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Listen While You Can: Dark Night of the Soul

Evelyn Richardson
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Listen While You Can: Dark Night of the Soul

It’s the sort of thing you’d expect to find in a gravely dark satirical novel. The industrial juggernaut EMI, by means of a mysterious copyright assertion, has left the future of what is truly a remarkable and artistically ambitious project looking worryingly bleak.

Dark Night of the Soul is an album-length collection of songs masterminded by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, and boasting a veritable dream-team of collaborators. Integral to the enterprise is film-maker David Lynch, who has put together a ‘visual narrative’ for the music in the form of a series of photographs and who twice takes on the role of vocalist. Elsewhere this role is amply fulfilled by members of the all-star cast: Iggy Pop, Black Francis (The Pixies), The Flaming Lips, Jason Lytle (formerly of Grandaddy), Julian Casablancas (The Strokes), Vic Chesnutt, Nina Persson (The Cardigans), Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals), James Mercer (The Shins), and Suzanne Vega.

What’s special about this record is its unity and coherence, quite an achievement in view of the variety among its contributors. Each track is unmistakably in the typical style of whoever’s on vocals, and yet the songs not only cohere but are in fact utterly interdependent, musically and thematically. Structurally simple, the songs underwhelm as isolated pieces, but make perfect sense as part of the album’s grand structure. In some cases the point of a track only comes clear when the album is listened to as a whole. Insane Lullaby, for example, sung by Mercer, seems stubbornly shapeless in itself – muffled tones and aimless melodies – but provides the ideal launch-pad for Daddy’s Gone, the poppy number that ensues; and the transition is capitalized on by a decidedly brief pause between the songs.

The weight of themes such as pain, growing old, and dealing with the experience of childhood, is alleviated by songs which bring out the simple mundaneness of life. Hear for example Lytle in Everytime I’m With You: ‘every time you come by / we get so trashed / and stay up all night; / well it’s so wrong, / but it’s all right – / yeah it’s all right’. Or equally, Vega in The Man Who Played God: ‘all things you can see around you – / you can change them, rearrange them, in your mind; / if you love tales of transformation, / well then 1 – 2 – 3 / you could be / the man who played god’.

Even at lighter points, such as these, there’s an underlying darkness, but it’s certainly not all doom and gloom, as some mistakenly seem always to expect from Sparklehorse (a.k.a. Mark Linkous, and here, I’m afraid, comes the inevitable reminder that he nearly managed to kill himself while on a European tour with Radiohead in 1996 by wildly overdosing on a cocktail of anti-depressants, alcohol, valium and heroin). This is without question his finest achievement so far. There was a good chance it would be a success: the best material on his last album, 2006’s Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, had been the product of collaboration with Danger Mouse, whose importance to Dark Night should not be underestimated.

Given that this album more than most demands to be listened to as a whole, I’m reluctant to name highlights, but I can’t resist drawing attention to Little Girl. After releasing Is This It?, The Strokes found themselves at what seemed like a creative dead-end. Casablancas’ insouciant vocals seemed appropriate only to the lo-fi, uncomplicated, guitar-based sound that they had perfected on their first outing, and were unlikely to improve. Little Girl gives an idea of what they might (and should) have done at that juncture. It could easily be The Strokes, only with greater lyrical maturity and the judiciously-applied addition of electronic effects.

It’s terribly ironic that one of the year’s most original conceptions has come up against a copyright issue and may never be released. Luckily, in the age we live in, it doesn’t follow that you can’t listen to it. You can. And I urge you to do so while you can (because EMI can be pretty efficient when it comes to copyright infringements). It’s still being streamed in its entirety on the [American] National Public Radio web-site (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104129585).

Finally….

Fayyaz Muneer
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Finally….

It’s pretty extraordinary that we haven’t beaten the Aussies in 75 years at HQ. That’s a long time, which includes Australia’s decade of mediocrity in the 1980s. Wait, no more gloating. Enough of that has happened already, and there is at least one Australian whose feelings I care about enough to want to mock him in person.

