Volume XX – Otwo – Issue 9

otwo otwo

music

st. Vincent THE 1975 CAGE THE ELEPHANT film tv MINORITY REPORT what wins the oscars? games ALEX PRESTON INTERVIEW Octodad: Dadliest catch FASHION ucd fashion show street style

letter from the editors

What’s hot & What’s not What’s hot

What’s not hot

Facebook’s new gender settings

Campus flooding

Socially acceptable stalking website Facebook’s decision to include 56 new gender options for its users is the first ever winner of Otwo’s “Recognition of the fact that gender is not a binary concept” award. Users will be free to choose everything from “cisgender” (that’s you non-trans* folk) to “androgynous”. While the list is not endless, it’s still a step forward from the current system and will go some ways to helping young trans* people feel accepted. Plus, it’ll probably annoy the crap out of bigots.

Michael Sam

It has been a strangely positive fortnight for LGBT news, assuming you ignore the stuff going on in Russia and Kansas, of course. Ellen Page of Juno fame came out over the weekend, but the biggest coming out story has to be of NFL-hopeful Michael Sam. If drafted, Sam will be the first openly gay player ever in America’s most popular sport. As the reigning defensive player of the year in the best division in college football, it doesn’t hurt that he effectively laughs in the face of the “sissy” gay stereotype.

Nathan For You

Oh, it’s you!?

The intense internal loneliness of Valentine’s Day and the horrific weather are now behind you, after all you’ve got Issue 9 of Otwo to keep you warm!

We really hope you use this as fire kindle, and don’t sleep on/with the magazine. If you have to, please don’t look at the photos of our faces when you do.

Midterms may be approaching, but Otwo has absolutely no plans on slowing down, just look at what we’ve gone and made for you this fortnight!

Ever wanted to drink your way through Istanbul on bottles of Knockmealdown? No? Well our Travel & Beer page will tell you exactly what that’s like anyway. If that doesn’t screw you up, listening to the advice of Mystic Mittens, Foil Arms and Hog and @ tila probably will! (Maybe check out Orla Gartland’s column instead, she operates on a level of cool that we can only dream of.)

In the Games section, Niall “Firebender” Gosker interviews Alex Preston, the designer behind the indie hit Hyper Light Drifter which is set to be a pixelated dream, and definitely one to look out for!

Meanwhile, the dynamic duo of Eva Griffin and Karl Quigley review Octodad: Dadliest Catch and Loadout, with hilarity bound to ensue.

Within the TV & Film pages of this magazine, we bring you a feature that explores just how minorities are represented on the small screen, along with a look at the overall worth and aura surrounding the Oscars themselves and if they’re really the bees knees. Top Ten ranks the best (or worst, we’re not really sure) of the quirky women who conveniently help the male protagonist grow as a person. In reviews, Otwo looks at Stalingrad, RoboCop and The Monuments Men. As you can clearly see from our fabulous cover, Rebekah “Wolf of Wilson Road” Rennick had a Sunday chat with the immensely talented Annie Clark, who you cultured folk may know better by her stage name; St.Vincent. The 1975 and Cage the Elephant also stopped by to shoot the breeze, and we’re also excited to have up-and-comers All the Luck in the World featured in Radar. Otwo also decided to broaden its horizons and check out the Other Voices festival in Derry, but made sure to review albums from the likes of Elbow and Temples in the comfort of our own home.

Finally, Fashion this issue has an exclusive sneak peak at preparations going into the 2014 UCD Fashion Show, while also hitting up the concourse (read: Student Centre) of Belfield to bring you all the latest day-to-day trends in Street Style. And #winning or #binning is pretty much gospel at this point.

Forgive the kids, Jack & Steven

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If you’re not already on the Nathan For You bandwagon, hop on and drag your friends along for the ride. The American TV show, which is the brainchild of the hilariously deadpan Nathan Fillion, sees the titular Nathan visiting small businesses and offering his “expert opinion” on how they can improve. From creating a poo-flavoured frozen yoghurt to videoing patrons on the toilet, you’ll be shocked at what a man with a camera can convince people to do to their paying customers. Otwo highly suggests Nathan For You for you.

mystic mittens

Don’t get us wrong, we do understand perspective at this magazine and understand that UCD’s minor flooding incidents look like puddles after a drizzle of rain compared to the likes of Cork and Limerick’s (and all of Great Britain according to Sky News) flooding issues. Still, is it too much to expect that a new path (read: main throughway) at the side of the Sutherland building that only got its grand opening last November is not constantly flooded if a trickle of rain hits it? Same with the path that connects the Student Centres to Science and Health Sci. How does this minor inconvenience even happen?

Midterms

You made a pact with yourself in the first week of term that you would write up notes after each of your classes and that you would hit up the library every day of the week.

That empty promise of starting all projects the same week you got them also died quickly because, well, you still haven’t even opened Wikipedia to check out what the assignment is even about. At this stage, the best anyone can do is the bare minimum to get by. Use as few sources for assignments as possible and cheat all the way to a B grade; any higher is suspicious.

The UCD lakegulls

Every non-sociopath in the world loves feeding the ducks. It reminds us of a simpler time when Animal Bars were 15p, Caramel Freddos were just Taz Bars, and you could still eat chocolate cigarettes in pubs. But this is the real world (well, kind of), and so everything you once held dear must die right in front of your eyes. These are the exact kind of challenges President Deeks was brought in to deal with. Sort it out Deeks, this could be your legacy.

Aries

Libra

Best of luck trying to explain to A&E how that conch shell got stuck there.

Surprisingly, saying that a wizard did it won’t get you out of most situations, which means sometimes it is a valid excuse.

Like Taurus, you will also go back in time this week. Or you did already… never mind. You are very efficient with your time and use the fortune to download Flappy Bird before it is taken down from the App Store.

Taurus

Scorpio

A average sized pixie that smells very much like the urine of someone who only eats Sugar Puffs will help you go back in time. Well, technically they already helped you go back in time.

You can’t keep your true identity a secret for much longer. You walk like a duck. You quack like a duck.

Mittens knows who you really are.

Well, she knows you’re a duck at least. Go scare some Geminis.

Gemini Avoid the lake this fortnight. Not because of any ancient eldritch horror that might be awoken in its briny depths, but because you can no longer swim and you also suffer from anatidaephobia, thanks to a curse placed on you by an angry ex on Valentine’s Day.

Cancer Prepare for a big change in your life this week. Yes, it’s time for your annual change of underwear, a ceremony that will rival the opening of the Sochi Olympics.

Leo

THIS IS NOT YOUR BEAUTIFUL WIFE

If you stare into a tissue for long enough after blowing your nose into it, the patterns will arrange themselves into an elaborate tapestry charting your future. This week it will map out the no.17 bus route. Patent that, son.

Virgo The efforts of your fantasy Six Nations team will be thwarted by an unexpected technical error leading to England being replaced by Faroe Islands.

A selection of your players are now apprentices and bakers from Tórshavn.

Sagittarius Despite you swiping everyone you find to the right and receiving no matches, your Tinder profile isn’t broken. Who knew that everyone out there was just as shallow as you?

Capricorn So, your Valentine’s Day was a disaster that involved a lot of private browsing. Don’t worry, Mittens still loves you. Sorry, that was a lie.

Mittens is, at best, politely indifferent towards you.

Aquarius If the pharmaceutical company that has been sending you emails doesn’t know how to spell the word ‘Canada’ properly then you probably shouldn’t be buying viagra from them.

Pisces Mittens is trying to find the words to describe you without being disrespectful, or including a synonym of tasty. Oh my you’re a sexy, tasty fish. Damn. Although technically tasty isn’t a synonym of itself. Mittens wins again!

index 2 Regulars

——————————————— What’s Hot/What’s Not will keep you in tune with the cutting edge of the cultural zeitgeist, while Mystic Mittens has some fantastic news about your future! Not really though, it’s all bleak and horrible and may possibly result in your defenestration.

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4 5 6

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Regulars

——————————————— This is where you’ll find the most artful and insightful article in the whole paper, the contents. Also, in Soapbox, Ellen Murray tells you why living your life through the lens of an iPhone is bad and you should feel bad for doing it.

Travel & Drink

——————————————— Istanbul or Constantinople? Either way, Esther Shan Lin Hor gives you the definitive guide to the city where east meets west. Beer of the Fortnight takes a darker turn this issue as Cian O’Neill descends into the malty depths of Knockmealdown porter.

Games

——————————————— In reviews, the trials and tribulations of a cephalopod life are borne out in Octodad while Loadout offers more guns than you can possibly handle.

No really, it does. There’s also a juicy interview with Alex Preston of Heart Machine about the Kickstarter craze and his forthcoming title Hyper Light Drifter.

Film

——————————————— Otwo fails to follow the instructions of ‘don’t mention the war’, as Stalingrad and The Monuments Men get reviewed this issue. The verdict is also in on the Robocop remake. The hipster phenomenon of Manic Pixie Dream Girls gets ranked by Eva Griffin in our Top Ten, and Andrew Carolan investigates what lies beneath the glitzy and glamorous veneer of the Oscars, while Ruth Murphy looks at out how minorities are represented in television.

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Centre

14

music

19

fashion

columns

——————————————— In her latest column, @tila advises on how to deal with some unwanted male attention and what to do when you can’t remember what happened the night before the morning after.

Foil, Arms and Hog are also on hand to teach you how to be immortal...

Kind of...

Soapbox— iPhone Culture

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We may not be as far off from The Matrix as we think as iPhones are slowly but surely beginning to dominate all aspects of our lives, argues Ellen Murray

——————————————— Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) talks to Rebekah Rennick about the mysteries of the songwriting process, collaborating with David Byrne and the darker sides of the subconscious.

——————————————— Cage the Elephant and The 1975 join Otwo on the interview couch this issue (Disclaimer: a couch may not have actually been involved), while you can also read the latest on the new albums from Elbow, Katy B, Temples and Cage the Elephant. Your favourite student-written arts and culture supplement also gives you a glimpse of Derry’s fantastic Other Voices festival, Orla Gartland breaks down why Irish music is “bangin” at the mo, and Eva Griffin chats to All The Luck In The World.

——————————————— In this issue’s Fashion, we are happy to give you an exclusive behind-thescenes preview of the UCD Fashion Show; you saw it here first folks! #winning and #binning will ensure that you look à la mode rather than kitsch, and Street Style will make you envious of all your well-dressed fellow students.

culture

——————————————— Thought there were no more articles about Northern Ireland? Well you thought like an idiot, because Culture Woulfe revisits The Troubles at the latest installation at the Kerlin Gallery. Monika Sapielak of the Centre for Creative Practices also talks to Ian Mulholland about the fostering of multicultural art and emerging talent in Ireland.

fatal Fourway

——————————————— The gang battle it out to see who is the jerkiest jerk in the history of film jerks. Enjoy it, jerks.

Oh, people. Did Wall-E teach you nothing? Did those obese, jumpsuitwearing blobs of goo humans not make you realise the dangers of living one’s life through a computer screen? You may now be able to update your Twitter account on the go (luckily for your dozens of followers, ahem), but can your smartphone feel?

Can it experience love, laughter, that deep burning pain you feel when you stub your toe? Have we really prioritised the technology in our lives to the point that it will interact with reality for us? I mean, there’s a bit of ‘Socially Awkward Penguin’ in all of us, but we’ve taken things too far.

Exhibit A: Recently on a trip to Paris I was finally granted the opportunity to visit the Louvre and see Da Vinci’s masterpiece the Mona Lisa in the flesh. There is not a person alive who does not have the reproduced image of the Mona Lisa seared into their skull. From art books, to coffee mugs, to that poster you put up in your dorm room to appear more cultured to your roommates, that non-smile is inescapable.

But nothing beats seeing a work of art in person, right? Well it turns out nothing beats seeing the most famous painting in the world right in front you through the lens of your iPhone. Amongst the crowds flocked around the painting I became lost in a flurry of iPhones and even the occasional iPad, which is basically an iPhone only, you know, bigger.

With the amount of “Just chillin’ with my bestie! LOL!” selfies being taken by teenage girls of themselves with the Mona Lisa, there is undoubtedly a picture floating around some unassuming French teenagers Facebook page of me giving them the middle finger in the background.

