#308
FEBRUARY CROWN THE EMPIRE
MARCH HALESTORM
APRIL THE SUBWAYS
LCR £15
WF £13
+ NOTHING MORE Monday 1st
+ SET IT OFF + DANGERKIDS + ALIVE LIKE ME Wednesday 11th
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
WF £12
LEWIS MURPHY
+ GRADER + SVALBARD Friday 6th
+ GRANT LEY Wednesday 11th
WFS £15
THE CADILLAC THREE
WFS £5
36 CRAZYFISTS LOLA COLT
+ HAPPY COLOURED MARBLES + MARLA Sunday 15th WFS £6.50
+ BLACK TUSK + CROBOT Tuesday 17th
+ PEARL JAM TRIBUTE Tuesday 10th
WFS £5
NERVANA WFS £12
FESTIVOLE
FT. FENRIR + SILVER STORY + MORE THAN MOST + SECOND PLACE HERO + ONE DAY ROCKET Friday 20th WFS £6.50
THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN Saturday 21st LCR £25
GUNS N ROSES EXPERIENCE + BAD TOUCH Saturday 21st
Thursday 19th WFS £8.50
EUROPE & BLACK STAR RIDERS + THE AMORETTES Thursday 19th LCR £26
THE ANSWER
+ THE PICTUREBOOKS + BAD TOUCH Monday 23rd
+ CHRIS PIDGEON Wednesday 25th
CLUB RETRO
WFS £5
UFO
Thursday 16th WF £22
TOSELAND Friday 17th WFS £8
TOXIC TWINS
WF £12
+ HIT THE LIGHTS + FOREVER CAME CALLING + LIGHT YOU UP Wednesday 25th
WFS £13
+ HAPPY COLOURED MARBLES + TIBETAN NIGHT TERRORS + MIRE Tuesday 10th
KILL IT KID FOUR YEAR STRONG
Thursday 26th
CLAWS
DRENGE
WFS £10
CHANTEL MCGREGOR
WFS £15
Tuesday 24th Tuesday 24th
WFS £15
Friday 10th
+ BLIND TIGER + STRANGE TAIL Saturday 18th
WF £10
GRANT NICHOLAS
WFS £8
WF £15
HUNTER & THE BEAR
WFS £10
WF £14
Thursday 23rd WFS £12.50
WHILE SHE SLEEPS & CANCER BATS
+ HUNDRETH + OATHBREAKER Friday 24th LCR £15
RALEIGH RITCHIE
REN HARVIEU
RAG N BONE MAN
PORTICO
THE BURNING CROWS
MIKE PETERS
WFS £13
Wednesday 22nd
URBAN VOODOO MACHINE
Friday 13th
Tuesday 17th
SIMPLE MINDS
+ CHANGING TIMES + VIBE + THE GAZELLES+ FINN DOHERTY Wednesday 8th
+ FALLING RED + TEARAWAY Thursday 9th
WEDNESDAY 13
WFS £5
Wednesday 8th
YGN2 FT. BLACK SHUK
WFS £15
Tuesday 17th
WFS £8
WF £18.50
Friday 13th
YGN1 FT. THE MONDEGREENS
LCR £39.50
+ GO.FLY.WIN + ONE DAY ROCKET + UNDERLINE THE SKY Saturday 4th
WF £10
LCR £15
LCR £20
FELL OUT BOY
STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
ANDY C
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY
WF £14
COURTNEY BARNETT
Tuesday 10th
WF £14
+ SHE MAKES WAR Wednesday 22nd
+ DUNE RATS Wednesday 1st
Sunday 8th WFS £10
+ ALL HAIL THE YETI + SHAPES Sunday 15th
DUKE SPECIAL
WFS £10
Saturday 18th
AKALA
Monday 20th WFS £12
THERAPY? Tuesday 21st WF £17.50
+ JUKE AND THE ALL-DRUNK ORCHESTRA Saturday 25th WFS £12.50
Saturday 25th WF £10
THE SHIRES Sunday 26th WF £12
STORNWAY Wednesday 29th WF £14
MAY SUNSET SONS DOC BROWN SKINNY LISTER THE DOORS ALIVE UGLY DUCKLING LUCY SPRAGGAN 8:58 (LIVE) SLEAFORD MODS HEAVEN 17 ALSO ON SALE FOR 2015 CHAMELEONS VOX POUT AT THE DEVIL MORDRED FROM THE JAM DIRTY DC THE TOTAL STONE ROSES & OAYSIS
RIVAL SONS
Friday 27th
Tuesday 26th
LCR £4
NORWICH BLUES FESTIVAL
LCR £15
REEF
FT. FOCUS + AYNSLEY LISTER Friday 27th + LITTLE DEVILS + MARK PONTIN GROUP WF £15 Saturday 28th
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
WF £24
101% PANTERA
Saturday 28th WFS £11.50
+ SWARMED + BACK DOWN OR DIE Saturday 28th WFS £10
VINTAGE TROUBLE Sunday 29th WF £17.50
EVERY TUESDAY 10-2
THEMED FOR YOUR CLUBBING PLEASURE THE LCR, UEA
FOR OUR FULL LISTINGS & TO BOOK TICKETS ONLINE GO TO UEATICKETBOOKINGS.CO.UK
PRESS AD
016
031
venue
concrete.venue@uea.ac.uk
February 10 / #308
editors Holly J. McDede Adam White
art commissioner Ana Dukakis cover art Henry Boon illustrators Ana Dukakis Ellie Green Saraswati Menon Natalie Orme
Adam White
Music 04-07 editors Myles Earle Mike Vinti
Love is in the air. Doo-doo-doo, doo-doodoo. And so forth. I love many things. The feel of a gentle breeze; blissfullygalloping through the meadows like the young, carefree man that I am. But as our attention turns to the most romantic time of the year, I have been distracted instead by feelings of disgust. Of such rabid, unflinching rage that all that Valentine’s joy has been thrown in an old garbage bag and tossed into a trash compactor. The trash compactor of my heart, if you will. You see, we put together this little newspaper every two weeks in the spiffy media office at the top
Fashion 08-09 editors Gemma Carter
Helena Urquhart
of Union House. It is busy and frantic and filled with media types milling around the place. But for the past few months it has also been plagued by something ghastly. A noise that started off as something pleasant and enjoyable, but which has turned into something harsh, cruel... even monstrous. It has been like an adorable baby that you coo over for months, before it suddenly grows fangs and turns out not to be a baby, but in fact some kind of evil doll. Say Chucky, I guess. I am, talking, of course about Taylor Swift. Her twangy word-farts echo around these offices like the screams of a murder victim, ghoulish little ditties
played ad nauseum like we’ve been transported into the depths of hell and Blank Space is the last damn thing we will ever, ever hear. It is devastating because I used to love Blank Space. But now I am only filled with animosity towards it. So keep that in minds, kids. Be you single, in a relationship, or contemplating some kind of ménage, keep things fresh. Don’t just overplay your favourite thing. Expand, explore. There is a metaphor in their somewhere, probably. Keep it real, kids Adam
Arts 10-11 editor
Creative Writing 12-13 editor
Katie Kemp
Jake Reynolds
contributors
contributors
contributors
contributors
Luke Brett, Louis Cheslaw, Caitlin Doherty, Myles Earle, Freya Gibson
Adam Dawson, Charlotte Hales, Lindsay Stark
Brett Mottram, Lucinda Swain
Vicki Maitland, Jenny Moroney, Lizzie Parsons, Daisy Stapley-Bunten, Jay Stonestreet, Debs Torr VALENTINE’S SPECIAL!
Gaming & Tech 15 editor
Television 16-17 editor
Film 18-21 editors
The Pages of Love 22-23 editor
Joe Fitzsimmons
Adam Dawson
Neven Devies Silvia Rose
Daisy Jones
contributors
contributors
contributors
contributors
George Barker
George Barker, Amelia Morris, Adam White
George Barker, Tom Bedford, Isis Billing, Abi Constable, Martha Julier, Amy Lee, Louis Pigeon-Owen, Dan Struthers
Daisy Jones, Freddie Redfern, Jodie Snow
music
041
WIKI
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
big dreams for a big weekend Caitlin Doherty dreams up the perfect line-up for BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend Of course, it will be some time before we know for certain who will be travelling to Norwich to experience Unio coffee, and the unique entertainment experience that is the Puppet Man. However, we can all dream…
The Killers
There’s no doubting the fact that Taylor Swift has earned her position as the Big Weekend’s Sunday headliner. She was one of the biggest selling artists of last year. All you have to do is walk into the LCR on a Tuesday night to experience the 1989 with its Blank Spaces and Shaking Off. However, any headline slot is big news and will undoubtedly draw the biggest crowd of the day on both Earlham Park dates; the set should be full of sing-along hits and tracks that just make the crowd go crazy. The Killers fit that bill perfectly. With massive hits such as Mr Brightside and Human safely in the back pocket of enthusiastic frontman Brandon Flowers, I think that The Killers would provide the perfect Saturday night party at this year’s Big Weekend, and leave everybody struggling to whisper two words the following morning.
Rudimental
DEVIANT ART (P0M)
If you don’t know already...where have you been!? You really need to start checking Twitter more often. Greg James was recently in town to announce that the first major festival of the year would be in our very own university city: Radio 1’s Big Weekend is coming to Norwich! 2014 was a year of big, break through acts, and 2015 seems to be welcoming some old favourites who have been hiding away for a little while. The festivals this year look like they could be the biggest and best for a very long time.
Anybody who has been lucky enough to see Rudimental live knows that a summer party just isn’t a party until Rudimental have arrived with an explosion of trumpets and trombones. The perfect afternoon festival players,
Rudimental are brilliant at getting the crowd dancing with their never ending top ten hits, leaving revellers ready and raring to go for the superstars who will undoubtedly follow.
