Cub 521

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CUB Issue 521

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WELCOME TO

CUB 473 Roman Road, Bow

This is the first issue back in February, so happy New Year. By the Chinese New Year, this is the year of the tiger. Very fitting for Cub. Have a good year – remember, you’re grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!

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2010 wont know

what hit it

it’s the 5th issue Editors List sam cunningham rebecca ngakane Amy Prior Chinazo Ufodiama Emma Hyner James Snee Tim Arscott James Ingrey

(editor) (sub Editor) (Arts) (fashion) (features) (Technology) (Music) (Opinions)

Design & layout by luke ngakane / James Brasted / Leanne Blair / Thomas Digby / Xanthiia Hallisey Rebecca Reynolds / Billy Steel / Printed with thanks at A Special thanks to

Calverts Paperback

Printed using vegetable oil based inks on “Cyclus Offset” 100% recycled paper. All design, images & illustrations unless stated created by luke ngakane - www.justluke.co.uk Cub is a registered newspaper with the post office and is published by Queen Mary Student Union. The views expressed within this or any publication under the title of Cub do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, section editors, Queen Mary Students’ Union, or Queen Mary.

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THE CUB TEAM

Another year, another decade. Another term. It all starts so well with good intentions and good ideas. “I will do essays the day I receive them… I will attend every lecture, on time… I will go to the gym more… I will stop drinking… I will eat healthily…” (The list could go on, forever.) But who actually ever keeps their New Years’ resolutions? We have reached 2010 and the planet is just about still here. A nuclear war hasn’t broken out, the Sun hasn’t exploded and the Arctic hasn’t melted causing mass floods – yet. But we need to be careful. The environment is fast becoming the hottest topic in the world and problems appear to be rising rapidly over the horizon. Why not set yourself something simple and achievable for the year? Make a tiny bit of effort to put recyclable materials in the pink bin bags Tower Hamlet’s Council so kindly provides for free. Or walk down the road to the shops instead of getting the bus. Or even read a little about what’s happening to the world. It’s not that hard.

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BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET BY RACHEL TAYLOR

W

good-time girl in 1940s New York is nothing short of a masterpiece. Though it was later made famous by Blake Edwards’s film version, this stage adaption stays utterly faithful to the original novella.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is definitely a WestEnd must-see, if only for the dazzling cast. Just don’t expect a grand set or impressive props - this play relies only on the Manhattan Skyline for the backdrop to such a brilliant performance.

Forget the Hollywood movie, this Holly Golightly is a wittier, darker creature, given Darling, it’s fabulous. to singing Kurt Weill by the fire escape. She captivates men (naked sunbathing, anyone?), has a ritzy night-life and has a heart as big as her hat. Nevertheless, it is her compassion that proves her undoing. Though Anna may not be quite as beautiful as Hepburn, she reaches greater dramatic depth, capturing the fear and solitude that lies behind Holly’s glamorous façade. And glamorous it is. If truth be told, I would have paid good money just to sit and admire Friel’s costumes. An array of chic yet spectacular cocktail dresses, each of them garnished with oversized accessories – the ultimate one being her ginger ‘no-name slob’ cat, who also earned himself several rounds of applause.

hen Anna Friel first arrived on stage in nothing but a towel and a blonde wig, there was an air of confusion. The audience, me included, had expected a Holly Golightly inspired by the iconic Audrey Hepburn; a conservative brunette dressed head to toe in her trademark colour (black, The man in question, William ‘Fred’ for those of you who are unacquainted) and Parsons, is played wonderfully by Joseph Cross. While seeming a little baby-faced at decked out in pearls. first, he gradually grows into the role and his But, you see, this play is full of surprises. love for Holly is unquestionably convincing. That is unless you are familiar with the The rest of the cast are equally as accurate works of Truman Capote, the American - with Madame Spanella, the soprano in writer responsible for creating the jewel of the flat above, providing the audience with a tale that is Breakfast at Tiffany’s. His story some light-hearted humour. about a young writer’s relationship with a

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Article - Rachel Taylor Design - James Brasted

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If Shakespeare lived in my endz, he’s talk like dis.

As I leave Knightsbridge Station and wander past Harrods I wonder where an ‘at risk’ teenage theatre group could possibly fit into this glamorous environment. But as you enter the St Saviour’s Church, you forget the gleaming lights of the West End, as the theatre company immerses you in a realistic tale of gang culture and street violence in London, adapted from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

from the rival school, ‘Harvey Nicks High’. Caesar wants to put his violent past behind him and decides to win support from his fellow classmates by running for Head Prefect. Unfortunately he appears too ambitious for some students and a secret revolt is planned by Kassie, who convinces Brutus and their faithful followers that the only way to stop Caesar succeeding is to get rid of him for good.

Starting with an introduction in the foyer by the company’s artistic director Darren Raymond, the audience is told how each cast member has become involved in the project in a bid to avoid the lifestyle of growing up on the streets. Each actor based their character on their own personal experiences of violence, addiction and poverty.

The real praise in this performance must go to the talented young actors, especially those who played Brutus and Caesar, whilst the actress who played Kassie was truly outstanding. These main characters each devised a soliloquy whereby they tried to explain the reasons behind their defiant behaviour and aggressive attitudes. The scene where Kassie explains her behaviour is due to her drug addicted mother was particularly poignant and scarily realistic as many audience members shed a tear or two, as her silent mother injects heroin in the background. The tight space Raymond had to work with challenged his cast, but they responded creatively as the cast members created a noisy, chaotic classroom scene, while they rear-

We are led upstairs to the converted seating and the action kicks off with the cast at their desks in ‘Harrods High’. In the first scene we learn one girl, Murellus, has been expelled but this appears to be quite normal as the actors display disruptive behaviour and no intention to further their education. J Caesar enters the scene as we learn he has come

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Article - Andrea Marquis

ranged the set. At times the London street slang accents often proved difficult to understand, but the interspersed Shakespearean lines succeeded in subverting the elitist attitude often associated with Shakespeare. This innovative piece of drama has the vision to tell the tale of the tragedy of Julius Caesar’s murder whilst also locating the drama in a very modern and relevant ‘street’ context. The use of a mostly black teenage cast, made the issues discussed very pressing considering the recent spate of gang honour killings involving knives and guns; very appropriate to the climate we live in. Wasted is an energetic exploration of the reasons behind street violence, but the Intermission Theatre company do a fantastic job of showing onstage in the unfolding drama, what they want to avoid in real life through the project. This powerful take on Julius Caesar proves that projects such as this make Shakespeare available and accessible to the youth of today, as the actor who played Marc Anthony said ‘If Shakespeare lived in my endz, he’s talk like dis’.

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THE SACRED MADE REAL THE SACRED MADE REAL NATIONAL GALLERY BY MARK SEDGLEY Outside of the National Gallery, on the day of my visit, was a large menorah in celebration of the Jewish festival of light: Hanukkah. Religious symbols, buildings and images now surround us in our everyday lives. The gallery’s current exhibition focuses on one very particular type of religious art. It contains sculptures and paintings from 17th century Spain, created largely as a result of the counter-reformation. On display are works from all over Spain, alongside some work from the gallery’s permanent collection. The sculptures on display, mostly by Juan Martínez Montañés and Pedro de Mena, are frighteningly life-like. These 350-year-old works are still sometimes paraded through the streets of Spanish cities during the holy week. Newer works are placed on the floor

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Article - Mark Sedgley Design - James Brasted

of chapels, so that they can be prayed next Zubarán’s ‘Saint Serapion’ is poignant but is unable to display the same kind of pain seen to and kissed. in the polychrome sculptures. The attempt Depictions of the Passion of Christ are to place painting alongside sculpture in especially visceral and haunting. The Christ order to show how the hyperrealism of both of Gregorio Fernández’s ‘Ecce Homo’ stares shows two-way influence is not completely forlornly, flagellated, wearing nothing but a successful. The result is that the paintings loincloth. As a representation of human end up seeming a little lackluster alongside suffering it resonates beyond its religious the more graphic depictions of Christ. subject matter. Its glass eyes stare at the viewer; its gaze can be met as if it is a real Overall though, the exhibition is illuminating person. But it is the colour, painted on to the and well worth the £4 entry price charged to wooden sculpture by an unknown painter students. It has certainly led me to rethink that brings the work to life. The realism of my previously negative views on religious all of these works reminds the viewer of the art. The powerful nature of ‘The Sacred Made Real’ to shock the senses is really suffering undergone by Christ. quite impressive. Some of the paintings in the exhibition are interesting but there is a sense that Entry: Full Price £8, Students £4. they, or something very similar, can just Open Daily until 24th January 10am-6pm, be seen elsewhere. The paintings here Friday until 9pm. do not quite reach the level of the Italian religious art by artists such as Michelangelo and Caravaggio, for example. Francisco de

