carolina, 1933. From a young age she was drawn to classical piano, with Bach a particular favourite, and formed her talent by playing in the Methodist church where her mother was a preacher. But growing up poor, and black, meant her opportunities were limited, until two women from the community saw her play and decided to take her under their wing. She began formal lessons, and later a Eunice Waymon Fund was set up to further her playing.

While her path to greatness may have seemed destined as a young girl, entering into the wider world had plenty of challenges. Simone was bitter at being denied entry to a prestigious Philadelphia music school, and in a way this shaped her whole musical career: struggling against the status quo, struggling for recognition, in a world that she deemed would not accept her for her blackness or her womanhood. She became involved in the civil rights movement, writing and performing protest songs, but despaired that no progress would ever be made. She spent several years in an abusive marriage with a man who was also her manager.

Simone is simultaneously classed as a genius and a difficult person, a diva who would often stop in the middle of playing if she felt that the audience wasn’t being respectful. Perhaps shedding some light on this, in the 1980s she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. This is a woman who came up in an era when, as Malcolm X said, “the most disrespected person in America is the black woman.” And yet, she gave so much to the world through music.

This book uses many of the same sources as the documentary, but is still worth the read if you’ve already seen it. Light has painted a full picture of Simone as a brilliant, frenetic, impassioned musician who has left behind a true legacy.

Most of you will remember the picture book adventures of Meg and Mog from childhood—a witch and her cat, along with their friend Owl, getting up to weird, brightly coloured shenanigans. Well, Australian cartoonist Simon Hanselmann has taken those classic characters we know from our most innocent years and created the debauched stoner adventures of Megg, a drug-addicted, depressed witch, and her sidekick/lover Mogg (yes, a cat).

Hanselmann, who comes from Tasmania, was raised by his solo mum, who had a drug problem throughout his childhood. He found solace from the chaos in comics, self-publishing his own from when he was eight years old. Years later in the UK, he first drew Megg & Mogg as a humorous reprieve while working on another comic.

It ended up snowballing into a larger project, eventually being published online and gaining a cult following.

This is Hanselmann’s second published Megg & Mogg collection, after 2014’s Megahex, and there are just as many drugs and bad decisions. Megg & Mogg live with their neurotic, more sensible friend Owl, sleeping all day, taking drugs all night, and generally living a really filthy lifestyle. Along with the incessant drug taking, there’s nudity, sex, violence—basically everything inappropriate for kids, and definitely some stuff that’s pretty shocking to an adult (Megg giving Mogg a rim job springs to mind).

Hanselmann has taken the classic stoner comic and pushed the boundaries even further—the result is lewd, absurd, depressing, and usually hilarious. The humour here won’t be for everyone, but some of it is truly inspired: in the eponymous episode, Megg & Mogg go to Amsterdam for some “couples time,” forgetting their antidepressants and ending up paranoid and miserable, forgoing the Anne Frank House for the Red Light District.

Whatever your reaction to the edgy, often disturbing antics of Megg and Mogg, you won’t forget these comics any time soon (cat rim job). Share it with your friends, stoners or not, but maybe not your little cousin.

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Theatre Virgin Review by Ophelia Wass

It’s a blustery Tuesday night on Courtenay Place as my boyfriend and I walk hand in hand towards BATS Theatre.

Actually it’s more like I’m dragging him along with me. He’s reluctantly agreed to watch a stand-up comedy show with me, and I am hoping to convert him into a theatre fanatic.

As we enter BATS I am warmed with the familiarity of this space that I know and love, but my attention shifts to my partner’s apprehensive gaze and I realise how intimidating it can feel in here. By the time we reach the bar, I have already pointed out three theatre lecturers, two tutors, and a woman I saw in a show on Saturday night.

He is bewildered by this society of people that he never knew existed and feeling both nervous and excited to experience theatre for the first time.

Once inside the Dome I flick through the promotional material for Laura Daniels: Pressure Makes Diamonds: Laura Daniels and we sit right near the front. As the lights dim, he whispers to me that he hopes he won’t be picked for audience interaction and I assure him that he’ll be fine.

This turned out to be an incredible lie. Murphy’s law insists that Laura’s first gag is to demand to know exactly who he is. He tentatively replies with “Mitchell” and she proceeds to drag him on to stage and force him to tell a “dick joke.”

The awkwardness of the situation is palpable and I resist the urge to run on to stage and answer for him. But he was completely okay, of course. Perhaps even thrilled with the rush of being on stage. The first time is always strange and awkward, but just like sex it gets better every time you try it.

It’s difficult to believe that in ancient Greek times, the amphitheatre was a hive of social activity not dissimilar to celebrated rugby games here in New Zealand. Every kind of person could be found at the theatre, not just practitioners and experts, and this is all apart of what made it such a fun and inclusive environment. After the show Mitchell is talking about the performance, what he liked/disliked and how he would have reacted differently if he was called up on stage again. Laura’s self-deprecating humour was endearing. She wasn’t afraid to make fun of her flaws such as her inability to pronounce the Welsh place name “Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndro bwllllantysiliogogogoch” and her drunken attempt to memorise this word on a long-haul flight was hilarious.

Being involved with theatre needn’t be as difficult as pronouncing this word, it should be a conversation that everybody can speak to and not this inaccessible “highart” that it often times becomes.

Moral of the story: take people to the theatre and make theatre that is inclusive of everybody.