Florence and the Machine
After what feels like forever on hiatus, it seems that 2015 will finally herald the return of Miss Florence Welch and her Machine. Having already announced the recording Catfish and the Bottlemen and release of her third album, alongside One of the biggest breakout acts of 2014, several European and American festival Catfish and the Bottlemen seemed to have appearances, it seems inevitable that the perfectly filled the guitar shaped gap that red-haired songstress will be making several has been left since The Vaccines disappeared appearances at the 2015 festivals, and I off the scene; and what a job they have for one am ready to done at filling it. “It will be some time before welcome her back with The Bottlemen open arms. Her previous performed at more we know for certain who will albums provided us with than 30 festivals last be travelling to Norwich to several feel good summer year and were the experience Unio coffee...” anthems that would first band since the perfectly welcome the Arctic Monkeys to summer of 2015. Come on, who wouldn’t completely sell out a tour before the release want to sit on the grass and listen to You’ve of their first album. This band seem to have Got the Love whilst pretending to be a hippy? a knack for writing guitar riffs that just get stuck in your head, and would be sure to provide a bit of a rockier contrast to Miss Years and Years Swift. The BBC’s ‘Sound’ Poll is regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes in new George Ezra music, and for good reason. They seem to Another one of last year’s big hitters, George be pretty good at predicting who is going Ezra found his big break when the 2014 to be massive in the year to come, having festival circuit coincided with his massive previously predicted the successes of Adele, number one hit, Budapest, and his album Jessie J and Ellie Goulding to name just a Wanted on Voyage consequently became few. one of the best sellers of the year. With his Years and Years are the proud owners of lenghty collection of acoustic and blues the 2015 accolade, which is a sign of big songs filled with positive vibes and catchy things to come. By the time that the Big choruses it’s easy to see why Ezra proved to Weekend comes around this band will be be such a big hit at a variety of festivals in undoubtedly on the road to success having 2014. This man and his guitar feel right already started with the hit Desire; the at home on a festival stage performing to electro – pop release that you aren’t quite thousands of people drinking expensive beer, sure of the words to but you keep singing and Earlham Park would suit him perfectly. anyway. This will be a big summer for Years Budapest has never been such an attractive and Years, and we would love to start it with holiday destination! them here in Norwich.
music
051
alt-pop
Freya Gibson explores the stranger side of pop
It seems that after the musical purgatory of remain somewhat under-the-radar to the the last couple of decades, young bands are masses. However, this should not take away drawing on the characteristics and techniques from the credibility of the new album because of their idols to bring music back to life whilst it is an absolute corker. The appropriately also easing new genres into the 21st century; a titled album feeds galactic vibes through each hard thing to do but some are doing it bloody track (which seems to be saturating the alt-pop well. Björk has always been the visionary for world at the moment), whilst rejuvenating the alternative-pop genre and the early release old fashioned harmonies reminiscent to that of her new album, Vulnicura carries it into a of The Beatles or dare I say it, Pink Floyd. new era of experimentation. Maintaining the Falsetto Kings Everything Everything traditional conventions of a pop song, she come to mind when discussing alt-pop uses complimenting and are a personal harmonies and favourite of mine. You “They turn the ‘ringtone’ dynamics, marrying would think that their them with contrasting synth sounds of your childhood clashing vocals and into futuristic alt bangers.” frantic melodies would melodies and futuristic percussion. Combined make it hard for the with the string section used throughout every day listener to engage and sing along to the album, Björk’s hypnotic vocals make their music, like normal pop songs, but their Vulnicura an atmospheric addition to the albums such as 2013’s Arc, are surprisingly album chart. Whether you like the album catchy and lure you into constantly hitting or not, it is always a pleasure to hear the the repeat symbol on your iPod. Icelandic princess of old-school pop sing over Florence Welch has always been labeled twenty years into her solo career. You go gurl. as the 21st Century’s answer to Kate Bush, Founded by three members of similarly and although I love Kate, Florence was more synthy band, Tame Impala, Pond released successful in bringing her whimsical qualities their sixth album, Man It Feels Like Space into a contemporary context and to a younger Again, back in January and are always popular audience. Welch even performs her shows on the festival circuit, but the Aussie band with the same lyrical dancing and weirdness
ELLIE GREEN
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
as Kate did, yet her lyrics are more accessible founder Diplo, her pop credentials are and applicable for a pop audience. It seems firmly established yet she keeps it interesting that there is less stigma with her powerful vocal attached to becoming a “Bjork has always been delivery and experimental Florence + the Machine approach to song writing. a visionary for the fan, than a Kate Bush fan Citing Sonic Youth’s Kim alternative-pop genre” Gordon and the Spice amongst the mainstream audience, which is Girls as heavy influences probably why she has cracked America and is in her musical journey she’s sure to be one to classed as a “pop” act. watch in coming years. Back to the underground and LondonThere’s no doubt that the rise of based collective PC Music have been causing (shudder) ‘EDM’ has carved out a niche for a stir on the blogosphere with their over a new breed of electro-led singer-songwriter the top, pitch-shifted pop. Standout artists of the same ilk of as MØ. Chet Faker, Sky Hannah Diamond and AG Cook specialise in Ferreira and Lana Del Ry have all had their turning the ‘ringtone’ synth sounds of your time in the spotlight in recent months. The childhood into futuristic alternative chart most interesting offshoot of this trend is bangers. Hey QT is AG Cook’s collaboration Britain’s own FKA Twigs. Her eerily sensual with fellow hype merchant SOPHIE. take on R&B won her a Mercury nomination Dedicated to a fictional energy drink, it’s a and last year you couldn’t move for people bouncy, tooth-achingly sweet commentary singing the praises of her debut LP1, for very on the increasing commercialisation of pop good reason. music and the ever-present spectre of product All in all, while Calvin Harris and other placement. faceless house producers dominate much of Look back to 2014 and Danish singer- the top ten, there are plenty of artists making songwriter MØ took up plenty of column accessible, diverse pop music when you look inches with her brand of minimalist electro. a little bellow the surface. With the return of Having collaborated with Iggy Azalea Damon Albarn’s beyond-super group Gorillaz and Grimes, as well as Mad Decent label confirmed, alt-pop is firmly here to stay.
music
061
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
don’t sleep....
rae of light
MOEDUS
Myles Earle takes a look at the new faces driving the sound of the 70s forward
album extravaganza New albums from Viet Cong, Lupe Fiasco, Marilyn Manson, Pond and many more all came out in January, as well as the return of ‘90s heroes Sleater-Kinney.
Myles Earle chats with BBC Sound of 2015 shortlister Rae Morris But to me, it was really nice. It does kind of there is a real genuine energy that comes feel weird now actually, now I think about it, from the album and touches the listener. Her people know everything. But if there’s any voice is soft, but evocative, and has a hidden way it can be a positive, then that’s good”. strength to it that tells these emotionally And it is good; not only has the raw emotion charged stories of love and the troubles of it. and feeling in her lyrics shone through But of course, with this sudden claim to the experimental beats, but the album’s musical attention and tour preparations, there collaborative process has really brought the had to have been some time to de-stress and best out of her talent. enjoy the moment. “We drove from Blackpool American Grammy-award winning to Glasgow, and saw snow on the hills and the producer, Ariel Rechtshaid, co-writer of most beautiful sky, and it was really relaxing. Usher’s Climax, also had a hand in producing Probably won’t say that in six months’ time, this album. “I went out to America, spent but for now it’s cool”. But I wanted to know three months out there with him. He’s what else helped her to relax. She said, “I’ve the most individual person to be around. been watching a lot of TV, I think I’ve watched It was the perfect three seasons of Girls environment to work “Atlantic Records came up to in, like, a week…and on the album. During Blackpool and kind of gave me sleep”. the album making That definitely process, I kind of a record deal over the table of a sounds like the got obsessed with unwinding antics of a fish and chips shop...” the combination of 21 year-old. real, raw, organic instruments, and then the With her tour ending in Norwich’s Arts synthetic and electronic sounds, and seeing Centre, it seems to be the best way to bring how those two sounds work together”. her UK headlining gig to a close. “We played With many other collaborators on this Norwich on my last tour, and it was an album, and a beautiful smorgasbord of incredible turn out and I was really surprised sounds and beats, it would be difficult to find because I thought I don’t really know anyone out which track was Rae’s most emotionally in Norwich. Usually in the west of the UK, I revealing, but favourite, track on the album. can rely on friends and family to fill up the “I think for me, it’s For You, because when I room. But I’m really excited for Norwich”. wrote it, it was the third song I ever wrote. It became an anthem of this song writing thing Rae Morris will be performing on the 16th that I was doing. It kind of sums up the way February 2015 at the the Norwich Arts I feel and how lucky I am. I think it’s about Centre in her headlining tour, promoting family, and loved ones, and being fortunate”. her debut album Unguarded, which was That’s what seems to come out in her music, released on 26 January 2015.
all things festiv-al Line up announcements from Reading and Leeds, Longitude, Field Day and Festival No.6 all appeared online in the last week, be sure to check out Boom Bap’s bill for some local hip hop heavyweights.
FLICKR (SIMON ZERKINOW)
From being longlisted on BBC Sound of 2015, to making her way on to the Billboard and the Twitter Emerging Artists chart with Unguarded, it comes as no surprise that this Blackpool-born artist has made such a name for herself. In the midst of her first UK headlining tour, singer/songwriter Rae Morris takes a few minutes to have a chat with Venue, a day before her next show in Glasgow, with her trusty keyboard by her side. At the ripe ol’ age of 18, just months after her performance on the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds Festival in 2011, she attracted the eyes of Atlantic Records, saying that “the guys came up to Blackpool and kind of gave me a record deal over the table of a fish and chips shop”. Being “one of the hugest moments of my life”, Rae has in no way wasted her time at Atlantic. Her debut album, described by The Guardian as “an endearing new-agey pop debut”, has a unique and ‘colours outside the box’ kind of sound. “Making the actual album took two years in itself ”, and we can see why. Tracks like Not Knowing, Under the Shadows and of Do You Even Know? showcase Rae’s openness and heart and her dedication to what she has been working on for so long. Much like the title of the album, she has completely let her walls down to her listeners. “I never really thought about it at the time, but I guess the reason why I called it Unguarded was because on reflection I had put a lot into it, and documented all those personal emotions. I find writing therapeutic, almost like a diary. I do keep a diary as well; I’m notorious for writing everything down.
man machine Make sure to check out Kraftwerk: Art Pop on BBC iPlayer for a lesson on the influence and importance of Kraftwerk in modern pop music.
music
071
FLICKR (KERMON)
concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
Title Meghan Trainor Louis Cheslaw The confidence was always there. Throughout even her first forays into media and television appearances, as well as in the video for debut single All About That Bass, Meghan Trainor exuded a winking, “ready-when-you-are” sense
B4.DA.$$ Joey Bada$$ Luke Brett Happy birthday, Joey Bada$$. January was a big month for the Brooklyn-born BET ‘Rookie of the Year’ nominee; few
of belonging. This self-assuredness, coupled with a mastery of the new world of albumrelease Twitter campaigns and Instagram teasers, ensured that Trainor’s debut LP, Title was to be the type of release that was predestined to be a success. I’m aware that I’m a grown man, listening to this album alone in my room on a Friday night. This is not what I’d originally had in mind for my evening, and it’s (hopefully) definitely not what Trainor’s PRs had had in mind as their target audience. Rather, the music sounds like it’s been written to be played at those girls-only sleepovers you always used to see in teen movies and were never sure actually happened in real life. Because of this, the album can make its listener feel almost voyeuristic: these lyrics and stories weren’t ever intended for someone like me to hear, and while I’m usually a member of the younger demographic, this is an album that makes me feel I should be applying for my Freedom Pass and signing up for AARP newsletters. Title fluctuates between, to borrow from Sum-41’s phrasebook, killer and filler. Dear Future Husband, the album’s third track, falls
into the latter category - as any song that follows Bass was bound to. The album’s fifth track, 3am, wins this article’s award for ‘Most Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr-worthy Quote’ for its hook: “3am, I’m texting you once again, even though I’m hanging with my friends”. Three in the morning is an exquisitely illicit time for Trainor’s presumably pre-to-midteen audience. It’s late enough to be an unfathomable hour for them to be typically be awake at, yet attainably early enough that if they really tried, or were really hung up about a guy, they’d be able to stay up for it. However were they had to, they’d need to listen to some other music during the wait, as none of the album’s 15 songs come close to the four-minute mark. The attention span of the #Megatrons, as Trainor has christened her fans, presumably falls somewhere between the six-second length of a Vine and the 15-second limit on an Instagram video. And while I’m sorry to keep coming back to them, it’s hard not to be reminded of mobile applications when one thinks of Trainor. He’s an artist whose success owes so much to social media, and many of whose song titles
read as ready-to-share hashtags (see Bang Dem Sticks, Walkashame). From 3am, the album cruises onto Trainor’s second single, Lips are Movin’ , itself then followed by the ever so slightly sapphic No Good For You, a soon-tobe guaranteed appendage to all high school romantic dramas. It’s an odd thing to review an album that is so strongly directed at a totally different age range and gender to one’s own. However for Trainor, identifying and marketing to a pre-selected niche, as well as staying committed to specific themes, seems to have paid off – and influenced her peers. Taylor Swift’s inescapable Shake it Off, released two months after Bass, seems to derive from the same lucrative school of self-love, enabling the two artists’ fandoms, within which there is presumably some significant crossover, to (deservedly) gorge on anthems of positivity. So what if some of us weren’t invited to the party - they’re having a lot of fun inside.
