Ben's News

Convergence Production Analysis

2010-04-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

For the modern journalist, being able to converge with cross-platform media is a must. The near-dominance of the Internet has meant that news is digested in a variety of different ways, and print/TV/radio blueprint is becoming increasingly archaic.
The ability to work with video and audio editing software, online print, and then being able to assimilate the three in an online environment is no longer the prerogative of a journalists trying to become more hireable. Rather, it is a necessity in the age of a modernised mass media.

On a wider scale, convergence can be seen everywhere. Smartphones such as the Blackberry and iPhone can send e-mail, take pictures and video, browse the internet, store and play back MP3 files, act as GPS devices, and so much more. In a relatively short space of time, the average gadget enthusiast has gone from anorak pockets loaded with an array of gizmos, to just the one.

In my mind, the BBC and the Guardian are nationwide, if not worldwide leaders in journalism convergence. Their websites are full of stories incorporating print, audio and video content, as well as linking together stories with informative features and comment sections.

Interestingly, in 2007 the government set up a think-tank to monitor and discuss the implications of media convergence on consumers. The panel's deliberations will help to shape future policy development in the media sector, which may lead to a new Communications Act before the analogue TV signal is switched off in 2012 (Chris Tryhorn – ‘Government thinktank [sic] to tackle media convergence issues’ – The Guardian, 2006).

Practicing convergence in a student environment proved to be, at first, a struggle. I found that people were quite protective over there work, and reluctant to share and share alike, which defeated the object of the days from the get go. The biggest problem I found was the relative inequality of the four disciplines.

Radio, which had the shortest and busiest day, was constantly harassed by the other three disciplines for audio content to be used in the early TV bulletin and as accompaniments for online news stories and features. In contrast, Online News and Features had days longer than any I have experienced working at a local newspaper, and lacked much of the impetus that would be present in a newsroom, such as press releases, and contacts who were willing to actually talk to students.
However, I do not think there is any way possible, aside from actually broadcasting the bulletins and a wider non-student readership of buzz, to encourage sources and contacts to talk more freely to student journalists, and this is just one of those things which will not change.

Over the course of the 8 weeks I found that I was comfortable in both organisational roles, and working semi-independently as a reporter.

When I was Sub-Editor for Online Features, I enjoyed the task of editing pieces of work as they came in, helping people pitch ideas for features and writing my own at the same time. As I said, with the two online days, it was necessary to find ways to flesh out the day to keep active for the full eight hours.

With regards to Radio and Television, I found myself working best either on my own, or with one other person, having been given the time and space to get on with our own story and plan our day accordingly, and to deadline. I believe this is because print is my foremost speciality, and being given breathing space to work things out was necessary for me to put together good packages.

With regards to learning about convergence, I believe that it is essential for student journalists to have training in as many disciplines as possible. This would not only make them more hireable, but also improve the quality of content created no end for the reader, listener or viewer. I am a strong believer in the multi-format media and its benefits to the public.
Were I to run the days differently, I would have included a group work mark. As the point of the exercises was to converge, I think it would have been a good idea to note exactly what was being shared between the groups. Possibly giving marks for each group to have converged with every other group at least once? I think this would have shifted the work ethic of the students over from focussing on getting their own content ready on time, to working more as a group unit and creating a successful working day for the whole team, and the whole year.

I realise that this blueprint would mean increased pressure on the executive editors and a greater level of administrative work, so that the marking would be accurate and representative. However, I genuinely think it would place more emphasis on convergence in practise from the students’ perspective.

From a personal viewpoint, my main problem over the course of the eight weeks was general drop in motivation as the day went on. This was not so much the case in TV and Radio, where deadlines had to be kept. I think the use of deadlines throughout a working day is a good way of generally keeping up students’ work rates. The areas I found this to be more problematic in were the Print days. I think also, it was not just myself who experienced the serious drops in motivation towards the end of the day.

A possible way of combating this would be to do as Dan Hogan did, and take reporters around Bournemouth and Poole. Not only does it break up the day by getting people out of the newsroom – which can be a serious drag – but it also encourages better journalistic practise, and stops students ripping stories from BBC Dorset, The Bournemouth Daily Echo website and press releases found online.

