Editorial
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Dear readers, Welcome to the November/December issue of The Edge. How are you? We are fine, thanks for asking... This issue is all about contrasts, featuring reviews of albums from both saccharin boyband The Wanted and confusing lo-fi band Odonis Odonis. We also take a walk down memory lane back to when The Strokes saved rock and roll with their debut abum Is This It. Continuing the theme of contrasts, our film section comments on both the warm-hearted The Adventures of Tintin and the so-called “film they tried to ban”: The Human Centipede II (I always get it confused with The Hungry Caterpillar, which caused quite a stir at my niece’s birthday party). Hope you enjoy this issue, and remember that if you want to get involved all you have to do is email us at theedge@soton.ac.uk. Enjoy, The Edge
Editor - Joe Hawkes Deputy Editor - Meowea Hezwani Live Editor - Chris Brooks Features Editor - David Martin Records Editor - Melissa Clarke Film Editor - Barnaby Walter Culture Editor - Nick Mould Online Editor - André Pusey Head of Relations - Rob Leane Editor-in-Chief - Joseph McLoughlin
Featuring contributions from: George Doel, Chris Brooks, Ben Houston, David Martin, Andrew Ovenden, Alex Rogers, Joe Hawkes, Dan Keevil, Graham Read, Robert Samuel, Joe Moor, Melissa Clarke, Barnaby Walter, Milan Matejka, Alysia Wildman, Nick Mould, Joanne Fisher, Julian J. Conway, Meowea Hezwani and André Pusey 2
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November/December 2011
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Wiz Khalifa live at the guildhall
6R
ise
Against
live at the guildhall
Interview: Gary Numan
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Contents
The Wanted – Battlegrounds album review
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10
Does Band Merch Cost Too Much?
14
Frank Turner: Wessex Boy and Proud
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Odonis Odonis – Hollandaze album review
rewind:
The Strokes – Is This It
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In Time film review The Human Centipede II
The Human Centipede II film review archive:
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The
hildren ife’s
Too
hort
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War Horse theatre review
November/December 2011
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Live
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November/December 2011
@ The Guildhall
Live
Pennsylvania-born rapper Wiz Khalifa took to the Guidhall to play one of his last gigs on the UK stint of his global tour recently, in promotion of his latest album Rolling Papers (2011). The set opened with ‘When I’m Gone’, a suitable song for his entrance. The sound quality was above average, but with a heavy bass muffling a lot of the lyrics you couldn’t always quite make him out. Having said this, the power behind the performance remained strong from beginning to end. Khalifa has a hypnotic pull, making it impossible to take your eyes off him: a great credit to the young performer. There were a few problems, however. Some of his most famous works, such as his hits with Tinie Tempah and his Lily Allen cover, received only minutelong samples. This was particularly surprising considering he was playing to a British audience. What’s more, the repetitive nature of a lot of his songs made the set seem somewhat dragged out, with a notable lack of tempo diversity. That said, highlights included ‘Taylor Gang’, ‘Wake Up’, and ‘Black and Yellow’, the last being the penultimate song of the gig, which unsurprisingly received the biggest reaction. The set lasted just over an hour, which was appropriate given the amount of well-known material the rapper has in his repertoire. It was obvious that towards the end of the set the crowd were just waiting for his singles (‘Black and Yellow’ and ‘Roll Up’) to be played though, myself included. Khalifa finished off with ‘No Sleep’ from his new album, which was well received by the crowd, before he left the stage. Overall, a solid performance from the young rising star, indicating the rapper should receive greater recognition within the UK for his work in the future.
By George Doel
November/December 2011
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Live If you ever have the chance to see The Nightwatchman, I implore you to seize the opportunity. The solo alias of Tom Morrello, his work boasts restrained acoustic chord progressions with a focus on powerful, meaning-enthused lyrics. Some might describe it as the kooky flotsam of a guitar god gone mad. Live, however, Morello cracks out his electric, tremolo and wah-wah, unleashing the extensive face-melting solos that characterise the sound of Rage Against the Machine. It works brilliantly. At one point, while casually scratching on his guitar strings like a mixing deck, he could have seamlessly broken into ‘Raging Bull’. I have never seen a crowd at the Guildhall so excited by a warm-up act; he was actually chanted into an encore, for which he pulled Polar Bear Club (a relatively unknown but brilliant first act) and Rise Against onstage for a big crowd sing along. At this point I didn’t actually think Rise Against could top him. They did, though. In what was the best set I have ever seen at the Guildhall, Rise Against pulled on their massive repertoire of songs to produce a huge setlist consisting of every essential track a hardcore Rise Against fan would kill to see. Coming onstage to ‘ReEducation Through Labour’, the band stacked up a relentless energy through songs like ‘Make It Stop’ and ‘Survive’, before nearly killing half the audience with the climactic ‘Prayer of the Refugee’. At this point, the audience were granted a well-deserved break while frontman Tim McIlrath got his acoustic and fantastic singing voice out for ‘Swing Life Away’ and ‘Hero of War’ -- two songs I would recommend to any listener, regardless of musical preference. Finishing off with an encore of ‘Torches’ and the inevitable‘Savior’, McIlrath insisted the crowd “use the next few words to scream the weight of the world off your shoulders”. Naturally the audience chose to interpret this as an incentive to mosh. Imagine those first couple of rows of reckless bastards you usually get at a big gig. Now imagine a sold-out venue packed to the rafters with them. When the lights came up, a mass of sweat-drenched, shattered nutcases were revealed, some of them limping, a few bleeding, but all of them grinning like an oddly tattooed Cheshier Cat with a rebel complex. All in all a brilliant, all be it somewhat exhausting, night. By Chris Brooks
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November/December 2011
@ The Guildhall 13/11/11
November/December 2011
Live
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Live
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Local
Ben UFO @ The Cellar 03/11/11
Hessle Audio may not be a name with which you are familiar, but for the past three years or so this record label has been steadily cementing its reputation as the thinking man’s home for electronic music. Earlier this year, Hessle released 116 & Rising, a compilation that proved their strength in depth. Following on from Ramadanman’s appearance at Pop! earlier in the year, label co-founder Ben UFO brought the Hessle Audio sound system along to The Cellar in early November.
