The University of Southamptonís Finest Entertainment PublicationIssue 2      15th October 2009

Oscar winning director Roman Polanski was detained by Swiss officials when he arrived in the country to pick up a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festi-val, and is now facing extradition to the US over his 1977 conviction for unlawful sex with a minor. His arrest has caused outcry, with Hollywood heavyweights such as Har-vey Weinstein and Stephen Frears signing a petition calling for his release, and even his victim has asked a US court for the charges to be dropped. Their dismay has not affected Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger however, as he has stated that Polanski should not receive special treatment just because he is a big-time film director. This may be the first time I have ever agreed with something that he has said.

If this piece of news has caused you any negative emotions, then take a leaf out of Senior Buddhist leader Ogyen Trinley Dor-je’s book. He has revealed that he plays violent video games as a way to wind down and relieve any negativity energy. Apparent-ly playing such games releases any negative thoughts or feelings within the context of the

illusion of the game, and getting out his ag-gression in the game rids him of the desire to express that feeling by going out and hit-ting someone. So all those who were wor-rying about the state of our nation’s youth and violent video games creating violent people, don’t. They are simply following new Buddhist teachings to rid their minds of wanting to hit you over the head.

If you found that bizarre, just read what Liam Gallagher is up to now Oasis are no more. The singer has decided to support a campaign to save the honey bee from extinction because he likes honey. He has claimed that without it he would have a rough voice after its healing powers helped to cure a throat virus he caught in August. Neither of the Gallagher brothers can ex-actly claim to have smooth as silk voices, but imagine how they would be without the honey taking away some of the roughness. Good reason to support the campaign to stop bees buzzing off I say!

Another singer on a campaign is Elton John, but his is of a more personal nature - he wants to adopt a child. After being de-nied the opportunity to adopt a Ukrainian

boy because he is both gay and too old, he and his partner David Furnish are now look-ing to Africa to provide them with a child. Africa has already let Madonna adopt two children, showing they clearly have no prob-lem with the question of age, so Elton could soon be a proud daddy. I can only imagine the crazy clothes that child will be dressed in.

On a final note, I leave you with some very sad news. Frankie Boyle has quit as a panel-list on satirical show Mock The Week, after 7 series entertaining the nation. His other television commitments have apparently led to the decision, but the door is open for him to come back. Lets hope he comes to his senses and returns.

- Brand New+ More!

- WTFest!- Noah and the Whale

+ More!

+ More!

Hi again,

Welcome to our second issue of the year. The editorial team have been working hard to make sure The Edge is bigger and better for you, hopefully with some apostrophes! For all you eagle-eyed readers who won-dered where they all were last issue, the only theory we can come up with is that the punctuation fairy stole them. To make up for it we have got some amaz-ing articles and features for you this issue. We review music from the likes of Noah and the Whale, Muse, The Voluntary Butler Scheme and Paramore, and our Live sec-tion is full of Green Day and WTFest? We also take a look at some of the latest film releases, including 500 Days of Summer, The Soloist and Inglourious Basterds. On top of all that we have a double-sided pull-out poster spread as a special treat. One side features the lovely Megan Fox for the boys, and the other Shia LeBeouf for the girls. Don’t say we never give you anything. If, for some unknown reason, we haven’t catered to your tastes, then email us what you want to see gracing The Edge! These pages wouldn’t be possible without all the lovely writers who contribute regularly, so if you want to get involved then let us know. It was great to see so many of you at our inaugural writers meeting, and we hope to see you all again soon! Another exciting day for the The Edge recently was our maiden show on Surge Radio. We now have a weekly show to play you all the new music we get sent, talk about the latest entertainment news and give you a run-down of the latest gigs in Southampton. Tune in on Saturdays from 1-2pm to listen to your favourite newspaper do radio. Don’t forget, if you want to get involved with The Edge, or have something to say about this issue, get in touch on the email address at the bottom of this column...we want to hear from you!

Editors: Emmeline Curtis and Tom ShepherdRecord Editor: Kate GoldingLive Editor: Hayley TaulbutFeatures Editor: Dan MorganFilm Editor: Stephen O’SheaGames Editor: Joe DartOnline Editor: Chris HootonEditor in Chief: Jamie Ings

With: Duncan Smith, Amy Cazneauz, Max Hughes-Williams, Laura Shattock, Joshua Treacer, Gareth Less, James Ash, Kavina Upadhyay, Craig Charley, Alexis Forss, Jazmin Sherman, Adam Vaughn, Ben Good, Amy Steadman, Luke Borrett

For enquiries email us:theedge@soton.ac.uk

For advertising email:james@susu.org

That’s Entertainment..By Emmeline Curtis

EDITORIAL

All Time Low, Pop Punk’s New Heroes?

INSIDE..Records

- Muse- All Time Low

Live- Green Day

Film- Inglourious Basterds- (500) Days of Summer- The Hurt Locker

- Dan Black InterviewFeatures

Games- Halo 3: ODST

Oscar winning director Roman Polanski was detained by Swiss officials when he arrived in the country to pick up a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festi-val, and is now facing extradition to the US over his 1977 conviction for unlawful sex with a minor. His arrest has caused outcry, with Hollywood heavyweights such as Har-vey Weinstein and Stephen Frears signing a petition calling for his release, and even his victim has asked a US court for the charges to be dropped. Their dismay has not affected Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger however, as he has stated that Polanski should not receive special treatment just because he is a big-time film director. This may be the first time I have ever agreed with something that he has said.

If this piece of news has caused you any negative emotions, then take a leaf out of Senior Buddhist leader Ogyen Trinley Dor-je’s book. He has revealed that he plays violent video games as a way to wind down and relieve any negativity energy. Apparent-ly playing such games releases any negative thoughts or feelings within the context of the

illusion of the game, and getting out his ag-gression in the game rids him of the desire to express that feeling by going out and hit-ting someone. So all those who were wor-rying about the state of our nation’s youth and violent video games creating violent people, don’t. They are simply following new Buddhist teachings to rid their minds of wanting to hit you over the head.

If you found that bizarre, just read what Liam Gallagher is up to now Oasis are no more. The singer has decided to support a campaign to save the honey bee from extinction because he likes honey. He has claimed that without it he would have a rough voice after its healing powers helped to cure a throat virus he caught in August. Neither of the Gallagher brothers can ex-actly claim to have smooth as silk voices, but imagine how they would be without the honey taking away some of the roughness. Good reason to support the campaign to stop bees buzzing off I say!

Another singer on a campaign is Elton John, but his is of a more personal nature - he wants to adopt a child. After being de-nied the opportunity to adopt a Ukrainian

boy because he is both gay and too old, he and his partner David Furnish are now look-ing to Africa to provide them with a child. Africa has already let Madonna adopt two children, showing they clearly have no prob-lem with the question of age, so Elton could soon be a proud daddy. I can only imagine the crazy clothes that child will be dressed in.

On a final note, I leave you with some very sad news. Frankie Boyle has quit as a panel-list on satirical show Mock The Week, after 7 series entertaining the nation. His other television commitments have apparently led to the decision, but the door is open for him to come back. Lets hope he comes to his senses and returns.

- Brand New+ More!

- WTFest!- Noah and the Whale

+ More!

+ More!

Hi again,

Welcome to our second issue of the year. The editorial team have been working hard to make sure The Edge is bigger and better for you, hopefully with some apostrophes! For all you eagle-eyed readers who won-dered where they all were last issue, the only theory we can come up with is that the punctuation fairy stole them. To make up for it we have got some amaz-ing articles and features for you this issue. We review music from the likes of Noah and the Whale, Muse, The Voluntary Butler Scheme and Paramore, and our Live sec-tion is full of Green Day and WTFest? We also take a look at some of the latest film releases, including 500 Days of Summer, The Soloist and Inglourious Basterds. On top of all that we have a double-sided pull-out poster spread as a special treat. One side features the lovely Megan Fox for the boys, and the other Shia LeBeouf for the girls. Don’t say we never give you anything. If, for some unknown reason, we haven’t catered to your tastes, then email us what you want to see gracing The Edge! These pages wouldn’t be possible without all the lovely writers who contribute regularly, so if you want to get involved then let us know. It was great to see so many of you at our inaugural writers meeting, and we hope to see you all again soon! Another exciting day for the The Edge recently was our maiden show on Surge Radio. We now have a weekly show to play you all the new music we get sent, talk about the latest entertainment news and give you a run-down of the latest gigs in Southampton. Tune in on Saturdays from 1-2pm to listen to your favourite newspaper do radio. Don’t forget, if you want to get involved with The Edge, or have something to say about this issue, get in touch on the email address at the bottom of this column...we want to hear from you!

Editors: Emmeline Curtis and Tom ShepherdRecord Editor: Kate GoldingLive Editor: Hayley TaulbutFeatures Editor: Dan MorganFilm Editor: Stephen O’SheaGames Editor: Joe DartOnline Editor: Chris HootonEditor in Chief: Jamie Ings

With: Duncan Smith, Amy Cazneauz, Max Hughes-Williams, Laura Shattock, Joshua Treacer, Gareth Less, James Ash, Kavina Upadhyay, Craig Charley, Alexis Forss, Jazmin Sherman, Adam Vaughn, Ben Good, Amy Steadman, Luke Borrett

For enquiries email us:theedge@soton.ac.uk

For advertising email:james@susu.org

That’s Entertainment..By Emmeline Curtis

EDITORIAL

All Time Low, Pop Punk’s New Heroes?

INSIDE..Records

- Muse- All Time Low

Live- Green Day

Film- Inglourious Basterds- (500) Days of Summer- The Hurt Locker

- Dan Black InterviewFeatures

Games- Halo 3: ODST

Over the past 4 album releases, Muse have reached massive heights in both the British and international music scene. The Resistance, the 5th studio album by the Devon trio, was always destined to have a huge task to live up to fan expectations. Underlying contrasting emotions of intense love and civil disobedience once again fight through the entire album, although in some of the tracks this all becomes a bit too pre-dictable. Each track is undoubtedly perfectly produced, and is exciting to once again hear a heavy classical influence throughout, with Matt’s signature piano featuring frequently.

The already heavily played ‘Uprising’ and title track ‘Resistance’ are perhaps the only two stand-out radio-friendly tunes for sin-gle release in this album. ‘Resistance’, al-though very similar to many previous Muse tracks, is definitely catchy, with the “it could

3/5Good: Muse con-tinue to push the boundaries with this ambitious album.

Bad: Influences ap-pear confused at times with an over-indulgence with the 80’s sound.

The XX are not the next big thing. They sing gentle, simple and intimate songs ide-ally enjoyed on your own, possibly after a breakup. Not the sort of thing you’ll hear on the radio. On listening to them however, you understand why pop would never have been a sensible career move for this equally sexed and extremely young fourpiece.

Their sparse debut (XX) is on first listen just too god damn easy. Programmed drums tap beats as electric and bass guitars strum

small melodies and the two lead singers, Ol-iver Sim and Romy Madley Croft, sing their hushed spar. Repeat listens however, reveal true warmth at the heart of the record. What at first seems like fairly clinical instrumenta-tion is later revealed as a deep and perfectly timed structure on which Croft’s superb vo-cal talent can truly shine. Singing most of the time with vocal partner Oliver Sim, she utters lyrics which few can match in person-ality, style or grace.