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It’s not like the planet isn’t suffering enough. It’s not as if we don’t have enough problems without the gas guzzling, bigger-than-myhouse Jeeps and Range Rovers clogging up our streets. We already know about the increase in road tax for huge petrol sucking vehicles like SUVs, and the not so enthusiastic way this news was received by the owners of these machines. Fair enough, the prices have gone up, but by around a fiver. Is a measly £5 really adequate to reverse the damage done over the last 50 years and save the planet? I’m going with no. But ok, it’s better than nothing. Or is it? The owners of these cars, instead of feeling guilty, and outraged at the huge increase in road tax, are laughing at the mediocrity of it all. An extra £5 a year? Sure, why not? I might just buy another Jeep! So, considering these monsters are one of the many things sucking the life out of the planet, it seems that we need a list courtesy of ‘The Independent.com’ detailing the 10 best SUVs. The headline of this little article was enough to beg the question: Haven’t we done enough damage? Are we not now repaying the debt for all the carelessness from a few decades ago? Taking easyJet flights every weekend, 3 or 4 cars in every home,

leaving the heating on even when we’re not home? Cars do enough damage, and will continue to do so until the end of time? Is the population that careless and selfish that we continue to feel the need to buy big, expensive flashy cars? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t noticed an increase in recycling either. There are the 3 recycling bins at the top of my road, but I’m inclined to think people are just using them as giant dustbins, as opposed to actually wanting to help the environment. People still leave the tap on when brushing their teeth, still wash their clothes at 30 degrees* and never put their laptops on standby. Considering this, maybe we should stop trying to save the planet, and just have some fun? Let’s be honest, we’re not the ones that have to deal with it. Let the future generations worry about it... we’ll all be dead anyway. But does that mean we don’t have any love left for our beautiful (?) **Planet Earth? Do we not care if it goes to the dogs and ends up exploding? Now, more than ever is the time to make sure we have a sustainable, healthy environment for our kids, and their kids and their pet hamsters. Do your bit, recycle, turn off your electricals and don’t take too long brushing your teeth. If all that fails, buy a G-Whizz, and feel a bit better about yourself. You’ve done your part. *what’s wrong with 30? thats the cold wash good for the environment...60’s the bad one I think? ** do you not know how to spell it or are you querying the sentiment?

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Article - Tasnim Kapasi

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Palestinian Alarm Clock For a long time, certain things have been taboo to talk about in our modern western society. There has always been something to get us all riled up and agitated. Riled up, yes, but hardly ever so angry that we actively dispute against whatever it is that we don’t agree with and do something about it. Most of us just tend to sit there and deal with it, or have a moan on Facebook. People will always have their opinions, and will be free to demonstrate these opinions in whatever way they see fit. That is, my friends, the power of the freedom of speech. And I’m very grateful for it. I’m no political activist, and I’m not going to be one starting a campaign about the War in Iraq or Co2 (although I sometimes feel like I should). But I would like to think that if I want to take the piss out of global warming, it’s entirely up to me. This is why I was a disheartened at the reaction to a video I posted on Facebook recently. The video, from one of the most legendary cartoons of all time (Family Guy) is called Pal-

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Article - Tasnim Kapasi

estinian Alarm Clock. For those of you that have not seen this highly humorous video, I shall describe. An alarm clock goes off at 7am, and the tone erupting out of it is ‘Allahuakbar!’ After which the alarm clock blows up and creates a massive hole in the ceiling.

even went far enough to tell me that I don’t deserve to be a Muslim. Harsh. I apologise for trying to share some laughs. I believe that being Muslim myself, it’s entirely up to me if I decide to make fun of my own religion. And even though it’s true that the video is offensive to some people, why not take it with a pinch of salt, and lighten up a bit? Why is it only OK to have an opinion when it fits in with what everyone else is thinking? I obviously don’t agree with terrorism or suicide bombing, but at a time in the economy when everything sucks, should we not try to make the best of every situation?

I will admit that my initial reaction was confusion between whether to laugh, or to feel slightly offended. I felt offended, for all of 2 minutes, and then proceeded to enjoy the controversial but highly entertaining comedy. ‘Allahu-akbar’ is a Muslim phrase, meaning ‘Allah is the greatest’. Of course, I can see the offence that this little clip would cause to the more die-hard Muslims in society, but never would I have imagined the uproar I Maybe some people are just narrow minded, maybe Family Guy, like caviar, is an acquired would witness for sharing a video. taste. Or maybe, people need to learn to Although many people ‘liked’ the video and laugh a bit more, because let’s be honest, if said it made them chuckle, the amount of you don’t laugh, you’re a bit of a loser. friends who moaned at me for posting such an offensive video took me by surprise. It was apparently ‘offensive,’ ‘showed no re- Disclaimer: I apologise if anyone took ofspect for religion’, ‘is horrible towards all cul- fence to being called a loser. I might get in tures’ and ‘should be banned’. One person trouble again.

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Budget Jones’ Diary New Years is such an anti-climax: it is safe to say all the excitement is definitely in the lead up. The only reminders I have of it are an extremely untidy house and a number of undesirable tagged photos on Facebook. I always wake up the next day with that guilty feeling that today should be the first day of the rest of my life, but unfortunately it turns out to be just another day of watching trash TV and pretending my diet will start tomorrow. Having said that, I have attempted to create a list of realistic and promising resolutions for 2010 involving cutting down, cutting back, and of course, cutting up.

I was all ready to crack open my cupcake money bank, it being sale season and all, when it hit me: new year, new loan! Number one: I will not splurge unnecessarily - this is troublesome in itself, because what counts as necessary nowadays? Unnecessary – if I have the item in my wardrobe already or it costs over £50. Done. Number two: I will recycle, by that I mean customising. In an attempt to create my very own Balmainesque torn jeans I began ripping mine to shreds. I now have three pairs of extremely tattered skinny jeans and half a dozen pairs of completely unwearable ones. Along with this, I decided that raiding other people’s wardrobes counts as recycling and

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so I headed straight for my boyfriend’s/best friend’s/dad’s wardrobes and gathered a fair amount of priceless pieces which may be unwanted Christmas presents for them, but another lumberjack shirt for me... So anyway, I was all ready to crack open my cupcake money bank, it being sale season and all, when it hit me: new year, new loan! Back went the cupcake and out came my debit card. I was bopping along to Gaga’s new album, making my way through the shops in my biker boots (which have kept their promise of sustaining all weathers), when I began noticing a number of girls in short shorts. Sequinned, denim, high-waisted, baggy; there is clearly room for variety with this trend. Shorts aren’t exactly an item of clothing I would associate with winter, but team them with a pair of thick tights and some boots and suddenly I’m good to go. With this in mind, I thought about taking the scissors to some more jeans but decided it was probably best to see what was on offer first. American Apparel came top of the shops in my search for the coolest shorts, I left with some itsy bitsy acid wash ones and some super-retro cycling ones- I may live to regret the latter. Whilst wondering where my gym card had got to, I took a trip to one of my secret gems: the Marc by Marc Jacobs store. It was here I had scored myself a pair of those must-have wellies for just £14, which had their use during festival season and are now equally as handy. I think wellies might be the ultimate all-rounder? As for winter taking its toll on my coatigan, I thought now would be as good a time as any to buy that worn-in beige-brown fur coat I had been lusting after, and at £49.99 I wasn’t even breaking any of my own rules!

