Sunday 20th July 2025
Blog Page 1020

RMF members disrupt Rhodes contextualisation meeting

Harry Gosling
-
5
RMF members disrupt Rhodes contextualisation meeting

Five members of RMF today disrupted a meeting in Oriel on the contextualisation of the Rhodes statue, Cherwell can reveal.

Sources close to the scene told Cherwell that the individuals entered the meeting some 20 minutes after it had begun, accusing Oriel of hypocrisy and of purposefully hiding the meeting from them.

The entrance of the group of activists, which included prominent member Ntokozo Qwabe, was a surprise to those present in the room, as the consultation was intended for Oriel students only.

Prominent activist Ntokozo Qwabe was one of the five RMF members who disrupted the meeting
Prominent activist Ntokozo Qwabe was one of the five RMF members who disrupted the meeting

The meeting was taking place in the Robert Beddard Room in Oriel’s Rhodes Building, and was being led by the Vice-Provost of Oriel, Annette Volfing.

After the initial confusion that followed the entrance of the RMF members, Ms Volfing requested that the individuals left the room, unless they were Oriel students. With the RMF members refusing to leave, a “shouting match” reportedly broke out, with the Oriel Vice-Provost repeatedly asking that they leave.

Tensions were running high, with one RMF member saying, “This statue is not about Oriel students. This is not a listening exercise.”

The altercation comes several months after Oriel announced that the statue of Cecil Rhodes would remain in place, and that the college would seek to provide a clear historical context for the existence of the statue.

The primary focus of RMF’s anger seemed to be the perceived U-turn made by Oriel. In December, the college released a statement setting out its commitment to conducting a listening exercise on the statue of Rhodes. By January, however, the college confirmed that it would be keeping the statue, despite not completing the listening exercise.

Indeed the RMF members repeatedly attacked Oriel for its actions as they confronted the college’s Vice-Provost and others who were present at the meeting.

“This is not a listening exercise, this is big money diplomacy,” one RMF member shouted, adding, “You want to shut down the voices of thousands of people.”

One RMF member was also heard describing some of those present in the room for the consultation on the Rhodes statue as “white racists”.

As the heated dispute continued, several Oriel members of staff arrived at the Robert Beddard Room. One individual told Cherwell that the RMF members were removed from the college because it was an “Oriel-only meeting”, adding that the RMF activists should seek to arrange a separate meeting with Oriel College to discuss matters surrounding the statue.

Yes please, NUS!

Guy Bennett-Jones
-
1
Yes please, NUS!

Oxford has voted to remain affiliated with the National Union of Students.

The Yes to NUS campaign, led by OUSU President Becky Howe, prevailed with 3,409 votes against 2,430. The elections had a turnout of 27.7 per cent, significantly higher than recent OUSU elections. 136 people abstained.

A spokesman from the Yes to NUS campaign told Cherwell, “We are delighted that Oxford has said, in resounding numbers, Yes to NUS. Now the real work starts. We’ve argued for a strong student movement and now our energies are going towards making that happen. Our immeasurable thanks go to the hundreds of campaigners who have made this happen”

A statement released by No Thanks NUS said, “Obviously we at No Thanks NUS are disappointed with the results of the referendum.”

“While we respect the result, we are also saddened that the campaign was marred by personal attacks from the Yes campaign and electoral malpractice from the NUS itself.”

“This was a David and Goliath contest from the start – a grassroots movement of busy and passionate students on the one hand and full-time sabbatical officers and the apparatus and budget of a national organisation on the other.”

Support for a referendum was triggered by the election of Malia Bouattia to President of the NUS, amidst accusations of anti-Semitism. Nearly 50 Jewish Societies from across the UK penned an open letter to Bouattia criticising her. OUSU voted to hold a referendum earlier this term after a motion was proposed by David Klemperer. The decision to hold a referendum passed with 67 votes against 56, with 3 abstentions.

Universities across the country have held referendums giving students the option to disaffiliate. Oxford joins the universities of Warwick, Surrey, Exeter and Cambridge which have all voted to stay with the NUS. Newcastle, Hull and Lincoln universities voted to disaffiliate.

