GSM ed. 4 vol. 3 "Noir"

GSM

E.4 V.3

Content The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Editor, ECU Student Guild or the Advertisers. GSM is editorially independent.

The Editor reserves the right to make changes to material as required. GSM reserves the right to republish material. Contributors retain all other rights for resale and republication.

Editor: Tom Reynolds editor.gsm@gmail.com GSM - ECU 2 Bradford Street Mount Lawley WA 6050 Cover: D’Arcy Ellis Design: Tom Reynolds Printed by: Images: Tom Reynolds (5), Shuffa Athman (provided with permission (5), D’Arcy Ellis (6), Ali Alatas (7), Zoe Braybooke (supplied 8,9), Wenjie Zheng (10, 11, 12, 13), Tiarna Pepall (14), Manuel Mendoza (16, 18), Rehana Badat (17, 24), Grace McKie (19) Editing Team: Aldy Hendradjaja, Brennan Peers, Asten Nunn, Rehana Badat, Delshard Mozhdehinia, D’Arcy Ellis, James Blackburn, Divya Jankee, Rachel Knight, Rosemarie Dale, Grace Chesky, Wenjie Zheng, Larry Fife, Tirana Pepall Want to get involved with our sections?

Arts: Aldy Hendradjaja arts.editor.gsm@gmail.com Books: Rehana Badat books.editor.gsm@gmail.com Film: Dina Waluyo film.editor.gsm@gmail.com Games: Asten Nunn games.editor.gsm@gmail.com Music: Asten Nunn music.editor.gsm@gmail.com Photography: Ali Alatas photography.gsm@gmail.com

The theme was both Noir and the color yellow, two things that typically don’t have anything to do with each other, apart from the legendary Dick Tracey comics and his trademark yellow hat and jacket. So it was initially quite challenging and I went through a number of different styles before I landed on this one, from eastern interpretations of ‘Tokyo Noir’ to more classical French movie styles, to mock poster or comic strip designs in the Hollywood vain. While the final cover is reminiscent of the broad definition of Noir in the empty black back ground, the simple color pallet, the sharp contrasts and the period looks of the lady’s ‘Monroe style’ it is unusually sketchy for the genre but I guess that is my own artistic hand showing through.

The subject matter ultimately isn’t of any great meaning, a simple play on one of noirs classic themes of ‘femme fatale’ a representation of the killer who is also a seductive woman. - D’Arcy Ellis

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Editorial

So why Noir? Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. It’s a nebulous concept that hints at several interpretations. Darkness is associated with the macabre, death and the gothic, but it is also when we typically socialise and party. It also represents the unknown and conceals the hidden, which can be an exhilarating or frightening prospect.

As this is the first edition of semester two I’ve introduced some stylistic changes to the magazine; our logo is more streamlined and softer, and I’ve redesigned the contents page. I’ve also used paper backgrounds to hopefully evoke a sense of age and texture. I like this edition. I feel confident that the quality of the writing has improved, and what feedback I’ve had about the direction of GSM so far has been overwhelmingly positive. If you’d like to get involved, or just want to show your support, you can like our Facebook page, or email editor.gsm@gmail.com Tom Reynolds, Editor

Editorials are a mixed bag. They’re always written at the end of a hectic two weeks of proofreading, designing, cajoling, managing, filing, co-ordinating, passive-aggressiveness and bribing. All those elements necessary to get an edition completed. On the one hand nobody reads editorials, which is a liberating prospect. On the other you know that periodically someone will confuse your ranting for a small and sassy article, or even more rarely, they’re looking for some insight about the edition.

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Thanks to: all the new kids who rocked up to our writers’ night and contributed to this edition. Kayt Davies for being a fresh pair of eyes.

Camden Watts and Grace McKie for accepting last minute commissions. Yvonne Buresch (and Camden) for their surprise visit and assistance at the writers’ night. D’Arcy ‘Lil D’ Ellis for a bunch of stuff, but chiefly for agreeing to play ‘would you be my friend if…’

Alice Palmer for the afternoon delight(s). Asten Nunn and Rehana Badat for stepping up to the challenge of becoming section editors. (I hope you guys enjoy playing hypotheticals and discussing what kind of men contact Grindr profiles at 4:30AM). Finally, to the haters, your discontent makes each edition’s success all the sweeter, suck it.

I’m Shufaa ATHMAN, the current 2011-2012 Joondalup Campus Rep. I hope your Semester is going well. During my term this year I had the opportunity to attend the 2nd national CISA conference thanks to the ECU Student Guild. It took place on the 9th-11th July 2012 at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. Theme of the conference was “Future Leaders of Our World”. International Student Associations from all over Australian universities attended.

Sponsors and speakers were from IELTS, ACPET, ISANA, and PIER among others. At the conference there was an IELTS masterclass, Leadership and Employment Workshop.

The Council of International Students Australia (CISA) is the national peak student representative body for international students studying at all institute levels. CISA inaugurated two years ago through the joint efforts of NUS, CAPA and AFIS. CISA advocate for the interests and needs of international students and promote cross-cultural awareness in Australia among other of its purposes.

Basically, I was provided with 3 days’ worth of knowledge that has empowered, motivated and inspired me to run for election after the conference during the AGM in Brisbane.

G-News

I was nominated, made a speech and became newly elected National General Member for CISA. The conference was more than just a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas. Speakers informed us about strategic review of student visas, new govt. regulations and policy changes being implemented with regards to international students.

I am looking forward to working alongside my president and team members with education providers, industry and government representatives to make Australia’s international education sector a worldwide success. The Student Guild will soon be looking to form a new team for Semester 2, 2011. The Student Guild represents students of all faculties and of all walks of life. It is a wonderful opportunity to gain some valuable volunteering experience for your résumé while helping fellow students, making new friends and gaining smart skills.

I have undergone extensive training in Canberra and will be exposed to ample learning experiences and gain skills that will supplement the kind of education I get from university. I would like to encourage my fellow students to join the guild team as it has great opportunities to offer just like it did to me. Interested in getting involved? Contact our ECU Guild President or just come down anytime Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm, to the Student Guild in Building 10, opposite Crown Hairdressing and Behind the Tavern and talk to one of your reps. For more information visit the Guild website.

O-Day Snapshots New and returning students we welcomed to ECU at O-Days on all three campuses before semester two started. Pictures are from the Mount Lawley O-Day. Make sure you activiate your FREE Guild membership by collecting a semester two membership sticker on your student card.

Only available at the Guild.

JO: Building 10 ML: Building 12 BU Building 5

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Politics

The marriage equality debate has heated up over the past year or so in Australia, and recently I saw it take a turn that irked me. Not for the subject of the debate, but rather how companies have begun to have their say.

Basically, Gloria Jeans was portrayed as being anti-gay and Starbucks was portrayed as being pro-gay. The debacle started when marriage equality advocates called for a boycott on Gloria Jeans for giving $30,000 to the Australian Christian Lobby, which opposes marriage equality. Starbucks then, opportunistically, joined the frag with the statement “Starbucks Australia would like to publicly announce our proud support for marriage equality for all”. What had once been two coffee houses has now been transformed, at least in the eyes of my fellow Facebookians, into one that was pro-gay, and the other anti-gay. As such, the logic follows, the stance that you hold on marriage equality should dictate where you buy your coffee.

To think that my decisions on where I bought coffee had been dictated by taste and price, if not purely with which store is the closest to me. How silly.

I’d be a fool to suggest that this is the beginning of a wave of private companies that have a say and influence in determining public policy. Businesses have been donating, a lot, to political parties and lobby groups since time immemorial. Although some may like to think that democracy grants upon us an equal say in the running of a society, this is far from the truth. Money does indeed buy power. Where I see the (increased) threat in this recent development, is the encroachment of this influence further exerting itself into our private spheres.

The Americans, not unusually, have taken their political debates further than us. Recently, Chick-Fil-A’s CEO came out saying that the company stood behind “biblical marriage” (read: anti-marriage equality). Following that statement, on Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day (I kid you not), a massive number of people ate at Chick-Fil-A as a political statement against marriage equality. There has also been Oreos, who released an image of an Oreo with a rainbow filling, which has been interpreted as supporting marriage equality.

Unsurprisingly anti-marriage equality advocates in U.S. called for a boycott.

Objects aren’t just objects; they also act as symbols. Clothing and cars are prime examples. They move beyond their functional purposes and often represent status, power, gender, age, and any other number of symbols. By buying certain products we are thus defining ourselves to the rest of the world. Think of that nineteenyear-old bogan in that Holden ute, that middle-aged man suffering from a mid-life-crisis in the convertible, or that environmentallyconscious individual in one of those hilarious smart cars. I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with this, in relation to the brands, until it moves into the area of political activism.

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Businesses aren’t people, so why should they have a platform which intrudes into my private sphere with which to espouse their desires for how things should be? The people in control of companies, the few, generally shouldn’t have the right to influence the public debate. In areas of business, perhaps, but how is coffee or chicken at all applicable to marriage equality? Or any other issue really? I don’t necessarily think that companies should, or could, be restricted from involving themselves in this debate, but I don’t like it.

Opponents of my objections would point to market forces and argue that if such opinions and perspectives were unpopular, than these companies would make less money, and thus their ability for ‘extracurricular’ activities would be limited. I still don’t buy this, however, as just the ability to publicly advocate a perspective is enough to influence a debate. Also, wouldn’t their shareholders like a little bit more of that green?

Now I doubt that Australia will adopt this ‘companies espousing values’ with the veracity of the U.S., but it never the less worries me. I enjoy the occasional coffee, and I’d really rather not have my simple pleasures in life tainted with the idea that my minuscule consumerism is disproportionately taking away my society’s right to dictate how the country I live in is run. I already feel guilty about orangutans, rubber trees, cheap Chinese labour, and the African mines where the precious metals in my phone come from.

Can’t I just drink my coffee?

Words by Larry Fife Image by D’Arcy Ellis

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Photo Essay

Falling Soldier - Robert Capa

Child Labour - Lewis Hine

Feet - Sebastio Salgado

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It is because we require something that demands our attention, something that will make us look at it for more then a few seconds. It isn’t that we like to see others in these dreadful situations; it is the pressure to feel something, anything, that compells us to bare witness. We are emotional beings, we seek to feel emotion. To humans emotion is progress, to have lived is to have felt, and to have felt is to be real. To be here, present, and not floating aimlessly, it is our nature to develop, plan and progress. We want to see, we want to speculate. We want to understand and decode. We demand differences, we want to differentiate from each other and we want to see proof that we are better off on our own path. We are all just seeking virtue on our way to departure.