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BOOK “ BUS PROJECT

The Book Bus is a mobile library based in Livingstone, Zambia, which visits local community schools to inspire creativity and promote reading for fun

NEW year, new adventures

New Year’s resolutions: drink less, work harder, spend less? So your plans for 2010 probably don’t include spending a ton of money going to the opposite side of the world, but just humour me for a moment. The Book Bus is a mobile library based in Livingstone, Zambia, which visits local community schools to inspire creativity and promote reading for fun, as the only books many children will see are textbooks. Volunteers use books and craft materials (usually including large quantities of glitter!) from the bus to plan fun sessions to run with small groups of children, for example reading Elmer and then making elephant hats, or for older children, writing stories after reading the ever popular You Choose. The volunteers and the brightly coloured bus (decorated by Quentin Blake) are met with a warm welcome at the schools, where the children are so eager to learn, despite the poor conditions in which they are educated. Classrooms are often overcrowded, with the sheer volume of pupils meaning that the only way the teachers can think to teach them is by endless copying down of information from the board. Despite this, we

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Design - Thomas Digby

were told that one day when the Book Bus arrived at one of the schools, the teachers were on strike, but the small hut (big enough for 10 people, used to teach 40-50 children) contained a class of pupils, who had turned up anyway, in the hope that someone might come to teach them. After visiting the schools, volunteers have plenty of free time to explore Livingstone, relax or perhaps do something a little more exciting: Livingstone itself is located just a bus ride away from the breathtaking Victoria Falls, and the area also offers lots of crazy activities perfect for adrenaline junkies. Bungee jumping and white water rafting are the classics, but I would personally recommend gorge swinging- jumping off a cliff into a gorge, with several seconds of free fall before the elastic catches and you swing around admiring the view, before being lowered to the bottom of the gorge to prepare for the somewhat tiring walk back up to do it all again. Stepping off that cliff was both the most terrifying thing I have ever done, and the best fun I’ve ever had! One activity that doesn’t come quite so highly

recommended is canoeing: two of my fellow volunteers signed up for it, expecting a nice relaxing time on the Zambezi river, only to find themselves having to canoe as fast as possible to get away from approaching hippos! For the less adventurous (or simply more sensible!) among you, there are also many safari opportunities to see the African wildlife, either in Zambia, or on a day or weekend trip to Chobe National Park, in nearby Botswana. Zambia is an amazing country full of friendly, happy people, despite the fact that 4 in 5 people live on less than $1 per day, and the median age is 17 (compared to 40 in the UK), largely due to the high prevalence of HIV/ AIDS, which kills 56 000 Zambians each year. This year, the Book Bus is being launched in Ecuador as well, and will also have a project for six weeks in Meheba, a refugee camp in northern Zambia. Whilst each tribe in Zambia has its own language, the official language is English, and this is what is spoken in schools, so there is no language barrier for volunteers interested in this

project. However, for the Ecuador project, GCSE level Spanish or a willingness to spend time at a language school in Ecuador prior to joining the bus is necessary. Bad points? Erm, the showers at the campsite are sometimes cold and you will be coerced into buying a load of random crap from the market. Also, the bus is a converted London bus and completely unsuitable for the Zambian roads, so seatbelts are essential! On a serious note, it is a bit more expensive than your average holiday. Including flights, gorge swinging, immunisations and everything else, my two week trip (longer trips are possible) cost a little over £1500, but if you do a bit of fundraising, the amount you have to pay can be a lot less than this. I did a ‘bag pack’ and made over £300, and that was at a small M & S in a little town called Durham, so in a bigger shop, this figure could potentially be a lot more! Seriously, if there’s any way you can afford it, I cannot stress enough how great an experience volunteering with the Book Bus is, so check it out at www.thebookbus.org.

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Florence & her machine

Florence and the Machine rapidly rose to fame during 2009, touring, playing festivals and picking up awards including the Brits Critics Choice and UK Festival Awards Best Breakthrough Act. Having just been nominated for best British breakthrough, best female & best album at the upcoming Brit Awards, we thought it was about time CUB popped round to meet Florence and her mum Evelyn Welch* to discuss the music industry, where Florence got her quirky creativity from and what she could have done if she wasn’t a singer...

Would you say your still creative video was just my friends and I down in Cedar Woods with some costumes. It was artistically? fun. We scared a lot of dog walkers. But F: I think now, with the band and with doing it was really nice, I really felt like it was a this, there’s so much visual stuff involved, good representation of what I wanted from with making the video and doing the the music and from then on I learnt to be artwork, it’s kind of like an ongoing project very strict with how it’s done. Because it’s going to be you up there, you have to make in itself. sure it’s going to be accurate with how it’s Are you heavily involved in the done. I’m very much now more in control. design and artwork of your You have to learn these things, there’s no Pop Star manual. songs and videos?

F: Yeah it’s important to be. You’re trying to You’ve said in the past you’re represent yourself and the music visually, so influenced by songs as opposed it has to be an accurate portrayal of whatever to artists… it is you’re trying to say in your music. Music is about creating an environment and you Florence: That’s true. Me and my friend want to be able to recreate that environment Sophie used to have this list – we got really in the visual sense as well. obsessed with making lists – we had a list of all the best songs in the world and we So is it nicer working with a would constantly add to the list, I’ve got it smaller group of people you around somewhere. [Goes to find it]. know on your videos? Evelyn: Florence is looking for things in F: I think I’m quite a control freak. I get her room – that may take some time. quite uncomfortable about doing things that aren’t quite right. So I think it’s good that our F: [Returning with a battered notebook] thing’s small, because I have a very fixed Here you go, I’ve found it. There’s loads idea of what I want. It’s good I can keep on of them; Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy top of that – it’s good to be in charge. Division, Fairy Tales of New York by The Pogues, Zorba The Greek, Johnny Cash’s A Do your videos end up exactly as Boy Names Sue, Just Dropped In by Kenny you had in mind then? Rogers – that’s another amazing one, I’m a Slave 4 U by Britney, Paul Simon’s 50 Ways F: NO! The first video was a disaster – I To Leave Your Lover, god there’s some hated it. The guy who directed it is a very really bad ones in there. nice man, I really love him, but I hated that

How do you create your songs? F: I really like to work with people; I think the most creative things come from collaboration. If I sit in a room by myself, I almost block myself. I need people to bounce off. Do you write yourself?

the

lyrics

by

F: I write all the lyrics myself, but I write songs with people. I’ve written a lot of songs where me and Paul Epworth or me and Izza will sit down and either I’ll come up with a piano riff or chord structure or they will. It’s a really collaborative thing, but the lyrics are all mine.

I’ve been writing a lot more in the studio. Before I had a band my songs were more like folk stories really that I’d put to music. They were very complicated and they’d very rarely have a chorus. It’s much more a kind of story with a beginning, middle video unfortunately. But it was my first video and end. But now working with the music When did you start making the so I didn’t really know what was expected. encourages me to think about a chorus, the way you might move to a song and from list? there sparks off the lyrics. E: that was Dog Days… F: We did this list when I was like 17, I think. I did all these cartoons about my emotional F: No, Dog Days was great! That’s the Kiss Where does your creativity come teenage life in this book as well – very, very with a Fist video. It was my first video so from? embarrassing. But they’re good, some of I couldn’t really say anything about it. So them. I got in to do illustration at Art College, from learning from that experience, I did F: My mum’s very creative. It was really by literally handing in my diary. I hadn’t really everything more in-house. I just worked interesting going to see her lecture. It done any work, so I said ‘have that’. with my friends after that. The Dog Days was like watching someone perform in a

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* As some of you might have noticed Evelyn is also the head of the Arts Faculty here at Queen Mary

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way. I’d never really seen that side of her before. She was really commanding and engaging, holding the room and holding the audience’s attention. In the lecture she was going into great detail about this one pair of Renaissance gloves, but she was asking questions about them, considering all these factors, it was a really creative way of looking at it. Do you think about what your songs will mean to other people when you write them?

van. That was the MGMT tour when we supported them. My dad was the tour manager; he was driving us around in his camper van. There was three of us and we used to split it and get just over 15 Euros each. E: And now she has to be three nights on, one night off – constantly. It’s very, very hard. I look at that and I’m impressed. I have a great insight into the music economy and I’m less impressed with that. One of the problems is that a student might think the music business is not the real world; that it’s a bubble and that being a student is the hard work, that if they could just make it as a famous person…

F: In the second album I think I’ve been writing a bit more about bigger topics rather than just how I feel. More about the way I see the world. It is interesting to think what people are getting from it, but I’ve some F: It’s REALLY hard work . I wouldn’t want very interesting things said to me about to do anything else as I love making music what my songs mean! but if you look at my schedule for the next year it’s crazy. A lot are about love, is this from experience? That ethic from a young age is

impressive… F: There’s four main topics in any kind of art – sex, violence, love and death. F: I’ve always sung and I always had that fear that it would slip away and I would E: [laughing] Aristotle would have other never do anything with it. That’s why I’m so things to say! grateful for everything that’s happening at the moment and I’m really excited because F: I think when I was writing songs, I it’s an amazing opportunity. But it is an wanted to write the things that would seem opportunity so you have to make the best of as if they could have been written in any it. I don’t want to waste it. time period. What theme was relevant ten years ago? A mobile phone ten years from So this is what you see yourself now in a song might not be so relevant continuing to do? whereas love, death or violence will always be relevant. F: I’m excited about the second album. We’ll Evelyn, what do you think of the just see what happens. I’d like to eventually music business? make enough money to move out!