But it’s not just famous works of art that are getting iPhone treatment; how about concerts? More so than a painting, a live concert performance is a truly once in a lifetime experience.

The singers may perform the same songs to another crowd tomorrow, but the same atmosphere, the same sense of anticipation, will never be able to be captured again. But screw that. We can now look at your crappy recording of fuzzy colours dancing in tune to the screams and swears of the people squashed around you.

Why experience the moment when it’s actually happening when you can kind of half-experience it again and again for the rest of your life? Or at least until your iPhone inevitably gets stolen in Coppers on a night out.

And when it hopefully comes to that, it serves you right.

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Foil, Arms & Hog’s Guide to Avoiding Death Thousands of articles have been written on healthy eating, the importance of exercise and even self-defence, but Foil Arms and Hog have to offer a universal one-stop-shop article to avoiding death wholesale

They say, “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

Well then, may we present to you this scenario: A man needs to pay for his medical expenses to cure his disease and the only way he can afford it is by skipping his tax payments, thus, he avoided death and taxes, or ‘daxes’ if you will. What we learn from this is that death isn’t certain at all and with the following six tips you’ll be guaranteed an eternity of good health and fortitude.

Boredom This is the silent killer. Never stand too close to someone doing electrical engineering, death by boredom is a very real thing. Even over-hearing snippets of an elec-eng conversation can be enough to maim the brain. Similarly, never watch the antiques roadshow for too long unless you’re using the app to bet on the value of the items, totally different experience.

Physical exercise This is key, but attention must be drawn to the types of physical exercise you choose. For example, while hugely beneficial to arteries and the cardiovascular system, running head-on into a moving train is ultimately counterproductive and should be avoided.

Other exercises to avoid include bullet chasing, volcano swimming, cliff falling and boules (see: Boredom).

Avoid horrible jagged or itchy tags on t-shirts.

If the stress of these unnecessary torture devices doesn’t get you, then the blood loss from their multiple stab wounds will

Shaving cuts While generally considered non-fatal, there is a report of a man in Peru who was so uncoordinated, that he shaved off his entire face. A fund was raised by his village to send him to the best hospital in neighbouring Argentina, however, upon reaching the border he was denied entry as his face didn’t match that of his passport.

@tila_da_hun Been dealing with da huns problems since 445AD… Ur resident agony aunt & Hunnic Emperor lol!

Don’t mess wit my girlos or I’ll wreck u like I wrecked da city of Aquileia . xoxo. Tweet me!

Heya Hun,

Any craic? I been seein this fella since d’other week.

De forum bar were givin out free shots at de traffic light party to any1 who’d score any1 else, nd dis lad already said he’d buy me a drink if I scored him, so it was like 2 fer 1!!! Ting is, I’m just not arsed over it.

How can I say that without him findin out I’m just not arsed? Will I just start wearin the shcaldiest wet look disco pants ‘til he loses interest?

Shantella xx

Howiye love.

You’ll end up lookin like the most bet down motts in Nandos if ye compromise the quality of yer jocks.

C’mere like, I wore me shite pair fer when we were hoppin’ on Flavius “Flavor Flav” Aëtius in de Battle of de Catalaunian Plains, nd dey just confused me fer sum meanderin’ gypsy.

Penneys disco pants tear to shreds aftr a minute, cost me de fuppin entire western Roman empire!

If yer tryin te get rid of him on de rapid, just stall it down to de Church of Scientology on middle Abbey Street and grab a few leaflets. Pretend to get mad into it, nd tel him bout dis new club called C.U.L.T. on Tuesdays nd he’ll be gonezo.

‘Tila xoxo

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Hi Hun,

Had a lovely Valentines wit de fella. We went out fer a fancy chipper together nd den headed down the local for a fat piss-up wit all de mates after. It was proper romantic nd cute! But I was swallyin’ cans all night so we were hooped by the time I got der. Can’t remember wat happened nd de fella hasn’t been talkin 2 me since… But from de way all his brothers nd friends r textin me, I think I mite’ve scored dem all? But how can I kno 4 sure? Nd wat shud I text dem all back??

Placidia xx

Story?

u ok hun?

Alrigh’ well first ting der is just txt dem all bak askin “wat u at?”. Try te scope out how flirty all der answers are, and work backwards. At least dat worked fer us one time after I got blackout hammered in Armenia. We were wreckin the place like a shower of bastards, with me neckin Heino de whole time. Cn’t remember a ting ‘til I woke up back home in de Hungarian Plains.

Apparently I started callin all de Sassanids pikies bfore tryin to score them all, only found out from de FB photos. Pieced together the txts nd found out I kinda cost us de war, so all I could do was pretend I was spiked. Just say there was a bang of rohypnol offa yer drink nd yer memory was gone, be grand!

‘Tila xoxo

Buddhism This is a sure fire way to avoid death, thanks to reincarnation. The only drawback of course is that you may come back as a shoelace; I’m not sure what the rules are.

T-shirt tags Avoid horrible jagged or itchy tags on t-shirts. If the stress of these unnecessary torture devices doesn’t get you then the blood loss from their multiple stab wounds will. “This is made from 50% polyester” Who gives a fuck?!

Addictive games Be wary of games such as Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies where you may find yourself caught in an I-can’t-stop-playing-even-though-I’m-hungry situation. Games like these have taken many lives simply by being over stimulating the brain beyond the need for food, water or relationships. Some individuals have even found that they had begun playing in autumn and only stopped because of a power cut in summer.

So there you have it, a completely comprehensive way to staying alive for ever. If you feel that we’ve missed anything then please let us know by email thelads@foilarmsandhog.ie

Istanbul—The Dos & Don’ts Whether you know it as Byzantium, New Rome, Constantinople, or Istanbul, the charm endures for this city on the banks of the Sea of Marmara, recounts Esther Shan Lin Hor

Beer of the

Fortnight

Knockmealdown Irish Porter

Photos: Cindy Chai

Do

cruise the Bosphorus Strait to see the world’s most amazing skyline. The old quarter truly is a sight to behold; with its cobbled-lane waterfront villages, oriental-fantasy domes and minarets. Across the graceful curve of the Golden Horn, Taksim beckons with its glass and steel corporate districts and haute couture boulevards. And while you are there, boast at being in between the two continents of Asia and Europe.

Don’t

shop at the Grand Bazaar unless you know the art of haggling.

Purportedly the world’s largest closed market, the Grand Bazaar is a labyrinth of stalls full of sweet treats, spices, lanterns, carpets, art, jewellery, and souvenirs. Many of the shops have the same items for varying prices so don’t hesitate to walk away if they don’t want to bargain. You’ll definitely find the same item a few stores down, saving yourself the displeasure of paying 50% more than what you can get with good haggling skills.

Do

make sure you are on your guard against pickpockets and try not to get lost when in the Grand Bazaar. The excessive crowds and aggressive vendors may seem overwhelming and is a haven for pickpocketing.

Don’t

use the public transport during peak hours. With a population topping 15 million, it leaves little to imagine if even only a quarter of that number attempt to get back home at the same time. Probably how the simile ‘squashed like sardines’ originated, with unwanted body odour. Definitely plan your timing wisely if you don’t appreciate the tight squeeze.

Do

visit Istanbul’s Galata Mevlevihanesi, or Galata Whirling Dervish Hall where white

robed dervishes, members of the Sufi Muslim religious order, perform their trance-like ecstatic whirling.

Don’t

pick restaurants that do not provide menus. They can be your worst financial nightmare by turning out to be terribly pricey despite their humble looks. On a side note, why dine in restaurants when Istanbul has a whole range of delicious street food which aims to enchant? Kokoreç, döner, durum, pide, lahmacun, midye tava, çig köfte, midye dolma; the list runs long.

Do

join the locals in a trip by a dolmus for an adrenaline rush. Likened to a high-speed ride in a stolen car, dolmus drivers careen dangerously around corners, change lanes while counting out change, and manoeuvre in ways you would not even attempt in a video game. You have been warned.

Don’t

ask if Turks can have four wives, if drinking alcohol is prohibited, if women must cover up, and how you thought everyone rode camels before you got here. All you’ll get are offended people with defensive answers like “this isn’t Saudi Arabia” that’s always followed by a long-winded monologue on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the republic.

Do

marvel at the jewel of Istanbul’s architectural masterpieces, Aya Sofya.

This one building stands out thanks to its sublime interior and historical importance.

When inside, close your eyes and imagine Byzantines celebrating the liturgy, Crusaders storming the entrance, Muslims in pious prayer and the secular Atatürk striding in to declare it a museum in 1935.

Don’t

worry about your attire.

Istanbul is very progressive and women can wear anything they want to, from burqas to mini shorts. However, do dress conservatively (long pants and sleeves) when visiting religious places such as the Blue Mosque; they offer cover-ups at these locations just in case.

Do

indulge in Istanbul’s world-famous hamams: the Turkish baths. A time-honoured Turkish tradition, it is a unique opportunity to savour history, Ottoman’s architecture, warm water, soap suds and heated stone platform all at the same time.

The most famous one is the Çemberlitaş Hamamı, built by famed architect Sinan in the 1500s.

In the dark winter months, porter really comes into its own as the perfect way to forget about the weather outside and relax beside the fire. This offering from Eight Degrees brewing in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork is the one for the job.

Brewed to resemble a Victorian-era Irish porter, its distinctive taste makes it one of the most popular Irish porters on the market. The brewers describe this as not one for the faint-hearted; if you think porter is a byword for Guinness then it is easy to see what they mean.

This malty porter has a very dark flavour, similar to the sharpness of a coffee, yet doesn’t have the heaviness that characterises many stouts. There is a hint of fizz, but not so much to be overpowering and with a slight chocolate taste if you concentrate hard enough.

Knockmealdown Porter is available in most off-licences and supermarkets in 330ml bottles, at 5% ABV. Best served only slightly chilled, this is a beer for those who like strong flavours, but can also be enjoyed with a good, hearty stew.

Cian O’Neill

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Octodad: Dadliest Catch

A prolonged gag on the edge of trolling, Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a ragdoll physics game with a stupidly fun premise, as hinted at in the playful title.

You flail about through mundane scenarios and fatherly duties made bizarre by the fact that, well, you’re an octopus in a rather dapper business suit.

Deceit is the key as this is one cephalopod who desperately wants to blend in despite his obvious lack of bones. Thankfully, his human wife and kids are blissfully unaware, but there’s a chef determined to chop him up into a “moderately priced sushi roll” and some suspicious suburban dwellers to contend with.

The ten missions that comprise the game are a series of everyday tasks that Octodad must complete without revealing his nautical nature.

Controlling his flimsy legs and useless noodle of an arm by dragging the mouse is the backbone of the game, though the protagonist himself is without a spine.

Dotted eye-lines of passers-by follow the bumbling mess as you inadvertently get the poor octopus tangled up in his own tentacles and wedged in awkward social situations. Precariously placed objects add to the monstrous task of maintaining his homosapien guise, but the real obstacle is Octodad’s limp body.

Evoking golden-era cartoons like Tom & Jerry, the shining element here is physical comedy. If the prospect of an octopus inconspicuously grilling burgers and mowing the lawn doesn’t elicit a chuckle, then the game will only annoy you with the intentionally imprecise controls and the wacky nature of the simple plot line.

A slapstick comedy recalling, but not quite emulating, QWOP and Surgeon Simulator, Octodad refrains from getting too painfully difficult, though it does present a constant challenge. Unfortunately, the chaotic charm of the gameplay fizzles out somewhat when faced with a barrage of stealth sequences towards the end.

The descent into traditional tropes such as predictable boss fights undermines the promise of a quirkier experience. While initially seeming to deviate from convention, this is still a game adhering to certain rules, albeit with a distinct sense of ambition.

Conveniently, Octodad is over in two hours, meaning that the amusement of fumbling about and the not-so-subtle references don’t have enough time to truly get old.

The story is endearing, though short and undemanding so as to maintain focus on the more complex gameplay. The ridiculousness of the plot can deplete any emotional connection available between the player and the octopus, but the trials and tribulations of an outsider desperate to fit in is touching.

If the attempt to warm your heart leaves you cold, Octodad is certain to make you laugh at its absurdity and cry with sheer frustration.

