Scene issue 230

MUSIC

FILM

the rise & fall of django guitar music unchained

TV TELEVISION LIFE LESSONS

BOOKS

SPOTLIGHT

the death of spiderman

20 QS the blackout

funeral for a friend

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

MUSIC NEWS Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins to remain in custody over child sex charges

Emeli Sande makes album chart history with her debut album Ou‘r Version of events

Suede release first material for ten years on their website

Azealia Banks has not been dropped by record label despite Twitter mishap

Californian band Haim win the accolade of BBC Sound of 2013

The news of 35-year-old Lostprophets’ frontman Ian Watkins’s arrest and detainment was a shock to all of Lostprophets dedicated fans. The charge involves conspiracy to rape a one-year-old child along with other offences. A 24-year-old woman faces the same charges as Watkins.

The pair are to remain in custody until March 11th.

Watkin’s band members recently expressed their shock at the charges. The band’s official website has released a statement asking for fans’ support as “we seek answers.”

Talented warbler Emeli Sande has earned her place in album chart history as her album Our Version of Events has spent the most consecutive weeks in the top 10 for a solo debut album.

The album has managed to hold its own for an unbroken 47 weeks in the top 10. To put this feat in perspective, The Beatles earned their place in history for their album debut Please, Please Me, which holds the record for the most consecutive weeks for a debut album, as it notched up an impressive 62.

Suede have released a new track on their website, marking their first releases for a decade. ‘Barriers’ was exclusively played on BBC Radio’s 6 Music on the morning of January 7th 2013, after a set of lyrics to the track were released on the band’s website beforehand.

The band are working towards creating a full studio album, and are setting themselves up for more live shows.

They are also set to re-release re mastered versions of old tracks on May 30th, with their album Suede.

Rumours that Azealia Banks has been dropped by her record label Interscope have been refuted amidst a media flurry over a supposedly homophobic tweet. The ‘212’ singer dubbed celebrity blogger Perez Hilton a “messy faggot” after starting an online row with him.

The row, posted online for the all the public and media to see, sent rumours flying, claiming the singer was dropped by the label for her supposedly prejudiced comments. The singer has since apologised.

Haim, the trio of Californian crooners quickly gaining a large fan base, have won the poll-based prize of BBC Sound of 2013. The band were up against a set of impressive upand-coming artists, the likes of which included CHVURCHES, The Weeknd, Peace, Tom Ovell and Savages.

The question on everyone’s lips now, though, is whether they will gain the acclaim previous winners have earned. These previous winners include Jessie J in 2011 and Adele in 2008, both highly praised artists.

opinion

THE RISE (AND FALL?) OF GUITAR MUSIC LOUISA HANN examines the extent to which the guitar remains a staple part of today’s music scene

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he guitar has, up until recently, been accepted as the primary beloved instrument of popular music. The staple item of every aspiring rock star’s bedroom, the instrument has become even somewhat fetishized, and the ubiquitous sound of the recent past. In the words of Radiohead, “anyone can play guitar.”

However, as we get continually deeper into the 21st century, there have been multiple proclamations of ‘the end of guitar music’ as electronic sounds are becoming ever more favoured among new musicians, and a growing number of aspiring artists choose to create their music on a laptop. This is not surprising considering the availability of technology and the relatively cheap cost of it.

However, I find statements proclaiming ‘the end of guitar mu-

sic’ to be sweeping and somewhat sensationalist. Admittedly, the increase in electronic music is undeniable: sub-genres and divisions created by it seem to be growing exponentially and the mainstream seems to be embracing this wholeheartedly. Artists such as Factory Floor, Caribou and Four Tet are pushing the boundaries with what can be done with electronic music. For example, Caribou’s 2010 album ‘Swim’ was created by

frontman Dan Snaith with the intention of creating a dance record that sounded like water. This was certainly achieved. Although bass undertones and certain guitar riffs are included in the record, the overall effect could not have been possible were the latest technology in electronic music not around. To imply that this will incur the end of music created with the humble guitar is, however in my opinion, specious.

“THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE PROCLAMATIONS OF ‘THE END OF GUITAR MUSIC’ AS ELECTRONIC SOUNDS ARE BECOMING EVER MORE FAVOURED AMONG NEW MUSICIANS”

The number of new bands choosing to use guitars in their production processes is still high.

One just has to look at recent Mercury Prize winners Alt-J to see that. The sounds they are creating with guitars and how they are being used is, of course, different to the sounds which came out of the 1990s. In my opinion, this can only be a good thing. Carbon copies of old bands would undoubtedly seem stale and archaic in today’s musical climate.

What we must all remember is that the guitar music of the recent past will not be lost. Classic bands such as Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Blur (to name but a few) will remain in our record collections for decades to come, and will be attempted to be played by teenagers the world over. It is simply inane to bury ourselves in nostalgia

when there is a new and exciting musical environment continually evolving right in front of our eyes.

The fact that budding musicians are turning to laptops to create their sounds is certainly no bad thing. It is more accessible than the humble guitar, and should be welcomed.

LOUISA HANN

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

up and coming for 2013 singles

Mikill Pane ALBUM: Blame Miss Barclay RELEASED: TBA LISTEN TO: ‘Dirty Rider’ GIGS: None currently announced

theme park

suede

‘TONIGHT’

‘BARRIERS’

Mikill Pane is probably best known for his work with Ed Sheeran and Rizzle Kicks, but 2013 promises to see the first of the Hackney-based hip-hop artist's solo efforts. Expect feel-good tunes and tongue-in-cheek lyrics from this new talent.

The History of Apple Pie ALBUM: Out of View RELEASED: 28th January 2013 LISTEN TO: ‘Mallory’ GIGS: January 28th - The Basement, York Claiming to be influenced by the likes of their idols Sonic Youth and Blur, it's no surprise this playfully named band are highly anticipated in the music world. Catch them at the Basement on January 28th.

Doldrums ALBUM: Lesser Evil RELEASED: February 25th LISTEN TO: ‘She Is The Wave’ GIGS: February 27th - London All angular electronic sounds and heavy reverb, the man calling himself Doldrums is finally releasing a full album after a few years of sporadic single releases. With elements of Animal Collective about it, the album promises to add new dimension to the current perceptions of electronic music.

Jaws

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icking percussion opens the first new Suede song for a decade. Soaring guitars and suitably optimistic lyrics follow on in ‘Barriers’. Speaking of the band’s new album, main man Brett Anderson said: “Barriers isn’t the first single but we are proud of it enough just to chuck it out there... Its pulsing, romantic swell somehow summed up the feel of the album quite nicely.”

This makes it a gleeful return for Britpop this year, with fellow patrons Pulp likewise releasing a single. With entrances from fresh-faced bands like Peace, the scene is worth a watch. Yet Suede’s new release lacks the immediacy and surprise of early work: comedic lyrics coupled with guitar riffs that won’t shake loose. A welcome return for now but their future remains unsure.

MARTIN WAUGH

pulp

work, this song contains some excellent lyrics with ‘From disco to disco / From Safeway to Tesco’ being my personal favourites. Despite being produced by former LCD Sound system frontman James Murphy, ‘After You’ does admittedly sound very ‘nineties’. This is not necessarily a bad thing as the song sees Pulp returning to their roots which propelled them to success in that decade, after their sound grew darker and more experimental with 1998’s ‘This is Hardcore’. With its slightly camp yet beguiling sound and its tongue-in-cheek lyrics about working-class angst, ‘After You’ is an exciting hark back to the golden years of one of Britpop’s most dynamic ensembles.

PHILIP WATSON

‘AFTER YOU’

album: Jaws 2k12 released: TBA. LISTEN TO: ‘CAMERON’ gigs: january 30th - Old Blue Last, London Straight out of Birmingham's new self-proclaimed B-town scene, Jaws promise to bring their uplifting, euphoric alternative pop to the mainstream. Perhaps it is a little risky to be singing their praises this early on (so far they have only had two single releases) but their recent live shows and burgeoning fan-base show these young men are looking to make big names for themselves.

Want to write for Music?

Or perhaps you want to advertise for a band member or musical project?

E-mail us at: music@yorkvision.co.uk

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he third single from alternative band Theme Park is a fantastic follow up to a great year of music for them. ‘Tonight’ is a sweet electro number, which seems to have a much stronger impact than their previous hits.

With a repeating chorus and minimalistic lyrics there is a heavier focus on sound, particularly their experimentation with percussion and drumming to compliment the techno influences. However, what makes this track special, and epitomises their signature style, is the quasi-reggae rhythm. This is a suitably festival-esque tune which promises to be big hit, and is a great teaser for their debut album which comes out later this year. For fans of Bombay Bicycle Club and Darwin Deez, but with a more mellow, 80s vibe, definitely check these guys out. A band to watch out for.

ZOE BILES

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he first new song to be released by Pulp in over a decade, ‘After You’ is a highly promising - and highly idiosyncratic - return to the music scene for the legendary Britpoppers. Aside from the catchy disco-esque guitar and bass

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

ALBUM REVIEWS Dutch Uncles

New Order

Out of Touch In The Wild

Lost Sirens

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he disjointed, alternative sound of Dutch Uncles certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but for lovers of quasi-artrock and unpredictable beats, their latest album may be ideal. The arty men hailing from Stockport bring their album Out of Touch in the Wild to the public on the 14th January, and they have every reason to be successful with it, after their arguably underappreciated efforts of their debut eponymous album and second album Cadenza.