Richard Brooks, NUS vice president said, “I’m happy to see students at the University of Oxford have voted for OUSU to remain part of their national union. We have a lot of work to do but we are already developing a new democratic structure and look forward to OUSU being part of this process.

“Concerns have been raised by Oxford students about anti-Semitism within NUS and these will not be ignored. We take these concerns seriously and we will act on them. We hope to rebuild trust with Jewish students and work closely with OUSU to address any issues.”

Isaac Virchis, President of Oxford Jewish Society, told Cherwell, “Oxford Jewish Society would like to congratulate the Yes to NUS campaign on its success, whilst expressing our obvious disappointment with the result of the referendum. The result of this referendum must not be taken as a mandate for the NUS to continue in its current state regarding anti-semitism and the welfare of Jewish students.”

“The NUS must reflect on why they have lost the support of an overwhelming majority of our society’s members. Issues such as the applause for arguments against Holocaust commemoration and the anti-semitic comments of Malia Bouattia remain unaddressed. Anti-racism is not a selective ideology where we can pick and choose which oppressions we choose to oppose. The NUS cannot claim to be an anti-racist organisation until it takes the concerns of Jewish students seriously.”

A spokesperson from CRAE commented, “We’re delighted with the result – it’s a huge win for students of colour at a time that we’re fighting the racist PREVENT agenda, rising tuition fees and illegal deportations of students. We’re thrilled that Oxford has voted unambiguously to stand with us and NUS in the fight against this racist government.”

Sarah Clarence-Smith, President of the LGBTQ+ society, told Cherwell, “The LGBTQ+ Society is incredibly relieved to be remaining in the NUS on the basis that it fundamentally improves the lives of LGBTQ+ students, especially given the amazing work of the Trans Campaign, LGBT+ Conference, and contributions it has made to improving student mental health.”

Review: Common People Oxford

Ellen Peirson-Hagger
-
0
Review: Common People Oxford

Curated by Bestival founder Rob Da Bank, Common People was always going to be a success. This May Bank Holiday weekend, the high-profile DJ brought a diverse selection of bands to Oxford’s South Park, as festival punters were treated to a lavish array of tunes in the sun.

And it was this array – this enormous diversity of bands – which made the weekend so exciting. As with Bestival, where last year’s line-up ranged from Lily Allen to Underworld, it was the variety between Jamie Lawson’s middle-of-the-road sentimental folk-rock and the Sugarhill Gang’s raucous R’n’B bangers that stirred excitement in a crowd likely more used to going to festivals starring either white male guitar bands, or black artists playing R ‘n’ B and hip hop, such is the disparate and closed-minded nature of the industry. Common People offered bands from all ends and sides of the spectrum, celebrating the eclectically wide scope of music that should be enjoyed together.

Katy B’s dance-inspired pop set was lack-lustre to begin with – one lone figure singing over a DJ’s backing track is never going to feel particularly inspiring. But as soon as she was surrounded onstage by backing dancers, joining them in pumping out an energetic, high-intensity routine, it was easy to see why the fun-loving Londoner had been put so high up on the bill.

It was these more high-powered sets which brought the highs of the festival. Public Enemy’s constant cries of “Middle finger to the government!” and “Let’s fight the fucking power!” got the audience in front of the Common Stage riled up to an extent that the music they played took a backseat. I was instead far more intrigued by the hype-man who stood at one side of the stage, not saying anything at all, but twisting a little white handkerchief in the air for the whole of their set.

Admittedly, Craig David’s one-man show consisted only of him standing behind some decks, singing along to backing tracks for his TS5, which started as an exclusive pre-party event at his Miami penthouse. Yet something about the heavy sun that the crowds were treated to all weekend, the hefty club hits he was playing, and maybe the excitement for his name (he is Craig David, after all!), drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, and certainly the one most willing to dance. This sentiment sums up the festival – a need for stark musicality or innovation was not always the case. Rather, the crowds wanted big tunes, energetic dance routines, and slick performances.