Eva Griffin

Publisher Young Horses, Inc Developer Young Horses, Inc Platforms Linux, Windows, OS X, PS4

Loadout

Developers Edge of Reality Publisher Edge of Reality Platforms PC, Mac If one were to mix Quentin Tarantino’s penchant for gore, an Austin Powers sense of humour, and Call of Duty, the result would be Loadout. A free-to-play, third-person shooter, Loadout pulls no punches when it comes to freedom of expression.

Straight away, the player is prompted to pick a weapon from four types: rifle, launcher, beam, and pulse. Each of these weapon types offers a different form of firing that varies its stability, firing range and more.

Further customisation is available in the form of stocks, scopes, different kinds of ammunition, barrels, and triggers. The player can name and customise their gun using ‘Blutes’, currency acquired through kills and completing objectives in game.

Character customisation is also available using three-base models, with most customisation options being available for purchase using real money. This represents the only major downside of the game.

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It’s possible to buy more Blutes using real cash and more customisation is available to those who pay. This system is sometimes referred to as a ‘pay to win’ but thankfully the actual gameplay balance rarely reflects this, except for an occasional one-in-ten game against players who seem utterly overpowered.

During gameplay, the player will witness the hilarious effects of explosives, electricity, fire, acid and more on the exaggerated forms of other characters and their own. A specific example of Loadout’s stylised over the top violence can be seen when players can be left without a torso, but are still given control for a brief moment to let their lonely legs run around squirting a fountain of blood.

All damage that doesn’t result in a death leaves behind gruesome injury, but the dumb smile never leaves their face. While taunting, one may experience a hail of bullets annihilating their character’s arms, but the chuckle worthy dance won’t miss a

beat. Death from a headshot might result in collapsing to the ground with a raising of the middle finger as a final gesture. No one can doubt this game’s well-defined sense of humour.

There are a variety of objective-based modes available, from capture the flag (in which the flag is a giant hammer that also doubles as a weapon) to scoring points by collecting bits of ‘Blutonium’ from around the map while killing the opposing team’s collector.

Along with the large range of gun customisation (with millions of possibilities, the developers claim), these game modes lend themselves well to the comical, often enjoyable gameplay.

Loadout isn’t exactly a top tier shooter, but it’s easy to overlook some of its flaws given its well executed free-to-play nature. It’s fun, overtly violent, brutally hilarious, and worth at least a few hours of your time.

Karl Quigley

A heartfelt endeavour Alex Preston, founder of Heart Machine, chats to Niall Gosker about the highly anticipated action RPG Hyper Light Drifter

For me, artist is a pretty broad term and I was a more traditional artist, but I consider my team members of just as much artistic merit as anything that I do

Hyper Light Drifter

In early 2012, a paradigm shift in games development occurred in the form of a then unknown service called Kickstarter. Tim Schafer, creator of several classic adventure games in the nineties, along with his company Double Fine, launched a crowd-funded campaign to make an old school point-and-click once more, something big publishers these days aren’t interested in.

They asked for what they assumed was a modest $300,000. The response was immense and unprecedented, with total fan submissions reaching over $3 million. Since then, more developers have turned to Kickstarter to help fund what would otherwise be impossible projects.

Among these great success stories, is Hyper Light Drifter from Heart Machine, a supremely stylist top-down action RPG that’s seeking to further solidify and legitimise Kickstarter projects as being able to deliver on promise.

Founded by lead artist Alex Preston, the four-man team was born out of a simple passion for video games. “I’m just a nerdy kid who loves video games,” says Preston honestly. “I never got a chance to make my own games.

“I was always screwing around and getting partners who didn’t really follow though so this is my first real game endeavour. Before that I was just doing freelance illustration and painting so, I’ve worn a lot of hats.”

For a debut project, it has come with an unusual amount of fanfare. “I mean, I think anyone is going to feel that pressure if they are responsible and empathetic and excited about their own project and want it to be received well. I don’t think any creative person wants their work to fail or isn’t anxious about putting out a good product especially when you have backers you know, patrons essentially.

“You always want to fulfil your promise as an artist. For me, artist is a pretty broad term and I was a more traditional artist, but I consider my team members of just as much artistic merit as anything that I do. They code and they design and from a mechanics standpoint that stuff in itself has its own kind of beauty, it’s a little less apparent.”

Hyper Light Drifter’s direct influences stem from two very different schools of action RPG thought, as Preston explains. “The main influences are A Link to the Past and the older Diablos II and I, it comes down a healthy dose of Western methodologies and Japanese sensibilities.”

It’s an intriguing cultural mixture that could very well result in something quite unique. The game’s remarkable first trailer, which solidified its position in the minds of many as one to watch in 2014, was rich in a very specific mystic atmosphere; something Preston insists is going to carry over to the game itself. This idea ties into the ambitious visual style of storytelling he and his team are attempting to execute on.

“For this game, it’s going to be unique in that it’ll be a textless and voiceless game. So the storytelling will be told strictly through visuals.” Preston mentions Miyazaki’s work and Pixar films as great examples of this approach.

“There’s powerful moments you can convey without the use of text or words and I think for me that leaves a little bit of mystery to it also.

And it’s more impactful in the end in some ways.”

Crucial in that initial trailer’s effectiveness was the Disasterpeace original score. “He’s one of my favourite composers out there,” says Preston of the talented musician. The two seem to be a perfect match; their distinct visual and audio styling blending together extremely well.

The name ‘Heart Machine’ has very personal connotations for Preston. “It does have meaning to me of course because of my health issues so that’s why I created the company name, it is a direct correlation to my experiences,” he explains.

This intimacy extends to Hyper Light Drifter itself, which is very much grounded in personal experience. “It’s a very personal project which is what makes it even greater that I get to make it and even more important that we’re able to convey certain things through it. That’s all I know how to write about really, are personal experiences or it’s all I really want to write about.”

The game is coming to a variety of platforms, perhaps the least surprising of which are PS4 and PS Vita. Preston is unsure at the moment whether they’ll be able to support the immensely liked cross buy feature, but he’s certainly a fan of it. He echoes the positive sentiment towards Sony that many other indie developers have spoken of in recent times.

“They really want to tap a vein of the games industry that Microsoft and Nintendo aren’t necessarily going after so hard. I think it’s a smart move and I think it’s a great initiative and I think it’s good for everybody as a relationship.”

Looking to the future, Preston insists that it’s too early to speculate on what he might do after Hyper Light Drifter although he’s enjoyed the journey so far. “I will say I love interactive experiences and it would be hard to imagine that I wouldn’t want to make more games after this if it’s successful in a critical reception sort of way.”

If the game does indeed manage to reach expectations, there’s every chance that Preston and Heart Machine might well be the next studio to find their names added to an ever-increasing list of indie elites.

Hyper Light Drifter is scheduled to come out later this year. To keep up with its development visit www.heart-machine.com

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Minority Report Looking into the representation of minorities from different racial and sexual preference backgrounds, Ruth Murphy questions how they are treated on the small screen

Television tries to show us another form of reality.

A world with similar people, similar roles and a similar society, but one that is more exciting than our own. Except sometimes television fails to reflect our society.

According to a survey carried out by the US census bureau in 2011, 36.2% of Americans are of colour. Can you name a current American programme where a third of the cast are people of colour?

In addition, it is generally thought that one in ten people fall under the LGBT bracket. In 2012, American organisation GLAAD estimated that “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender scripted characters represented 4.4% of all scripted series regulars on ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC.” They seemed to praise this percentage as it was a vast improvement on previous years, despite the fact that this clearly represents less than half of the LGBT population.

Is there some idea going around that including LGBT and coloured characters in television lowers ratings? Many of the most popular programmes on TV today are those which include a racially diverse cast including LGBT characters, for example, Orange Is the New Black, Glee and Modern Family.

The idea of LGBT and coloured characters is nothing new. Programmes such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena: Warrior Princess and Different Strokes have been showing diversity on our screens and getting good ratings for years.

Still, TV programmes are struggling to insert in their shows that one token coloured or LGBT character who is put there simply to make their programme seem more diverse. 90210, Girls and Pretty Little Liars all have their token LGBT characters whose relationships don’t get as much screen time as the others.

Often when only one character is different from all the others, that character seems to represent for that programme their entire race or community through stereotyping, and the programme may exaggerate what makes this character different.

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It’s ironic that token characters are put in programmes to give an impression of diversity when the character is often portrayed in a skewed, humorous way that doesn’t represent their minority kindly.

All of these shows had good ratings and were watched not just by the minorities they represented, proving that black characters can serve more purpose that just placating a community with air time.

More recent versions of this type have turned towards the LGBT community, particularly with the programme The L Word. This television show is somewhat successful, but unlike the black family sitcoms it doesn’t attract many audience members from outside of the community.

So it’s clear that there are lesbian and gay characters on some TV programmes, and they are being watched, but where are the bisexual and transgender characters? Also where are the LGBT characters of colour? Transgender people represent almost 1% of the population, but trans* characters are so few on TV that they don’t come close to being even 1% of characters.

Most transgender characters on television, of the few that are out there, are male-to-female trans characters such as Alexis Meade in Ugly Betty, Chandler’s father in Friends and Sophia Burset in Orange Is The New Black.

Are we more comfortable with these transgender people than others? Surely the story of a female-to-male trans person should evoke just as much sympathy. Bisexual characters also seem to get less airtime and appear less significant than gay or lesbian characters.

A programme may dedicate a whole episode to the difficulties a character faces when coming out as gay or lesbian as was the case with Santana and Kurt in Glee, or Emily and Paige in Pretty Little Liars, but when a character is bisexual such as Brittany in Glee it just doesn’t seem to matter.

Maybe the message is that bisexuality is more acceptable, but it seems unlikely. When we approach the fear a gay person feels when coming out, we should not ignore the fact that bisexual

people feel that same fear.

Luckily, in the last decade a lot of new, more diverse programmes have been created, such as Skins, Pretty Little Liars and Dexter. Unfortunately, the programme The New Normal, a show about a gay couple trying to adopt a child, was cancelled after its first season.

Is the world not ready for a programme where the most important characters are gay and want to adopt? Modern Family includes a similar storyline, but we must ask if it is more successful because the gay couple doesn’t always take centre stage.

It is odd that diversity seems in any way post-millennial, as Will & Grace and Sex and the City have featured many gay characters in the past who have been quite popular.

Is it possible that the only programme that seems to almost successfully represent minorities is set in a prison? Orange Is The New Black features many LGBT characters, as well as black, Hispanic, and older women.

The programme delves into the difficulties of Sophia Burset’s life as a trans black woman with a wife and child (the character is also played by a trans woman) and it shows in the main character, Piper Chapman, that sexual orientation is not always easy to define.

With there being so many of each minority in this programme, no one person represents their whole race or community, bar possibly Sophia Burset. Her loneliness shows clearly the lack of transgender supports available.

This programme is proof that LGBT and coloured characters can pull in viewers, but since it isn’t even shown on television and is instead a Netflix original programme, one wonders if it faced fewer barriers being on the popular site and what this avenue represents?

With shows like Orange Is The Black, Skins, Pretty Little Liars, Glee, Modern Family and many others, we can assert that the representation of minorities does exist in television, but more importantly, that it still has a long way to go.

According to a survey carried out by the US census bureau in 2011, 36.2% of Americans are of colour. Can you name a current American programme where a third of the cast are people of colour?

Awards not rewards With the 86th Academy Awards looming, Andrew Carolan explores the judging process, the politics and whether the Oscars really matter

The 86th Academy Awards approach, and with them a corner of dissent breathes a sigh. In a time of fast-paced, ludicrously saturated comic book flicks, a valid question is, do these tapestries of cultural insight matter anymore?

While one might hope that there is a place for less commercial, more indie films to thrive in the film industry; there is an increasing uncertainty among critics that the awards season serves only to reflect what the so-called artists of filmmaking make of the cultural zeitgeist. It has become, in many respects, a fickle tradition, which fails to surprise anymore as audiences are presented with a tired and calculated formula.

The Oscars, as they are popularly now known, began in 1929 and steadily gathered its clientele and categories over the succeeding decades. Since 1969, it has been broadcast internationally, reaching over 200 countries today.