Many of the new tracks reflect the more polished style from their previous albums. New track ‘Fester’ epitomises this, with its atypical beat and off-kilter percussive sounds making for interesting listening. Although the album is perhaps not a record particularly apt for either partying or quiet listening, it certainly grabs your attention and demands some sort of awareness of the band’s nonconforming musical processes. Frontman and lead vocalist Duncan Wallis possesses a very distinctive voice - high-pitched, soft and perhaps particularly fitting to the type of music with its unique timbre. Despite its unusual cadences, though, it is a voice which it is difficult not to like.

Another notable track from the al-

H bum is the upbeat ‘Flexxin’. Swirling violins and tinkling instruments accompany their typical off-kilter beats and again demonstrate their more polished sounds. Certainly, it appears the band have paid more attention to the final outcome of this album, all the tracks interweaving to create a more whole album, as none of the tracks fall down in comparison to the others. If anything, the song Dutch Uncles chose to release first off this album, ‘Fester’, is one of the least musically interesting, and just a taster of what musical experiments you will encounter in the rest of the record.

With a mammoth tour coming up for the band and with their previous track record supporting Wild Beasts and playing numerous major festivals, 2013 may be the year Dutch Uncles the recognition they deserve.

LOUISA HANN

was their signature sound that rocketed New Order to such success in the 1980s, and it this I find myself wanting to reexperience in Lost Sirens.

Around 2 minutes into ‘Hellbent, Hallelujah!’ We see the return of that characteristic synthesiser, not overplayed but working with some very catchy guitar work, complemented by a number of effective piano breakdowns. ‘Shake it Up’ is a sudden unexpected leap back through the years of the band’s sound, with the intoxicating bass and drum beat reminiscent of 1989’s ‘Technique’, the band’s number one foray into alternative dance.

‘Thankfully I Told You So’, driven by a steadily thumping drum mixed with some vaguely sinister guitar work and powering up thrillingly as the song reaches its climax, closes the album on a high note.

PHILIP WATSON

Christopher Owens Lysandre

Memory Tapes Grace/Confusion

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race/Confusion is the third LP to come from Memory Tapes. Dayve Hawk, who also experimented with the names Weird Tapes and Memory Cassette, has been a huge part of a relatively new genre named ‘chillwave’, using his well-honed production abilities to build his legacy.

After his first album, Seek Magic, received such a good reception in 2009, Hawk’s reputation was left slightly tarnished in 2011 with the release of his second album. Player Piano was heavily criticized as a step backwards for being too ‘indie-rock.’ But, Memory Tapes has leapt from the brink with the latest offering and landed firmly back within the genre it became known for.

Hawke has explicitly said that this album was supposed to be “messy” and that the tracks aren’t exactly songs but a collection of sounds which he has brought together to resemble songs.

Although some would say this is pretension at its finest, which I wouldn’t disagree with, it does explain a lot.

Grace/Confusion is exactly what it says on the tin, there are moments of sheer grace which are created by a whole lot of confusion.

First is the unimpressive ‘Neighbourhood Watch’. It’s not much of a goer, it just meanders along quietly

ere it is at last - 8 years in the making, the release of new-wave legends New Order’s newest and, for myself at least, highly anticipated full-length album, Lost Sirens. After a couple of disappointingly underwhelming predecessors I was expecting a long-overdue return to form from this album, and it does not disappoint.

Lost Sirens starts off somewhat inauspiciously with opener ‘I’ll Stay With You’, a simple tune that is a perfectly solid song, but lacks in character and originality - not a great start. But doubts are soon dispelled as the album kicks off in earnest with second track ‘Sugarcane’. Beginning with a thrilling, pounding synthesiser, ‘Sugarcane’ is very powerful, very catchy and indeed very characteristic of heyday New Order - most certainly one of the highlights of the album.

Following on comes ‘Recoil’, the beginning of which is unfortunately reminiscent of lift music. However, the song does pick up as it continues, with some simple but effective guitar work making it chilled and inoffensive. Yet it feels something remains missing from the album thus far and during ‘Californian Grass’, I realise I am simply yearning for more classic New Order synthesiser. Call me old school, but it

to the “big finish,” a strange, jaunty electro riff. However, despite the disappointing start, the rest of the album is a huge step up and it is plain to see Hawke is back to his best.

‘Thru the Field’, second on the track-listing is definitely a standout track. It’s a strange mix of Human League, the Pet Shop Boys and possesses elements reminiscent of Hot Chip, so has a retro feel but is still cutting edge. The guitar riff would not seem out of place on the score of John Hughes’ 1985 comedy drama The Breakfast Club but, again, when it is all pieced together something very new-sounding is formed.

The other stand out track is ‘Let Me Be’. It is an intense, lingering composition with an ominous baseline that involves heavy, melodious steel pans towards its closing.

STEPH BARNSLEY

x-Girls frontman Christopher Owens caused a good deal of heartbreak after leaving the band back in July, but since then has proved his other musical escapades worthwhile. The frontman turned model’s new solo effort Lysandre is an introspective, beautiful work, showing the musical panache and flair he possesses which was perhaps not fully expressed in his work with Girls.

‘Turnstile Music’ is a soft, elegant track incorporating an underlying undulating guitar riff with his soft yet powerful voice, and is perhaps a contender for the best, most heart-felt track on the record. Admittedly, the album is not breaking many boundaries with its style - the acoustic undertones and lyrics which appear to look deep into Owens’ mind are nothing we have not seen before. However, the album is remarkably complete, and Owens makes no apologies for creating music he feels comfortable with, which is shown in his lyrical openness and experimentation with perhaps more old-fashioned styles. He incorporates a more jazz feel in tracks such as ‘Riviera Rock’, with an accomplished saxophone riff and twinkling piano part.

At times, it feels as if the tracks are merging into one, album length song.

In many ways, this could be seen as a bad thing, as variety is often lauded as an essential element in a successful album. However, this does not seem to matter so much in Lysandre. In ‘Love is in the Ear of the Listener’, Owens proclaims how he “does not care what people think,” referring presumably to reviewers and the public who can potentially criticise the music he clearly works so hard to create. The carefree lyrics and bounding tunes show the ethos of Owens and create a sense of purity and joy. This combined with the narrative element of the record, the ups and downs of relationships, produces something truly endearing. It does not matter that Owens is not necessarily producing something ground-breaking in this album. There is enough musical talent here to beat many contemporary artists trying to imitate such creativity.

LOUISA HANN

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THE GLASS CAVES 2013 promises to be a good year for the local boy buskers, Zoe Biles talks to the band

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eeting The Glass Caves was, overall, a very cool experience. We met at the Evil Eye lounge in York, a very cool bar. They all had very cool hair.

We talked about some really cool things.

Yet, somehow, if I was to sum this band up in one word, ‘cool’, just would not do them justice.

The Glass Caves are made up of five guys who, just by looking at them, you can tell are in a band: they carry off that ‘rougharound-the-edges’ look almost too perfectly.

Refreshingly however, their relaxed and open demeanour is coupled by humility rather than arrogance, immediately setting them aside from many rock bands starting out today. Connor, Elliott, Matt, Will and Skinny have been “mates for what seems like forever,” however after a couple of years of getting together, doing covers and genuinely having a laugh, the summer of 2010 saw them take that step towards becoming a legitimate band in their own right.

When asked about what made that year so different, Connor described it as “the year we started writing our own stuff. Before we knew it we had seven, ten tracks written and ready to be performed, and that gave us the momentum and courage to move away from simply doing covers”.

Most York students will know who The Glass Caves are without even realising it, as they can often be found busking on the streets of York as a smaller two or three piece. When asked about what makes their band different from the overflow of alternative bands currently around at the moment, the boys agree that busking gives them the edge.

“It is sort of like our secret weapon” says Connor, “we hadn’t really heard many other bands do it, but as soon as we started it felt like a good move. Immediately our fan base climbed, we had something like 1,000 likes on Facebook in just one month. Busking gives us a really close dynamic with the fans, when they come see us in gigs they are

Busking will always be the thing that we do, and our way of directly connecting with the fans already familiar with our songs and covers.

And it lets us talk to them directly, which is really cool.”

We spent a long time talking about the music, about where they would place themselves in terms of genre or sound. “It’s so hard nowadays, because over the last couple years the British music industry has moved

away from labelling artists or categorising them. Whereas the ‘90s saw the stereotypical boy band, and the ‘80s brought this New Wave sound, today all sorts of groups are bringing something different to the table.”

When pushed to give an answer, Matt sheepishly said “alternative rock, I guess,” another charming aspect of the guys, that they are not just another group being ‘indie’ for the sake of being indie. In terms of musical influences, Elliott was keen to say how their sound is not a model based on one particular band or artist. “Our musical taste and preferences range from all over the board, from massive bands like Coldplay and Kings of Leon, to Ghostpoet and even the Motown era. Our only rule when writing is that the lyrics mean something to us, and we create something we are passionate about.”

