VERGE MAEVE HIGGINS JUST CAN’T STOP DOING COMEDY
THE 1975 ALL WE SEEM TO DO IS TALK ABOUT SEX
EMMA
DONOGHUE CHATS ABOUT HER NEW NOVEL FROG MUSIC
VOLUME II
ISSUE 11
UCC
EXPRESS
Deep in the hundred acre wood…
FORTNIGHTLY FAVOURITE 4
Words: Ellen Desmond, Entertainment Editor In keeping with my attempts to make these editorials somehow based on something from the entertainment world, this week I’m going to be ranting about Winnie the Pooh. I recently made an English presentation about Winnie the Pooh. That’s right, a third level academic presentation. It would appear that, according to some sources, deep in the hundred acre wood all the much loved A. A. Milne characters had bucket loads of personal issues. This was a theory I found online and it really annoyed me. I hate when people indulge in pointlessly labelling people; especially when it is undeserved, not productive or in this case, utterly irrelevant to a children’s book. It is furthermore irrelevant to the unprejudiced children’s reading of said book. I also realise Eeyore and Piglet are far from people but the principle behind the matter remains the same. The main point I was trying to make in that presentation is that prejudice is something people are taught, not something we are born with. And it’s true; no child shuns Tigger for displaying evidence of ADHD or judges Piglet for his clear Anxiety Disorder. None of Milne’s characters are marginalised by young fans who have adored those characters since 1926. Labelling, in this context of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities (and also relevant is race, religion etc.) is also a matter that concerns me with regards to writing and journalism. Before Christmas I interviewed X Factor winner James Arthur, shortly before his Twitter account erupted, following his very public controversial and degrading comments about other artists. Since then he has been labelled as a homophobe, amongst other things, and I neither agree nor disagree with that labelling of him. However, had I interviewed him after said label had been applied, the interview would have taken a completely different angle because any application of a label to a person, place or thing completely interrupts the story and alters the outlook of the reader and writer. James Arthur was interviewed by us, The UCC Express, to gain publicity from students for his new album and later Cork gig in the Opera House. His music, I can confirm, is catchy and ultimately harming no one. So where is the line of when I should or shouldn’t portray a singer or musician as one thing or another, when they are simply trying to get their music out there to people who may like it? This idea is very relevant to every publication but there are a few good examples in this week’s issue of Verge. A good example is my own interview with Emma Donoghue, who is oft categorized in lesbian literature sections, even when the subject matter of her work does not deal with lesbian themes, just because of her sexual preference. If that’s even relevant to the work she has produced is a question that has been bugging me. Maeve Higgins the comedienne is another feature in this week’s issue and her field, of comedy, is one that is rife with the label that “female comics are not as funny as their male counterparts.” Just because a woman makes it in the world of comedy they are suddenly given the title of feminist icons, which interrupts their art because it influences them to have to cover the topic within their performance. It may seem like I’m being very dramatic here, and that these labels aren’t hurting anyone per say, but if I can spring a 600 word editorial from someone labelling Pooh Bear as a Binge Eater, then there’s definitely an argument out there against people loosely saying that any one person can defined by exactly anything.
18
2013
-Robert
@theCircleGuy
Andrew Maxwell
-Eoghan
@EoghanLyng
With a Star Wars theme in this week’s Film & TV section, I was wracking my head about what to watch. As the articles poured in, I noticed a gap: no one had written about theprequels. I remember going to see Episode 1 in the cinema. Some of my fondest childhood memories are sitting down to watch the original trilogy with my Dad. So I queued with my Qui-Gon Jinn toy, bought my ticket and watched. And even then, in 1999, I knew something wasn’t right. Watching it again, it’s clear that The Phantom Menace is the perfect example of bad filmmaking. Lucas, despite being a successful director, clearly had just lost it by ‘99. Full of wooden acting, Sarlacc-sized plot holes and dodgy characters, Phantom Menace is just painful to watch. It is likely the biggest let-down in the history of art and entertainment. The excitement around its release, combined with the sheer lack of quality, cannot be replicated today and I doubt it’ll be repeated.
Arguably the greatest living Irish stand-up comedian (say what you will, Maxwell is sharper than Dermot O` Doherty, wittier than Dylan Moran and more culturally relevant than Ardal O`Hanlon), Maxwell`s tenure at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Electric Picnic, Secret Policeman`s Ball events and ‘The Panel’ have turned Maxwell into a comedian par excellence. Casually cathartic in his routine, Maxwell more than held his own against Phil Jupitus and Simon Amstell on ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ in 2006. Now with a more characteristically modern set, Maxwell`s routine includes satirising German Politics (particularly with his hilarious song ‘Work Hard (Save Your Money!)’), Irish stereotypes (albeit in a more original manner than the average funny man) and familial tribulations (quite Milliganish in this approach). Admired by Simon Pegg, Tommy Tiernan and Foil, Arms and Hog among others, Maxwell is both a bloody good comedian and, talking from a personal experience, an amicable fellow to his fans. It may be too late to print his performance, but it`s been mentioned in the Grapevine that he will be making an appearance in UCC. Keep your eyes and ears peeled!
Breakeven by Taylor Swift and Danny O’Donoghue
-Meadhbh
@meadhbh_crowley
Last week Taylor Swift graced the UK with her presence, rounding up her RED tour in Europe. Swift is famed for attracting big acts to collaborate with her and in London she was joined onstage with Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran and Danny O’Donoghue. For anyone who knows me they know that this was some sort of match made in heaven for me, two of my favourite artists singing my favourite song. Breakeven was one of The Script’s breakout singles after We Cry and The Man Who Can’t Be Moved and Taylor’s reason for choosing Danny to perform with comes from when she came over to Europe for the first time and they quickly became her favourite band, long before they had made a name for themselves stateside. The performance is available to watch on YouTube and the official videos of all the collabs will be uploaded soon.
Snake
EDITORIAL TEAM
Music Editor: Méadhbh Crowley
Arts & Literature Editor: Eoghan Lyng
Film & TV Editor: Robert O’ Sullivan
Gaming Editor: Brian Conmy
Design: Cathal O’ Gara
2 VERGE EDIT
February
The Phantom Menace
@ellen_desmond
Entertainment Editor: Ellen Desmond
VERGE
-Brian
@aerach71
With all this Flappy Bird talk I eventually tried to grab the game but alas, it had already been removed from the app store. This momentary disappointment, momentary may be too strong a word, led me to tell my roommate about the game and the entire situation surrounding it. Looking bewildered he longingly said “remember when the only game you could play on your phone was Snake?” And remember I did. Man, Snake was awesome wasn’t it? When everyone stole their parent’s Nokia phone just to play that game for way too long, just waiting for that one run when your snake got so big you had no idea how you lasted as long as you did - those were the days. This led me to look around for an app or online version of the game that felt the same as the original but unfortunately they all seem a little too modern. Did you know you could finish Snake? Youtube it, it’s worth a watch.
