A life on screen
Many claim that the age of the movie star is dead, but Tom Hanks can definitely give them a run for their money. Recognised...
Sober at Oxford: Teetotalers discuss Freshers’ week and beyond
"Many non-drinker students speak of acceptance and enjoyment, while some warn of exclusion."
Marking 50 Years since Chile’s Coup
It’s been a good year for rugby, despite how much it hurts to admit it as an Irish rugby fan. Supporters have been absolutely...
In search of lost lives – The phenomenon of ‘Dark Tourism’ Â
'Upon entering the House of Terror, I was immediately struck by a great sense of unease. The idea of ‘Dark Tourism’ was not something that had occurred to me until over a year ago, on that overcast day in Budapest.'
Hanging in there: The ‘Myrkl’ pill that might change the way Oxford drinks
Hangover anecdotes tend to interest their teller more than their audience. So, I’ll let you read some triumphant exceptions to the rule written by...
A Londoner’s Take on the Highlands of Scotland
Scotland is an unknown for most of the English population. Yes, the population is very aware of the dominance of the SNP in its...
A critique of the critique ‘industry plant’
Aarthee Pari discusses the meaning of the term 'industry plant' and its validity as a critique of musicians.
Flinching before a dead god
God is Dead, but lots of us miss him.
We look for his shadow in astrological charts, turn that shadow into beams of light that...
Voices from Ukraine
CW: War, violence, death
Seeing everything going on in Ukraine at the moment, I was struck by the fact that one thing stayed constant, the...
A letter from Lviv, Ukraine
CW: Mentions of violence, trauma, death.
This article was written on the 26th of February.
As I am writing this, millions of people in Kyiv are...
The rise, fall, and ambiguous resurgence of Lin-Manuel Miranda
Even if you’ve never heard of Lin-Manuel Miranda, you’ve likely heard of at least one of his works: In the Heights, Bring it On:...
Hindi and Urdu: A language divided, or a shared history destroyed?
CW: Violence
I was in Tesco last week, looking at the tomatoes. A man to my right commented on the ripeness of the peppers. I...
The Costa Rican performing arts academy proving why a creative education matters
"Since the Academy was founded, it has flourished, taking in students from the age of just 6 and delivering a range of classes in disciplines like acting, singing, dance and public speaking...When the pandemic began, Laura tells me how all their classes moved online, providing great solace to all the students of the Academy and allowing their creative education to continue."
On Misunderstanding Taylor Swift
"When she does reach pop music, she exerts an extreme amount of control and mastery over commonly used sonic structures. ‘Blank Space’ parodies both the narratives surrounding her and general pop structures. This is done by the marking out of the chorus and the excessive use of four chords that are commonly used throughout music. The basic structure of a song is tripartite: setup, build-up, and climax, often corresponding to the sections verse-chorus, verse-chorus, bridge-chorus.‘Shake It Off’, as basic as it may seem, is one of the most complex songs on the album ‘1989’. This is because each sub-setup, build-up, and climax have their own setup, build-up, and climax. We praise Homer for his ability to expand on his basic structural frameworks: to appreciate the artistry of the compositions, we should look at Taylor’s songs in the same way."