Vicarious: October 2010

Thursday 21 October 2010

News from New York and Cali

Hello world. So in our plight for gainful employment or just employment, of some kind, THE INTERNS have gone to journalism graduate school. We will keep you posted on goings on from the US. One of us is in New York and the other in Palo Alto, where we are interning. AGAIN. x

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The Intern-et

1) If you don't no one else will.
2) We should stick together. Say it together now, "Liberte, egalite, frappe latte."
3) Advice, useful tips, news and reviews.
4) We want to hear from you! Bylines are bylines even if they come in the form of your lover's tattoo. So this is marginally better.
5) Media Industry, here we come...with your skinny soy latte, extra foam. We know that kind of wasn't a point but it's bad practice to not go up to number 5.

ALBUM REVIEW

The Temper Trap - Conditions
Conditions takes the psyche through different moods. 'Love Lost' introduces a unique subtle style with the light tinkle of the keyboard and vocals that swiftly move into the edgier rock that only appears during the chorus.The acclaimed Sweet Disposition then takes the consciousness through an eclectic melody fused with both soft and vibrant tunes. Ironically, the sound is very opposite to the visual of the cover on the CD case, which is literally dark and depressing. Half way through the album the sound moves to shouty 'indie rock'. Science of Fear and Drum Song completely swap the ambience for bass that would certainly have beers vibrating in a dark, grimy bars. Obviously, conditions change...massively.

GIG REVIEW

Arctic Monkeys, Wembley
Headlining Reading, the Arctic Monkeys had the masses flocking to other tents. With this massive slap in the face in mind, I was willing to give them a second chance at Wembley. In their shaggy haired and scruffy glory the four lads donned the stage ready for the fans to devour their lyrics. Jumping into 'A Certain Romance' through 'Sketchead' to 'Crying Lightning' the crowd had ample time to become a sweat- and beer-soaked mess. Fans launched themselves about the arena with reckless abandon meanwhile the seated crowd jumped up now feeling part of the scene.

Regrettably, it was downhill from there. Too many slow, moaning ballads kept the crowd in a limbo of anticipation for the next beer-throwing, body-slamming mosh. So far the Northern lads were failing epically, yet again! 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor' lifted some spirits after having to listen to relatively unknown songs that failed to grasp attention. The second to last song performed was 'When The Sun Goes Down' which is still ultimately a shit-hot tune yet their finale however was far from that. A disappointing anti-climax of a less than steller performance, the ballad was unrecognisable and yawn-worthy. In retrospect they failed to play 'Dancing Shoes', or 'Fake Tales of San Francisco', leaving some with an inadequate feeling of parting with £32.50, as well as precious Festival season time.''

THEATRE REVIEW

Into the Woods-Bloomsbury Theatre (Dec 3-5)
What do you get when you mix a few Brothers Grimm characters and a baker with erectile dysfunction? According to 70s author Bruno Bettelheim, a neighbourhood saga rivaling Eastenders. Well, naturally when the whole damn thing was set to music in hit Broadway musical Into The Woods, things got even more messed up. It’s got the lot: adultery, bi-polar, domestic violence, drugs (boy buys beans and thinks he climbs a magic beanstalk to giant land and we’re supposed to believe those beans weren’t mind-altering substances?), the list goes on... All in all, nothing worse than an average day at UCL in exam time so who better to interpret this complicated web of relationships than UCLU’s Musical Theatre Society?

When their Baker and his Wife set off into the woods to lift a curse of impotency placed by the Witch, they were lucky enough to encounter some creatures as talented as themselves. A Bloomsbury spectacular from start to finish, Into the Woods was perfectly designed, conducted and directed, not to mention sung. It seems that Musical Theatre Society can really perform. As for the impotent Baker, with the help of some friends in the woods, so could he…

MUSIC REVIEW

Florence & The Machine - Lungs
Lungs seems a fitting title of their first album as Florence certainly proves she has a big set of them. It starts off with a bang from the first track on the album, Dog Days Are Over through Drumming Song to the popular cover of You've got the Love. Florence's soulful and quirky voice captures the attention and maintains it throughout with no 'dud' songs to disappoint with. The sound is not hard to place in relation to today's indie band obsession, she has the instruments behind her but her voice is the unusual factor in this formula. With many young, brooding men heading bands it's refreshing to see a powerful and confident woman instead of a husky male. Rabbit Heart is undoubtedly a favourite on the album, with its quiet almost oriental start it moves quickly but carefully with Florence's harmonious and varied tones through to the thrilling chorus. The anticipation builds throughout and she certainly doesn't disappoint. With clever lyrics and her passionate delivery it remains something to sing along too in a car, club or any other place you and your IPod venture to. The music moves from folksy ballads like Howl, to songs that pack a punch with upbeat and rocky accompaniments such as Kiss with a Fist. Girl With One Eye compares to a sensual indie Nina Simone with her sexy deep voice and edgy aggressive lyrics. Florence accomplishes this with her seductive voice, it pulls music fans in no matter what she may be singing about. It is thrilling to hear an album that doesn't sound like it has been churned out of the Indie hit making machine. This quality effort is proof that the 'same old' is getting old and it's time for something new, Florence & The Machine's Lungs may just be it.
Jordanna Virdee

FILM REVIEW

Michael Jackson’s This Is It: Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s a man…no,wait, is it really though?

Watch a talent that knew no borders or boundaries, crossing gender and racial lines like they were a piece of piss in This Is It, a spectacular documentary brought to you by High School Musical director Kenny Ortega. The film uses the only footage of rehearsals in existence, CGI effects and pyrotechnics to recreate what would have been the legend’s last tour. But fireworks aside, what’s really hot about this film is Michael Jackson himself. Not only do we see him perform to full capacity, with a particularly impressive rendition of Smooth Criminal as well as all the ‘songs the fans want to hear’, he is also the film’s main source of humour, humanity and sheer genius. One of the best episodes involves Michael grumpily taking out his earpiece saying ‘I love you all, L.O.V.E, but this inner ear thing you’ve made me wear makes me feel like somebody put a fist in my ear. A fist, okay? In my ear.’ On another occasion he sucks a lollipop at a film shoot while nodding his head in professional approval. We also see him worry about 'conserving his voice' and gesticulating wildly at musicians about 'making it more funky.' Unfortunately, due to the film’s limited release he will only be in cinema’s until this Thursday so this really is it. See it now.

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Thursday 21 October 2010

News from New York and Cali

Some people call it interning, we prefer to call it 'vicarious employment'

The Intern-et

Blog Archive

ALBUM REVIEW

GIG REVIEW

THEATRE REVIEW

MUSIC REVIEW

FILM REVIEW

REVIEW YOUR SWINE FLU: How was it?

Vicarious

Pages

Thursday 21 October 2010

News from New York and Cali

Some people call it interning, we prefer to call it 'vicarious employment'

The Intern-et

Subscribe To VICARIOUS

Blog Archive

ALBUM REVIEW

GIG REVIEW

THEATRE REVIEW

MUSIC REVIEW

FILM REVIEW

REVIEW YOUR SWINE FLU: How was it?