It was in fact the acts playing the smaller tented stage, The Uncommon Stage, who should be noted for their musical originality. The Oxford music magazine Nightshift curated this stage, putting local bands on a pedestal which celebrated the Oxford music scene at its very best. Esther Joy Lane was a particular highlight of Saturday’s bill, her luscious voice crafting webs above bold synth beats, with the intricate concoctions of her synthesised instrumentation becoming even more apparent when they were left to sound out around the tent without her vocals over the top of them.

As headliners, it is safe to say that Duran Duran and Primal Scream are well past their best. Their sets were fun, but Rob Da Bank’s choice to have them fill his headline slots was not adventurous. Nonetheless, the old-school nostalgia that these safe-bets brought to South Park made up a lot of the charm of the whole weekend. Having two bands that have played the festival circuit time and time again perform their well-known anthems may seem counter-productive when attempting to curate a festival that is new, diverse and largely unheard in the current British music climate. But both 80s bands got the crowd roaring and moving as much as any other, and after a sun-tinged boozy weekend, that’s all you could ask for.

Electoral malpractice plagues NUS referendum

Guy Bennett-Jones
-
1
Electoral malpractice plagues NUS referendum

The referendum on Oxford’s affiliation to the NUS has descended into chaos with allegations of electoral malpractice on both sides.

At New College, the JCR mailing list has been used to circulate pro-NUS arguments despite a ban on such use of JCR mailing lists by OUSU referendum regulations.

In another mailing-list slip-up, the NUS made use of their own NUS cardholder mailing list to circulate pro-NUS arguments earlier this week, despite this being specifically banned by OUSU’s returning officer for this campaign. The Yes-side have stressed that these were both innocent mistakes.

In Christ Church, meanwhile, No Thanks NUS posters were found to have been ripped apart. No campaigners are not entirely innocent, however, as Yes to NUS leaflets were reportedly obscured by No-side leaflets in Merton.

13335487_10209595850603100_1853771346_n

Regarding the email sent to NUS extra cardholders, an NUS spokesman said, “An email was sent to NUS Extra card holders who signed up to receive further communication from NUS. We feel we have a duty to inform card holders they will no longer be able to access this service should students vote for their union to disaffiliate from NUS.”

The NUS have since changed their position and will send out an apology to the same mailing list later today.

Becky Howe, leader of Yes to NUS and OUSU President, “We got in touch with the RO as soon as we became aware of the email, and we worked with her and NUS to ensure that the NUS sent out an apology.”

These allegations follow on from a violation by the New College JCR access officer, who emailed pro-NUS arguments to the mailing list. Campaigning via JCR mailing lists is forbidden by OUSU regulations.

Becky Howe told Cherwell that using the “New JCR mailing list was an innocent mistake that was then immediately rectified working with the RO and No thanks NUS.”

A spokesman from the Yes side further said, “While it’s clear that staying in the NUS is the best choice for access, this was unfortunately against the regulations. The access rep in question was not on our campaign list, and likely not familiar with OUSU rules.”

The No-side responded, “We were made aware of the breach of the rules quite quickly as we have a number of supporters at New College and were disappointed to learn about it. We would urge the Yes side to respect the rules, particularly in light of concerns raised at other referenda in other SUs”, a spokesman for the campaign said.

Anna Mowbray, the OUSU returning officer, has attempted to resolve this issue by sending a second email detailing the arguments of the ‘No Thanks NUS’ side to the same mailing list.

Aside from controversy over mailing lists, there has been allegations of petty behaviour concerning posters. Louis McEvoy, who originally put up the Christ Church ‘No Thanks NUS’ posters which were later torn down, told Cherwell, “Clearly [disaffiliation] is an important decision and I strongly believe that both sides should be listened to and considered; it’s a real shame that some on the Yes side don’t share this belief. I mean, above all else, ripping up posters is just a terribly petty and childish thing to do.”