It is claimed by Sim and Croft that in the sixteen years they have known each other they have learnt to talk together. What they mean by this is not necessarily clear, but

they do seem to have an amazing talent for creating an atmosphere that is both elegant and affectionate. Lyrics such as “Maybe I had said/ Something that was wrong/ Can I make it better/ With the lights turned on” . seem to delve into areas of their relationship which no external observer would normally bare witness to. It’s this subtle openness to their singing which makes you feel like you are more than just a listener. By the end you feel involved in the flow of ideas from one to the other and you can’t help but feel that you are witnessing something pure and good.

In the end The XX may not be to eve-ryones taste. The heavy dose of intimacy

mixed with sparse instrumentation is some-thing that not everyone is going to identify with, but I believe that if you’re the type of person that can happily dedicate time to this album it’s something that will reward you for doing so.

4/5Good: Raw talent and emotion.

Bad: Requires dedi-cation and time to learn to love it.

RECORDS

be wrong, could be wrong, but it shouldn’t be right” singing through your head. ‘Un-disclosed Desires’ tries to imitate the R‘n’B vibes which proved to be so successful in ‘Supermassive Black Hole’, and illustrating the band’s numerous influences.

However, perhaps some of those influ-ences should have been more restrained. The 80’s sound of ‘Guiding Light’ comes across frankly tacky, awkward and overly garish. Equally ‘United States of Eurasia’ is both obvious and brash.

This is perhaps the trio’s most ambitious studio album to date, moving away from the conventional record format, with the 15 minute long rock-symphony ‘Exogenesis’, which used over 40 musicians in the record-ing process. This conglomeration of rock guitar riffs, powerful vocals from Matt, clas-sical piano and strings result in a beautiful,

yet somewhat surreal end to the album. This album certainly is different from

the Muse of before, but like all great bands they must move on. It is impossible for a loyal Muse fan to not compare this record with the best of Muse past. Origin of Sym-metry or Showbiz it certainly is not, it does not even come close. Yet The Resistance does hint at the same intelligence, political excitement and passion, and at times musi-cal lunacy of their past releases. At times this album is brilliant, however its influences are confused throughout, and this brilliance could become overshadowed by the arro-gant, cliché 80s influenced few tracks.

Regardless of the success of this album, Muse will undoubtedly continue to thrill with their live performances. Classical in-terludes featuring in such tracks as ‘Butter-flies and Hurricanes’ have always captured

their audiences. Parts of ‘Exogenesis’ could develop that further dimension to their per-formance, making their shows even more magical. However, let’s hope they don’t over perform a few of the other tracks!

Laura Shattock

Joshua Treacer

Muse

The Resistance

XXUpcoming tour

November 2009

The XX

RECORDS

RECORDS

‘If it ain’t broke, tweak it a bit’ may not be a well known adage, but it’s a great sum up of InMe’s 4th album Herald Moth – an album where the band take what they do best and do it better.

It’s been two years since Daydream Anonymous and a few things have changed. The addition of Ben Konstantinovic proves a master stroke, freeing up Dave McPher-son to improve his vocals while adding an extremely talented lead guitar into the mix. It is these two elements which really make this album a marked improvement over its predecessors.

The album has some great tracks, ‘Belief Revival’ and ‘Nova Armada’ being two that stand out, offering up some much improved vocals as well as vindicating the addition of Konstantinovic, who pitches in with some stunning guitar riffs, creating a much deeper and more balanced sound. This is also evi-dent in the slower tracks, ‘I Will Honour You’ and ‘All Terrain Vehicle’ offer up a far more considered mature sound that seem to lend heavily from McPherson’s recent solo work.

As far as catchy lyrics and big hooks go

By James Ash

Paramore are back, according to their latest single ‘Ignorance’ anyway. Once again the pop-punk band have created a track with a great tempo and hard hitting lyr-ics to grab everybody’s attention. I feel this track is a great way to introduce their fans and new listeners to their new album Brand New Eyes.

The track gives every Paramore fan what they want. The verses build up to the bridge and chorus brilliantly, and the chorus itself snatches your attention, with Hayley Wil-liams proving her vocal talents have not faded in the slightest. The lyrics are slightly aggressive, but every decent Paramore track has the same trait; they do not tiptoe around issues. Paramore get straight to the point, allowing their fans to enjoy the song, rather than trying to analyse them to death. Other ‘emo’ bands make songs hard work, no matter how good they sound.

One issue some may have is that ‘Igno-

By Kavina Upadhyay

Los Campesinos! have definitely grown up from the days where it sounded like they were working off their latest sugar rush. This track off their upcoming 2010 album, Future, shows a long journey to maturity from 2007’s kitchen-thrashing debut We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives. Don’t get me wrong, the Welsh septet still unabash-edly use their signature collective shouts to make their music sound effortlessly DIY-ed, but the departure of vocalist Aleks has made them sound less early Cribs and more late Maccabees. Gareth reclaims every right as the lead vocalist with the lyrics rolling out in a sort of hollow, matter-of-fact jumble to spell out a story about a girl lost in a world of anorexia and depression.

Trust me, it is not as cliched as it sounds. The bands vocals rest on a string quartet that demands attention and by the last cho-rus you are left aching, exhausted by the beautiful emptiness this girl seems to feel (“But oh I can see five hundred years dead set ahead of me / Five hundred behind / A thousand years in perfect symmetry” ).

If Los Campesinos! are releasing this track first so as to set the tone for the rest of the album then I for one cannot wait for the rest of Future to hit in 2010.

4/5Good: An exciting band who demand attention.

Bad: The band have set a high standard for their album to live up to!

rance’ needs to grow on you, rather than be-ing an instant hit. The track easily deserves recognition however, and wets the appetite brilliantly for Brand New Eyes. We have had to wait two years for new Paramore mate-rial, and we have not been disappointed.

the first single to come off the album, ‘Single Of The Weak’, delivers in spades. It sounds a bit shallower than the other tracks but achieves the mandatory infectious one lin-ers as well as some ironic social commen-tary.

‘You Won’t Hear From Me Again’ the first track on the album, while a solid track sums up the pros and cons from this entire album. Its desire to be all things to all men and chucking in various genres, instead of giving the sense that the band is proving its range comes across as if they don’t know what they should sound like.

As good as the tracks are, the album as a whole feels a little jarring; the various styles make it sound messy rather than diverse. Nonetheless the more I listen to this album the more I like it; there are some real gems in there. The album as a whole may be a lit-tle less than the sum of its parts but with the improved vocals and guitar, they turn out to be some damn good parts. A great im-provement on previous albums, more evolu-tion than revolution, but it’ll please fans and prove a good listen.

Gareth Lees

Ignorance

Herald Moth

Like this?Try Fightstar out!

4/5

SinglesParamore 4/5

The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future

Los Campesinos!

More like this?Fellow Arts & Crafts band Stars

InMe“ This album sees the band take what they do best

and do it better”

RECORDS

‘If it ain’t broke, tweak it a bit’ may not be a well known adage, but it’s a great sum up of InMe’s 4th album Herald Moth – an album where the band take what they do best and do it better.

It’s been two years since Daydream Anonymous and a few things have changed. The addition of Ben Konstantinovic proves a master stroke, freeing up Dave McPher-son to improve his vocals while adding an extremely talented lead guitar into the mix. It is these two elements which really make this album a marked improvement over its predecessors.

The album has some great tracks, ‘Belief Revival’ and ‘Nova Armada’ being two that stand out, offering up some much improved vocals as well as vindicating the addition of Konstantinovic, who pitches in with some stunning guitar riffs, creating a much deeper and more balanced sound. This is also evi-dent in the slower tracks, ‘I Will Honour You’ and ‘All Terrain Vehicle’ offer up a far more considered mature sound that seem to lend heavily from McPherson’s recent solo work.

As far as catchy lyrics and big hooks go

By James Ash

Paramore are back, according to their latest single ‘Ignorance’ anyway. Once again the pop-punk band have created a track with a great tempo and hard hitting lyr-ics to grab everybody’s attention. I feel this track is a great way to introduce their fans and new listeners to their new album Brand New Eyes.

The track gives every Paramore fan what they want. The verses build up to the bridge and chorus brilliantly, and the chorus itself snatches your attention, with Hayley Wil-liams proving her vocal talents have not faded in the slightest. The lyrics are slightly aggressive, but every decent Paramore track has the same trait; they do not tiptoe around issues. Paramore get straight to the point, allowing their fans to enjoy the song, rather than trying to analyse them to death. Other ‘emo’ bands make songs hard work, no matter how good they sound.

One issue some may have is that ‘Igno-

By Kavina Upadhyay

Los Campesinos! have definitely grown up from the days where it sounded like they were working off their latest sugar rush. This track off their upcoming 2010 album, Future, shows a long journey to maturity from 2007’s kitchen-thrashing debut We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives. Don’t get me wrong, the Welsh septet still unabash-edly use their signature collective shouts to make their music sound effortlessly DIY-ed, but the departure of vocalist Aleks has made them sound less early Cribs and more late Maccabees. Gareth reclaims every right as the lead vocalist with the lyrics rolling out in a sort of hollow, matter-of-fact jumble to spell out a story about a girl lost in a world of anorexia and depression.

Trust me, it is not as cliched as it sounds. The bands vocals rest on a string quartet that demands attention and by the last cho-rus you are left aching, exhausted by the beautiful emptiness this girl seems to feel (“But oh I can see five hundred years dead set ahead of me / Five hundred behind / A thousand years in perfect symmetry” ).

If Los Campesinos! are releasing this track first so as to set the tone for the rest of the album then I for one cannot wait for the rest of Future to hit in 2010.

4/5Good: An exciting band who demand attention.

Bad: The band have set a high standard for their album to live up to!

rance’ needs to grow on you, rather than be-ing an instant hit. The track easily deserves recognition however, and wets the appetite brilliantly for Brand New Eyes. We have had to wait two years for new Paramore mate-rial, and we have not been disappointed.

the first single to come off the album, ‘Single Of The Weak’, delivers in spades. It sounds a bit shallower than the other tracks but achieves the mandatory infectious one lin-ers as well as some ironic social commen-tary.

‘You Won’t Hear From Me Again’ the first track on the album, while a solid track sums up the pros and cons from this entire album. Its desire to be all things to all men and chucking in various genres, instead of giving the sense that the band is proving its range comes across as if they don’t know what they should sound like.

As good as the tracks are, the album as a whole feels a little jarring; the various styles make it sound messy rather than diverse. Nonetheless the more I listen to this album the more I like it; there are some real gems in there. The album as a whole may be a lit-tle less than the sum of its parts but with the improved vocals and guitar, they turn out to be some damn good parts. A great im-provement on previous albums, more evolu-tion than revolution, but it’ll please fans and prove a good listen.

Gareth Lees

Ignorance

Herald Moth

Like this?Try Fightstar out!

4/5

SinglesParamore 4/5

The Sea is a Good Place to Think of the Future

Los Campesinos!