It has become a feast for speculation, owing much to the trajectory of the zealous critic’s need for publicity among other factors. For example, it serves the producers and studios well; complementing the very recently released work with an in-built audience for those whose eyes dazzle at the spectacular “Winner of three Academy Awards” legend. It builds prestige on work, where previously ignorance lay. It is as practical as it is momentous.

The great divergence into Oscar craze begins in November of the preceding year, as nomination ballots name the films that Academy members feel deserve to be shortlisted. From there, a team are rallied together to announce the official nominees in the third week of January. Then begins the real vote.

The members, who number approximately 6,000 and consist of delegated actors, directors, and effects artists, among others, have until the Tuesday before the Sunday ceremony to cast their ballots.

They are largely able to vote in all the categories but have to affirm they have viewed all the entries for various others, such as Animated Short Feature and Foreign Language Film. Following the grand accumulation then, only two partners of the firm know the results until the night in question.

The ceremony is built on a platform of hype and it never manages to satisfy everyone completely; sometimes due to the tedious televised length. It is questionably a better experience when viewing a recording of the spectacle rather than a being a passenger for a great deal of what goes on Sunday, however, with the added incentive of live Oscars betting among the people you are watching with, that can be an incentive to stick with the event that can last up to three hours.

The depth of coverage of each category is meticulous, with precise formulas and calculations occurring on many blogs as to why so-and-so will or should win, for various reasons. Most notably, there

is a multitude of comparison to be drawn between the results of the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Oscars.

The last couple of years, for example, have seen the Oscars’ Best Drama rewarded to the same recipient of either the Golden Globes’ Best Comedy/ Musical or Best Drama (Argo and The Artist). This is not always the case however.

In 2011, The King’s Speech took home Best Drama at the Oscars, but failed to secure either of the Golden Globes’ honours. There is another method of calculation, which comes prominently to the face of Oscar criticism though; politics.

Patriotism has always been at the core of American consciousness and the Oscars make no exception for this. Remember when Michael Moore was cut off with orchestral music for ranting about Iraq? Remember when multiple films nominated last year dealt with American exceptionalism?

To take the latter case at hand, a number of interesting distinctions can be drawn. Lincoln was a movie that heralded a great performance of one of America’s greatest presidents passing perhaps their greatest piece of legislation ever.

Zero Dark Thirty was as much a tribute to the team behind Bin Laden’s assassination as it was a quasi-documentary account about what actually happened. Even Argo, for all its suspense and entertainment, dealt with national accomplishment.

In fact, Jimmy Carter, who served as President during the hostage crisis, noted that the Canadian embassy was not given enough credit for their contribution in the rescue. Still, the Americans were the big screens’ heroes in this picture.

Newspaper and online articles naturally picked up on this display of political favour last year. The Guardian ran a piece on ‘How Politics Won the Academy’s Votes.’ Willie Osterwell, of the AmericanReader.com, noted the ideological links drawn with many of the movies nominated.

CNN wrote that First Lady Michelle Obama’s announcement of the Best Drama category was, within this context, merely a “fitting way to end” the “political saturated” show.

Can the Academy Awards be bought then? This analogy appears simplistic, but given the brevity of arguments produced by so many these days, a hint of scepticism cannot go ignored. Who will win this year? This remains the most pertinent question for those captivated by Oscar buzz.

While there have been relative shocks and oddities in the past, it is hard to imagine 12 Years A Slave, Dallas Buyers Club or American Hustle going home empty-handed. They appear to tick all the boxes, being either heart-warming or spirited narratives of the American zeal. One ticks what it apparently the biggest box of all these days, however, the ‘does it have Jennifer Lawrence?’ box.

Zero Dark Thirty was as much a tribute to the team behind Bin Laden’s assassination as it was a quasi-documentary account about what actually happened. Even Argo, for all its suspense and entertainment, dealt with national accomplishment

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film reviews

Stalingrad

Taking place in the Russian town of the same name, Stalingrad brings us right back to what is considered to be a major turning point of the Second World War. Director Fedor Bondarchuk presents to us a battle of epic proportions while telling us of the dramatic lives of five Russian soldiers and their female friend.

As a film concerning war, Stalingrad opens with strong scenes of violence and we are immediately immersed in the brutality of this historic battle.

Bondarchuk, with the assistance of 3D and other visual effects, modernises this story from 71 years ago, and perhaps even overdoes it. The first few minutes of the film are heavy with unnecessary special effects, reducing the familiar zooming bullet to an unrecognisably slow speed while a frustrating amount of fire threatens to burn the viewers.

The high number of special effects is almost a perversion on this historical event and subsequently lessens the legitimacy of the film. The soundtrack is rather beautiful, but there is barely a moment without music, leaving no room for the audience to decide their take on the emotions and atmosphere of the situation.

As the story progresses, the film takes a swift turn and is no longer a film concerning only war; it now becomes a film of true internal purpose. An attempt is made to develop the character profiles, but Bondarchuk fails to do so with any sort of conviction and thus evokes a feeling of general dissatisfaction.

The audience are, however, given a glimpse into the past lives of each of our five fighters, namely Captain Gromov (Fyodorov), and their young associate, Katya (Smolnikova) who at 18-years-old has lost everyone she cared about.

Katya proves to be the main character in this drama as she elicits feelings of love in all forms from the men and, in turn, gives them a newfound sense of congeniality where they were once merely bickering brothers in arms.

Alongside the accounts of both the present and past of our six Russian heroes, Bondarchuk introduces us to Nazi colonel Captain Kahn (Kretschmann). The psychology of Kahn proves to be one of the more interesting aspects of the entire movie, as he falls for Russian beauty, Masha (Studilina), risking both his reputation as an officer and his own devotion to his country and leader.

Stalingrad reaches its climax in a sensually consuming manner and it becomes clear that there is a great deal more at stake than the clear cut definitions of victory and defeat.

Director Fedor Bondarchuk Starring Pyotr Fyodorov, Maria Smolnikova, Thomas Kretschmann, Yana Studilina Release Date February 21th

In a nutshell An ironically slow start to a film of speed and action, Stalingrad tells the story of the epic battle and the tales of hardship, honour and friendship that defined its participants.

Anna McGlynn White

robocop

Director José Padilha Starring Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael K. Williams Release Date February 7th

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It’s extremely difficult to watch RoboCop, the latest classic action film to get the remake treatment, without having preconceived notions of what it should and shouldn’t be, given how beloved and ingrained the seemingly intrinsic qualities of the original are.

Generally speaking, a good remake needs to carve out its own identity by making the right changes so as to justify its existence while at the same time retaining the essential aspects that made the predecessor a success in the first place.

RoboCop doesn’t succeed in either criteria. Yes, it has a half man half robot enforcer of the law seeking revenge and yes, there’s a morally grey mega corporation pulling the strings. Even the faux news broadcast segments are present.

Despite an effort to explore the existential and cultural issues such subject matter naturally brings with it, and in a more direct and less nuanced manner, it’s still a very restrained and toned down affair, lacking in bite. It’s all a little hollow, resulting in a film that seems to have been made on autopilot.

It certainly isn’t a trainwreck by any means.

Attempts at satire are grounded in appropriately updated dressings, with America’s millennial occupation in the Middle East and unmanned warfare used as clever ways to give narrative impetus.

Samuel L. Jackson sufficiently chews his Fox News inspired infographic surrounding in scenes that serve to provide the film’s humour and

commentary on modern living. On the whole though, they ring somewhat false, and are never quite as effective as their counterparts in Verhoven’s version.

Joel Kinnaman, best known as the shining beacon of excellence in AMC’s otherwise woefully uneven The Killing, is a good match for the role, bringing to it his own style, with a subtle swagger and the potential for a depth of emotionality.

It’s a shame then that Kinnaman and the rest of the generally solid cast don’t have more to work with. While the film does attempt to mix things up with a different implementation of Alex Murphy’s identity and family, it’s simply too generic in idea and execution to work well.

Ultimately, RoboCop doesn’t strive for enough newness, which would be fine were it not for the fact that what it does aim for has been done so much better already. Its rethreads are derivative, dull, and forgettable; in stark contrast to the 1987 original.

Consequently, it finds itself in something of a no man’s land, unable to make a satisfactory argument for its existence beyond reasons superficial.

In a nutshell Competently average and lacking in soul, a remake of questionable necessity.

Niall Gosker

The Monuments Men

Top 10 Manic Pixie Dream Girls 10 9

Sheeni Saunders— Youth in Revolt

There’s nothing like a pretty girl with an alliterated name to lead you into a psychosis. It’s okay though, because Nick just really wants to get laid.

Sugar “Kane” Kowalczyk—Some Like It Hot

Cute, sexy and sexualised, Monroe shines as a voluptuous, ukulele playing babe and unintentionally causes Joe/Josephine/ Shell Oil Junior to fall in love with her. Of course, even though he’s a downright liar, Sugar wants him anyway.

Director George Clooney Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett Release Date out now

With an all-star cast and subject matter that manages to be both intriguing and morally righteous, it is clear that The Monuments Men had been intended to be an Oscar contender. However, delays in post-production meant that it missed its original late 2013 slot and is only being released now.

Directed by and starring George Clooney, The Monuments Men is an unconventional Second World War film; a drama with comedic elements instead of an action film.

Loosely based on a true story, Clooney stars as Frank Stokes, who is tasked with leading a team of ageing art historians, architects and museum curators into occupied Europe in a race to recover stolen art before the Nazis can destroy it or the Red Army’s Trophy Brigade can seize it for the Soviet Union.

The film is decently paced and doesn’t drag, however, this is only maintained through considerable hopping about chronologically and geographically and a lack of developed character backstories.

Luckily this doesn’t prove to be a problem, as the cast’s performances still make the characters endearing, but one can’t manage to shake the feeling that this story might have been better suited to a HBO mini-series in the style of Band of Brothers or The Pacific.

Clooney is an able, though not outstanding, lead; Bill Murray and Bob Balaban have great onscreen chemistry and work well as a comedic duo, while Matt Damon also provides some comic relief through his woeful attempts at speaking French.

Cate Blanchett is very believable as Parisian gallery curator and French Resistance member, Claire Simone, once again demonstrating the great versatility of her acting talent. Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville and The Artist’s Jean Dujardin also add some gravitas to proceedings.

The most interesting character, however, is Sam Epstein played by Dimitri Leonidas, the young German member of the team who acts as both driver and interpreter. It is unusual for a Hollywood Second World War film to portray a German as anything other than a Nazi, so this is a refreshing progression.

Ultimately, The Monuments Men hinges on these enjoyable and sometimes moving performances, the film’s flaws could not be as easily overlooked if there were a lesser cast. The overall tone is never sure of how funny or serious it wants to be, while the ending is quite abrupt.

There’s also a certain old-fashioned feel to this film, as it shies away from the grimmer elements of war that have been a staple since Saving Private Ryan, instead following a more romanticised adventure of older men called into action in a younger man’s world.

In the end, The Monuments Men is by no means bad but doesn’t manage to achieve its full potential.

In a nutshell It won’t win any awards but it’s worth a watch.

Steven Balbirnie

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Giselle—Enchanted

Despite some character growth, she’s still an all-singing, allmagical girlfriend from a fairytale land. After accidentally falling into McDreamy’s life, Amy Adams proceeds to loosen him up by falling on top of him wearing nothing but a towel.

Claire Colburn— Elizabethtown

Kirsten Dunst stars as the dazzling ball of sunshine and the inspiration behind the term’s coinage in 2007. Brooding Orlando Bloom is powerless to avoid the charms of such a flirty chatterbox, hell-bent on making him embrace the mysteries of life.

Holly Golightly— Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Truman Capote would not have been pleased with the film adaptation of his novella. Casually promiscuous Holly becomes chaste, cat-loving Holly in the transition from page to screen. As a mopey writer, it was inevitable that George Peppard would grow lovesick for such an erratic waif of a dream girl.

Sam—Garden State

Zach Braff decided that stressed out, underappreciated white kids needed a more appealing form of antidepressant. The answer? Angelic Natalie Portman armed with a love for The Shins and a smokin’ bod. Depressed boys and dreamy girls are a match made in heaven.