Being a relatively new band on the music scene today is both an exciting and daunting experience, with an industry more and more centred around money and commercialism.

“It is a sad fact that money is such an integral aspect of being in this business,”

said Connor. As for how they hope to preserve their integrity and essence as a band, Elliott added “we always trust ourselves, to know what’s good and what’s not, and I think that’s the most important thing. As long as we continue to be honest in our writing and our judgment then there’s not much that can change who we are or what we do.”

2013 promises to be huge year for The Glass Caves, and it is easy to see how excited they are. “Our main focus right now is to get back into the studio. We are going to be revisiting a lot of earlier material, as well as start collecting stuff for a possible album.”

In terms of where they see each other at the end of this year, or the future generally: “Jools Holland?” Elliott says tentatively, causing the others to laugh. “The dream at the moment is to get the backing of a small label, who could then give us the money we need to record and to tour.”

As for gigging there are a lot of plans in motion, such as Live at Leeds and other local festivals and venues. “We also hope to bring busking to other cities, to slowly gather up a more extensive following. Busking will always be the thing that we do, and our way

of directly connecting with the fans”. With latest single ‘Slady Ways’ available now on iTunes, the future is bright and exciting for this local band of buskers.

When finally asked on what they bring to the music industry that similar bands

they are not just another group being ‘indie’ for the sake of being indie. don’t, Matt remarks “more hair,” forcing me to conclude that until I find an appropriate synonym, cool will just have to do in summing up The Glass Caves. Cool guys, cool music, and really cool hair.

ZOE BILES

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THE RISE OF B-TOWN LOUISA HANN INVESTIGATES THE RISE OF BIRMINGHAM’S LATEST MUSIC TREND

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usic 'scenes' have always been prevalent in the world of rock and pop. Manchester, for example, was (and still is) famous for its 'Madchester' scene, with the likes of The Charlatans, Stone Roses and Happy Mondays all involved. Oxford, meanwhile, is more renowned for its off-kilter, more alternative bands, with the likes of Radiohead, Foals and Supergrass all earning it a place firmly on the musical map. The latest city to create a burgeoning and popular scene appears to be Birmingham, with its bands and fans dubbing the new wave of music coming out of there as 'B-Town'.

Birmingham has certainly had a great number of bands to come out of it in the past, boasting names such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Napalm Death and Godflesh. Back in the 1980s the city was awash with heavy metal bands and a heavy rock sounds, while at the same time evened out with more light-hearted, even cheesy ones such as the flamboyant Duran Duran. Since the 1980s however, the city appears to have taken a back-seat in the musical sphere, as the heavy rock sounds started to sound archaic to the minds of the public, hungry for more alternative sounding music.

Now it is 2013 however, the city appears to be clawing back its status as a breeding ground for musical talent, although the sound this time appears to be more grungy. Bands that have emerged from the B-Town scene include leather-jacket clad Peace, dirty pretty boys Swim Deep and jocular hipsters JAWS. All incorporate a slightly flippant attitude to their music, not concentrating on polishing their records to perfection, but playing for the joy of creating music and for entertaining their audiences.

It is probably helpful to the bands that they are for the most part all friends.

Swim Deep, for example, promote their friends JAWS as they become well known, and many of the bands tour together. In some ways, this perhaps detracts from the bands' identities, but it also ensures that people will turn up to their respective gigs.

To give you a feel for the B-Town scene, here are three bands you will hear a lot more of in the coming year.

swim deep

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wim Deep are certainly the most playful bunch in the B-Town scene. With their floppy hair, boyish frames and fresh faces, this band are currently enjoying their new rock and roll lives and pretty boy band status, and none of them have yet hit 21. Arguably, this band are the most successful to have come out of the B-Town scene so far, as their single 'Honey' has earned plays on various radio stations and they recently completed a tour with pop princes Spector and quasi-grunge hipsters Splashh. The fact that the band started after a chance encounter in Morrisons pretty much epitomises the laid-back attitude they possess, and this is reflected in their music. Don't be led to believe this means lazy music, however. The band create music of a high calibre, with an earnest, original feel. Catch them at York's very own Duchess in February.

Members: This band are not one for dull names, as Higgy, Austin, Zachary and Cavan make up the four-piece.

Label: RCA Records Defining Sound: Grunge pop. To some their sound may appear twee, but the playful, tongue-in-cheek element to this band make it endearing.

Upcoming Releases: Not confirmed as yet, but 2013 promises to bring plenty of new material from this band.

Track to Download: ‘King City’

peace

troumaca

eace are certainly a band of style. With their sharp haircuts, leather clad frames and endearingly insolent faces, this is a band that means business. It is clear they take inspiration from grunge bands from a couple of decades ago, although a lot more clean and aware of their appearance. This band are not what you could call the epitome of the B-Town ethos, as their appearance and music is perhaps somewhat more polished than their counterparts. On 9th December, the band were nominated for the BBC's 'Sound of 2013'. Although they did not make the shortlist, this shows just how talented the group are, considering the band were virtually unknown until a few months ago.

espite being relatively unheard of, Troumaca played a part in the creation of B-Town music, with connections to lots of bands such as Peace, playing before they were even created. Their sound, however, is probably the most unique of the whole BTown bunch. With influences ranging from Radiohead to Timbaland, they bring a number of sounds to their records, the overriding vibe of the album being what they themselves proclaim to an eclectic 'tropical' mix. With a penchant for interesting percussion, the steel drums appearing in various parts of their records, the group are perhaps undervalued. With the rise and rise of other B-Town bands, however, Troumaca are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

Members: Harrison Koisser (vocals, guitar), Same Koisser (bass), Douglas Castle (guitar), Dominic Boyce (drums).

Members: Geoffrey Foulkes, Samuel Baylis, Tom Gregory, James Nayak, Matthew Campbell

Label: Columbia

Label: Brownswood Recordings

Defining Sound: Grunge rock mixed with more upbeat indie rock. The band owe a lot to music of the 1990s

Defining Sound: Swirling, electronic indie

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Upcoming releases: "Wraith" - The band's upcoming single released January 13th. Their debut studio album is set to be released on March 25th Track to Download: ‘Follow Baby’

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Upcoming Releases: 'Lady Colour' EP - February 2013 Track to Download: Download their 'Gem EP' for free off their website in exchange for adding your email address to their mailing list.

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUES-

LOO-O-METER

FRESH FLUSHERS

Jo Barrow takes us on a tour of York’s club toilets from the dignified to the DOWNRIGHT dingy.

Going to the Salvation toilets (the girls’ ones at least) can make you feel like you’re staying in a really fancy hotel. Kind of...There’s an adjoining room with comfy chairs and straighteners to fix your hair, huge mirrors, plus there’s the double toilet- two toilets contained within one cubicle. It is the toilet of the future.

What the Rumours toilets lack in comfy chairs/hair straighteners, they more than make up for in décor. Namely the pictures of a faceless half-naked man, whose top half is on display in one cubicle and bottom half in the other.

The Kuda toilets are situated miles away from the dance floor, which makes them impossible to find and a nightmare to get to, especially if you’re in heels. On the plus side, because no one can be bothered to travel miles to get to them, they’re usually spotless and there’s never a queue. Silver linings.

BOG STANDARD

There are only three cubicles on the entire downstairs floor. While this does mean you have to wait for ages, there is a high probability you will make a few new friends in the queue. I say this, but I’m not sure how successful or longlasting a friendship started in the Tokyo toilets tend to be.

No locks, no toilet paper, an air of despair and apparently the boys’ toilets are usually covered in urine. And that’s not even going into the rumours of acts that have been carried out in there...

You’d probably be better off holding it in.

The new kids on the block One of the things that the York student scene gets criticised on is its nightlife. Don’t get me wrong, the night clubs are there, the student deals are pretty decent and The Willow is open for as long as you would want to be out (or quite frankly should want to be). But what happens when a couple of weeks after Freshers fortnight everyone has got bored of the mainstream chart hits, and isn’t in the mood for the squash of Tokyo/Salvo/Kuda dance floor, or (God forbid) has become allergic to £1 shots of Tequila/Sambuca? Is there anything out there for the adventurous kid/ closet hipster within us? I’ve been doing my research about upcoming student events in York and turns out there might just be a whole dollop of alternative hope for those crying out for a break from the beaten track…

First on the agenda is Milli Vanilli, the house music night launched all the way back in June last year. Inspired by the already strong house night ‘Freakin’ Tim Perara (Milli Vanilli’s co-ordinator) created the night to cater for a crowd of people who were fed up with those bog standard student nights but still wanted an opportunity to go out and enjoy themselves, without breaking the bank at Freakin’ or journeying all the way to Leeds, Manchester, or Sheffield. One of the special things about Milli Vanilli is the role of the resident DJs (Harry J, Kit Munro & Tim Perara) who are privileged enough to have complete freedom in their sets, expected to play what they want and not what they think everyone else wants. Such creative flexibility seems to have worked in the night’s favour so far, with many successful and much talked about nights throughout last term and the hope of bringing in bigger artists for upcoming events. “Of course,” I hear you say, everyone says they’ll bring in “bigger artists,” but it looks like Milli Vanilli will actually be delivering on this promise, with Tristan da Cunha (a DJ who has been a resident for the last 10 years at Back to Basics in Leeds, an institutional monument of the UK house scene) lined up for the next night on January 15th. One of the best things about the night is, as Tim claims, “Everyone is welcome on the dance-floor. it’s about the music and having a good time, nothing more, nothing less!” So if you want to try something new where people won’t judge you for not having a clue about the music, or how you’re meant to dance, or how happy you look, then Milli Vanilli is the alternative night for you.