F: I got an A in art too, and [quieter] a C in History. Those three A Levels are really hard – the history one especially, that was tough. My mum’s always been very on board and ready to help me.. E: Well I’d say I’ve always encouraged her. Would you prefer Florence to study? E: I’m an academic and that’s the world that I know. And I do think that one of the lovely things about the academic world is that you can always go to university. Florence had an offer at Queen Mary to read English and Drama. She got in, but she then decided that she wanted to pursue her creative side, so she took up an offer to do foundation year at Camberwell – as far as I’m concerned that’s fantastic. She knows she can go to university if she wants to. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what background you’ve got, in fact sometimes it’s even better when you’ve had a real life experience to come back into higher education. I think the idea that one is exclusive from the other is something I feel quite passionately isn’t the case. would you ever consider going back to university? F: I really think I would enjoy it. I loved Art College, having studio space to just sit in and having a purpose to create things. That’s what I do now. I really enjoyed it. I think it’s always nice to think I could go back. I’d love to study English Literature. What would be your best advice for a student with a passion for singing?

E: I’m genuinely, extraordinarily proud of what Florence does. And partly because what Florence does is bloody hard work. It’s not Simon Cowell-style where you get discovered and six months later you get a million pounds. It just isn’t like that. Florence has been doing this since she was 16 and, five years later, after a huge amount of slogging, working…

E: The music business is based around F: I just sang everywhere and anywhere. having to repay your record company. Wherever I could. Usually quite drunk, but F: It’s like having a student loan except I wouldn’t advice that! It was a kind of endthis one is BIG and they start taking it back of-the-night thing, there’d be an open mic straight away. But I wouldn’t want to do and I’d just be singing. Just do it. If you anything else. I’d be miserable if I wasn’t love to do it, just keep doing it. You might doing this. All my family do really worthy think you’re the wrong brand. It’s all an jobs like being teachers or doctors and I just experience and you’ll find something that you think fits. Do little gigs, once a week. mess around. Through doing them you’ll know what kind F: Crying… travelling…. What has happened in your life of an artist you want to be. Keep at it. Don’t worry too much about specifics, wanting E: You used to be paid 50 Euros per gig. outside of music? to know exactly what you’re about. Give F: [laughing] It was one of the funnest E: Florence got an A in her English A-Level. yourself time to evolve with the noise. tours, though, driving around in a camper

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Interview - Sam Cunningham & Luke Ngakane

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l Lo On Nd Do On N Ne A G ge En Va Ev LONDON/GEMEVA Love in direct and in duplex

Aileen and Rudy* love each other of a tender love, but how to deal with it when hundreds of kilometres separate them one from another? Well the bottom line is really as it is for all couples: we fuck, we scream, we wait, we suspect each another but via internet, which increases and deforms everything. Hot testimony of those two lovers of the love affair, which in spite of the long distance, has been going on for three years. “Dreams of wild love with you, idyllic wakeup call”, “love you a hundred should I say a thousand times,”... Morning exchange of SMS between Aileen and Rudy. “He is with another one,” decrees Aileen when the telephone rings in space. “Never there when it is necessary,” roars Rudy when opening his empty e-mail box. Long-distance love

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sometimes makes them lose their minds. communication that makes it possible. They admit that to embark on this adventure They look like two teenagers, Scotch-taped to their Gameboys - yes, yes, the big grey was a little bit crazy from the beginning. thing that looks like a shoe box - phone and Chapter One. Rudy and Aileen bump into internet - they make love via SMS. each other in the corridors of high school. They kiss each other on the last day of the The virtual couple tries to remain real. year and instantly fall in love. But one year Impossible without Chapter Three: reunions later, with the entry into the university at regular intervals. Rudy and Aileen are not world, it is a life of continual comings and androids. Two months of separation (maybe goings that begins between Switzerland three) are the maximum to avoid the insults: and England, 463 miles, 745 km of distance. “You abandoned me alone in your fucking Optimist Rudy wants to believe in it: “The stupid country!” The desperation: “I am distance will allow us to love each other nothing without you!” The threats: “if you without walking on each other’s feet and don’t come to see me, I’m leaving you!” The doubts: “Where does this story lead us?” without getting bored.” and the lack deserving of the worst opium The second chapter is virtual. Rudy and addict. Aileen love each other through modern

Article - Aileen Schwass Design - Thomas Digby

The Chapter Four only finds sense because Rudy and Aileen have a fateful date, 16th June 2011, when their life restarts again together. After three years of estrangement. They then admit that the distance has been good because it rhymes with reunited - nights of crazy love, of presents and excitement. It also rhymes with future and “normal” life due to having waited for it so long. The last chapter is simply their love story.

WE we

FUCK fuck

we WE

scream SCREAM

WE we

WAIT wait

*Any resemblance to the author of the article is assumed!

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The Real America I know this article is meant to be about travel. I just spent my whole Christmas holidays in America, in San Diego and cruising around Mexico with my family. You probably want to hear about living in a hostel for a week, dealing with family after so long and about the amazing and beautiful places that we visited. And I will get to that, I swear. But first I have to talk about obsessions. So basically I am going to talk about my hair. No joke, the braids are no more and this is a problem. If you’ve read my articles before, you may have looked at all those pictures with crazily sunny backgrounds and thought, ‘yeah that one, that’s the bitch who keeps gloating’ (or maybe you’re thinking nice things, I can always hope!) but in all of those photos, I had braids and looked like everybody else... and now life and money intervened, so I have an afro. I have two main reasons for having an afro right now: peer pressure and a lack of money to get microbraids. The money part is dull. The peer pressure, however, should make you laugh. Because I had my afro for two weeks before the holidays... and before I could escape, people became attached to it, physically as well as emotionally. I spent our holiday meal get-together being told to keep the afro; I would get cornered on the sofa, so people could play with the afro; I had my flatmate ‘frohawk it (redefining the Mohawk) for a ‘school project’ – she was just desperate to find an excuse to do the hairstyle and I caved for a homework assignment. I was berated from all sides with people who wanted an afro and were happy to live vicariously through me. All the meanwhile, my hair was being ignored by me and was slowly dredlocking itself... please don’t judge me. One browbeating by a hairdresser later, I finally conceded to start doing necessary stuff like washing and conditioning my hair and this was the Mistake because afros get grabbed. Basically, you meet many strange people on a cruise but for some reason, my family always seemed to attract the strangest ones. We had the year of the man who brought his wife, two kids and mistress (plus her son too) on a cruise together... There was the cruise where every time we stepped onto an island, either me or my sister would get proposed to. There was the time we found my sister’s twin (who was half black, half Indian and five years younger than her, yet looked exactly the same). And this cruise we met The Family That Everyone Wants To Escape From.

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Column - Rebecca Ngakane

My parents met The Family one hour into the cruise. They had ‘spotted us’ (their words, not mine) and saw their children were roughly the same age as us. My parents, foolishly, chatted back and told them where we would be later that day. They showed up and the nightmare started. I am twenty and immature at times, however never again will I sit through a fifteen year old telling me that we should be facebook friends (immediately after introducing herself), so that (I quote) her friends would be jealous that she had a load of English friends. Yes. She was trying to collect me. Her mum then asked us what we were doing on the island stops on the cruise and then told us that we should be doing what they were doing. And the dad invited my brother to go on a supervised clubbing excursion with him in Acapulco... my brother is nearly 22 and, to my knowledge, has never gone clubbing with somebody’s parents. And their son, who had seemed to be a normal person at first, grabbed my hair every time he got drunk. Bearing in mind that after that awful first meeting, I made a point of avoiding them, he would walk past me and grab my hair, grin as though it was okay and then walk away. And he wasn’t the only one. My waiter couldn’t help himself either. Nor could strangers I met on the first time. Nor could my new friends I met travelling and so I have made a discovery: If you do not have an English accent, you can still rule the world. You just need to have an afro and a really high tolerance for being petted. Thankfully, I have the accent. I may get braids soon. Sidenote: I have a tiger suit now because of my superawesome brother. And like every normal person, I took one look at the adult-sized onesie and went “right, let’s wear this to my first day of classes and see what happens!” So at 8am (no kidding, my classes actually start then) I walked into my first class dressed like a tiger. And the whole day was hilarious. I have stopped cars and buses because people think they are seeing things. I have had slightly-creepy people take pictures. I had one girl scream at me “I want one” and I have decided that it is a necessary part of everyone’s lives. If you have ever walked past a kid dressed as an animal and thought ‘jealous’, then be warned: in September I will be wearing this to class on random days. If you don’t have one by then, I have no sympathy for you!