can attest to having their debut studio album released on the day they turn 20years-old. But, for this East-coast prodigy, album drops and young money go hand in hand - B4.DA.$$ entered the American charts at number five, and sold close to 60,000 copies in its first week. It’s been a successful album thus far, and it’s easy to see why; Joey kills it. B4.DA.$$ is a masterclass in oldschool, nostalgia-driven East-coast hip hop. Joey’s flow is noticeably smoother than his previous outings, and album production has been cleaned and tidied. The album starts strong, with the classic lean-back beat of Save the Children. Joey’s rhymes are impressive for someone so young, and his syrupy flow mimics his New York heroes of old. The album wastes no time and launches almost straight into what could be considered Joey’s ‘big’ track, Paper Trail$. Cash ruin everything around me, Joey laments in amongst a classically
minimalistic beat. Complete with scratches, samples, and turns, Joey’s beats are an obvious throwback to the East-coast scene of the 1990s. However, having said that, it does feel as though some of Joey’s more aggressive and deadly rhymes are hindered by beats that almost feel frightened to get too involved. Case in point, Big Dusty, the fifth track; in listening to his lyrics, Joey sounds like he wouldn’t think twice about stabbing someone - but this extreme violence is held back by a beat that’s reluctant to get too loud. But, that’s my only real gripe with this album, and it only applies to certain tracks. For the most part, it’s a stellar piece of production that has definitely given Joey a few more staples for his setlist. It’s not afraid to get a little conceptual, a little bit spacey, especially on tracks such as Belly of the Beast, but make no mistake; this is not a considerate album. It is not an album upon which opinions are swayed - Joey
knows where he stands and will not rest until you’ve been converted by the heat of Christ Conscious. Joey drops banger after banger as the album continues, with tracks like On & On taking the spotlight as the modern staple. It’s easy to see that Joey is a progressive thinker - it becomes clear from the album’s offset. It’s safe to say that the sounds that this album brings to the forefront; clean samples and classic beats juxtaposed with an unrelenting flow; are the new sounds of next week. It may not be for everyone, and it may not be up to Joey’s usual standard of aggression, but there’s no d o u b t B4.DA.$$ is one of the most significant hip-hop releases of 2015. It’s a promising debut studio release by Joey, and there are tracks on this album that are certain to usher this young rapper even further into the spotlight.
fashion
081
concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
Recognise anyone? Tweet us @conc_fashion
Judelle Nicole Alipio First Year- CMPD
s.o.s. save our skin Charlotte Hales gives us her top tips for glowing skin this winter... We would all love to have perfect glowing skin but skincare can be daunting with rows and rows of products in your local Boots. Throw the harsh winter weather into the mix along with central heating and your skin is bound to become a little more dry and dull. These changes can make skincare even more confusing as things you have always trusted no longer seem to work. With a simple skincare routine, plenty of water and a few key products, the confusion can be removed and in no time your skin will be thanking you for the changes. Regardless of the time of year, a good skincare routine is a must. Keeping your skin clean and moisturised is the easiest way to make sure it looks healthy. Making sure you always take off any make up, cleansing, toning and moisturising can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your skin in just a few weeks. Swap your make up wipes for a cleansing water such as the Garnier Micellar Water (£4.99) to remove your make up, not only is it much more gentle on your skin but they are much more effective at removing every last bit of make up plus they work out cheaper than leading make up wipe brands. Despite being called a cleansing water, this alone will not be enough. You still need to remove any dirt
that may be on your face and help to refresh the skin which is where your cleanser comes in. If your skin is particularly dry, which it normally tends to be in the winter, then a cleansing oil is likely to be the best bet. Those of you with more oily skins need not avoid cleansing oils though, they can be brilliant for balancing out the natural oils and adding nourishment to your skin. The Body Shop
A LITTLE TASTE OF CHARLOTTE
Best Dressed at UEA
Silky Camomile Cleansing Oil (£10) is a great option that won’t break the bank and is likely to last you at least three months. Toning used to be associated with stripping chemicals that could sometimes do more harm than good. Now they are much gentler and can help to tighten pores and generally
improve the appearance of your skin. Finally, moisturising. This is a key step even if you have the oiliest of skin as you still need to give your skin the right nourishment. For most, the winter is when skin is the driest so a richer moisturiser tailored for dry skin is a good option. Those with oily skin will prefer a lightweight, mattifying solution which will help to prevent future dryness and avoid making skin any oilier. It is perfectly fine to use the same moisturiser in the morning as in the evening but if your skin is very dry you may want to look into a more intense option for overnight. This will mean your skin is getting the extra boost of moisture that it needs whilst not disturbing any make up that you might wear during the day. Tailoring your skincare routine to suit your needs for this time of year is the best way to stop your skin from drying out and looking dull. Accompany your skincare routine with plenty of water and within a couple of weeks you are bound to see a massive difference. If you are a little unsure about trying skincare products a lot of places (including The Body Shop) are happy to talk you through the product and give samples so it is worth popping in and chatting to someone if you have any questions.
couple calamity Adam Dawson gives us his opinion on couple-based fashion
William Belotti First Year - Env Sciences Photography Leah Omonya
actually are. The second of these situations in a Yves Saint Laurent suit alongside Brad Pitt. are brilliant Halloween costumes, like That’s not to say they deliberately set out to Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee, or match each other, but rather they both looked Thing 1 and Thing 2. incredible because they were well dressed in That’s not to say that there’s no their own personal way. Besides, do you really way to dress well alongside your think Angie would let Brad in on her outfits? partner; just don’t follow in No, thought not. Mark Wright and Michelle The other power couple of the moment, Keegan’s footsteps, who co- human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and actor ordinate their outfits to an husband George, are also both superbly dressed obscene degree. It kills any at all times. When together or apart, they rock sense of originality they their own style. It just so happens that they may or may not possess, don’t feel the need to show off how brilliant and only allows them to they are together by dressing identically. They be defined in terms of dress like old Hollywood royalty individually, clothes when and it combines they’re standing into some kind “If you dress well, next to the and your partner dresses of super stylish other person. behemoth. well, it’ll look good And that’s silly, So what I’m considering how getting at here is regardless” often you lose the following: if whomever you’ve gone out you dress well, and your partner dresses well, with that night. it’ll look good. Just don’t set out to co-ordinate Again, there is a way your outfits because that’s terrible and rarely around this. Think back to works well. Your relationship will not be saved the 2014 BAFTAs. 12 Years a by pretending that your adorable matching Slave was wildly popular, as outfits equals instant happiness. Take a lesson it rightly deserved to be, from the Clooneys or the Jolie-Pitts; if you and Angelina Jolie rocked look good on your own, you’ll look very good up to the award ceremony together. WIKI
Fiona Roden First Year-History
Last year, there was an interesting couple-based trend in China, centered as these things tend to be, in Beijing. As with most couple-based trends, their outfits took centre stage. Almost down to the last detail, the couples wore the same outfit. Only minor details changed – a dress in the same pattern as a t-shirt, for example. But aside from this, the outfits would be near enough strikingly identical. Couples’ clothing to such an extreme degree has never really caught on elsewhere. Maybe there’s something specific to Beijing that allows it to look so good there, whilst over here it just strikes of being much too try hard. Identically matching couples are reserved for two occasions: all-too-happy Americans sending out Christmas cards in order to let everyone else know just how happy their lives
fashion
091
concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
blue hues
Lindsay Stark talks us through this season’s hottest shade Photographer Daniel Sadler
This season, block colours are proving to be hugely popular, and blue is no exception. From icy pastels to vibrant cobalts, blue is having a fashion moment and there is a shade to suit everyone. You only have to glance at the high street to know that blue is the hue of the season, adorning everything from silky camis to statement dresses and even stilettos. Not sure how to work it into your wardrobe? Don’t worry; Venue are here to help show you how! If you feel wary about bright colours, then it’s best to start with accessories. Add a pop of colour to an all-black outfit with a gorgeous cobalt clutch and heels combo; Primark have a huge range of bags and New Look have some beautiful heels that would work perfectly. Cobalt blue heels are the ultimate in cool and can be worn with just about everything – so snap some up quickly! Cobalt is probably the most
Stylist Lindsay Stark
Model Timea Suli
fashion-forward of the blue hues this season ideal for daywear too. Simply wear with a and looks fab against any skin tone. It can pair of jeans and some pretty jewellery and be seen absolutely everywhere this season. you’ll look stylish and on trend without H&M have some gorgeous blue dresses in being too over the top. stock at the moment. They are super easy We know that these bright colours aren’t to dress up or down, and even look great for everyone. But with spring just around layered over a black roll-neck jumper. the corner, pastels are making a comeback. A number of Chose a cute ice blue celebrities have been “Cobalt blue will always handbag or some spotted wearing it, statement jewellery and including Jessica Alba ensure you stand out from not only will you be and Amy Adams! It is bang on trend but you’ll the crowd.” much simpler to work also look like everyone’s this colour into your night wardrobe, favourite Disney Queen. Elsa Necklaces however cobalt trousers are a fab way to and handbags are great ways of working inject some colour into your daywear whilst the trend into your daily wardrobe and will still looking casual and chic. Missguided ensure you look stylish yet still campushave some really cheap ones in their sale for appropriate. This ice blue coat is from under £10 that are just perfect! Cami tops Primark, and at only £23, you can still look are another good way of introducing colour great and keep up with the ever-changing into your wardrobe in a subtle way, and are fashion styles on a budget. The collarless
style is a great nod to the 60s, and over an all-black outfit looks so on trend. This is a great piece for your campus wardrobe and can be worn right through to summer, so start investing now. Blue nails are also a great nod to the trend, and Barry M’s range of Gelly nail varnishes last forever too – just remember to use a base coat as blue tends to stain. Pastel blue dresses are also great for the spring months. A little navy dress is a perfect alternative to an LBD for nights out, and this gorgeous one from River Island ticks every box. Try to pick something with other interesting features such as embellishments or, like this one, an asymmetric hemline for a truly stand-out look. Add a pair of nude heels and a statement bag and you’ll be ready for a night in Mantra! There really is a shade of blue out there for everyone; you just have to find it.