13321774_827709347359975_7669440940123501159_n

Louis McEvoy broke OUSU rules himself by posting on Christ Church JCR Facebook group on Tuesday, “Don’t forget to vote in the NUS referendum today (unless you want to stay in. In which case, feel free to forget).” This breaks OUSU rules because it involves campaigning in closed groups.

Anna Mowbray, OUSU returning officer, confirmed this was a violation of the rules and said, “We have hopefully resolved the issue with the Christ Church Facebook page informally.”

Anne Cremin, leader of the No Thanks NUS maintained that the No-side mistakes have been innocent, while the Yes-side have been “flagrant violations”.

“Louis’ rule break was unfortunate but an innocent mistake – he isn’t officially involved with No Thanks NUS and wasn’t aware of the rules. As soon as we were informed of the post on the Christ Church page we contacted him to get him to remove it and the matter was dealt with quickly and efficiently.”

Though, the No side took a less forgiving tone with the NUS’s email violation. “We are disappointed by what appears to be a flagrant violation of the rules by the NUS. The NUS has demonstrated that it has no respect for the democratic rules of our student union”.

Voting for the referendum closes tomorrow (Thursday 2 June) at 6pm. Results will be released at 7.30pm the same day.

Review: Everybody Wants Some!! – antiquated male stereotypes

Zach Leather
-
0
Review: Everybody Wants Some!! – antiquated male stereotypes

TWO STARS

Linklater’s latest, Everybody Wants Some!!, is a college comedy reminiscent of Dazed and Confused, his 1993 film that followed a cast of high schoolers through their 70s shenanigans. Now he’s hit the 80s and college: classrooms and fields are replaced with nightclubs and frat houses, populated with Space Invaders, discos and silly haircuts.

Like much of his work, the film functions as a plotless meander through 80s cliché. Linklater chooses to open with lead man Jake (Blake Jenner) rocking up to his new home (full of his baseball team mates, the only characters we really get to know) in a vintage car holding literally nothing but a box of records and a baseball bag. This sort of dreamy depiction of the 80s party life never fades; Linklater does an excellent job of curating his soundtrack, decor and outfits to get us to fondly chuckle at old times. The first extended disco scene is wonderful for this, following the crew coolly chasing down girls with idyllic success.

Sadly however, nostalgia is the beginning and end of the film’s entertainment value, largely because of Linklater’s cast of a homogeneous bunch of college baseball players. Whilst looking and sounding different, they are all the same in the two key aspects: stupidity and libido.

The film could probably be summed up with Finn’s (Glen Powell) quip, “We’re just two guys doing anything we can to get laid. That’s who we are.” The result is an unsavoury vision of antiquated male stereotypes. The disco and house party scenes, composed of the identical girl-chasing shtick every time, comprise an excessive proportion of the running time.

The most interesting character (and, perhaps not coincidentally, the only female character given any sort of attention) is only properly introduced two-thirds of the way through: given enough screen time to make you wish she was there earlier. At other points we suffer exceedingly dull 10 minute baseball scenes, in which the same menu of tired themes – competitive men in perpetual fear of various emasculations – is worked through at a mindnumbingly dull pace.

Perhaps this is Linklater’s masterstroke, painting a past of ridiculous and unsympathetic boys, but he fails to do it in anything approaching a witty fashion. Satirising perhaps, but not entertaining.

Where his films usually sacrifice structure for sprawling character studies, Everybody Wants Some!! seems like a formulaic stagger from gag to gag, none of which are particularly well pulled-off . Every line seems to be aiming for something, meaning that little of the dialogue is interesting in its own right. Thus the whole film feel like a checklist of ’80s clichés and character tropes, whilst Linklater’s past successes have all been as aimless and fluid as they are plotless. At the end of the day, you should probably watch Dazed and Confused instead.

Further rule violations mar first day of voting in NUS referendum

Zachary Klamann
-
0
Further rule violations mar first day of voting in NUS referendum

The first day of voting in Oxford’s NUS referendum was made more dramatic by instances of rule violations on both sides.