If Milli Vanilli isn’t up your street then why not try the national student favourite alternative night out, Itchy Feet?

It’s hard to find points of the night that could disprove the belief of its new coordinator, George Morgan, that Itchy Feet “is an injection of fun into York nightlife.” Itchy Feet has had a long term success rate, touring across the country to great acclaim from students everywhere. It’s refreshing step back into old school music (and we aren’t talking the Spice Girls or S Club here, but the swinging music of the 50s) makes it easy to fall into for those making that primary step into hipster land. With a general expectation for swing-style fancy dress it even gives you the excuse to buy a bowtie or braces. Who knows, you might end up liking them. So highlight the end of January in your diary as the time this year where your feet can be acceptably called itchy and get on down to The Duchess for some good old boogying!

Or if you want to try something completely new then keep your eyes peeled for the all new and exclusive Party Guilt, brought to you on Thursday 31st of January. The very name of this night is enough to get me interested, with the Co-Ordinators (Thomas and Angus) claiming it has a double-edged point of interest – being the name of an old Royal We record but also referring to the “naughtiness” that defines house and techno parties. Like Milli Vanilli (and its partner in crime on the techno night scene, Bangers and Mash) Party Guilt aims to provide York with a house and techno outlet, but with a promise for longer sets and more vinyl and less funk, disco or electro music than its competitors. The two co-ordinators hope that the event will, above all, have a unique identity that attracts like-minded people to come and enjoy it again and again.

Whether you have a particular musical taste, or simply want a change of

scenery from the standard mainstream clubbing backdrop, then it seems that York’s alternative nightlife scene has got what it takes to meet your needs! So why not try out one of these upcoming events and see if that alternative kid inside you grows into an adult? If the worst comes to the worst Willow will always welcome you back.

JESS DAVIDSON

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE

FILM

BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

Film Top Five Films of the Year TOM BONNINGTON

ALEX COCHRANE-DYET

1. Killer Joe - While it is essentially a study of overt masculinity, it becomes a leering satire of American culture. This film has been overlooked and I can only hope it will one day be regarded as the masterpiece it most certainly is.

1. Cloud Atlas - One of the most thought provoking films in recent years, this film defies interpretation and you’ll have to watch it multiple times to appreciate how much thought has gone into creating this visionary, dreamlike epic.

2. Argo - One of those rare examples of a perfect thriller, which 2. The Hobbit - If anything, it’s the best Middle-earth movie yet, with Martin Freeman stealing the show. makes no wrong moves with its narrative or with its pacing.

FL - One of the most powerful films 3. Rust and Bone - The film’s success is thanks to its minimalist 3. The Perks of being a Wallflower script and the fine acting on show. It is one of those European about loneliness and isolation I’ve ever watched, the Perks of films that succeed because it does everything a Hollywood film Being a Wallflower is a really touching film. wouldn’t.

4. Seven Psychopaths - A delightfully self-aware film that satirizes 4. Looper - Science fiction is rarely so powerful or so thought movie conventions, misogyny and violence with witty dialogue and memorable characters. provoking.

5. Shadow Dancer - Shadow Dancer is a worthy title on this list. 5. Ted - The drug abusing, obnoxiously rude stuffed teddy bear What the film succeeds particularly well at is creating this dis- called Ted was probably the funniest character on screen in 2012, so long as you’re not easily offended. turbing sense of normality.

RORY MCGREGOR 1. Shame - Michael Fassbender at his most complex with beautiful cinematography to boot (that jogging scene), Steve McQueen creates easily one of the best films of 2012 and one of my favourite films of all time.

KATHERINE HIBBERD 1. Sightseers - The funniest and bloodiest British comedy of the year. If you like dark comedies then don’t miss this one. Caravanning will never be the same again.

2. The Dark Knight Rises - An action-packed thrill ride that left 2. Django - This really is a 2013 release for the UK but I saw it in audiences breathless and brought the series to a satisfying conclusion.

2012 and, as my review details, it was fantastic.

3. Cabin in the Woods - A great narrative and clever deconstruction 3. The Descendants - Georgie Clooney shows his versatility and steals the show in this heart-breaking family-based drama. of the horror genre at large.

4. The Dark Knight Rises- Nolan sent the trilogy out with a bang 4. Skyfall - This stylish, modern Bond film takes Bond back to but really its here because of that brutal fight scene where Bane his Scottish roots in one of the most powerful Bond films ever.

Daniel Craig’s performance is chillingly consummate. destroys Batman.

5. Chronicle - Incredible that this was Josh Trank’s first film, and 5. Life of Pi - A visually stunning film about a young boy’s remade him one of the youngest directors to open at number one in markable journey aboard a raft with a tiger, a hyena, an orangutan, and a zebra. the American box office.

Godzilla returns It has been announced that Legendary Pictures are planning to reboot the Godzilla franchise. With Frank Darabont being drafted in to rewrite the script, and director Gareth Edwards aiming for a “grounded, realistic” tone, a new clutch of actors are circling the leading role. Henry Cavill, Scoot McNairy and Caleb Landry-Jones are thought to be the frontrunners. Filming will begin in Hawaii and Vancouver on 14 March ahead of a planned UK release date of 16 May 2014.

Schwarzenegger: don’t blame Hollywood for gun violence Arnold Schwarzenegger has become the latest Hollywood star to dismiss suggestions that violent movies are to blame for gun massacres. The iconic action star told reporters it was important to “keep [the two] separate.” He said: “[This is] entertainment and the other thing is a tragedy beyond belief. It’s really serious and it’s the real deal.” He added: “We have to analyse how we deal with mental illness, how we deal with gun laws, how we deal with parenting.”

Brad Pitt playing Pontius Pilate?

With Warners planning to add to the recent spate of proposed Biblical epics with its own yarn based around Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, Brad Pitt has been tipped to play the lead, securing himself a role as one of history’s greatest villains. The idea of showing the character’s younger years as a ferocious military leader under the rule of Emperor Tiberius might perhaps explain the attraction to the historically, epically-inclined Brad Pitt of Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy.

Fifty Shades of Grey: the movie “It will be NC-17. It’s going to be raunchy. We are 100 per cent going there.” said the screenwriter Kelly Marcel, promising over and over again they that there will be “a lot of sex,” and expressing the wish that, “The fans love this book, and I want them to love the film as much. I want to make them laugh and cry, to turn them on. I want this to do everything.”Based on Marcel’s bold claim, the studio may actually be going full-force into the realm of NC-17, a rating that’s typically seen as a death blow for any movie.

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS Rory McGregor reviews:

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hree years since Inglourious Basterds was released, Quentin Tarantino storms back onto the screen with another revenge drama in Django Unchained.

Django (Jamie Foxx) is a slave in the preCivil War Deep South who finds himself in the company of a bounty hunter in the shape of a German doctor, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz). Schultz promises Django freedom and to help him find his wife, if he agrees to help him in his quest to locate the Brittle Brothers.

Hitchcock - Coming 08/02

Django Unchained

Jamie Foxx gives a solid performance as the dark and brooding Django, but is completely overshadowed by the masterful gravitas that Christoph Waltz carries, as per usual.

More importantly, (and more surprisingly for me) Leonardo DiCaprio is outstanding as the ruthless and slimy Calvin Candie, who cuts a repugnant figure. To my knowledge this is DiCaprio’s first outing as a villain and he should definitely do these kind of roles more often.

Tarantino shapes Django as a loving blend of Blaxploitation and Spaghetti Western, with all the accompanying throwbacks, such as camera angles and music cues. Not to mention many cameos which will have the film buffs among you salivating (such as the brilliant moment when Django meets the original Django).

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itchcock finds the definitive director at a turning point in his career, troubled by a reporter’s suggestion that it may be time for him to retire; he sets out to make something inventive and different for his style - Psycho.

For a film about the master of suspense the great irony is there isn’t much, as anyone who has even a brief knowledge of Hitchcock’s back catalogue knows that Psycho was the director’s great success. Luckily for the film, it doesn’t matter. The rather superficial plot is carried by a funny script and a fantastic performance by Anthony Hopkins.

Hopkins embodies Hitchcock to every degree, playing the legend of cinema masterfully, even capturing the occasional East London nuances in his refined accent.

The script oozes witticisms but does become overbearing at times; it is possible to come away from Hitchcock with the impression that he only spoke in puns. In fact, it strains so hard for laughs at times that the more poignant moments are lost in the spill of puns Hitchcock consistently churns out.

Overall, Gervasi delivers a very entertaining film and one w h i c h is respectful of the director’s legacy, even if it doesn’t fully dig down into the darker side of his portly silhouette.

Rory McGregor

This is Tarantino at his best; tactfully and sombrely broaching the harsh topics of racism and slavery but also with the ability to poke fun at audience expectations and have some really silly scenes, such as when a KKK gathering descends into an argument about hoods. But, like most Tarantino which has come before it, apart from being highly stylised and a glorious homage to the genres it represents, there’s not an awful lot of substance behind it. You will come away with a sense of enjoyment but feeling a kind of pointlessness about it all.