Speaking to Six’ Six, who proved a fantastic warm-up act, it was clear that Southampton is something of a fort for all that is slow and noisy.
The music on display here had everything that you should expect from a good DJ set: it was enjoyable, atmospheric, varied, and you could dance to it.
The Cellar is billing this as the first in a set of events, calling it “a brand new forwardFor the uninitiated, Hessle Audio is a peddler thinking night that brings the freshest future of the kind of music that treads the middle electronic sounds to Southampton”. The ground between house, garage and 2-step. organisers are hoping to bring Hotflush label While the founding triumvirate of UFO, founder Scuba to the venue in the new year, Ramadanman and Pangaea may have been and if this goes ahead I strongly recommend educated at the Skream school of dubstep, that you investigate how good it can be when there’s no wobble to be found here, which you put on your dancing shoes and your perhaps goes some way towards explaining a thinking cap. crowd smaller than usual for a Ben UFO set.
By Ben Houston 8
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November/December 2011
Features
The Cost of Band Merchandise By David Martin
The Edge looks at the pricing of our much loved accessories.
or a quirky accessory, and it’s all part of a growing desire to develop a musical identity and show off your music tastes. The more cynical will see this as an elaborate ploy to grab yet more of our money from an already greedy music industry. Some of the prices, it has to be admitted, are a tad excessive, and sometimes the promotion of such material might appear that the band care more about wanting these goods sold than caring about who is actually turning up to watch their performances.
If you’ve ever been to a gig, concert or festival – and we’ve all been to at least one – you will inevitably be exposed to a whole host of goodies (dependent on the size of the artist) including clothing, music accessories, key chains and promotional CDs to just name but a few. Just recently I was at the Guildhall, and supporting artist Lucy Rose was even selling her quintessentially British branded jam and tea, so merchandise really has permeated “Salt rubbed into the wound throughout all the possible styles, variations you got from rising ticket prices” and genres. Whereas previously, getting us fans to buy their stuff was perhaps not Yet the issue is, as always, more complex such an important component of band than this. A 2008 Guardian article marketing, with illegal downloading and explains how venues often try and piracy rife in the 21st century, artists take a cut from the net profits made have to attempt new strategies to try and by a band, significantly decreasing the make some well-earned money, and one potential profit made. Obviously the of the main ways of doing so is through way to fix this is to try and sell more, the promotion of band merchandise. or ramp the prices up. Labels are not shy to get in on the action as well, This clearly makes some sense. Hardcore offering an almost ultimatum to some fans regularly want to get as close to the artists; allowing them to get that crucial band as they can, and some particularly contract, but for a considerable share of infatuated ones will do anything they any future merchandise sales in return. can to get their hands on some genuine band material. It might all be pretty vain All of this aside, it’s still going to be perhaps, but bands and their managers a sizable chunk out of your wallet have carefully tuned themselves to a wherever you do decide to source your market that is sometimes hungry for ‘merch’ from. Sadly (or not, if you care more. Increasingly these days, you might about the exclusivity), it’s a speciality spot someone sporting a new band shirt item, and there’s not really anywhere 10 4
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November/December 2011
Features else you can get it, and therefore some artists do appear to go a tad overboard on the pricing front. I have seen some t-shirts, which are made of basically nothing but a bit of cloth, on sale for approximately £20. If it’s a reasonably successful band, and you’re looking for a ‘hoodie’ then you could be looking at more like £40–50. And all of this is the salt rubbed into that wound you have
already got from rising ticket prices.
If you were to ask me, it’s not all about t-shirts and posters. There are smaller items available like badges, lighters and keyrings. Personally I don’t wear merch, because that’s just not my style. But if I like a band, I will always attempt to buy something. Even just a badge or an album. Having been in bands before, I can tell you it’s difficult to get the money together to record something as little as a single track. Band merchandise often goes a long way to making or breaking an underground band. – Andrew Ovenden
needs to learn and offer more of these quirky trinkets. – Alex Rogers
It’s a shame to say, but the prices of certain types of merchandise have reached unacceptable levels in the past few years. In my opinion it does really offer a disservice to their fans, if they are selling CDs, posters, and t-shirts that you could buy on the high street for a fraction of the cost. That said, I would still buy merchandise of the bands I love regardless of the cost, especially if I cannot buy them anywhere else. Several recent examples of this that spring to mind are a pot of Lucy Rose jam and some Guillemots postcards. In order to justify trying to squeeze more money out of their fans, the music industry November/December 2011
Perhaps this is just a sentimental rant about the wider trends of today’s culture, with its emphasis on branded clothing and its extortionate prices left, right and centre. This trend is representative of the shifts in the music industry as a whole, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it is one that should continue.