Hutu Man - James Nachtwey

You can’t be a nice Nellie and do photography - Weegee

Essay by Zoe Braybrooke

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There’s a slight flicker of darkness in all of us that craves outrageous, vulgar and totally inappropriate comedy. Humans relish the chance to be offended. It gives us a platform to stage what is constantly hidden. It sets loose the fiery lion in all of us that just wants to rampage, chasing down zebras and ripping their heads off.

The latest example is the ridiculous ‘Dead Baby Jokes’ Facebook page. On it the users write long winded, emotional replies that keep the page in hot gossip, leaving the pathetic, unemployed creators with endless amusement. I’m sure the majority of people tossing around these controversial jokes have no intention of pulverising or blending babies. (Well I sincerely hope not!) Which brings me to the question: what do vegetarian ogres eat? Cabbage patch kids! Ba-boom ching!

So, is the world transforming into a bag of soft, sensitive marshmallows? Have we lost the ability to simply ignore vulgar comedy if it touches on a nerve?

Exiting the dastardly webpage would be a great start! But no, let’s read every horrid joke, scrolling down until you snap with passionate rage! And it’s only going to get worse, with children singing ‘Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep’. What if this alternative offends colourful characters, or people with skin pigment issues? They obviously weren’t being sensitive enough. ‘Baa Baa Inclusive Pigments Sheep’ just isn’t as catchy.

Dark humour revolves around taboo topics like death, cancer and tragedy.

Of course jokes about kids with terminal illness are highly offensive, and for good reason. The notorious, yet hilarious, Chaser’s War on Everything caused a stir after making a video called the Make-a-RealisticWish Foundation, where the motto was “why go to any trouble when they’re only going to die anyway?” Now, when have these guys EVER produced non-offensive material? Surely one would expect this kind of humour, and flick the channel when their satirical heads flashed on screen. As for religious jokes, it gets incredibly messy.

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This is why I love American stand-up comedian George Carlin and his humourous theory of what happens after death.

‘Frisbeetarianism is the philosophy that when you die, your soul goes up on a roof and gets stuck.’ What a simple way to put it. One minute you’re rising into the air, ready to arrive in safe hands, only to then crash on terracotta tiles and wither away amongst the leaves, fading to brittle powder under the sun.

Pain, in all forms, is possibly the heart and soul of comedy. It’s always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it’s just hilarious.

This is the general rule of thumb when playing backyard cricket, attempting to skate down a steep hand rail, or falling face first in the mud. Sympathy and sincerity go out the window when you see someone injure themselves – or at least when it’s on TV, and socially acceptable to laugh. In real life laughing may be considered slightly heartless. Take the Olympics, for example.

How many people watch the gymnastics, praying for the poor guys to slip off the beam, landing with a nasty groin injury? We love seeing others in pain.

It fuels our own egos to think that even the best still fail miserably.

I guess dark humour will always be touchy, controversial, and an outlet for frustration and rage. It will never be stopped, nor should it. It resides within the mysterious depths of certain individuals, attacking the hearts of the weak and over-sensitive.

However, something can only be offensive if you truly let it. Until then, over a nice cup of concrete, keep in mind three rather accurate definitions of this satirical world: Philosophy is a study that lets us be unhappy more intelligently; reality is an illusion caused by lack of alcohol; and diplomacy is the art of saying “nice doggie!” …until you can find a rock.

Words by Rachel Knight Image by Wenjie Zheng

“I like to tell people I have the heart of a small boy. Then I say it’s in a jar on my desk.” - Stephen King.

Looking for a sweet pacifying tale to float you into dreamland? Well, my advice to you is that you look elsewhere, compadre. The fairytales composed by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 1800s dole out life to youngsters as we adults know it to be: unpredictable and punishing. The Brothers Grimms’ original versions of their famous fairytales were much darker and grotesque than their current Disney counterparts. Exhibit A: Sleeping Beauty was actually raped in her sleep. This Rohypnol-style love fest leads to a pregnancy in which Sleeping Beauty gives birth to twins, all while still in a peaceful slumber... I’m sure all women wish child birth was that pleasant, hey? I mean, apart from the whole being-raped-in-your-sleep-andhaving-babies-to-an-unknown-man debacle.

A question springs to mind while perusing the Grimm fairytales, and that is: why is it that over the years, fairytales have been softened down to be romantic and sweet? Well, the answer is this. They simply weren’t child friendly. The original fairytales were written for adults, not children. Fairytales were used as adult entertainment, first told around campfires and in hostelry in a medieval village whilst downing a pint of ale. They were lascivious, sadistic folktales designed to distract peasants after a hard day of cultivating and whatnot. So needless to say, as our society and culture evolved, so did the fairytales. They became more tolerable, like swapping brussel sprouts for… chocolate mousse? In order to get my point across, that fairytales used to be of a higher entertaining value (so obviously sick and twisted), I will tell you about the fantastically merciless world of fairytales Grimm style!

In Cinderella the step sisters attempt to fool the prince into thinking that their rather behemoth feet were indeed petite and more desirable than that of Cinderella’s by actually cutting off parts of their feet. Yep, just chopped them right off! What alerts the prince to their lies and trickery you ask? Pigeons. Yes, that’s right, blood and pigeons.

As if this wasn’t pathetic enough, after finding out about their plight to withhold Cinderella’s well deserved happy ending, the pigeons then peck the ugly stepsisters’ eyes out. They spend the rest of their lives blind and alone... and missing parts of their feet. Karma is a bitch, my pretties *insert creepy laugh here*.

As for Rumpelstiltskin, well, this little man was not so pleased with the outcome of his Grimm tale. After trying to trick the sweet young girl, who can spin dry grass into gold, by challenging her to a dual with her first born child as bounty.

He ends up being outwitted by the young girl and gets so enraged that he charges at her, hoping to kill her, but instead ends up stuck in her vagina. Yes, that’s right, stuck in her womanly nether regions! The baby is then killed anyway in Rumpelstiltskin’s raging fit. In the end Rumpelstiltskin tears himself in half and the princess lives happily ever after with her Little Red Riding Hood? More like Little Red Hussy! So you all rather stretched vagina and a dead baby. Where can I get my think Little Red is a sweet innocent young girl who is tragically hands on a copy of this lovely light reading? tortured by finding the Big Bad Wolf has gorged himself on her beloved Grandma? Well, do I have a treat for you! In the The Brothers Grimm, giving me fond memories of violence original version of this fairytale, Little Red outwits the Wolf by and inappropriate themes, whilst providing Walt Disney with surprising him with a tantalising strip tease while he is lying in fodder for his sugarcoated movies. At the end of the day we have bed dressed as her Grandma. She then runs away whilst Wolf to wonder, is our generation more accepting of darkness and is distracted. And I wonder why people got so up in arms about violence and will we be encouraging our children to regress to this version? I mean, what’s wrong with a dash of incestuous a time when the Grimm fairytales were told in their true form: beastiality? murder, pedophilia, disfigurement, dead babies and coma sex?

Words by Jessica Paterson Image by Wenjie Zheng

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The id works on the pleasure principle. The id only wants two things for us; as much pleasure for us to indulge in as possible, and as little pain as possible. According to the id, the ends justify the means. It will make us do whatever it takes for that pleasure to be satiated. The id operates in a vicious cycle in which each time a pleasure is fulfilled, it encourages the id to look for more. It has no remorse whatsoever. As long as pleasure can be attained with as little pain towards itself as possible, the id will take it with both hands.

The super-ego and the id are at the unconscious level. I think up to now we have seen a pattern here, the clichéd fight between the angel and the devil on our shoulders. The dark desires of the pleasure-seeking id colliding with the guiding moral light of the super-ego.

There is a third mechanism in place to act as a mediator between the dark and light psyches that are constantly against each other, and this is the ego. The ego operates at the fully conscious state. Its role is to take into account what the superego and id put forth and then judge it, weigh it up, and then execute rational actions. Sometimes, the super-ego or the id scores a marginal victory such as when we want to do something bad, but in the end decide against it or vice versa.

When the term “dark psychology” is mentioned most of us are likely to think that it is about something very far from ourselves. We also think that each one of us has a singular mind that controls whatever action we are taking in our lives.

Enter Sigmund Freud and his monumental philosophy of mind: psychoanalysis. That word has perhaps rung a few bells.

I reckon you’re probably thinking about things like the infamous Oedipus complex, penis envy, and maybe the trilogy of oral, anal, and phallic stages. The more ‘kinky’ stuff basically. However, today we are going to talk specifically about psychoanalysis. According to Freud our minds are actually divided into three parts, the ego, super-ego, and the id.

Out of these three, the last is the darkest of the dark psyches that are inside us.

I will just start by briefly describing each component. Superego is the ‘good guy’ of your mind. It is always urging you to do good things. Even if bad things have been committed, the super-ego will induce a feeling afterwards that is better known as guilt. So basically, super-ego is the little angel that sits on our shoulder and wants us to be good and do good. At the end of the spectrum is the id. This is our devil, the darkness within.

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But what happens if the id is the only one controlling us? It’s certainly a dark and disturbing scenario, and pop culture has attempted to portray this grim scenario in every medium. I will take two specific examples that I have personally enjoyed.

The first is the 1998 video game Xenogears. In Xenogears, there is a character called “Id”. His namesake characteristics became pronounced because of the severe abuses and human experimentation he experienced as a child. During times when Id is in control, he is a vile being with extraordinary strength, destroying anything and everything in his path, and of course doing so without any sense of guilt or remorse.

My other example, and perhaps one you’ll be more familiar with, is Tyler Durden from the movie Fight Club. He’s the uninhibited pleasure-seeking cool guy, dedicated to taking down the world through Project Mayhem. Talking about Durden, I guess sometimes the id is just the guy that we want to be but we can’t...

Words by Alvin Foeng Illustration by Wenjie Zheng

In an age where gore and violence is becoming more tolerable within the film industry, the notion of ‘scary’ is being revamped.