Although the plot is very linear and pretty straightforward, Django is the first of its kind in a sense for the way it approaches traditional cultural stereotypes. The conventional white gunslinger and his accomplice is turned on its head and it quickly becomes a tale of retribution where Django is in charge, all guns blaz-

But to an extent that is the point of it.

Django Unchained is unapologetic about everything: it’s almost methodical use of profanity, blood, violence, belly laughs, everything. It’s proud to be a popcorn flick, and so it should be, as it may be the best one of this coming year.

Lincoln - Coming 07/02

Les Miserables - Out Now Dir. Tom Hooper

Dir. Steven Spielberg

Dir. Sacha Gervasi

ing. Violence depicted towards black characters are purposefully brutal and realistic whereas violence towards the mainly racist white characters is almost of a cartoonish quality to evoke sympathy from the audience and show black freedom fighting from white oppression.

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Parallel Posters Times change, but advertising doesn't

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tephen Spielberg’s latest outing follows Daniel Day Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in his final few months as he fights to have the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution added by the House of Representatives.

Daniel Day Lewis is on excellent form as usual giving a fantastic performance, but his performance feels uninspired and bogged down in a clunky and sluggish script. It lacks the charisma that the president was renowned for. Spielberg takes potentially interesting subject matter and turns it into what feels more like a two hour long political speech. The attention to detail is impressive; Spielberg and screenwriter Kushner were no doubt fascinated with the material but the delivery is much like the overriding cinematography, grey and drab.

There are interesting moments though the strain of a president under immense political pressure is well realised, as is the tumultuous relationship between Lincoln and his emotionally draining wife, played

by Sally Field in an inspiring performance.

Biopics are a hard genre to get right and ultimately, Spielberg missteps here and fails to deliver a particularly impressive or memorable film. It’s by no means a bad film, but with his legacy when Spielberg delivers a distinctly average film it’s a huge let-down.

Still, at least Lincoln’s not hunting vampires in this one though.

he most successful musical of all time is always going to come to the cinema with significant expectations. With Tom Hooper, Oscar winning director of The King’s Speech, combined with an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, Universal Pictures have clearly gone all out to try and make this the best of all the Les Mis adaptations. But this dire, stale, vacuous mess of a film is one of the tamest efforts of an epic ever attempted.

While Jackman was impressive, Crowe, Hathaway and especially Eddie Redmayne, struggled to sound bothered or emotional.

None of them were out of tune but with such powerful songs, mediocrity was too often accepted by the director. When Crowe and Hathaway were allowed to act, they were their usual impressive selves.

By far the biggest problem with this picture is the man behind the camera. It never fails to amaze me of the lack of imagination that this director possesses combined with the amount of acclaim he has achieved for doing such a poor job with his films so far. Many scenes were basically ruined by his habit of cutting a shot after it had been o n screen for less than a second. It grew visually tiresome. It’s difficult to believe many audiences out there will enjoy so many close ups of shouty, emotionless singing.

Rory McGregor

Tom Bonnington

Anonymous

The Dark KNight

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

Television Tv’S LIFE LESSONS Because we watch TV for good advice!

Mortality “I don’t want to die young. At least not until One Tree Hill gets cancelled.”

Ones to Watch Mr Selfridge Sun, 9pm, ITV

Brittany, Glee

Harsh Realities “Hey, just so you know - it’s NOT that common, it doesn’t happen to every guy and it IS a big deal!”

Rachel, Friends

Success “If you get a waxwork done, that’s when you know you’ve made it.”

Africa Wed, 9pm, BBC1

Sam, The Only Way is Essex

Exercise “If I jogged braless it would look like I was smuggling ferrets in my armpits!”

Miranda Hart, Miranda

Stephen Fry’s Sitcom Cynicism

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KARL TOMUSK looks at the changing nature of American sitcoms

n a recent interview, Stephen Fry discussed the nature of American comedy, characterizing it as inherently optimistic: its heroes can “wisecrack their way out of any situation” and life as a whole is “improvable.”

But, as US sitcoms move away from the standards set by the likes of Cheers and Friends, how applicable is that definition today?

On the one hand, it’s impossible to ignore the gratuitous amount of wisecracking oneliners and self-improvement in shows such as How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, or Modern Family. Although their characters are flawed, they can joke about it, and everything is ultimately wrapped up in a neat uplifting package. Love them or hate them, when we watch these shows, we think “American comedy.”

And yet, when we venture beyond the big network hits that everybody on both sides of the pond watches, there is an entire bevy of shows

that challenges that formula; shows like Arrested Development and Archer, Party Down and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. If we were to base our opinion of American television on these shows, we would assume it’s at least as cynical and pessimistic as its British counterpart.

Take Party Down, a show about failed actors who work for a catering company.

At no point in its two season run does the show hint at these characters having many redeeming qualities; they’re all lazy, unmotivated, or egocentric in their own way.

More importantly, they don’t overcome their problems or wisecrack their way into love and happiness.

They’re miserable and we laugh at their misery.

Arrested Development, Archer, and It’s Always Sunny do something very similar. Each has an ensemble cast with characters that are, to put it bluntly, terrible people. They don’t see the world or those around them as inherently good or optimistic. Life, to them, is a series of events where they constantly get the short end of the stick, much like the Basil Fawltys of British comedy. They aren’t the one-dimensional happy-golucky heroes that Stephen Fry accuses American comedy of having. They are much more complicated and much more hapless.

But Stephen Fry’s mistake isn’t that he’s wrong. It’s that his view is incomplete. There is much more to American comedy than Ben Stiller going from zero to hero, geek to chic, while throwing around irrelevant one-liners. My advice to anyone tired of watching unrealistic nerds hooking up with super models on a backdrop of canned laughter and contrived dialogue is simple: find any sitcom on FX, sit back, and prepare to laugh your way to a more misanthropic perspective on America and on life.

The Undateables Tues, 9pm, C4

Miranda Mon, 9pm, BBC1

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

BOXSET BUCKETLIST Recommendations for the best shows that you may have yet to discover:

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Six Feet Under

lan Ball, known for his film American Beauty and more recently the series True Blood, decided to set his dark comedy series Six Feet Under about a family run funeral parlour in Los Angeles for a very specific reason: he defines L.A. as the “world capital of the denial of death.”

The show’s subject matter is not just dark but daring – it is highly political for the many issues it depicts throughout the seasons: homophobia, class, religion, homosexuality and the war in Iraq to name but a few.

The depiction of the gay couple featured in the show is perhaps one of the best on television, as they are refreshingly presented as just like any other couple, and not strictly present for the sake of their sexuality.

On the surface, there are countless examples of editing scenes in which characters are dealing with difficult and dark situations, which are then followed instantaneously by a strong, contrasting scene of a polar opposite tone. But one of the show’s most unique selling points is its narrative technique, through which the divide between reality and imagination often becomes difficult to determine.

Characters are constantly coming into contact with people who are no longer alive – including their father. Yet this occurs in a persistently realistic manner. The dead do not appear supernaturally and nor do they scare – the dead are simply present to con-

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verse, guide and comfort.

It seems unsurprising then that the son of the very founder of magical realism, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, directed a large number of the episodes. Magical realism gives great importance to the presence of the dead in everyday lives, but in a realistic manner that the reader or viewer becomes accustomed to. This unusual concept is aided by acting from the likes of Michael C. Hall, now perhaps more recognisable as Dexter in the eponymous Showtime series.

Though dealing with death makes for a darker tone, by watching the stories of the Fisher family develop, intertwine and mature, in many ways Six Feet Under emerges similar to many other dramas about a family. Yet its hybrid cinematic style, along with its poetic writing and directing, make it a unique watch.

MELISSA GECZY

Sex and the City

012 was a year for revelations – the only one relevant to this article is that I realized Sex and the City is not overrated codswollop, but actually heartfelt, refreshingly honest television way ahead of its time. Maybe Carrie’s lifestyle is unrealistic, and the proof of her supposed fantastic fashion sense at times painfully absent, but the love she has for her three ‘soulmates’ is palpable and well-acted.

During this time of filmic change towards producing entertainment for audiences ‘over the age of 30’ – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet as examples – SATC should well be remembered for following characters that were not young or naïve. Miranda, Charlotte et al are not bright young things any longer.

For me, that was the element that really sealed the deal. Having dismissed the show casually as an arsey, fifteen year old feminist, I was exposed to it at university. Perhaps I had just become more sensitive, or perhaps I have grown old before my time, for I can empathise with the pressure ‘the gals’ are under – from society and at times themselves to conform.

The awkward queries of “how’s your love life?” are deftly answered, and conversations about children, marriage and moving out of Manhattan are resolved in various ways by the different characters.

These mature women – although of-

ten playful and realistically scared of the choices they have to make – demonstrate to the viewer that even if you live in a swanky New York apartment and can eat out every day, difficult real life choices still have to be made. These moments of painful realism make the series’ for me, as opposed to the constant shopping and party-going.