Ramona Flowers—Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Big eyes and dyed hair; who wouldn’t face seven evil exes to win her heart? In another misleading comic-to-film adaptation, Ramona becomes a trophy for hapless Pilgrim to get his clammy paws on. She literally appears to him in a dream, and winds up being an enigmatic accessory to Michael Cera’s annoying face.

Penny Lane—Almost Famous Before flitting off to cast an MPDG spell on unsuspecting Moroccans, Penny Lane showed naïve Cameron Crowe the power of music. Well, that and the charms of an idealistic groupie dreaming of being forever young, which prove potent for a wannabe boy critic.

Summer Finn—(500) Days of Summer

With all her bug-eyed, vintage-loving quirkiness, Summer is the catalyst for gloomy Tom to start acting like a fool in love. To have your heart broken by Zooey Deschanel is a feat matched by none other.

A llison—Yes Man

While Deschanel is the cutesy queen of the trope, Jim Carrey’s character, with his yes-saying conundrum, possesses his own MPDG traits. The unorthodox pair join forces and rescue each other from a dull existence. It’s truly the meta manic pixie dream movie.

Eva Griffin

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St. Vincent’s Day With wild guitar skills and wilder hair, the irrepressibly talented Annie Clark chats to Rebekah Rennick about creative isolation, working with her hero and our online commitment

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That’s what’s so great about music. You can go to the far regions and dark nooks and crannies and push things out, throw them up on the wall and really look at them. With music you can go to those places in a safe way. Like, you can go into the darkest shit and you’re not in any actual, imminent danger

The philosophy of self-belief is one of the most powerful tools us mere mortals can possess and utilise. A vague concept to some, while to many female musicians today, it has revealed itself to be the driving force behind their tenacity and irrepressible confidence.

From Savages, Angel Olsen and Warpaint, 2014 is undoubtedly the year of the so-called fairer sex; who’ve been creating some of the most innovative, wild and courageous music we’ve experienced in years. And sitting poised on this reigning plinth is Annie Clark of St. Vincent.

Images of Clark ooze with a whimsical coolness and, with her newly acquired cloud of lilac hair, her dream-like persona is often tangible. The voice that greets Otwo on the other line is acerbic yet undoubtedly warm. “I just got back from church,” she asserts before falling into a quiet giggle confirming otherwise.

Her soft-spoken voice stands as a contrast from her punchy melodic inclinations, yet from the offset it’s clear music is the ethereal core of this art rock darling.

“Music at its core is honestly magic and my first experience of it was ‘Wow, there’s this magic to the world’ that made me feel emotions I didn’t have and still don’t have reference or words for.” She explains, “It’s sort of everything to me. If there was anything fit to worship, I would say it would be music.”

For years prior to her 2007 debut album Marry Me, Clark certainly had been, and still is, a dedicated worshiper to the world of music. From the youthful age of twenty, Clark had meandered from project to project, notably the symphonic rock/pop band the Polyphonic Spree and then accompaning Sufjan Steven’s band in 2006, building up quite the early repertoire.

Melody courses through her veins while her heart beats with the rhythmicity of a steady drum.

Her individuality is something that has inherently always been present, particularly in her artistic outlook. “I don’t really know another way to be” she explains.

“I’ve always just tried to make art that made me feel something or moved me or I thought was interesting because ultimately that’s all you have.

Say you compromise and you make something that you frankly don’t really like and you think, ‘Well, maybe the punters will get into this, maybe this will make me a superstar.’

“The only trick with that is that you’re stuck singing and playing music you don’t like or care about, even if you become massively popular doing that, it’s a curse. I don’t think there’s any amount of money or fame that’s worth making art you don’t like. It never occurred to me to be any different.”

While Clark’s previous musical endeavours may have portrayed her as being more comfortable in a group utility, it wasn’t long before St. Vincent became a powerful entity of its own. With her eccentricities and dumbfounding talent for a

plethora of instruments, Clark erupted on the scene with her twisting experimental debut.

However, it wasn’t until 2011‘s installment, Strange Mercy, that Clark truly blossomed. While themes of hurt and loss echoed through Marry Me, she opened her own emotional self in Strange Mercy; showcasing a more raw, personal side. To do so, the Dallas native underwent what she described as an “isolation/loneliness experiment.”

“I got out of town and I think that was the first record that I did the more Nick Cave approach to song writing where you just block out a big window and just go to work everyday; put on a suit and tie and just write and go to the studio for hours upon hours a day, just hoping something comes of it,” Clark explains.

The writing process is very mysterious in that it’s almost kind of strange that anything ever gets made

“The writing process is very mysterious in that it’s almost kind of strange that anything ever gets made. Sometimes you feel in the midst of it like, ‘Oh wow, this is really going nowhere, but I’m still here, I’m still plugging away’. That’s one of the things I’ve learnt, and it’s not to trust my subjective mind.”

Her thought process is measured and astute, often taking prolonged pauses in the middle of her sentences to pick up the jumble of thoughts obviously cascading through her mind and align them into something outsiders can interpret. She stops and starts, allowing one to wonder is it down to her personality or your own foolish awkwardness in thinking such a thing.

Following the raucous success of ‘Strange Mercy’ what her audience were unaware of was that, behind the scenes, Clark was in cahoots with the great David Byrne of Talking Heads. Much like Clark, Byrne is a beast unable to be tamed. His talent and vision, both endearingly askew, have made him one of the most influential musicians since the mid 1970s.

“He’s a genius, he’s David Byrne and he’s managed to make pop music, make accessible music that also involves the lunatic fringe. He’s not sentimental, he doesn’t look back, he’s always looking forward, hurling himself into the future,” gushes Clark.

“When I started making the record with him, with the same interface all the time we have a many years ago, I mean it was a long process to get hard time sifting through what’s meaningful and it here, I just had to pretend he wasn’t David Byrne. what’s not.

It reminded me of something I was told when I was a kid, when I was socially awkward and riddled with A cat with a really anxiety.

“I think it was my uncle who said, ‘Well, you know grumpy expression if you’re a shy person just pretend not to be shy and eventually you’ll become outgoing’. And it’s the is arguably, well not truth. I just did the same thing and pretended he arguably, is more wasn’t David Byrne.”

What resulted from this enigmatic mix and years successful that I will of email communicative toing-and-froing was Love ever be This Giant, a pristine album of madness. From record to live show, their skills moulded together into a choreographed piece of utter delight. However, just 36 hours after falling off the touring bandwagon with Byrne and their brass ensemble, Clark was back up on the horse.

“I think when you come home from tour, there’s always some sort of reality shock. You’ve essentially been out in a travelling circus and you’re dropped off to your apartment looking around wondering “Our brains lack the bandwidth to make that many why there isn’t someone to tell me when I should valuable assessments in one day. Also, the idea of eat lunch.” what fame is in 2014 is a confusing one because a cat Clark admits, “That was an uncomfortable with a really grumpy expression is arguably, well not position for me and I was actually only in it for arguably, is more successful that I will ever be. So, it’s about 36 hours, I just started writing because I just not the same thing it was thirty years ago.” needed to have some self-imposed structure.”

Continuing her successful collaborations with A master of transforming the banal into a twisted producer John Congleton seems an integral fantasy, Clark’s fourth album, St. Vincent, sees her ingredient to Clark’s creative process. “I think that there’s something that we understand about each embark on her darkest adventure to date. “I think other because of our southern roots. that our subconscious mind really guides us more “I grew up middle-class, and so did John, in Texas, than our conscious mind have us believe. surrounded by this very conservative, hilarious, “That’s what’s so great about music. You can go and sometimes totally backward land. We had to to the far regions and dark nooks and crannies navigate that. and push things out, throw them up on the wall “It’s one thing to grow up in New York with artists and really look at them. With music you can go to those places in a safe way. Like, you can go into the as parents and be a bohemian, but it’s another thing to grow up in the southern suburbs and be totally darkest shit and you’re not in any actual, imminent in a vanilla environment and you realise you don’t danger.” really belong there.”

One of her chosen singles, ‘Birth in Reverse’ is Although Clark confirms she “feels like a weirdo” a prickly sea of percussion that takes everything in her native Texas, she embraces and cherishes about an ordinary day and turns it on its head. The this obscurity. Inspired and strengthened in her line “Take out the garbage / masturbate” sneers individuality by Miles Davis. “He had said that one of at the banalities of our world which Clark peers at the most important things for a musician to do was “through the blinds.” to sound like themselves.

‘Prince Johnny’, meanwhile, is a dense, taught “I think that that’s true, it’s easy to imitate character analysis where it’s difficult to seperate because that’s how everyone learns, but to have a whether Clark is pitiful, mocking or enamoured by singular voice as a writer, a player, a singer; that’s this elusive Johnny. Meanwhile, ‘Digital Witness’ harder to do and I think I’ve gotten better.” takes a magnifying glass and holds it up to the Annie Clark is a gushing breath of fresh air whose social media lives we treasure so preciously for all intransigence ripes the sweetest of fruits. Be ready to scrutinise. for the intrusion of her world into yours because “Well, I wonder now that we know the NSA is spying on us, have we kind of subconsciously made with the tunes Clark has up her sleeve described as “totally fucking evil, it’s great,” you need to prepare ourselves more transparent? There’s a gnawing sense that we have in fact lost all privacy,” ponders yourself.

Clark in relation to the obligation we now hold for sharing every aspect of ourselves online.

St. Vincent’s new self-titled album is out on February “I wonder if a part of it is a defensive, reflexive 24th and tickets for her gig in the Olympia Theatre move. But I think the trick is that when we’re dealing on February 22nd are available from Ticketmaster.ie

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Making history Matthew Healy of The 1975 takes a moment to chat with Emily Mullen about beginner’s uncertainty and avoiding the fame monster

kinda started out of boredom, I guess. Hann came With a name dating back nearly forty years, up to me, probably about 15, and said, ‘Do you Manchester quartet, The 1975, are anything but old wanna, like, play drums in my band?’ I thought, fashioned with debut single ‘Chocolate’ being cited ‘Yeah, go on then. That’ll be a laugh.’” as one of the catchiest of the entire summer.

Healy fortunately dropped the drums for The band’s sound dominated festival line-ups and radio stations, while their pouting all-black get vocals, and the group avoided the trappings of the ups graced websites and magazines. They were the Mancunian musical legends in favour of the more exotic R&B and soul influences. The band became band that was on the tip of most well-versed of tongues. Following the release of the group’s debut increasingly “groove orientated’’ in the words of Healy. album, critics and public alike fell at the band’s The singer’s own formative musical influences feet. The praise and acclaim their self-titled album played an important role in influencing the band’s received was rivalled by none last year. sound. “My mum was big into Motown like Martha It’s hard to pin-point exactly why the band received so much acclaim in this age where making Reeves and the Vandellas, Kim Weston and stuff like that, while my Dad was massively into the good music is simply not enough to succeed. Many Stones, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, so that all argue that The 1975 have the look, the image, the played a part.” Indeed the “groove” that features so branding and the music to make it big. They are prominently on the record is highly reminiscent of a record company’s wet dream: pouty, sexy and these artists. talented. The 1975 are the entire package.

The album as a whole is hard to fault. It juggles Made up of lead singer Matthew Healy, drummer just the right amount of radio-friendly singles George Daniel, guitarist Adam Hann, and bassist with just enough experimentation to keep it fresh.

Ross MacDonald; together they make up the This ethos of using classic instruments with an traditional rock n’roll four-piece. experimentation of beat is proving to be a mean The delectable lead singer, Healy, spoke about recipe for the band. the band’s beginnings and highlighted how a want Healy’s personal writing process for the album for something to do with their spare time truly is something he wished not to divulge. “Well, I brought them together. “We met at school. We

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don’t really talk about the writing process very much, not to be perceived as enigmatic or cool, it’s simply one of the only things we have left that’s just for us.”

Healy was partial to explaining the musical make up of the band’s sound as a whole. “Our music is built up of syncopated loops and hooks, both vocally and musically. Rhythm is paramount and everything is treated the same way. Rhythm and flow precedes all melody; from the vocals, to the guitars, everything.”

Coupled with the festival successes and critics singing their praises for the last few months, such momentum out of nowhere and a sudden jolt into the limelight for the band must have taken them by surprise. Still, Healy seems keen to state that they were prepared at an early stage for what was to come.