Is there anything to learn from this, other than England good, and Australia bad? Australia can point to dodgy umpiring, a sort of mass psychosis whereby all their batsmen forgot how to pull the ball, shoddy Mitchell Johnson bowling, and a hangover from Cardiff. Thankfully for them, they weren’t beaten by a better team, because England aren’t a better team, Australia are, but only just. What needs to happen? They shouldn’t drop Johnson. It will send a terrible message, and deprive them of their best bowler (assuming he bowls decently). One poor test match for the majority of the team should lead to chiding and little else. The problem now is what to do when Brett Lee comes back into contention for the next Test. The temptation is to drop Siddle, who for all his snarling, is a worse bowler in England than the excellent Hilfenhaus. Australia will regroup, because neither Ponting nor their back-room staff are mugs, but they need to do it mighty soon.

On the other hand, England have little to worry about aside from Pieterson’s rib. A straight swap of Pieterson for Bell is probably in order, although a bold England might consider dropping Bopara. Again I wouldn’t, as I think England’s batting depth doesn’t warrant losing both Bopara and Pieterson. However, if Pieterson plays, I’d play Bell at three. He’s had his time away, and I’d like to see him learn to become our version of Michael Clarke, and not just our version of Daryl Cullinan.

 

Most read stories on cherwell.org

Marta Szczerba
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Most read stories on cherwell.org

‘Outrage over the naked KY Jelly wrestling at Kukui’ was the most popular story on Cherwell online in the past academic year. The article received 18169 hits.

A close second spot was taken by Cherwell’s scoop on the Oxford Union’s termcard sham, with 16966 people viewing the story.

However, one thing is undeniable – sex and racism scandals sell. Cherwell’s sex survey, an article on the naked charity calendar and the recent OUCA hustings controversy all resulted in numerous hits on the site.

10 most popular stories on Cherwell.org in 2008 – 2009 academic year:

1. Outrage over naked KY jelly wrestling at Kukui by Laura Criddle – 18169 hits

2. Oxford Union shamed by termcard sham by Fayyaz Muneer – 16966 hits

3. Castro, Che and Obama by Fred Spring – 13573 hits

4. Exposed: Oxford sex laid bare by Marta Szczerba – 6794 hits

5. Students injured in Turl Street brawl by Theo Merz – 6385 hits

6. Members suspended after OUCA’s racist hustings by  Cherwell News Team – 4879 hits

7. LMH student dies by Cherwell News Team – 3975 hits

8. Students strip off for charity calendar by Lara Adamson – 3472 hits

9. University to investigate uni rugby ‘Jew party’ by Liz Bennett and Gretta Mullany – 3224 hits

10. Students barricade Bodleian by Theo Merz – 2932 hits

 

From Swagger to Shuffle

Fayyaz Muneer
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From Swagger to Shuffle

In my life, I’ve never actually experienced the Aussies under the sort of
pressure in Ashes that they are now. I was born in 1989, and they’ve banged
us every series, 2005 notwithstandin

g, in that period. My dad used to say
that you never beat the Aussies. You may win against them, but you never
beat them (I guess he meant into submission, retreat, etc.). This isn’t as
true as it was. This is an Australia team full of guys that either partook
in, or grew up watching, unbelievable dominance in the late 90s and early
noughties.

Ed Smith, who with the passing of Bob Woolmer is one of the sharpest brains
in the game, and on the planet, makes an interesting point (standard for
him) in his book playing Hard Ball: He says he always believed he would play
for Kent. But it never occurred to him that he would sometimes *fail* for
them. The same is probably true of every member of this Aussie team. Pontingis the only one who predates world domination.

And it’s really affecting them. There’s an insouciance, an ill-placed
remnant from the past, about the way Australia play now. Whereas before it
seemed like justified swagger, now it seems like the lack of a will to apply
themselves. When they are good, they are still unbelievable, and probably
better than England, man-for-man. But they play like a team with no
awareness of its own fragilities. Five batsman got out to the pull shot in
the 1st innings. Mitchell Johnson, who arrived with a rep the size of his
muscles, has faltered hugely. Interestingly, Australia’s best two bowlers
have been the ones with the biggest inferiority complexes. Hilfenhaus has
bowled beautifully this test. So has Hauritz, who I’ve cussed up a lot, but
who must have huge balls to dislocate a finger, bat well, bowl when it must
have hurt like nothing else, try and take a dangerously low catch, and get in the way of a Flintoff pull shot.