This morning the NUS issued an email to all NUSExtra card holders detailing the risks leaving the national union would have for those with cards. However, while NUS did not know of the rule, the email list was prohibited as the OUSU Returning Officer had ruled, “all NUS mailing lists are classified as excluded mailing lists and therefore cannot be used for campaigning during this referendum”.

Around the same time, Louis McEvoy a campaigner in support of the movement to leave the NUS posted in the Christ Church JCR Facebook group a post urging students to vote to leave the NUS, “Don’t forget to vote in the NUS referendum today (unless you want to stay in. In which case, feel free to forget)”. Posting of this form also breaks OUSU rules concerning campaigning in closed groups.

The NUS commented to Cherwell that “An email was sent to NUS Extra card holders who signed up to receive further communication from NUS. We feel we have a duty to inform card holders that they will no longer be able to access this service should students vote for their union to disaffiliate from NUS”.

Indeed, the returning officer, Anna Mowbray, claimed she did not have any reason to believe the email was sent at the direction of the Yes campaign, but did note that, while some were unsure a non-University affiliated group could break election rules, this did constitute a rule violation.

“According to the regulations, the official campaigns are responsible for the conduct of anyone who campaigns on their behalf”, Mowbray said. “Consequently, although the NUS are not part of Oxford University, sending out information that promotes the Yes2NUS campaign is part of Yes2NUS Campaigning. Therefore it does come under the remit of the election regulations.”

The Yes campaign was also unaware of the email before it was sent. “This situation has arisen from miscommunication, rather than any intention to break rules. We in the Yes to NUS campaign did not know that NUS were planning on using their NUS Extra email list to remind students about our referendum. Similarly, NUS officers did not know at all about the ruling. Had we known it was something NUS were planning on doing, we would have told them about the ruling”, a Yes campaign spokesman said.

This ruling by the returning officer is also why Louis McEvoy’s post broke the rules, for though McEvoy is a private individual unaffiliated with the official campaign, the No campaign is responsible for his actions.

“Louis’ rule break was unfortunate but an innocent mistake – he isn’t officially involved with No Thanks NUS and wasn’t aware of the rules. As soon as we were informed of the post on the ChCh page we contacted him to get him to remove it and the matter was dealt with quickly and efficiently,” leader of No Thanks NUS Anne Cremin said.

Though, the No side took a less forgiving tone with the NUS’s email violation. “We are disappointed by what appears to be a flagrant violation of the rules by the NUS. The NUS has demonstrated that it has no respect for the democratic rules of our student union” Cremin said.

While McEvoy’s post is being dealt with internally, OUSU is trying to “find a suitable recompense for this email which clearly limits the fairness of the referendum by allowing one side a channel of communication that is not available to the other”, Mowbray said.

This all follows an email from New College’s access rep in support of the Yes campaign, violating the same rules as the NUS.

Preview: A Streetcar Named Desire

David James Hills
-
0
Preview: A Streetcar Named Desire

A triumphant jazz ensemble plays us into the opening of Blank Canvas Productions’ production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Watching the first scene unfold it is evident that even without the promised spectacle of lights, costume, and set, Harry Lukakis and Anna Seccombe have managed to craft an elegant allusion of mid-century New Orleans. This is helped by an ensemble of well-crafted performances that aid in highlighting the naturalism of Williams’ text.

But of course, Tennessee Williams’ evocative work is not a straightforward piece of theatrical realism. “Our emphasis is in highlighting the elements of classical theatre,” says co-director Harry Lukakis. “We aim to showcase the ways in which the past, present, and future confront each other in Williams’ work.” Co-director Anna Seccombe adds, “The lights, the set, the costumes… It’s all about seeing the intentional onstage.”

There is certainly little in the production to leave one wondering if a moment was improvised. Lukakis and Seccombe appear to have worked tirelessly with their cast in maintaining a consistent, realistic flow of action. Each beat and gesture feels simultaneously effortless and well rehearsed. One can see such feats of acting ability in particular in Maddy Walker and Jason Imlach, whose performances as Stella and Stanley Kowalski raise the bar for collegiate productions of Streetcar.

