Since, in his typically understated style, bespectacled
guitarist Graham Coxon walked out on Blur, there has been a
year-long holding of breath to see what he would do next. His four previous solo albums, all recorded whilst with the
band, have been deliberately obscure and lo-fi, almost as an
allergic reaction to Blur’s commercialism. Free from the
chart-topping shackles, Happiness in Magazines is the sound of a
man finally having some fun, (and yes, it is a much more fun
listen than Think Tank) and it’s an absolute gem. Album opener ‘Spectacular’ immediately blows away
any notion of further lo-fi noodling with a blasting guitar riff
that Queens of the Stone Age would be proud of, but Happiness in
Magazines is about more than turning the amps up louder.
‘Are You Ready’ is a bittersweet love song that messes
around with the chiming guitars of Ennio Morricone’s Western
soundtracks to delicious effect and ‘Bittersweet Bundle of
Misery’ could be the twisted cousin of ‘Coffee and
TV’. The standout is, rather predictably, the ace
‘Freakin’ Out’, which charted earlier this year
despite a seven-inch only release. The one stumbling block is perhaps Graham’s voice. It
remains as reedy and weedy as ever, giving the impression of the
love-lorn loser that this critic suspects he rather likes to play
up to. Whether it continues to affect or begins to grate is a
matter of personal taste, but this is only a minor quibble over a
largely impressive album. Over to you, Damon.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

I associate the dreaming spires of Oxford with Gregorian
chants and boys’ choirs. Until I heard Out of the Blue, I
was sceptical that good collegiate a cappella was to be found in
our ancient town. In America, almost every East Coast university
claims to have an a cappellatradition that stretches back fifty
or a hundred years. I’m a visiting student from Princeton,
where we are very smug about this fact and defend the antiquity
of our a cappella groups, though their age is just a flickering
moment if measured in Oxfordtime. Out of the Blue is a mere four years old. Less than a flicker.
And I should point out that for once, something in America is
older than something in England. Hearing these thirteen lads sing
though, you would have no idea that they’re new kids on the
block. Their talent and their enthusiasm (not to mention certain
pop diva tendencies) make them a formidable artistic force. Not that high art is what a cappella is about. Though
unaccompanied voice is the oldest style in Western music,
collegiate a cappella is always fresh and more about having fun
than serving the muse: Out of the Blue sway and careen when they
sing a piece. They mime the instruments whose parts they’re
singing, and there’s an occasional country western line
dance thrown in. If Out of the Blue have a sublime sense of showmanship and of
having a good time, their musical ability is no less impressive.
Members of the group do their own arrangements, and these tend to
be very ambitious with complicated harmonies and intricate
instrumental lines. A pop song becomes richer when Out of the
Blue sing it. Their repertoire ranges from pop to traditional,
though they always seem to have an eye towards boy-bandhood.
One’s heart melts at some of the soloists crooning about
broken love, but the performance never becomes the maudlin
overacting of a real boy-band. It’s not all fun and games though, they set themselves a
taxing tour schedule, have released three CDs and seem to be
making an appearance at nearly every college ball this term. By
all accounts, it’s been worth it: last year’s Spring
show sold out the Oxford Playhouse and the show this term will
most likely sell out the much larger New Theatre. In their four years of existence, Out of the Blue have become
one of Oxford’s most popular musical traditions. So who
needs an old a cappella tradition if you can just forge your own?ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

There is something about the coming-of-age story that never grows old. While some writers have transformed the tale of adolescence into either sentimental kitsch or unrealistic caricature, others have managed to capture that stage of life with admirable clarity. Though not perfect by any means, M J Hyland is one of the latter.
Raised in poverty on the outskirts of Sydney, 16-year-old Louisa Connor – Lou for short – is ready to start her life over. Bright and hardworking, she has won a scholarship to study abroad for one year in the United States. However, having grown up in nearly absolute freedom, she is hardly prepared for a strict suburban host family with a reticent, melancholy father, a neurotic mother, a shallow 13-year-old sister, and a 15-year-old brother who is just a little too happy to have a female exchange student living in his home.
We see and empathise with Lou’s loneliness, her mix of affection and disdain for her new family, and the insecurity that ultimately plunges her into a downward spiral; at the same time, we get the sense that there is something missing from the story.