England meanwhile, chastened by their defeat in 2006-7, and various debacles
aside, are relishing the new experience of pressuring Australia. Even
carrying an out of sorts Bopara, a distracted Pieterson, and a bowler who
doesn’t warrant selection (Broad), they’ve gelled well, and have done
everything asked of them. Australia have a big job on their hands. They need
big men to bat and score big for them. They used to have Steve Waugh and
Justin Langer to do that. Over to you, Phil, Pup, and Mr. Cricket…

Union bans OUCA hustings in Frewin Court

Mark Rose
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Union bans OUCA hustings in Frewin Court

The Oxford Union society has banned the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA) from holding hustings or any in-camera events in the Union buildings.

The motion was passed by the Standing Committee in 8th week. It was prompted by the recent controversy over the conduct of OUCA’s hustings.
 
James Dray, the society’s President commented, “The Oxford Union has, and will continue to, condemn the type of racist comments made in last term’s OUCA hustings. As such, the Standing Committee voted in 8th week to ban OUCA from having hustings or any in-camera events in the Union. We believe that the spirit of open debate upon which the Union is built cannot take place in an environment of secret meetings and hidden discussions, and feel that banning closed meetings is an appropriate response to the incident.”

The Committee also considered banning all events hosted by OUCA for a term, but the motion ultimately failed.

Charlie Holt, the ex-President of the Union, told the Standing Committee that the society has to be expelled from the buildings until they clean up their image. He said, “We should take firm, decisive action quickly stating that we will not tolerate this.”

A complaint with regards to the conduct at the hustings was brought by Andrew Scott-Taggart to the OUCA’s Disciplinary Committee (DC) at the end of last term.

However, before the DC took place two members resigned from the Association as a result of the controversy.

George Harnett, society’s Returning Officer concluded in a report, “The DC deeply regrets the events of last week, and reiterates the President’s apology on behalf of the Association to anyone offended.”

What is it with England’s middle order?

Fayyaz Muneer
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What is it with England’s middle order?

A lot of people at my internship were at an event in the afternoon, so I clocked off early, and watched the last 30 minutes at the pub. It beat compulsively checking cricinfo and imagining the match based on their (excellent) commentary.

I make no apology for jumping on the Mitchell Johnson is awesome bandwagon earlier this year. I know he’s bowled poorly today, but the sharp difference between batters and bowlers is that bowling is more dependent on being a class act. Even between the nonsense, he bowled two crackers to get rid of Cook and Prior. The one to Prior is not a ball you can learn, or really practice. It requires the perfect combination of a low arm, arm speed, and wrist position. So I would still say persevere with Johnson, because he will get the best players out more than say, Stuart Broad. I was really impressed by Hilfenhaus today, who I knew little about before this summer, but who bowled really well today, and the ball to get Flintoff out was a bit of a stunner. Make no mistake, this is a good Australian pace attack, and with Lee to come back, they are to be underestimated at our peril.

What is it with England’s middle order? Having flair players at 3 and 4 probably doesn’t help that much. For that reason, I’d like to see Pieterson at 5 for a change. Keep the howls down for a second, I have a theory. Test cricket is played at such a cracking pace these days that number five isn’t as pressed for time as much as he was before. I think Pieterson finds it confusing to play second fiddle to a man already batting well, so why not let him marshal the lowish order, and have license to dominate. He’s not young, he won’t change his game just because the papers ask him to. To get the best out of him and England’s middle order play him at five.

Strauss of course batted rather nicely today, although it probably helped being assisted to 30+ by copious long hops and half volleys from Johnson (the same goes for Cook, although I’m glad he asserted himself finally). Strauss plays almost exclusively with a horizontal or vertical blade; not for him the diagonal slashes of Pieterson or Hughes. On a pitch offering exaggerated movement and a big slope (see Hilfenhaus today) that sort of technique will fare well. I’m waiting with nervous anticipation to see what Hughes will make of the slope, although he did score about a million runs for Middlesex early this year at Lords.