I’ve always been a sucker for band merchandise, with the coolest items I own being a lighter with ‘The Fall’ adorning it and my beloved (but mislaid) stripy Franz Ferdinand scarf. However, I must agree that the prices we are expected to pay at concerts for merchandise are too high, especially at outdoor gigs where you’ve already paid up to £50 to see the band. However, this is quite literally the price we are paying for the decline of the physical music industry – bands make their money from gigs now, and merchandising just happens to be a part of it. If you want cheap band merch then go online, not to a concert. – Joe Hawkes Andrew Ovenden spoke to one of his housemates, who is a great lover of music but, more importantly, a lover of band merchandise. He feels that band merchandise is on the whole reasonably priced, because after all it’s still going to be cheaper than buying a branded t-shirt and you can show support for a band or artist that you love. – Dan Keevil www.theedgesusu.co.uk
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Features The Edge Talk to 80s Synth Legend Gary Numan By Joe Hawkes You’re playing Southampton Guild- ry about my career collapsing, because hall on the 9th December – have you I’ve been through all that. been before? What music are you into right Yeah, quite a few times, but not for a while. now? It’s quite a nice venue. Some of these places like the Brighton Centre are a bit soulless, but I’m a huge Nine Inch Nails fan, I the Guildhall’s like a proper old venue. I much know them really well too; I’ve perprefer it to these more modern ones. Are you pleased with the reactions to your latest album Dead Son Rising? Yeah, it’s been surprisingly good. The album itself was only meant to be a filler, but for various reasons we ended up spending much more time on it than we had intended and it’s ended up being a proper album in its own right. I was pleased with it, but I was still kind of expecting the reaction to it to be quite noncommittal, with the fans waiting for the next big one. As you’re known as a performer who changes styles quite often, do you feel less pressure to write hits? I think because it’s been a long time since I’ve had any regular chart success, there’s less expectation for big chart hits. It’s a laugh. Some people’s careers seem to suffer because the expectations of them are so unrealistic. Any career that goes on for a long time will have good periods and not-so-good periods. People should be allowed to live through unsuccessful albums, but they’re written off as failures. I’m in a great position now, because I can make the music I want, nobody tells me what to do – I’m free to do what I want and not wor12 4
formed with them. I did a thing with Battles recently, and I really like that band quite a lot. There are a few things around, but it’s difficult to hear something really powerful. You’re not into chart music then? Nah, never have been. Even when I
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November/December 2011
Features was in it I wasn’t keen on the rest of it! It tends to be very middle-of-the road. It does happen once in a while but generally in the top 40, 39 are exactly what you’d expect. It’s pretty simple and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I just don’t want to listen it. Do you still enjoy playing the early hits or does it feel more like a chore?
new stuff. Has the number of young people at your concerts increased since you were in The Mighty Boosh? It actually has! I swear blind that when I speak to people under the age of 25, they only know who I am because of the Boosh. That and the Nine Inch Nails thing, or when the Sugababes covered one of my songs. It makes a difference, because new people who aren’t necessarily into what I do check me out. I have noticed younger crowds, either because of what I’ve been doing or recommendations. Long may it continue. Is it true that you once had to emergency land a plane on a Southampton motorway? Not quite… I was in the plane and it landed in a field because our engine cut out. We hit a telegraph pole and it looked like we landed in the road but we hadn’t. A lot of people were kind though, and said I’d done a good job, and we narrowly avoided petrol tankers, but the truth was it wasn’t in control. An awful lot of rubbish was written at the time, some of it to try and discredit me. You have a young family – do your kids enjoy your music?
I feel like I have to; I do have to do it. Sometimes it’s okay, but sometimes you think “I’ve done this a thousand times” and we try and rework them. I’m very proud of them though, and that they’ve had a longer life than their original release and been covered by various people, but they are very old now. I don’t do a lot of old stuff; you want the focus to be on the November/December 2011
We’re kind of torn at the minute. With their nanny they listen to R&B, but with me and my wife it’s Nine Inch Nails and all that sort of stuff. They might go R&B or they might go industrial. I want them to go my way. Gary Numan is playing the Southampton Guildhall on December 9th. www.theedgesusu.co.uk 13
Features Frank Turner:
Winchester Born, Bred and Proud
“I’m a Wessex boy/When I’m here I’m home... There’s something about coming back to your hometown again/The place where you grew up...” These words have been sung internationally by Frank Turner, the Hampshire-raised ‘punk-folk’ singer with a down-to-Earth, passionate, people-power style. Frank’s (can I call you Frank?) new video for ‘Wessex Boy’ reveals through the lyrics and locations how proud he is of being a Winchestarian, using a team of local musicians to stroll through the streets of the former capital city singing about his birthplace. According to his website, this was because he was (and still is) touring America so would not be able to return to Hampshire to visit his favourite haunts, strum and sing; therefore he sent out a plea to fans to fill in for him, using Winchester’s liberal busking law to parade through the city on a sunny Sunday. Frank Turner has written and sung about subjects big and small, from growing up in Winchester (‘Wessex Boy’) to music trends, kids and growing up (‘Photosynthesis’). This ability to communicate his heart’s desires with such fervour and strength lends him to to the young, the students and the rebels of the United Kingdom. Turner’s lyrics describing Winchester talk of his experiences, ranging from “drinking on the cathedral grounds”, “dodging drunks as we dance along Jewry Street”, and “huddling on the Buttercross” to “the triumphs and tragedies” of living in Wessex. This heartfelt approach also features in ‘Eulogy’, the first song on his album England Keep My Bones – “Not everyone grows up to be an astronaut/Not everyone was born to be a king,/Not everyone can be Freddy Mercury/But everyone can raise a glass and sing”. This reveals an honesty that is rare in modern music; music that is commonly ghost written and speaks of ‘shawties’ and unobtainable lifestyles. If we had been at Winchester School of Art a few years ago, we may well have seen Frank Turner play at The Railway, singing on open mic nights, singing of his hometown, the wonderful Winchester.