While Hyland describes Lou’s host family with vividness and precision, we are left with the question as to why they act as they do. It is obvious that beneath their veneer of suburban smugness, something is terribly wrong; however, we never get to find out just what that something is. Throughout the novel, Hyland develops several subplots that become so interesting as to rival the main plot, but is then forced to abandon them in order to return to Lou’s story.
It is unfortunate that one of the most interesting figures in the novel, a Gogol-reading, chess-playing Russian student, has to be dropped simply because he is a minor character. While the need for narrative decision is understandable, it is difficult not to wish for a bit more development of these sideline stories.
Another flaw in the story is the dialogue. Although Lou’s spunky speech patterns develop her interesting though alienated character, they occasionally sound a bit contrived. The same holds true for some of the other characters, particularly the host parents. While Hyland may simply be seeking to reveal the superficiality of their conversations, the dialogue still sounds somewhat unrealistic.
Nevertheless, with a treasury of elaborate lies about pet kangaroos back home and plenty of sarcastic comments combined with genuine feeling toward others, this book is very poignant and moving.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Faber’s first novel tears away protective layers of propriety, leaving the flesh and bone of society quivering and in full view. The realisation that something strange is going on is immediate, as the reader is confronted with the mysteriously repugnant alien Isserley, who scours the Scottish Highlands, under the command of her superiors, in search of beefy male hitchhikers.
Her freakish appearance (thick glasses, crooked spine, disproportionately large breasts) is the result of painful operations, yet offers a bizarre erotic appeal, which allows Isserley to snag her victims and send them to The Farm for “processing”.
This sounds gruesome and gratuitous, yet the beauty of his novel relies on our gradual realisation of Faber’s gist. He combines the fantastic, in the form of Isserley’s race, and the familiar, epitomised by the domestic vignettes of Isserley’s passengers, so that the one aspect emphasises the other and we appreciate the complexity and strangeness of both.
“The monster without is the monster within” is a common literary theme, recalling Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but Faber provides a modern twist by examining how we deal with “monsters”, personal or otherwise, through the eyes of a protagonist who, though frightful in form, embodies the complex paradoxes of the human condition.
This is re-enforced by the fact that Isserley refers to her own race as “humans”, while our own species are “vodsels”, and the manner in which she justifies her actions towards “vodsels” reflects our own treatment not only of animals but also of other races and different religions. Faber, therefore, provides an exploration of our own predatory nature and even, despite our strong disapproval of her actions, manages to stir sympathy for Isserley in her moral dilemma.
Under the Skin, then, works on a number of levels and is far more than a cheap thriller; in his discussion of the sometimes unavoidable objectification of one species by another, Faber provokes us to continually reassess our moral stance, making this a gripping, if not immediately gratifying, read.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Varsity Athletics The 130th match against Cambridge was characterised by strong
performances on both the track and the field, culminating in
victory for the men’s Blues team, and both of the second
teams – the Centipedes and the Millipedes. However, the
girls’ Blues team were beaten by their Cambridge
counterparts, despite victories in all of the throwing events,
the high jump, and the 5000m and 400m hurdles races. Since the competition began in 1864, Oxford’s men’s
team has won 16 more times than Cambridge, and the trend
continued this year with an Oxford victory of 117-103. OUAC President Fraser Thompson urged his athletes to
‘shoe the Tabs!’ and he followed up with three
convincing victories of his own, in the 800m (1:54.6), the 5000m
(14:47.1) and the mile (4:15.6). Oxford also took third place in
the 5000m and the mile through the efforts of Ben Moreau
(15:04.0) and John Hutchins (4:20.4) respectively. To complete a
clean sweep of the long-distance races, Sam Aldridge won the
3000m steeplechase in 9:27.7. Oxford’s performance in the 400m was similarly notable
– in the Blues team, Jonan Boto came second in 49.5 seconds
and Robert Lawton finished third in 50.2 seconds. Cambridge