CONTRIBUTOR LIST
Daniel Sheehan
Martha Ewance
Cathal Dennehy
Stephen Barry
Gregory Gorman
Robert Byrne
Eoghan O’ Donoghue Daniel O’ Driscoll
n it o
INTERVIEW
MAEVE HIGGINS’ obh native Maeve Higgins, a self-proclaimed “total legend masquerading as someone who doesn’t know what’s going on, or vice versa” spoke to Verge recently, mostly about how funny she is. Maeve found her footing in comedy when her “career as an Ike Turner impressionist took a real dip in the late 1990s” but she didn’t give up on show business. “I got back up again and found myself a job,” explains Maeve, with her usual tongue and cheek tone; an answer filled with her trade mark fast-paced wittiness. “I worked as Marty Whelan’s chauffeur for seven years,” she continues, “all the wise-cracking I did driving him to and from the Lyric FM studios paid off when he suggested I give comedy a go. I’ve literally never looked back since!” Maeve has come a long way since stealing the public’s heart on RTE’s Naked Camera and later on her own comedy/cookery mash-up Fancy Vittles. She hasn’t done a TV project since 2010 and doesn’t appear to have any pressing need to do more in the near future. “I don’t watch much TV, I prefer reading, also I think I’m in love with my radio, and listen to This American Life all the time.” It was 2012 that bookshelves were graced with her compilation of humorous essays entitled We Have A Good Time…Don’t We? which was nominated Best Newcomer in The Irish Book Awards and secured Maeve’s place as one of the leading ladies of Irish comedy. “When I try to have a good time, I do,” Maeve says when asked to respond to her book’s title, “not necessarily because I am having a good time, but because I’m trying to, I’m slowly figuring out that it’s really all about making the effort – even when I’m feeling too scared or too lazy to make it.” When asked if fans could look forward to a sequel she replied “Yes, knock yourself out! I am writing a bit, but right now I’m doing the living part that should probably come first. It’s healthier, and it will give me something to write about.” In October of last year, the aptly named “Can’t stop doing comedy” recorded performance also became available, setting Maeve apart as a comedienne with the ability to tackle any medium thrown at her. Now too the owner of a weekly column in The Irish Times, Maeve the “regular human girl” has since gone on to perform stand-up gigs as impressive and varied as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival and the Eugene Mirman Festival in New York. This year sees a return to New York for Maeve, where she plans on travelling to in order to “snack, joke around, write and mainly, just try to remain
Comical A
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calm.” At the end of January she took part in the The Craic Comedy Festival at the Irish Arts Center, just another success in the bag for this comedienne, who has turned into an inspiration for many upcoming female comics. The opportunities for women in comedy, and more recently feminism in comedy, are both extremely topical right now as so many impressive females have come to the forefront of comedy. It would appear that with big names like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Ellen DeGeneres landing gigs as big as hosting the Golden Globes and the Oscars that the stigma of sexism in comedy may finally be coming to an end. It’s an issue that Maeve, like Fey, Poehler and DeGeneres, has been known to tackle using comedy in an attempt to take a stand against the stereotype that “women aren’t funny.” Most recently Maeve sarcastically tweeted about a pair of children’s playthings that she came across, the “boy version” of which was a pirate and the “girl version” of which was a pink owl. “I can’t tell how much my being a woman has or hasn’t been a factor in my work,” admits Maeve, “I haven’t directly experienced sexism but I know it’s there, because it’s everywhere. To combat sexism, I help other women as much as I can and I try not to get discouraged myself. I remind myself that my voice is no more and no less valid than anybody else’s.” A return to Ireland on the 1st of March is set for Maeve in an attempt to “beat
Comed Higgins ienne Maeve Desmon tells Ellen can’t st d why she comedy op doing - litera lly!
athletics legend Catrina McKiernan” in the PREDA Run for Freedom. “PREDA is pretty much the worthiest charity ever,” according to Maeve, “they save children from prison and worse, they are based in the Phillipines which is a tough place to be right now, and the founder, Fr. Shay Cullen has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice. Damien Dempsey is a big supporter – how could I not get involved?” Following the run, on the same day, Maeve hopes to remain standing and is performing a gig she callsFun For Freedom with Gearoid Farrelly, all funds of which will go to the same cause. Looking at Maeve’s schedule for 2014 she is more or less spending her whole year flying around the globe, performing gigs to both Irish and international audiences galore. “I can’t seem to stop doing comedy” she admits, “if I wasn’t doing it that would probably mean I would be dead and my ashes would be distributed all over the car park of a suburban Lidl - I’ve always loved their keenly priced butternut squash.” Following her work for PREDA, Maeve has two other Dublin gigs set to take place on the 5th and 6th of March in Vicar Street and the Civic Theatre before she jets off to Australia and New Zealand with Nick Coyle. Together this pair of “international maverick renegades” plan to perform A Rare Sight! at the Brisbane Comedy Festival and then the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in late March. A Rare Sight! is a show about a married couple who “politely” teach the audience how to live their lives best. Fans across the world will no doubt be looking forward to hearing a few of Maeve’s self-deprecating jokes and anecdotes and it was very interesting to learn where this approach comes from and furthermore, the aims of it. “I like things that are funny, true and sometimes sad so that is the comedy I aspire to make, on stage and on the page,” she divulged, “the people I admire – Maria Bamford, Kurt Vonnegut, George Saunders, James Thurber – produce work that makes me feel less alone, and if I could make someone else feel like that, I’d be delighted with myself.”
I remind myself that my voice is no more and no less valid than anybody else’s
BOBA FETT
Robert O’Sullivan talks to Star Wars actor, Jeremy Bulloch
Jeremy Bulloch was born in 1945 in Leicestershire, England. He acted for many years on stage and the small screen in Britain but first gained worldwide recognition for his portrayal of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back. Having watched the original trilogy again, it was surprising to note the limited nature of his role. While being featured in the film (often referred to as the second-biggest villain after Darth Vader), he has a surprisingly short amount of screentime. Boba Fett was introduced into the Star Wars mythos in the dreadful Star Wars Holiday Special, saving Luke Skywalker and then betraying him in one of the animated segments of the show. Boba was a clone of another bounty hunter, Jango Fett, and was raised as his
INTERVIEW
son. Jango was featured in Episode 2, The Clone Wars, as was young Boba, who witnessed his father’s demise. As Boba grew, his skill and notoriety as a bounty hunter grew. His biggest bounty was the capture and delivery of Han Solo to Jabba the Hut. When the Rebels came to rescue Solo, Fett was knocked into the Sarlacc pit, a ghastly creature from which no one would ever return... except for Boba Fett. Boba Fett became one of the most loved and admired characters in the Star Wars Universe, despite his actual amount of screen time. As a result, he featured in a lot of the expanded universe novels and comics, including a fist-fight with Darth Vader in a volcano.
How do you feel about the early part of your career, before Star Wars? Jeremy Bulloch: I started acting when I went to drama school at the age of 12. I did many children’s film and at the age of 17 landed a leading role in the Cliff Richard musical ‘Summer Holiday’ which was huge fun. What was it like working in the BBC on shows like The Newcomers and Doctor Who? JB: The Newcomers was a good job to do as it was regular work, and shown twice weekly. Dr Who was also a very good experience and I actually appeared in two separate stories with William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee.
It was nice to be invited back, although not so nice to end up in the Sarlaac Pit!
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After the success of the first Star Wars film, how did you feel about getting a role in the second film? JB: It was nice to be invited back, although not so nice to end up in the Sarlaac Pit!
a cult following anything like the one you received? JB: Not at all, in fact the cult following really started when they re-released the films in 1996. A lot of the other actors complained about the conditions on-set for the original trilogy. How were you affected by the filming conditions in places like Tunisia, especially considering your costume? JB: Thankfully I wasn’t involved in the scenes in Tunisia, they were performed by stuntmen. What were your relationships with the other cast like? JB: I got on with everyone, and it was a nice atmosphere on set.
What was it like working with George Lucas? JB: I only worked with George on the set when I returned for the part of Captain Colton in ‘Revenge of the Sith’ I worked mainly on the other films with the directors Your role in the film was Irving Kershner and Richard relatively small. Did you predict Marquand.