In the future I would like to work harder on my performance in the Broadcast disciplines. It is all too easy to slip back into the medium that you prefer, and I am guilty of doing this. The possibilities available when using cross-platform media for the same piece is endless, and I believe the simple addition of a voice interview attached to a piece of copy, or using video footage to embellish a news article or feature can easily make the difference between readers being bored stiff, and genuinely interested in the piece they are reading.

Radio Production Blog

2009-12-29T07:29:00.000-08:00

Thursday December 10th

I have just handed in my finished Radio package, which I am extremely proud of. Using Adobe Audition as editing software opened up a whole new world of possibilities in creative editing that Burli sorely lacks. I think my training in Music Technology at A level helped me a great deal in making sure the final package was well put together.
I decided on a slower backing track to move the interviews along, called “Do They Ever Return?” by the band Hey Colossus. Hey Colossus is the first band to have material released by Jonson Family, and I think that was an important juxtaposition to make within the package.

Again, I am disappointed that I was unable to collate more interviews from different band members related to Jonson Family, but I believe there is sufficient information from Joe and Bob in the package to make it passable.

Radio Production Blog

2009-12-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Tuesday December 8th

My interviews with Joe and Bob, the two creators of Jonson Family went very smoothly, I got plenty of great quotes and edited them down. I had trouble with all three of the bands I contacted, two were on tour in the USA and one was out of phone signal working in the Brecon Beacons. I hastily tried to organise an interview with Liam from Trencher (another Jonson Family band) but to no avail. I am disappointed that this didn't come through as well as I'd hoped, but am still confident that the original two interviews plus voiceovers would work well.

The second assessed news bulletin saw me taking over the role as editor, which I had hoped for last week. This is a role I enjoyed immensely. I feel I definitely could have made my splashes quieter and better edited, but I think the ideas I used to create them (modern up-tempo music) were perfect for the younger target audience.

I feel my time management was perfect on the day, as we were at times ready to go live 15 minutes before deadline. This owes to a fear of running around with 30 seconds to go and being unprepared. I feel I encouraged my team and got them to work well both with me and together. It was a very egalitarian system we had set up.
The two bulletins were harder to judge, I think, than the previous weeks. It’s ironic that it always seems harder to judge your own market, but I believe we all did our best, and comments from Karen on the selection of stories were particularly useful.

Radio Production Blog

2009-12-29T06:25:00.000-08:00

Tuesday December 1st

After two weeks of practice I felt well prepared for the first radio news day. I acted as a roving reporter, getting vox pops on the Editor's chosen stories in Winton, which were topically chosen for our target audience. These included revelations of abuse in care homes, and a planned bypass through the local area of Ringwood Forrest.

Both bulletins were to just about deadline and ran fairly smoothly, though it was a highly stressful atmosphere with a great lack of group cohesion. I could not help but think of how I would change things were I in an editorial role.

This week I also began to research and prepare for my Radio Feature. I decided to aim for a late night Radio 1 slot with a short feature on the birth and death of an independent record label. I decided on Jonson Family Recordings, as they have put out records by some of my favourite bands.
I contacted the two founders of the label, and members of three different bands (Blood Red Shoes, Charlottefield and Reigns) who had had music released by them and organised interviews.

TV Production Blog - Documentary

2009-11-05T06:56:00.000-08:00

Wednesday November 4th

Production group met early in university to begin more animation and edit what we had so far. This went very well, with each member of the group submitting ideas and creating a cohesive unit.

Obtained live video footage of interviewee #2, which was split from the audio and not used, however the audio is a constant throughout the piece. It lends a motorik and hypnotic quality that aligns itself well with the interview footage.

Found new interview space to break up continuity, and used previous footage to gauge the line of questioning for interview #2.

Conducted interview #2 at 5:30pm, which disappointingly did not go as well as #1. A very nervous interviewee coupled with slightly uninspiring interview technique on my part.

We began editing the final package at around 8pm, with two group members creating the credits, two editing the footage, and two planning the next youth TV project.