We are constantly faced with the dark reality of fear and fictional terror. Yet, we don’t seem to care! We, as an audience thrive on it, like sex-deprived mothers who have been reading Fifty Shades of Grey religiously.

Fear is often recognised as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or is a threat. There is no singular form of fear, nor is there a single reaction to it. Some are scared by something as simple as clowns, the boogieman or spiders. So, the question remains, are we addicted to fear? To the darkness within ourselves and the societies in which we live?

When I presented the question to my best friend, her response was simple; we go to see ‘scary’ movies in order to experience the fear without really experiencing it. We willingly pay the eighteen dollars to go and see these films, putting ourselves in situations that we wouldn’t usually find ourselves in. We mock the poor judgement of the fictional characters on screen, subconsciously criticising their every move despite their fictional lives hanging in limbo.

Take the recent blockbuster sensation Prometheus. I refuse to actually sit down and put myself through all of… that. I am a total wimp when it comes to scary films; I’m still too terrified to watch Toy Story 3 because of how much the first two films scared me. However, from what I have heard and what I managed to wean from the one minute and thirty seconds long trailer, the characters in the supposed ‘Alien’ prequel are a little short on common sense.

Logically when a giant wheel of god-knows-what is rolling towards you, you run, and you run out from its path, not directly along its path of destruction. Illogical acts like these have the power to make viewers sit up and mentally scream at the individual on the screen to get out, to survive. We freak out for no apparent reason other than the fact that some form of fictional stupidity has taken place and we feel responsible for not stopping it, for knowing that what they are doing is illogical and idiotic.

As an audience we worry for them, and become fearful for their safety even though we can predict exactly what is going to happen in the end. Whether it is the thrill of the unknown or the promise of suspense, Hollywood is fuelling our desire to be afraid.

The Paranormal Activity trilogy is one such example of a series of mediocre films being produced purely to induce fear in the hearts and minds of viewers. As consumers we have become addicted to the uncertainty this fabricated fear creates, impartial to the B-grade, subpar scripts and storylines, comfortably numb in our state of self-induced paranoia.

The most logical assumption is that we subject ourselves to fearinciting films as a scapegoat from the pleasantries of everyday life, and the menial processes that we go through on a regular basis. For those of us who are too chicken to jump out of a plane with nothing but a glamorised bedsheet to keep us from crashing to the ground, the closest thing we have to an adrenaline rush is too many cups of coffee in a single day, or crossing the road with oncoming traffic less than fifty metres away.

As an audience we’ve become consumed by the influx of ‘horror’ films and video games over the past few years. As consumers we thrive on the possibility of being thrown from our seats out of sheer terror; out of fictional fear constructed by an invisible man behind a metaphorical desk in Hollywood somewhere. We willingly pay the ridiculously overpriced ticket cost in order to get the same reaction as we would if someone jumped out from behind a closet door and shouted “BOO!” Do we knowingly subject ourselves to the promise of cinematically induced terror, heart palpitations and all? Or have we become subconsciously infatuated with fear and the intangible emotional instability it creates? In an age where addiction is rife, have we found our new drug of choice? Or are we simply puppets on a string in Hollywood’s ever-changing puppet show?

Words by Madeline McKenzie Image by Wenjie Zheng

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Both stories show little resemblance to the ‘monsters’ depicted in Twilight, for many obvious reasons, but the staggering emasculation of both vamps and lycans is undeniably more relevant. As the theme of this issue is noir, we, or maybe I should just mention myself, feel the sudden need for darkness and shadows, ghosts and creaky doors opening. But instead vampires shimmer like fairies, and werewolves are shirtless in order to show their addiction to weights… and steroids.

If this is the mainstream understanding of these previously daunting beasts, I needed an update, or convert to a group less pressured with intelligence. To Google it was.

Upon seeing pictures of people with hypertrichosis, or werewolf syndrome, any man has cause to believe in the legendary creature’s existence. It is a disease that causes an abnormal amount of hair growth, either present at birth or contracted later in life. So, without any relation to the monthly orbit of the moon, these victims in earlier days were wolves for life. Now, this might not frighten anybody as it is a rare condition and today proven to be a disease, earlier cases might have been mistaken for the real thing.

A shift to the dark side has been undeniably affecting my sense of faith in humanity during the last couple of years, but as of this year, I can feel a sudden change for the better. The end of the Twilight Era is coming and I cannot help but hope that monsters are going to attain their status of being frightfully scary yet again. Oh, and heads up: if you happen to be a Meyer fan, dear Lord, I do not account for the pain I may cause to your little fairytale perceptions.

Of course the melodramatic, utterly abhorrent text, which I’ve mentioned has undeniably contributed to a reawakening of gothic-inspired novels for the younger generations, but that’s about it — in terms of positive effect.

For us who are completely, and blissfully past the Justin Bieber age, it is indeed amazing what glossy paperbacks can write about. I still hold on to the somewhat original qualities these monsters possessed. Naturally, I am talking about the likes of Bram Stoker, the author of... No. I’ll not allow ignorance such as that. If this does strike you as unknown, seriously just turn the page, likewise Curt Siodmak and George Waggner. These two fellas might be a little less known, but they are the writer and director respectively of the famous motion picture The Wolf Man (1941), a true classic.

Stoker brought us the daunting Count Dracula and an unravelling darkness with love, sex and haunted castles through epistolary writing. It includes the occurrence of impalements and garlic, as well as seduction and curses. The Wolf Man was one of the first films where the werewolf was the central antagonist. In this movie, unlike many that are produced today, werewolves only appeared during certain times of the year specially during the autumn, not every full moon.

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While I was researching for vampires, assuming there are any, I came across an interesting website which was devoted to “real” vampires. On this website, the writer makes the connection of humans having headaches caused by something called ‘endogenous retrovirus’ which somehow equals us needing blood, thus making the utterly brilliant conclusion we should be bloodsuckers. They even manage to cram Yale University into it. Wow. Despite being a sceptic I was overwhelmed by their argument.

So all in all, will this monster morphing we have been noticing change the true perception of fleabags and nightwalkers? To be honest, nope. What about the Bieber crowds? Well, to be under the influence that Justin, or for more advanced cases One Direction, is your dream man/men clearly states your inability to see the difference between right and wrong.

I have to mention, now at the end, that I am a follower of the True Blood series. It started of as a reference to fresh, handsome and blond Swedish meat, and I am a sucker for that!

But as I watched every single episode of the whole series, I couldn’t help but pet myself on the shoulder and whisper — thanks to this, Meyer is soon forgotten.

The truly dark era of monsters being sissy lover boys is coming to an end with Breaking Dawn 2 hitting the cinemas later this year. For us true believers: to Stoker and The Wolf Man! Words by Martina Elfinsson Image by Tiarna Pepall

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Buy pets with short life spans, such as fish, mice, guinea pigs or sea monkeys. This way you are guaranteed to be constantly upset when they die. This means you will have an ever growing, pet graveyard in your garden, which can be there to constantly remind you of death.

Join a cult, possibly a doomsday one. This way you can be sure that you’ll be around people who are most likely insane and have negative opinions. They will also reassure you that we will all die a painful and horrific death sooner rather than later.

Get in to a dead end job so you waste years of your life working for nothing. This is a good way to set yourself up for a possible midlife crisis, only problem is you won’t be able to afford plastic surgery, a sports car, or probably even the baseball cap to wear in the sports car.

Alternatively, work in a morgue or abattoir.

There are plenty of articles about how to improve your life and how to feel happier, but where is the reading material for the people who bask in their own sadness and self-pity? Here are some hints and tips to make sure you are well on your way to live the most depressing life ever.

Remain a spinster or bachelor. This will ensure ultimate loneliness, and along with the optional self-pity, others will most likely feel sorry for you as well.

Watch the news every night, it always makes you feel worse about the state of the world; people dying in horrific circumstances, economic doubt, natural disasters, political instability. These things will always make you feel uncertain about the world we live in.

Live in a depressing place, possibly somewhere where there is little sunlight, and it rains often. Suggestions include: places near the Arctic Circle such as Iceland, Russia and Norway, have little sunlight during winter, and are extremely cold. You also may become a hermit, which would help to isolate you from the world.

Your favourite song should be; Why Does it Always Rain on Me, this is the anthem to your life. Songs that will also feature on your life playlist are Hurt by Johnny Cash, Brick by Ben Folds Five and Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division Procrastination is your most dominant trait. This secures the fact that you get little done, and do not achieve anything in life.

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Constantly ponder your existence. Why are you here on earth? What is your purpose in life? This always leaves you feeling worthless and insignificant, and that you are nothing in the whole scheme of the universe. You can enrol in a philosophy class to help you achieve this.

Constantly dwell on the past, and where you have gone wrong in life. Over-analyse your situation, this can help to realise how bad things are.

Your annual holiday will most likely be to a place where some tragedy has occurred. Options include Auschwitz, Pearl Harbour, Chernobyl or to the killing fields of Cambodia.

Watch some of the most depressing films for your Saturday night viewing pleasure. Some suggestions are The Green Mile, Angela’s Ashes, Requiem for a Dream, Precious and Hotel Rwanda. These will all have you feeling less good about the world.

I hope you all feel a little better about your lives after reading this. Now go have a shot of vodka and realise how great life is. After all, YOLO.

Words by Shannon Wood Image by Manuel Mendoza

One Boxing Day I had an invaluable near-death experience that overwhelmed my senses which was shared with friends and a complete stranger who irrevocably turned my world upside down. And as such, DR ABC the potentially life-saving acronym that should be put into action when the precariousness of human existence is in the balance informs the following story – with particular emphasis on the words that have been capitalised.