Constant throughout – whether in the midst of an AIDS scare or a very public fight with breast cancer – is the everlasting, forever inappropriate Samantha Jones. Long may she show us that claims that women ‘peak’ at the age of 22 are a load of bull.

KATE BULL

Absolutely Fabulous

bsolutely Fabulous is now just as easily recognisable by its abbreviated form, ‘Ab Fab’, which can mean only one thing: that it has earned itself a place in the heart and minds of the British public, a lofty domain shared with the likes of Only Fools and Strictly.

What originated as a French and Saunders sketch spawned several series, and sent up the rise of the 90s media elite in the most outrageous of fashions and in what was surely some of the best comedy of the decade.

The show emerged in the early 90s, when ‘greed is good’ was the mantra, and the words ‘credit’ and ‘crunch’ had yet to become quite so well acquainted. Jennifer Saunders wrote and starred as Edina, the madcap and label hungry PR guru, with her indomitable sidekick Patsy, played by the fantastic Joanna Lumley, never far from her side. The pair career from one catastrophe to another while Pats cries out for some “BOLLY!” or “LACROIX!” to take the edge off whatever disaster they happened to find themselves in - be this a botched face lift or a family gathering featuring Eddy’s gay ex-husband and disgruntled daughter.

Patsy and Edina are wickedly entertaining as the preposterous double act, who generally greet everyone and everything with a “sweetie darling,” but have also been known to refer to someone, in what was a particular highlight of mine,

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as a “little bitch troll from hell!!!” The duo use the riches they have somehow acquired as women in the world of fashion to indulge in a life of booze and recreational drugs, trying and (on the whole) spectacularly failing to recapture the glory days of their youth as girls about town in London.

Some of the show’s best comedy, however, comes from their encounters with the supporting cast – the dead pan cynicism and rationality of Eddy’s long suffering daughter Saffy, played alongside her mother’s eccentric incompetence is sheer genius.

While in these days of ‘austerity’. TV is a little more Littlewoods than Lacroix; to watch the show now is certainly no less funny, and definitely worth revisiting.

SIAN GARDINER

Brideshead Revisited

ome may see Downton Abbey as the biggest costume drama spectacle to ever come from ITV. In terms of original drama, they may be right. But hidden in the depths of its archives is the highly underrated yet exceptional adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited.

Aired originally in 1981, it was a greatly anticipated weekly adventure of romance and family scandal told most ingeniously through the star-studded emsemble cast fronted by Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. At first glance, it seems your typical period drama series; however the story twists and issues that unravel through the ten hours of repression, unrequited love and concealed family secrets make this a timeless classic.

The plot follows a world war army captain, Charles Ryder, reliving his romantic attachment to the place his army base has settled, as well as the aristocratic Flyte family owners. Sebastian meets Charles at Oxford University and takes him on a fast whirlwind of champagne lunches and Teddy bear picnics, before accidentally introducing him and dropping him right into the middle of his family’s inner circle at Brideshead.

There, he becomes dangerously involved with the Flytes’ siblings and their religious mother, and we discover his conflicting feelings for his dear friend Sebas-

tian and his attractive sister Julia.

For both its main adaptations, Brideshead Revisited was filmed at Castle Howard of Malton, North Yorkshire, which before going to York University I had admired as the imposing yet mysterious Brideshead.

After visiting it I can completely see why Evelyn Waugh would based such a story at Brideshead, and comparisons of appearances and great likeness are even made between the Howard’s close friend and artist Felix Kelly and Brideshead’s Charles Ryder.

Brideshead Revisited is a thought provoking and wildly engaging piece of television, which is an imaginative interpretation of Waugh’s early work.

LAURA McKENZIE

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

Books Events Diary Tuesday 15th January, 11am JT Brannan Origin Meet the Author- Waterstones, York

Wednesday 16th January John McCarthy You Can’t Hide The Sun: A Journey Through Palestine Talk and book signing – London Jewish Cultural Centre, London

Your 2013 Reading List Rachel Longhurst takes a look at the biggest books set to hit shelves this year...

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hether it is something to read on the beach or something a little deeper, 2013 is producing it all. With long awaited sequels and a few final instalments, competition for most purchased book this year will be much fiercer, particularly after last year’s 50 Shades of Gray whitewash.

February - March The beginning of the year brings lightweight literature from Jodi Picoult in the form of The Storyteller, while the last book from the bestselling Irish novelist, Maeve Binchy, A Week in Winter, is set to do well with fans after her death in June last year. Both books are set to be released in February, perfect for the post exam de-stress!

April

Wednesday 16th January Peter May The Chessmen Book launch – Blackwells, Edinburgh

Thursday 17th January, 7pm Jack Sheffield School’s Out! Meet the Author and Signing Waterstones, York

Saturday 26th January. 12pm Pamela Hartstone Time’s Echo Meet the Author and Signing - Waterstones, York

Wednesday 30th January, 7pm Guilleme Balague Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography Book Discussion, ticketed event Waterstones, York If you would like to write or review for us, drop us an email:

books@yorkvision.co.uk

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May

Already creating a buzz is J.M.Coetzee’s controversial The Childhood of Jesus which is set to be released in April. Written in the contemporary age about a father and son who arrive in a strange country as immigrants, this reworking of the backbone of Christianity is certainly not one to miss, at least if the discussions that are already surrounding it’s pre-publication are anything to go by. Veteran novelist James Salter is set to release All That Is in April. One for the avid reader, the story follows the life of a WWII soldier who forges a career for himself after the war in publishing. Whilst the details made public at the moment aren’t much to go by, the presence of a novel by this author is causing a lot of excitement in the literary world.

As fans of the TV show True Blood may already be aware, May brings the last Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Ever After, by Charlaine Harris. Although the recent novels have met a lot of criticism, the climax to the series that has been published over 12 years is certainly one to watch out for. Another big release for May is Khaled Hossini’s And The Mountains Echoed, with his previous novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns meeting high acclaim. Written to humanise the people and places in Afghanistan in light of recent global events, we can only expect big things from Hossini’s next offering and I for one will be adding it onto my summer reading list.

June - July

Fans of Stephen King will be happy to know the writer has two big releases this year, the first to be released is Joyland in June which follows a newly employed theme park worker who discovers a series of murders. Also to be released in June is a long-awaited sequel to The Devil Wears Prada named Revenge Wears Prada. Following former assistant Andy in her new role of a magazine editor, the sequel is set to provide just as much drama that any fan of the previous book or the film is sure to welcome.

August - September & Beyond September will see King’s second release, a much anticipated sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep.

Thirty-six years in the waiting, the story will follow the middle-aged ‘Dan’, the very same Danny who escaped Overlook Hotel in the previous book, in a fight between good and evil that is certain not to disappoint. Another anticipated release expected in the early autumn is Malcolm Gladwell’s novel inspired by the ‘occupy’ movement provisionally titled Power.

With some big names re-entering the scene, it will be interesting to see what happens in the world of books this year, or perhaps like last year, a debut novel will take the world by storm and blow the likes of King and Salter out of the picture. Whatever occurs, the Vision Books team will be watching and waiting with bated breath.

Looking For Love... Joshua Treacy and Gabriele Pumeryte tackle Valentine’s Day romances...

s the heartening glow of Christmas thaws, we look forwards to Valentine’s Day as the next ‘holiday’ on the calendar to cheer our spirits. Unless, of course, you happen to be lacking in love come February 14th. In which case, fellow student, it is time to turn to books! Love has always been a favourite topic of writers, whether wanting to tell their own adventures of the heart or exploring the darker, deeper – or simply unrealistic – aspects of fictional passions.

Romeo and Juliet for example, emphasizes the benefits of taking a relationship slowly. Having met a girl for no longer than five minutes at a party is no justification for breaking and entering, eloping, murdering followed by accidental mutual suicide. Yet, those crazy Veronan’s were much more rock and roll than Jane Austen. Her Pride and Prejudice is a beautiful and nuanced novel. Glances here, passing remarks there, and in the centre of it a perfect man who will not hesitate to propose twice. A thousand sighs and some laughter, this book will make you understand that to make someone love you, you just have to make them think you hate them. Compare that to Wuthering Heights, with perhaps as much angst as Romeo and Juliet, but played out over the span of a few lifetimes. Set not too far from fair old York, the harsh Yorkshire moors mirror the turbulent relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff. A love story so potent, it became a Kate Bush hit.

There has always been an appeal in British literature to have a love story that plays with class boundaries. Whether this Valentine’s Day you are secretly admiring a prince or a pauper, bear in mind the adventure of Pip from Dickens’s Great Expectations. Manipulated by old and fading spinster Miss Havisham (and others), Pip finds himself blindly following the love of the distant Estella through the social ranks of London. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy is a noticeably more rural tale. Bathsheba is a woman thrust into a life running a farm. Suddenly she finds herself dealing with the advances of three men, the reckless Sergeant Troy, fellow farm owner Mr. Baldwood and the dependable but modest farm manager, Gabriel Oak. If your loved one is far away from you on Valentine‘s, reach for Time Traveller‘s Wife by A. Niffeneger. The tittle is self-explanatory, and the wife of the protagonist can be found just sitting there, waiting for her lover to come back from when she was six and met him for the first time. You think love over distance is complicated? Try love over time!