Thankfully I wasn’t involved in the scenes in Tunisia, they were performed by stuntmen
How did you feel playing a role in a Star Wars movie other than Boba Fett, that of Cpt. Colton in 2005? JB: I was pleased to involved once again. Have you been contacted about a potential role in future Star Wars movies? JB: Not yet! Is there any truth to the rumours of there being a spin-off film about Boba Fett? If so, have you been contacted about being involved in it? JB: Again, I have no confirmation and only know as much as everyone else. What is the highlight of your career, in your opinion? JB: Obviously playing Boba Fett, but also some of the many theatre plays that I appeared in the West End. Do you have any convention appearances coming up? JB: Yes, and they are posted on my website www.jeremybulloch.com
The Star Wars Holiday Special
WORDS: BRIAN CONMY
WORDS: CATHAL DENNEHY
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My First Journey to a Galaxy Far Far Away So it’s confession time dear readers. Before writing this article, I had never watched the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes 4-6). Don’t get me wrong, I’m massively into cinema and the general nerd zeitgeist and while I’ve had the misfortune of already having seen Episodes 1-3, I had no appreciation for them. I had put this down to lack of context, but now I suppose it’s to do with lack of quality. I’d never really had expectations to appreciate the classic Star Wars films in the way so many do, thinking this was something one got as a child or teenager: rose tinted glasses. But I was wrong. I was pretty worried when I started watching A New Hope that if I didn’t like the movie, I’d be ridiculed or taken to be one of those people who have contrary opinions on popular movies, just to seem special. So when the credits rolled in what really seems to be a self-contained and finished story, I was unfortunately left wanting. It wasn’t a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, but for the opening movie of a trilogy, it is surprisingly sparse on back-story, universe-building and the setup for overarching drama. Sure, the basis of the story laid down in Episode IV carries over to the rest of the trilogy, but it seems that this story was wrangled into existence from what the original movie created, rather than evolving organically from a pre-determined plot. So when I warily sat down to watch The Empire Strikes Back I was delighted to be getting more and more enveloped by the story and character progression, a feeling that carried right in to Return of the Jedi. Whenever people discuss their favourite movie in the Trilogy, the argument that develops always breaks down into ‘Empire VS Jedi’ with nobody ever really claiming Episode IV as a high point. I wish I’d understood this before setting off on my mission to watch the movies, as Episode IV being the low-point is surprising for the uninitiated. Another surprise I encountered was how much of the story I already knew. Star Wars is now such a cultural touchstone that any media, especially nerd culture, has appropriated so much of the mythos of Star Wars for its usage. Between Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory and any other number of TV shows, I’d already heard so much of the story, the characters and other random tidbits from the saga. For example: I don’t think at any point in the original trilogy is the name of Boba Fett’s ship mentioned, yet how do I know it’s called Slave 1?’ The movies have undoubtedly held up and are sure to be enjoyed for generations to come. At its core, Star Wars is an interesting story of family and redemption against a diverse and original backdrop. This story is so ingrained in our collective culture that, avoiding it as I have, is ultimately pointless. While I don’t count myself as one of the hard-core fans, I can at least see why they appreciate it so much. Here’s hoping that JJ Abrams can do the series justice with his upcoming trilogy at Disney. Oh, and if like me you intend on watching the original trilogy for the first time, here’s a tip: find copies that haven’t been edited with CGI post release. It’s obnoxious and jarring - maybe I’m a bigger fan than I think.
The Star Wars Holiday Special (HS) has recently garnered an enormous cult following, joining the likes of The Room and Troll 2 in the annals of ‘so bad they’re good’ movies. What sets the HS apart from the prequels in terms of sheer disappointment is that, while the prequels are straight-up bad Star Wars films, the HS is about as unlike a Star Wars film as it’s possible to make. Aside from the crowbarring of characters from the original film into its plot, the HS bears no resemblance to anything people call Star Wars. In fact, the mere existence of a Star Wars Christmas-type special is baffling enough. However, once the HS started, my already confused brain was subjected to one of the most preposterous and mind-boggling viewing experiences I’ve ever had the displeasure to endure. The so-called plot revolves around Chewbacca’s family awaiting his return so that they can all celebrate the eponymous ‘Life Day’ holiday. The story is segmented by a series of completely random and nonsensical tidbits, clips and shorts, ranging from musical numbers, animated sections (one of which was the debut of the character Boba Fett into the Star Wars Universe) and a cooking show. Yes, a cooking show. In Star Wars. Though these breaks come thick and fast, each small section lasts for what seems like an eternity. Unlike the other cult hits mentioned above, which are entertainingly awful, the HS commits arguably a worse crime – it is mind numbingly boring! The special essentially consists of the audience watching Chewie’s family members entertaining themselves before he arrives home, including his son watching an
instructional video on how to assemble a toy circuit board, the aforementioned cooking program (which spawned the infamous quote “Stir, whip, stir, whip, whip, whip, stir!”) and Chewie’s grandfather watching what can only be described as ‘bizarre Wookieholo-porn’. At certain points, Stormtroopers arrive on the scene, at which point we hope they start blasting the damn Wookies to smithereens. However we are then treated to watching the stormtroopers watching television. And it drags on. And on. And on. The special continues on like this for 90 minutes. Needless to say, the Star Wars Holiday Special is a horrible, boring and deeply disappointing viewing experience. It was only ever aired once in 1978, and is only available on bootleg copies taped from the original broadcast. George Lucas himself has made many attempts over the years to keep people from seeing it. Think about that. Lucas approved the Ewoks, Jake Lloyd as young Darth Vader and Jar-Jar Binks, and the Holiday Special is what he is personally ashamed of. In retrospect, it could have been an interesting experiment. Think of the countless books, videogames, comics and fan fiction that have expanded the Star Wars universe over the years. However the HS is more like the worst variety hour TV show ever. Is it worth watching? It depends. True fans of the series would only watch it for comedic or completion purposes. Also, it isn’t nearly as much of a let-down as the prequels, which tarnished the wonderful original series for some. In the end, it’s just about the strangest and most ridiculous Star Wars film you’re ever likely to see.
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CASTING RUMOURS FOR EPISODE 7
WORDS: DANIEL SHEEHAN Unless you’ve spent the last year or so away from the internet, locked in your bedroom with your eyes shut and your fingers in your ears, then you’ll know that the seventh instalment in the Star Wars franchise is on its way. The release day has been set, a script has been written and a director has been chosen (Star Trek director J.J. Abrams). Despite endless speculation, rumours of secret meetings with producers, and open auditions around the globe, no actors have yet to be announced as starring in the blockbuster. Here I will take a look at some of the high profile actors and actresses that are supposedly being eyed for major roles in the film.
ZAC EFRON It’s common with casting rumours for highly anticipated films for a glut of A-list stars to be linked with the roles and Star Wars is no different - with the likes of Ryan Gosling and Leonardo DiCaprio being talked about almost as immediately as the film was officially announced. While these rumours have seemingly died off, the Zac Efron rumours have persisted, with the High School Musical star confirming he is in contention for a role in the film. He has also confirmed that he has gone and met with producers.
MARK HAMMILL, CARRIE FISHER & HARRISON FORD While we may just be speculating with the many actors linked to the next Stars Wars film, it’s a safe bet to expect to see Luke, Leia and Han return with all three actors expected to reprise their roles. There have even been suggestions that J. J. Abrams wants the trio to play a major role in episode VII, with new stars having to wait until episode VIII to take centre stage.
JESSE PLEMONS
SAOIRSE RONAN
GARY OLDMAN
Best known for playing the mild mannered sociopath Todd on Breaking Bad, Plemons is now reportedly being considered one of the favourites to be cast as the lead in the film, with the possibility of him playing Luke Skywalker’s son being suggested. While Abrams has remained tight lipped on casting rumours thus far, he did make an exception with Plemons, confirming he has met with him, so an announcement could be coming any day now.