By Graham Read 14 4
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albums
The Wanted Battleground
Released 4 Nov
7 You would have had to have been living under a rock to be unaware of The Wanted’s presence in the UK top 40, their debut single 'All Time Low' hitting the top spot last summer and launching them into the pop stratosphere. Their second album Battleground hit the stores recently, and is sure to be as big a success as their previous release. The singles 'Glad You Came' and 'Lightning' have been circulating on UK airwaves for a while now, so you’ll probably be familiar with what to expect from this newest full-length release. The production of the record is excellent; the whole thing is covered in a thick layer of glossy sheen, vocals are pitch perfect (the beauty of modern technology) and shimmer next to the pulsating synths and dance beats. Of course, this means they are robbed of all their personality and humanity, but no one listening to this will be holding their breath for a gamechanging album. Simply, it’s a collection of good old fashioned boy-band songs, albeit one with an incredibly hooky line-up of tunes.
singles, breaking the listener in with something familiar before moving onto 'Warzone', the obligatory dubstep track, a seemingly essential sound for any track these days with club aspirations. 'Last to Know' is an interesting track with a darker, more imposing feel that builds very well into a chorus that will be stuck in your head for days. The two ballads on the album, 'I’ll Be Your Strength' and 'I Want it All', won’t hold your focus for long. 'The Weekend' also feels like filler, however the tenth track 'Lie to Me' is a complete belter, with a very Take That-esque arrangement, undoubtedly the best moment on the album and one that you’ll find yourself returning to again and again. The final track, 'Gold Forever', is an ideal précis of the album, a collage of the sounds that make up The Wanted, rounding off the album in textbook pop style. One could criticise this album for being nothing more than a predictable boy-band release. Instead it should be taken for exactly what it is and was always going to be – a slice of pop fun littered with hooks and drenched in that summer clubbing vibe.
The album opens with the two aforementioned 16 4
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By Robert Samuel November/December 2011
ALBUMS
Four Year Strong
In Some Way, Shape, or Form
5
Released 8 Nov
In these dark, gloomy times there's nothing like a bit of upbeat, happy pop-punk to lift you up. Which is why it's a bit of a drag former party rockers like You Me at Six, Blink-182 and Four Year Strong have chosen 2011 to start getting serious and release darker, more 'mature' albums. It's particularly unwelcome in the case of Four Year Strong, since it was the devil-may-care exuberance mixed with hardcore heaviness that fuelled their best work. Tales of being and having fun and chilling with your mates have now been replaced by intense declarations of endurance and angry tirades against ex-girlfriends.
‘‘Maturity seems to have come at the expense of what made them special’’ Which would be alright, but in the process they've lost the mosh-pit stoking heaviness of their earlier work, and started using more conventional radio-rock songwriting which ends up rendering them around the Foo Fighters’ level on the rocking scale. There's nothing wrong with the Foo Fighters of course, but the interplay of heavy breakdowns and infectious melodies was the key ingredient to many of Four November/December 2011
Year Strong’s best moments, and it's sorely missed. There's a lot of good songwriting on In Some Way, Shape, or Form, sometimes great, but maturity seems to have come at the expense of what made them special in the first place. They haven't totally lost their knack for anthemic shout-alongs, with tracks such as 'The Infected' and 'Just Drive', but even these feel a bit weighed down by the somewhat downbeat vibe that doesn't work well with a band like this. There's even a bit of piano balladry on the last track, ‘Only the Meek Get Pinched, the Bold Survive’, but that's just crammed on to another heavy rocker that makes these stabs at reimaging their sound seem a bit superficial. In the end, while their intentions were probably pure, this record comes across as an overly self-conscious attempt to evolve their sound that ironically ends up making them sound like everyone else.
By Joe Moor www.theedgesusu.co.uk
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albums
Odonis Odonis Hollandaze
When listening to lo-fi for the first time, a lot of people disregard it as overdone distortion, inaudible vocals and just general noise. Sadly, with Odonis Odonis' Hollandaze, they may be right. Hailing from Canada, Odonis Odonis were originally formed as a solo project for songwriter and bandleader Dean Tzenos, and only recently became a live band project. The album itself was compiled between January 2009 and September 2010 from a selection of home-recorded tracks Tzenos put together in a tiny home studio.
‘‘There are very few tracks here that leave you saying ‘Wow!’” Hollandaze is an incredibly 'samey' album. There are very few tracks here that leave you saying "Wow!" and putting them on repeat for the next few hours as it is so easy to do with the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cure and even The Pixies, who provided the inspiration for this album. That said, there are some redeeming features to Odonis Odonis's first studio album. The single 'Busted Lip' is an incredibly ballsy song; punky and loud (like most of the album), it really grabs you by the nuts and pins you to the wall. But it does sound much the same as some of the other throwaway tracks here. The highlights of Hollandaze are in fact the last three songs on the album: 'We Are the Left Overs', 'Ledged Up' and 'Tick Tock'. 18
Released 7 Nov 'We Are the Left Overs' is a superb track, reminiscent of some early Ultravox or some of My Bloody Valentine's more 'chilled out' songs. It is a real standout track on the album, and offers us some momentary relief from the wall of noise and heavy fuzz-led punk assault the previous eight tracks confront us with. It also marks a turning point, as there seems to be a change in the attitude of the album from this point. 'Ledged Up' is a fast-paced riff-orientated indie/garage rock tune. It's probably the only song on the album that actually makes you want to dance. Finally, the album finishes on 'Tick Tock', yet another very 'different' track on this album. It's hard to describe, but it feels as though the album should finish here. In a good way. It's an excellent sign off to a frankly average album.