The play follows Southern debutante Blanche DuBouis (Mary Higgins) who is visiting her sister, Stella, and brother-in-law, Stanley, in New Orleans after taking a leave of absence from teaching in Mississippi. A cornerstone of American theatre, Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning work of theatre explores the dichotomy of class, sexuality, and mental illness under the umbrella of repressed Southern American society.

While this American raised the occasional eyebrow at a few messy vowels, the actors generally did an outstanding job of maintaining the New Orleans’ ‘yat’ accent and the more distinguishable Southern lilt in the characters of Stella and Blanche.

Certain to be a highlight of the Oxford theatre scene, A Streetcar Named Desire rounds out a great term with its respect for its powerful source material and courage to experiment beyond Williams’ words. This high-caliber production is not to be missed.

‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ will be running Thursday-Sunday of 6th Week at the Keble O’Reilly Theatre

Is there hope for pop music?

William Shaw
-
0
Is there hope for pop music?

Inform – Educate – Entertain. This was the title of London-based archive-funk duo Public Service Broadcasting’s debut album, and it also serves as a kind of mission statement.

The band’s main gimmick is the use of archive clips and famous quotations to form the lyrical content of their pieces, along with live instruments to create a kind of anachronistic EDM/funk sound. It’s a listening experience best equated to listening to both Radio 4 and 6 Music, whilst simultaneously watching a history documentary. It’s the sort of thing which ought to suffer from the classic problem of being more interesting to read about than to listen to, but the band make it work through the sheer cleverness and skill of their compositions.

But these indie darlings also embody a number of recent trends in the pop scene, and shows where they might lead – as they put it themselves, they bring “the lessons of the past through the music of the future”. Public Service Broadcasting dispense with singers entirely, instead sampling their songs’ entire vocal content. Singers are by no means gone from the mainstream pop space, but producers are gaining serious ground as stars in their own right. Hell, even for traditional ‘pop stars’ the producer is increasingly visible and important – Justin Bieber’s recent comeback owed more to Skrillex than it did to Bieber himself. Vocals are becoming just one production aspect among many, and PSB present a pure expression of that sentiment. In the age of streaming and singles, album sales are at an all-time low. The Long Playing record is history. So why not take advantage of that? PSB are not exactly a pop act – number 21 on the album charts is the closest they’ve got – but they represent the best instincts of pop music as it stands today, and for that they deserve to stick to stick around.

A Beginner’s Guide to… Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Sophie Jordan
-
0
A Beginner’s Guide to… Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace chirps a sassy “Ooh La La” and squeals like an angel. She is a Vermont blonde, whose voice proves more and more versatile as I go through her band’s four studio albums and 12 year-long history of blues rock.

I have the soundtrack album of Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Almost Alice to thank for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. If the trio’s cover of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’ featured on the album stays on the safe side of innovation, venturing only as far as the addition of a bass and eerie twangs on an acoustic guitar, it is certainly more successful than Pink’s unexciting adaptation for the film’s sequel.

Grace and her two current Nocturnals, Matt Burr and Benny Yurco, play the occasional alt-rock song like the live version of the originally bluesy ‘Nothing but the Water’. In this soulful festival tune livelier than the average Americana, the full power of the vocals rolls over the music’s simple composition while Grace skips barefoot from end to end of the stage.

This voice becomes the voice of a classic diva for the contemplative ‘Colors’ or the teasing modern blues of ‘Paris (Ooh La La)’, both taken from the band’s 2010 album. Alone in solo debut Midnight, however, Grace Potter falls into the trap of overly-synthesised, repetitive tunes with no more impact than a weak Lorde superimposed on a noughties dance soundtrack.

Grace is better off with her Nocturnals’ swinging bass and folk undertones, and chances are you’ll want to kick your boots off too and skip along to the easy-going indie rock.