Finding a better love story that Twilight has become a rather mean meme of late. Yes, throughout the second novel, all you want to do is vigorously shake Bella and tell her to just get over the fact her boyfriend had to leave because he was too worried about accidentally eating her. Having said that, you cannot deny that Twilight has had massive appeal, even if the issues of ‘Alien’ vampire babies eating you from the inside is not a concern most relationships inspire.

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

Death of a Spider-Man? T

he comic book world has been rocked and torn asunder by the announcement of a much-beloved character being given his death sentence. In Amazing Spider-Man #700 of the long-running series launched in 1963, Spider-Man dies, with the super-villain Doctor Octopus’s consciousness entering his body to become the new Spider-Man. Wait, what?

In Amazing Spider-Man #700, Peter Parker is faced with the horrific constraint to transfer his consciousness into the body of Doctor Octopus to change him into a decent human, thereby forcing the consciousness of Doctor Octopus to enter into the body of Peter Parker. Upon doing so, the physical form of Doctor Octopus dies taking Peter with it - unfortunate.

But in a less evil and younger form, Doctor Octopus stretches out and exclaims that he will become a “superior Spider-Man,” which neatly flows into the January launch of the comic book Superior Spider-Man, starring Doctor Octopus as Spider-Man, Seriously.

Such a controversial decision has not been without backlash as one writer of this story-line and long-time writer for the Amazing Spider-Man series, Dan Slott, has found.

“Did I know fans were gonna be passionate about this?

Sure,” Slott told Wired. “When we started dropping hints about what was coming up in Amazing Spider-Man #700, I was the first to make the jokes that when the issue came out I was going to have to pull a ‘Salman Rushdie.’ But

Is this the end of our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man? Morenike Adebayo investigates...

let’s be honest about this comic fans have always been this passionate. They just haven’t always had a place to vent their knee-jerk reactions that was as instantaneous as the Internet.”

When Spider-Man was first brought to life by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in the comic book world in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962, it was controversially ground-breaking for a teenager to be in the role as a main superhero protagonist, as they would normally be consigned to sidekick protégé (Robin for Batman) or as a bit-part character (Jimmy Olsen for Superman). Peter Parker, a teenage highschool student and the secret identity of Spider-Man, displays many common trials and tribulations of growing up through adolescence - relevant to his young adult audience, with the additional weight of being a mutant superhero. This unusual direction, not been popularly replicated since, sees that Peter Parker has no mature superhero mentor and instead has to learn for himself that “with great power comes great responsibility” - the oft-quoted line said by his late Uncle Ben. Stan Lee celebrated his 90th birthday last month, and he underwent pacemaker implant surgery in September 2012 to “ensure that [he] would live for 90 more years.” He is showing no signs of stopping soon and, like him, SpiderMan is a legend that will live on forever. Excelsior!

Sir Quentin Blake

Katie Meyrick looks at the illustrations of Quentin Blake as he is named on the 2013 New Year’s Honours List What is it about Quentin Blake that makes his work quite so special? He is without a doubt one of the most famous children’s illustrators to date. His highly recognisable wire-like stylised drawings have graced the pages of over 300 books and have been enjoyed by generations of children worldwide.

They have also earned him a place on the 2013 New Year’s Honours List. Blake will receive his knighthood in recognition of a lifetime’s work as an illustrator and his contribution to the development of The House of Illustration. The gallery, situated in North London, is due to open in 2014 and will be exhibiting Blake’s complete archive of work. As a recipient of a CBE and an MBE, as well as The Eleanor Farjeon Award, recognising outstanding contribution to children’s books, Blake is no stranger to accolades. In an interview with the BBC about his knighthood, Blake expressed his pleasure at receiving this award and deemed it “quite a nice 80th birthday present.”

Unlike most other children’s illustrators, Blake’s works are not confined to the pages of books. His drawings have been reproduced on greeting cards and stationery, displayed in museums and have even adorned a range of bespoke wallpapers for Osborne and Little. He has also recently completed a series of murals in the children’s ward of several different hospitals.

Quentin Blake’s success is mostly due to his close and effective collaboration with children’s authors such as Michael

Rose, Michael Morpurgo and of course, Roald Dahl. His illustrations brought the myriad of eccentric characters from Dahl’s books to life and they are as memorable as the stories themselves. Although his style of work is quite simplistic, all the different characters have a very strong sense of personality, whilst still leaving plenty of scope for childish imagination to run wild. The gentle nature of The BFG, the fear evoked by The Witches or Miss Trunchbull or the magic of Mr Wonka’s Chocolate Factory; all of these are conveyed in these stylised line drawings dotted throughout the pages.

When discussing his own style of drawing, Blake refers to his illustrations as “free fall.” Whilst working at the magazine Punch the arts editor suggested that his rough drawings were better than the finished work. Blake cites this as a turning point in the development of his style of working and consequently his drawings loosened up a lot. In his own book on drawing, he states that people spend to much time trying to make a dog look like a dog to the extent that it ceases to look like a dog and encourages the use of loose expressive lines and staunchly discourages the use of an eraser and the perfectionism it can entail.

Blake’s drawings have an unforgettable childlike quality, which is perhaps why they are quite so loved by children. The lines are wobbly, they are painted in blocks of bold colour and the sense of scale is sometimes questionable, but this exaggerated features and simplicity is perhaps what makes them quite so engaging for child readers.

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

Technology

Top tech tweet of the week: TimesHigherEducation @timeshighered

7 Jan

Universities are “the driving force behind our increasingly high-tech, knowledgebased economy.” #midtermreview

Looking ahead: top five tech heroes of 2013 Steve Ballmer

Marissa Mayer

Current CEO of Microsoft, Ballmer has been at the forefront of their recent product development. The launch of Windows 8 in the latter part of last year marked a dramatic shift in Microsoft’s strategy, and 2013 is the time when they’ll have to prove that they’re still at the top of the industry after recent competition from Apple and Google.

Despite still attracting hundreds of millions of visitors, Yahoo! has faced various trials recently. The omnipresent Google did much to gobble up its market share, and its public image is a shadow of what it once was, but it’s looking to be revitalised over the course of 2013.

Their Surface tablet will sink or swim. Windows Phone 8 will attempt to expand its currently modest market-share. Xbox will likely reveal a successor to the 360. Windows 8 itself will attempt to emulate the ubiquity of its predecessors.

Ballmer has a lot to prove, and this year is key. With a bevy of gambles last year in the touchscreen space that have yet to pay off fully, 2013 could be the year of Microsoft.

Game reviews

‘If you can’t beat them, employ their staff ’ seems to have been their motto with their latest big change. Marissa Mayer is a former Google executive, and quickly made waves when she became president and CEO of the Yahoo! corporation in late 2012. Amongst other

things, she is credited with overseeing the design of Google’s impossibly familiar Search homepage.

Tasked with competing with the company she helped to grow, Mayer has an uphill battle ahead of her. Still, anyone attempting to take on the might of a company whose very name has become a verb deserves the moniker ‘hero’ in our books.

Tim Cook

Gabe Newell

Apple certainly wasn’t without sin in 2012. Forced to apologise after iO6’s native Maps app was an unmitigated disaster, they were meanwhile embroiled in lengthy patent disputes with rivals Samsung.

They had to apologise for that, too.

Co-founded by Newell, Valve corporation is a giant of the PC gaming scene. Developers of the HalfLife and Portal series of games, they also have a huge market share in the digital distribution of PC games through their Steam software.

Their main hardware innovation of 2012, the iPad mini, was criticized for being overly imitative.

CEO Tim Cook bore much of the brunt of this, and he will be looking to atone for Apple’s mistakes in the new year. But Apple have usually got a shiny new gadget up their sleeve, and this makes Tim Cook one to watch.

Valve looks to have its sights set on expanding rapidly, with hints of experiments in wearable computing and living room PCs cropping up frequently.

Notably calling Windows 8 a “catastrophe,” Newell’s strong views will be tested in 2013 as Valve tries to soar to even greater fortunes.

The Walking Dead (PC) My finger hovers awkwardly over the keys. I can feel time ticking away, but all I can do is stare at the screen in disbelief. I panic and make a snap judgement. My character restrains his friend to allow one member of our group to brutally murder another. I tell myself it was the right call, but I remain unsure even as I type this sentence. Welcome to The Walking Dead.

The game opens with a standard zombie apocalypse setup (you know the score by now: don’t get bitten by reanimated corpses, remove the head or destroy the brain to dispatch), which sees the protagonist, Lee, waking up into a living nightmare after a car crash. He soon meets Clementine, a young girl, and responsibility for her welfare quickly falls upon the player. All of the hallmarks of the graphic novel it’s based on remain intact; it is never simply a story of overcoming horrific obstacles, but what overcoming those obstacles does to the humanity of those left alive. Don’t let the cartoonish art style fool you; this is a remarkably mature game, something that became apparent to me between swings two and three of the hammer which caved in the skull of Clementine’s zombified babysitter.

The Walking Dead allows the player to dramatically alter the course of their journey. Lee is presented with dialogue and action choices every few minutes.

These affect things from merely the way characters react to Lee, all the way up to whether members of the group live or die.