Big day tomorrow. England need to step up and really stamp themselves on the game in the first session. If Broad ever picked a time for a maiden hundred in Tests, this will do nicely…

England must make changes

Fayyaz Muneer
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England must make changes

Welcome to Cherwell’s summer cricket coverage! After the engrossing vulgarity of the World T20 tournament, the real business of summer, the Ashes is upon us. I’ll be posting my thoughts on what’s going on periodically over the series, and you are all welcome to agree, castigate, and anything else in
the comments section below.

 

I, like most people, was absolutely thrilled with the result of the First test, although it wasn’t a case of “I’d have taken that at the start.” How to be less toothless when

we bowl? First, as I think everyone says, drop Panesar. He is worse than Swann at everything right now, despite his comedy antics. Harmison needs to be brought back pronto. A harder decision is whether to keep Broad 

or put in Onions. Of course, if Flintoff doesn’t recover, Broad will have to play, as a quasi-all-rounder, but also because nobody trusts Bresnan against Hughes or Ponting, or Clarke or North. I’d pick Onions. As much as I love Broad for his apparently Sobers-esque batting, and his uncanny resemblance to Robert Chase on the TV show House, he needs to learn to take wickets regularly. Not to guarantee that Onions will be a wicket machine, but he does what he does better than Broad does. Harmsion and hopefully Flintoff can provide raw pace, and Anderson swing. I’d rather have Onions than Broad as the decidedly fourth seamer.

I sympathise a little with Pieterson for that dodgy shot in the first innings. Yes the sweep gets him runs, and the amount of times I’ve got out insisting I can cover drive a leg stump half-volley makes us brothers of a sort. But it’s not like he doesn’t have the reactions or talent to pull out of an obviously wrong shot. Eoin Morgan can do it, and even players as limited as Nick Knight have pulled off that trick. Otherwise, Haurtiz will just bowl really wide of off stump with a short fine leg, a fine leg, a deep backward point for the reverse sweep, and a deep cover for the inside out, and choke the life out of Pieterson.

What of the Aussies? I don’t think there’s any reason to change the side. This was my first time watching Phil Hughes properly. Even if he only got 36, the sight of him cutting the ball like the love child of Lara and Jayasuriya is seared onto my memory. I’ve never seen anyone in test cricket cut the ball like that. It was pretty terrifying, and I don’t care if the Press think he’s weak against the short ball. He’s only twenty. One day, he’ll learn to hook and pull properly, and then he’s going to get thousands of runs. Tuck him up while you can with straight seamers. Its Ashes 2010-2011 where he’ll eat us alive. Brett Lee isn’t fit, and I was impressed by Australia’s unfancied duo of Siddle and Hilfenhaus. Siddle is a keen man, in the mould of Merv hughes, and Hilfenhaus is one of the most English of Australian bowlers. Hauritz bowled ballsily, and even if he’ll struggle on other pitches, I’m happy for him that he showed himself he could operate at the top level. Johnson bowled poorly, but laugh quietly. When he’s on, he can do as much damage to us as Hughes, Clarke, and Ponting. And that, friends, is a lot.


Oxford choir in Harry Potter movie

Derek Tan
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Oxford choir in Harry Potter movie

The Choir of Queen’s College recorded a song for the soundtrack of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’.

The choir was approached by Nicholas Hopper, the BAFTA-winning composer, in late 2007 regarding a possibility of singing a piece for the film.

The Choir recorded ‘In noctem’ in Studio One at Abbey Road Studios in London, the world’s largest purpose-built recording studio.

Georgina Watts, a second year choral scholar commented, “Recording at Abbey Road is just one of the amazing opportunities that I have been offered as a member of the Queen’s College Chapel Choir.”

The song can be heard at various points in the film, during the closing credits, and on the soundtrack CD of the film.

 

Saving Squirrel Nutkin

Joy Molyneaux
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Saving Squirrel Nutkin

In Oxford, as across Britain, the sighting of a squirrel is not uncommon. Christ Church Meadows teems with the grey scavengers, loitering around refuse bins. Suburban streets see unwanted intruders, interested only in chewing peanut feeders – intended for the birds. Drives along country roads proffer many an opportunity to spot one, even as it’s scarpering across the tarmac in front.