To set the scene: as a rule, you can go three weeks without food, three days without water, but you can only go three minutes without AIR. Danger (Taste) Our lips were smacking with satisfaction indulging in a smorgasbord of alcoholic beverages, and not even close to that one-hit wonder from Chumbawamba. Knocking ourselves out instead with a lethal cocktail of all manner of liquid inspiration. Drunken games of Jenga (the only way to play this game really) were all part of the intoxicated equation of amusing ourselves post-Christmas Day. When drink was aplenty a level head invariably went out the window. So it was little surprise that I was challenged by an inebriated man to see how many laps of the swimming pool I could do UNDERWATER. Respond (Smell) I love a challenge, but something was amiss when it came to holding your breath and wishing for the best going up and down the pool. Like a lack of clothing to start with. Yes, our dear protagonist completed several laps of the pool stark naked, not once coming up for air. I averted my eyes and rationalised with my drunken self that everything was alright and hopped out of the pool to leave him to his own devices. Unbeknown to me, a stranger’s life was at stake: HYPOXEMIA. Airways (Sight) To this day I don’t know why, something just didn’t feel right. My back had only been turned for a few seconds and I cast my gaze back to an image that I will never forget. Like a repulsive vomit where the sight is sometimes worse than the smell, I was in total disbelief at what I saw laying at the bottom of the pool; dead eyes staring back at me. It made me sick to the stomach. The dare-devil’s colour was now a bright blue, a lifeless blob of flesh and blood with a tortured soul only he was privy to the torment. Most drownings are UNWITNESSED. Breathing (Sound) This was all too surreal when you are drunk as a skunk. I yelled out to a friend this is a matter of life and death. He knew something that I was too blind to see. He commanded me to jump in the pool in no uncertain terms.

I had never seen him so angry before. He had good reason to be shorttempered, now was not the time for procrastination and arguing about who was the chosen one to perform the grisly task. It was no mean feat: I was being ordered to cradle a comatose head and, in the same action somehow summons the strength to swim to the edge of the pool, all the while being dragged down by his body weight; painfully slow progress reaching the goal.

Skin-on-skin, cheek-to-cheek, and my heart pounded with the seriousness of the situation. I had flashbacks of nearly drowning myself years ago on the second day of a Contiki tour. I was given a second chance at life and have never looked back. But here, there was no semblance of LIFE. Circulation (Touch) Why do writers attract these stories? Our new hero administered CPR; pumped his chest, pinched his nostrils, desperate breaths giving the kiss of life to his blue lips and cross your fingers and toes his number was not up.

There wasn’t enough wind to blow out a candle. A flat-lining friend was fast fading into obscurity. The price you pay partying in Perth put it all too perfectly into perspective. Thankfully, a hero saved the day when the sounds of gurgling and spluttering water prompted a shift into the recovery position.

Not long after, the violent heaving of body and mind right on cue as the Paramedics arrived, which was music to my ears. Please, I implore you to LEARN a basic first-aid course, because you never know when, why or who you may have to SAVE! Words by Jason Noble Image by Rehana Badat

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The wind howls around you as you arrive home from your exhausting day at uni. All you want to do is go to your room, turn on your laptop, and post on Facebook how utterly wet and horrible it is outside.

You’re just about to press ‘post’ when a fork of lightning lights up the sky, a crack of thunder rattles your windows, and suddenly, the lights go out. You try in vain to see if the internet still works, and when it doesn’t, you realise you’ll just have to settle for watching repeats of How I Met Your Mother. You reach for the TV remote before the obvious hits you. You’re out of ideas.

Guess you’ll just have to sit there and wait for the power to come back on. Or do you? Here are some handy suggestions on what to do when the power goes out.

Homework A lot of people don’t really think about this one because... Wait, you’re totally right. Who wants to do homework?

Eat There’s a very high likelihood that the power will come back on in about an hour or so. But why take a chance? Go to the freezer and take out all of the frozen treats – ice cream, icy poles, sorbet – and eat it. You wouldn’t want all of that sweet sugary goodness to melt and go to waste, would you?

Read a book You know those funny contraptions that are made of paper and are covered with splodges called words? A power outage is the perfect time to read one. Just grab your candle or your torch, find somewhere peaceful, and read. Don’t worry, we won’t tell anybody.

Campfire This will only work if you have marshmallows and skewers, but grab a candle, light it, stick a marshmallow on a skewer and toast it.

It’s like camping, without the tents and nature.

Re-enact your favourite Fifty Shades of Grey scene As long as it’s completely consensual on both sides and you don’t do it with a family member, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this.

Make your own electricity, if you know what I mean… *wink-wink* Clean up There’s nothing to distract you from cleaning up now. Tidy up the lounge room, get all the crap out of your bedroom, or tidy the kitchen. When the power comes back on it’ll be nice and refreshing not to have to smell the dirty bird cage all the time.

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Teach yourself a musical instrument Nearly everybody owns at least one musical instrument that they have no idea how to play. The plan was to learn it, but you had to do the really boring stuff and when were you going to be able to play the cool stuff, right? Do it now. Teach yourself how to play the cool stuff. Play around on it a bit and try and get something cool happening. Maybe you’ll be the next Elvis.

Write Write whatever you like. Write a murder mystery. Write a diary entry. Write letters to people with things that you wish you could say but can never bring yourself to (burn these afterwards). Write a letter to your best friend. Write a memoir. Write your essay for English.

No one cares!

Play a board game This is always fun. Get your housemates or siblings or friends together, and go head to head in Monopoly. Get your team on with a game like Pictionary or Articulate. Test your general knowledge in Trivial Pursuit, or your word skills in Scrabble. Just don’t knock the candles over!

Organise a scavenger hunt Write a list of fifty things to look for around the house. You can look for anything, and if you’re really looking for a challenge, make the clues a little cryptic. Instead of ‘water bottle’, why not make it ‘vessel for the transportation of liquids’?

Explore Pretend you’re medieval knights and you’ve stumbled across what seems like a witches cottage, but there’s no answer. Or maybe you’re a disgruntled traveller that needs lodgings for the night, and maybe by luck this house is abandoned. Pretend you’re Sherlock Holmes at a crime scene. You could even think of strange new uses for the ordinary bits and bobs around your house.

Sleep It’s night. There’s no distractions to keep you awake, no lights to keep you up because you’re too lazy to turn them off. It’s the perfect opportunity for a bit of shut-eye. Well, at least until the power comes back on.

Words by Ashley Swetman Image by Manuel Mendoza

Short Fiction The Charles St. alley was dark but my eyes had adjusted to the limited light. Besides, I knew this area like the back of my hand and had been running over this night again and again in my head. I wanted revenge, to make the bitch pay for all the pain she had caused me. The trees swayed slowly in the cool autumn breeze. It was well past midnight and my body tingled as I knew the moment was getting closer. I pulled a cigarette from my top pocket and lit it quickly. The smoke calmed my nerves as I watched it disintegrate into the night air. It must be any minute now I thought. I reminded myself to stay composed and follow the plan. The plan had been thought out for well over three months now. I had watched Lucy Brown come out that door at least a hundred times and I trembled and churned at the thought that she would never do this again. This time she was mine, forever.

The door swayed open and instantly brought my mind back. Lucy appeared in a black coat and heels. She kissed her lover goodbye and started to head west along the alley back to her flat in Leederville. I held my breath. The moment had arrived. The echoes of the clip clop sound of the high heels made my heart race. I lurked in the shadows, careful to not get too close. Tonight was different to the others. You could almost smell death in the air. A dog howled in the distance.

A car rumbled past. It was very quiet at this time of night. The sound of the heels became quicker. Clip clop! Clip clop! Lucy was walking faster; maybe she sensed it too. I pressed my hand against the pocket of my jeans and felt the revolver inside. I couldn’t wait to use it. Patience I told myself, all will happen in good time.

I kept my distance lurking in the darkness.

Although Lucy was walking I don’t think she had seen me. And why would she? I was a master of stealth. I was dressed in black from head to toe. A hood and cap ensured you could not see my face.

It was the middle of the night and I was in my element. About ten minutes later Lucy arrived at her Vincent St. residence. I watched her go in from across the road hiding behind a tree.

I knew the best way to get in was the back door.

There was a spare key under the terracotta pot on the left. I just had to wait now. It would not be long until Lucy would be asleep and I could enter the flat. My heart was pounding. I lit another cigarette as I leant against the tree. A car revved in the distance but other than that the street was quiet and empty. You could hear the hum of the power lines above. A stray cat sprinted across the road, alone in the night hunting for some prey. My animal instincts tingled inside me. It was probably a good hour I waited before I made a move to the back of the apartment. The lights had gone off a while back and I was certain she would be asleep by now.

I moved to the back fence and leapt over in one smooth motion, like a panther in the jungle. I hardly made a sound. The beat of my heart seemed louder than anything. The adrenalin was seeping through my body. I could feel myself rising to the occasion. I seemed to have a sixth sense in the dark, to be able to operate exceptionally well in limited light. A nocturnal creature. I knelt down and lifted the pot. The key was there, where it had always been. I lifted it to the door and silently inserted the key. The door opened easily with an ever so slight groan. I pulled the revolver out of my pocket and entered quickly, shutting the door behind me.

I looked around. It was a familiar room, I had been here countless times. The bedroom was up on the left, the door shut. I pulled back the trigger and moved silently towards the door. I had six bullets and wanted to use all of them on this evil whore. How dare she treat me this way? Fucking her boss behind my back.

I knew I would not be satisfied until I saw her head splattered across the wall.

My heart was pounding. I opened the door and hit the light in one motion. Lucy awoke in startled surprise. I lifted the revolver aiming at her head. “Die you evil bitch!” I roared as I pulled the trigger again and again.

Words by Chris Gow Image by Grace McKie

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Arts

Living Walls FORM

Mirror WA State Library

Spatial Drawing (Group Show) Venn Gallery

There are many kinds of artists—from established to emerging, national to local, street to mural artists. And this time, FORM invited them all to contribute to their recent exhibition, Living Walls.

The exhibition Mirror is a cleverly crafted collection of three dimensional collages that presents the theme of family, and how lives around the world are not so different. Mirror follows the story of two young boys: one living in Sydney, and another in South Morocco.

Spatial drawing is the multimedia group exhibition of three emerging WA artists Benjamin Forster, Clare Peake and Tom Freeman. Upon entering the gallery your eye is drawn to Forster’s piece “Cast in the light of reason… or…” a large installation made only of blue rope that forms a floating prism supported by tethers that stretch out through the gallery and surrounding street. One such tether connects to a pillar in the adjacent car park where it binds a framed sketch into place. Another tether winds its way down to the cafe bellow.

There are Shannon Crees’s Discordia (a very complex painting that combines abstract and realism), Andrew Nicholls’s Goddammit! (a really big drawing that takes eight panels and shows what I assume are devils and the damned) and my favourite, Chris Nixon’s Jack (a picture of an old man wearing goggles, with dominant colours brown and green that give a steampunk feeling to the picture).