More like this?Fellow Arts & Crafts band Stars

InMe“ This album sees the band take what they do best

and do it better” RECORDS

How does a cult band, with a terrifyingly devoted fan-base, go about following the album which gave them widespread ac-claim? The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me, released in 2006, received glowing re-views, aided by the tortured image of Jesse Lacey and a marked refusal to elaborate on his cathartic songs. So, when listening to Daisy, the question in most minds is obvi-ous: could Brand New match, or even top, their classic? To say that ultimately the an-swer to this question is no, does the band, and the album, a disservice. Referring to TDAGARIM as a masterpiece of the genre is no act of journalistic hyperbole; few bands have ever been able to produce an album of comparable depth, both sonically and lyri-cally. What is clear, is that, rightly or wrongly, the band’s career from here on will always be compared to the heights they reached in 2006, perhaps unfavourably so.

Daisy’s strengths and weaknesses lie in the divergences from TDAGARIM. Perhaps aware that recreating the raw intensity of songs such as ‘You Won’t Know’ would be

impossible, Daisy’s strongest songs have echoes of the past in the layered distortion and feedback, and in the duelling vocals, yet they never explode in the same unrestrained manner of TDAGARIM; instead, on songs like ‘Sink’, ‘In A Jar’ and ‘Noro’, the band seem to have taken a more nuanced ap-proach. In contrast, the songs which come closest to TDAGARIM in sound, ‘Vices’ and ‘At The Bottom’, are two of the weakest: both strive to replicate the emotional chaos of the previous album, but never reach the same heights. Nonetheless, the second half of the record, from ‘Sink’ onwards, is an ab-solute joy. Brand New’s embracing of the quiet/loud dynamic empowers the record: while far from a new approach, there are few bands who can create such a marked contrast between the light and space of their quiet moments, and the swirling lay-ers of noise when the volume increases.

The album’s highlight, how-ever, is ‘You Stole A Song’, which encapsulates all that Brand New represents; there is noise, there are quiet, re-flective passages, the vocals whisper hauntingly, while the lyrics show the band at their introspective best.

In the end, the album raises as many questions as it answers. Jesse Lacey, always an enigmatic figure, has recently been commenting on the band’s desire to tour less, and, their lifespan as a group. As ‘Noro’, the album’s standout track, closes with the line “ I’m on my way out” , the listen-er has to wonder how much longer Brand New will be around to continue making their chaotic, cathartic brand of music.

4/5Good: Diverse and at times as good as anything Brand New have produced be-fore.

Bad: As many weak songs as there are enjoyable.

After the lively, upbeat, fun song ‘Five Years Time’ came a relatively unsuccessful album, and then came this, the latest album from Noah and the Whale. I was quite ex-cited after hearing great radio reviews, but this just lead to a total disappointment. I waited patiently throughout this album for a song that had the bounce of ‘Five Years Time’, but no luck. Although the songs had beauty and a general sense of loveliness they were all too similar, making the overall album sound like a drone, and is probably why my housemate asked why I was playing the same song on repeat for the past hour!

The album has a hopeless lengthy in-troduction followed by a barely discernible track that is approximately six minutes too long, and eight more that follow along the same lines. However, there is one song that differs from the rest, but not for the right rea-sons. ‘Love Of An Orchestra’ is very differ-ent; so much so that I thought my computer

had gone mad! It’s still not got that kick the album so desperately needs however, and although it’s slightly more upbeat it’s still drivel!

Although this album does prove a relax-ing listen there is a very fine line between boring and tranquil, and regrettably it falls on the dull side of tranquil.

Unfortunately I think ‘Five Years Time’ was a one off, but if you like Coldplay’s depressing songs this album could be for you. I can’t understand where their self pro-claimed ‘punk rock’ influence is, but per-haps they’ll find it with their recently stolen musical instruments.

Overall I think this album would have been better named ‘The First Days of Win-ter’, as spring is far too encouraging for the depressing songs included.

2/5

“ The listener has to wonder how much longer Brand New will be around”

Like this? Be sure to check out the Noah and the Whale live review!

Brand NewDaisy Duncan Smith

Upcoming23rd January, Wembley Arena

Noah and theWhaleAmy Cazneaux

The First Days Of Spring

RECORDS

I picked this album for review purely on the basis of the band’s name; The Voluntary Butler Scheme just stood out and I thought what the heck, they might be pretty good. A quick Google tells me At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea is their debut album, assuring me it’s ok that I’ve never heard of them before.

I can’t quite put my finger on just who TVBS remind me of, but I’m sure it’s a band I like; their songs are catchy, cheery and most importantly fun. The subject matter is the typical boy loves girl fare, so if you’re one of those people who moan about ‘rubbish love songs’ then you’ll probably moan about TVBS. I, however, think pretty much all mu-sic is about love of some kind or another,

and I freely admit to a bit of a soft spot for songs like ‘Multiplayer’ and ‘Trading Things In’, with the awesome lyric “ if you were broccoli I’d turn vegetarian for you” . Despite its cliché theme of boy can’t live without girl I can see exactly why it was picked as a record of the week on Radio 2.

If neither of those are to your taste there are plenty more to pick from, with At Break-fast, Dinner, Tea coming in at 14 tracks long - there’s a good chance you’ll find a song you enjoy, and unlike some long albums you shouldn’t find it very hard to listen to this one all in one sitting. I will warn you that ‘Split’ might just get into your head and refuse to leave, though I’ve not found that to

be a bad thing at all. I’ll certainly pester my co-host to let me play it on our Surge show.

Now I’m not someone who listens only to one or two genres of music so I’m well aware TVBS will only appeal to those of you who enjoy indie music, given its extreme lightness and lack of heavy guitar or drums. It really is the kind of music best suited to summer, and a release this late in the year probably won’t do them any favours in terms of album sales, but get your hands on a copy of At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea and keep an eye out for them in the small tents at next year’s festivals.

Overall this album is catchy and enjoy-able to listen to, though no particular song

jumps out as unbelievable. Keep an eye on TVBS though, as they might just be one of the next big indie bands if their publicity ma-chine gets in gear.

4/5Good: Catchy and very summery. A band to keep an eye on.

Bad: Songs are pretty much all clichéd boy loves girl fare.

Having been so successful with So Wrong, It’s Right, All Time Low’s new album has been highly anticipated by the growing number of fans in this country. The numbers speak for themselves, having sold 60,000 copies in its first week it reached number 4 in the US charts, treading a path similar to that of Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy. With these impressive figures I was expecting big things from Nothing Personal.

Catchy lyrics and melodies are the key-stone to this album, it has the feeling that the All Time Low boys are having a party and that everyone is invited. Although Nothing Personal is definitely not riotous, groundbreaking or a classic by all means, it is simply a bit of fun and does the job well. I’d say that this album is definitely a tale of three parts.

The first five tracks are exactly what All Time Low are about. Radio hit ‘Weightless’ really epitomises this sort of happy-go-lucky pop-punk which All Time Low have perfect-ed. The middle section of this album is so obviously filler and really shouldn’t appear on an album of a band of this calibre. From ‘Sick Little Games’ to ‘Too Much’, this part of the album is a real disappointment as the

songs just don’t quite deliver. They never seem to peak and are mediocre at best. The chorus’ are dull and pointless, and I find myself skipping these songs out as soon as they come on. ‘Hello Brooklyn’ is listenable but too cheesy even for All Time Low and frankly, annoying. ‘Walls’ is actually good for this middle section with a roaring chorus and a fun breakdown, although of course there are the cliché lyrics.

The last four songs on the album are a pleasant reward for those who perse-vered during the middle few songs. ‘Poison’ probably isn’t the quite epic ending they were hoping for, but to be honest, All Time Low are not about the epic and this song sees them return to doing ‘fun’ again. ‘Keep The Change, You Filthy Animal’ is probably one of my favourites on the album, featuring a wonderful breakdown which I just love.

All in all this album is alright. It is nothing spectacular but enjoyable nonethe-less. I think All Time Low have a lot more to offer live, with plenty of energy and all round entertainment, particularly as the songs always sound much better than through your laptop speakers.

3/5Good: Strong at the beginning and end.

Bad: Too much bad filler.

The Voluntary Butler Scheme

Max Hughes- WilliamsAt Breakfast, Dinner, Tea

All Time Low Nothing PersonalKate Golding

Upcoming TourOctober 2009 and January 2010

“ All Time Low are having a party and everyone is invited”

Upcoming Show23rd October, Winchester

RECORDS

I picked this album for review purely on the basis of the band’s name; The Voluntary Butler Scheme just stood out and I thought what the heck, they might be pretty good. A quick Google tells me At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea is their debut album, assuring me it’s ok that I’ve never heard of them before.

I can’t quite put my finger on just who TVBS remind me of, but I’m sure it’s a band I like; their songs are catchy, cheery and most importantly fun. The subject matter is the typical boy loves girl fare, so if you’re one of those people who moan about ‘rubbish love songs’ then you’ll probably moan about TVBS. I, however, think pretty much all mu-sic is about love of some kind or another,

and I freely admit to a bit of a soft spot for songs like ‘Multiplayer’ and ‘Trading Things In’, with the awesome lyric “ if you were broccoli I’d turn vegetarian for you” . Despite its cliché theme of boy can’t live without girl I can see exactly why it was picked as a record of the week on Radio 2.

If neither of those are to your taste there are plenty more to pick from, with At Break-fast, Dinner, Tea coming in at 14 tracks long - there’s a good chance you’ll find a song you enjoy, and unlike some long albums you shouldn’t find it very hard to listen to this one all in one sitting. I will warn you that ‘Split’ might just get into your head and refuse to leave, though I’ve not found that to

be a bad thing at all. I’ll certainly pester my co-host to let me play it on our Surge show.

Now I’m not someone who listens only to one or two genres of music so I’m well aware TVBS will only appeal to those of you who enjoy indie music, given its extreme lightness and lack of heavy guitar or drums. It really is the kind of music best suited to summer, and a release this late in the year probably won’t do them any favours in terms of album sales, but get your hands on a copy of At Breakfast, Dinner, Tea and keep an eye out for them in the small tents at next year’s festivals.

Overall this album is catchy and enjoy-able to listen to, though no particular song

jumps out as unbelievable. Keep an eye on TVBS though, as they might just be one of the next big indie bands if their publicity ma-chine gets in gear.

4/5Good: Catchy and very summery. A band to keep an eye on.

Bad: Songs are pretty much all clichéd boy loves girl fare.

Having been so successful with So Wrong, It’s Right, All Time Low’s new album has been highly anticipated by the growing number of fans in this country. The numbers speak for themselves, having sold 60,000 copies in its first week it reached number 4 in the US charts, treading a path similar to that of Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy. With these impressive figures I was expecting big things from Nothing Personal.

Catchy lyrics and melodies are the key-stone to this album, it has the feeling that the All Time Low boys are having a party and that everyone is invited. Although Nothing Personal is definitely not riotous, groundbreaking or a classic by all means, it is simply a bit of fun and does the job well. I’d say that this album is definitely a tale of three parts.