Tiger Style - Rebecca Ngakane

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Our November Cub Captures - photos sent in by Acacia Young, Anna Hiscocks, Sophie Richardson Mark Rodgerson, Luke Ngakane, Jenny Rice, Anon

want to show us your Best photos from the month send them to us at photos@cubmagazine.co.uk

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As this is the first issue of CUB for 2010, we the CUB fashion team thought it’d be the perfect time to make some fashion resolutions – so it’s out with the old and in with the new...

Chinazo Ufodiama I’m going to... try and be a bit braver with prints as my wardrobe is a bit too plain and monotonous. I’m also trying to avoid doting on my everfaithful LBD for nights out! And I’m getting rid of... my silver hot-pants. Purchased for a space themed party and kept in the hope that cyber-chic may become top of the fashion stakes. In reality such a thing is entirely unfathomable.

Amy Bowles I’m going to... Find those perfect brogues (and avoid the S/S underwearas-outerwear look!) And I’m getting rid of... Leggings! Opaque tights will always be more chic.

fashion resolutions Chinazo Ufodiama I’m going to... try and be a bit braver with prints as my wardrobe is a bit too plain and monotonous. I’m also trying to avoid doting on my ever-faithful LBD for nights out! And I’m getting rid of... my silver hot-pants. Purchased for a space themed party and kept in the hope that cyber-chic may become top of the fashion stakes. In reality such a thing is entirely unfathomable.

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Design - Xanthia Hallissey

Joss Meek

Caitlin Morley

Sophie Burke

I’m going to… I want to perfect the ultimate ratio of girly and butch/ punk and Barbie clothing. The key for me is to keep the girly items at a minimum. And I’m getting rid of... my knitted poncho. I’ve had it since 2006 and haven’t worn it since 2007. I’ve whipped it out a few times in the privacy of my bedroom, only to find it can’t look good anymore! Mature women look great in ponchos!

I’m going to... dress a little sexier. I always dress quite cute so I want to try something out of my comfort zone. And I’m getting rid of… my pinstripe cropped jacket with puff sleeves. I’ve had it for ages, it just doesn’t fit me anymore, plus it doesn’t really go with anything in my wardrobe. It has to go.

I’m going to... wear more colour because I love grey far too much. And I’m getting rid of... As much as I love my favourite grey cardigan I’m going to attempt to put it at the back of my wardrobe for now and invest in some bright basics for spring from American Apparel.

Children of the revolution punk girl with fun mohawk, 2009, by Pink Sherbet Photography/ d.sharon pruitt and brogues, 2009, by Hustle Rose

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Heidi Rock At just 18 years old, Heidi Rock is most definitely a fresh face for the modelling industry. Having already secured huge campaigns with big names such as MAC and Lacoste, the New Year has probably got a lot to hold for Miss Rock. On top of having an incredible surname for this industry, she also has the full model package; at 5 foot 10 she is elegantly tall, with fantastic long legs, gorgeous curly locks and a face that is said to rival Kate Moss. It therefore comes as no surprise that rumours are flying everywhere, suggesting she could be the next Twiggy. Heidi’s beautiful, mottled eye colour (a mixture of deep green and deliciously chocolaty hazel) gives her an astounding uniqueness. Undoubtedly her signature, Heidi’s eyes set her apart from the rest of the new models of the moment. Having travelled all over the world, she is currently visiting Australia and hoping to break into the fashion industry down-under. After being on the front page of every newspaper in summer 2009 as Vivienne West-

wood’s chosen catwalk model, Heidi was well and truly thrust into the limelight. So beware: Heidi is about to take over the world of modelling in a big way. I caught up with Heidi in Crouch End, London to talk about her experience so far. So, how did it all start? Where were you? What were you up to when you got scouted? Heidi Rock: It was about 2 years ago; I was shopping in Crouch End with a friend after school. It was completely unexpected! What has your favourite job been so far? HR: My favourite job so far has got to be when I went to Austria. I was in the mountains with my friend and we were working with eagles; the clothes were amazing! Have you travelled a lot as a model? Where was your favourite place? HR: Yeah, I’ve been really lucky. I’ve been to loads of cool places. My favourite by far was San Francisco. The people and the shopping were so much fun. Do you have any aims for your modelling future? HR: My main aim for the future is to produce some really beautiful images and work with the most amazing photographers!

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Article - Joss Meek Design - Rebecca Reynolds

Can you tell our CUB readers what your favourite items of 2009 are? HR: My favourite style item of 2009 was (and still will be this year) Suspenders… oh and a good pair of flat shoes! I can’t get enough of them!

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the royal treatment velvet this winter Forget sequins this winter. Forget leather and lace. The New Year is all about velvet. This fabric has so much to offer to your 2010 wardrobe. Unlike the dazzling look of sequins or the casual air of leather, velvet is one of this season’s most versatile fabrics. Gone are the days when velvet was seen as dowdy, its return to the runway proves it is casual, playful and very sexy.

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Article - Caitlin Morley

Although the fabric itself has been around since 2000 BC, it was in the 14th century that it started to become popular. Without going into too much detail, it was the way that velvet was produced that made it so luxurious. The fact that it was created on a special loom by layering two pieces of silk fibre material made the item expensive. Velvet was only worn by the very rich who could afford it until cheaper fibres like cotton, lycra, and polyester were introduced. Nowadays, with ready to wear and high street interpretations of the trend, velvet is available to all. The great thing about velvet this season is that it embraces all shapes, budgets, and styles. The sense of luxury is no longer limited to the wealthy; everyone can have some extravagance in their wardrobe. In terms of ready to wear fashion, designers from every fashion capital brought new silhouettes to the trend. Lanvin and Elie Saab brought velvet to cocktail hour by creating long sleek dresses reminiscent of the 1930s. While other designers like Marc Jacobs and Christopher Kane decided to take a more edgy approach. Playing with length, texture, and colour they manage to update this trend for a younger audience. However the velvet trend isn’t limited to just clothes; accessories like hats in the latest Emporio Armani winter collection have also benefited from the trend. Crossing over to the high street and the masses seem to be enjoying the trend also. There is also a lot more choice and creativity of velvet products. Dorothy Perkins interprets the trend with a simple body conscious dress, giving you the opportunity to over accessorise or play it minimalistic. Skirts, jackets, and leggings are scattered across the high street in deep jewel tones like purple, teal, and sapphire. Even accessories like hair bands, handbags, and shoes sport the opulent trend. Why not start the New Year by giving yourself the royal treatment and sporting something velvet?

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foale and tuffin It’s what we want to wearit’s not serious’ said Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin of their iconic sixties design label- the focus of a. Foale and Tuffin weren’t your average design duo. After graduating from the Royal College of Art they shunned the then-current Paris couture trends in favour of simple construction and streamlined shapes. The retrospective boasts countless pieces from the pair, several of which wouldn’t seem out of place in Topshop today, while the walls are dotted with angular sketches and more than a few Vogue shots. Amy Bowles went down to the dazzling new retrospective exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum to see what all the fuss was about.

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Wandering through the exhibition to the soundtrack of some classic sixties pop music, it is clear that the label’s success wasn’t limited to the stunning dresses on show- the pair lent their name to Christmas cards, Sindy dolls, and even designed the Queen’s official mantle in 1960. The trademark ‘Double D’ linen shift dress most famously represents this link between pop-culture and the designs of the time, the pocket embroidered with the logo of Double Diamond Ale. The duo were at the heart of the sixties fashion explosion: pioneering colourful, pop-inspired miniskirts and revolutionary trouser-suits in an era of style previously domineered by formal tradition. Simple, loose lace became an early signature, with peter-pan collars, cap sleeves and jersey fabrics ubiquitous on the rails.