10 songs you probably didn’t know were covers

Cherwell Music
-
0
10 songs you probably didn’t know were covers

1: ‘Torn’

An unmistakable one-hit-wonder for Natalie Imbruglia, the 1997 classic was a repurposing of a 1995 track by indie band Ednaswap, whose grungy guitar work did far less than the polished cover’s sunny chords and “ooh”s and “ah”s to unleash its credentials as a smash hit. Even if the cover is more infectious, the original still possesses a unique rawness and aggression which complement its yearning lyricism.

2: ‘Twist and Shout’

Yes, this undisputed classic of the Beatles’ oeuvre which we so loved in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was in fact a cover. The Top Notes were an up-and-coming rock-and-roll band from New York who, guided by the then relatively unsuccessful Phil Spector, recorded this track… but to no avail. The consensus of the songwriters was that Spector butchered it, while the Beatles’ raucous rendition more accurately captured the song’s spirit.

3:‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’

Three mainline versions of this song actually exist: the first, by Bruce Springsteen featuring mournful harmonica and sparse accompaniment to his guitar and vocals; the second, by Rage Against the Machine, replacing Springsteen’s sorrow with white-hot anger. In tribute to this reimagining, Springsteen then re-recorded the song with Rage guitarist Tom Morello on lead guitar, and co-lead vocals. There is no definitive version – rather, there are three different conduits for the song’s John Steinbeck-inspired emotional devastation, based upon Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.

4: ‘Everybody Needs Somebody to Love’

This groove-based blues number was, like ‘Twist and Shout’, partially a Bert Berns composition, written in collaboration with a lesser known soul artist named Solomon Burke. The Rolling Stones then brought the song into the limelight, covering it on the 1965 album The Rolling Stones, Now!, paving the way for its subsequent success on The Blues Brothers’ soundtrack in 1980.

5: ‘Mad World’

‘Mad World’ was, at one stage, unavoidable through adverts, films, and a constant place in the Top 40. It’s a testament to Gary Jules’ interpretation of Tears for Fears’ 80s original, which maintained a quiet, subdued intelligence. In fact, the original’s synth-pop nature harms the song, with a strange incongruity between the lyrics and the audio. It’s tough to say, but the cover is far superior.

6: ‘Hey Joe’

This is a disputed one – many different people claim authorship, so much so that it is, to all intents and purposes, classed as ‘Traditional’. However, L.A. garage rock band The Leaves were the first to commercially record the song, giving them (debatable) first dibs in a rough-at-the-edges gritty rock single. But there is no denying that this is a song that Hendrix truly claimed as his own, blending Jaggeresque gravel with Beatlesy harmonies and in turn with his own classic guitar pyrotechnics.

7: ‘Sea of Love’

Whereas the Phil Phillips original was a quite classic blues-rocker, Cat Power on her Covers Record embraced the fragility of the subject matter, to lay bare her voice and guitar to create a breath-taking love song. Moving every time.

8: ‘Make You Feel My Love’

To contemporary listeners of the 19 album, this song must have seemed entirely Adele’s; perfectly suited in its hushed ambience to her huskily passionate vocals. However, this is one of many in Dylan’s oeuvre to be made famous by others. Dylan’s own version is subdued and his voice akin to an old-smoker’s growl; and upon closer inspection, draws out the similarities between Dylan and Adele rather than the differences.

9: ‘The Man Who Sold The World’

This one is generational: for many sprogs of the 80s, Nirvana’s classic 1993 performance of this song back when MTV ruled the world will forever be the defining version. Yet the song in fact stems from the genius of the late David Bowie, who’s third album bears both this song, and its name as its album title. Good luck picking a favourite.

10: ‘Bittersweet Symphony’

Lol, what a joke. Fuck you Allen Klein. This isn’t by the Stones, and you know it. Long live The Verve. This is their moment of glory, and what an absolutely fantastic tune it is.

1...1,0191,0201,021...2,515Page 1,020 of 2,515

Support Student Journalism

Cherwell is Oxford’s oldest independent newspaper, established in 1920. We are entirely student-run. By supporting us, you will contribute to keeping our paper in print and online. Every donation makes a difference.

Donate

Explore

Follow us

More

Oxford Student Publications Limited © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy

Website by James Ashley