The first five tracks are exactly what All Time Low are about. Radio hit ‘Weightless’ really epitomises this sort of happy-go-lucky pop-punk which All Time Low have perfect-ed. The middle section of this album is so obviously filler and really shouldn’t appear on an album of a band of this calibre. From ‘Sick Little Games’ to ‘Too Much’, this part of the album is a real disappointment as the

songs just don’t quite deliver. They never seem to peak and are mediocre at best. The chorus’ are dull and pointless, and I find myself skipping these songs out as soon as they come on. ‘Hello Brooklyn’ is listenable but too cheesy even for All Time Low and frankly, annoying. ‘Walls’ is actually good for this middle section with a roaring chorus and a fun breakdown, although of course there are the cliché lyrics.

The last four songs on the album are a pleasant reward for those who perse-vered during the middle few songs. ‘Poison’ probably isn’t the quite epic ending they were hoping for, but to be honest, All Time Low are not about the epic and this song sees them return to doing ‘fun’ again. ‘Keep The Change, You Filthy Animal’ is probably one of my favourites on the album, featuring a wonderful breakdown which I just love.

All in all this album is alright. It is nothing spectacular but enjoyable nonethe-less. I think All Time Low have a lot more to offer live, with plenty of energy and all round entertainment, particularly as the songs always sound much better than through your laptop speakers.

3/5Good: Strong at the beginning and end.

Bad: Too much bad filler.

The Voluntary Butler Scheme

Max Hughes- WilliamsAt Breakfast, Dinner, Tea

All Time Low Nothing PersonalKate Golding

Upcoming TourOctober 2009 and January 2010

“ All Time Low are having a party and everyone is invited”

Upcoming Show23rd October, Winchester

They Don’t Make Music Like They Used To

by Dan Morgan

SECTION

I am often criticised by my friends for my enjoyment of so-called ‘old’ music. Now were I not a soft, wilting, cowardly soul, I would find this annoying. In the past I have tried in vain to persuade my critics that music should be defined by its own merit, rather than the decade it was released in. So, in the spirit of bal-anced debate, I have put together a list of seven ‘oldies’, real giants of the post-Presley musical revolution, in an effort to prove that popular music written before 1990 should not be regarded as the sole reserve of pissed old farts in suburban pubs.

I FEEL FINE – The Beatles

There are many criticisms that can be levelled at the Fab Four, but their impact on all strands of contemporary music is un-deniable. ‘I Feel Fine’, released as a single in 1964 is a prime example of The Beatles’ ability to write the perfect pop song.

Famously turned away from their first ap-plication for a record deal because ‘guitar music was a dying breed’, almost every one of the band’s singles was revolutionary in some way. ‘I Feel Fine’ features the first amp feedback to be purposefully included on a single, paving the way for the heavier sound of following bands.

DESOLATION ROW - BOB DYLAN

Arguably the most influential living mu-sician (disregarding the remaining Beatles) produced his finest work in this masterpiece off Highway 61 Revisited. Written in Dylan’s trademark simplistic melodic style, ‘Desola-tion Row’ showcases the reclusive Ameri-can’s true genius as a lyricist. More acces-sible than ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and more profound than ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, this 10-minute homage to the bohe-mian dream demonstrates Dylan’s ‘thin, wild mercury sound’ at its very best.

BORN IN THE USA - Bruce Springsteen

One of the world’s most famous protest songs, ‘Born in the USA’ (1984) captured a generation’s confusion, fear and resentment about the impact of the Vietnam War on 70s America. The opening line, “ Born down in a dead man’s town” , gives an idea of the post-modern feeling of disillusionment so prevalent at the time of the song’s release. Famously, the Boss has refused to play this song on some of his recent tours as he be-lieves the song’s political message has been corrupted. It remains a brilliant song though, and you won’t find a more powerful piece of classic rock anywhere.

RESPECT – Aretha Franklin

Motown music swept post-war America, and has sustained its success into the 21st Century. Seen by many as possessing one of the best voices in music, Aretha Franklin is at her riveting best in ‘Respect’. Catchy and upbeat, but complex enough for Aretha to show off her world-beating voice as well as any of her other tracks, ‘Respect’ has everything that makes motown great.

LOVE WILL TEAR US APART – Joy Division

A sharp contrast from the generally up-beat tracks in this list, Joy Division’s biggest chart success was tragically defined by the suicide of the band’s lyricist and vocalist Ian Curtis. Suffering from depression and epi-lepsy, Curtis killed himself in 1980 just after the band finished producing what was to be its last album. Released as a single, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was the band’s biggest success, and went a great way to launching the post-punk revolution.

With a typically dark theme and sporting Curtis’ signature slow, deep vocals, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was this iconic band’s finest production.

ANARCHY IN THE UK – The Sex Pistols

There are many criticisms that can be levelled against The Pistols; instrumentally amateur at times and lyrically hopeless at others, there is a strong argument for writing off The Pistols as an affront to music. Doing so however, would be a huge mistake. The ecstatic fury of the band’s material is infec-tious, and nowhere is this more evident than on the band’s debut single ‘Anarchy in the UK’, released in 1976. Even after the impact of rock bands like The Rolling Stones and The Who, the attitude of The Sex Pistols shocked the music industry. The opening line of ‘Anarchy in the UK’, “ I am an anti-christ, I am an anarchist” , could be said to have kick-started the entire punk move-ment.

REDEMPTION SONG - Bob Marley

Written shortly after he was diagnosed with the cancer that would eventually kill him, this is Marley at his most profound.

Touching on the subject of his own mortality, the song also uses lines taken from a speech by civil-rights activist Marcus Gavey.

‘Redemption Song’ was released on the album ‘Uprising’, which was put out the year before Marley’s death. As such, it was to be the last album released during Marley’s life-time.

The only solo track on the album, ‘Re-demption Song’ is immensely poignant, and all the more powerful for its basic construc-tion.

THE ALTERNATIVE TOP SEVEN

Push It - Salt and Pepper

Shut Uppa Your Face - Joe Dolce

Oops Upside Your Head - Gap Band

Puppy Love - Donny Osmond

Lady in Red - Chris de Burgh

Achey Brakey Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus

If You Leave Me Now - Chicago

FEATURE

They Don’t Make Music Like They Used To

by Dan Morgan

SECTION

I am often criticised by my friends for my enjoyment of so-called ‘old’ music. Now were I not a soft, wilting, cowardly soul, I would find this annoying. In the past I have tried in vain to persuade my critics that music should be defined by its own merit, rather than the decade it was released in. So, in the spirit of bal-anced debate, I have put together a list of seven ‘oldies’, real giants of the post-Presley musical revolution, in an effort to prove that popular music written before 1990 should not be regarded as the sole reserve of pissed old farts in suburban pubs.

I FEEL FINE – The Beatles

There are many criticisms that can be levelled at the Fab Four, but their impact on all strands of contemporary music is un-deniable. ‘I Feel Fine’, released as a single in 1964 is a prime example of The Beatles’ ability to write the perfect pop song.

Famously turned away from their first ap-plication for a record deal because ‘guitar music was a dying breed’, almost every one of the band’s singles was revolutionary in some way. ‘I Feel Fine’ features the first amp feedback to be purposefully included on a single, paving the way for the heavier sound of following bands.

DESOLATION ROW - BOB DYLAN

Arguably the most influential living mu-sician (disregarding the remaining Beatles) produced his finest work in this masterpiece off Highway 61 Revisited. Written in Dylan’s trademark simplistic melodic style, ‘Desola-tion Row’ showcases the reclusive Ameri-can’s true genius as a lyricist. More acces-sible than ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and more profound than ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, this 10-minute homage to the bohe-mian dream demonstrates Dylan’s ‘thin, wild mercury sound’ at its very best.

BORN IN THE USA - Bruce Springsteen

One of the world’s most famous protest songs, ‘Born in the USA’ (1984) captured a generation’s confusion, fear and resentment about the impact of the Vietnam War on 70s America. The opening line, “ Born down in a dead man’s town” , gives an idea of the post-modern feeling of disillusionment so prevalent at the time of the song’s release. Famously, the Boss has refused to play this song on some of his recent tours as he be-lieves the song’s political message has been corrupted. It remains a brilliant song though, and you won’t find a more powerful piece of classic rock anywhere.

RESPECT – Aretha Franklin

Motown music swept post-war America, and has sustained its success into the 21st Century. Seen by many as possessing one of the best voices in music, Aretha Franklin is at her riveting best in ‘Respect’. Catchy and upbeat, but complex enough for Aretha to show off her world-beating voice as well as any of her other tracks, ‘Respect’ has everything that makes motown great.

LOVE WILL TEAR US APART – Joy Division

A sharp contrast from the generally up-beat tracks in this list, Joy Division’s biggest chart success was tragically defined by the suicide of the band’s lyricist and vocalist Ian Curtis. Suffering from depression and epi-lepsy, Curtis killed himself in 1980 just after the band finished producing what was to be its last album. Released as a single, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was the band’s biggest success, and went a great way to launching the post-punk revolution.

With a typically dark theme and sporting Curtis’ signature slow, deep vocals, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was this iconic band’s finest production.

ANARCHY IN THE UK – The Sex Pistols

There are many criticisms that can be levelled against The Pistols; instrumentally amateur at times and lyrically hopeless at others, there is a strong argument for writing off The Pistols as an affront to music. Doing so however, would be a huge mistake. The ecstatic fury of the band’s material is infec-tious, and nowhere is this more evident than on the band’s debut single ‘Anarchy in the UK’, released in 1976. Even after the impact of rock bands like The Rolling Stones and The Who, the attitude of The Sex Pistols shocked the music industry. The opening line of ‘Anarchy in the UK’, “ I am an anti-christ, I am an anarchist” , could be said to have kick-started the entire punk move-ment.

REDEMPTION SONG - Bob Marley

Written shortly after he was diagnosed with the cancer that would eventually kill him, this is Marley at his most profound.

Touching on the subject of his own mortality, the song also uses lines taken from a speech by civil-rights activist Marcus Gavey.

‘Redemption Song’ was released on the album ‘Uprising’, which was put out the year before Marley’s death. As such, it was to be the last album released during Marley’s life-time.

The only solo track on the album, ‘Re-demption Song’ is immensely poignant, and all the more powerful for its basic construc-tion.

THE ALTERNATIVE TOP SEVEN

Push It - Salt and Pepper

Shut Uppa Your Face - Joe Dolce

Oops Upside Your Head - Gap Band

Puppy Love - Donny Osmond

Lady in Red - Chris de Burgh

Achey Brakey Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus

If You Leave Me Now - Chicago

FEATURE

Genre: Electronica Pop

Label: Polydor A&M

Singles: Alone Yours HYPNTZ U + Me = SymphoniesAlbums: ((un))

Myspace:

www.myspace.com/danblacksound

Tours: Currently on tour

THE KEY FACTS:

SECTION

Dan BlackFor those that haven’t heard you, how

would you describe your sound and who would you say your influences were?

I guess I’d say my sound was quite dis-parate. I could probably list a load of people but that would be quite boring. so the most important things are kind of slightly modern, experimental, kind of hip-hop production, mixed with quite heart felt, English alterna-tive pop, mixed with a film tracky sound-track sound. To touch on that say Missy El-liot, The Smiths, Sigur Ros.

You’ve been tipped for big things this year. Do you find that that adds pressure for you?

I want that, I want people to like what I’m doing and think I am going to do well. If no one was hearing me it’d be s***. I want peo-ple to go “ he might do well” or “ he will do well” .