Article - Amy Bowles Design - Xanthia Hallissey

As the label gained momentum, Woollands 21 Shop stocked a few fledgling F&T pieces including a frill front dress in grey flannel. It was this dress, displayed in the window, that was spotted by Claire Rendlesham of Vogue and photographed by the now iconic fashion photographer David Bailey. Foale and Tuffin were a hit. They opened a workshop and boutique off stylish Carnaby Street, both lovingly recreated in the exhibition, where they were free to establish their own line of dresses, jackets and skirts. Creating workwear-based, comfortable clothing in bright wool and jersey, taking inspiration from pop-culture and even borrowing styles from their boyfriends’ wardrobes gained the duo recognition and admiration in fashion circles.

As the seventies arrived, the label was ahead of the curve, utilising the famous Tana Lawn Liberty prints and working with the renowned Zhandra Rhodes. The youthful, mini-skirted look moved towards more ethnic, sweeping designs, with textiles borrowed from Bernard Nevill and Susan Collier. The staple pieces became kaftans inspired by Tuffin’s visits to Egypt. It was 1972 when the duo parted- towards successful creative solo careers in pottery design and knitting. The Fashion and Textiles Museum’s sensational retrospective is a testament to the two designers and their self-belief and trust in their work and each other. They didn’t simply change the way that women wanted to dress, but continue to influence and inspire young designers today.

The Foale and Tuffin exhibition opened at the Fashion and Textile Museum on Friday 23rd October 2009 and runs until 24th February 2010. Open -

11am-6pm, Weds - Sunday

(last admission 5.15pm) Closed Mon and Tues.

NY, 1968, & Woman in black with necklace and button,1965, by James Jowers

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Clothes show live The Clothes Show Live celebrated it’s 21st anniversary last month at the Birmingham NEC and the CUB fashion team were there to witness the ultimate extravagance. With the Winter Wonderland theme that resonated throughout the catwalk added with a few famous faces such at Fearne Cotton and fashion guru Gok Wan this was a 21st birthday party not to be missed! Check out the stunning photographs.

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Article - Chinazo Ufodiama Design - Rebecca Reynolds

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keep your legs warm Despite the unbearable arctic weather conditions that we are experiencing of late, the CUB fashion team are adamant to keep our legs on show still donning our shorts, mini dresses and tiny skirts from the summer. Chinazo Ufodiama lets you in on a few savvy ways to keep your legs warm this winter. Leggings. Forgetting the plain black leggings that have taken the place of black skinny jeans in most of our wardrobes, this season is all about the bold floral and Aztec prints. Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane are prime examples of this trend with McQueen’s amazing digital prints and Kane’s fluorescent embellished leggings. Topshop and Urban Outfitters are the perfect outlets to follow this trend whilst sticking to your budget. Don’t just save your sequinned and studded leggings for your evening wardrobe, brighten up these dark dreary days with sparkly embellishments!

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Tights.

Socks.

An obvious choice; every winter we delve into our wardrobes and grab the ever faithful black opaque. This winter, for a sassy alternative to your classic black tights there are the Wolford Fringe tights or for a slightly cheaper alternative Bebaroque tights are the fashion must have. Lace tights are fantastic and sexy but don’t necessarily keep you warm, so try layering on top a pair of coloured opaques for effortless glamour. All the big name designers have their own signature patterned tights this season with Betsey Johnson’s Animal Print tights available in grey and a strangely alluring pink. Henry Holland and the House of Holland have also teamed up with Pretty Polly to bring out a fabulous diffusion range of tights in the most quirky sought out patterns out there; a CUB fashion favourite being the quirky alphabet tights available in 4 lovely colours (including a conservative black!)

So you’ve got your leggings on and your winter boots ready, but there’s something missing. Despite spending the majority of summer avoiding them, this winter it’s time to embrace the socks. Whether you opt for chunky knee-length ski socks to wear inside your biker boots, or an adorable pair of frilly ankle highs for your loafers, socks are a necessity. They make you look fabulous and keep your feet warm...how can you resist? Look to H&M and even Primark for some cheap cable knit knee highs and M&S school uniform section for your cutesy ankle socks. Socks and tights are a definite must. Don’t be afraid to wear your socks at knee heightyour calves need a bit of warmth too!

Article - Chinazo Ufodiama Design - Leanne Blair

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EYE PATCHES & KEYBOARDS: MUSIC PIRACY IN 2010 JAMES SNEE We all remember the days of Napster. It was the brain child of Shawn Fanning, a student at university in Boston in the late 90’s. It allowed anyone, anywhere in the world to download music freely from a huge database of artists. People all over the world rejoiced as they were now able to fill up their highly expensive mp3 players for free. The artists looked upon Napster with a different view. To them it was the beginning of the end. It signaled that the days of guaranteed cd sales where over and that they would have to fight to get people to buy their music. Eventually one band decided enough was enough and in 2000 Metallica filled a law suite against Napster. This was it, the start of the ongoing battle between artists and Internet pirates.

9 Years on and the problem still exists. But, changes have been made. Napster is no more and the BitTorrent giants such as The Pirate Bay and SuprNova have been taken down. But, this hasn’t done away with the ability to download music at all. In fact, over the past couple of years music downloads have increased exponentially, not just from illegal sites but from perfectly legitimate, legal online music services. So, with music labels cracking down on the illegal downloading of music, will 2010 be the year of legal music services? Here at Cub we decided to look at the best services available on the Internet that will keep you on the right side of the law. The first and foremost download service is Apple’s iTunes. Love Apple or hate them they have cornered the market since its release in 2001 with this brilliant piece of software. iTunes’ popularity shot up to new heights when the iPod was released because it allowed people to rip their cd’s and listen to them on the go. The next logical step for Apple was to open up an online store, where people could search for and download tracks from thousands of artists for a price that’s cheaper than the high street. iTunes will run on either Mac OS or Windows, and at a pinch Linux. Once installed you must create an iTunes Store account, which takes a couple of minutes and then get buying. Individual songs cost just 79p and albums usually cost around £7.99. Their catalogue is one of the largest around, although trying to find more obscure tracks or artists can be a little difficult, which its search feature being a little clunky. On Windows the startup time for iTunes is as long as an ice age and it can be prone to slowing down whilst browsing your library. Problems aside, iTunes is one of the best download services around, providing not only a store but a reasonable player to go with it. Cub top tip: check out iTunes’ 99p film of the week, they often allow you to rent a movie for just 99p which changes every week. Another, less well known download service is provided by Amazon. Finding it can be a little different as there is no sign of it on the home screen, but once your in the music section of the store you’ll see it. It’s a fairly new service

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Design - Billy Steel RECORD PLAYER / no record by Billy Steel

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to the UK, after being in the states for a while now. Navigation is a little more difficult that iTunes as you have to use your web browser instead of a dedicated program. One of the most impressive feature of the Amazon download store is how easy it is to use. It’s exactly like buying a book or dvd. You choose the track you want, purchase it and it starts downloading to your machine. Because you have to use your web browser to purchase the tracks you can access the store from any machine with an Internet connection, so Mac, Linux and Windows users are all catered for. Once you’ve downloaded the track you can upload it to any media player you want, iPod, Zune, Creative Zen, anything! This was really the killer feature for us. You can do a similar thing with iTunes, although it’s a little difficult. Amazon also have a good selection of offers on their downloads as well, where as with iTunes you have to really dig around the store to find the offers, if any. There is another way of purchasing music online. Subscription services are getting more and more popular at the moment. The most well known being Spotify. Set up in Sweden in 2008 it’s popularity has rocketed over the past year. Up until recently you could download the client and sign up for a free account, which would let you listen to any music you wanted for free, you would just have to listen to a couple of short adverts every few tracks. This has slightly changed now. You must be invited to get a free account by someone who pays for an account. Payed accounts remove the adverts every few tracks and increase the sound quality. It costs £9.99 a month, which also allows you to use the iPhone or Android app so you can listen to your spotify playlists and tracks on the go. This is by far the best option for heavy music listeners or audiophiles and by purchasing it you can pass on invites for free accounts to your friends. Napster, like a phoenix has risen from the flames and is offering a similar subscription service. But, with Spotify’s huge catalogue of music it really is the one to choose.