It’s interesting to see how each artist has a distinctive style, and their contributions imply a successful artistic collaboration in this exhibition. However, there are a few things that I think can be improved. For one, the positioning of a few artworks seems to clash, such as Beastman’s untitled street arts (which are very colourful) and Cheeky’s Bird Soldier (which is black-and-white). The big difference in the colouring makes my eyes keep diverting to Beastman’s colourful pictures while I’m enjoying Cheeky’s drawing next to it. There are also a few artworks that I have difficulty to understand, such as Jae Criddle’s Party and Anya Brock’s nine different paintings. I like how Brock seems to experiment with identical paintings, but I couldn’t understand the reason behind a certain use of colours—are they used to convey a certain meaning? Maybe, but I couldn’t guess what. In a way, I think FORM has been quite ambitious to combine so many diverse artworks in one gallery.

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The collages are symmetrically placed on opposite walls, with the two stories meeting in the middle. Just like the structure of English and Arabic, the Australian story reads left to right, and the Moroccan story reads right to left. Mirror begins with the boys gazing out the window in unison, but each look out to contrasting views of suburban streets and farming pastures. Jeannie Baker captures strong father/son relationships and family roles in each culture, and how they ‘mirror’ each other. The fact that the Moroccan boy rides on a donkey, as opposed to the Sydney boy in a car, is a difference that just doesn’t matter.

Mirror is a professional and highly intricate exhibition that uses a variety of natural and artificial materials, including sand, vegetation, fabric, tin and plastic.

The collages have a lighting component behind each one, lighting up the moon and stars in the sky to great effect. The vibrant red and orange colours used to make spice bags and ‘magic carpets’ reflect the culture of Morocco. The symbolic connection between the two boys is the rug the Moroccan boy’s mum makes, which he and his father sell at the market. The other boy and his father then buy the rug from the Magic Carpet shop in Sydney. Mirror is an incredible bond between two cultures. It displays just how alike humans are, regardless of the barriers of culture, religion and location.

3/5

4/5

Review by Aldy Hendradjaja

Review by Rachel Knight

Freeman’s approach to the theme has been to focus on familiar and nostalgic places for the artist. As such he has produced almost solely images of British cathedrals in a variety of mediums, which seems out of place in a Perth gallery, with the exception of “A piece of wood I held for six months” which is just that, a piece that feels equally out of place in such an exhibition. Peake then offers a handful of small abstract sketches that resemble mostly rocks and star charts accompanied by eight glass sculptures.

The show is, apart from some interesting ideas from Forster, ultimately too technically loose for anyone who would enjoy the bare minimalism of these almost architectural drawings but too sparse, directionless and full of irrelevant or confusing pieces to elicit any emotion response or provoke much thought on the subject of drawing, its underlying role in art or its relation to space.

2/5 Review by D’Arcy Ellis

Arts

The Book of Death The Blue Room Theatre The Book of Death is a contemporary drama directed by Joe Lui that uses various forms of spectacle to engage the audience. The stage setting instills a sense of the unexpected that is maintained throughout the performance by an unusual mix of insightful dialogue, a few belly laughs and original songs performed by singer/songwriter Moana Lutton. This original music is used to set the tempo, to introduce scene changes and as an element of the performance.

Anyone who has stayed in a dying relationship a little too long will feel a queasy sense of recognition as performers Paul Grabovac and Ella Hetherinton portray their attempts to escape boredom and suffocation and to breathe new life into their failing relationship.

Grabovac and Hetherington both deliver short monologues in the nude; however, I experienced the nudity as a slight distraction to the thoughts being expressed, and for me, this discomfort replicated the feeling of being too preoccupied to have sex, which I guessed is the intention.

When I walked out of the theatre and was asked what I thought of the play, it was too soon to decide—its effects were still reverberating. It took a period of reflection to identify and appreciate the elements in the play, such as the symbolic use of red and black to highlight the swinging love/hate and life/death themes, and the purpose of the masks in the accompanying musical sub-story.

Every time I described the performance to someone, it’s grown on me. For drama writers and contemporary theatre lovers, The Book of Death is definitely worth a look.

The Cat in the Box The Blue Room Theatre

Jeff Wall Photographs Art Gallery of WA

Four people are trapped in a locked room with piles of junk. At first they try to find a way of escape, but with one thing after another, they end up inventing a dystopian country with population of four people.

What an honour it is for Perth to be able to witness the work of one of the great artists in our very own Art Gallery of Western Australia. Jeff Wall is an innovator and a master in his field, and this is the first time that a survey of his work has taken place in Western Australia.

The Cat in the Box combines art, science and a bit of absurdity to explore the paradox called “Schrödinger’s cat”.

I’m not an expert in science, but Daddy Wiki says this paradox questions the nature of truth, in which two opposite things (say, X and Y) can be indefinitely true until one of them is proved wrong.

And in this play, both the audience and the players are forced to think: what is the truth? Is the whole play just a dream? Is the locked room actually a hell and they’ve all died? Even the contrast between the four characters—the artist vs the scientist, the dreamer vs the realist— creates further emphasis on the question of whose truth is the truth.

This play doesn’t use much in terms of setting and props, but it’s very characterdriven. Most of the play is about how the characters react to one another, the conflicts that arise and how the other characters help to make it worse. To be fair, though, the play puts a good use of lighting, especially to attract the audience’s attention to a specific part of the setting, and the costumes of each character make it easy to identify their professions. Plus, the jokes are absurdly funny. If you like to watch something that makes you think while at the same time laughing your arse off, I’ll recommend this play.

As a fan of Jeff Wall I was quite astonished by the range of photographs and the curious variety. The large backlight scenes are remarkable and you can find yourself getting lost within the frame for what seems like an abnormal amount of time to look at an image. The attention to detail goes beyond what you could imagine, with every item given its full focus and purpose in the image. I found some of the images to be a little bit like Alice in Wonderland turning grunge.

The tension used within the images is consistent and engaging, his style is ambitious and inspirational. The intensity of the full colour images is amazing, considering the production time dates back several decades in some cases. But I found that the diversity of the images didn’t fit together quite coherently and the size variation was allowing the smaller images to be lost amongst its giant backlit cousins.

Definitely worth a look if you’re in the city with some time to kill. Jeff Wall will not disappoint: he will inspire.

4/5 Review by Zoe Braybrooke

4/5 Review by Aldy Hendradjaja

3.5/5 Review by Dianne Zanetti

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Books

Sacrificial Magic Stacia Kane

Red Dirt Talking Jacqueline Wright

Carnival of Souls Melissa Marr

If you’re not reading this urban fantasy series about a drug addicted ghost-busting witch investigator, then you need to start reading ASAP. This series of books shouldn’t work for me since I’m not a big fan of ghosts, or the plight of a drug addicted protagonist, who not only has major self-esteem issues, but a destructive lifestyle that is hard to swallow. The way Kane has written Chess Putnam’s character allows the reader to walk in her shoes, and you can’t help but sympathise with a character who’s as close to pitiful as you can get.

Red Dirt Talking provides a slice of social history in an intricately woven story that is both entertaining and informative.

Set in 1994, before land rights and widespread knowledge of indigenous culture. The inhabitants of the fictitious town ‘Ransom’ and the invented remote communities of ‘8 mile’, ‘Yindi’ and ‘Breakaway’ speculate what happened to a young girl who goes missing in the outback. The multiple narrators weave back and forth through time to tell their part of a story that, without lecturing, highlights the prejudicial attitudes of the era. Although initially a little hard to follow, the use of authentic North-West colloquialism and indigenous language in the dialogue creates voice inflections that aid in character development and determine place.

In a world ravaged by sparkly vampire fandom you could be led to believe that vampires and werewolves were the only mythical creatures ever translated into contemporary literature. However, it is into this arena of fantasy fiction that Melissa Marr marches proudly with her latest novel, Carnival of Souls, an eloquent insight into the realm of daimons and magic. As an avid Melissa Marr fan I was not at all disappointed with her follow up to the incredible Wicked Lovely series, if anything I was amazed at how the New York Times bestselling author has furthered her craft.

Through it all, Putnam remains strong and is the ultimate survivor. She may be downtrodden, live in despair and lose herself to her pills, poppers, dust and other mind destroying drugs — but there’s something about her we can all relate to. Kane lulls us into a false sense of security with the idea of warm and fuzzy love with the unorthodox relationship between Putnam and the burley hunk of muscle that is her knight in shining armour, the almighty Terrible.

So I launched into Sacrificial Magic thinking that Putnam would somehow find some kind of miraculous transformation between Terrible’s thighs and would now be super-charged with a new sense of love-induced good judgment *cough, hack, wheeze* and all her inner turmoil and baggage had been packed off to Know-Thyself-Self-Actualizationland. Ahh... yeah… no. Clever plot twists, character surprises and brutally honest writing make Sacrificial Magic a must read for urban fantasy fans.

4/5 Review by Jessica Paterson

In addition to the mystery of the girl’s disappearance are the experiences of visiting academic, Annie. It is through her new-to-the-area, city-person eyes that the awe and wonder of the visual landscape is captured and described. Annie’s bungling of her research project and cultural faux pas provide comic relief from disheartening passages. Her educated character is in stark contrast to local characters such as ‘Maggot’, the garbage collector who salvages and recycles more rubbish than he tips.

It’s easy to see why Red Dirt Talking won Jacqueline Wright the TAG Hungerford award. She has delivered an engaging story that is sprinkled with unexpected elements to heighten conflict and maintain suspense. It includes a diverse range of colourful characters that disclose complex family relationships, form unusual friendships and occasionally participate in romantic liaisons. What more could you want?

4/5 Review by Dianne Zanetti

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Carnival of Souls tells the tale of seventeen-year-old Mallory as she defies the man she has come to know as her father in search of her heritage, teenage affection and a destiny she didn’t even know was her own. In amongst Mallory’s drama, Marr manages to introduce a series of subsequent characters that allow the novel to ascend to unimaginable heights, testing the reader and exciting them when they least expect it.