I edited sound perfectly at 2am, but this was changed to the detriment of the quality the next morning. The group assumed I had left everything slightly quiet and at different levels by accident, then complained when on television the sound quality was all over the place. This was a rare lack of unity within the group, and I was slightly upset that they did not trust my judgment.

Thursday November 5th

We are overall very happy with finished project, and even happier that Tom seemed to 'get it' after every additional watch.

His comments have been taken on board by the group and will be dealt with.

At the end of the day, this is a piece that I feel has great artistic merit and, as a group, we should all be very proud of it, I certainly am.

TV Production Blog - Documentary

2009-11-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

Tuesday November 3rd

Brainstormed ideas for the Youth show as a group and came up with some great stop-motion animation titles that were painstaking, but very worth the final product.

Conducted interview #1 with Alan Read, head of Krayon records. Got excellent quotes, along with excellent camera close ups.

There was a very good team feeling at the end of the day, and we edited in the newsroom until just after 6pm.

TV News Production Blog

2009-10-29T03:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday October 28th

Spent the afternoon being technical help for group member on location in Littledown, and I acquired greater appreciation of camera and pre-production techniques that I applied to my own package.

I filmed all 3 pieces to camera on location in Weymouth house, using the backdrop of the newsrooms to give the air of Channel 4 News. Edited material between 6 and 11pm, only finishing touches needed for Thursday and the live show.

TV News Production Blog

2009-10-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

Monday October 26th

I Spent one hour this morning conducting Vox Pops at the top of Old Christchurch Road, the timing was perfect with workers all on lunch breaks. Made a terrible mistake with a lack of charged batteries, but I managed to get 6 vox pops on 23 minutes of battery. This was a definite lack of planning and I will endeavor not to let that happen again. I found it much harder to get female participants, even though I was filming with a female for help.

TV News Production Blog

2009-10-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 24th

I arranged an interview with PPC for Bournemouth West Liberal Democrats, Alasdair Murray, on the subject of a heightened BNP presence in his constituency. Luckily, he was wearing a soft green jumper that made a shoot in the Lower Gardens, with the autumnal colour, work very well.

I spent the rest of the afternoon getting GVs of Bournemouth town including Gervis Place, Commercial Road, and some 'seasonal' views from West Cliff, across the bay to Durley Chine.

Dance To The Radio – 4 X 12″ Number 3

2009-10-27T15:58:00.001-07:00

Leeds based label of lovelies Dance To The Radio have given up another 4 track offering, showcasing the insanely cool shite they’re peddling right now.

Openers Chickenhawk set out to prove just how much they can scare your nan, and with such gusto! Scorpieau writhes in the middle ground between Cat on Form and McLusky – this is some dumb shit, but the kind of shit shrooms grow out of, which therefore makes it awesome shit. Guaranteed to bring out the fist-in-the-air comic-punk in everyone. Great track.

Bypassing any kind of middle ground, we go straight to Esben and the Witch. The Brighton based three piece channel ‘Dummy’-era Portishead for the Florence Welch generation. In fact, that may be a bit harsh. ‘Skeleton Swoon’ creeps up on you in the dark, only to rape your mind and leave you with a face full of melancholia. Singer lady Rachel lends a sultry anger to the vocals, shrouded in echo, turning the song into every listener’s unique fantasy.

Olfar hails from the Lake District, which is my homestead. For that reason, he is cool. Luckily, ‘Husk’ is nowhere as bad as the modern twee folk collectives he may/may not have the misfortune of being pigeonholed with. This is the kind of song you would put around 3/4s of the way through a mix for someone you’re trying to impress (sleep with). The instrumentation is heart-warmingly clunky, and the refrain is simple, “don’t leave me on the shore, lead me in the sea”, and is now stuck in my head. Well done, Olfar. You win.

I feel I should apologise to Airship, ‘Spirit Party’ is a bit of an anti-climax to be placed at the end. Plus it reminds me of so many recent indie pop songs I’m starting to wonder where I’ve heard it before. Not to say that it’s a bad song, successfully anglicising both the Arcade Fire and Band of Horses, ending at just the right moment, leaving year head feathery warm and your heart contented. A little bit like eating a hash brownie really.