I’ve heard you’ve had something of a run in with the Notorious BIG regard-ing what was going to be the new single ‘Hypntyz’, could you tell us a bit about that?

It’s a long story. Basically I did a song called ‘Hypnotise’ that took varying, crazily difficult to clear samples, and over the top of it I wrote a melody to the song by Notori-

ous BIG, ‘Hypnotise’. And it was going to be my next single and on the night of the video shoot for the single, day before the single, we suddenly got word from Notori-ous BIG’s estate, he’s dead now, saying you can’t use the lyrics. Apparently they have a policy, which we didn’t know about, where they flatly refuse any use, and the problem was we thought it was a cover, because I was just using his lyrics. But because I’d written a melody to it, it meant that techni-cally it was an adaptation, which meant that they had the right to veto it, so they veto’d it. But fortunately, I sucked that s*** up and went ‘f*** this’ and went away and quickly wrote brand new lyrics and re-recorded it.

You were saying about ‘Sympho-nies’, we believe the composition was the drumbeat from Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ and the soundtrack of a film we’ve never heard of..

The film’s called Starman, it’s an 80s sci-fi film.

So is that typical composition for your songs or was that an exception?

When I started doing what I’m doing, I

used to be in a band, and I decided to go solo. When I sat down to write, there were lots of bits of music that I was like “ I love that, wanna do something like that” , but they seemed to be from very alien worlds. And I’d been making, from DJing, some fun-ny two minute DJ style mash ups anyway, so I thought I’m gonna make these mash ups, take the things I really love and see if I can Frankenstein-ly sew them together and then also sing something else on top. And I did a load of them just as experiments, but a couple of them came out as something in itself, not just a novelty. Anyway, so most of what I did, or 97% of my music is original, or like a similar thing where I’m putting things together, but it was the next step for me, where I wasn’t using samples, I was making my own sounds and putting them together. But yeah, ‘Hypntyz’ was just its own thing really.

Who would be your ideal festival head-liner, past or present?

Houdini.

“I take the things I love and see if I can Frankenstein-ly sew

them together”

By Tom Shepherd

“I sucked that s*** up and went ‘f*** this,

and went away”

FEATURE

LIVE

Green Day, formed by lead singer Bil-lie Joe Armstrong in the bands hometown of Oakland, California, have been around since the late 80’s providing us with almost two decades of punk/alternative rock.

Throughout their career Green Day has made some incredible contributions to the American rock scene, including their criti-cally acclaimed, Grammy award winning al-bum American Idiot in 2004. After an almost 5 year hiatus, in May 2009 they released the highly anticipated 21st Century Breakdown, which is also the title of their world tour en route to the UK in October.

‘And whether you like, love or hate Green Day, it was hard not to enjoy one of this years most entertaining concerts.’ Waiting outside the Cox Arena in San

Diego was tedious. There was nothing I

LIVE

wanted more than for Green Day to hit the stage.

‘After what felt like forever, the lights flashed, guitars

flashed, drums pounded and the crowd was in overdrive.’

Green Day had arrived. They opened with their first single from their new album, ‘Know Your Enemy’, and with its pulsing beats and driving guitars it was the perfect punk an-them to get the crowd roaring.

After a much anticipated return to the stage, you could tell that Green Day were nothing but veteran performers. The stage was bathed in hues of every colour, Billie Joe stalked the stage like a predator, and the set boasted of hits from right across the board.

New material from 21st Century Break-down, was fused with fan favourites from ‘American Idiot’ such as ‘Holiday’, ‘St. Jim-

my’ and ‘Blvd. of Broken Dreams’. The band also played heaps of old school Green Day such as ‘Longview’, ‘Welcome to Paradise’, ‘Basketcase’ and ‘When I come around’. It was any fan’s idea of an ideal set from the band; an exhaustive collection of their best stuff – live.

Yet this concert was so much more than just a concert; it was a full-blown perform-ance.

‘Billie Joe is an absolute genius!’

He got the audience involved in about every way possible; whether it was throw-ing toilet paper at the crowd, spraying fans with a water gun, or yelling at the audience to join in on his chanting. It was incredible. He also brought fans up on stage, only to encourage them to dive straight back into the hands of other fans, and hand picked three people (on three separate occasions) to sing Green Day classics.

Two and a half hours, and a whole lot

of music later, Green Day left the stage to eponymous shouts of epic proportions. Just about every soul in the Cox Arena was chanting their name!

‘In all, it was a fantastic gig; it was pure Green Day bliss.’ No one sat down, everyone sang, Green

Day gave everything they had, and then some more.

When Billie Joe, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool grace the shores of Blighty this coming month, do everything in your power to get a ticket – this is one show you will not want to miss!

By Jazmin Sherman

Green Day20th August, 2009

4/5Good: A mix of old and new, with crowd interaction second to none.

Bad: Their generic political views were grating at times.

Cox Arena, San Diego

Take a trip across the pond to see veteran punk-rockers Green Day on home turf.

LIVE

LIVE

Green Day, formed by lead singer Bil-lie Joe Armstrong in the bands hometown of Oakland, California, have been around since the late 80’s providing us with almost two decades of punk/alternative rock.

Throughout their career Green Day has made some incredible contributions to the American rock scene, including their criti-cally acclaimed, Grammy award winning al-bum American Idiot in 2004. After an almost 5 year hiatus, in May 2009 they released the highly anticipated 21st Century Breakdown, which is also the title of their world tour en route to the UK in October.

‘And whether you like, love or hate Green Day, it was hard not to enjoy one of this years most entertaining concerts.’ Waiting outside the Cox Arena in San

Diego was tedious. There was nothing I

LIVE

wanted more than for Green Day to hit the stage.

‘After what felt like forever, the lights flashed, guitars

flashed, drums pounded and the crowd was in overdrive.’

Green Day had arrived. They opened with their first single from their new album, ‘Know Your Enemy’, and with its pulsing beats and driving guitars it was the perfect punk an-them to get the crowd roaring.

After a much anticipated return to the stage, you could tell that Green Day were nothing but veteran performers. The stage was bathed in hues of every colour, Billie Joe stalked the stage like a predator, and the set boasted of hits from right across the board.

New material from 21st Century Break-down, was fused with fan favourites from ‘American Idiot’ such as ‘Holiday’, ‘St. Jim-

my’ and ‘Blvd. of Broken Dreams’. The band also played heaps of old school Green Day such as ‘Longview’, ‘Welcome to Paradise’, ‘Basketcase’ and ‘When I come around’. It was any fan’s idea of an ideal set from the band; an exhaustive collection of their best stuff – live.

Yet this concert was so much more than just a concert; it was a full-blown perform-ance.

‘Billie Joe is an absolute genius!’

He got the audience involved in about every way possible; whether it was throw-ing toilet paper at the crowd, spraying fans with a water gun, or yelling at the audience to join in on his chanting. It was incredible. He also brought fans up on stage, only to encourage them to dive straight back into the hands of other fans, and hand picked three people (on three separate occasions) to sing Green Day classics.

Two and a half hours, and a whole lot

of music later, Green Day left the stage to eponymous shouts of epic proportions. Just about every soul in the Cox Arena was chanting their name!

‘In all, it was a fantastic gig; it was pure Green Day bliss.’ No one sat down, everyone sang, Green

Day gave everything they had, and then some more.

When Billie Joe, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool grace the shores of Blighty this coming month, do everything in your power to get a ticket – this is one show you will not want to miss!

By Jazmin Sherman

Green Day20th August, 2009

4/5Good: A mix of old and new, with crowd interaction second to none.

Bad: Their generic political views were grating at times.

Cox Arena, San Diego

Take a trip across the pond to see veteran punk-rockers Green Day on home turf.

LIVE

LIVE

Koko is a beautiful 1400 capacity venue, best known for hosting Club NME on Fri-

tion of the crowd all the more inexplicable - the constant chatter of the people gath-ered at the bar threatening to spoil it for the rest of us. Noah and the Whale’s frontman

Charlie Fink evi-dently took offence to the relentless chatterings, saying:

“I realise that the

temptation, during

the quiet numbers,

to talk about how

much you’re enjoying the gig can be irresistible.

Maybe you’d like to try actually enjoy-ing the gig instead” , after the perform-ance of the wistfully melancholic ‘Our Window’.

Having never seen them live be-fore, I was wonder-ing how Noah and the Whale would come across, espe-cially as their stu-dio albums to date seem to embody two polar opposites of production style. Debut, Peace-ful, the World Lays Me Down sounds homemade to a fault, only propped up by Laura Mar-ling’s silky backing vocals, while The First Days of Spring is lush and orches-tral, occasionally sumptuous in a way one associates with

days, in addition to secret gigs by acts as diverse as Coldplay and Prince. The venue’s status as a sort of haven for music lovers made the behaviour of a considerable por-

Sigur Ros. Another dilemma in presenting material from both albums side-by-side is the immense emotional gap between them: where Peaceful takes its key-note from the refrain of “ Sun, Sun, Sun” and “ Fun, Fun, Fun” from the hit single ‘5 Years Time’, Spring is shot through with Fink’s pain at his break up with Marling, and its confessional tone and bleak vignettes about one-night stands are merciless.

From the second the band strode on stage it was clear that this wasn’t going to be the same Noah and the Whale that I’d heard on record.

“There wasn’t a single ukulele or tin-whistle to be

seen”

and the musicians had traded in the Wes Anderson iconography of their music videos for more conventional indie-wear. What re-mained most distinctively from their studio work was the indispensible violin playing of Tom Hobden, who was allowed several impassioned solos which infused the more personal songs with an almost unbear-able emotionality. Liberated from the faux-naif, DIY constraints of their studio sound the band members revealed themselves as immensely talented live musicians, and old favourites like ‘Give a Little Love’ and ‘The Shape of My Heart’ were re-invented as rousing, stomping crowd pleasers and gelled seamlessly with the more introspec-tive material.

“That said, a few invitations to sing along would not have

gone amiss.”This was understandable given that while

in good voice, Fink was a subdued, almost aloof presence throughout, even by his wry standards – probably still reeling from the recent break-up. Cheer up, Chaz. There’ll be other girls and, hopefully for us, other albums.

4/5Good: Superb musi-cianship.

Bad: The terrible crowd.

By Alexis Forss

4/5

Noah & the WhaleKoko, Camden Town

2nd October, 2009

Alexis Forss samples the delights of Camden, and takes a trip to legendary venue Koko to see Twickenham four-piece Indie stars, Noah and the Whale.

Havin’ a pretty good time with

LIVE

02/09/09 - THE FLATLINERSFew seemed to have seen OK Pilot be-

fore, so their energetic, fast-paced punk rock may have made them a few new fans. The Exeter trio pulled off a brilliant short set with much applause; the sound was a bit bizarre however, with the volume right up and vocals so echoic I momentarily be-lieved I was in a cave.

Second support Mike TV haven’t changed much since their days as Pickled Dick, but they still managed to have an air of freshness about them: their pop punk sound and onstage banter never gets old, and it was a strong performance overall.