arts
101
concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk
the voice within the words
“It’s not the flashy twist, the abrupt counterpart, but in several ways he is also climax, or the seamless sequence of events plausible. Is this a testament to Nabokov’s that characterises a writer and makes him novelistic genius and skill, or personal unique. It’s a tone, it’s a way of looking at experience or obsession? This debate has things”. raged ever since the novel’s publication in Martin Amis here captures what is most 1955, and it seems unlikely to end with a essential about a writer’s work: the voice. conclusive answer. Style is not just a veneer, or an optional There is less uncertainty in the case extra; it’s substance. This sounds obvious, of Philip Larkin, who, a mere eight years but a writer’s voice is what makes us after his death, was reviled by most of the interested in the writers themselves. If the literary world who had until then revered way of looking at things is fascinating and him as a great poet. It was confirmed that unique, surely the person who commits the he had been a racist, a misogynist, and a view to paper also possesses these qualities? drunk, among other things, and only a Here lies the appeal few writers, Martin of writers’ talks “Ian McEwan, at a talk, once Amis and Clive and interviews, James among them, pointed out how many A-level defended Larkin’s and the experience teachers misunderstood his of meeting the work, if not his life, author and getting because it showed novel Enduring Love” a copy of their talent. Anyone who book signed. Behind or perhaps within it has read Church Going or Aubade or The all, there is the complex question of the Whitsun Weddings, if their taste or vertebral relationship between the life and the work. constitution is anything like mine, will Vladimir Nabokov, for instance, has a recognise a distinct, talented and powerful unique voice, whether it be in his novels, poetic voice. But Mr Bleaney and Days are short stories, interviews or lectures. It clearly expressions of Larkin’s own views comes through from the opening of Lolita: on existence, and Wild Oats shows that “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. his relationships with women were on the My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the whole tragically yet pathetically disastrous. tongue taking a trip of three steps down The links to far less than admirable views, the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. also expressed sometimes disgracefully and Lo. Lee. Ta”. shockingly in his letters, are there, yet the The attention to language, the poetic voice and craftsmanship are superb. rhythm working in the alliterative ‘t’s, the More playfully, there is Angela Carter, incandescent metaphors that set it all off, whose melding of intellectualism and certainly show a unique view of the world, bawdiness are apparent on every page. The one which is clearly Nabokov’s own. opening lines to Nights At the Circus, with The physical excitement of language its imposing, winged, and busty protagonist is also evident in Nabokov’s lecture on Sophie Fevvers, highlights several key Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’.Nabokov Carter characteristics. There’s cockney says, “We can take the story apart, we slang, references to Helen of Troy, false can find out how the bits fit […] but you eyelashes, smatterings of French, allusions have to have in you some cell, some gene, to the fetishes of Toulouse-Lautrec, and expresses just their views, because readers some germ that will vibrate in answer to the word ‘steatopygous’ (which my spell- bring their own interpretations to the text. sensations that you can neither define, nor check refuses to recognise!) All of this Martin Amis is hated by most of the British dismiss. This is the tingle down the spine happens in the first page and a half. literary world, and his work is called or across the back that all ‘good and great Here are the misogynistic, simplereaders’ have felt in response to good and links to the author’s minded, sneering, and “The work of poets and great literature”. life: Fevvers is many other things. novelists never expresses Having read his work, I Yet there are obvious problems with being interviewed linking the writer to his characters. We by Jack Walser, who don’t believe that these just their view, because can link Nabokov’s work and life in the is a journalist, just charges are justified. readers bring their own above way, but can we link Humbert as Carter herself He is a writer whose interpretations to the text” voice is vibrant and Humbert, the middle aged protagonist of occasionally was. Lolita who has a sexual relationship with Carter liked to read original. Verbally, and the eponymous 12-year-old ‘nymphet’, Roland Barthes as much as Larousse in terms of plot, he combines cleverness, with his creator? How interested was Gastronomique, and her postcards hilarity, questionable taste and elegance. Nabokov in young girls? Humbert seems contained gems as valuable as her novels One memorable incident is especially too appallingly hilarious and depraved and short stories. salient in this discussion about writers’ a creation for him to have any real The work of poets and novelists never intentions versus readers’ interpretations.
ANA DUKAKIS
Brett Mottram wonders whose talking to him through his book jacket
Ian McEwan, at a talk, once pointed out how many a-level teachers misunderstood his novel Enduring Love. His son came home one evening with a poor grade, because the teacher thought that Jed Parry was the moral centre of the book, instead of the deluded, infuriating De Clerambault sufferer which McEwan, his son, and probably many readers, myself included, saw him as. A writer’s prescribed view cannot always influence a reading of a text, because a text speaks for itself in its own voice, but knowing about the hand that holds the pen can be interesting, as well as useful in understanding human nature. And that is what literature is about after all, even if it is mediated through pleasure.
arts
111
concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk
these our many faces Lucinda Swain takes a look at old school selfies
Banksy by wJan Slangen
The 21st Century has been dubbed the ‘Age of the Selfie’. Today’s obsession with appearance is constantly seen on television, social media and in our own homes. ‘Selfie’, short for selfportrait photograph, has taken the world by storm, with millions being posted every day across all popular social media platforms. Vanity has been taken to extremes with our generation, sharing many traits with the character in Greek Mythology. Narcissus, a hunter renowned for his good looks, who ultimately drowned the result of being unable to leave the beauty of his own reflection. Much like Narcissus we cannot seem to stop gazing at our own image. Portraiture is one of the oldest and most popular subject matters in art. In classic literature there has often been a preoccupation with the face, and multitudinous attempts to outline its perfection. It is basic human nature to crave control and for a sense of identity which can be explored in the subject of a portrait. As Oscar Wilde wrote: “Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known”. Identity in literature and art appears fluid. Although there are attempts at preserving a sense of identity, over time even the most famous of images change. Take Medusa for example; depicted as a monster nowadays, her appearance has been subject to change over the years between 700BC and 325BC she played the roles of victim, comedian and seductress. Her representation
is complex due to the nature of Greek Mythology, which relies on imagination and manipulation. Artists explore the idea of personal and social identity, constructing concepts of individualism, sexuality and heritage. Take, for example, the ambiguity of the smile of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ (c 1503-06). Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ (c 1665-67) displays haunting eyes and the bewitching mixture of ordinariness and beauty. Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ (1893) depicts sheer despair and inner torment. These are some of the most widely known works of art. So what is it about the face that fascinates us? Physiognomy is the term used to judge a person’s character and personality from their appearance, although it acknowledges that the results are undetermined. Yet still artists attempt to convey character in their work. Francis Bacon wrote “If you want to convey fact, this can only ever be done through a form of distortion. You must distort to transform what is called appearance into image”. Bacon subverts what one might say are naturalistic impressions of the face and instead creates faces of distortion - they are constantly in motion, defying any attempt at being pinned down to a specific identity. His emotionally and physically distorted faces are focused on humanity or lack thereof. His figures are often solitary, lacking eyes and any representative mouth. His subjects are dehumanised to a point where they appear soulless.
Arty Scream by Joel Ormsby Physiognomy relies on the use of eyes as windows to the soul and they are often the focal point for most portraits. Bacon then paints other detailed areas, to draw attention to a particular feature, such as the subject’s long, animalistic teeth. Bacon then paints in a pane of glass to cause uneasiness, as the viewer wouldn’t appreciate being ‘brought into the piece’, seeing their reflection and experiencing the subject’s trauma. Domenicho Ghirlandaio’s ‘An Old Man and his Grandson’ portrays a young boy gazing up at his grandfather, his face physically deformed yet the painter proposes the idea that beauty is as much an inward notion as one that can be seen. The concept that you can see past a person’s physical appearance is present in this piece from the Florentine Renaissance. Whether the faces are unsettling, noble or vapid, there is no doubt of their popularity and ability to engage an audience; even with technology developing at an incredible rate, it doesn’t seem like traditional portraiture painted by a skilled and sensitive artist will die out anytime soon. With social media platforms we are able to share an image around the world in an instant. Although the selfie craze has changed the way a portrait is captured, it is just the latest manifestation of a form that has been evolving since prehistoric times. Galleries will continue to draw crowds of people fascinated and moved by the array of emotions and conceptions a face can portray.
Medusa by Robbert van der Steeg
Hedonist Medusa by Saylow
CORKSCREW FRED
Pop_aH by Joconde
Scream by Apionid
creative
121 “He opened the notebook and he wrote lines about how he loved her, the way he loved her, about his fucking heart and crap like that, about his body brimful and his scrambled head. All that.” - Keith Ridgway, Hawthorn & Child If love gave you a receipt, would you fold it and slip it into a back pocket? Would you scrunch it up into a tiny boulder and throw it in the nearest bin? Would you tear it to pieces? Would you take it home and obsessively file it away?
concrete.creativewr
Sex in a Single Vicki Maitland Some say simply sex is the performance of perfect unity but I disagree. You know you’re committed to the act when sex becomes mathematics. You have my respect when you can show off your A-Star GSCE: move shape A to shape B using factor two rotational symmetry. Employ Pythagoras as we switch; work out the angle between my hips and yours. Get me from my knees to my back via SOH CAH TOA. Mirror along the (se)x axis: to-you-to-me, or one-two-three, ease my linguistic brain with geometry to achieve interdisciplinary synchronicity. We can make love on one condition: you can do the maths.
Because Valentine’s Day (cue cheers, swoons, groans and retches) is just around the corner, I thought it was about time we wrote about love. But love on its own is a boring theme. Unconditional love is still quite boring. What about love on one condition? What does that mean? If love had one condition, what would it be? Here’s what six UEA students had to say on the matter... - Jake Reynolds
Purple Sunset Jenny Moroney I liked the evening because it was in between dark and light, a purple colour that makes everything clear and easy. You say let’s sit over there because that is where there is a view of big black buildings against a sunset. I look at the sky through the silhouetted leaves and say it looks like a desktop background! You tell me I spend too much time on my laptop and give me a poem to read for later. When I read the words in my head I can’t feel them properly so I read them out loud but then their meaning leaves me as soon as I am finished. Maybe that is all that love is; revision and recital until the person sinks into you and you remember little bits of them always.
a love poem... courtesy of Daisy Stapley-Bunten Roses are red, Fuck Valentine’s.
AN
AD
UK AK
IS
writing
131 ic ofic ions
riting@uea.ac.uk
Submit your own to inia s o on Twitter ‘If I told you I wanted to absorb your body through my pores, would you hold it against me?’
o
dina i i
o
a sons
ain nanc a
on s
One of those fairy lantern caverns with girls who are frail of fry, with tiny faces and blonde fringes with dreadlocks.
All stories begin with a look across a crowded room. Some smoky eyed glance, hidden hints within seductive lips: the curl, the curve and a careful sip looking up from a wine glass.
our love had given to him. His only word – “service” – may have meant many things to those naïve enough to think him something abstract or inhuman, but only I knew.
She took herself out of the universe, and deposited herself in the next. In between, she took glasses of port to her sick grandmother.
I first spotted mine in a store window. At roughly six feet tall with a definitive athletic build, strong jawline and cheekbones to die for, he was the perfect specimen of man.
His truth was my truth, and to both of us it was a passion.
To get there she had to walk backwards up a hill, round a million side streets, and dance across the tiles of the Plaza restaurants.
At the activation desk his first words were like the birthing echoes of morning issued on a blissful beach somewhere to me, and me alone. My hand deep in my trouser pocket, I felt around for something. He was quite expensive, really, but – as I found out – a love however short can never be overpriced.