Rogues - Widows E.P

2009-10-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Rogues hail from Harrow. That’s fun to type, and fun to say! Seriously though, the band of but a year’s vintage make some pretty sweet atmospheric pop, reminiscent of pretty much every track on the Donnie Darko soundtrack. Except Bunnymen, they’re not that good. Oh, and it’s definitely a grower; echos of Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins and Oingo Boingo are all here.

‘Widows’ is a collection of not all that strong tunes, which put side by side create a listening experience that gets all the more addictive with every listen. Your selective hearing will be given a workout when you spend time swimming through the eclectic production. Everything about this should be so Magic FM, but instead it reminds you of that time you rifled through your mum’s 7″s and found that not every 80s band sounded like Culture Club.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a locked door and some pictures of Molly Ringwald.

Big Brother Sent to Room 101

2009-08-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

So, the news that most of us have been hoping to hear for years came this week; Channel Four will cease to televise Big Brother, and producers Endemol will stop making it if they cannot find another buyer. Please join me in a collective prayer that Channel Five can’t fucking afford it.

According to The Guardian, C4’s three year, £180m deal with Endemol will cease to exist next year. This means one last summer of forgetting it’s on, until you wonder why you haven’t seen the same two episodes of Scrubs every day for two months. I genuinely had withdrawal symptoms from their cheesy moral lectures on life, death and race.

As a ‘cost-cutting measure’ next year’s season will not be streamed live through the idiot box; which is a start, as surely the last 9 seasons would have worked much better with this format? Only massive sad cases and the mentally unhinged enjoy staring at people sleeping during the small hours. Imagine them sat there daydreaming of what perverse acts they could perform if the laws of physics allowed them to climb into the TV screen with some chloroform and KY jelly.

And KY jelly leads me neatly into the challenges undertaken by the contestants in the house. Marathon karaoke sessions, Giant baguette eating competitions (with recommended purging), and biscuit dunking are but a few of the highly inventive dignity sapping spectacles we have seen over the past few years.

I think it is now only right, as it is the last series, to take these shit tasks up a notch. The last two house mates not to have exhibitionist sex directly in front of the cameras will be stripped naked and stuck together with shrink wrap until nature takes its course. This will raise interesting moral questions, like, if neither person consents to sex, which of them is committing the act of rape? The producers are not committing it, as the legal definition demands penetration by the perpetrator. I must ask a lawyer…

Or how about subjecting the housemates to excessive noise torture that the British and American armies are so keen to use on terror suspects? 48 hours of James Blunt’s whimpering lyrical diarrhoea at 125db (the point at which sound brings pain) should sort the deaf from the drooling zombified idiots. Instant voting immunity for whoever who still likes ‘You’re Beautiful’ by the second day.

So what about the Z listers created by the show? Are we really going to miss another self-absorbed little bollocks stumbling out of a Soho club shitfaced? Conveniently forgetting to wear knickers and developing rickets as they get out of a cab? Or how about some gold digging Essex blonde telling the tabloid what a tiny cock an ex-housemate has? Yeah, we’re better off without that shit.

What’s more, there are plenty more sources for these knuckle fucking idiots to come from, there are other reality shows around to start new pointless careers or revive ailing ones. If only there were some way we could mentally torture these idiots, then at least we can gain the grim satisfaction that these people genuinely want their tiny speckles of fame so much that the lifetime need for psychiatry is a worthwhile sacrifice.
So here’s to the end of an era. Thank fuck. End.

Gossip Rubs Journalism’s Face in Dirt

2009-06-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson is dead, and if you’re honest, there will be a time in the past few years where you labeled him a “sick paedo”, so don’t go feigning sadness, yeah?

Now, I couldn’t give a toss about the man, and it’s not his death which interested me. It was the coverage. As a Journalism student, it made me feel incredibly uneasy to see the leading news agencies in the world running around like blue arsed flies; chomping on the recycled scraps of information left to them by celebrity gossip blog TMZ.