With the new film apparently centring on a female protagonist, Saoirse Ronan, who ventured into the major franchise game for the first time last year with the rather awful Stephenie Meyer tripe-fest, The Host. Could she now have Star Wars as her next shot at the blockbuster market, especially as Ronan herself has confirmed that she auditioned for Abrams last year.
Unlike Plemons, Efron and Ronan, Gary Oldman is no stranger to major franchises, with blockbuster series like The Dark Knight and Harry Potter already behind him. It’s now looking like Star Wars Episode VII could be his next move, with Oldman recently confirming he has been in talks over a role in the upcoming film.
With a December 2015 release date set and shooting for the film to start this year we won’t have to wait long to see if these actors or the countless others linked with leading roles will actually clinch the deal. At the time of writing, R2D2 is the only character to be officially confirmed to return. Only time will tell if any of these actors will join everyone’s favourite droid and become part of one of film history’s most illustrious sagas.
VERGE FILM & TV 5
“ALL WE SEEM TO
ABOUT WARPAINT REVIEW
WORDS: ROBERT BYRNE
DO IS TALK
013, although it seems long past, was a massive year in the music industry, it had Miley twerking, Robin Thicke blurring the lines and Beyoncé giving us all a heart attack by releasing an album without asking our permission. Not only did last year have new music from big artists but many impressive smaller acts that had been waiting in the wings also emerged, with one of the most successful being alt-rockers The 1975 from Manchester. The 1975 have been together for over a decade; Matt Healy told Verge the story of how he initially started as a drummer and that the band got together when “we met at school. Hann (Adam Hann- guitarist) come up to me, probably about 15, and said ‘Do you wanna like… play drums in my band?’ According to Healy, “there was no real scene in our town and we were all looking for some way of expressing ourselves, I suppose. Some woman called Sheila started gigs for underage kids (she was like a hippy council worker) and they soon turned into a riot. After doing that for a while we wrote a song and thought, “Let’s just do this! This is well better than going to school or work.” So they went under loads of names, made loads of different music and now they’re here – as The 1975. The band first appeared officially as The 1975 in January 2012, in the run up to the release of their first EP, Facedown, and after signing to UK based Indie label Dirty Hit. They performed as The 1975 for the first time in February as a support act for General Fiasco on their nationwide tour. They really grabbed public interest with their single Chocolate which was in the top 10 in both Ireland and the UK. Speaking of how the success has affected the band Healy explained “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. People are investing in what we do.” Their self-titled debut album was produced with Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Foals) and Healy expressed he has let go his initial concerns over releasing tracks because “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.”
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Before they hit Cork’s Savoy on the 19th of February, Music Editor Méadhbh Crowley chats to the 1975’s lead singer, Matthew Healy, about their music, gigs and hopes for the future
From various other interviews, the band is notoriously secretive about the recording and song writing process behind their ethereal tunes and youthful themes of sex, love and worries. In a rare insight into their creative process, Healy exclusively tells Verge “well I 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. But 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.” Having blasted into charts and making themselves household names in just one year, The 1975 have already played across the world from Bath to Brisbane. Speaking about their favourite venues to play in Healy commented that their favourite was very close to home and is “Reading and Leeds. Those two shows were the visual representation of how far our band has come. I used to stand at that festival, we’d never even played it, we’d never even walked into that festival as a band before and the first time we did it, it was those two shows. And it just blows your mind. It totally blows your fucking mind. It was before the album came out and they knew all the words off it, so it was just fucking mental; that was a realisation moment.” Healy went on to say that “With other moments you don’t have a lot of time but in that moment they gave us twenty seconds in between each song to stand there and take it in. We would stop and I would stare out in to the crowd and the cheer would die down, and then it would come back again after every song. We’d get a double cheer, it was like fucking homecoming, it was like everyone in that tent had all been away at war or something. It was like a celebration of everything that had happened.” As the interview comes to an end I ask Healy what was his favourite moment of his career to date. “Our album going to number 1 was very humbling and it’s very flattering,” he says, “I’m just as proud of it as an idea, as I am without any kind of statistical validation. We are insanely proud of the album, and have been from the very beginning, that’s why we did it.”
We weren’t harboured with the things like “Are we being too honest? Are we doing things right? Are we doing things wrong?”
6 VERGE MUSIC
The 1975 will play a sold out gig in The Savoy, Cork, on the 19th of February.
I have always regarded Warpaint to be the embodiment of imperfect perfection. While the band’s critically acclaimed debut LP, ‘The Fool’ flourished by threading a fine line between bohemian quirkiness and seductive beauty, in a live environment the band had the potential to either be humiliatingly poor or beautifully intimate. This increasing unpredictability in the live environment combined with an apparently fraught recording process during the writing of their sophomore effort led to many fearing that the band had lost their mystic charm that made their debut so compelling. So it is with some relief that we have a record at all, never mind one so spotless in its execution. Even the most fleeting of listens of Warpaint’s lead single, ‘Love is to Die’ shows a marked difference in the bands songcraft. Sliding into life with a pulsing bass line and syncopated percussion before working itself through Theresa Wayman’s distressed lyrics, “Your eyes stare/ Am I humble as I go/ I’m holding in tight/ To something long as I go,” it seems immediately apparent that Warpaint have evolved into a darker and more technical band. A band that have abandoned all pop inclinations. Despite the bands more somber tendencies, Warpaint’s ethereal “Shoegaze” dilutes itself at times from a Cocteau Twins influence to the industrial electronica of Aphex Twin. ‘Biggy’ is perhaps the finest example of this change in texture and tone, where an echoed, meaty synth pounds under Wayman’s tender falsetto, creating air for Mozgawa’s relentless drumming style to breathe, painting a canvas that’s hypnotic, rather than lethargic. The successful threading of this fine line is largely down to Warpaint’s decision to place veteran rock producer Mark Flood behind the computer screen to complete the record. Flood’s more simplistic approach allows a vast expanse for the bands instruments to interact, a technique that is emphasized no better than in the album’s percussion and bass segments. Synthesized texture’s are allowed time to weave through the postfunk chants of the ‘Disco/ Very’, while group vocals waft through the warm haze of ‘CC’, whereas before they vanished in the bands quest for a melodic hook. Warpaint’s sophomore album, like their growing fan base, is a true slow burner. Though musical craftsmanship, lyrical desolation and an edgy atmosphere were attributes that were associated with Warpaint’s first incarnation, this time they have been accentuated in favour of abandoning the pop hook. While this may disappoint those on the edge of Warpaint’s fanbase, the result is an album that cuts to the heart of what this band are about; human flaws through sonic sublimity.