Let me tell you, she starts. We can inherit! Take ourselves to the Lake District, and be the ones who go on walks. She looks into his shining glazed eyes and laughs. What can you say, when the streetlamps shine on, orange in the starlight, and my tights look no less opaque than in the days when I leant on your arm
He didn’t start walking until I took him home from the store. Didn’t even have a name until four days later. His skin was taut and perfect, and I settled on Julian. Jules, come here, I would say in the evenings – sometimes even in the day, though not often – and he would approach me with his big arms in a sort of raised position. It always started with an embrace.
And told you that your corduroy trousers ought to exist, that we could go out to the parlour and smoke, Or ride the bike tandem. Everywhere smells of blossom and the grass has never smelt so sweet. The fast rain on my face tells my legs To keep moving, though my fingers clench like claws around the icicles in the air.
I remember our first day trip to the beach – the long swathes of sand seemed like eternity to me. Some people – most, sadly – judged. I held his hand even tighter then, and he just rotated his neck halfway in that funny fashion and smile at me with those polished teeth, white like his innocence. They might have even contained real enamel, I can’t quite recall. I just wish he could have said something to me then. Unfortunately, the responsibility to remember his charge lead had completely eluded my lovesick mind, and halfway along the promenade I had to sit him on the bench for shutdown – carrying him back to the car was a struggle, if I’m truthful. The things we do for those we love.
ci n is s ha disco ho o n oi an s o I make pottery. Leaving a warm ceramic handprint But still, half-baked. I write poetry. Loose words fall into black ink But still, half-shaped.
d
Another fond memory that comes to mind is the day he spoke his first words to me. We were lying in bed on a Sunday morning. The sheets were strewn across our entwined bodies and in amongst the litter of Viagra foils and torn underwear we lay, satiated in a sweet harmony as the breezes and the blossoms blew in through the French doors. Head on his chest, I could hear his body whirring with all the internal mechanisms straining with the weight of such a power – such a moment as this in which to exist and become something more than an artless piece of machinery. I traced my fingers in a circular motion around his shoulder blade. His artificial breaths grew heavy as he mustered a mighty courage to use the voice
Not long afterwards he fell desperately ill. We’d been strolling up in the high hills one day overlooking the grey and desolate world – all those meek little villages nestled in amongst the rolls and folds of the purple moors. Little stone walls and all the weathered unhappy people going to and fro with marks of woe written in to their small parchment faces. Before Julian, I hated the country. We stopped at a stile to let him catch his breath – his joints had been loosening from all the exercise – and whilst I cast my eyes over that bleak scene I sensed the depth of the sky and all its dark rage building above us. The storm poured its profanities and my poor Julian took the worst of it. His cries of “service!” cut into my heart as I heaved his failing frame down the mountain to the rhythms of thunder and my own racing pulse. Once we’d made it back home, there was nothing more I could do. He had almost gone from me in all sense and spirit. My very soul ached from the separation that then came between us. He slipped away with a click and an infinitesimal puff of steam. His very complexion seemed to sag as life and love left him. My poor Julian. I wept myself into a distress greater than any imaginable for three and a half days and at the end found, once again, that I hated the hills of the countryside more than ever. At 3 o’clock on the third day I returned his lifeless body to the store in the hope of obtaining any pittance of a compensation for my trauma. Of course, money could never repair the damage done by such a strain to my poor mind – but it was the only language those duds of modernity understood. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I achieved no financial consolation for all my efforts to convince them that their manufacturing was wholly inferior and that my Julian had been doomed from the very start. Their deadening reply to my heartache drew the last mite of hope from my heart and crushed it under the insufferable boot of eternal disconnection in this tired technological age. They said he’d have loved me so long as I kept his parts working, but they were wrong. A love so purifying as ours neither knows nor needs any maintenance.
Global Opportunities Week 9th-13th February.
r ! u k o r y wo ow net r *G bal glo
*Job huntin g in the USA!
*Living and working in China
Get involved. Go global. #GOW @UEACareers
UEACareerCentral
gaming + tech
151
concrete.gamingtech@uea.ac.uk
Star Wars: Battlefront - a new hope? George Barker looks at what could be in store
It’s been ten years since Star Wars: passionate about the game, but with Battlefront 2. Now with a new one Battlefield: Hardline releasing at the finally arriving this year, can it live same time, one hopes that their efforts up to expectation? The anticipation have not been too divided. What is most surrounding Battlefront is already worrying is that last year several AAA substantial despite a lack of real details titles were released in unacceptable about the game. states, Assassins With only a single Creed: Unity “The incentive for EA to trailer, showing being the worst insist on a rushed product the developers offender. With may prove too hard to resist”. Star Wars: The having a grand old time examining Force Awakens all the film props, the hype as of yet, also being released this December, Star is unfounded. While speculation flies Wars mania will be at an all time high. round the web, we only have to look There is no way that EA will allow to last year to see how dangerous this DICE to miss this deadline. With this rampant spread of rumours can be. looming deadline, the incentive for With 2014 being such a disastrous year EA to insist on a rushed product may for Ubisoft’s reputation, EA has the prove to hard to resist. EA has acquired chance to rid itself of the mantle of the a bad reputation for its use of world’s most hated games company. EA ‘crunch time’ to overwork has the potential to dominate E3 this its devs in order to get the year with more details on Battlefront game out on time. This and the possible announcement of attitude might harm the Mass Effect 4. finished product, as EA This game has been a longtime scrabbles to cash in on coming. Indeed, Battlefront was almost the new film. Memories never developed. However, of Battlefield 4’s thanks to DICE’s lobbying, server they were allowed to take on the project. Clearly DICE are
issues, which marred DICE’s last insults your mother before shouting release, spring to mind. about how Attack of the Clones was Even if Battlefront is finished, the best, then guns you down in his games have changed a lot since pay to win AT-AT. Even though the Battlefront 2 in 2005. Bot support is multiplayer and single player in old rare, and local multiplayer is on the Battlefront games was identical, it decline. The games industry seems to never felt like a multiplayer game. be forgetting that some people actually Instant Action mode was at the core enjoy the company of others and on of the games enjoyment, but with the occasion would like to play games on Battlefield model of having to pay to the same system. Will Battlefront lose host a server if you wanted a custom split-screen and have its bots torn game, perhaps it might not even be out, just as DICE removed them from included. the Battlefield series in Bad Company? Despite the cynicism, perhaps all These days, games are plagued by this will be proved wrong. DICE have micro-purchases, allowing snot-nosed proven that they are capable of epic brats to spend their parents money on infantry vehicle gameplay and some unlocking everything without playing a modern tweaks to the series would be second. No doubt welcome. Perhaps Battlefront will this time next year “Have fun defending ECHO receive some we’ll be trusting base as some 11-year-old variety of our feelings as we insults your mother”. premium hurtle down the D L C Death Star trench, subscription that ends up shouting ‘cover me porkins’ to our costing more than the game friends (playing split-screen). But even itself and divides the player if Battlefront turns out to be an online base. Have fun defending multiplayer-only, pre-teen-infested, ECHO base pay-to-win, pre-order bonus, Jar-Jaras some ridden corpse of a once loved series, at 1 1 - y e a r - o l d least there’s a new Star Wars film…
De
via
nt
Art
(ST
EFA
NO
S1
31
3)
161
television concrete.television@uea.ac.uk
aren’t you a little old for this? George Barker is your guide to the weird, wonderful Adventure Time jumped the shark (what’s up with the stupid cheap fashion ad of an opening), Brooklyn Nine-Nine has stagnated in it’s second season and The Big Bang Theory has been shit for about seven seasons now. Adventure Time is there, with it’s short ten minute episodes and loveable characters. Even so, those factors could be applied to many kid’s cartoons. But really the simplest answer is that Adventure Time is just good great in fact. Adventure Time’s humour is broad, not simply relying on childish toilet
humour or unnecessary slapstick. The show is filled with wit and has many underlying adult jokes that would simply pass over the heads of a younger audience, suggesting an awareness of its secondary demographic.
its cast. Whether it’s Finn’s desire to be taken seriously, the Ice King’s desperate efforts to find love, or Gunther’s hunger for souls, you can sympathise with all the characters for one reason or another. The characters are excellently developed rather than falling into common tropes. Princess Bubblegum, rather than simply being an object Finn and Jake have to save, is a brilliant scientist and machiavellian manipulator, striving for the greater good of her Kingdom. The show, much like the Land of Ooo, has a darkness in both its story and humour. The show tackles a huge range of issues from changing one’s self to appeal to others to abusive relationships. The humour in many places is incredibly dark, episodes often ending abruptly following some grim twist. At first glance the show might appear to be insanely random, but as you follow it, everything has a precision to it, a tightly managed continuity in which nothing is forgotten. Every seemingly random event is somehow explained, even the gender swap episodes are fanfiction the Ice King writes about Finn and Jake. So if you don’t already watch the show, start. Even with the recent surge of animated shows directly aimed at adults, Adventure Time still holds its head high.
STUFF POINT
A show targeted at 2-11 year olds, about a young boy and his talking dog. There’s no sex, no violence (okay, a bit of violence), no drugs or debacles involving melting baked alaska, so how has it drawn such a large adult audience? Adventure Time (mostly) follows Finn and Jake on their adventures in the magical land of Ooo. The show features a huge cast of eccentric characters in its incredibly colourful world. At first glance it just seems like any other saturday morning kids cartoon. So what makes Adventure Time so special? There are a million explanations for why the show is popular. There is an element of nostalgia, Finn lives the perfect image of a nostalgic childhood. He lives in a tree house with his best friend and spends his time exploring and adventuring. Adventure Time perfectly evokes a romantic nostalgia of childhood in it’s audience. At the same time, many of its characters feel the same nostalgia as they fondly look back to a time before the apocalyptic disaster that created Ooo. Arguably the bright colours and warm vibe the show has makes it a nice break from the intensity of life. Sometimes when the stress of uni builds, it’s nice to turn to something lighthearted. While you might indulge in sit-coms, New Girl has
The breadth and depth of its characters is astounding. Adventure Time fosters brilliant emotional connections with
the strangest little town Amelia Morris welcomes you to Gravity Falls
PLANET MINECRAFT
Animated TV shows have an amazing ability to attract a viewership outside their supposed target audience. This is particularly true for Cartoon Network shows, but Disney XD has a great show of its own that’s often overlooked: Gravity Falls.
Created by Alex Hirsch, Gravity Falls follows twins Mabel and Dipper who are sent to spend their summer at their great uncle’s Mystery Shack in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls. Season one is pleasingly bizarre, featuring gnomes, ghosts, mermen, and the adorably evil Lil’ Gideon. By the end of the first season and into the second, the show becomes genuinely unsettling through the introduction of Bill Cipher, a realitywarping floating triangle man voiced by Hirsch himself.