However what is far more special is the glimpse of a red squirrel, the grey variety’s smaller relative. Greys cannot compete with their cousins on looks and cute-factor, what with its stubby face and coarser dull fur. The reds’ tufty fluffy ears and white tummy are quite strikingly beautiful – and don’t get started on the gorgeous rich rusty red…

The little rodent’s plight has been well-noted for many years, as numbers have dramatically plummeted to fewer than 140000. Their absence is especially acute in urban areas, for 85% are resident in more rural parts of Scotland. Now the red squirrel is protected as an endangered species across most of Europe, though it is not thought to be at risk on a worldwide level. The blame for the decline is regularly attributed to a struggle between the two kinds; however this is only one factor.

Historically Europe was home only to reds, until the grey variety was introduced from North America. Although the two are not directly hostile to one another, a disease (squirrel parapoxvirus) is carried by the grey type. This does not affect the carrier yet kills its relatives – which does seem a tad unfair. However family politics alone should not be a scapegoat. Loss of native forest habitation is another important consideration – a poignant tale across so much of the world, as deforestation clears the way for man.

Since January 2006 the UK Government has supported culling programs on grey squirrels. This facilitates a widespread reintroduction of the red variety, especially in England. However this direct method is supplementary to more humane regeneration schemes. A new four-year program, announced by the Scottish WildlifeTrust earlier this year, sees red squirrels advancing into urban areas and expanding their adaptability to new habitats. Forestry commissions, restoring the environment to an increasingly natural state, are growing in speed across the UK. The Caledonian Forest once covered swaths of the country, of which now 1% survives. The Forest has begun to be re-established in pocketed enclosures of Scots Pine and Douglas Fir, an encouragement to all native wildlife. This goes well beyond a love of red squirrels, for the schemes provide a host of mammals and birds – including pine martens, ospreys and wildcats – with a suitable environment in which to prosper.

Such moves to support nature are always promising. So there is good news for all species – and especially for Squirrel Nutkin.

The Ashes: What is it with England’s middle order?

Fayyaz Muneer
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The Ashes: What is it with England’s middle order?

A lot of people at my internship were at an event in the afternoon, so
I clocked off early, and watched the last 30 minutes at the pub. It
beat compulsively checking cricinfo and imagining the match based on
their (excellent) commentary.

I make no apology for jumping on the Mitchell Johnson is awesome
bandwagon earlier this year. I know he’s bowled poorly today, but the
sharp difference between batters and bowlers is that bowling is more
dependent on being a class act. Even between the nonsense, he bowled
two crackers to get rid of Cook and Prior. The one to Prior is not a
ball you can learn, or really practice. It requires the perfect
combination of a low arm, arm speed, and wrist position. So I would
still say persevere with Johnson, because he will get the best players
out more than say, Stuart Broad. I was really impressed by Hilfenhaus
today, who I knew little about before this summer, but who bowled
really well today, and the ball to get Flintoff out was a bit of a
stunner. Make no mistake, this is a good Australian pace attack, and
with Lee to come back, they are to be underestimated at our peril.

What is it with England’s middle order? Having flair players at 3 and
4 probably doesn’t help that much. For that reason, I’d like to see
Pieterson at 5 for a change. Keep the howls down for a second, I have
a theory. Test cricket is played at such a cracking pace these days
that number five isn’t as pressed for time as much as he was before. I
think Pieterson finds it confusing to play second fiddle to a man
already batting well, so why not let him marshal the lowish order,
and have license to dominate. He’s not young, he won’t change his game
just because the papers ask him to. To get the best out of him and England’s middle order play him at five.


Strauss of course batted rather nicely today, although it probably
helped being assisted to 30+ by copious long hops and half volleys
from Johnson (the same goes for Cook, although I’m glad he asserted
himself finally). Strauss plays almost exclusively with a horizontal
or vertical blade; not for him the diagonal slashes of Pieterson or
Hughes. On a pitch offering exaggerated movement and a big slope (see
Hilfenhaus today) that sort of technique will fare well. I’m waiting
with nervous anticipation to see what Hughes will make of the slope,
although he did score about a million runs for Middlesex early this year at
Lords.

Big day tomorrow. England need to step up and really stamp themselves
on the game in the first session. If Broad ever picked a time for a
maiden hundred in Tests, this will do nicely…

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