So keeping on the right side of the law doesn’t mean you can’t fill your iPod up with new music. For people with iPods, it’s probably best to stay with iTunes, it’s well integrated with the player and allows easy uploading to your device. If you haven’t got an iPod you might want to check out Amazon’s service. Their music deals are the best of the lot and they also have a huge amount available. But, if you just want to listen to the odd track, or are interested in hearing a new band but don’t really want to buy the whole album straight away, Spotify is the best way to go. Why not email us at technology@cubmagazine.co.uk with your suggestions of alternative services if you find them.

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“stolen” by Billy Steel

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The year of the students Here at Cub magazine we have conjured all of our mystical know-how to look into your lives beyond graduation in order to provide some helpful career pointers..

Taurus: You are one moody bull. Holding grudges for years is your speciality – largely due to the chip on your shoulder which you hold about being second best. This happily validates your desire for conflict, giving you the necessary momentum to argue, fight and powerhouse your way through life with impatience and blunt asides. Convinced you will make nothing of yourself your home is your castle, where you can control every aspect of your surroundings down to the coasters. Suggested careers: set design or expressive dance.

Gemini: The split personality of the Gemini means there’s something for everyone to hate about this crazy character. You resist all labels, making it very easy to categorise you as one hell of a flaky bastard. Temperamental, you would argue that the sky is green just to get a rise out of your counterpart. You probably regard yourself as a social chameleon but you’re more of a social pariah as people tire of your brittle self confidence.

Cancer: Cancer is one nosey parker. You know that little secret you’re keeping from your best friend? So does Cancer. Found at the centre of every triangle of gossip – an amazing feat when you leave the house so seldom - whatever happened, you probably not only knew about it before everyone else, you spoke to all parties involved and offered to mediate. (In fact, if we’re honest, you probably started Dramagate by stirring up the trouble to serve your own private power games anyway). You have advice for everyone, yet never take your own and this, coupled with a healthy dose of paranoia, gives you enormous potential as a stand-up.

Leo: You strive to be the centre of attention at all times, even if this means lying on your back in the middle of the dance floor at Drapers. You like to take MySpace style pictures and will go to any lengths necessary to be heard – usually by pouting or throwing a tantrum. The significant other in your life best be prepared to worship at your alter because otherwise they’re going to have a hard time pleasing you. In actuality, anything besides a romantic evening with themselves is considered a step down for the Leo. Suggested career: glamour model.

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Aries: You have a God-complex that could shame any deity into silence, and are very smug; however the expression ‘pride comes before a fall’ exists solely for you, since you are singularly clumsy. Convinced you are always doing the right thing, any suggestions to the contrary are likely to bring out your violent side. Cocky and arrogant, go for a career in radio where you can listen to the sound of your own voice all day long.

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Virgo: You are a control freak. You are so clean you probably wash your hands in acid and are disgusted by any reference to normal bodily human actions. You probably have some variant of OCD, and are freaked out by things like Derren Brown. Practical and yet superstitious, you can be found trying to clean that dark spot off your soul ,sat in the laundrette doing your tenth load of laundry for the week, whilst reading a self-help manual. You are a closet romantic but are not able to let go sufficiently to act spontaneously – in fact, the idea of sweeping a desk clear to ravish your secretary probably fills you with anxiety. Ideal career: librarian.

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Libra: Impeccably dressed and cutting edge you embrace trends like jeggings or café latte with both hands. You are one of life’s worriers, which is ironic when you are the very practical person everyone turns to for stuff like paracetemol or plasters. The weighing scales for this sign expresses your chronic tendency for indecision – which is why you have ten credit cards to split the cost of your morning coffee. Your selfassurance and taste for an extravagant lifestyle would make you better suited to Hollywood, but seeing as you’re actually living in Tower Hamlets this may explain that constant sense of dissatisfaction you radiate. No-one can ever win with a Libra, which is why they make good lawyers... or hitmen.

Sagittarius: Practical, hardworking and fun-loving, Sagittarians waste no energy on social flattery. If they like you, you’re truly blessed. Fashion comes naturally to them, as does casual alcoholism, but like everything they do, it appears effortless. They can seem cold or distant but are actually fiercely loyal, and alternate between sharing quiet reflective moments with their friends and punching someone who looked the wrong way at them in a bar.

Aquarius: Aquarians believe the world is out to get them, which combined with their natural passivity consequentially makes them cosmic moaners. Cold, aloof and distant, they can’t understand why people don’t naturally warm to them. Quick to shut down and big sulkers, the average Aquarian pleases themselves 90% of the time, and complains that no one understands them for the last 10%. They have good taste and style and are hard-workers – but can be quite bossy and domineering. They enjoy scheduled fun. They would do well to go self-employed, and run their own business, perhaps as a dictator.

Capricorn: Capricorns are committed, reliable, and dull as hell. Pedantic and driven by ego, if they weren’t so boring they’d probably be hated. They like logic and the feeling of security and so enjoy things like maths, maps and gravity. They are tenacious and at times manipulative, making their ideal gift a file-o-fax or an address book. They believe in organization but are morally bankrupt – ideal jobs include town planning or working in political office.

Ideal careers: Personal Relations exec or bouncer.

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Scorpio: You are the zodiac’s bull-shitter extraordinaire, and as a result often bluff yourself into corners which see you doing mad things like eating dog-food or walking along the motorway blindfolded. Convinced you are a victim of a government conspiracy, you act like a secret agent, setting and breaking your own small challenges - enjoying things like amateur internet hacking (illegal downloading) and ringing up the wrong foods at Sainsbury’s self checkout. You use swear words as part of your ongoing commitment to shaking up the status quo, and offer aggressive military style tactics to fix small domestic problems. You think of yourself like Tony Soprano but are more like Tony the Tiger.

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Pisces: You probably own a lot of silver jewellery that you didn’t pay for. This is because realities and all its boundaries are fluid to a Piscean – especially the laws surrounding crime. To call you forgetful is to put it mildly – you could remember every piece of dialogue from Pan’s Labyrinth but probably have trouble remembering your address. Absent minded, you charm your way through life with a mixture of luck and fluke – something that will greatly annoy your harder working friends. But this is okay as you’re not much of a people person. Indeed, you could write poetry on the emotions you feel when you see a squashed pigeon in the road but wouldn’t think twice about crushing people you don’t like in day-to-day life. Pisceans talk a lot of shit and are completely removed from reality, making you ideal management material.

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After coming out of retirement ‘Your Mum’ has found a new home at Punk, Soho. The first time ‘Your Mum’ hit Shoreditch last year it was clear it was going to be a messy but fun night. With a mix of cheap drinks, cheap entry and late opening Thursdays, it quickly became the night to head on down and get messy in ‘Your Mum’.

Inside

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mum Cub explores Soho’s hottest thurs night ‘ your mum ’ at Punk

‘Your Mum’ has found a new home on the edge of Soho. CUB sent OLIVER BENNETT along to check out Your Mum and see if it was still as good as everyone remembered. I’ve never been a fan of Soho, preferring to stay in my regular East London haunts. So I knew that to contemplate being around, let alone back inside, ‘Your Mum’, I would have to cast aside my initial judgment and understanding of what constitutes a good time, with a quantity of alcohol I’m neither proud of nor accustomed to consuming. Two cans of Shandy Bass later I was cowering under a bus shelter with three friends, waiting for the trusty 171 which seemingly had recently adopted the less orthodox ‘go fuck yourself’ timetable. Thirty hate-filled minutes of standing around thinking about the night ahead ad hoping that ‘Your Mum’ would live up to those beautiful summer memories, we were but minutes away from an evening of cavernous horrors. Thankfully and surprisingly the wait to get into ‘Your Mum’ was short and made bearable by others making humorous nervous conversation while sliding further inside ‘Your Mum’. Like many hundreds before me, I paid my £3, apologised to my unborn children and tentatively thrust my way inside. The first thing that hit me was how much tighter it was inside ‘Your Mum’ then it used to be, something that surprised me quite a bit. Punk is quite a narrow club and with ‘Your Mum’ being now almost full to capacity, it was starting to get a bit hot and

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steamy. Though ‘Your Mum’ was collectively pulsing to the great tunes coming from the DJ, I was struggling to get into it. Maybe it was the tight squeeze or the dripping ceiling but ‘Your Mum’ definitely didn’t feel as good as before. Things went from bad to worse quickly when everyone realised there was only half an hour left to drink the cheap booze ‘Your Mum’ had provided, before they took advantage and started charging £4 a beer. I realised I needed to drink quickly, which was absolutely wizard for expediency but less so for my ability to recount anything after this point. I’m not proud but I can say with confidence I threw up in or around ‘Your Mum’ early on. I then spent the rest of the night seedily caressing the majority of Your Mum, as well as spending a fair portion of the evening on the floor. There was also a period where I spent long enough sweating myself into unconsciousness for my friends to think I’d actually vacated ‘Your Mum’ entirely, so there may have been enjoyable bits that are now sadly lost to me. My memories are thankfully fleeting. Brief flashes of people writhing in joy while others sang with delight are there, certainly, but others contain glimpses of people with uneasy faces, exiting ‘Your Mum’ with great speed. Frustratingly little else can be extracted from the haze. The morning after the regrettable night before I woke up unaccountably bruised and confident I was now wearing fewer pairs of trousers than I’d started the previous night with. Injuries and trouser loss aside I can’t say I entirely regret experiencing ‘Your Mum’ for myself, but neither can I recommend it to others in good conscience. ‘Your Mum’ has certainly matured into a place to go on a Thursday night but for me nothing will beat the summer time Shoreditch version of ‘Your Mum’ that I remember.