What tends to keep you watching, though, teenager/object of Dipper’s affection, Wendy, is not the antagonists, but the brightly are all equally entertaining. Every character coloured main characters. Dipper Pines, has their own history and personality that is voiced by Jason Ritter, is an adventurous, explored throughout the show, but Gravity anxious 12-year-old boy who, despite fitting Falls does suffer a little from a lack of character the archetype of many similar protagonists, development. This is common for shows on still manages to be relatable and a genuinely children’s channels, which are rarely shown in good character. His sister the correct order anyway. Mabel is the real gem Gravity Falls doesn’t “Mabel and Dipper’s of the show. Voiced by dull with repeated Kristen Schaall, Mabel world offers a form of vivid watching either, and escapism.” is bright, bubbly and there are plenty of callridiculous, and provides backs and moments of comic relief while maintaining the integrity significant symbolism you’re bound to miss of a three-dimensional character. It’s difficult first time round. Mabel and Dipper’s world not to fall in love with her light-up sweaters, offers a form of vivid escapism similar to other obsessive personality and optimistic attitude, animated shows like Adventure Time or Bee and and Schaall voices her perfectly. The other Puppycat. If you’re a fan of animation, Gravity main characters, the money-grabbing Falls should definitely be at the top of your to‘Grunkle’ Stan; the clueless Soos, and cool watch list.
television
171
concrete.television@uea.ac.uk
Adam White
It’s an inevitability that modern discussion of The Simpsons will bounce between themes of ‘then’ and ‘now’ - the series itself currently in the midst of its 26th season, their best and most zeitgeisty days long behind them. But it’s also a discussion that inadvertently diminishes the show’s cultural and creative significance, along with the astonishing brilliance it has brought audiences over the course of its long existence. To quote Don Draper, if you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation. So here’s a rundown of six of The Simpsons’ finest half-hours...
Marge vs. the Monorail Season 4, episode 12 Arguably the defining Simpsons episode. This is an aggressively funny ode to madcap absurdity, Springfield swindled by an allsinging, all-dancing monorail salesman. Away from the sheer number of gags, no other episode so well captures the strange mix of misplaced pride and earnest naivety that makes Springfield seem such a magical place.
Lemon of Troy Season 6, episode 24 The greatest Simpsons episodes play almost like mini-movies, the show regulars banding together to thwart an outside threat or journeying away from Springfield for an out-of-state adventure. Lemon of Troy is rousing, heartwarming comedy at its finest, the Springfield kids tracking into eerie, incest-ridden Shelbyville to steal back the town’s precious lemon tree.
Bart’s Girlfriend Season 6, episode 7 The best Simpsons episodes feel lived-in, enhanced by what feels like real experiences that have been condensed into sitcom form and coloured bright yellow. Bart’s Girlfriend is every ‘nightmarish childhood romance’ ever, Bart crushing on Reverend Lovejoy’s charmingly evil daughter, Jessica. Voiced by Meryl Streep, I may add, in what is honestly one of her greatest ever performances.
Summer of 4 Ft. 2 Season 7, episode 25 Summer of 4 Ft. 2 is a love letter to youthful angst, the eternally isolated Lisa never more endearing as she tries to make friends while on vacation by altering her entire personality. This is heartbreakingly human, an episode delicately balancing exterior loudness with small, characterdriven stakes. Plus, extra Milhouse!
B
Homer Badman Season 6, episode 9 A bracing satire of American tabloid culture (never more memorable than in Homer’s editedinto-oblivion appearance on Rock Bottom), Homer Badman is also a notable testament to The Simpsons’ trademark three-act narrative structure, gliding seamlessly from candy convention goofiness to sexual harassment outrage to unexpected salvation in the form of Groundskeeper Willie.
You Only Move Twice Season 8, episode 2 But of course the yuppie mogul promising the Simpsons a new glitzy life away from Springfield is a power-hungry supervillain. You Only Move Twice brilliantly signposts the various ways Cyprus Creek is slightly ‘off’ (daytime owls, weirdo new classmates, alcoholism), before spiralling into an elaborate James Bond pastiche at its close. It also delivers in Hank Scorpio one of the show’s most iconic one-shot guest characters.
ADAM WHITE
The Simpsons
181 co c ete fil
film
ea ac k
flashback
te s t a el ack t e a d ed sco e the est c e at c o e ts o the
th ce t
LICENSE TO THRILL Coming out in 1962 to a backdrop of cold wars and hot Beatles tunes, the film Dr No was a slick, cheeky spy thriller based on a book series by Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. The books were popular, but not as popular as the film series which is currently the longest running film franchise around, as well as being arguably the most influential on popular culture. Everyone knows Bond -- the smooth-talking, ladies-man action hero who can’t help but save the world, to live and let his enemies die. Yet the film has been through some image changes over the years. The stereotypes of his wardrobe consisting only of suits, or him being a combat master, are recent. Bond from the 60s was a different Bond. The films were at home in the postwar period, like the novels from which they were adapted. It was the ‘Swingin’ Sixties’, a revolution in fashion (just look at Bond’s clothing in the first few films), sex (Bond was invented by Fleming the same year as Playboy) and technology, three of the most important features of the Bond films. Bond was an icon of the time, and early films such as From Russia With Love or Goldfinger are still considered the classics of the series. Sean Connery was idolised as a sex symbol, a ‘man’s man’ similar to Hugh Hefner or Fleming himself. This perfect mix of context and content was what forged the
franchise as such a prominent and individually stylised one, with a view to kill all competition. The films tapped into the 60s feelings of sexual liberation and adventure. Bond girls, one of the staples of the series, were hailed by feminists as icons due to their sexual freedom. The varying locations played on the public’s desire for adventure in a world that was packed with global events, a world outside of England. It was however tinged with an undertone of xenophobia and fear of the outside, ‘alien’ world. Depictions of other places seem to be from a British lens. Regardless, the early films are perhaps the most classically ‘60s’ due to the fact they are so noticeably from that period. However, the world was not enough, and MGM, the franchise owners, blazed into the 70s and 80s with this same model of Bond. It did not work. The rise of ‘serious’ warfare from Vietnam and the AIDS scare made Bond seem redundant, his sexual escapades and slightly silly adventures seeming childish or dangerous. The popularity in a vastly different world waned, and only survived by changing significantly into a character barely recognisable to the audiences from the 60s. Bond was now alive in their eyes only. Tom Bedford
Sex, drugs and violence crept their way onto the screens of American cinema with the rise of counterculture heralding the end of the strict censorship of the Motion Picture Production Code. Looking back at a few of the iconoclastic films of the era, we can explore some of the works that mark the making of modern production values and the revolutionary spirit that distinguished the late 1960s. Laced with a sense of exploited naivety perfected through Dustin Hoffman’s fumbling charm, Mike Nichols’ 1967 masterpiece The Graduate is a coming-of-age comedy that touches upon a moment of awakening, in which Ben (Hoffman) realizes his dissatisfaction with the status quo and is forced into discovering his sexuality. This struggle mimicked that of the country’s frustration with middle-class values in the face of the Vietnam war, whilst Nichols’ directorial style also indicated the rise of American New Wave cinema. Earlier that year Bonnie and Clyde was released in cinemas, a romanticised biopic about two of the nation’s sexiest armed robbers. Opening with a naked Faye Dunaway chatting at Warren Beatty out of the window, Bonnie and Clyde broke taboos with blatant sex and violence previously unseen in Old Hollywood. Although set in the 30s, the erotic energy within the film resonated with 60s audiences just coming
into the height of the sexual revolution, whilst the film also represented the birth of graphic violence in cinema. Counterculture in the late 60s was marked most prominently by the hippy movement, a lifestyle resonated and developed by hippy exploitation films such as Psychout, Riot on Sunset Strip and Skidoo. Another notable addition to the genre was The Trip a psychedelic odyssey into Paul Groves’ (Peter Fonda) experiment with acid. Written by Jack Nicholson, the film is seen as a precursor to Easy Rider a road movie directed staring Fonda, Nicholson and Dennis Hopper. Straddling motorbikes tearing down deserted highways, Easy Rider delves into some of the paranoia that surrounded the hippy culture following the Manson murders, through flashes of communal living, drug use and violent conservatism. Paranoia is also touched upon in Medium Cool, a film that blends documentary footage and fictional scenes to portray the anger felt by a news cameraman when he learns the FBI is using his station’s footage for surveillance. With snapshots of war protests and Martin Luther King, Medium Cool presents a boiling pot of socio-political tension that was seeping through the media during the late 60s. Isis Billing
1960
ANA DUKAKIS, NATALIE ORME
COUNTERCULTURE VULTURE
film
co c ete fil
191 ea ac k
NEW WAVE, NEW YOU The 1970s was a revolutionary decade for cinema. It not only produced many great films (a lot of beloved Hipster classics), and directors (Coppola, Scorsese, Altman) and actors (De Niro, Pacino) of today but it also shaped filmic conventions. By the end of the 60s Hollywood was disintegrating, 1950s conformist values under the Cold War had been rejected, and the 70s took this subversion of dominant norms in their stride. Furthermore, Hollywood’s attempts to resist being eclipsed by television meant studio execs were pumping more money into (literally) Epic fails. More colour, clearer sound, and widescreen and 3D technology were among the many attempts Hollywood made to revive the individuality of the cinematic experience only to continuously fail at the box office. Classical Hollywood was no longer profitable. It was then that the ‘Movie Brats’ arrived. Young, ambitious film-school graduates with an expansive knowledge of cinema, initiated a renaissance in filmmaking. In 1967 two films were released that commenced this change; Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Nichols’ The Graduate (1967). They laid the foundation for the counter-cultural change Hopper’s Easy Rider (1969) would actualise and the 70s would dedicate itself to. ‘New Hollywood’ filmmakers fused realism capturing the mundaneness of life with a sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll attitude, offering a unique source of identification for the post1960s disaffected youth. The personnel of ‘New Hollywood’ were often heavy drug users (Hopper and Jack Nicholson), ambitious (Coppola and Cimeno at risk to their careers) and educated. Their films were explicit in language, violence, sex, and substance abuse. They were considered the counter-culture’s response to Hollywood’s, and society’s, conservatism that no longer had an audience. Hollywood’s demographic began to reflect those behind the camera. The most important thing to remember with
these films was that studios were happily backing this American New Wave. They were producing high budget films on controversial topics with writers and directors retaining creative control, much more so than today. Essential films include Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show (1971), Scorsese’s Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976) and Raging Bull (1980), Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (1979), Coppola’s The Godfathers I + II (1972, 1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979). Actors embodying cultural resistance and anarchic ideologies were generating box office success. The best example of ‘New Hollywood’ at work, however, simultaneously illustrates its decline. The factors bringing this heyday to an end tend to be viewed as the directors’ uncontrollable egos, the damaging drug use/dependency and the blockbuster mentality. These former two factors dictated the production of Apocalypse Now. Unprecedentedly over budget, the film bankrupted Coppola, its star Martin Sheen had a near fatal heart attack, the extended chaotic filming on location in the Philippines in addition to the cast and crew’s widespread substance abuse meant the shoot was physically financially and irreparably damaging. After this and Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, the studios realised they no longer needed the problems caused by the unstable artistry of these legendary filmmakers to make a successful blockbuster, as demonstrated by Lucas’ Star Wars franchise and also Spielberg’s departure from the heavy issues typifying the ‘New Hollywood’ style. Although arguably burnt out, ‘New Hollywood’ introduced a legendary attitude to filmmaking that continues to influence modern day cinema. It was a rare and fleeting period in which film was truly accepted and considered a profound art form. Martha Julier
GREASE IT UP!