I may be getting well ahead of myself, but I can see a future where Kate Adie and John Simpson stand shoulder to shoulder with Perez Hilton on the front line; a world in which a representative from E! quizzes Ahmadinejad on his country’s high gender bias. Scary, no?

This isn’t the first time TMZ have beaten multi-national news corporations to scoops on celebrity deaths. Both the Steve Irwin and Heath Ledger spectacles were leaked first to this L.A based Blog, one of which happened the other side of America, and one of which happened the other side of the world.

I’m well aware of a gaping hole in this, the little voice in my head screaming “these are all celebrities, and this is a specialist celebrity blog!”. Well yes, that is true, but the fact is inescapable that the largest news agencies in the world, lost out to an online tabloid journal run by a Law graduate with no formal Journalism training.

Aside from a more than casual flirtation with facts (and a penchant for hyperbole) there is a much darker side to the celeb infatuated gossip mags and blogs. In Guardian scribe Oliver Burkeman’s “The Brangelina Industry“, he is told by head of X17 (one of the world’s largest Papparazzi agencies), that “there is this idea that there is only one truth, and that you have to stick to it. But maybe not.”. Come again?

Further damning of the industry comes from publicist Huvane (responsible for Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Meg Ryan, Julianne Moore etc etc etc etc…). “If you co-operate with one of the magazines, their competitors become vengeful and attack clients… There is no upside to working with them … Their tactic is to make up stories that are so damaging, in the hope that we would engage in a dialogue that gives them access to the talent.” Lovely.

So here we have a biased industry, known to fabricate stories on the personal lives of celebrities (”[the story] can come from a genuine tip, or a photo. Or it can come out of our ass.” - anonymous celebrity weekly editor), at the forefront of international Journalism.

Sleep Well.

Celebrate Yourself - The Return of Shoegaze

2009-06-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

18 years after My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, arguably the greatest album of the 90's, the Irish/American noise-poppers are back touring. This is a good thing. They're also recording a new album. This is a bloody good thing. They're even curating gargantuan hipster circle jerk All Tomorrow's Parties this winter. That's a fucking awesome thing.

The influence of this album can be seen in so many places, but it would be an act of monumental ignorance to hammer on about it, and ignore all the other bands that made this short-lived scene such a beautiful thing.

There was Lush and their spiky, angsty fuzz-pop, the trickling melancholy of Slowdive, and Ride's swirling psychedelia. Then there was Curve, Swervedriver, Spacemen 3...

So, that's the old guard. That happened then (admittedly, some of it is still happening with reformations from Swervedriver and MBV), but what the frick is going on now?

Well, two London club nights have been keeping the spirit alive. Club AC30 and Sonic Cathedral have been putting on the new wave of Shoegaze bands for some time now; as well as releasing singles by both stalwarts and newbies.

One of these bands is Spotlight Kid. Taking MBV's wall of noise sound and the Cocteau Twins' love of electronics, Spotlight Kid sidestep the dirgey pitfall that many bands fall into by upping the tempo and giving their noise a massive kick in the arse. Their one album to date, 2006's Departure is a gorgeous collection of summery fuzz-pop tunes which will make those drives down to the beach all the more giddy.

Going North of the border, we meet five fiery Celtic drinkers, The Twilight Sad. Spouting loner's poetry in the broadest of Glaswegian brogues, James Graham is an aesthetic and vocal representation of the brooding, rumbling, lush noise created by the band. Nothing like those other Scot noise-mongers Mogwai, they have more in common with a Jesus and Mary Chain that can program more than the beat from "Be My Baby". Expect sorrows being drowned by 9 pints of Tennant's Super and crescendos that will make your heart pump blood through your nose.

An offshoot of Shoegaze, Metalgaze seems to be a product of metal heads deciding things sounded a lot better slower. I'm guessing a shitload of grass was involved in this decision. Jesu (AKA Justin K Broaderick of defunct metallers Godflesh and grindcore heroes Napalm Death) make sludgy, hypnotic stoner rock which will most likely give you a hernia at high volume. 9 minute motorik drone workouts and pounding bass are the order of the day, with those gorgeous not-quite-there reverberating vocals merely another instrument in the great wall of sound.