MY SHOUT: Another Round at the Thistle Inn

MY SHOUT is a site-specific production, where performance, song, and interaction are generated from the history and atmosphere of the Thistle Inn. Director Kerryn Palmer describes site-specific performance as a way of allowing the past to resonate with the present. “Through using a site we awaken memories that have stepped into the walls of a site over the years. We also add to those memories by creating our own.”

Through ensemble, research, improvisation, and investigation, InSite presents a dynamic piece of theatre that captures the essence of Wellington’s first pub.

Journey with us through the different rooms of the Thistle Inn, for an immersive exploration of Wellington’s social history. Meet iconic characters such as Katherine Mansfield and Te Rauparaha, and drink in the singing, laughter, and entertainment as we pay tribute to this unique site.

What: MY SHOUT: Another Round at the Thistle Inn When: May 29–31, 2.00pm and 7.00pm on Sunday, 7.00pm on Monday and Tuesday.

Where: The Thistle Inn, 3 Mulgrave St., Thorndon, Wellington.

Tickets: $18.00 (*one drink of choice included*).

To book: email theatre@vuw.ac.nz.

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Theatre

InSite invites you to celebrate 176 years of community and change at Wellington’s oldest pub, the Thistle Inn.

Puzzles

Target goals

Made by Puck

Good: 36 words Great: 40 words Impressive: 43 words

Easy

Medium

May 17th 2016, Catastrophic heating failure at Te Puni Village. VUWSA to the rescue! Facebook campaign aiming to find blankets for the students started within minutes. One student exclaimed "It's so cold I'm wearing 4 layers and still freezing!"

Meanwhile, at my flat, comprised of third year and postgraduate students, 2 layers sufficed and many a laugh was had at the freshers plight. We live in a much older building with no heating and a constant draught, just to put things in perspective.

VUWSA's blanket campaign seemed to be of some success generating blankets for the "needy". The Science Society came to the party pledging $100 to the cause.

Shortly after however it was revealed Te Puni staff would be distributing blankets from the storeroom. Wait.... what? they already had blankets? on top of the ones on the students beds?

Well done VUWSA!! your contribution to the hysteria was a complete waste of time for all involved. Also well done to the Science Society, I shall investigate whether any of my fees have been misdirected in your direction tomorrow. Perhaps next time you make such a stir on social media it will be better thought out and a more worthy cause.

Although i agree that such a failure is disappointing given what the students pay to live there, let us not forget that it is still only autumn, there are far more needy people out there and much much worse living conditions than even Te Puni Hall without heaters.

Yours sincerely, A Grumpy Old Man

Letters

Hey Salient I realise this is super late, but congrats on your Pleasure issue. You guys mentioned you had a lot to live up to from the previous issue's success, but honestly I loved this Donut-covered one. The articles on sex and drugs were so helpful and insightful, especially for someone like me who is pretty naive. I love how honest Salient is (especially the interview from awhile back with Scarlett* the cam girl) and how many different perspectives you can get among the 40-50 pages. It truly reflects Wellington and how it's youth are/try to be open minded.

Anyway, thanks for being such a great source of info and humour each week. Good luck for the rest of the year, team!

Cheers Claudia 46

Contributors

About Us Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA). Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA). Salient is funded in part by Victoria University of Wellington students through the Student Services Levy. The views expressed in Salient do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, VUWSA, or the University.

Salient is printed on environmentally sustainable paper, and with vegetable ink, and is completely FSC approved.

Complaints People with a complaint against the magazine should complain in writing to the Editor at editor@salient.org.nz and then, if not satisfied with the response, to VUWSA.

Editors Emma Hurley and Jayne Mulligan editor@salient.org.nz Design and Illustration Ella Bates-Hermans designer@salient.org.nz News Editor Kate Robertson Alexa Zelensky news@salient.org.nz Chief Sub Editor Tim Manktelow Distributor Ella and Jayne News Reporters Olly Clifton Jennie Kendrick McKenzie Collins Siobhan O’Connor Alexa Zelensky Alasdair Keating Alex Feinson Kate Robertson Charlie Prout

Feature Writers Charlotte Forrester Kate Robertson Rhys Stannard Faith Wilson

Contributor of the week Roby Joy Eade - Faith Wilson - for saying what needed to be said about Beyonce’s latest album.

Section Editors Cassie Richards (Books) Dana Williams and Isaac Brodie (Film) Harri Robinson (Music) Ophelia Wass (Theatre) Ruby Joy Eade, Lucy Wardle, Louise Rutledge, Robbie Whyte (Visual Arts) Cameron Gray (Games) Katie Meadows (TV) Other contributors Laura Toailoa, Anthony Wanakore Jonathan Gee, Nathaniel Manning, Sharon Lam, Brodie Fraser, Henriette Bollinger, V-ISA, Tim Grgec, Dr Feelgood, Ellen Barg-Walkow, Jack Woodbury, Finn Holland, Henry Bennison, Benjamin Lister, Wellington Tremayne

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Read Salient online at salient.org.nz Contact Level 2 Student Union Building Victoria University PO Box 600, Wellington 04 463 6766 Printed by SMP, Wellington.

Advertising Jason Sutton jason.sutton@vuwsa.org.nz 04 463 6982 Social Media fb.com/salientmagazine T: @salientmagazine I: @salientgram S: salientmag

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