REVIEW
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IN THE SILENCE
WORDS: ROBERT BYRNE
Since the arrival of Bjork and Sigur Rós in the 90s, Iceland has developed into music’s geographical curio. Perhaps it is the land’s extreme isolation, pristine nature and clandestine mythology that guide even the most ordinary of musicians to melodic bliss, or perhaps it’s just that these guys are more talented than the rest of the world. With this in mind, it seems staggering that ten percent of the Icelandic populous own a copy of Ásgeir’s debut LP, Into the Silence. The conception of In the Silence is as unique as the sounds that are contained within it. Ásgeir began the composition of the album by placing a melody to poetry written by his 72-year-old father, before employing various family members to perform on everything from bass to saxophone for the albums recording. From here, fellow friend and famed American indie rocker John Grant translated the Icelandic lyrics into English for the albums international incarnation. Unsurprisingly, the Icelandic landscape is perhaps the albums dominant sculptor. The opening track, “Higher,” commences with shrill puffs of air before slowly dissipating in favour of a gentle piano melody that compliments Ásgeir’s brooding falsetto, one that evokes memories of Bon Iver’s vocal renderings of his Wisconsin winterscape. The prevalence of Iceland’s landscape is not ignored in the lyrical content either; “Head in
the Snow’s” looped humming refrain forms the bedrock for several metaphors on nature and sadness, “biting cold takes its toll/ in the depths of the mind/ damaging happiness.” However, perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Ásgeir’s lyricism is how the gloominess of his land juxtaposes with the vibrant instrumentation, most notably on the sparse “In Harmony” and the balmy “Summer Guest” where he awaits the “pure tones” of the songbird in the short Icelandic summer. In the Silence’s most impressive aspect is that it avoids the pitfalls of the sometimes cliché acoustic singer-songwriter genre without sounding as abstract as the postrock of Sigur Rós. The lead single, and most impressive number on the album, “King and Cross” bounces through its three minute lifespan thanks funky acoustic fretwork, swirling synth motifs, DJ samples and a bass line that Flea would be proud of. Neither folktronica nor pure acoustic folk, “King and Cross”see’s Ásgeir hitting upon a unique formula that transcends through the record’s following tracks with varying levels of success from the soothing “Was there Nothing?” to the disappointingly washed out closer “Soothe this Pain.” Unlike anything by Bjork or Sigur Rós this album is instantly hooky, soothing and enjoyable. Mostly a joy, most of the time
CPlealyelbist
This week’s playlist comes from Union J’s Jaymi Hensley
ÁSGEIR TRAUSTI
REVIEW
Currently in the music industry, we are too often bombarded with tailor made popstars that are constantly churning out song after song. It is for this reason that it is always refreshing to hear of new upcoming artists that genuinely care about what they put out into the world. Ireland has always been a great place for talents and in the case of 19 year old singer songwriter Orla Gartland this is no different. Orla who grew up in Dublin posted her first Youtube video at age 13 which she has since removed as she believes it is quite embarrassing. Orla continued to post both covers and original songs on her YouTube channel while she was in secondary school. While in school her fist single “Devil On My Shoulder” was released on iTunes and reached #2 on the Ireland singer/songwriter chart. After completing her Leaving Cert last year she made the brave decision to “Break out on her own” to quote her song Roots and move to London and try to establish herself as a singer. It seems this risk has most certainly paid off. On 11 November 2013, Orla released a four-song EP entitled Roots. The title track Roots was named Apple iTunes “Single of the Week” in the UK and Ireland. The four tracks on the EP are all quite diverse. Both the style of each track and the variation of instruments definitely leave the listener eager for the album. It is hard to pick a favourite as they are all so catchy but, the song I find myself singing the most has got to be the title track Roots. This song is about moving to a new place by yourself while still trying to keep your identity. I find the lyrics of the song really convey the meaning: “I’ll dig up my roots/We can take them with us/Wherever we go”
SINGLE OF THE WEEK Feelin’ Myself- Will.I.Am ft Miley Cyrus The former Black Eyed Peas frontman has been busy over the last few months with the Voice, but has made time in his uber busy schedule to fit in this collab with Miley. Ireland’s even gets a mention in the song so it’s no wonder that the single is storming up the Irish charts.
You can listen to this playlist at:
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ROOTS
WORDS: EOGHAN O’ DONOGHUE @OhInOhDunnoWho
Super Human- Chris Brown ft Kelsi Hilson Beautiful Life- Union J Really Don’t Care - Demi Lovato ft Cher Lloyd Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus Roar - Katy Perry Same Love - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft Mary Lambert Applause - Lady Gaga Last Night (Beer Fear) Lucy Spraggan Pour it Up - Rihanna It’s my Party - Jessie J
ORLA GARTLAND
ALBUM OF THE WEEK So Long, See You Tomorrow-Bombay Bicycle Club The newest album from the indie rockers, is one of their best so far. The album has peaked at number one in the UK charts, With likable songs such as It’s Alright Now, Carry Me, Home By Now and Whenever, Wherever. It’s definitely worth a download this week.
ARTIST OF THE WEEK Kodaline After already making it big in Ireland and the UK, this week the boys ventured to America. Beginning their month long American tour, they have already appeared on one of the biggest talk shows in the USA, Jay Leno. Congrats to the boys and hopefully they’ll achieve The Script’s level of American fame.
VERGE MUSIC 7
DONOGHUE
INTERVIEW
EMMA
FROM STIR-FRY TO FROG MUSIC Entertainment Editor Ellen Desmond speaks with Dublin-born writer, Emma Donoghue
he best advice that Irish-turned-Canadian writer Emma Donoghue says she can give to aspiring novelists is to “write, rather than talking about it.” Admittedly, while musing over the substantial body of work Donoghue has to her name, she certainly seems to have lived by her own words of advice. The internationally award-winning and critically acclaimed Donoghue has earned a living solely from writing since the young age of 23 and claims to never yet have had a “proper job.” With a BA from UCD and a PhD from The University of Cambridge, Donoghue found an agent at just 21 and had her first book, the historical work Passions Between Women: British Lesbian Culture 1668-1801 published in 1993.“I wrote poetry from about seven” Ms Donoghue explains of her initial interest in writing,“…then switched to prose at 19, when I started my first novel, Stirfry. I was always serious about it but only when I sold my first two novels, at about 22, did I glimpse the possibility of having this absorbing occupation as my only job!” Although she works in many genres, including writing for stage, radio and screen - as well as the aforementioned Historical Literature - Donoghue is undoubtedly best known for her work in fiction. Since the publication of Stirfry, a coming of age and sexual identity search story, Donoghue set the bar high for herself. Stir-fry became a Lambda Literary Award finalist. With seven highly successful novels now published so far, including The Sealed Letter, Slammerkin and Hood, the highlight for this wordsmith has been “…all the hoopla over Room.” Room is her seventh novel and has been translated into 35 different languages - an achievement for any author. Emma Donoghue put it simply and said of the achievement that “…it was great fun to finally have such numbers of readers in so many countries.” Room, a Man-Booker shortlisted tale, was inspired by “our children – who were four and one at the time –as much as hearing about the Fritzl case in Austria, which was the immediate trigger.” However, Donoghue has occasionally been criticized for producing a novel based on the Fritzl atrocity and has even been accused of ‘exploitation’ - even though the book itself is completely independent from the case. As a reaction to this, on her website she has written that she doubts she will ever bounce an initial idea from a contemporary headline again
8 VERGE ARTS & LITERATURE
because “she didn’t like being tagged ‘Fritzl writer.’” Yet, the success of the beautifully rendered and thought-provoking Room is unavoidable and it has many critical accolades and fans to prove it. The rumour that Room making its way to the big screen is something that has floated around quite a bit of late and Ms Donoghue confirmed “it is definitely getting filmed and I am the scriptwriter. I think many a novel has died on its journey to the screen but that’s not going to happen this time!” Throughout her career Donoghue has often been given the genre label of “lesbian writer.” Her thoughts on this is something she has been asked about at length, with a consensus that it is equally as descriptive as calling her an Irish writer or a female writer and that, as with being labelled an Irish or female writer, she does not let it limit her subject matters in anyway. Indeed, many of Donoghue’s themes explore female sexuality but they also do a whole lot more than just that. For Donoghue, inspiration can very often be found from “…real, long-dead, long-forgotten individuals who have left only a tiny mark on the historical record. I see myself as a resurrectionist.” Emma Donoghue’s eight novel, Frog Music, is set to be published in April 2014. Frog Music is set in San Francisco in the summer of 1876 during a record breaking heat wave and the plot revolves around a shooting in a railroad saloon, before following the victim’s friend in a quest for justice. It will include “much of my trademark yucky stuff (smallpox, the sex trade, cruelty to children!) and preoccupations (women, weirdos, troublemakers, history), plus a proper murder mystery.” According to Darin Strauss’Emma Donoghue shows more than range with Frog Music - she shows genius.” Donoghue’s advice that getting to work and engaging with writing, rather than talking about it or even procrastinating it, is well worth taking on board for anyone looking to break into the field. With a Salon Book Award for Fiction, an NPR Best Book of 2010 win and having made The New York Times top six best fictions in 2010 she is certainly a woman who knows how to play the literary game. A date or producer for a Room film has yet to be announced but it seems inevitable that after Frog Music Emma Donoghue is dead set on continuing “to keep writing books that are entirely different from each other until I keel over after delivering my final manuscript.” Emma Donoghue’s upcoming novel Frog Music is set for release in April 2014. Room and her other works are available from all good bookstores.