The novel has an intricate plot involving temperamental daimons, witches and a competition designed for the sole purpose of inflicting pain on competitors for public spectacle and oppression of the class minorities. Carnival of Souls will have you at the edge of your seat from the moment you turn to the first page.

Expertly written, a delight to read, it has become one of my favourite novels overnight and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to all.

5/5 Review by Madeline McKenzie

Books

His Dreams of the Skyland: Walled City Anne Opotowsky Though the first in a trilogy, this book does well to stand on its own as an independent work, suggestive of the epic that is to follow. It is set in Hong Kong at the height of Imperial rule and the height of its own corruption. A city torn between the British ruling classes and the old Chinese dynasties. The story is centred on the daily life and struggles of a young man, Song Lu, working nightshift in the dead letter department at the Royal Post Office, who, through an undelivered letter, becomes aware of a vast refugee camp known as the Walled City.

The world Opotowsky describes is dark, gritty and exotic with reality and Lu’s dreams overlapping. These push you between tropical costal landscapes and crowded city streets, to his psychedelic dreamscapes and back. The reader is forced into a voyeuristic role as we peer at this world through dingy alleys, crowded markets and the darker corners of wealthy estates and opium dens. A visually stunning book inspired by traditional Chinese watercolors and woodcarvings, artist Aya Morton has outdone herself with this visual masterpiece, saturating the whole tale in an airy blue mysticism. Using panels the size of thumbnails to vast double page landscapes she creates a truly unique visual experience.

Wife 22 Melanie Gideon

The Industry Rose Foster

This book is about a middle-aged woman having a midlife crisis. Alice is at a point where she is questioning her life, her marriage, and her job prospects. This leads her to take part in an online study titled “Marriage in the 21st Century”. She is assigned the name Wife 22 while the researcher she is constantly in touch with is Researcher 101.

Kirra is a 16 year old girl from a small Australian town. She is snatched from her family and everything she knows after cracking a mysterious code that she finds on the internet. She is suddenly part of a frightening new world of high-tech criminal activity.

The author takes the voice of the protagonist to bring her readers into the little world of Alice Buckle—her friends, her family, her little guilty pleasures, her insecurities—and keeps us hooked. The plot is well thought out and well written.

What amazes me about this book is the ability of the author to make the reader empathise with Alice. Even when Alice does something wrong, we do not judge her. We understand her every move. The characters are not out of the ordinary; they are just as human as you and I. They are touching characters and reach into our hearts.

The climax of the book makes it even better: totally unexpected and a stroke of extreme ingenuity on the part of the author. There is very little fault to be found in this book.Written in a simple and easy to read style, this book is for romantics at heart. It teaches us there is hope for love, companionship and marriage in life.

The Industry is Australian author Rose Foster’s fiction debut, and the first in an upcoming series that the lead character, Kirra, will feature in. Smart kids and young adults will probably enjoy the fastpaced story, which doesn’t lack in action and some confronting scenes. However, I found it just a bit bland for my taste, and the characters and plot failed to suck me in. Kirra’s personality lacked depth and I found myself struggling a little to continue reading, as I didn’t feel compelled enough to care about her unfolding story.

Having said that, it’s well written for a teen book. Foster has a great grasp on words, and doesn’t write in that slightly dumbed-down way you sometimes find in young adult books. As mentioned before, there are many graphicly-described scenes that attempt to add to the plot’s credibility - which I didn’t find the greatest to start with.

3.5 / 5

The world of The Industry, while eemingly meant to be complex and violent, didn’t have enough richness for me. I didn’t find myself bothering to visualise scenes in my head as I would with other books that sparked my imagination. A decent read, this book just lacked some of the magic that would have elevated it to a great novel.

Review by D’Arcy Ellis

3/5

This book is something completely original and engaging and I look forward to completing the rest of the trilogy pending its release.

4/5 Review by Divya Jankee

Review by Naoibh Marian

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Books I’m just going to come right out and say straightaway – I love Batman. Batman’s been my favourite superhero for years. I love everything from his dark and brooding character to how everyone that goes up against him is lucky to escape with a few scratches and shattered bones – Gosh, who wouldn’t like someone like that?

Batman, as far as superheroes go, is surprisingly realistic. He doesn’t have any superpowers (unless you count money), but what Batman represents is a normal human being pushed to the absolute best of his ability.

Everything that you see him do – beating up twenty bad guys at once, selecting what he needs from the infamous utility belt, picking off armed gunmen in a dark room one by one – amazingly, you still think to yourself, “that’s plausible”. And that’s one of the foremost reasons why Batman’s always been popular.

Like so many that would come after him, Batman is a realistic hero of our time.

Maybe that’s why we, as people that thrive on extremely dark characters and on those moments when Batman grants his services to lowly henchmen as a potent constipation aid, adore Batman so much? Or it could be his characterisation as well. There is no denying that Batman is a dark character, which holds its modern roots in the mid-80s from the comics. Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).

Behind his façade of an aloof, alcoholic, playboy billionaire – which we all want to be – lies a character that is incredibly complex.

One might say that he’s a flat, emotionless character after his parents died right in front of him. While Batman’s not exactly known for showing the widest range of feelings, it only takes a push, and Batman will flood you with fear, glory, superiority and depression. Sometimes all at the same time. Kevin Conroy, who is best known for his masterful work voicing the Caped Crusader in the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, as well as various other voice works (and who is not escaping this article without a glorified mention), demonstrated this proficiently.

Conroy came up with the innovation of using two separate voices to voice Batman and Bruce Wayne (which would be replicated in the mainstream by Christian Bale). Conroy also demonstrated times where Batman would be flaunting his superiority in every villain’s face, or he was horrified during traumatic times such as when Tim Drake (the second Robin in the DC Animated Universe), was turned into a miniature Joker. All through the slightest alteration of Conroy’s pitch. And oh, the waves of depression will wash over you when that happens. There’s a reason why the animated series was so popular.

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The Bat’s psyche is another thing to look at. Many people including psychologists, echo this question: why would a man choose to dress up as a bat to fight crime? The reasons why he chose a bat vary in the different continuities, but the story that’s commonly accepted is that it all started when the eight-year old Bruce Wayne’s parents were killed by the common thug known as Joe Chill. What Chill started would haunt Gotham City’s criminal underworld ever since, as this gave birth to the everlasting fire that would be Bruce Wayne’s thirst for justice and henchmen.

Bruce Wayne’s a popular subject for psyche analysis, both in this world and the comic book world; occasionally the comics have brought forth the issue that Batman is just as insane as the enemies that he faces. The Killing Joke raised opinions that Batman is a mirror image of his arch nemesis known as The Joker. Another enemy, Scarecrow who uses fear gas to bring to life a person’s worst fears, once commented that Batman has had enough samples of his toxin to drive any normal person beyond insanity. These questions that get asked yearn to be answered by those who can.

And who could forget the rogues’ gallery? Having a tendency to overshadow Batman himself, layers upon layers of beautiful characterisation are on these guys. The Joker, Batman’s first villain, dedicates his life to anarchy, no matter how small or large the ‘joke’ may be. Mr Freeze’s tragic villain storyline, involving selflessly living a life of crime in order to find a cure for his cryogenically frozen wife, won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program. Two-Face’s choice to commit evil acts are all based on the flip of a coin. The list goes on (seriously, it goes past one hundred). The absolutely frightening performances by Heath Ledger and Tom Hardy as The Joker and Bane don’t go amiss either. How the villains affect Batman, the traumas and horrors, and how Batman goes to defeat them are all part of Batman’s legacy.

This can go on forever but I believe everyone’s got at least something they like about the Dark Knight – hey, you did make it to the end, right? Batmania is likely to continue in the advent of Christopher Nolan’s last entry to his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises (go see it if you haven’t already). But, I understand that there are people that do believe that a man dressing up as a bat to fight crime is pretty silly. Hey, we can say we’re just ahead of the curve.

Words by Stephen Corker Image by Rehana Badat

Film

Cosmopolis Director: David Cronenberg

Wunderkinder Director: Marcus Rosenmüller

Hope Springs.

Director: David Frankel

Directed by David Cronenberg and starting Robert Pattinson this is an adaptation from the novel of the same name by Don DeLillo. With such fine pedigree I was expecting a good movie, perhaps even something exceptional.

Instead I endured 100 minutes of a story that, while adequately paced, still managed to be stuffy and lifeless.

With the exception of Paul Giamatti’s performance the acting was like watching the Thunderbirds attempt to deliver a rather serious play.

Wunderkinder is a thought provoking, humanising, look into the atrocities of World War Two. It’s told through the perspective of three gifted child musicians. Larissa and Abrascha are Jewish prodigies who are all set to make their world debut when the war sweeps through Ukraine throwing them into an unlikely pairing with Hanna, an aspiring German violinist. The three become fast friends through their mutual love of classical music but quickly realise that the more time they spend together, the more difficult their lives will become.

“It’s not too late for anyone who wants it and is willing to try,” says Dr Bernie Feld (Steve Carell), which is exactly Kay Soames’s (Meryl Streep) opinion on her fight to save her marriage to Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones).

The story follows multi-billionaire Eric Packer (Pattison) as he attempts to take a limousine ride through Manhattan for a hair cut. Intersecting his stop-gostop journey are a series of characters, including his security guard and wife.

To the background of his journey is the build-up to an anti-capitalist riot, coinciding with Packer loosing his entire fortune and slowly unravelling before confronting his stalker (Giamatti). The film is incredibly stagey. The cast deliver their conversations in flat, calm tones.

At times this played out well against the backdrop of increasing social anxiety and personal disorder, but it made the film feel sluggish and theatrical. This is a thinking film, and it’s easy to appreciate the obvious intelligence of author Don DeLillo. What would have made a good stage play is transformed into movie welded together by dense blocks of esoteric conversation listlessly delivered.

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We see through their eyes a gradual breakdown of on both sides with confusion, loss and building frustration at the actions of “stupid adults” causing their dreams to be thrown aside and crushed in an increasingly violent and chaotic world. Sound direction, as you might expect in a film with music as an integral element, is masterfully handled: the classical elements, both on screen and off, perfectly play on the mood of each scene and add to the overall appeal of every emotional flourish.

Visually the film borders on being claustrophobic. The constant use of close-ups, and with the majority of scenes occurring within Packer’s limousine, reinforces this sensibility. This is a story about a man having it all, and slowly losing everything that holds him back from complete freedom.