“We’ve been together for 10 years, and it is that amazing juxtaposition of everything being quite intense and surreal and also quite nostalgic because we have so much history. I think we’re in a good place because we can really invest in our relationship with one another and we cannot panic too much.”

The strength of the band’s relationship means that they have been left unharmed from the ever

Our music is built up of syncopated loops and hooks, both vocally and musically.

Rhythm is paramount and everything is treated the same way. Rhythm and flow precedes all melody; from the vocals, to the guitars, everything

consuming fame monster. Healy believes that the band benefited from having songs ready to record and release before they hit lofty heights.

“All our records were written when people had no idea who we were, so we weren’t harboured with the things like, ‘Are we being too honest?

Are we doing things right? Are we doing things wrong?’ It’s kind of like people have embraced exactly what we are, so we don’t have to worry about anything, and all of the things that come along with it.”

Healy is no liar, the public and media fell for a band that was as unaltered in its ideals as the day they began. Neither band nor public had any intention of changing them, simply because they knew there was no need to.

The band that was started through teenage boredom has grown up, but the natural development of the band is apparent through the lyrics and melodic flow of their music. There is nothing, uptight or try-hard about The 1975’s sound.

Instead, it is this apparent lack of pretension that appeals to so many.

The looseness of their music, the simplicity of their origin, and the authenticity of their musical intentions allow them to be just the cool, easygoing band that the public has perceived them to be.

Rattling the cage Cage the Elephant frontman, Matthew Shultz, sits down with Sean Hayes and talks about television, Nashville, and the fear of releasing albums

Matthew Shultz is a reserved, unassuming character. He nervously plays with the ring on his finger. He graciously accepts the tea he’s been given, even though he asked for coffee. He pauses before carefully choosing his first words. “I think my father is probably my greatest influence.”

The composure and calmness that Shultz presents himself with starkly contrasts with the man who, just hours ago, stage dived into a pit of delirious, wild-eyed fans at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. “I always try to put myself back in the point of creation. So I can genuinely perform the song. I used to feel like I couldn’t stop moving and if I wasn’t moving, then it wasn’t a good show. So I nervously ran around the whole time, but now, it’s more about being transparent and giving honest performances.”

Cage the Elephant are evidently a tight-knit unit.

Shultz’s brother, Brad Shultz, plays guitar and their high school friend, Jared Champion, plays drums.

Shultz recounts his first encounter with Daniel Tichenor, the band’s bassist.

“Daniel didn’t even play bass at the time. His mother dropped him off and was like, ‘I just know you’re going to love him.’ He just showed up to our rehearsal space with a bass guitar and an amp that he had just bought that day and was like, ‘Can I be in your band?’”

Hailing from Kentucky, Shultz credits his youth and childhood experiences as influences in the band’s sound. “My father played in several Christian bands, but he had a tape stash of old 70s records that he would put on every once in a while. Me and Brad would sneak in and steal his Jimi Hendrix cassette tapes.”

Another influence, which Shultz believes is a credit to his writing, is his undoubtedly honest mindset. “I try now, more than ever, to stay away from music that’s just a hollow shell of aesthetic. To truly let yourself be vulnerable and transparent.”

He quotes Isaac Brock, of Modest Mouse, “Unless you feel vulnerable, and you’re slightly embarrassed by the lyrics you’re singing, you’re probably not writing good songs.” He admits that with this honesty comes a certain challenge to continuously push boundaries both artistically and musically.”

Shultz continues, bashfully questioning social norms. “Can I write a song about being tempted by my neighbour’s wife? You know, do I have that kind of courage? Because that’s the kind of subject that’s really going to give us a connection and mean something.”

Shultz appears to be winning this challenge.

Cage the Elephant have now released three commercially successful and critically acclaimed studio albums. When comparing these albums,

His mother dropped him off and was like, ‘I just know you’re going to love him.’ He just showed up to our rehearsal space with a bass guitar and an amp that he had just bought that day and was like, ‘Can I be in your band?’

Shultz sees a definite development and journey in the nuance of performing at gigs and festivals. the band.

“Festivals I love. Just to be given the opportunity to “I feel that on our first record, we just wanted win people over. Last night was great. to get out of Kentucky, get out of town and start a “This is our first time in Dublin and, obviously, rock band. With the second record, we were like, people are unfamiliar with the music. So you ‘I’d really like to get outside the box’, and not be start playing and you start to see the first fruits of so tied down by genre. And I think, on this record, interest. And as the performance goes on, it starts to capture momentum. It’s incredible.”

Melophobia, this album is more ourselves than any Another topic that gets Shultz excited is talking album we ever did.” about new and upcoming bands. He starts listing Melophobia is an ironic and yet, strangely apt bands with strange and obscure names, from title for a third release, as Shultz reveals a fear Fly Golden Eagle to Diarrhea Planet. “Nashville is within himself when releasing new music. “It’s incredible. There’s something amazing happening in hard, you put your heart and your soul into Nashville right now. something and you put it out on the chopping “I mean, its energy that you can almost physically block and see what happens. It gets harder to feel. It’s almost tangible. In recent years, the do every single time. Every album. Every single Black Keys, the White Stripes, Alabama Shakes, aspect. You make the record and then, just to let transplanted to Nashville just to soak up the creative go of it is gruelling.”

Performing on television is yet another challenge juices.”

Looking forward, Shultz explained his own that Shultz has overcome. “Television is very scary. optimism for the coming years. “Hopefully we’ll It’s like some kind of freakish, foreign, alien thing. just continue to make records. Our goal is always to The red light comes on and this camera comes into strive for honesty and transparency and to be great your face. There’s nothing that feels more intrusive communicators, to take risks and push forward.” than that. They’re strange experiences.”

Whatever juices Cage the Elephant are soaking With the amount of fear and anxiety that Shultz up out in Nashville, it’s most definitely paying off expresses, one could be forgiven for asking, why and giving them that unique edge that makes all does he put himself out there in the first place? the difference.

It suddenly becomes clear, when he talks about

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Other Voices, other world Creating a world of escapism for musicians and music lovers alike since 2002, Rebekah Rennick recently took a trip to Derry to indulge in the world of Other Voices

They say music has medicinal properties. It garners the ability to heal the most searing of emotional wounds, allowing the listener to escape from harsh truths, to share them with their chosen musician, and escape into another dimension completely. If that is the case, Other Voices is the purest distributor of this most empowering musical high.

Since its inception in 2002 among the quiet streets of Dingle, the annual gathering has become a tenaciously unique festival experience, allowing an array of artists and cultural enthusiasts to mingle and enjoy the very essence of music for one special weekend.

From Villagers, Mogwai, Damien Dempsey, and even the late Amy Winehouse, Other Voices has become an irrepressibly well sought after experience for both music merchant and audience.

After being crowned the city of culture last year, the people of Derry warmly opened their gates to create a new setting for musician, broadcaster and Other Voices’ executive producer Philip King’s vision.

Although lacking the bustling wildness of Kerry and St. James’ Church, the northern city boasted an iridescent excitement that hummed through every street corner.

Sitting amongst highly established music journalists, catching eyes with the brooding stare of presenter Aidan Gillen, and lounging in pubs with the knowledge that anyone from Bell X1 to George Ezra could mosey in the door and slump down next to you are some of the moments that characterise this otherworldly experience. However, the individualistic nature of the festival begins with the availability of tickets.

While anyone had the freedom to wander in and out between the city’s music trail or the cottage in the budding Culture Village that housed Jim Carroll’s Banter Lounge, the exclusivity of the festival lay in the recorded performances being streamed both locally in taverns across Derry and beyond on the Other Voices and The Guardian websites.

These golden tickets were the key to experiencing life behind the camera of the

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emancipating and somewhat career-defining performances of Philip King’s chosen participants; this year being Dingle’s own Walking On Cars, Little Matador, and the intense Glaswegians, The Amazing Snakeheads’, chance to shine.

Yet, as Otwo awaited the opportunity to bump elbows with fellow music moguls, what Derry truly had to offer showcased itself in the plethora of character-enriched watering holes on Friday night.

With the backdrop of Glassworks framing the performances of Belfast crooner Foy Vance and The Frames’ resident violinist, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, music was undoubtedly in the air. The colloquial twang entwined with an array of unassuming accents, and musicians attempted to fleece off their self-produced EPs as reporters skirted down streets to catch the next acoustic session. It was sometimes difficult to imagine the world not revolving around the musical endeavours of others.

Settling in Sandino’s bar for the night to catch the last of Bell X1’s performance, memorabilia from troubled pasts strewn across the surrounding walls, a cocoon of warmth and shelter soon fell on the place.

Among the nattering groups, heads pressed together in an act of social intransigence and others welcoming the next stranger coming through the door with a yelp and a slosh of their chosen brew, it was often difficult to catch Paul Noonan’s twanging guitar from the streamed Glassworks performance.

However, it wasn’t long before Derry’s own up-and-coming quartet, The Clameens, were tuning up and bringing the live session to those upstairs in Sandino’s. The four had their audience gormlessly lurching before they knew it.

Saturday morning awoke to bitter winds, but sweeter expectations. The first stop on the music trail saw country folk resident Declan McLaughlin fill the corners of St. Augustines Church with his strumming chords and cheeky quips. “Last time I was in church they poured water on me and slapped me.”

With the wind building and splashes of sharp

rain dampening even the most enthused, the Culture Village eerily resembled an abandoned movie set. Yet, it wasn’t long before Jim Carroll and his sharp tongue were grilling the likes of Colm Mac Con Iomaire, photographer/director of Frames: In The Deep Shade, Conor Masterson, Love/Hate’s creator David Caffrey, and The Guardian’s tenacious and outrageously stoic Music Editor, Michael Hann.

As Hann cringed and shuddered recalling his unintentionally deplorable interview with the infamously difficult Ginger Baker, it was a pleasure to see not all journalistic meetings go as plannned.

From quaint cottage surroundings to the Glassworks, the transition was seamless. With last minute lighting adjustments and shouts from the floor director, Philip King kept the audience entertained until the red light flashed and it was show time.

Walking On Cars opened proceedings with a flourish of feel-good sing-a-longs. Lead vocalist Patrick Sheehy wrapped himself in his own melodic world bringing character to some otherwise bland, lackluster tunes.

Their putty-like melodies were somewhat out of place in the saturation of toughened guitar and downright rock ‘n’ roll that followed from Little Matador and The Amazing Snakeheads.

While Snow Patrol’s Nathan Connolly’s newest project cast a sharp shadow dressed in black, oozing swagger, with banging anthems to match; Glaswegian boys The Amazing Snakeheads stole the show.

Snarling from start to finish, you felt it best to avert your gaze for fear to catch the lead vocalist’s acerbic stare. Outrageous intensity and shirts to match, these Scottish troublemakers left you itching for more.

What sculpted the remainder of the night was quite simply great music, fantastic company and enough Guinness to sink a small town. And from such a facile ingredient list, it’s quite easy to see how one could become an addict to this annual musical drug.

After being crowned the city of culture last year, the people of Derry warmly opened their gates to create a new setting for musician, broadcaster and Other Voices’ executive producer Philip King’s vision

album reviews

Cage The Elephant Melophobia

The word Melophobia translates to “a fear of music”, yet Cage the Elephant have proved that they ooze nothing but confidence on their third album.

Where rock music may have somewhat lost the ferocious grandeur of days gone past, this album is evidence that one can still complement the well-known basics with forceful production and a different frame of thought.

Bombastic in scale, with a capturing opening track, three tracks include a horn section, which help to deter the fatigue that can often weigh down the midsection of a record.

‘Black Widow’ stands out within this collection; infectious in its rhythm and vocals. ‘Telescope’ drips with a melancholic melody, uncompromised by the slow pace, while ‘Come A Little Closer’ showcases the overall mood of the album eloquently.

There are criticisms to be made, however, despite the album’s nature. ‘Take It Or Leave It’ falls short of what is expected at its point, with melody sacrificed largely for rhythm whereas ‘Teeth’, the irregularly long penultimate track delves into distorted nonsense towards its close.