CAN YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING
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Words: Martha Ewence
When people first think of Les Mis they usually think of Susan Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent audition back in 2009, where she sang the iconic “I Dreamed A Dream” and wowed audiences the world over. This sparked a revival of the West End’s longest running musical, with Hollywood going as far as to take another stab at it and turned the stage production, seen by more than 65 million people in 42 countries and in 22 languages around the globe, into a multi-award winning success. It’sset in 19thcentury France, where it follows the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant and his quest for redemption after serving nineteen years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his starving sister’s child. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly bishop inspires him by a tremendous act of mercy but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into the student revolt in Paris, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade. My musical journey brought me to see this story told in London’s famous Queen’s Theatre, just off Piccadilly Circus, where 2 hours before the doors even opened there were hoards of eager musical goers. Speaking to a fellow queuers, who had seen this production over 10 times since it started, this was not only a musical but also an experience The casting of this production was perfect, with seasoned professionals, such as Daniel Koek (Jean Valjean), Cameron Blakely (Thénardier) and Tam Matu (Javert), and many others making their West End debut, including Rob Houchen (Marius) and Na-Young Jeon (Fantine). To see true professionals play these familiar roles really brought the characters to life and gave the audience a connection to each part which would not be seen in front of cinemas or TV screens. The most memorable performance came from Carrie Fletcher who played the ill-fated Eponine. Fletcher brought a new depth to Eponine which I had never seen before and there was not a dry eye in the house when she fell at the barricade delivering a message for her unrequited love Marius. The staging was like nothing I had ever seen before, Cameron Macintosh, the show’s producer, spared no expense in the construction of the rotating stage (similar to a treadmill), which was used to reflect distance and also time. Similarly the barricade used as the centre piece in the second act was utterly mesmerising at its 19.2 meter height and as the students of the revolution fell in the final battle, their bodies scattered across the barricade. After three hours I had been brought on a journey I will never forget, I was brought on an emotional rollercoaster, many tissues were used, mascara ran and glasses fogged up, undoubtedly this was not just a musical but an experience.. Having seen many professional and amateur productions of Les Mis, this was without a doubt the best I personally have ever seen. Tickets start at £12.50 excluding booking fee. Flights from Cork to Stansted start from €20 excluding fees
REVIEW
LOVE, PEACE & ROBBERY Gregory Gorman reviews the humorous and imaginative stage production
Liam Heylin’s award winning comedy owns both a respectable and hilarious reputation. Presented in the Everyman Theatre, there are deliberate and obvious allusions to Cork; notably the accent and an insight into the minds and stories of examples of the ineffective criminals that our culture can breed. Our two main characters, Garry and Darren, have just been released from prison; however they have limited freedom due to a court-ordered substance abuse program with strict curfews. Both have aspirations of becoming law-abiding citizens who can earn an honest buck and better
AVENUE Q
REVIEW
family men. The only catch, however, is their lack of funds, which has a supposedly easy solution; one final heist. With only three actors and a simple set, director Donal Gallagher manages to achieve an extraordinary variety of characters, scenarios and a fantastic sense of action - which only enhances its inherit slapstick, physical sense of humour. Accompanying the slapstick humour is an extreme use of vernacular Cork language and curses; both of which give a distinct impression of two hard-pressed individuals who are victims of a lower socio-economic culture – which provides a looming
REVIEW
Daniel O` Driscoll’s extrapolations about UCC Musical Society’s annual production The hit Broadway musical Avenue Q was the latest production taken on by the UCC Musical Society. The Granary Theatre being transformed into an “outer – outer borough” of New York City tells the coming of age story of Princeton, a recent graduate with a B.A. in English wondering what he can do with life against the backdrop of an accompanying musical number. The role was played to perfection by Josh Spink. From the outset it was clear that Spink was comfortable in the part, projecting the right amount of comedy and charming naivety required for the character. Princeton is on a wide-eyed quest to find his true purpose in the world. This search results in him arriving on Avenue Q and renting a place from former child star and Apartment Superintendent, Gary Coleman - portrayed with sheer gusto and delight by Ali Coady. Princeton’s love interest Kate Monster takes the form of Cassandra McElligott. McElligott put in a strong and believable performance. The bedroom scene between Princeton and Kate Monster was a particular highlight that provoked a solid three minutes of breathless laughter. The other inhabitants of Avenue Q appeared in the form of best friends and comedic double act Nicky and Rob, played respectively by Darren O’Dea and Emmet Crotty. O’Dea displayed a vibrant and endearing flair for performing that, when coupled with Crotty’s robust style of comedy, worked a treat. They were joined by “human couple” Brian, played by Micheál Ryan and his Japanese fiancé played by Fiona O’Sullivan, both who worked effortlessly together. Ryan gave a heartfelt and likeable rendition as Brian, while O’Sullivan commanded the stage, delivering a provocative and comedic performance that ensured the audience kept on laughing.
sense of compassion for our comicheroes. The fine cork actors, Shane Casey and Aiden O’ Hare, play our luckless criminals who are boisterous and provide simple, funny and idiotic ideas. This helps evoke sympathy for characters who exercise extremely human sentiments and simple defence mechanisms, which reveal the heat of their emotions. My personal favourite actor of the play is Ciaran Bermingham who plays everyone else, male, female and even dog. Bermingham effortlessly assumes each role in a very comedic fashion, with humorous dialogue accompanied by slightly exaggerated, yet hilarious body language - which often has him turn a droll face to the audience giving us the impression that whoever he is speaking to, is unbearable with their half-witted statements. The background for the play was a simple, white backdrop, which
The musical, though something similar in appearance to the children’s television show Sesame Street, is a lot less politically correct and a lot more raunchy. Songs such as “If You Were Gay”, “The Internet Is For Porn” and “Everybody’s A Little Bit Racist” were just a few of the musical numbers, accounting for a glorious repertoire of manic nihilism. The musical is one that was particularly apt for the mind of college students. The Bad Idea Bears were played with a wonderful zeal by Aaron O’Sullivan and Melissa Craig. They acted as the tempting corruptive voice persuading the untarnished Princeton to spend all of his money on beer. This corrupt and flamboyantly charged world is brought along further by Trekkie Monster, played by Conor Prendiville and Lucy the Slut portrayed by Vicky Sheridan. Prendiville executed a strong delivery with expert timing making his character a clear audience favourite, while Sheridan put on an alluring and glamorous performance. Overall the musical, though steeped in politically incorrect and at times garish, adult themes, has got a certain degree of truth and heart to it; at its core is a group of good friends worrying about what life throws at them but still daring to have a fun time. The production encountered minor technical difficulties with a slight delay in the projection screen. However, overall for such demanding roles the cast should be commended for working in the challenging dimensions of the Granary Theatre .The accents, in particular, should be noted as being expertly conveyed. The principal cast were supported by a strong chorus and a dedicated production team. Director Grace Vaughan and Musical Director Lauren Ronan, should be commended for heading up such an enjoyable and polished show. In short, the entire cast and crew should be very proud of the outrageous, extravagant, hilarious, spectacle that was Avenue Q.