Visually the tale begins in such a scenic and peaceful little hamlet that it hardly feels like the same quaint place from which the story began by the end. The performances from the three young leads are without a doubt the standouts in this already exceptional film: the actress Mathilda Adamik (Hanna) does an excellent job portraying pure, childlike innocence. Director Marcus Rosenmüller has done created something amazing building a growing sense of uneasiness, the same we see in our young protagonists, culminating in a scene that had my heart racing – who knew music could simultaneously mask and accentuate so much tension!

3/5 Review by Tom Reynolds

4.5/5 Review by Aron Shick

After 31 years of marriage, separate bedrooms and too many cold shoulders, Kay is ‘willing to risk everything’ in order to bring the spark back into her seemingly loveless marriage. Kay staunchly fights Arnold to give couples’ counselling a try, and after much scepticism and negativity on Arnold’s part, he agrees to the proposal.

Jones lived up to his title of ‘50 Shades of Grumpy’ dubbed unto him by Rolling Stone magazine and Streep was as always deliciously funny and entertaining.

The chemistry between the two was remarkably candid and you were pulling for the relationship to resolve the entire movie. Smart and witty writing from Vanessa Taylor gave a perfect balance of laughs and emotion. Some may find some scenes uncomfortable to watch; however the uproarious laughter, from the largely elderly patrons at the screening, spoke otherwise.

Many have likened this movie as being about old people sex. I beg to differ. I honestly found it very refreshing to see a movie of this sort of genre with older actors. It branches into new territory and reminds us that yes, at some point you to will probably be 60 and probably still have sex on your mind. The relationship issues are 100% relatable to any age group and is a gesture that it takes two to make or break a relationship, it just depends what you are willing to sacrifice.

4.5/5 Review by Amanda Ogg

Music Film

Moonrise Kingdom Director: Wes Anderson

The Bourne Legacy Director: Tony Gilroy

The Dark Knight Rises Director: Christopher Nolan

Wes Anderson presents another fantastical journey amongst oddballs in his latest film. Set in 1965 the movie focuses on the love-fuelled quest of 12 year olds Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop as they hike through the wilderness attempting to dodge fellow scouts, parents and the local police officer. Thwarted and then reunited the film escalades in tension and drama as a hurricane strikes the island.

The film has a stellar cast: Bruce Willis (the policeman), Bill Murray, Francis McDorman (Suzy’s parents), Edward Norton (the Scoutmaster) as well as Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman.

The first half of the film is nearly undecipherable without knowledge of the previous three films, with the names “Blackbriar” and “Treadstone” being thrown back and forth, and several existing characters brought in with little or no introduction. Seeing as this movie will mostly attract fans of the previous films, I guess it isn’t really a problem.

Without giving you too much of a spoiler, the inclusion of the main female character (played by the lovely chocolate-eyed Rachel Weisz) and some of her actions in the second half are very GURL POWER and smack a bit too much of the studio trying to pander to female audience members whose boyfriends dragged them along.

Eight years after Gotham City’s Joker incident, Gotham City revels and thrives in its new-found peace from criminality and the disappearance of the infamous vigilante, Batman. Meanwhile Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who suffers from his inner demons and the loss of the love of his life is physically crippled and unwilling to return to his vigilante activities. Unfortunately, danger comes and finds him first in the form of the mysterious con artist Selina (Anne Hathaway) and then the head of a new terrorist cell, Bane (Tom Hardy), who is hell-bent on the destruction of order in Gotham City.

Despite the presence of such strong adult cast members they are largely reduced to the background with Suzy (Kara Hayward) and Sam (Jared Gilman) dominating the film. Both were excellent in their roles, subtly enunciating their ranger, love, and a touch of madness. At times it felt disconcerting to see greats like Murray constantly on screen, but occupying very little of the movie. Given Anderson’s penchant for presenting stories about loveable eccentrics, and the romantically forlorn, the casting was exceptionally well considered.

Anderson’s fingerprints are all over this movie, with his characteristic amplification of the twee aesthetics.

Wether or not this is done in sincerity or in sly mockery is debatable. Irrespectively it was used masterfully to sharpen the film’s hyperrealism. As with other Anderson movie’s colour was used thoughtfully throughout the film, heavily utilising a bright autumnal palette.

Overall the movie is an excellent and upbeat romantic drama.

4/5 Review by Tom Reynolds

There is a science-y token attempt at being a “clever thriller” but the plot revolves around the action scenes, not the other way around. It’s a shame because that’s what really set the first three Bourne films apart from other action movies.

If you want to see it just for the action sequences, do: the high production values are still there. It seemed to end halfway up the narrative arc which is either sloppy writing, a nod to an upcoming sequel, or both. I actually only figured out the movie was ending because they used the same Moby song which ended The Bourne Identity.

In the same way Quantum of Solace let down the Daniel Craig Bond films which came before it, The Bourne Legacy sullies the names of its ancestors. Also, Shane Jacobsen is in it.

2.5/5 Review by Yvonne Buresch

As usual, Nolan doesn’t let you down when it comes to expectations. For one, every single sequence seems perfectly tailored to match the other, rendering the succession of actions seemingly flawless.

The movie’s length (over two and half hours) really doesn’t seem either coming short or exhaustively long. And if you have seen the first two movies of the trilogy, you will be served yet another exquisitely down-to-earth Nolan-style superhero movie. Another notable point for those who, like me, have this terrible image of Anne Hathaway, her acting is incredibly sober and positively delightful.

Some of my faith in humanity has been restored.

In the end my only few concerns are: the ending seemed quite unrealistic, which clashes with the very consistent sobriety of Nolan’s directing and writing style.

He also revealed this would be the last Batman movie he would make which also clashes with the ending in a more meta perspective. Cheap Tuesday or not, I strongly recommend that you watch this movie, whether you are a Batman fan or not. You’ll definitely enjoy it!

4.5/5 Review by Philippe Brissette

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Games

BatteryDoctor+ (Kingsoft) Cost: free This nifty app for the iPhone helps conserve battery life by letting you know how long to charge it for, and introducing extensive power-saving options. It also allows you to quickly enable/disable all battery-sucking settings, accessible from your locked home screen. These settings are condensed into a drop-down menu for functionality, and include: - Wifi/3G/data - Backlight dimmer - ‘Clean up’ feature that shuts down every active application - GPS - Sounds (allowing you to turn sound on and off without toggling the switch - handy if yours is broken, like mine).

5/5 Review by Naoibh Marian

Game: The Saboteur Platforms:X360, PC, PS3, IPhone, Blackberry What can be said about The Saboteur? Is it a stealth/action game like Assassin’s Creed? Gritty crime sandbox like Grand Theft Auto? Or an open-world playground where common sense and subtlety are in short supply like Just Cause? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes - or should I say aye! You play Sean Devlin: a smart mouthed, womanising Irish mechanic with a talent for destruction and a grudge to boot. After seeing his racing buddy gunned down by a sociopathic Nazi officer, it falls to our whisky swilling “hero” to lay waste to enemy installations, inspire the French resistance and take on the Third Reich pretty much single-handedly in Germanoccupied Paris.

For anyone who’s played Grand Theft Auto; the way you “borrow” cars from surprisingly forgiving citizens feels distinctly familiar. The driving, however, feels more like manoeuvring a tank rather than the stylish 1940s rides you get your hands on. There are also stealth elements in the game, which are occasionally required, though it’s almost comical how quickly everything recedes into ludicrous

and nonsensical violence: Mr Devlin absorbs bullets like a sponge and yet somehow still manages to belch “Top ‘o’ the morning to

ya!”, while blood is spraying as thick as red paint and everything is exploding around him.

Scaling Parisian architecture is also on the cards for our spry

Night Sky (iCandi Apps) Cost: 99c This is a pretty cool educational app that helps you to visualise the night sky. You’ll need location settings on, as it uses some kind of GPS cross-referencing to determine where you are.

Whether it’s cloudy or you’re inside, the app works perfectly to show you astronomical features, such as constellations - even drawing them in. You can also view your global position, including relativity to all nearby satellites and space stations.

You can pay for ‘Sky Information Packs’, which download extra info on a particular star or galaxy. The basic info is more than enough though, and the instrumental background music is a nice touch.

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4.5/5 Reviews by Naoibh Marian

protagonist. Showing a surprising amount of dexterity for a greasemonkey, Sean takes little time at all to start hopping across the roof-tops and sniping Nazi gun emplacements. The hopping in question however, is a little too twitchy, and can become frustrating when on the run from the angry SS. Where this game shines is in its aesthetics: portions of the city under Nazi control are washed of colour except for the occasional artful accentuation of a flag or an arm band, opposed to areas you have freed from tyranny being colourfully quant. The obvious visual feedback gives a defined sense of accomplishment and distinguishes which areas you’ve explored and which you’ve yet to liberate.

For a sandbox game whose gameplay isn’t half as serious as the source material, I recommend The Saboteur for when you’re looking for something a little less grim than the standard open-world affair.

3 ½ Whiskey shots out of 5 Review by Aron Shick

Games

Game: Plants Vs Zombies Platforms: X360, PC, PS3, VITA, DS, IP, ANDROID, MAC, WINM Let me set the scene for you: there has been a zombie outbreak and

you are stuck in your home, surrounded by vapid zombies who want to eat your brains. The only way out is to set up a defense line of plants on your front lawn. You eventually have to set up a line of defense on your back lawn (with a pool) and rooftop too. You start

off with the basic plants and gradually accrue an army of horticultural tools to use. You use sunflowers to give you sun to buy other plants, walnuts to slow the zombies down and peashooters to get rid of the fuckers.

The types of zombies that you will encounter are hilarious: you will come across football player zombies, tradesmen zombies, bobsledding zombies, disco zombies and many, many, more. You can even unlock an achievement if you happen to see a yeti zombie! The yeti zombie making an appearance is almost as likely as a ‘real life’ yeti/sasquatch/bigfoot sighting. And even rarer than the Yeti Zombie is…well, a female zombie. There. Is. Not. One. What is up with that?

Despite the lack of XX chromosomed zombies…Plants Vs Zombies is awesome. It is colourful, creative and the animation is fantastic.