5
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By Andrew Ovenden
November/December 2011
The Good...
singles
Ben Howard – The Fear Released 5 Dec
‘The Fear’ is the newest single from 23-year-old Devon surfer Ben Howard, following on from the upbeat summer sizzler ‘Keep Your Head Up’. ‘The Fear’ takes a more relaxed and, if people actually still did this, sing-along ‘round the camp fire’ vibe. With Howard’s skillful acoustic guitar playing and tender vocals, this track shows his real passion and vulnerability. Like many of his other songs, it starts off slowly but towards the end builds up into a huge burst of energy leaving you wanting to listen to the song again and again. Ben Howard’s rise to fame through the internet and word of mouth may draw him obvious comparisons to fellow singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, but his soulful vocals and delicately plucked guitar strings show a real difference, and it seems there is definitely enough room for both of them.
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By Melissa Clarke
...and the Bad Matt Cardle – Starlight Released 4 Dec
By Melissa Clarke
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November/December 2011
Matt Cardle’s return to the spotlight didn’t start particularly well, with his first single ‘Run for Your Life’ sounding more like one of Take That’s scrapped reject songs. By the sound of things, Matt’s new single ‘Starlight’ won’t fare too much better. The song seems to sound very over-produced, with the verses building up to a big falsetto chorus over a fairly boring guitar-pop melody. Matt Cardle clearly has a great voice, and probably more talent than this year’s bunch of X Factor finalists put together, but the material he is releasing just seems dull and unoriginal. To give him his dues, unlike previous X Factor winners, he did manage to pick up a pen and paper and write this track himself. Matt Cardle has recently been complaining about wanting to “shake off the X Factor tag”, but ‘Starlight’ just feels as though Simon Cowell has cast his magic wand over it to make it sound like another standard X Factor-style ballad. www.theedgesusu.co.uk
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Rewind
A Film
The Strokes – Is This It
After their successful comeback this year, The Edge look back at the album which kicked off The Strokes’ career.. Ten years ago, the music scene was littered with pop bands from the likes of S Club 7 to N Sync, and pop-punk bands like Blink-182. But in 2001, The Strokes emerged from New York with their debut album Is This It and managed to create a new enthusiasm for indie rock and roll; and with its simple rhythms and raw feel, it was certain to be one of the biggest albums of the last decade. Although this was the first Strokes album, they had previously released an EP a few months earlier called The Modern Age which had a great response, and they were immediately signed. All three of the tracks appear on the album, including one of The Strokes best-known songs ‘Last Nite’. ‘Last Nite’ was the second single released from the album, which draws you in instantly with its catchy guitar riffs. The song still manages to fill a dancefloor whenever it is played, and is one of the standout tracks on Is This It. ‘Trying Your Luck’ is one of the slower tracks, with its softer and more melancholy vocals by lead singer Julian Casablancas showing the band’s versatility, while ‘Barely Legal’ with its risqué lyrics sounds live and has a gritty, raw sound to both the instruments and Casablancas’s vocals. The live feel of the track is reflected throughout the whole album and this gave The Strokes a very distinctive sound.
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“One of the biggest albums of the last decade” The sound of the band was not necessarily new as they hail many of their influences from bands of the 70s alternative rock era such as Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls, but they made it their own and certainly sounded different from any other band around at the beginning of the 21st century. Although now the music industry is full of guys with guitars in skinny jeans, in 2001 this was not the case and it has been said that Is This It is one of a few albums which helped indie get back to the forefront of music, and thankfully may have stopped the domination of pop music in the 00s and led to the success of bands such as Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines.
Tracks to download: Last Nite, Hard to Explain and Soma
By Melissa Clarke
November/December 2011 September/October 2011
Film
In Time
Don’t waste your time on it By Barnaby Walter. In Time, from the writer of The Truman Show Andrew Niccol, has an interesting premise but it is let down by an awful script and bad plotting. Justin Timberlake is a factory worker. At the start we see him living with Olivia Wilde. They seem very relaxed with each other. Are they husband and wife? Partners? Friends with benefits, even? No, they are mother and son. Humans, for reasons never revealed, don’t age physically past 25 years. Instead, they are given one year after this to use as money (shown by digital skin-dials on their arms). Some save up the money, take it from other people, work for it or acquire it by illegal means and become super rich. Others die in the street. When an elderly rich guy donates all his time to Timberlake (one hundred years of it), our protagonist is eager to take his mother to New Greenwich where the time-rich people hang out. But she dies, and he is left to go there alone with hopes to bring them 22
all down using his new-found time. He befriends Vincent Kartheiser, here playing an arrogant banker, and his sexy daughter Amanda Seyfried. But Cillian Murphy, a timekeeper (aka policeman), has other ideas. He wants to know how Timberlake became so rich. This is all just a set-up so Timberlake and Seyfried can go on the run together and become Bonnie & Clyde-style time thieves, giving the much needed minutes to the poor. Alex Pettyfer is also wandering around as the bad guy. He is reliably dire. The most interesting thing about it is its strong left-wing politics. Some could even call it Communist propaganda. The whole concept is intriguing, and at some points you are drawn into this strange, disquieting dystopia Niccol has created. But then an awful, crass line of dialogue shatters the illusion, and you remember you are watching nonsense, and paying for it with your time. Dir. Andrew Niccol. Fox. Cert 12A.