Up next were The Flatliners, all the way from Canada, who predictably stole the show and set the bar high for the rest of the week. Breakneck hardcore and ska breakdowns are the make-up of this incred-ible band, who got the whole room singing along (with some rather energetic mosh-ing down the front). Yet they aren’t afraid to break some genre boundaries. The show was founded on cross-overs that you wouldn’t even think possible, but they were executed with a mastery that has earned

them a huge body of fans. A great start to a great week!

4/09/09 - POLAR BEAR CLUBA late addition to the bill, Above Them

proved themselves worthy candidates. With a debut album out next month, West Yorkshire’s finest brought a real passion to the proceedings. Mellower than your aver-age punk band, the three-piece have the ability to sound heavier than they really are with a great use of vocals from singer Oli.

Local stars Burn The Fleet were one of the few Southampton based bands playing WTFest?

“They demonstrated good guitar skills with some rather interesting facial expressions.”

Unlike other bands on the bill, their sound had a tangible metal influence, and this was clearly a homecoming show for the band who had both friends and family in the audience. Occasionally my attention did waver, but otherwise an entertaining mix of riffs and decent backing vocals.

The last British band before the Ameri-cans took over were Don Ramos Players, whose performance was more memorable for the onstage banter than for the songs. Missing most of the backing vocals and playing so fast it seemed they wanted to get offstage as quickly as possible, they were more than a little disappointing, but new songs such as ‘Captain O Captain’ saved the show and demonstrated that a new record could put a burst of energy into the band.

Concluding the night were Polar Bear Club, who are still managing to pack shows and impress with new songs, despite being well into their third UK tour this year. In be-tween touring they’ve somehow managed to write and record a follow up to Some-times Things Just Disappear and tonight they showcased a number of songs from it; ‘Living Saints’ was a highlight and a song which is already known by the loyal fan-base.

06/09/09 - A WILHELM SCREAMA Wilhelm Scream tore Southampton

apart on Sunday night, telling one over con-fident fan:

“Try to steal my hat again and I’ll bust your face.”

They rounded off the weekend with a fantastic performance.

Only two support bands led to a much shorter show and the atmosphere was somewhat altered from the other nights, as eager anticipation of the headliners seemed to overshadow the support. On first were Householdname Records’ You Me and The Atom Bomb, to whom South-ampton must feel like a second home. The Plymouth punk rock trio played a collection from their 2006 debut album Shake Up, as well as previewing some brilliant new songs, a mixture of slower gruff ballads and sharp fast punk songs. They seemed to go down well with the audience and hopefully a new record will boost their support in the future!

Next up were Drawings, Matt Reynolds’ (Howards Alias) latest full band. A couple of songs seemed pretty decent but technical problems causing a hiatus mid-set left me bored. Even once these were resolved, they did little to lift my boredom. Other than a couple of heavy breakdowns there was a lot of twiddling and not much going on - the whole set seemed to blend into a whole indis-tinguishable mess!

But with dueling guitar solos, sing-a-long cho-ruses, fast as a bullet train verses and a band that just doesn’t f**k around up next, it was hard to be too dis-appointed with Draw-ings. After a

bit of banter, A Wilhelm Scream shot off to a flying start! Sticking mainly to songs off Ruiner but also the best of Career Sui-cide and Mute Print, they put on the best performance of the week, inciting a mass frenzy at the front, with crowd surfing, circle pits and even human pyramids! An audience that had seemed lifeless rose from the grave and sung the words with such volume that at times the band were outsung. The band left the stage expecting an encore, and then came back on to play ‘Anchor End’; without a doubt their best song. The highlight of the week, I’m sure A Wilhelm Scream will be back across the pond again soon with an even bigger set of crazy fans.

WTFest?The Joiners

2nd-6th September

3/5Good: A diverse mix of bands, spanning a variety of genres.

Bad: Some local bands were not up to scratch.

Three big headliners each good enough to sell out a show on their own, thrown together in the space of 5 days to create arguably one of the best DIY punk rock fests in the UK.

Southampton leading the way in DIY punk rock

By Craig Charley

LIVE

02/09/09 - THE FLATLINERSFew seemed to have seen OK Pilot be-

fore, so their energetic, fast-paced punk rock may have made them a few new fans. The Exeter trio pulled off a brilliant short set with much applause; the sound was a bit bizarre however, with the volume right up and vocals so echoic I momentarily be-lieved I was in a cave.

Second support Mike TV haven’t changed much since their days as Pickled Dick, but they still managed to have an air of freshness about them: their pop punk sound and onstage banter never gets old, and it was a strong performance overall.

Up next were The Flatliners, all the way from Canada, who predictably stole the show and set the bar high for the rest of the week. Breakneck hardcore and ska breakdowns are the make-up of this incred-ible band, who got the whole room singing along (with some rather energetic mosh-ing down the front). Yet they aren’t afraid to break some genre boundaries. The show was founded on cross-overs that you wouldn’t even think possible, but they were executed with a mastery that has earned

them a huge body of fans. A great start to a great week!

4/09/09 - POLAR BEAR CLUBA late addition to the bill, Above Them

proved themselves worthy candidates. With a debut album out next month, West Yorkshire’s finest brought a real passion to the proceedings. Mellower than your aver-age punk band, the three-piece have the ability to sound heavier than they really are with a great use of vocals from singer Oli.

Local stars Burn The Fleet were one of the few Southampton based bands playing WTFest?

“They demonstrated good guitar skills with some rather interesting facial expressions.”

Unlike other bands on the bill, their sound had a tangible metal influence, and this was clearly a homecoming show for the band who had both friends and family in the audience. Occasionally my attention did waver, but otherwise an entertaining mix of riffs and decent backing vocals.

The last British band before the Ameri-cans took over were Don Ramos Players, whose performance was more memorable for the onstage banter than for the songs. Missing most of the backing vocals and playing so fast it seemed they wanted to get offstage as quickly as possible, they were more than a little disappointing, but new songs such as ‘Captain O Captain’ saved the show and demonstrated that a new record could put a burst of energy into the band.

Concluding the night were Polar Bear Club, who are still managing to pack shows and impress with new songs, despite being well into their third UK tour this year. In be-tween touring they’ve somehow managed to write and record a follow up to Some-times Things Just Disappear and tonight they showcased a number of songs from it; ‘Living Saints’ was a highlight and a song which is already known by the loyal fan-base.

06/09/09 - A WILHELM SCREAMA Wilhelm Scream tore Southampton

apart on Sunday night, telling one over con-fident fan:

“Try to steal my hat again and I’ll bust your face.”

They rounded off the weekend with a fantastic performance.

Only two support bands led to a much shorter show and the atmosphere was somewhat altered from the other nights, as eager anticipation of the headliners seemed to overshadow the support. On first were Householdname Records’ You Me and The Atom Bomb, to whom South-ampton must feel like a second home. The Plymouth punk rock trio played a collection from their 2006 debut album Shake Up, as well as previewing some brilliant new songs, a mixture of slower gruff ballads and sharp fast punk songs. They seemed to go down well with the audience and hopefully a new record will boost their support in the future!

Next up were Drawings, Matt Reynolds’ (Howards Alias) latest full band. A couple of songs seemed pretty decent but technical problems causing a hiatus mid-set left me bored. Even once these were resolved, they did little to lift my boredom. Other than a couple of heavy breakdowns there was a lot of twiddling and not much going on - the whole set seemed to blend into a whole indis-tinguishable mess!

But with dueling guitar solos, sing-a-long cho-ruses, fast as a bullet train verses and a band that just doesn’t f**k around up next, it was hard to be too dis-appointed with Draw-ings. After a

bit of banter, A Wilhelm Scream shot off to a flying start! Sticking mainly to songs off Ruiner but also the best of Career Sui-cide and Mute Print, they put on the best performance of the week, inciting a mass frenzy at the front, with crowd surfing, circle pits and even human pyramids! An audience that had seemed lifeless rose from the grave and sung the words with such volume that at times the band were outsung. The band left the stage expecting an encore, and then came back on to play ‘Anchor End’; without a doubt their best song. The highlight of the week, I’m sure A Wilhelm Scream will be back across the pond again soon with an even bigger set of crazy fans.

WTFest?The Joiners

2nd-6th September

3/5Good: A diverse mix of bands, spanning a variety of genres.

Bad: Some local bands were not up to scratch.

Three big headliners each good enough to sell out a show on their own, thrown together in the space of 5 days to create arguably one of the best DIY punk rock fests in the UK.

Southampton leading the way in DIY punk rock

By Craig Charley

Business, Management and Finance Tuesday 20 October 2009 | 11am – 3.30pm Garden Court, Highfi eld Campus

IT, Science and EngineeringWednesday 21 October 2009 | 11am – 3.30pm Garden Court, Highfi eld Campus

Finding your way. Career Destinations Graduate and Internship Fairs

ì Foxx  and Downey  Jrís  perform-ances are commendable without be-ing awe-inspiring.î  

The Soloist

FILM

Originally scheduled for a mid-Oscar sea-son November 2008 release, this true story based  on  the  book by  Los Angeles  Times journalist, Steve Lopez, has fi nally arrived. Unveiling a worrying journalistic similarity to this  yearís  yucky puppy pic, Marley & Me, it concerns Lopez (Robert Downey Jr) writ-ing a column about now-homeless Julliard-trained  musician,  Nathaniel  Ayers  (Jamie Foxx) whom he has befriended. Nathaniel, oddly clad  in a colourful variety of clothes, is possibly schizophrenic so Lopez attempts to take him off of the streets, where he glee-fully plays his two-stringed violin. Through a series of fl ashbacks we learn of Nathan-ielís potential musical genius as he excitedly plays his cello as a boy and explains his ob-session with Beethoven, and his desperate descent into mental illness as a young man.

You could be mistaken for thinking this an issues-laden fi lm. Images of homelessness and poverty abound in the frame and shots of New Orleans citizens on rooftops display-ing ëSave Meí signs post-Katrina play on a news channel. The area surrounding the homeless shelter, the LAMP community that Nathaniel is taken to is grim. None of these issues are ever truly developed however. The fi lm seems far more concerned with the characters of Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez, and Foxx and Downey Jrís perform-

ances are commendable without being awe-inspiring. Foxx’s dishevelled and wide-eyed Ayers,  which  could  so  easily  have  slipped into  caricature,  is  equally  measured  and manic  when  Susannah Grantís  script  calls for it. Downey Jr is not as annoyingly mut-tery  and monotone  as  he  has  been  in  the past, most notably as Iron Man. The script, however, doesnít give a  satisfactory  sense of  the  connection  between  them  and  we are, worryingly, left wondering if Lopez ever stops searching for a story and, instead, be-gins saving a man.

The  script  also  leaves  the  character  of Lopezís  ex-wife,  Mary  (Catherine  Keener), curiously under-developed. In a fi lm essen-tially about loneliness, as the title suggests, this  plot  point may have  served  to debate and interrogate the larger issues that the fi lm merely hints at.

After the successes of both Pride & Prej-udice and  the Oscar-drenched Atonement, director Joe Wright seems at home adapting material,  and  he  directs  competently  here, even  mirroring  his  breathtaking  tracking shot across the beach at Dunkirk, replacing World War II soldiers with LA’s homeless, many of whom were playing themselves.