reflected light effectively and allowed for a variety of scenes changes to be displayed very rapidly, as most of the scenery would be provided by context and the audiences imagination. If it was day-time, there was the usual white and if there was an explosion, a flash of red hit the backdrop. As for props and set design, the stage made use of only a few white boxes, which in different contexts meant completely different scenarios. They could be arranged for a meal in McDonalds, as rocks to sit on while drinking a few beers, a phone booth once stacked and even a bike, amongst other things. This type of set design allowed for quick transition from scene to scene, which was done in a slick way, as silhouetted figures moved silhouetted boxes to set up the next scene in a matter of seconds. An incredible and innovative use of lighting and set up with the boxes, involved having two or three different events occurring in the same scene by
having one part of the set illuminated and animated, while others covered in shade and motionless. This allowed for scenes that build upon each other humorously and rapidly provides a whole context for the scenario taking place. Peace, Love and Robbery is an innovative play which trusts the audience to follow its simple, imaginative design and in turn allows the play to accelerate into sudden chaotic, absurd and of course, playful scenarios. However this play which parodies the petty criminal, also presents a compassionate case for the reforming criminal who has little opportunity to make anything of himself or provide for his family should he wish to. While the actors provide vivid and animated performances, repeatedly rousing the audience to laughter, it is the set design that allows the speed of the humour to build overtake the audience.
VERGE ARTS & LITERATURE 9
KICKSTARTER DARLINGS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WORDS: AOIFE GLEESON - @AoifeGlees
A few years ago Kickstarter, a crowd funding website for anything and everything, blazed onto the video game scene. It provided a platform for developers to appeal directly to consumers for funding, guaranteeing them the product once completed. It was lauded by creators and consumers alike as a means to bringing struggling projects to life and cutting out the greedy middle man of corporations. Kickstarter really caused a stir, prompting numerous discussions on the benefits and dangers of such a system. Could this get rid of big publishers altogether? What if the backers don’t like the game they funded, and try to demand it changed? What happens if the game is never finished? So many questions, so few answers. All of these conversations were purely theoretical however, since there were no finished products to examine. Now that Kickstarter has been around long enough to become a normal means of funding a whole range of creative projects from board games to podcasts to feature length films. However, it was brought to the mainstream by games and now a portion of the projects are finally coming to fruition and the long term picture for the platform’s place in the industry is getting a little clearer. Unfortunately, only one-third of games that were promised to be released by January 2014 have actually seen the light of day, so Kickstarter is clearly a risky venture for backers. But what about the games that did manage to come out? How did they fare? Let’s take a look.
Broken Age Goal: $400,000 Pledged: $3,336,371 Metacritic Score: 81 This is the one that started them all. Originally entitled Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Adventure, this little project surprised everyone by receiving nearly 3 million dollars above its goal of 400,000 in 2012. Double Fine, the creators of Brütal Legend and Psychonauts, were originally famous in the 90s for their quirky point-and-click adventures such as The Secret of Monkey Island and Grim Fandango. This genre faded out over time and was all but dead when Double Fine came back, proposed a nostalgic adventure game and then everyone basically lost their minds. Two years and a lot of hype later, Broken Age Part 1 has been released, with Part 2 coming later this year, and it’s great. Available to non-backers for 23 euros (admittedly a little steep for a game that’s already paid for itself) it’s a great little game that will win you over with its unique story and visuals and puzzles that will make you understand why this genre was so beloved in the first place. With positive reviews and happy backers across the board, this one was a success. That’s one anyway.
Shadowrun Returns Goal: $400,000 Pledged: $1,836,447 Metacritic: 85
This one is a great example of how niche games and properties can thrive on Kickstarter when big publishers may otherwise not support it because they don’t understand the appeal and spread it has. Shadowrun is a series of tabletop RPG games that combines steampunk elements with magic and fantasy. With generally favourable reviews and prompting the rebirth of a franchise, this is a great little Kickstarter success story.
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Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse Goal: $400,000 Pledged: $771,560 Metacritic Score: 69 Successfully funded later the same year, Broken Sword’sKickstarter shares many similarities with Broken Age(although not its runaway success). Broken Sword is a series of point-and-click adventure games popular in the 90s that managed to get a second wind through the support of Kickstarter. The first act of The Serpent’s Curse was released this past December to generally positive reviews, with the second half being released later this year. The fanfare for this one was small, but it can be seen as the more modest, oft-forgotten little cousin of Broken Age.
Kentucky Route Zero Goal: $6,000 Pledged: $8,583 Metacritic: 81 (Act 1), 82 (Act 2) Kickstarter really is the home of the point and click adventure and Kentucky Route Zero is no exception. It follows the story of a truck driver as he crosses the titular Kentucky Route Zero and his interactions with the characters he meets. Its split into 5 acts, with 2 already having been released. It’s simple, distinctive style and sombre music create a moody, surreal atmosphere and your dialogue with other characters allows you to shape the background of your character. Many Kickstarter success stories are built off old franchises and nostalgia but Kentucky Route Zero is an example of game that succeeded on its own, even if its goal was modest.
RÉPUBLIQUE
RÉPUBLIQUE Goal: $500,000 Pledged: $555,662 Metacritic: 78
An iOS and Android game that nearly didn’t make it (many of the most successful Kickstarters meet and exceed their goal in the first few days, others it takes much longer to get off the ground), this one is an example of the difficulty in running a Kickstarter campaign. Without the nostalgia factor or a beloved brand name to fall back on, some projects get lost in the shuffle and have difficulty achieving lofty goals. The Kickstarter audience can be fickle and they don’t always have the best grasp on the realities of game development (during the campaign some complained that République looked ‘too polished’ in the trailer and therefore didn’t need any extra money). However, despite its initial difficulties, République eventually succeeded and we’re lucky for it.République is a fascinating game, set in an oppressive, dystopian world in which you must aid a girl called Hope, in trying to escape her prison by manipulating her surroundings and interacting remotely with her through video cameras. This creates an intriguingly Meta examination of the platform while telling a mysterious story (Who are you? Why are you helping this girl?) in an atmospheric and engaging world. And you get to hear Jennifer Hale (the voice of female Commander Shepard) do a silly quasi-French accent. Win-win.
OUYA Goal: $950,000 Pledged: $8,596,474
This one isn’t a game (and doesn’t have a Metacritic), so I might be cheating a little, but it was too big of an event in the industry to ignore. Not many projects have garnered as much immediate, enormous success as the Ouya. Surpassing 2 million on its first day (with an original goal of 950,000) the little console that could captured everyone’s attention. This was a time when people thought that console gaming was dying, being killed by rising popularity of the cheap, accessible mobile platform. Ouya proposed a combination of the two worlds, with a tiny stylish box for your living room that provided an open platform for developers to make console games easily, entirely bypassing the barriers to console development. The idea perfectly encapsulated one of the primary tenets of Kickstarter – cutting out corporations to let creative people do what they do without interference. People loved it and Ouya ended up with 8 and a half million dollars and a positive view of the future. Now, the Ouya is actually out, and the industry has basically forgotten about it. There’s no longer panic that the home console platform is dying – it’s very much alive, with the PS4 and Xbox One succeeding in no uncertain terms. Small, quality indies are also very much supported and flourishing on the bustling platforms. Ouya, on the other hand, Goal: $10,000 is a pretty flat experience. It doesn’t work very Pledged: $200,542 well, the design feels cheap and there’s little support. When compared to the initial fervour it Metacritic: 84 generated, the general apathy on release is very Another of 2012’s huge successes following Double telling. Unfortunately for everyone, this one is Fine’s opening of the floodgates, FTL shows how a disappointment. Kickstarter is the perfect home for difficult to market niche games. Branding itself a ‘spaceship simulator real-time roguelike-like’ it tasks you with So Kickstarter has proved a mix bag of micromanaging all of the subsections of a ship, results, in terms of games at least. While including the vital functions, the crew, the weapons these are some success stories there are etc, making it an incredibly dense and complex game, with a suitably retro art style. The project had a goal of just as many, if not more, failures and 10,000 dollars and 200,000 was pledged making it a plenty of high profile games may yet prove huge success. I don’t really understand the appeal of to become the next disaster story or the this one but it was very well received and reviewed, so next massive success. whatever floats your boat (or spaceship).