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I keep bumping into you around Senate House library, which as you know, is not an easy thing to do given its complicated layout and I can’t help but feel the universe is trying to tell us something. Next time I see you maybe I’ll be brave enough to ask you to be my study buddy. Caitlin.

We’ve worked together for a while now, and although I’m trying to remain professional, I can’t keep my mind on my books. Fancy some extracurricular stylings after hours? Bev.

Love

I’ve seen you making repairs on your bike on campus and just wanted to let you know that if you ever need any help, I am not adverse to either getting dirty or giving you a ride. Javeed.

I realise my friends and I were a bit out of line on the bus that night, but I’m still thinking about that telling off you gave me. If I pull my socks (and trousers) up, do you reckon you might let me have a drink with you in your pub? Spotty-arsed oik.

Lost So we’re in our final year and I can’t watch any more time go by without saying something: B.

We struck it up in first year, and although it was a bit of a fiery ride for me the flame still burns. If you want to rekindle something, get in touch, A.

I’m growing to like our impromptu dates in the laundrette but I’d love it if next time you came back to mine and helped me fit those clean bed sheets. Besides, there’s only so much dirty laundry I’m willing to put on show beyond my bedroom. Kate. Saw you again at that New Years party in Whitechapel on Saturday, and promised that I would resolve to ask you out: will you make mine a happy new year? Pete.

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Have another chance by emailing us at lost@cubmagazine.co.uk

So what if I go to Japan after graduation? I still want you. S.

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strange ways here we come LUKE MAZENKO In 2006, Conservative MP and editor of The Spectator, Matthew d’Ancona, spoke about his daily chores in an article for The Observer. “To celebrate, I download Morrissey’s new album, which is magnificently self-indulgent and lugubrious.” He is photographed with the album, casually displayed next to his iPod; an over-egged image that screams “I’m hip, daddy-o!” Morrissey isn’t exactly the first name that springs to mind when you think about any politicians’ music taste. Left or right wing. I mean, it’s not exactly D:Ream now is it? But rather than scorning the be-quaffed moaner it seems that the Tory bigwigs have come out to praise him. Just ask his biggest fan: David Cameron. So what, we ask, is the attraction for Mozza’s new right-wing fanclub? The singer has always been resolutely working-class, and despite a well spoken-ness

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Design - Billy Steel MORRISSEY - Smiths reunion tour

and the obvious bourgeois lifestyle of his later years, he has maintained his role as the nation’s proletarian hero, the chronicler and voice of the downtrodden. In short, a bastion of Conservatism he isn’t. Go back 20 years or so and I imagine it would be hard to paint quite the same picture of the Tories. While there are too many songs to mention that reflect Morrissey’s hatred for The Establishment, The Smiths’ ‘The Queen is Dead’, the love-child of the Sex Pistols’ ‘God Save the Queen’, undoubtedly stands as the crowning glory of democratic anthems. Bluntly dismissing the monarchy as an outmoded and uncaring parasite, the song is a rejection of a nation blinded by the rose-tinted, flag-waving nostalgia of its Queen. And who could forget the not-at-allveiled elegy to Margaret Thatcher, ‘Margaret on the Guillotine’, with its immortal refrain “When will you die? When will you die?” Well it’s always nice to have a bit of anar-

chy in pop now isn’t it? And there has been nothing to suggest Morrissey’s opinions have swung too much during the intervening years neither. Tracks such as ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’ and ‘The National Front Disco’ may be misconstrued for jingoism but they instead place Morrissey metaphysically on the wall between the houses of Labour and Conservative, both angered and tickled by them. It is this unwillingness to live by political correctness, or lack of desire to explain himself to critics, that I feel many artists today could learn something from. Back in 1965 it all seemed to be going so well. Even then politicians tried to be ‘down with the yoof’ and at some point, albeit briefly, it appeared as though they actually were. Harold Wilson was photographed with some safe-seeming mop tops called The Beatles and his courting of the Fab Four eventually resulted in the band being awarded an MBE. Of course, reaching out to those important

Sahar 18 Law. top Topshop, skirt H&M, shoes & bag Primark. Lena 19 International Relations shorts Topshop, top Urban Outfitters, shoes Office, bag Primark. Jade 20 Politics skirt Akira, necklace Topshop, bag Gucci. Nell Nabarro 19 Politics leotard American Apparel, skirt Topshop. Photos by Hannah Olivennes & Chinazo Ufodiama

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young voters is an all too alluring prospect to pass for political candidates. Politics, after all, is about power and music is powerful. But then something happened. America went to war, Britain supported it, and spitting his rock star dummy out in protest Lennon returned his award post-haste. Perhaps because of this broken alliance the world has ‘Imagine’? And it has been a rocky road ever since. For every Carter and Dylan, there are those artists appropriated in a far more dubious manner. The pinnacle of the pop artist-aspropaganda came in 1984 when both Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale used Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ as their campaign anthem. Dealing with the effects of the Vietnam War and the hardships the veterans faced upon their return, the song became misinterpreted as a maudlin patriotic anthem. The Conservative columnist George Will would even claim that he hadn’t “a clue about Springsteen’s politics, if any, but [that] flags get waved at his concerts... He is no whiner, and the recitation of closed factories and other problems always seems punctuated by a grand, cheerful affirmation: ‘Born in the U.S.A.!’” Quite. But it seems that today’s politicians are taking a different tack. It is unlikely in their championing of Morrissey that Cameron and d’Ancona gained much credit from young adults who vote. It would probably be best to see this as an attempt to claim an affinity with that generation’s dads; the ones who purchased the original Smiths albums way back when. A sign, perhaps, that politics just isn’t a vital component of the social fabric anymore. This could also read: a sign that pop music is going to get a lot less interesting! This is not to say that pop stars today just aren’t bothered with their political links. Quite the contrary, this year’s presidential election saw more than a few artists come out of the woodwork to show support for one party or another. 80’s throwbacks Heart and Bon Jovi, for example, protested against Sarah Palin using their songs for her Republican campaign on the grounds of unfavourable association. Some cynics, however, got the distinct impression that it was nothing more than an opportunity for them to get in the headlines again.

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Alas, the question still stands: should politicians and musicians sleep in the same bed? It is interesting that in these times of mass dissatisfaction with Government and politicians’ fancies for war that we haven’t seen more artists emerge not unlike Morrissey. It would appear that today’s pop stars would rather shun the ‘unfashionable’ topic of politics and that, in many ways, could be a good thing. Aren’t we all still reeling from Kanye West’s “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” outburst? But is that not were the problem lies? Do any artists today have anything actually worth saying? About our lives or even their own? It is no wonder that in such a climate a fifty-something pop star such as Morrissey – who claims to be non-political - seems almost revolutionary. I feel the time is ripe then, with a new decade upon us, for ‘social’ artists to pick up the pen and stretch themselves. After all, Morrissey won’t be around forever. Put the safe plastic microphone away, Guitar Hero can always wait for a rainy day. Since we can only ever produce as good as what we consume, is it not only right that we deserve pop antagonists who put topics on the table for us, their listeners, to discuss and debate? Will the Tensies see the death of the pop star? Will Bono finally become Prime Minister? Long live the X-Factor? It is, if nothing else, food for thought. But then again, there is always Guitar Hero...

should politicians and musicians sleep in the same bed?

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