tended to control the long-distance events for women, although
Oxford managed to take the first two places in the 5000 metres
through impressive performances from Emily Ferenczi in first
place (17:34.6) and Courtney Birch in second (17:39.3). The men’s Dark Blues swept the board in the jumping
events – Sean Gourley leapt to victory in the long jump (7.05m),
high jump (1m95) and pole vault (4.40m). The triple jump
competition resulted in maximum points as William Senbanjo took
first place with 13.76 metres and Bayo Biobaku took second with
13.67 metres. The Centipedes team also took the top two spots,
with Dan Johnson jumping a new personal best of 12.94 metres, and
Caley Wright coming second with 12.13 metres. In throwing events, Stephen McCauley was victorious in the
shot putt (14.18m) and discus (42.94m), and finished third in the
hammer (40.26m). He was supported by Thomas Hayman, who came
second in both events, achieving a personal best in the shot of
13.39 metres. Oxford also won the javelin through James
Macfarlane’s new personal best throw of 60.31 metres, with
David Harding’s 54.71 metres second and Rota Vavilova’s
throw of 34.56 metres winning the women’s event. Chanda
Kapande took first place in the hammer with a new PB of 37.77
metres and the discus (34.57m) – followed by Susan Stockdale
(25.63m). A personal best from Olivia Reade (11.04m) won the
women’s shot, followed by Rota Vavilova (10.33), and the
trend of maximum points continued in the high jump with Ailsa
Wallace (1.68m) and Danielle Fidge (1.60m) taking first and
second places respectively. On the track, Sophie Scamps was impressive in the 400m and
400m hurdles, achieving new personal bests in both. The
Millipedes also won both of these events through Katy Sam and
Elin Leyshon’s hurdling personal best of 72.0 seconds; Sam
also took the 200m race in 27.7 seconds. Oxford also took second
place in the 200m and 400m races through the efforts of Elicia
Bravo (27.8 seconds) and Natalie Coleman (63.5 seconds)
respectively. Only the closely-fought men’s sprints had belonged to
Cambridge. Toleme Ezekiel and Russell Young ran well in both the
100m and 200m, with times of 11.4 seconds and 11.5 seconds
respectively in the 100m, and 22.9 and 23.0 seconds in the 200m.
Domination of the 110m sprint hurdles, however, belonged to
Oxford. Richard Baderin and Richard Sear left Cambridge trailing
as they earned maximum points for the Blues team, finishing first
(15.0) and second (15.7) respectively. Though beaten in the 4x400m relay, victory in the 4x100m for
the men rounded the day off before Oxbridge rivalries could be
cast aside at a dinner at New College.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Women’s Cricket After a superb victory against Cambridge in April, the
fortunes of the Oxford women’s cricket side took a tumble,
as weather and the absence of key players conspired against them,
and has led to the team missing out on the semi finals of the
BUSA Championship. Firstly matches against Exeter and Brighton, the BUSA Southern
Premier League’s weakest side, were washed out with the
sides gaining a point apiece, then the Oxford side travelled to
Exeter to face a confident top of the table side. After losing
the toss, a disappointing performance with the bat saw nobody,
with the exception of captain Helen Smith, getting on top of the
tight bowling. Smith hit 27, but only found support in Emma
Collins and Sarah Milham, who made 14 and 15 respectively. Oxford
finished on 99/9 after 40 overs. Defending this total was always going to be a difficult task,
made harder by the presence of Ireland international Emma Beamish
at the crease. Exeter ran out 9-wicket winners, Georgia Gale
Grant taking the only wicket. The return of Cambridge to Marston was another disappointing
day. The Tabs, with junior England all-rounder Alexis Mannion
back from National League duty, were a much more competitive
outfit than the side destroyed earlier in term, and accurate
bowling led to them dismissing Oxford for just 98. Opener Heather Lang made a patient 37 and was ninth out, but
lost partners at a steady rate. The Oxford bowling was tight and
Cambridge started slowly. Two wickets in two overs, taken by
Helen Turner and Natalie Wells, gave Oxford hope, but light blue
stalwart Rachel Cowans and the clean hitting Mannion carried them
to their target inside 25 overs. This, combined with the earlier washouts, meant that Oxford
traveled to Brighton with no possibility of qualifying for the
BUSA semifinals, though this time the response to setting a low
target was an outstanding performance with the ball. Skipper
Helen Smith made 42 in the Blues’ 104/9, but the day
belonged to Gale Grant. In an unplayable 6- over spell she took 6