FTL: FASTER THAN LIGHT
A WING AND A PRAYER WORDS: BRIAN CONMY
I’ve known this article would have to be about Flappy Bird for a few days. At time of writing I’d been hearing about the game for maybe a week or so, largely people complaining about others talking about the strange phenomenon. Every time I tried to pitch the article to myself though some strange twist in the tale emerged. First it was going to be a “what makes a phenomenon” piece, then “why do we play infuriating games” but then the real news started to break. When allegations in games media emerged that the developer of the game was simply ripping off assets and gameplay features from other games a lot of hate started to pour out towards Dong Nguyen, the one man game developer behind Flappy Bird. His twitter feed exploded recently after the meteoric rise in the popularity of his game. For this wasn’t his first game or even the first game he developed of this type. As such the sudden hit took him by surprise and the outpouring of attention, largely negative, being directed at him by the public and also the gaming press eventually drove him to take the game down from the Apple and Android market places. Having never played Flappy Bird, I’m analysing a story that I honestly think a pretty decent book could be made of and wondering how best to break down so many constituent parts into an interesting or thought provoking article for you. As
I mentioned this article could have taken on a lot of forms, all of them interesting in their own ways. Comparing Flappy Bird to other games deemed torturous to play, such as Dark Souls, is a funny idea at the least. Assessing spurious claims of stealing art assets or gameplay features is a thought that goes far beyond just Flappy Bird and its mobile gaming ilk. Understanding what role the game media play in making a game a smash success versus games that simply seem to explode out of nowhere is one better people than I have been long trying to do. Ultimately all I can really say here is what a shame this whole thing turned out to be. Dong Nguyen is a one man game developer from Hanoi, Vietnam who went from relative obscurity to suddenly being the centre of attention among certain games press. With advertising on his game he was making upwards of 50k a day once it became a success and yet, such was the pressure that with less than a day’s warning he removed the game from all available platforms rather than sell the game to another publisher or just drop out of public life. He promised he wasn’t done making games at the least. Ultimately I’d call his handling of the situation mature. He didn’t like what was becoming of his work so he chose to end it on his terms,
COMMENT
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COMMENT
even at a great monetary cost. I think that’s deserving of a respect he hasn’t been afforded as of yet. So a man who’d likely made very little money from any of this previous games was suddenly making 50k a day from one game. Isn’t that the dream for so many? Since removing the game from availability Dong has received a number of death threats and other such torment online as well as continued endeavours by games and other media outlets for interview or further comment. That’s what life is like now for g a m e s developers, o n c e assumed to be socially inept and not receiving of any kind of celebrity status as other art creators are. As gaming continues to evolve and change we may begin to see more instances of events such as these, strange as they currently are. Even now once the furore has died down assuming Dong loses the spotlight he never asked or tried for, how long until someone, the public or the press, picks the new poster child for attention both negative and positive. Hopefully they can deal with it in a similarly mature way to Dong. Oh look, iPhones with Flappy Bird preinstalled are now selling for big bucks on ebay - guess someone has to be cash grabbing in all this.
REVIEW
Comparing Flappy Bird to other games deemed torturous to play
COPYWRONG!
FLAPPY BIRD
TRADEMARK ABUSE IN THE GAMES INDUSTRY
WORDS: STEPHEN BARRY
Something that has been taking over the headlines in gaming media in recent weeks is none other than the infamous Candy Crush Saga. You know, the match-three game that you often play on your iPhone or Android device while on the toilet, waiting in dense early-morning traffic or maybe even in a lecture which you should be paying attention to but really couldn’t be bothered. The mobile game has achieved staggering success in the past few months, which has seen them reach over half a billion downloads and resulted in King, the publisher of Candy Crush Saga, being worth a reported five billion dollars. In fact, Candy Crush has been so successful, that King has pushed their initial public offering, or IPO, back to later in 2014. That sounds like a stellar success story doesn’t it? Well it is, but recently, the darker side of King has emerged. On the basis of ‘consumer confusion’, King has trademarked the word ‘candy’, resulting in various game developers on Apple’s iOS Store being hit with takedown notices from the company’s legal department. In these notices they state that games such as All Candy Casino Slots, one of the first to feel the wrath of King, cause brand damage and trademark infringement. Now while they have stated that they will not pursue so-called ‘legitimate’ uses of the word in gaming media, that goes against the central law of copyright and trademarks – in order to uphold your trademark
you must pursue every and all infringements. So let’s just say that King were trying to cover their collective behinds with a non-statement that wasn’t even feasible in the first place. This isn’t even the first time we’ve seen outright abuse of the trademark system. One lovely little debacle that only resolved itself last year was the holding of a trademark on the word ‘edge’ by one Tim Langdell. Mr. Langdell falsely held the term hostage for a number of years, suing various major game publishers and developers such as Namco and Electronic Arts. He did this by presenting false pretences and documentation to various courts in the United States, even going so far as to manipulate a cover of Future Publishing’s Edge magazine to further his hold over the trademark. Thankfully, Langdell has been stripped of his trademark and his rights to file suit against any developer or publisher for the use of ‘edge’ in any context. But this still perpetuates the issue of trademark abuse and more specifically the blatant disregard by trademark offices of inappropriate trademarking of common words. Another case in recent years that garnered much media attention was the stand-off between Bethesda, publisher of such blockbusters as Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and Mojang, creator of the hit Minecraft. Mojang filed for a trademark on the name Scrolls for their digital card-collecting game. Zenimax, Bethesda’s parent company,
These practices are doing nothing but harm to the games industry. They stifle innovation and creativity
responded with a lawsuit that claimed that this effort infringed on their trademark for their Elder Scrolls series. Of course, this suit ended with an undisclosed settlement which allowed Mojang to publish their game, but it still sheds further light on the misuse of trademark law in the games industry. It is a case of while one trademark is distinct from the other, it is still trying to limit the use of a single word which in my opinion is sketchy at best. These practices are doing nothing but harm to the games industry. They stifle innovation and creativity by allowing large publishers to simply step on indie developers trying to make a name for themselves, and also brings about the implication that if you are big enough and wealthy enough, you can win any case - even with unsteady legal standing. As we speak, there is an ongoing confrontation between King and Stoic over the latter’s beautiful and creative effort, The Banner Saga. Yes, you guessed right, King are also trying to claim the word ‘saga’ by squashing a fledgling indie developer. These recent events need to be a wake-up call for the industry as a whole. This wrongful use of the law and power needs to stop or eventually the focus will shift from the innovative and creative efforts of developers, to meaningless conversations of ‘he-said, she-said’. If something is not done soon, it is this blatant abuse that will cause numerous issues for the games industry in the near future and beyond.
VERGE GAMING 11
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