ANA DUKAKIS, SARASWATI MENON
1970
There seems to be a certain contempt for films that use actors in their mid-20s (or actually mid30s for a lot of the cast) to play teenagers in high school, but something about the 1978 classic Grease made it an exception. It still stands to be the highest grossing movie musical of all time, whether it be the Pink Ladies’ or T-Bird’s charm, or the fact that they all miraculously know the lyrics and dance to spontaneous songs, the opening song was correct by stating that Grease is the word. However, the real interest in the musical was the central love story between Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John). The popular rebel boy being in love with the sweet innocent girl situation didn’t go down well with their friends, but somehow they managed to pull through and achieve their happily-ever-after by jetting off into the sunset in a flying car; the same car the boys were working on in the iconic song Greased Lightning. The musical also carried its controversy with Rizzo’s teen pregnancy scare, Marty’s fling with an older television presenter and the general rebellious behaviour of the entire cast. The musical gives an endearing message about
friendship, especially with the song We Go Together and everybody being friends at the end. Sandy also decides to ditch her innocence and turns into a leather-wearing smoker to finally be the one that Danny wants and be accepted by his friends. However, could this be seen as a negative message about ‘how to get the boy’ or was it just a much-needed bold step to increase her confidence? A real question to be asked is how true to life the musical was in terms of era. A 1978 film trying to portray the 1950s may not be entirely realistic, and we could only answer this if we were actually alive in America during the 1950s. It is known as the decade where people thought Elvis Presley’s dancing was too sexual, so if they knew that teens were actually having sex (unprotected, in the back of cars, may it be said) there likely would have been some sort of uproar. Then again, the rise of libertarianism in the 50s and 60s gave more people the right to free choice and non-judgement which could be an extremely positive message for the film to have sent. Abi Constable
201 co c ete fil
Stanley Kubrick: recluse, perfectionist, innovator, chess player, family man, uncompromising genius, a whirlwind of creative force who was as loved by audiences as he was hated by critics. Known for exploring the sinister and the macabre, Kubrick rapidly established a reputation for fearlessly exposing the dark side of human nature. This can be seen in his representation of paedophilia in his adaptation of Lolita as well as in the sadistic glee with which world leaders played about with nuclear warheads as if they were toys in a sandpit in Dr Strangelove. It’s also seen in the question of whether Alex and his “droogs” can ever be cured of their desires for ultra-violence and rape in A Clockwork Orange. Pre-Kubrick, music had often been the flashy jewellery to highlight the neckline and plunging cleavage of film, but through giving his visual sequences an almost constant and unforgettable soundtrack he was able to marry audio and visual together just like the inseparable, if slightly pathetic, star-crossed lovers. During the 1980s, Kubrick followed up his previously ground-breaking and controversial films with the equally challenging and experimental The Shining (1980) and Full Metal Jacket (1987). For The Shining, Kubrick took the horror genre by the feet, flipped it on its head, waggled it about until it went very red in the face, then dropped it on the floor for good measure. He achieved this by altering Stephen King’s story so that it created horror through interior madness and deterioration in contrast to previous horror films which had sunk comfortably into the soft leather armchairs of the external supernatural. The stunning sweeping mountain sequences at the start of the film lay the ground for further dream-like tracking shots that give The Shining
ea ac k
ANA DUKAKIS, NATALIE ORME
‘HEEEERE’S STANLEY!’
film
an insidious, haunting quality. Omnipresent music gives the more sedated scenes a sinister edge and reaches an almost ear-splitting pitch by the climax, to the extent that it’s a pleasant surprise during the credits to realise that the windows haven’t shattered. What glues the film together is undoubtedly Jack Nicholson’s demonic performance, where his demented caterpillar eyebrows, maniacal grin, crazed looks and ‘Here’s Johnny’ sequence leave the viewer in a state of white-knuckled, wide-eyed (and optionally, wet-trousered) terror. Kubrick also put his own unique spin on Full Metal Jacket, creating that rare thing: a war film devoid of a moral or political standpoint. The effect of this was such that the viewer is shown not only the atrocities of warfare but also its beauty. Here, once again refusing to be cowed by the whip of convention, Kubrick compartmentalised the film into two distinct sections to create the impression of “the duality of man” through capturing the dehumanising effect of military training during the first half and man’s ability to regain identity through killing and destruction during the second. He masterfully satirises the recklessness and lack of pity with which the men fight, through maintaining painfully jovial music throughout the most appalling scenes of slaughter. Some of the most poignant moments in the film remain the soldiers’ loss of identity through their heads being shaven, Gomer Pyle’s decent into madness in the bathroom and the later scene shot from the point of view of the casualties of war. A goliath force in the film world, with a personality and beard to match, Stan will forever remain in our hearts, minds and DVD collections. Louis Pigeon-Owen
1980 SUCK MY BLOCKBUSTER The 1980s was the first decade to be truly dominated by the blockbuster. The phenomenon actually started with Jaws in 1975 but did not hit its stride until the 80s. The summer was typically seen as an ‘off’ season for cinema, people were out enjoying themselves and aside from dwindling Drivein Cinemas, no one wanted to be inside; aside from the huge success of Jaws (the release of which was delayed until the summer when people were out on the beaches) and Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Three years later The Empire Strikes Back opened the 80s with a bang. The wild success of Jaws saw the beginnings of the franchise film, cemented then by the Star Wars trilogy’s popularity. As the Blockbuster gained popularity, so did the practice of attaching a number to the end of the dead horse you were
flogging. But despite the rise of blockbusters cursing us to suffer through summers filled with Family-Adventure 6 and Yes We Made Another Sequel 5, the 80s witnessed some of the most beloved franchises to date. Stephen Spielberg, master (and arguably creator) of the blockbuster dominated the decade, releasing the Indiana Jones trilogy and smashing box office records with E.T. James Cameron entered the scene with his action hit The Terminator and Aliens. Whether or not a film is a ‘blockbuster’ or not, is determined by its revenue. Anything could be a blockbuster from the 1980 comedy Airplane! to action classics like Die Hard. The important thing was that the films make back their budget and draw in massive revenue. Blockbusters resulted in a move away from the idea of making a film with ‘legs’, one that
could bring in a stable audience during the weeks of its release. The new trend was to have a smash opening weekend, drawing in huge crowds, as who cares if the audience drops off in the second week due to bad press. The importance of the opening weekend to draw in the crowds before word spreads. That’s why the action-adventure genre is so common for blockbusters. The idea is to tease the audience with enough epic spectacle to get them queuing round the block come release day. Furthermore, the prospect of huge opening sales is why the blockbuster and franchise films are inexorably linked. While audiences like to be surprised, if you can serve said surprise on the same plate all the better. Have something that people love? Try adding Sean Connery as the father or just doing the film again but in the future this time.
The 80s was a golden age for Blockbusters and looking at each year’s biggest films, there is a refreshing lack of sequels. As it stands now, every summer we see yet another slew of sequels. This year we can look forward to Furious 7, Mission: Impossible 5 and Terminator 6. The 80s capitalised on the blockbuster, producing some cracking films, a fact that Hollywood is aware of and so keeps trying to reboot/remake/ruin them. Perhaps they’re on to something if they keep flogging the putrid corpse of a franchise long enough, the carbonised remains will turn to diamond. So perhaps in a billion years or so we’ll see Shrek 995,900,333 clean up at the Oscars. George Barker
film
co c ete fil
211 ea ac k
ANA DUKAKIS, NATALIE ORME
TRUE GRIT
TEENAGE DIRTBAGS What happens when you take a dash of jock, a pinch of highmaintenance cheerleader, stir in some geeky misfits, add a splash of prom queen rivalry then firmly whisk in a guy-bets-guy plot twist, set in the sunny surroundings of an American high school with an extra helping of cheese? A perfectly formed archetypal 90s Teen Movie. These fundamental ingredients are what formed the majority of American 90s teen films. Whether it be through a house party setting complete with red plastic cups and sound systems or the blasting of Third Eye Blind and The Rockafella Skank by Fatboy Slim, these ‘hangovers’ of 80s teen films encapsulated the trials and tribulations of dating, awkward teenage sexual endeavours and the struggles of fitting in. The social hierarchy of American High Schools was essential to 90s teen movies.
Heightened stereotypes and a formula often involving the introduction of an outsider into a crew of ‘popular’ kids was familiar among the teen movies and almost always resulted in character makeovers, romantic complications and socially awkward encounters. Clueless was the first of the quintessential American-High-School films with The Muff’s Kids in America blaring across establishing shots of school grounds complete with US Flags and yellow school buses. It sparked a whole wave of teen films and is now regarded as a cult film in its own right (note: Iggy Azalea’s music video for Fancy is a pretty impressive homage). Cher (Alicia Silverstone) was the epitome of the desired stereotype; a pretty, popular, wealthy girl who always had her way. Standardised plots such as ‘geek gets the girl’, ‘ex-Prom Queen is disgraced’ and ‘the jock’s
“Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television”. Possibly the best opening of a film to grace the 90s in the shape of gritty Scottish crime film Trainspotting. Enter a skinny Ewan McGregor, a revolting toilet scene and plenty of heroin into the equation and you have a decade-defining film which still stands the test of time with its message to enjoy life to its fullest. The film is beautifully directed by the then relatively unknown director Danny Boyle (later responsible for Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later and the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony). The surreal sequences such as the overdose scene accompanied by Lou Reed’s Perfect Day, the subsequent recovery montage set to a techno track climaxing with the eerie dead baby crawling on the ceiling, and Renton’s bizarre trip down the toilet into an ocean of tranquility are all iconic moments from this 90s classic. Sick Boy with his James Bond trivia, Spud and his loveable dopiness, Tommy’s innocence which ultimately leads to his downfall, Begbie as the pure psychopath and our protagonist Renton who goes through the biggest journey, all tell the tale of the bleak Scotland in the 90s that nobody wanted to acknowledge. A 90s crime classic with a brilliant soundtrack and a very modest budget of just over $1 million is Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, which marked the start of a long and successful career as one of Hollywood’s most prestigious directors. The film focuses on a failed diamond heist that is never actually shown, a device Tarantino originally used to save money but which ultimately made the film the phenomenon it is today. Like Trainspotting, the film thrives in having a strong ensemble cast who are given code names leading to conflict, as ‘Mr Brown’, played by Tarantino in what would go on to be the first of many director cameos in his movies, claims his code name is “a little too close to Mr Shit”. The quotable dialogue ranges
from discussing the true meaning of Madonna’s Like a Virgin to why exactly we should (or shouldn’t) tip waitresses in the iconic opening scene at the café. This film also proved that film soundtracks could be cool, with George Baker’s Little Green Bag providing the slow motion shot of the ensemble cast at the beginning, the recognisable Hooked on a Feeling making a guest appearance (recently used in Guardians of the Galaxy which also uses hit songs from the 70s) and the infamous Stuck in the Middle with You which contains one of the most gruesome scenes with the focus being on what we can’t see, as the camera ignores Mr Blonde ripping off a cop’s ear. Silence of the Lambs however makes the other two films look like a PG compared to the goriness that it revels in, from Hannibal biting a man’s face to Buffalo Bill’s signature killing technique of skinning his female victim’s corpses. But let’s face it, the reason this film will go down as a 90s classic is due to Anthony Hopkins’ chilling performance as everyone’s favourite intelligent serial killer/cannibal Hannibal Lecter, for which he was rightly awarded an Oscar. It is incredible to note that in a film which is nearly two hours long Hopkins is only in it for under 25 minutes, but when he’s on screen it is impossible not to watch with a mixture of horror and fascination similar to Heath Ledger’s show-stealing performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. The film does not have so much as an infamous quote, instead more a noise that everyone at some point has attempted to imitate which is Hopkins’ sinister slurping noise after he tells Clarice about the time he had “liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti”. All these films mark a golden period in 90s cinema which is not afraid to deal with gritty topics, proving that films could still be thought-provoking, controversial and relevant to audiences.