Thankfully the closing track, ‘Cigarette Daydreams’, the most radio-accessible of all, acts as the perfect bookmark in this band’s career. Matthew Shultz’s vocals soften and an earnest quality hangs in the closing chord, leaving you wanting that little bit more.

In A Nutshell Interesting turns throughout the record, but it still stands above your average indie record.

Temples

Elbow

Katy B

Temples’ first installment is a record with bite. Following the vinyl sellout of their debut single ‘Shelter Song’, a ringing endorsement came their way from the irrepressibly quicktongued Noel Gallagher.

After a successful run touring among such veterans as Suede and Kasabian, the release of Sun Structures comes after a truly stellar year for this up-and-coming band.

Although they seem to be on an everascending trajectory of success, the record showcases a band who are unafraid to look to the past for guidance.

Powered from the beginning by rich, dreamy progressions, tracks such as the aforementioned ‘Shelter Song’ give the package an ability to transcend even the bleakest of days.

Borrowing melodies of pseudo-1970s guitardriven bands of yesteryear, Temples come out fighting into today’s versatile, bristling musical arena. Yet, rather than bringing the 1970s to you, Temples have indulged in their own fantasies and stepped right back into what is undoubtedly their favourite era.

With nuances of the Magical Mystery Tour ever present, in some ways one might accuse them of leaning too heavily on the cooing psychedelic-pop of the late-sixties.

However, the 12-track collection sees the Northamptonshire natives making the most of a vibrant tradition of ‘blue-sky’ music, while still providing a fresh kick of wholesome rock.

Six albums deep into their prolific and prolonged career, with a recent relationship break-up fueling their newest endeavour, Elbow have exposed even more of themselves in The Take Off and Landing of Everything.

Firstly, opening track ‘This Blue World’ is simply an indulgence in melancholia. The blue world they speak of is certainly one to be by-passed if at all necessary.

Guy Garvey has delved into newer territories, shying away from his typical power, crowd-surging inclined tunes. Throughout the album, drumming rhythms and patterns are seen, whether it’s simple and clean such as in ‘Colour Fields’ or infused with electric undertones as in ‘Honey Sun’.

‘New York Morning’ is cocooned in hope, resonating with a certain feeling of invigoration.

Its sweet and uplifting melody coupled with a refreshing instrumental creates an optimistic, empowering, and characteristically Elbow song.

Although moments of light penetrate this otherwise lackluster, downcast album, at times it’s just not enough to keep your attention. The song progressions are boring and it’s difficult not to stifle a yawn as you wonder whether or not you heard a similar chord combination somewhere before.

Failing to vary in tone and overall experimentation, with the exception of title track The Take Off and Landing of Everything, this is an album with very few stand out and memorable songs.

After tearing up the dance-pop scene in 2011 with debut album On A Mission, one could forgive Katy B for failing to deliver a second album that lives up to the first. Little Red, however, promises to silence the critics and proves that Kathleen Brian is much more than a one album type of girl.

This 12-track compilation sees Katy B staying true to her original musical roots, yet time has unearthed a newfound maturity absent from her debut. All tracks culminate in an outburst of pent up energy, climaxing in a euphoric beat and melody.

A fusion of promising young talent in the collaboration with Jessie Ware, ‘Aaliyah’, is the highlight of the record. While in a modern dance remake of classic country hit ‘Jolene’, she proves that crossover songs really do work.

Emotionally charged ‘Crying for No Reason’ acts as a genius paradox; the heartfelt and soulful lyrics are well balanced by the antidote of an energetic beat. The result? An incentive to dance, rather than to curl up into the fetal position.

The brilliance of the album is somewhat tainted by the track ‘I Like You’. While the hook is undeniably catchy, the repetitiveness of the three title words fails to hide the lackluster nature of the remaining, and noticeably few, lyrics of the song.

Yet, with an album as fierce and expressive as her trademark red hair, Little Red paves the way for further evolution of dance-pop.

In A Nutshell Oozing with Kinks-esque theatricality, Sun Structures is a whirlwind ride from track to track, with guitar-driven melodies that’ll have you humming along in no time.

In A Nutshell A lazy effort from a band who are more accustomed to empowering their listeners rather then dampening their day.

In A Nutshell Living proof that the dreaded second album slump can be avoided.

So Long, See You Tomorrow

The Take Off and Landing of Everything

Little Red

Roisin Murray Orla McEvoy

Síofra Ní Shluaghadháin Andrew Carolan

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Gartlandia Not everyone might be aware, but the Irish music scene is bangin’, says Orla Gartland

Radar— All The Luck In The World With emphasis on retaining their humble roots, Eva Griffin chats to All The Luck In The World about recording their debut, word-of-mouth promotion and the guitar riff that’s caught everyone’s attention

I love music and think the Irish music scene right now is bangin’. (Yes, I said bangin’, judge me). Here are some of my absolute faves:

Gavin James Gav has the voice of an angel. His falsetto could reduce the hardest man to tears. His songs cover emotions from nostalgia to heartbreak and everything in between. He also happens to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. No fair! Listen to ‘Remember Me’! Choon.

Little Green Cars Many will know these four Dubliners by now. It’s funny; it seems like Irish artists that make an impact in foreign lands really gain the respect of their homeland brethren (case in point, Kodaline).

Their harmonies are so tight; they’re a wellgigged bunch and a pleasure to watch despite their awkward-but-somehow-charming stage banter.

They seem very sad and misunderstood, which I hear is cool nowadays. Listen to ‘My Love Took Me Down To The River To Silence Me’.

Hudson Taylor As a friend of the band I’m a massively biased fan, but I honestly mean it when I say they’re an absolute goldmine of pure talent and passion. Think Simon and Garfunkel/The Beatles with a hint of a

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As a friend of the band I’m a massively biased fan, but I honestly mean it when I say [Hudson Taylor] are an absolute goldmine of pure talent and passion

captured the heart of many and his tours since have scaled far and wide. His new album, Post Tropical, is such a winner.

The acoustic guitars and banjos featured in his first album have been pushed to the back to favour some tasty pianos, organs, horns and really interesting percussion. Tracks like ‘Cavalier’ embody a Bon Iver-style ambience. I love a risk-taker and I love his new direction.

Kodaline

Well these lads need no introduction. They’ve absolutely smashed it on the worldwide stage and in my opinion they’re doing a grand job of modern twist. The energy release throughout their representing us. I went to see their show in London live set is enough to power a bus. ‘Listen to ‘Care’. and the crowd was awash with Kerry, Tipperary and Sligo accents.

Irish flags everywhere, pints a flowin’; it was Soak a bizarre little night of feeling so at home in the Is it one person? Is it a band? Such mystery. Soak is a middle of a pretty scary city. It was the kind of crowd lovely Derry girl named Bridie. Her voice enchanting, that struggled to hear a word Steve mumbled, but cheered nonetheless. I’m looking forward to hearing I listen to Soak’s tracks and find myself drawn into the lyrics, appreciating the simplicity and honesty of some new material. For now, listen to ‘High Hopes’ each word. She’s just signed to CHVRCHES’ new label, and ‘Talk’ (if you haven’t already). so I’m beyond excited to hear what she comes out with next. Listen to ‘Blud’.

Jedward

James Vincent McMorrow

LOL. No. Never.

So do we really need another moody bearded lad with a guitar? Yes. James is a saint. His first album

It’s a pretty exciting time for Irish music if you ask me (no one ever does).

Unless you’re no longer accustomed to using a We knew that people television, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen the latest Trivago advertisement on your screen liked what we were recently. There’s a catchy riff floating over it that doing and we just had has deservedly garnered attention, and the band behind the track is a three-piece hailing from our to keep going along fair isle, All The Luck In The World. that same road What began in 2011 as the brain child of Wicklow native, Neil Foot, has blossomed into a fully-fledged band thanks to the addition of fellow students, Ben Connolly and Kelvin Barr.

Together they’ve crafted an impressive debut steeped in charming melodies and bursting with a lyrical maturity that is lacking in most bands.

Having uploaded a homemade video for his song, ‘Never’, Foot found himself being offered an incredible opportunity after the track was picked up by Trivago last year. After an attempt to re-record it in Dublin failed, he tried again in Berlin, this time with the help of another guitarist, Barr. During the trip “there were producers interested in sorting out an album, so Neil and Kelvin came back to me and asked if I wanted to do it with them,” explains Connolly.

Recording took place across Belgium and Germany, but the result is steeped in their humble foundations. “We wanted to build up an album that had a mature sound by keeping it at its root, with Neil’s guitar and vocals at the core of things,” explains Connolly. Despite the addition of larger instrumental arrangements, the intimate feel of their self-titled album is palpable.

Amazingly, the video for ‘Never’ has clocked up over one million views on YouTube. This was once just a pipe dream for a couple of 19-year-olds, though their popularity had been rising gradually.

The peak of the Trivago advert saw them hitting 10,000 views daily, but this didn’t put a strain on the recording process. “If anything it kinda took the pressure off,” says Connolly. “We knew that people liked what we were doing and we just had to keep going along that same road.”

Surrounding themselves with like-minded musicians has also been a helping hand. With a support system of equally talented friends, the atmosphere is ripe for musical collaboration. “We all get together to put on a gig and then friends from different places all come together. All of a sudden you have yourselves a decent crowd for each band and everyone gets a bit of exposure.”

In fact, the band relies almost solely on word-of-mouth to promote their music and the group aren’t accustomed to blowing up everyone’s Facebook newsfeeds.

For the time being, All The Luck In The World are focusing exclusively on gigs. With support slots for Duke Special and a countrywide German tour on the horizon, it seems as if life is all about the music. As Connolly casually declares, “It’s just not about the bullshit.” If you’re not going to give the Trivago advert a go, at least give these lads your time and attention.

While Ó Cléirigh describes their creative process as both “collective and corruptive,” this formula certainly seems to be working perfectly, with the exciting Other Voices festival in Derry being their next ever-rising musical pitstop.

street style

Jamie Mann Studying Sociology & Economics

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Wearing: Shirt – Vintage shop, Shoes – Nike, trousers – Penneys, Knitted Jumper – River Island, bag – bought at a reggae festival in California.

Style Inspiration: London street style.

Biggest bargain: An oversized shirt from Fresh Temple Bar for €15.

Most expensive purchase: Barber jacket €200.

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1 Michelle Maden English & Art History Headscarf – Claire’s Accessories, Jumper – Topshop, Leggings – River Island, Shoes – Uggs Influences: Topshop and personal style

2 Paul heatly Economics & Sociology Jacket – Vintage, Hoodie – Sisters, Trousers – Zara, Shoes – Massimo Dutti, Ring – Mothers Influences: Blogs like Hypebeat and The Sartorialist

3 Lisa Comerford Medicine Coat – Mums, Top – Sisters, Scarf – H&M, Jeans – Topshop, Shoes – Schuh, Bag – Asos.com Influences: Comfortable clothing

4 Claire Cryan Environmental Biology Top – Made by Auntie, Scarf – Charity Shop, Glasses – Missoni, Skirt – Topshop, Shoes – Vagabond Influences – Fishermen words Emily Mullen Photographs Rory Mullen

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The UCD Fashion Show With the Fashion Show rehearsals in full swing, the show, which is in its 27th season, looks set to be the best yet. The Nissan Next Generation UCD Fashion Show 2014 will take place on February 19th and 20th in the Astra Hall and will have special performances from The Raglans on opening night and Matt Cardle on the Thursday show.

The event is run for charity, with the entire profit made from ticket sales going toward the Jack Kavanagh Trust, a fund set up to enable a paralysed Trinity student the facilities he needs to return to college.

This year sees the UCD Fashion Show return to campus after it was felt the organisers needed a year off from organising the event to focus on other projects such as the UCD Community Musical 2013, Phantom of the Opera, and also due to financial constraints.

The event, however, has had no issues getting sponsorship from many very prolific companies, with Nissan representing its core sponsor, while organisations such as The Irish Times, Coco Water and many more clubbing together to create the events goodie bag.

The show is completely run by students, with models, dressers and organisers all hailing from different disciplines. “The feedback from students this year has been great” says Eman Awan, Head of Marketing. “There were so many students who were willing to help that near the end we had to nearly create jobs for them.”

The model try-outs were very extensive too.