Finally, a band getting slightly more attention in the media, French kitsch-poppers M83 (warning: video contains graphic scenes of rollerblading). Taking their cues from 80's Brat Pack cinema and the original Gaelic sex-pest, Serge Gainsbourg, you couldn't find a cooler band. Their 5th album proper, Saturdays = Youth was released last year to critical acclaim, landing them a support slot with MOR hounds Kings of Leon. Personally, I couldn't imagine more of a clash. M83's joyous, youthful synth-pop is leagues away from the stale, corporate music of some inbred rednecks with seriously burned cocks.

So go ahead, decorate your feet, they have to be interesting if you're going to spend a long time looking at them...

Maths Class make Mr Kyps their bitch

2009-03-25T01:46:00.001-07:00

I won't waste too much time and too many words telling you how great Maths Class are, because if you have any sense at all you'll spot the Americanised name, add it to the throwaway pigeonholes of Mathcore and Electroclash, and run a very fucking long way in the opposite direction.

Even if you do get round to checking out their music and thinking "hmmm... not great", you would unfortunately be missing out on a shit hot live band.

Maths Class follow a noble lineage of bands like Throbbing Gristle and At The Drive In who never quite captured the live vibe they exuded in torrents while holed up in a studio, but if Silver Daggers tickle your pickle, then you're on the right street here.

Shifting tempos like a Delorean, and getting some nasty, nasty sounds out of a Bakelite phone; the itchy, jerky rhythms and clinically dry sounding guitars create some kind of bastard dance party in your brain, which, muddled by beer, sends intructions to your feet without bothering to let you know.

The band appeared raised on a pedestal, way up on the Mr. Kyps stage, but the massive soundsystem dissolved any semblance of detachment, and gave the audience more of an opportunity to study the five freaks on stage. Why are they here? What does this mean to me? Why am I here?

ANYWAY. For a generation unhappy with strict-tempo, four chord pub rock, for kids who want to jerk like Ian Curtis in a staring competition with a strobe light, Maths Class are here to bring 20 minutes of distraction, and you can't ask for much more than that.

An Evening With The Dandy Warhols

2009-03-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Dandy Warhols are cooler than you, me and Johnny Depp. This is the first thing you must realise for a successful encounter.

What you must also realise, is, according to them they are responsible for the musical direction of the past 13 or so years. Except new rave, I found the person responsible for that and bludgeoned them with a flugelhorn.

“We just wanna make music that we feel people need that no-one else is making”, muses rambling front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor.

And inevitably, people will start copying that, or so he thinks. “When we released ‘…Monkey House’, everyone was into the White Stripes, The Strokes, and those bands came off the back of (previous album) ‘13 tales from Urban Bohemia’ “We had the big vintage guitar sound”. So there you go, The White Stripes aren’t as in to John Lee Hooker as you thought.

13 years must make those older songs sound pretty tired, right? Yes, and no explains guitarist Peter Holmström. “When they stop working, we’ll lay them off, even just for a show or two, and then we’ll bring ‘em back. A lot depends on the show and the crowd. If the audience freaks out, no matter how bad it sounds it’s gonna be ok”.

It’s funny that I should ask this, because the night’s set is absolutely crammed with songs from as far back as their ’95 debut, ‘Dandys rule, OK?’ They even played that one from the Vodaphone ad.

Plus, it would seem they lucked out on the oldies sounding fresh (this might be because there were hardly any students in the crowd). Really bloody good tunes like ‘Not if you were the last junkie on earth’ and ‘Horse Pills’ seem to have survived the turn of the century and new albums.

On stage, they have visibly matured, they have families and stuff now didn’t you know? Zia’s top stays on (to the disappointment of most of the crowd) and Courtney’s ‘fuck you, frat boy’ pose is a little more ‘fuck you, bank manager’.

I didn’t walk out blown away, nor did it rank among my gigs of the year (they’re hardly My Bloody Valentine, no matter how much they ape them), but it was good. Unfortunately, that’s all it was.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

2009-02-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Layers, so many bloody layers. A rock writer once said that listening to the Beatles fucks up your selective hearing. If that is true, then Baltimore four (sometimes two or three) piece Animal Collective are the new Beatles.