What has all the makings of a sentimen-

tal and uplifting fi lm is oddly subdued, yet intimate. Lacking a strong feel-good conclu-sion (along the lines of Slumdog Millionaire), Wrightís  drama  instead  opts  for  religious symbolism. Nathaniel views Lopez as his saviour;  a God who has  rescued him  from the dangerous and dirt-fi lled streets, regard-less of how reluctant Nathaniel  is to physi-cally live inside the LAMP community. The street, it seems, is all he knows.

This  religious  theme  is  unmistakable  in one striking sequence under a  tunnel on a busy Los Angeles road. Nathaniel plays a cello  that  a  reader  of  Lopezís  column  has donated as a gift. As Nathaniel caresses the bow and strings, two pigeons ñ supplements for doves – fl y up out of the darkness of the tunnel into the light of the LA afternoon and across the expansive city, symbolising that for Nathaniel, music is a salvation.

What should be an uplifting and emotion-al fi lm is scuppered by a muddled resolu-tion, but Foxx and Downey Jr at least make it watchable.

3/5Good:  Two  strong central characters.

Bad:  Many  key  is-sues  are  underde-veloped.

Director: Joe Wright

Starring:

Jamie Foxx

Robert Downey Jr

Released: 25th September 2009

Tagline: ëLife has a mind of its owní

Runtime: 117 mins

Rating: 12A

By Adam Vaughn

The  Soloist,  showing  at  Union  Films Sunday 13th December 7:00pm

http://uf.susu.org

The  Soloist,  showing  at  Union  Films 

5/5Good:  Christoph Waltz,  but  to  de-scribe him as simply good  is a gross un-derstatement.

Bad:  Just  slightly behind  its  Tarantino predecessors.

By Stephen OíShea

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring:

Brad Pitt

Diane Kruger

Melanie Laurent

Christoph Waltz

Release Date: 19th August 2009

Tagline: ëOnce upon a time in Nazi 

occupied Franceí

Runtime: 153 mins

Rating: 18

Inglourious Basterds

FILM

Think of Quentin Tarantino and  instantly images of Samuel L. Jackson quoting bible passages and names like Mr. Pink fl ow to the forefront of the mind. To now think of this legendary director however, and not to  be  reminded  of  Christoph Waltz  as  the phenomenally  scary  and  brilliantly  tense Colonel Hans Landa, would be a crime. With  Inglourious  Basterds  Tarantino,  and the incredible cast that he commands, has created an utterly unmissable fi lm easily in the same league as Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.

Inglourious Basterds has, like all Quentin Tarantino fi lms, a very complicated plot line to explain on paper, but I shall try my best. The fi lm’s title refers to a group of American soldiers, known as ‘the Basterds’, moving around  Nazi  occupied  France  during  the Second World War and killing German sol-diers in very brutal ways in order to strike fear into other German soldiers and the Nazi high command. At the same time Hitler and his offi cers are putting on a fi lm display to boost  German  moral.  There  are  multiple plots to destroy this premiere however, and to assassinate the leaders of Nazi Germany at  the  same  time.  And  present  throughout is the ever threatening Colonel Hans Landa. The entire fi lm is brilliantly told throughout with perfect interlocking story lines and typi-cally Tarantino fl ashbacks. The funny bits are hilarious, the action is crude but glorious and the entire story is simply a masterpiece.

As with any Tarantino fi lm this one is all about the direction. And of course, as with any Tarantino fi lm, it is fl awless. The entire story is told in such a way that you are in-stantly pulled in to the world Tarantino has created, and you are barely allowed to breath until the end credits. Every scene is crucial and no line is too small. This fi lm is a lesson in directorial genius and masterclass. Tarantino is not the only teacher in the class of direction however, and with Inglourious 

Basterds  he  pays  clear  homage  to  Sergio Leone and the classic spaghetti westerns. Tarantino shows his clear love of Leone through scenes that create untold amounts of tension and leave the audience begging for the knife that will cut it and yet unable to look away even for a moment. With any Tarantino fi lm comes the comparison to his earlier work, most notably Reservoir  Dogs and Pulp Fiction, and although this fi lm can undoubtedly  be  counted  alongside  these modern greats, it just falls short of surpass-ing them. 

With Hollywood regulars such as Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger  in the opening cred-its the acting standard of this fi lm was never going  to  be  disappointing,  and  of  course the two stars of LA did not disappoint. Pitt in particular, whose performance as the Southern  American  Lt.  Aldo  Raine  is  bril-liantly  funny  and  spectacularly  brutal.  It  is not just the American actors who hog the lime light in this fi lm however, instead it is their Austrian and French counterparts who steal the show. Melanie Laurent is an abso-lute diamond as the vindictive and vengeful Shosanna  Dreyfus.  Throughout  the  entire fi lm she portrays, perfectly, the painful feel-ing of living under German rule while at the same time forcing an unwilling smile at any German offi cer. The whole role is understat-ed beautifully and builds to a brilliant climax. Despite the acting prowess of all of those involved in this fi lm, including a fantastic cameo from Mike Myers, the whole show is stolen by the absolutely phenomenal Chris-toph Waltz as Hans Landa. This is the per-fect bad guy. Every time he is on screen the audience fi dgets nervously and begs him to stop the awkward tension that he creates immediately, almost with his very presence, but he does not. Every time he is not present the viewer wants him back, driving the fi lm forward with his extraordinarily powerful scenes and moments. The opening fi fteen minutes of this fi lm is not only a testament to  suspense  but  also  to  Christoph  Waltz. Every time he is present on screen everyone in the cinema is gripped and on the edge of 

their seats. This is a performance that will not be  forgotten and an actor  to undoubt-edly watch out for.

Inglourious  Basterds  is  an  absolutely spectacular return to form by Quentin Taran-tino  after  his  long  absence,  and  although slightly falling short of his previous master-pieces this fi lm can not be understated or underestimated. It is a work of art and will undoubtedly  stand  the  test  of  time.  This fi lm, although not as brilliantly intertwining as  Pulp  Fiction, ultimately deserves a re-

Inglourious Basterds, showing at Union Films Tuesday 17th November 7:00pm

http://uf.susu.org

sounding fi ve out of fi ve. Perhaps four point nine recurring would have been more appro-priate, but alas all fi lm analysis must have boundaries. 

Inglourious Basterds, showing at Union

5/5Good:  Christoph Waltz,  but  to  de-scribe him as simply good  is a gross un-derstatement.

Bad:  Just  slightly behind  its  Tarantino predecessors.

By Stephen OíShea

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring:

Brad Pitt

Diane Kruger

Melanie Laurent

Christoph Waltz

Release Date: 19th August 2009

Tagline: ëOnce upon a time in Nazi 

occupied Franceí

Runtime: 153 mins

Rating: 18

Inglourious Basterds

FILM

Think of Quentin Tarantino and  instantly images of Samuel L. Jackson quoting bible passages and names like Mr. Pink fl ow to the forefront of the mind. To now think of this legendary director however, and not to  be  reminded  of  Christoph Waltz  as  the phenomenally  scary  and  brilliantly  tense Colonel Hans Landa, would be a crime. With  Inglourious  Basterds  Tarantino,  and the incredible cast that he commands, has created an utterly unmissable fi lm easily in the same league as Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.

Inglourious Basterds has, like all Quentin Tarantino fi lms, a very complicated plot line to explain on paper, but I shall try my best. The fi lm’s title refers to a group of American soldiers, known as ‘the Basterds’, moving around  Nazi  occupied  France  during  the Second World War and killing German sol-diers in very brutal ways in order to strike fear into other German soldiers and the Nazi high command. At the same time Hitler and his offi cers are putting on a fi lm display to boost  German  moral.  There  are  multiple plots to destroy this premiere however, and to assassinate the leaders of Nazi Germany at  the  same  time.  And  present  throughout is the ever threatening Colonel Hans Landa. The entire fi lm is brilliantly told throughout with perfect interlocking story lines and typi-cally Tarantino fl ashbacks. The funny bits are hilarious, the action is crude but glorious and the entire story is simply a masterpiece.

As with any Tarantino fi lm this one is all about the direction. And of course, as with any Tarantino fi lm, it is fl awless. The entire story is told in such a way that you are in-stantly pulled in to the world Tarantino has created, and you are barely allowed to breath until the end credits. Every scene is crucial and no line is too small. This fi lm is a lesson in directorial genius and masterclass. Tarantino is not the only teacher in the class of direction however, and with Inglourious 

Basterds  he  pays  clear  homage  to  Sergio Leone and the classic spaghetti westerns. Tarantino shows his clear love of Leone through scenes that create untold amounts of tension and leave the audience begging for the knife that will cut it and yet unable to look away even for a moment. With any Tarantino fi lm comes the comparison to his earlier work, most notably Reservoir  Dogs and Pulp Fiction, and although this fi lm can undoubtedly  be  counted  alongside  these modern greats, it just falls short of surpass-ing them. 

With Hollywood regulars such as Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger  in the opening cred-its the acting standard of this fi lm was never going  to  be  disappointing,  and  of  course the two stars of LA did not disappoint. Pitt in particular, whose performance as the Southern  American  Lt.  Aldo  Raine  is  bril-liantly  funny  and  spectacularly  brutal.  It  is not just the American actors who hog the lime light in this fi lm however, instead it is their Austrian and French counterparts who steal the show. Melanie Laurent is an abso-lute diamond as the vindictive and vengeful Shosanna  Dreyfus.  Throughout  the  entire fi lm she portrays, perfectly, the painful feel-ing of living under German rule while at the same time forcing an unwilling smile at any German offi cer. The whole role is understat-ed beautifully and builds to a brilliant climax. Despite the acting prowess of all of those involved in this fi lm, including a fantastic cameo from Mike Myers, the whole show is stolen by the absolutely phenomenal Chris-toph Waltz as Hans Landa. This is the per-fect bad guy. Every time he is on screen the audience fi dgets nervously and begs him to stop the awkward tension that he creates immediately, almost with his very presence, but he does not. Every time he is not present the viewer wants him back, driving the fi lm forward with his extraordinarily powerful scenes and moments. The opening fi fteen minutes of this fi lm is not only a testament to  suspense  but  also  to  Christoph  Waltz. Every time he is present on screen everyone in the cinema is gripped and on the edge of 

their seats. This is a performance that will not be  forgotten and an actor  to undoubt-edly watch out for.

Inglourious  Basterds  is  an  absolutely spectacular return to form by Quentin Taran-tino  after  his  long  absence,  and  although slightly falling short of his previous master-pieces this fi lm can not be understated or underestimated. It is a work of art and will undoubtedly  stand  the  test  of  time.  This fi lm, although not as brilliantly intertwining as  Pulp  Fiction, ultimately deserves a re-

Inglourious Basterds, showing at Union Films Tuesday 17th November 7:00pm

http://uf.susu.org

sounding fi ve out of fi ve. Perhaps four point nine recurring would have been more appro-priate, but alas all fi lm analysis must have boundaries. 