wickets for 4 runs, including a hat-trick. Smith took 2/10 and
Emma Collins 2/2 as Brighton were skittled for 44. Oxford now go into the last 16 of the BUSA Shield hoping to go
all the way in that competition.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Varsity Seconds Cricket Cambridge Crusaders 241/9
Oxford Authentics 242/5 A dogged unbeaten hundred from all-rounder Chris Stearn, a
veteran of an incredible ten Varsity games, drove Oxford’s
second eleven to a deserved victory with just one over to spare
in the Parks last Friday. Cambridge, having won the toss and chosen to bat, faced down
some tight opening bowling of pace and swing, before Rik Hodges
picked up two quick wickets, getting rid of Ben Jacklin for 57
and Mark Hillyard for 56. The visitors pulled away and reached 200 on the forty-over
mark, with no more wickets forthcoming at that point. Stearn,
however, had begun to reel them in with a sensible spell, and it
was this, married to some sharp, ruthless fielding, that lay the
foundations for a comeback in the last ten overs. Skipper Charlie
Gammell and returning opener Gerrard took three wickets apiece,
leaving the shellshocked Light Blues to trudge off at the end of
their fifty overs with a beatable total of 241. Number 3 Stearn arrived at the crease early and was intent on
repeating his heroics in the threeday game last year, when he
posted 85 not out. Like his bowling, the strength of
Stearn’s play with the bat was his conservatism and by
taking singles well, frustrating the bowlers and manipulating the
field, he put the Dark Blues in the driving seat. The second
wicket, which saw strong-hooking Booth dismissed for 41, brought
James Davenport to the crease. Oxford became bogged down and, at 97/2 from 27 overs, in need
of an injection of pace, they were unable to push the scoreboard
along. When Davenport was put out of his misery, the Authentics
were in need of eight runs an over. Thus, they were grateful to the incoming Gammell for pushing
the scoreboard along, while Stearn, liberated by his presence,
began to play more freely. He brought up his century during the
partnership, and when it ended on Gammell’s dismissal, for
22 from 15 balls, the tables had turned. Another wicket fell but
the contest was all but over. Gammell said that his side’s fielding “bodes
well” for the three-day encounter, to take place at
Fenner’s beginning on Tuesday of Tenth week, before he
picked out Stearn for special praise. “It was a credit to
Stearny. He batted superbly.”ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004 

Blues Rugby The bulk of the season may be over, but for the Blues rugby
side, this week has brought a starting amount of satisfaction,
with the captaincy of Canada and a place in the London Wasps
squad amongst the honours picked up. A fantastic comeback against NEC Harlequins began
Oxford’s challenge at the sevens tournament at Rosslyn Park,
with Graham Barr and John Bradshaw crossing the line in the last
two minutes to overturn a ten-point deficit. The Blues continued to compete with professional opposition,
and a 28-7 defeat of London Scottish followed. Wasps, boasting
the likes of Scotland winger Kenny Logan, were too strong in the
semi-finals and ended the Oxford challenge, running out 35- 7
winners. Individuals have been the toast of the side this week,
however, as props Kevin Tkachuk and Henry Nwume would testify.
Tkachuk, who played for his native Canada in the World Cup in
Australia and scored a try, was named as his country’s
captain this week for the approaching Churchill Cup tournament,
beginning on 12 and 13 June, with matches against England, New
Zealand Maori and the USA providing him with a mouth-watering
prospect. Tight-head Nwume, whose thirty- yard charge down the inside
left provided Oxford with their only try of December’s drawn
Varsity match at Twickenham, came off the bench for Wasps on
Sunday. The score stood at 43-13 in their Zurich Premiership semifinal
against Northampton Saints, and by the end an emphatic 57-20
victory saw Wasps book their place in the final at Twickenham. As
the side’s attention turns to this weekend’s Heineken
Cup final against Toulouse, Cherwell has learnt that coach Warren
Gatland is growing warm to the idea of granting Nwume a role in
the side. Meanwhile, the annual OURFC dinner at Wadham college saw
Richie Woods of St Anne’s named Blues player of the year,
with sponsors Aggregate honouring Univ’s Peter Raftery. St
Hughs’ Chris Abbott was named Greyhounds player of the year. The only dampener on the week for the Blues was the
side’s inability to overcome the Blues netball side at their
own game (see Jock Strip, opposite).ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004