All of these choices help to build the inescapable feeling that the game is your story. How do you react under pressure? Will you show compassion and remain hopeful, or remind people of the harsh realities of their situation? Will you preserve Clementine’s innocence when the world around her is tearing itself apart in a perverse and bloody apocalypse?

Play The Walking Dead to find out.

Jamie Macdonald

Peter Molyneux Ex-head of Guildford-based Lionhead Studios, Peter Molyneux is the man behind Black and White and Fable. After ascending to the giddy heights of Microsoft’s Xbox division, he left to found his own studio: 22Cans.

This studio has been responsible for the game/social experiment hybrid Curiosity.

Known for somewhat grandiose visions and expectations about his projects, will Molyneux’s freedom yield the revolution he’s always promised?

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

S P OT LIG H T FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

chat to Michael

After 12 years, five EPs, and soon-to-be six studio albums, one would think that Funeral For a Friend (FFAF) were about to run out of steam. However, as much as the posthardcore rockers from Bridgend in South Wales realise that in such long careers breaks and times of relaxation are necessary to keep things fresh, they certainly have not run out of ideas and will not be hanging up their respective instruments in the foreseeable future.

not that I don’t think Memory and Humanity wasn’t fresh enough; we just put too much pressure on ourselves to deliver a record quickly. Originally it was going to be a seven or eight track EP, but then we thought if we have all of this material we might as well put out a record. In hindsight, we definitely pushed ourselves too hard and too far to get it done in such a short time frame.”

With the start of the New Year comes the release of their sixth studio album Conduit. When I asked the guitarist Kris Coombs-Roberts whether he thought the album was going to continue harking back to their early work, he replied quite frankly: “Yes, I’d say it has more in common with the first few EPs, Between Order and Model and Four Ways to Scream Your Name. I think as a band we have gone on a journey and got back to the same drive and passion that we had when we first started.” In this way, the band has experienced quite a progression. Some, however, would say they have rather regressed in style over the past decade, most notably in the concept album Tales Don’t Tell Themselves. This was quite a change of style from the earlier post-hardcore material that launched the band: “It wasn’t that we didn’t like Tales, but Between Order, Four Ways and Casually all sound like the same band; with Tales we did something honest that was right at that time. We were getting labelled a lot as screamo and emo at the time. When we first started, ‘emo’ wasn’t the dirty word it is now, I think we were just worried about being pigeon-holed and wanted to push ourselves out of that, the problem was when we came to Memory and Humanity, we tried to write a record too soon after Tales.”

The band have had many line-up changes over the years significantly long standing guitarist Darren Smith left in 2010. “We’re still really good mates, and I’ll catch up with him, and when he left it was for the right reasons and I think it’s been the same with everyone. We’re quite lucky in a sense because when people have wanted to leave they have always been quite up front about how they’re feeling and been like “I don’t think I can do this anymore”.

At the end of the day we’re all friends and it’s pointless being bitter and angry over it all.”

FFAF released Tales Don’t Tell Themselves, their third studio album in 2007. Then, after considering releasing an EP in March 2008 they decided to instead release a full album which became Memory and Humanity: “I think as a band we should have thought about taking a break. It’s

After Darren left, the Bass player at the time Gavin Burrough switched to play guitar. Kris explains: “It’s strange in the case of Gav because I’ve known him since I was fifteen or sixteen and we’ve been jamming together for years, so his playing style is actually more similar to

“WE WERE ALL FRIENDS...We HELPED EACH OTHER OUT. AND it’s nice to see when you’re from an area and the door opens for someone and you think maybe you can sneak through as well!”

Cooper

mine than Darren’s so when he changed and we started playing together it was easy and it felt right.”

Another significant recent line-up change has been the addition of Pat Lundy on drums after the departure of Ryan Richards. Pat Lundy, who left the band Rise to Remain in January of 2013, was at the top of FFAF’s list of drummers that could replace Ryan Richards: “When Ryan left and we heard that Pat had left Rise to Remain and wasn’t doing anything; we thought it was an absolute no-brainer to ask him to come and try out.” Pat Lundy learnt the whole set list for the band in seven days before his addition. Lundy brings more metal style of drumming to the band and having recorded all the drum parts to the new album himself this definitely comes across in the first single ‘Best Friends and Hospital Beds’. “Ryan was more of a rock drummer, where he was really creative was how he used cymbals in tracks. The way he would texture a track is by putting in little bell hits and cymbals splashes; whereas Pat is more of a harder hitter so the way that he plays sounds louder.”

The band came out of the buzzing alternative music scene in Bridgend, during the early noughties, and because of this the band has never had an issue finding replacements for members that have left: “We have never held open auditions for a position; it wouldn’t feel right for us to be meeting someone for the first time when they were playing with us. So it has to be someone we already know and are already friends with.”

The Bridgend music scene has produced to very successful bands over the years, including the Lostprophets, Bullet for my Valentine, The Blackouts, Attack! Attack! and Kids in Glass Houses, which is surprising considering how small it is compared to the rest of the country. “I think it was a great moment in time really, we all knew each other, we were all friends and played shows together, shared equipment and we helped each other out. And it’s nice to see when you’re from an area and the door opens for someone and you think maybe you can sneak through as well!

“I feel American bands get enough coverage from the press in the UK and they don’t need a helping hand from British bands, but for British bands it isn’t that they don’t get the coverage more with touring; American bands tour with other American bands but I think what we do is we all help each other. We have taken lots of bands on tour with us.”

FFAF aren’t a band that are worried about addressing tough subject matters in their songs. For example, ‘Roses For the Dead’ especially is a song that has spoken to many people because of the way it addresses life and death, love and loss. I asked whether or not the band makes a conscious decision to address these issues.

“Well Matt writes all the lyrics and I don’t think we ever tried to shelter him or tell him a subject matter couldn’t be approached, so we let him write and do whatever he wants and whatever he feels passionate about, especially with ‘Roses for the Dead’. We get a lot of fans telling us that it helped them through a tough time in their life or helped them deal with something and I believe it’s a testament to how open and honest Matt writes and how well he puts his feelings into lyrics” Funeral For a Friend certainly have had a long run and a lot to show for it. Every fan out there will be hoping that they can deliver another twelve years of diverse exciting music, just like the first.

MUSIC NIGHTLIFE FILM TV BOOKS TECH SPOTLIGHT 20 QUESTIONS

20 QUESTIONS WITH

Gavin from THE BLACKOUT answers Scene’s Questions 1) What is your earliest memory?

10) What do you wish you’d invented/discovered?

14) What luxury would you take to a desert island?

A Mr T blow up punch bag.

Star Wars, that way they would have been left alone to grow old gracefully and not have a series of botched face lifts.

Solar Panels.

2) What’s your favourite gigging anecdote?

When we played an impromptu gig at a German festival blind drunk in fancy dress. I was a gayer Freddy Mercury (if that’s possible). Sean was a pirate, Snoz wore a shell suit, Matt was I think also a pirate, Rhys was a Mexican and Bob was batgirl.

3) What would your super-power be?

To fly faster than the speed of sound. Then I wouldn’t have to sit on flights.

15) Tea or Coffee?

Coffee.

11) If you could live in any mythical/fictional world which would it be?

The Shire seems like a fairly pleasant place to live. All they do is drink, smoke and generally enjoy life.

16) What’s your worst habit?

Biting my nails.

17) Who would you have at your ideal dinner party?

12) If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would it be?

Kiefer Sutherland and my friends.

Pterodactyl so we could tame them and ride them.

18) What’s your favourite smell?

Coffee.

4 Cats or Dogs?

Considering I only have a cat... Dogs.

5) What’s bugging you at the moment?

13) What’s your favourite song at the moment?

Taylor Swift - ‘Trouble When You Walked In’. But I got to big up the wife’s songs.

19) If you were a biscuit, which would you be and why?

I definitely wouldn’t be a Rich Tea.

Twitter, it may be the downfall of humanity.

20) What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

6) Who are your musical influences?

I listen to everything from Queen to Every time I die, from Adele to Cancer Bats.

Be yourself and of what you enjoy doing.

7) What couldn’t you live without?

Oxygen.

8) What’s your favourite joke?

Two fish in a tank and one says to the other, “How the fuck do you drive this thing.”

The Blackout’s new album, Start The Party is out January 21st.

9) Snog, marry, avoid: Taylor Swift, Rita Ora, Dita Von Teese?

Marry Taylor Swift that way you get to snog her too. Snog Dita Von Teese, I don’t know why but I think she’d mess me around, and avoid Rita Ora ‘cos’ I’m not quite sure which one she is.

Music Editors: Martin Waugh Louisa Hann Deputy Music: Laura McCartan Katie Molloy Nightlife Editors: Jess Davidson Dom Mckinnon-Green Deputy Nightlife: Ben Oppedijk Ben Huckle

SCENEScene editors Editors: Jo Barrow & Niamh Connolly Film Editors: Rory Mcgregor & Alex Cochrane-Dyet Deputy Film: Tom Bonnington Katherine Hibberd TV Editors: Sian Gardiner & Karl Tomusk

Books Editors: Rachel Longhurst Morenike Adebayo Deputy Books: Gabriele Pumeryte Joshua Treacy Tech Editors: Jamie Macdonald Josh Gisby Deputy Tech: Max Sugarman