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November/December 2011
The
Awakening Film
The most interesting horror film of 2011 By Barnaby Walter. This is a wonderfully creepy and very intelligent ghost story from first-time feature film director Nick Murphy. It is reminiscent of other chillers, such as The Others and The Orphanage, though stands as a terrific film in its own right thanks to an intelligent and inventive screenplay, and a superb central performance from Rebecca Hall. Set in 1921, Hall plays a ghost hunter who has written books on sixth-sense trickery. She exposes frauds to prove that the idea of spirits walking the earth is pure fantasy. When a school teacher (Dominic West) comes to ask for her help, she is at first doubtful that his tale of a school haunted by the ghost of a dead pupil is worth her time. But after some thought she accepts the challenge and visits the grandhouse-turned-boarding-school to prove to the
teachers, the matron (Imelda Staunton) and herself that the ghostly figure in the night is nothing but a naughty school boy. It goes without saying that there is far more going on in this school than just childish tricks and games. But characterisation and human emotion are not sacrificed for cheap scares, and the final twist is beautifully played out. Murphy perfectly evokes a quietly menacing tension with his eerie and mesmerizingly bleak vision of post-WWI Britain. Some will pick holes in the plot, but for me The Awakening is one of the year’s most interesting horror movies. It is both an artistic feast of talent and a heart-poundingly tense genre piece. Dr. Nick Murphy. StudioCanal. Certificate 15.
The Advenures of Tintin By Milan Matejka. Tintin (Jamie Bell) discovers something mysterious after buying a model boat, but did not expect that would leading him (and his dog Snowy) into a world of rogues, buried treasure and gun November/December 2011
fights! A high octane fun adventure with superb special effects, a charming script by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, and great performances, Spielberg has reclaimed his touch by creating a near-perfect blockbuster! Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount. Cert PG.
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23
Film
The Human
Centipede II (Full Sequence)
The film that they didn’t want you to see By George Doel. I don’t overact when it comes to torture porn films. There is an audience for them, and some have artistic merit. I laughed off some of the more brutal scenes in The Human Centipede (First Sequence), and saw it as just another horror flick. Its sequel, however, is far removed from its predecessor... The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is horrific. Unquestionably, undeniably horrific. The film follows the life of Martin Lomax (Laurence R. Harvey), a psychopath who spends the entire 85 minutes of the film killing, torturing and participating in sexual fantasies to create a human centipede of people tied together. The second half consists of muffled screams and wails, no dialogue. The BBFC was forced to cut to the film (totalling two minutes and 37 seconds of deplorable content). I fully encourage the creative freedom of artists and directors, but Human Centipede II takes it too far. Teeth are knocked out, faeces are forced through people’s mouths – all of which is graphically shown, unlike Tom Six’s previous film which was mild in comparison. 24
It’s a struggle to find anything positive to say. The acting by his victims was fairly good, although their only task was to scream and look terrified. Otherwise the film is bleak, nihilistic and inhuman. There is no narrative apart from the first film’s inspiration on the main character; just sequence after sequence of mutilation and sexual humiliation. The black and white filming adds very little to its qualities. And if that still hasn’t put you off watching it, the pièce de résistance has to be the death of a new born baby, barely ten seconds old and in a manner that is truly abhorrent. It is dehumanising to watch. This film is the sick, childish, crude and offensive work of a sadistic monster. God help us when The Human Centipede III (Final Sequence) arrives, which Six promises will make the second “seem like a Disney film”. Cinema has never seen such lows. Dir. Tom Six. Bounty Films. Certificate 18.
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November/December 2011
Film Also Showing Arthur Christmas
Dir. Sarah Smith. Sony. U.
The Help By Alysia Wildman. Based on Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling novel, The Help is a melodrama set in the southern state of Mississippi that addresses the issue of racial inequality in the 1960s. It focuses on the lives of oppressed African-American women who form an improbable alliance with the young journalist Skeeter (Emma Stone) who collates the stories of the below-stairs ‘help’. These never before voiced tales are emotive, owing to the attractive blend of rage and humour with which they are expressed. Their publication ruffles the feathers of the town’s racist housewives, namely Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard). Though arguably guilty of some inaccuracies regarding its racial themes (including a rather unrealistic joke involving a baked dessert), The Help soars on the strength of its cast. There are bold supporting turns from spiteful suburban socialite Bryce Dallas Howard and trophy wife Jessica Chastain. Although the lead, Emma Stone is more catalyst than character; Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis’s performances of maids Minny and Aibileen alone could carry the film. Dir. Tate Taylor. Walt Disney Studios UK. Certificate 12A. November/December 2011
If you’ve ever wondered how Santa delivers all the presents in just one night, this film is for you. It’s a little weak, but Arthur Christmas is still harmless Christmassy fun. Barnaby Walter.
The Ides of March
Dir. George Clooney. E1. 15. A twisty and compelling American political thriller about the power game that goes on behind the scenes during an election campaign. Clooney is great, but Ryan Gosling owns the show. One of 2011’s best. BW.