Only 65 were chosen from the over 300 applicants,

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which the showrunners hope will be reflected in the final product., and the early response from the student community to aid in the production or to sashay down runways for the show is certainly encouraging.

The theme of this year’s show is based around international fashions, with the globe’s most sartorially savvy cities being represented; Milan, New York and London to name but a few.

The runway outfits will each have the unique style of each of these cities represented through the clothes. “It’s kind of based on the cliché style of the cities, like London would be punk with a mix of sportswear, Sydney swimwear and Milan full of leopard” says Awan.

Many high-street shops such as Vera Moda and Jack & Jones, alongside boutiques such as Marian Gale, have provided their stock and services in order to clothe the models, while The Young Student Designer competition, a competition geared towards young fashion designers, is being run in tandem with the city theme. A panel of judges will evaluate one piece from the young designers, and the winner will win the title as well as their very own Nissan Next Generation car for a year.

With Otwo getting exclusive access to showcase some of the efforts behind the scenes in this issue’s fashion spread, it was evident that the committee are keen to make the show a success and ensure it doesn’t need to go on another hiatus.

Emily Mullen

#winning or #binning #winning

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#binning

Nose blowing Clothes with warmth

Trying to carefully blow your nose while still trying to keep your foundation off the tissue and on your face. A gruesome sight to behold.

Fleece-lined tights from Pennys #hallelujahforFASHUN

Photos emily mullen

Air Yeezy 2 Wham! Bam! Crash!

Glam!

These pieces of filth sold out in 11 minutes flat, what? #itainteasybeingyeezysvomit #IamaGodhurryupwitmadamncroissant

Pop art + comic strip motifs = Kapower dressing.

Freshly done acrylic nails Vitamins

When people get their nails done and it looks like yer wan who did them reefed half their finger skin off in the process #nailsbyhunnumba1

Tesco value vitamins #yaynowmyteetharentgonafallout

MIC

Made in Chelsea have announced that there will be a series 7. Is it necessary? Nah. But do we care? Nah. #KantwaittolookatProudersbeingProudersagain #FASHUNABLE

Onesie facilities

Peeing in a onesie: tedious and troublesome at best. #thatfrontzipdispleasesme #wishIwasaboys

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Culture Woulfe Remains—Kerlin Gallery

Broadening horizons Co-founder of the Centre for Creative Practices, Monika Sapielak, talks to Ian Mulholland about supporting migrant and emerging artists

Memory, violence and audio-visual art combine as Laura Woulfe takes a look at the latest installation at the Kerlin Gallery

For the art lover, for the poetry lover, the film lover and the history lover, Derry-born artist Willie Doherty’s highly evocative film installation, Remains, is currently being shown in the Kerlin Gallery and is really worth the fifteen minutes of free time it requires to view.

Remains is a single channel high-definition video installation with Dolby Digital 5.1 digital surround sound and while this may mean little to some people, the result is an extremely sensual and astounding work of art which will leave you contemplating elements of Irish history, violence and the longevity of brutal memories.

The short film, which is based in the streets of Derry, recounts three individual acts of violence at the hands of the IRA as a means of punishment to young members for drug use, which according to the artist, are based on real events. “A father from a prominent republican family in Derry was told to bring his son and another boy, a cousin, to a certain place to be kneecapped.”

Considering the turbulent relationship between Republicans and Unionists in Northern Ireland, Doherty’s film is unique in the way it refers to the daily use of violence among the Republicans themselves and not just towards the Unionists and even more shocking, is that of the three incidents, one occurred in 2012; not in the seemingly distant past.

There is a righteous attitude towards the use of violence in order to punish wrongdoers in the IRA and perhaps what exists is a corporal culture that was created in this minority group in order to exhibit control within a society where control was not always present.

Visually, the film does not expose any scenes of a violent nature and rather than the emphasis being a documentary portrayal of violence embedded in the A father from a everyday life of subaltern groups in Northern Ireland, prominent republican Remains is an inspiring insight family in Derry was told into the power of memory to preserve a residue to bring his son and of the past always in the present. another boy, a cousin, There is a sense of to a certain place to be hopelessness when contemplating the future kneecapped considering the current generation are still being punished by the brutal act of knee-capping as their fathers too were punished, both “compliantly.” The film, therefore, may well be questioning acts of violence, which are so embedded in generations of memory that the original purpose of the punishment is somewhat lost.

Of course, this could very well relate to the broader spectrum of violence in Northern Ireland.

The interjecting scenes of a burning car evokes something oddly sublime, which is not unlike the sublime patriots often feel for war when fighting for a worthy cause, but inevitably, Doherty shows the aftermath of such which leaves nothing but rubble, the remnants of the past.

Kerlin Gallery, Remains, free admission, closes on the 15th March

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What was very interesting was the amount of highly educated, skilled artists from all over the world who came to Ireland and nobody knew about them

Founded in 2009 by Monika Sapielak and Ian Oliver, the Centre for Creative Practices (CFCP) works to promote and connect immigrant, experimental and emerging artists in Ireland. Five years on, the CFCP now hosts 150 events per year, ranging from exhibitions to monthly jazz concerts, film screenings, workshops and talks.

“The initial mission and focus was to support migrant artists and to connect and integrate them, mentor them and give them visibility among the bigger community,” says Sapielak, as she defines what her vision is for the centre.

“What was very interesting was the amount of highly educated, skilled artists from all over the world who came to Ireland and nobody knew about them… [Before long] local experimental and emerging artists approached us and they said, ‘We have difficulties as well, and we would like to be included’.”

These diverse artists exhibit their work on the walls of CFCP’s premises on Pembroke Street. Past exhibitions have included Migrant Artists on Ireland and the recent Love Letters Exhibition, while the Centre is currently trying to fund an ephemeral arts festival in September.

“Ephemeral art is any type of art [that] disappears after a while, from most graffiti through sand animations, and, of course, improvised music as well. Any types of artists who work with these types of materials, we will try to bring them together.”

Realising that many artists struggle to turn a profit from their work, the Centre has become involved in trying to better equip its artists to survive in the market. “The New York Foundation

for the Arts (NYFA) has published a book called The Profitable Artist and has run over 5,000 workshops on this topic.

“We were able to raise the money to bring the NYFA over to Ireland with this program, and we got 50 artists on the ‘profitable artist boot camp.’” That group has since been invited to present their work in New York from October 2014 to January 2015.

The CFCP was able to fund the NYFA’s visit to Ireland when they won an Arthur Guinness Fund award in 2012. The award has also allowed the CFCP to develop an innovative tool for people in the arts sector.

“We are developing a tool called ArtConnected, to help event organisers to find artists, venues, technicians, to help artists find venues and festivals.

So from one platform all these groups involved in the artistic sector will be able to communicate easier.”

Asked how interested readers can support the Centre, Sapielak has a simple answer. “Come along to the Centre, enjoy yourself. Come to the jazz night, come to the movie night, come to the Tibetan gong sessions, just find out about it.”

On their website, the CFCP modestly outline that they “Connect, promote and integrate… emerging artists with the local arts scene,” however, they act as a much more vital cog and service to the immigrant artist community. More so, they are a dedicated piece of the puzzle that the Irish art scene would be lost without.

The Centre for Creative Practices is at 15 Pembroke Street Lower/cfcp.ie. Admission to most events is €10 or €7 for members.

Fatal Fourway Best jerk in cinema

The Iceberg—Titanic Emily Longworth If the iceberg that sank the Titanic was at one of your gaff parties, it would steal your last can.

That iceberg was just an inherent asshole, head and shoulders above every other jerk of the silver screen without ever being sentient.

In fact, Titanic director James Cameron remarked in interview that even working with the 3000-year-old block of ice from the western coast of Greenland was a nightmare. They had to retake the collision scene up to 23 times because the iceberg kept heckling the boat with abusive, derogatory slurs, at times calling the Titanic’s mother a “dole queue whore.”

What’s worse yet is that the iceberg never should have made it anywhere near the North Atlantic Ocean.

Up to 30,000 icebergs are calved by Greenland glaciers each year, at which point they drift away from the Arctic Circle, clutching a frosty bindle of personal effects, with dreams of making it to the big city.

Only 1% of these icebergs come near the North Atlantic, the rest of them have their dreams and molecular structures dashed by marginally higher water temperatures. The iceberg that rogered the Titanic was one of this 1%; confirming its title as cinema’s biggest over-privileged, abuse-slinging, can-stealing wanker.

James Bond—Every James Bond film Steven Balbirnie First of all, I’m not saying that James Bond films aren’t brilliant; they are brilliant. Nor am I saying that I dislike James Bond as a character. I am saying, however, that like many well-loved fictional characters, James Bond is, when you think about it, kind of an asshole. If he existed in real life he would be insufferable.

He frequently commits reckless property damage with little or no concern for any bystanders who could get caught in the crossfire. It’s also your average taxpayer who has to foot the bill after he’s gone on one of his joyriding sprees.

He is callous and flippant towards human life; only a sociopath would make a pun after murdering someone, especially when they’re the only person in the room. It’s the equivalent of claiming you didn’t fart when you’re

the only one in the room: unnecessary.

He treats women as disposable accessories, never bothering to call them after his various escapades, while having unprotected sex with such frequency that he must have a legion of illegitimate children that he’s refusing to pay child support for.

His inconsiderate behaviour also extends to his co-workers; Q can attest that Bond destroys almost everything produced by MI6’s R&D department, while Moneypenny would certainly have grounds to pursue a sexual harassment lawsuit.

He may appear in some very entertaining films, but you’d never want to work alongside, date, or meet Bond. Unless you’re a masochist.

Tyler Durden—Fight Club Jack Walsh When we think of who really is the biggest jerk in all of cinema, you’re bound to think of the capewearing, mustached villain archetype. Or James Bond. But only if you’re a complete jerk yourself.

No dear readers, the greatest cinema jerk has got to be Tyler Durden from Fight Club. Sure, the guy never broke up with Reese Witherspoon or anything like that, but he is shredded. Like super shredded.

Way more shredded than you, bro.

Plus, he pretty much makes a Hawaiian shirt/ white undershirt combo look sexy as hell. You, meanwhile, have dusted off your second €1 bargain bag of biscuits reading this column.

As he said to the narrator, “All the ways you wish you could be, that’s me… I am smart, capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways that you are not.”

Not only is he good looking (and pretty much ruining the narrators life by giving him a life) he also spouts unnecessary new age quotes, and talks in pretty much the same style as that sentence in the brackets there. Outrageous bullshit.

He pretty much formed your 15-year-old view/ current view on socialist surfer leaning on the world.

He does all that, while sleeping with early 90s Helena Bonham Carter? What a jerk!

Warner Huntington III— Legally Blonde Laura Bell All is fair in love and war, and any decent American politician knows he’s going to have to deal with both at some stage; be it in the form of a missile crisis, oil shortage, or an unpaid intern in a lovely blue dress.

Legally Blonde’s Warner Huntington III proves himself an individual with a keen understanding of the political framework he hopes to enter. He astutely tells Elle that, “If I want to be a senator, I need to marry a Jackie. Not a Marilyn,” thus securing forever his status as champion asshole.

I mean, it’s bad enough that he tells his girlfriend

of four years that he thinks she’s an idiot, but let’s be realistic: he had us all at “senator.” The man is a Republican with an appetite for power. Can we expect anything but mindless destruction and reckless bigotry?

He holds Elle in such high regard that he blames her post breakup breakdown on a “bad salad.” What does that even mean? Ultimately, his status as a gold medalist jerk is only cemented by his complete lack of motive. Where we may forgive the killer with the traumatic past, Huntington is basically Patrick Bateman with a tan.

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The Back Page “We’re gonna go fucking bananas” Matthew Healy of The 1975 on what to expect from their Dublin gig

“It’s like some freakish, foreign, alien thing” Matthew Shultz of Cage The Elephant on television

“A cat with a really grumpy expression is arguably, well not arguably, is more successful than I ever will be!”

Annie Clark on the nature of fame in 2014

1861

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1885

On this day in 1861, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America

The number of gender identities Facebook users will be able to choose from after the website add an extra 56 options

The year in which, on this day, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was first published in the United States

photo of the week if you have a photo you’d like to enter into photo of the week, send your submissions to design@universityobserver.ie

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