Inglourious Basterds, showing at Union

By Amy Steadman

500 Days of Summer

FILM

Unlike  most  conventional  romantic-comedies, this fi lm had me at the tagline (rather than at ‘hello’). Boy meets girl. Boy falls  in  love. GirlÖ  doesnít. When was  the last time you saw a fi lm about a GIRL who doesn’t believe in true love and a BOY who falls hysterically in love with her? And this is but a piece of originality that makes up this miss-match cinematic collage. 500 Days Of Summer is a funny and acute insight into the tribulations of infatuation, which success-fully invigorates a genre so prone to predict-ability.

Tom (charmingly played by Joseph Gor-don-Levitt) is a frustrated would-be archi-tect, frittering his life away at a Los Angeles greeting card company. Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is the capricious doe-eyed cynic he falls for. The fi lm fl its back and forward through their turbulent 500-day relation-ship. The random discontinuity juxtaposes the thrills against the misery and captures the realities that fall through the gaps of traditional romantic comedies, including a brilliant moment in which Tom realises that

Summer likes the same band as him, in this case The Smiths (of course).

Whilst Deschanel is extremely alluring in her role, Gordon-Levitt is exceptional. Previ-ous roles include weedy teenagers in Third Rock  From  the  Sun  and  10  Things  I  Hate About You. He adopts the quirky role of Tom

with such perfection, adding to the reality the fi lm wishes to display.

Almost as exceptional as Gordon-Levitt, is the eclectic soundtrack. From Regina Spektor’s ‘Us’ in the opening sequence, to the reoccurrence of Patrick Swayze’s ‘She’s Like The Wind’, and fi nally to a bril-liant scene set irreplaceably to Hall & Oates ‘You Make My Dreams.’ Complete with car-toon blue-bird, this joyous dance sequence

  5/5Bad: Nothing. 4/5

Good: An absolutely brilliant soundtrack.

Bad: The last line.

celebrates Tom and Summer’s fi rst night to-gether; it satirises the form it so desperately wishes to contrive, with brilliant effect.

This is an endlessly inventive, origi-nal date movie; it’s love according to The Smiths rather than Richard Curtis.

Director: Marc Webb

Starring:

Joseph Goirdon-Levitt

Zooey Deschanel

Release Date: 2nd September

2009

Tagline: ëBoy meets girl. Boy falls in 

love. Girl doesní t.í

Runtime: 95 mins

Rating: 12A

ì 500  Days  of  Summer  success-fully invigorates a genre so prone to predictabillity.î  

500 Days of Summer, showing at Union Films Tuesday 8th December 7:00pm

http://uf.susu.org

By Ben Good

The Hurt LockerFILM

The latest Iraq war fi lm turns out to be the best yet. The Hurt Locker, a new independ-ent fi lm directed by Kathryn Bigelow, follows the everyday life of a bomb disposal unit in Iraq.

There have been several fi lms that have attempted to tackle the Iraq war over the last couple of years. From the preachy (and boring) Lions for Lambs to the visceral and horrifying Redacted, none have managed to get across the true horror of facing modern guerrilla warfare, until now.

The fi lm stars the relatively unknown Jer-emy Renner as Cpl. James who takes over a command of the bomb disposal unit at offset. He is brash, cocky and reckless, and whilst he clashes with his squad mates you can’t help but smile at the bravado. His is

a powerful yet subtle performance and he is likely to go onto bigger, but probably not better things.

A lot has been made in the media of the uncommon sight of seeing a female direc-tor attached to the credits of an action fi lm (although to classify it such is insulting to the fi lms intelligence). Bigelow does su-perbly, the action fl ows and the movement of the camera underlies the uncertainty of the common soldier, trying to keep aware of potential snipers and IEDs nearby.

Successful independent cinema these days seems to be limited to the off beat al-ternative comedy; however, The Hurt Locker shows that this shouldn’t be. Films of great spectacle can also be made for a smaller budget. The lack of a big studio I can only

see as an advantage, you see the action through a soldiers eyes rather than Holly-wood’s interpretation.

Each war has a defi nitive fi lm; Saving Pri-vate Ryan, Apocalypse Now, they both cap-ture perfectly World War 2 and the Vietnam War. I believe The Hurt Locker will in future years be viewed as the Iraq fi lm, and the war is not even over yet.

By Ben Good

  5/5Good:  Doesn’t become too preachy like other Iraq war fi lms.

Bad: Nothing.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring:

Jeremy Renner

Guy Pearce

Ralph Fiennes

Release Date: 28th August 2009

Tagline: ëYouí ll know when youí re in 

ití

Runtime: 131 mins

Rating: 15

The Hurt Locker, showing at Union Films Wednesday 18th November 7:00pm

http://uf.susu.org

By Ben Good

The Hurt LockerFILM

The latest Iraq war fi lm turns out to be the best yet. The Hurt Locker, a new independ-ent fi lm directed by Kathryn Bigelow, follows the everyday life of a bomb disposal unit in Iraq.

There have been several fi lms that have attempted to tackle the Iraq war over the last couple of years. From the preachy (and boring) Lions for Lambs to the visceral and horrifying Redacted, none have managed to get across the true horror of facing modern guerrilla warfare, until now.

The fi lm stars the relatively unknown Jer-emy Renner as Cpl. James who takes over a command of the bomb disposal unit at offset. He is brash, cocky and reckless, and whilst he clashes with his squad mates you can’t help but smile at the bravado. His is

a powerful yet subtle performance and he is likely to go onto bigger, but probably not better things.

A lot has been made in the media of the uncommon sight of seeing a female direc-tor attached to the credits of an action fi lm (although to classify it such is insulting to the fi lms intelligence). Bigelow does su-perbly, the action fl ows and the movement of the camera underlies the uncertainty of the common soldier, trying to keep aware of potential snipers and IEDs nearby.

Successful independent cinema these days seems to be limited to the off beat al-ternative comedy; however, The Hurt Locker shows that this shouldn’t be. Films of great spectacle can also be made for a smaller budget. The lack of a big studio I can only

see as an advantage, you see the action through a soldiers eyes rather than Holly-wood’s interpretation.

Each war has a defi nitive fi lm; Saving Pri-vate Ryan, Apocalypse Now, they both cap-ture perfectly World War 2 and the Vietnam War. I believe The Hurt Locker will in future years be viewed as the Iraq fi lm, and the war is not even over yet.

By Ben Good

  5/5Good:  Doesn’t become too preachy like other Iraq war fi lms.

Bad: Nothing.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring:

Jeremy Renner

Guy Pearce

Ralph Fiennes

Release Date: 28th August 2009

Tagline: ëYouí ll know when youí re in 

ití

Runtime: 131 mins

Rating: 15

The Hurt Locker, showing at Union Films Wednesday 18th November 7:00pm

http://uf.susu.org

SECTION

The charmingly insane concept of the Katamari series is at barebones the most endearing tale of child abuse ever told. The Prince of the Cosmos must use ‘Katamari’ (sticky rolling balls) of varying sizes to col-lect up junk on earth at the bidding of his quirky father, The King of All Cosmos, to turn them into replacement stars for those he destroyed. Failure results in extreme punishment.

The visual aesthetics of Katamari are highly stylised, colourful and just flatout nuts, as a chorus of ducks pop their heads to sing in the intro sequence. It takes strange joy and humour in the unabashed Japanese weirdness of it all. A key atmospheric fea-

ture is its incred-ibly varied, quirky Japanese

pop soundtrack, which may not appeal to all but is surprisingly catchy.

Katamari very much exudes a love/hate atmosphere. You will be delighted by its stylings or merely confused.

At its core, the concept is one of pure simplicity: the two analogue sticks repre-sent the hands of The Prince rolling the ball, giving you full control over your ball control whilst keeping the basic controls relatively simple, with a handful of other moves in-cluding a turn, a dash and a brand new jump, cutely dubbed ‘The Prince hop’.

The levels you roll on start off small, such as rolling up clutter on a desk or the mess on a bedroom floor. They gradually increase in scale and varied locations until

eventually you’re rolling up landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, whole countries or stars in the cosmos itself. It’s amazing how eager you get to grow larger in the time limits, or roll up that one elusive cat.

Little prizes hide themselves through-out levels, in the form of different ava-tar characters and accessories to dress them up.

The real problem with Katamari For-ever is you’ve seen it all before. A com-mon complaint of sequels, but unfortu-nately this game contains very little new content and largely puts new graphical filters on levels from older games in the series. Even most of the music is remixed. ‘Robo King’ does serve as a humorous addition, though.

In Japan, this game was called Katamari Tribute as it was very much one for the fans. Ultimately, if you’ve played Katamari before, you know if you’re ex-cited to get rolling again. If not, this is the most comprehensive starting point,

with no barriers to entry for someone cu-rious to enter the zany world of Katamari!

Halo 3: ODST

Xbox 360

By Max Hughes-Williams

“ The Prince of the Cosmos must use ‘Katamari’ (sticky rolling balls) of varying sizes to collect up junk

on earth at the bidding of his quirky father.”

The latest offering from Microsoft is the eagerly anticipated Halo 3: ODST, which boasts not just a whole new campaign in the Halo universe but also a shiny Halo 3 multiplayer disc with all the map packs plus three brand new maps to expand the already massive multiplayer experience of Halo 3.

ODST sees you take on the role of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper split up from his squad in the covenant infested city of New Mombasa, which players may remem-ber from previous Halo games. Getting used to taking on the covenant as a sim-ple trooper rather than the super powered Spartan Master Chief takes a surprisingly small amount of time; the controls are pretty much identical as are the weapons, but with a few interesting updates such as the vi-sor mode which makes targeting and killing covenant in the dark streets of New Mom-basa much more tactical than the ‘all guns blazing kick down the front door’ approach of the Spartans.

I personally much prefer this style of game play, I enjoy a bit of stealth and tac-tics and I am very much loving the return of the Halo 1 pistol which means instant head shot kills, and through the game it was pretty much my standard weapon of choice.

Many gamers worried that you wouldn’t be able to use the covenant weapons, but fear not, for all weapons are up for grabs. In some

ways this doesn’t

fit in with the Halo canon, as

we’ve come to ex-pect Master Chief to be the only human ca-pable of carrying a tur-ret around, but while this might annoy a few Halo fans I’m quite glad they put it in as it makes taking large groups of Brutes down so much easier.

The campaign itself comes in at around a tidy 8 or so hours, which is not bad for what is ef-fectively an expansion pack. Some gamers have complained about the price tag not being justifiable, however you do also get an extra disc with the complete Halo 3 multiplayer experience and the last 3 maps from the mythic map pack, which on its own is hours and hours of fun.

You also have the brand new ODST co-op mode of firefight which sees a squad of 4 players fighting off wave after wave of covenant foes with the skulls from Halo 3 being activated with each progressive round giving you a much more tactical mul-tiplayer mode, which has taken over Halo 3

as my house’s main house bonding game session. And of course you can’t forget the promise of the Halo Reach Beta to be activated sometime next year. ODST is well worth picking up especially if you loved the previous Halo games. If, how-ever, you want to try it out before you buy they now have it at Kinki every Friday night.

GAMESKatamari ForeverPS3 By Luke Borrett

3/5Good: Simple, madcap fun.

Bad: Weirdness will not appeal to all.

4/5Good: Halo 3 mul-tiplayer and map packs included.

Bad: Short cam-paign and no matchmaking in firefight.

Like this?Check out CoD: World At War

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