On Blu-ray & DVD: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 A brilliant conclusion to the series. The Hangover Part II Racist, homophobic and unoriginal. Camp Hell Dire low-budget horror movie. The Inbetweeners Movie Mildly amusing but far too long. Captain America: The First Avenger Entertaining Marvel blockbuster. Spooks: Series 10 Compelling end to a superb series. Rise of the Planet of the Apes Exciting fantasy prequel. The Borgias: Season 1 Ridiculous rubbish, but so much fun!
More BR & DVD Reviews online!
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25
ARCHIVE The Children Film
Have a very bloody Christmas... By Barnaby Walter. Christmas time: a time for family, friends, mince pies, carols and devouring box sets of your favourite shows. But The Children is a Christmas film that puts an end to all things nice about the season of goodwill. A virus has mutated, potentially turning children into homicidal killing machines, and throughout this tension-filled British horror from Tom Shankland we see several nasty scenes where the children fight back at their parents. They wield knives, glass, hooks and colouring pencils (believe me, the latter is the worst). These horrifically violent acts occur when two smug middle-class families are spending the Christmas holidays together and find their children suddenly taken ill. This strange behaviour changes from haunted looks to 26
flesh tearing slowly but effectively, with an underlying level of hysteria bubbling up convincingly as the film rushes to a superb conclusion. The Children is also a good example of how vibrant and varied the BBC’s film output is, as it is backed by their cinema division BBC Films. This is a chilling horror and offers a powerful look at the choices of parents in situations that involve truly heart-breaking decisions (do you kill your children if they are trying to kill you?). It will get under your skin and stay there. The Children, directed by Tom Shankland, is available on DVD and Blu-ray from E1 Entertainment.
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November/December 2011
Life’s Too Short: Culture Fails to Reach Previous Heights In one of the promotions for Life’s Too Short, Ricky Gervais laconically states: “Watch it. It’s like a cross between The Office and Extras.” From watching episode 1, this seems like a pretty accurate description, though that’s not to say that it’s as good as either previous sitcom. Life’s Too Short is not much more than a disjointed retread of old ideas and themes from Gervais and Stephen Merchant – but with the added novelty of a dwarf. It was perhaps inevitable that following the fiasco over Gervais’ insensitive use of the word ‘mong’ on Twitter that his programme’s portrayals of minorities would come under closer scrutiny. Thankfully, there’s nothing that’s truly offensive here; though there are the inevitable and tiresome jokes based on around how short Warwick Davis is, but he manages to holds his own as a character, though it’s one that’s clearly derivative of the roles previously played by Gervais. This time around, Gervais plays himself, cast as a successful showbiz mogul from whom actors seek advice and work, which comes across as somewhat self-aggrandising.
The fine line between ‘punching down’ and ironic bigotry: featuring Johnny Depp
the show is parodying. Are there any currently running on TV which follow struggling actors with shoehorned in cameos from big name celebrities? That said, Liam Neeson’s appearance was the highlight, being the sole source of laughs throughout the episode. It remained totally incongruous, to the point where supposed star of the show Warwick Davis’s One of the reasons why The Office worked presence in the scene was unnecessary. so well was because its ‘mockumentary’ format was believable. Used here, it It is unfair to judge an entire series on the seems contrived and redundant. Gervais basis of its first episode. Indeed there is considers his work above the inclusion some promise to be had here. Ultimately of a laugh track, but for what reason though, if this is the standard to expect are the constant glances to the camera then life is indeed too short to bother and unnatural awkward pauses there tuning in for the rest. for if not to signify ‘this is where you By Nick Mould are supposed to laugh’. There is also confusion as to what sort of documentary November/December 2011
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27
Culture
Theatre
War Horse Based upon the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse tells the story of a boy (Albert Narracott, played by Jack Monaghan), his horse (Joey, played by rotating actors controlling a puppet) and their lasting relationship through the First World War, reminding us of the disruption the war brought to quiet, civilised communities. It is often forgotten that as late as WWI horses were still being used in battle: one million horses were shipped over to France for military purposes, with only 62,000 coming back home. Upon entry into the auditorium, the stage was a great bare, dark expanse; the background was a simple strip of what looked like torn paper. The opening was incredibly moving, with cast members singing a lifting country ballad. From then onwards, the emotional atmosphere did not fade. The story begins with Joey as a foal being sold to a drunken farmer, progressing to show his growth into an adult horse while conveying his blossoming relationship with Albert, culminating with their gradual journey into battle.
of an emotional production. The music heard in War Horse was fantastic, as was the acting. Nigel Betts as Arthur Narracott and Sargeant Thunder, and Monaghan as Albert Narracott were particularly good, as were Saul Rose and Eliot Short, singer and fiddle player, who brought the Devonshire atmosphere into the room with their haunting music and striking lyrics. I shall be listening to the soundtrack on repeat for weeks. The performance was made even more poignant with Armistice Day being only a week away.