Boredom is kept at bay by trying to tick off all of the achievements (e.g.- trying to take out ten zombies with one lawn mower). There are also bonus mini games that add some extra zing to the original game by creating levels with slot machines, miniature zombies, giant zombies, teleporting machines and a zen garden. My newfound favourite mini game is where the situation is reversed and you get to play the part of the zombies attacking the plants. Super fun. The action strategy game has won over thirty ‘Game of the Year’ awards, and I completely understand why.

Plants Vs Zombies is highly addictive and you will probably find yourself saying: “just one more level” followed by, “maybe one more level” and then, “seriously, I have to go to bed, just one more level”.

There is something highly satisfying about creating an army of plants and destroying an onslaught of the undead.

4.5/5 Review by Asten Nunn

Game: L.A. Noire Platforms: PS3, X360, Windows PC Epitomising everything that is the noir genre, you will find yourself pulled straight into a classic detective story complete with husky voice-over, soulful saxophone, questionable conduct, misogynistic mindsets and of course, fancy fedoras. Set in the 1940s you play as Detective Cole Phelps, traveling around Los Angeles solving

various misdemeanor and murder cases while rising up the ranks of the L.A.P.D. Although published by the infamous Rockstar Games

(who are well known for their run n’ gun Grand Theft Auto series) L.A. Noire is significantly more calculating in its approach to solving crimes.

As a detective you will find yourself tasked with tracking down evidence, searching for leads and interviewing suspects in order to catch the culprits. A key component of the game is judging the expressions of the people you interview to decide whether they’re being truthful, withholding details, or just flat-out lying. Once you’ve assessed that their shifty eyes and nervous smile are masking the truth you can whip out your evidence, sealing the deal and sending them to the slammer.

In addition to the calculating case components, the open world of Los Angeles has its fair share of shootouts, fistfights, car chases and landmarks to keep you entertained. Add to this the stylish suits, classy music and vintage cars and you will find this game to be a different but engaging experience. Unfortunately it is let down at times by its slower pace and repetitive nature. The use of realistic facial expressions can also become a bit unsettling against the comparatively plastic clothes and movements.

Overall, L.A. Noire allows players to step into a bygone era filled with intrigue and drama. The sleuthing gameplay is a new experience that can be quite addictive for puzzle fans, although the murderous subject matter and solemn lead character may not be to everyone’s tastes. If however you’re interested in putting your detective skills to the test this game is certainly worth investigating. For those especially interested in recreating a true film-noir experience, there is even the option to play the game in classic black and white. A ‘Complete Edition’ is also available packed with all the existing downloadable content, including the Vice case ‘Reefer Madness’.

3.5/5 Review by Jess ‘Ninja’ Watson

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Music

Norah Jones …Little Broken Hearts

SleepFreak SleepFreak

The Story So Far Keith Urban

What a perfect title for this album. From the very first track you can get a feel for the heartache and despair that go side by side with a broken heart. This album couldn’t be more topical to this particular GSM issue ‘Noir’ if it tried. In fact, there is a music video (that you can see on YouTube) called “Miriam” that sees Norah playing a woman scorned in an extremely noir-ish video. She hums eerily and sings lyrics like: “You know you done me wrong. I’m gonna smile when I take your life”. You must check it out. It is positively creepy.

Sleepfreak is a hard rock band originating out of the southern end of Perth. With a dynamic style of old school metal, dreamy blues and a unique 80s Glam rock sound, they are truly an all-out assault on the senses. Incorporating scorching guitar solos, melodic keyboards, sky-high vocals, hard-hitting drums and soul-moving bass, SleepFreak lull their listeners into a dream world of eclectic, happy- hormone inducing harmony.

I will be the first person to admit that I had never given Keith Urban’s music the time of day until he appeared as one of the four judges on the Australian adaptation of The Voice, but his latest album definitely surprised me. If I were to describe this album in one word it would have to be: comfortable. It does little to excite you but at the same time it gives you no reason to turn it off. It’s the perfect album for someone who appreciates the elegant intricacies of country music; someone who doesn’t want to turn on the radio and be shocked or have their beliefs questioned; someone who just wants to relax and be entertained by a true Australian artist.

The rest of the album follows in this fashion. Each track is mellow, mysterious and bluesy. There are parts of the album where she reminds me of Sia Furler, I think this is because they both share this kind of raw emotion that translates wonderfully to music. The lyrics are generally short and to the point, but layered and complex at the same time.

This whole album feels like an incredibly accurate artistic portrayal of what it feels like to get your heart broken. I am not going to lie; this is certainly not like her previous albums. It is dark…and maybe a tad depressing. But at the same time it is easy to listen to and works well as nice, chilled out background music. Norah has such a beautiful voice and she manages to completely hypnotise…even when she is singing about killing her cheating ex and his mistress. Quite a talent indeed.

3/5 Review by your new music editor Asten Nunn

I must begin this review with a confession.

I am not a heavy metal fan nor do I enjoy the slow, dreamy melodies of the blues genre, however I must admit that when I listened to this album I became enthralled and engaged in the mindblowing, mind-boggling sensory overload that is SleepFreak. Their debut self-titled EP SleepFreak is complete, and ready to hit the scene like a freight train. This album electrified the atmosphere inside my humble abode with addictive riffs and rockin’ melodies.

Ready to take on Australia and the rest of the world, Sleepfreak are setting out to rock the black skull and cross boned socks off of lil’ old Perth and leave their stain on the music scene for years to come. With a touch of Iron Maiden and a slither of 80s glam rock, SleepFreak have truly created an original and addictive sound that is equivalent to an orgasm for my ears.

4/5 Review by Jessica Paterson

‘The Story So Far’ is the perfect compilation of Urban’s greatest hits to date, including his newest hit ‘For You’, which is a testament to his growth as an artist as well as his admirable commitment to his family. Urban’s previous accolades include three Country Music Awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, four Grammys and in 2011 he was voted ‘Male Country Artist’ at the Teen Choice Awards. He has produced fourteen number one hits throughout his illustrious twenty-one year career and The Story So Far is proof of that, a celebration of his successes.

Keith Urban has openly and wholeheartedly dedicated his life to country music, but unlike other musicians he hasn’t let the music industry taint his integrity and his love of his art. “The Story So Far” is a 19-song-strong album oozing the countrified charm we have come to expect from Keith Urban.

3/5 Review by Madeline McKenzie

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Music

Blazin Entrails Blazin Entrails “Rockabilly with a dark twist”: That was the first thought I had in my head when I heard Blazin’ Entrails’ debut album.

The Perth trio combine rockabilly with punk rock’s psycho-feeling, together with lyrics about noir topics such as Satan and zombies.

The album starts off with ‘Ain’t Nothing For You Here’ which has a good road trip rockabilly-type feel that made me dance in my bedroom. This style continued throughout the album with a different type of feel good 50s Rock beat and lyrics about other scary things sung by front man Caleb D. Merrey. He sings them in a dark, low and gruesome voice which makes it perfect to fit the mood of every song in the album.

My favourite would be ‘Zombie Elvis Lives’ because it uses the same style as Elvis early tracks. It’s easily recognisable in the first couple of seconds with a upright bass beat played by Lee Reader on the double bass, and the light drumming from Walt Johnston. I also want to give a mention to the fantastic “Mickey” tribute in the hook of ‘Pink Mist’ which made me laugh, and the sexy, yet deadly vocals in ‘Lick my Boots’ from guest singer Tobi Lea Gogo.

Overall, if you love dark related things, hard-core metal sounds of the Gretsch guitar, and yet you miss the rockabilly feel, then you will definitely want this album on your iPod. 3/5 Review by James Blackburn

Air Supply The Ultimate Collection

Aesop Rock Skelethon

Air Supply might not be as well known as other Australian bands of the late 1970s or 1980s but their impact on global culture has been just as keenly felt, and references to their work continue to appear in some strange places.

Aesop Rock the prominent, almost notorious, underground hip hop figure has returned after five years to deliver his next album Skelethon. Featuring himself returning as rapper and also introducing himself as the prominent producer of his beats. It has certainly provided interesting results. Aesop’s style has always relied heavily on his incredible lyrical and esoteric technicality, which often leaves you gobsmacked and completely in the cultural dark. He effortlessly speeds through abstract concepts, annotations, juxtaposed sayings, metaphors and wordplay. This album certainly delivers.

Air Supply’s recently released compilation offering The Ultimate Collection is an album for new listeners and old fans alike, providing a crosssection of their career and their hits from the last 30 years. Songs about being loved, loving someone, loving yourself, being in love, being out of love or any combination of the above provide the structure and themes to this quintessentially 80s sounding album.

Their tunes are vague but catchy and perfect for anyone who likes to wallow alone in their misery after a relationship goes south.

Unlike many other ‘greatest hits’ albums that seem to lack half of a band’s hits The Ultimate Collection thankfully, features all their classics. Songs such as ‘Making Love Out of Nothing At All’ originally composed by the power-ballad powerhouse Jim Steinman, the aforementioned ‘Lost In Love’, ‘All Out Of Love’, ‘Even The Nights Are Better’, ‘The One That You Love’ and ‘Here I Am’ are all present and accounted for.

For more hardcore beats fans, it’s a crowd divider. The beats this time have a much closer relation to the lyrics and it’s clear to see that Aesop has been wide awake during his years off making new tracks.

That’s not to say that they’re any more easily digestible — have they ever been though? If Blockhead’s production value to Aesop’s earlier career was any clue, off key humour and quirky funness in beatmaking are a clear love to him and appear once again with songs like ‘Racing Stripes’ and ‘Grace’. Yet he still slams down societal hypocrisy lyrically in ways so eloquently pleasing you’ll be surprised at how many levels he’s really hitting on.

Air Supply provide the kind of quintessential 80s music you need when you’ve just broken up, or suffer from a need to impress your friends with obtuse musical knowledge. You’ll like them if you like America, Little River Band and anything labelled ‘classic soft rock’.

That said, the best thing to see on an Aesop album is the even deeper and darker songs, like the first album single ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, ‘Cycles to Gehenna’ and ‘Tetra’ seeing a total flip in tune, moral anguish and contemplation writhing through his vocabulary, and on these ones even Aesop’s giving no clues about what he’s really saying.

4/5

5/5

Review by Warren Argus

Review by Brennan Peers

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