ultimate choice between his reputation and his new love interest’ (the original bros before hoes) provided the make up for 90s teen movies. She’s All That is the typical jock-bets-he-can-dateany-girl-chooses-the-geek-ends-up-falling-forher-and-it-goes-tits-up-when-she-finds-out film. School president and jock Zak (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is dumped by Taylor Vaughn the ‘every girl wants to be her and every guy wants to nail her’ popular girl and is propositioned by his friends to replace her by turning arty geek Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) into a prom queen. 10 Things I Hate About You, the modern reworking of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew is another prime example of naive, horny teenage males making business deals with each other for the attention of girls. Popular girl Bianca is not allowed to date until her ‘insane head case’ of a sister Kat (Julia Stiles) does. A baby-faced Joseph Gordon-Levitt approaches a mysterious foreign student (Heath Ledger) to date Kat in
exchange for money, double crossing the High School ‘big man’ Joey. Can’t Hardly Wait, a film that takes place entirely at one graduation party was using the motto YOLO long before Drake. It takes all the best stereotypes and standardised plot twists and compiles them into an hour and a half. The ultimate feel-good ending: jock loses his scholarship to an alcohol problem, becomes overweight and ends up working at a car wash and geek invents a multi-millionaire computer company and dates supermodels. What’s so unique about these specific films is simply their American-ness, 90s teen films consolidating a vibrant representation of American youth culture. American Pie, now a cultural phenomenon was responsible for spawning an entire plethora of slap-stick comedies. Everything from the fashion, cars, music and even food is forceful in its attempt to represent ‘Americanism’. Amy Lee
Dan Struthers
1990
the pages of love
221
concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk
WHAT WERE YOU HOPING FOR FROM THE BLIND DATE? I was hoping for Johnny Depp, expecting a swamp creature, and resigned to the grim possibility of someone I’d drunkenly snogged at the LCR.
A good lunch with good conversation.
WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS? Oh thank God, I haven’t had a one night stand with you.
She looked like a yeti wearing that fur coat!!!!!
WHAT DID YOU ORDER? Waffles with maple syrup. I couldn’t eat all of it so I put the rest in my handbag for later.
Burger with pulled pork. She just had a maple syrup waffle - for lunch?!
WHAT DID YOU TALK ABOUT? The economy, the Syrian conflict, and who was the best Kardashian.
She had a list of questions to ask me! So we slowly worked our way through all 36 of them…
HOW WERE THEIR TABLE MANNERS? He didn’t put his head down and eat from the plate like an animal, so, pretty good.
She only had two mouthfuls of the waffle so I honestly couldn’t tell.
ANY AWKWARD MOMENTS? I think he might have figured out I’ve been watching him for the last few days from a parked car outside his house.
No awkward silences because we had the riveting list of questions to work through. But at the end of the meal, the waitress asked us if everything was okay and she actually said that she didn’t like the waffle, which I thought was very awkward!
WHAT IMPRESSED YOU? He can eat a burger in two mouthfuls. That’s the kind of jaw you want in a man.
Her blatant honesty; the burger was very nice.
WHAT DEPRESSED YOU? I told a hilarious story about breaking into my ex’s house and leaving a tarantula in his bed as a surprise for the next girl he went behind my back with, but he didn’t seem to find it very funny. I mean, it bit him! He had to go to A&E! Classic.
That she’s never stayed in a hotel before. I wanted to book her into Premier Inn but thought she may get the wrong impression. That and hearing all about her ex!
daisy
No.
No.
DO YOU SEE A FUTURE TOGETHER? Not unless he’s willing to share a bed with me and seven cats.
No, but she’s had her palms read and apparently she’s going to be famous.
sac ificia o
freddie
in s
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Venue sent its very own Fun & Listings editor on a wild blind date. Was it a success? Are they Concrete’s hottest new couple? d d the des se each othe th the fi e o atho sa d s s Fancy a blind date? Email conc
.
n
a.ac.
for details...
SARAH MICHAELS
DID YOU EXCHANGE NUMBERS/DETAILS?
the pages of love
231
concrete.competitions@uea.ac.uk
Daisy Jones makes a friend ;) And Freddie Redfern ate a porkburger But was it love? A post-date post-mortem by blind dater Daisy Jones You might have seen it going round the internet – “the 36 questions that can make you fall in love with anyone”. Yes, apparently there’s a simple way to finding true love: interviewing a stranger. Apparently answering these questions force you to be vulnerable and intimate, which is just what a romantic relationship needs. The questions range from bland (“Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say?”), personal (“What is your most terrible memory?”), to… well a bit weird, really (“If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-yearold for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?”).
It all sounds a bit spurious, but the internet will tell you it’s all based in science. Psychologist Arthur Aron did an experiment way back in 1997, in a report catchily titled ‘The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness’. His experiment was having 52 pairs of male and female strangers, and 19 pairs of female strangers, sit in a lab and ask each other these 36 questions. Six months later two of them got married. At least they have an unusual story to tell their grandchildren. Yes, I know. About twenty years ago two people out of 142 fell in love after having an hour-long conversation. It’s not all that convincing. But in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, and because Venue was sending me on
a blind date anyway, I thought I’d take the 36 questions along to my date with Freddie and give it a go. Spoiler alert: we didn’t fall in love. Now that I’ve tried them out, I think a more accurate description of the questions would be “36 questions to help you get to know someone” or “36 questions for when you can’t think of anything else to say”. They were definitely a conversation starter, and some of them were easier to talk about than others (everyone has an embarrassing story to share, but not everyone has a secret hunch about how they’re going to die), and at the end of the date I definitely felt like we’d had a good chat. It was nice getting to know Freddie,
and if anyone asked what he’s like I’d say he was a really nice person. Because, ladies, he genuinely is! He’s funny and clever and positive. But I have more chemistry with Concrete’s Deputy Editor Peter Sheehan, or a massive bar of Dairy Milk. And that’s the thing about falling in love – you have to have some kind of “spark” there. If you don’t then you’ll just be friends, no matter what questions you ask each other. And that’s great, I love friends. We could all do with more friends. I think this experiment has come out as a success for friendship, not romance. If you spend a bit of time getting to know someone then you might find you get on pretty well. It could be the start of a beautiful friendship. So maybe that’s what we should be doing this Valentine’s Day. Instead of trying to find “The One” (or just Johnny Depp), maybe we should just make an effort to talk to someone we don’t know all that well, or someone we do. I’d rather have a new friend than another guy who’s going to leave his pants at my house and ditch me by text. Wouldn’t you?
Four Concrete staff bashed their horny brains together to explore the sexy, sexy world of dating apps Words by esteemed Travel editor Jodie Snow As the sun goes down on another day in the Concrete office, the question on everyone’s lips: “What is this Tinder” And so, four great Concrete and Venue warriors, yielding their weapons ready to battle, take on the gargantuan task of trying to find love, sex and/or friendship on Tinder. Will we appreciate this online dating minefield, or were we right to be app-rehensive? For the sake of Tinder, we are reduced to names, ages, genders, and location. I am now Jodie 19, female, Norwich. My pictures include one with me and friends and one of me enjoying the great outdoors. I am happy that these pictures will quickly establish the multi-faceted nature of my personality and hobbies. Peter - 23, male, Norwich, checks into Tinder and begins looking at his profile, which is an assortment of his Facebook pictures. He looks at his third picture across, a photo of himself from four years ago and says that he won’t get rid of it. He wants the people of Tinder to see “the best, most attractive me”. Adam - 23, male, Norwich, after some cajoling, finally downloads the app. He is unsure of the motives of the people using the app. Is it for dating, is it for sex, or is it for some sordid combination of the two? Adam - 22, an objective witness to the
proceedings that will follow. He informs us that he has never downloaded a sex/dating app as he has never needed to. And so it begins: I start swiping left, right (but not centre) at all the bachelors that Tinder deems worthy of my attention - anyone male and claiming to be 18-25 within an 80km radius. I start to judge the people on there. Not only on their appearance, but for their very decision to join Tinder in the first place? What is the likelihood that I will actually find someone on Tinder that I respect, when I judge them for using the app itself? Maybe this is my fault, for being too quick to judge them? But Tinder is an app that puts people out there with the sole intention of being judged and judging others, all by a few photos of ourselves. Adam - 23 has similar thoughts when he comes across Helen - 20 and asks us, “why is she on here, she is far too pretty to be on here”. Together we come across a huge selection of people. Peter stumbles across the enigma that is Lawrence - 23, whose claim that he is “commonly found in places of culture and learning” is compounded by a picture of him humping an inflatable dolphin. Which are we to believe, if any, is the true Lawrence - 23? Further discrepancies between the profile and picture become apparent when
Adam - 23 tells of how one of his matches “must have been 29 for at least a decade”. Peter - 23 goes through his matches at a startling rate, and questions exactly how helpful it is that someone you find mildly attractive is 75km away from you. He tells us that there is no-way that he’d “travel all the way to LSE, especially for someone who looks like that”. I find that most of the men on my Tinder have pictures that fall into a couple of categories: posed with a suitably exotic animal that hints at their implicit ‘wild’ side; photos where they are seemingly caught off-guard showing their finest muscles, pout and jaw line; and the Harvey Dents of Tinder who only seem to be able to show half of their face. As an hour passes, Peter 23 downloads the app Grindr and begins to compare his experiences on both. While it is not possible to display any nude photographs on Tinder, Grindr is rather the opposite. Men begin to send pictures of various sex acts and parts of their bodies to poor, unsuspecting Peter 23, things Peter -23 would rather not see. The Tinder discrepancy between profile and picture is rife on Grindr. All we are told is that there is a 56-year-old male in the nearby area, who chooses his only picture to be that of a snow-covered roof. Is Peter
WIKI
shiver me tinder! - 23 meant to surmise a deep, poetic under layer to this 56-year-old’s presentation of himself, or is this some form of marketing for a roofing business whose target audience is homosexual men in the nearby area? Within a couple of minutes, Peter - 23 finds that he may have in fact exhausted all the men on Grindr. After our troubling experience navigating the world of online dating, we come to find that we are all left unsatisfied with our matches and no closer to finding love or sex than we were when we entered the Concrete office. These dating apps seemingly turned us into the meanest version of ourselves, as we hastily judged people’s depiction of their best selves. We have to ask the question of what is too much to share, and when is it the right time to share it? I personally swiped ‘no’ to someone who had a Conservative political logo on their first photo. Was it right for him to immediately share his political views, and was it right for me to judge him on them? Or does it make the whole dating thing a hell of a lot easier, knowing who you are dealing with from the outset? Then again, by reducing someone to their name, age, sexuality and location how much of a ‘match’ are they really? Ultimately, Tinder raised more questions for us, than it found answers.