War Horse is being staged at the National Theatre, and has been adapted by Nick The puppetry, provided by the Stafford. With its striking visual effects, Handspring Puppet Company, was made all the more impressive by their the main attraction, the puppeteers simplicity, and the cast clearly relishing perfecting the habits of a life-sized horse including the breathing, ear twitches and in all their roles, War Horse is not to be tail swishes. They were transfixing, and it missed. Tickets have been keenly sought was easy to forget that they were puppets. for months on end, and it’s easy to see Comedy relief in the form of a charismatic why. goose also allowed laughter in the midst By Joanne Fisher 28
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November/December 2011
Book Review
Culture -life and achieves his ambition by working at a hedge fund. He becomes ostentatiously wealthy and enters the glittering, exclusive world of London’s super rich. Yet just as he is settling in, the credit crunch rears its ugly head and Charlie and his colleagues must fight for survival. Running parallel to these events is Charlie’s love life in which greed also features as a prominent theme. Despite being attached to kind and gentle women, Charlie is consumed with lust for the beautiful but materialistic Velo. Preston writes in a style that echoes that of his literary hero Fitzgerald and matches his fast-paced narrative. Likewise, he shares Fitzgerald’s talent for describing scenes that the reader does not usually have an opportunity to observe. Preston opens our eyes to a world where bankers quickly shoot up in the office toilets and then resume tinkering with the global financial markets.
Alex Preston’s debut novel is a parable for our times, a gritty and human perspective of the recession and its emotional impact on individuals. It is not strictly autobiographical, nor is it intended to carry a political message, but is based on the real-life insights gained by the author when he worked in the city of London. The narrative follows the life of Charlie Wales, a character clearly inspired by the protagonist of the same name in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Babylon Revisited. After an ordinary middle-class upbringing, Wales decides post-university to pursue the highNovember/December 2011
This book is perfect for anybody interested in considering the emotional impact of the economic crisis on Western society. The novel captures deep sentiments each of us will likely have experienced as we (hopefully) soon travel through the back end of the recession towards growth. Are we less willing to take risks? Less blinded by ambition in our pursuit of love? More compassionate towards the disadvantaged having shared in their plight? By Julian J. Conway
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29
Listings Albums Date
singles
...a guide to this month’s entertainment Culture
CinemA
bD/DVD
Title
28/11 – Olly Murs - In Case You Didn’t Know 28/11 – Kelly Rowland - Here I Am 28/11 – Gorillaz – Singles Collection 2001-2011 28/11 – Joe McElderry - Classic Christmas 28/11 – Transformers: Dark of the Moon 28/11 – Stitches Comedy @ The Talking Heads 29/11 – Stitches Comedy @ The Shooting Star 02/12 – Harry Potter 1-8 Film Collection 02/12 – Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2 02/12 – Mario Kart 7 (Nintendo 3DS) 02/12 – Happy Feet 2 (U, Warner Brothers) 02/12 – Hugo (TBC, Entertainment) 02/12 – Romantics Anonymous (12A, Picturehouse Entertainment) 02/12 – Ross Noble @ The Berry Theatre, Eastleigh 03/12 – You Me At Six - Bite My Tongue 04/12 – James Morrison ft. Jessie J - Up 04/12 – Matt Cardle - Starlight 04/12 – Plan B - My Manors Ill 05/12 – The Hangover Part II 05/12 – Glee: The Concert Movie 05/12 – My Family: 5 Christmas Specials 05/12 – Amy Winehouse - Lioness: Hidden Treasures 05/12 – Jess Hall Band EP 05/12 – The Black Keys - El Camino 05/12 – The Cure - Bestival Live 2011 05/12 – The Feeling - Singles Collection 05/12 – Dr. Dre - Detox 06/12 – Tony Hawks @ The Berry Theatre, Eastleigh 08/12 – New Year’s Eve (TBC, Warner Brothers) 08/12 – Frozen Planet - The Complete Series 09/12 – Another Earth (12A, Fox) 09/12 – Puss In Boots (U, Paramount) 09/12 – A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (18, Warner Brothers) 09/12 – Just Dance 3 - Special Edition (Playstation 3) 09/12 – Eggheads (Nintendo 3DS) 12/12 – Planet Of The Apes: Evolution Collection 12/12 – The Inbetweeners Movie 30
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November/December 2011
05
12
Title Fight 19 @ Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Monday
Monday
Bryan Adams @ Bournemouth International Centre
Delilah @ Joiners
Monday
06
Tuesday
20
The Puppini 13 Sisters @ Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms Professor Green & Rizzle Kicks @ 02 Academy Bournemouth
Tuesday
The Drums @ Portsmouth Pyramid Centre
Tuesday
November/December 2011
Gig Guide
30
Wednesday 21
14
Shaun Ryder @ Portsmouth Highlight
22
Thursday
Blitz Kids @ Joiners
15 Ed Tudor Pole @ Talking Heads
Thursday
TV Smith & 08 The Valentines @ Talking Heads
From 07 The Jam @ Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Wednesday
Thursday
01 Defenders Of The Faith III + Trivium + In Flames + Ghost + Insane @ Southampton Guildhall
Thursday
Wednesday
The Lemonheads @ Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Wolfsbane @ Southampton Joiners
Wednesday
Friday
The Pineapple Thief @ Joiners
Friendly Fires @ Guildhall
Friday
Electric Six @ 02 Academy Bournemouth
Gary Numan @ Guildhall
Friday
The Saturdays @ Bournemouth Windsor Hall
Das Racist @ Joiners
Friday
23
16
09
02
17
10
24
saTurday
Stereophonics @ 02 Academy Bournemouth
saTurday
saTurday
Adam Ant + 03 The Good, The Mad + The Lovely Posse @ Portsmouth Pyramid Cenre
saTurday
04
25
18
Christmas Day @ Christianity
sunday
Lindsay Buckingham @ Guildhall
sunday
Ginger Wildheart & Friends @ Talking Heads
The Ordinary 11 11 Boys @ Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
sunday
The Undertones @ Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
sunday