Jumping on a day glo pedestal somewhere between avant-garde electro and pure pop brilliance, ninth album Merriweather Post Pavilion is not incredibly detached from their previous material, but shows a band that are incredibly aware of the music they are making.

The songs have reached musical and lyrical perfection. Almost exclusively electronic, the bubbling and pulsing swells juxtapose a calming synth wash lapping on your speakers.

Songs about taking your clothes off in the summer, and the joys of coming of age lend an almost sentimental youthfulness and naivety to the songs.

Now almost devoid of the yelps main singer Avey Tare is known for, and replaced with reverb drenched harmonies more akin to the Beach Boys or mountain boys Fleet Foxes.

So forget Tiny Shoes, or whoever the BBC has voted the sound of ’09 - you know we will have by October. Animal Collective have earned every bit of praise aimed at them, and deserve to be loved by everyone.

Review: Damo Suzuki + Kawabata Makoto with Sound Carriers

2009-01-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Hooks and choruses are for weaklings. At least, this seems to be the ideology behind tonight's aural assault of sonic death, bought to you by legendary Can vocalist Damo Suzuki and Acid Mothers Temple front man Kawabata Makoto at Mr. Kyps in Poole. Performing a fully improvised set with a collective of Bournemouth based noise-mongers, this was not a night for those who think a night out at Bliss or Toko constitutes hardcore. The crowd were made up of all the local weird and wonderful freaks; AMT obsessives who travel the length of the country to see Makoto attack his cheap Strat copy with steel rods; those who saw Suzuki with Can the first time round, and those who just wanted to see what the hell was going to happen.
The night was divided into two sets, the first distinctly reminiscent of Can, with hypnotic Krautrock rhythms keeping steady pace for the assortment of musicians to bend strings and minds over. Or to just swing a mic in the air and see what happened. Occasionally it seemed to lose its way, teetering on aimless dirge, but more often than not it was psychedelia at its most unconscious and expansive. Suzuki's improvised mutterings and wailings were almost an aside to the artful musical indulgence. Makoto stretched the limits of his arsenal to vomit inducing proportions. Guitars were never meant to make those sounds, but thank fuck someone has figured out how.
If set number one ripped up the book of music conventions, then the second set sodomised it and fed the raped corpse to its Doberman. It was easily the most ear splitting and self-indulgent spectacle I have ever seen. Whereas before the sound waves were exquisitely morphed into some kind of trippy tie-die kaleidoscope pattern, they were now being crushed, compressed and scraped down a black board until they resembled the sharp edge of a bread knife.
Almost giving up on traditional instruments altogether, the most impressive being a guitarist who left his axe feeding back on the floor to concentrate on a suitcase full of synthesizers and modulators. Makoto apparently couldn't handle the free noise, leaving the stage five minutes in (later blaming it on a broken amp). After forty-five minutes of dual drumming and free noise, I was finished. 'No more!' my ears begged. I felt compelled to obey them, and luckily the set finished. Awe inspiring and brutal, but in small doses please.
There were no students at this gig, and that's just unacceptable. There must be some of you out there whose taste expands from Bournemouth's infestation of clubs. Gigs like this come once in a blue moon, and next time one's on, go.

Mocked Running News Story

2009-01-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

School hostage crisis ends in bloodbath

One man has been gunned down and two people injured in major hostage crisis at a Dorset school today.

It took 17 shots from armed police to bring an end to a bloody siege which occurred today at the Talbot Village Primary school.

The first man was shot after a “domestic dispute”, which was seen by Ian Rogerson, a resident of Talbot Village.

Mr. Rogerson saw a man walking through Talbot Village looking ‘very agitated’, followed by a “balding, quite chubby man with a shotgun”.

After screaming ‘stay away from my wife’, the gunman shot the victim in the buttocks.

Losing sight of the victim as he dove into a hedge, the gunman assumed he had run into the local school and proceeded to enter the grounds.

The gunman proceeded to hold a first year class of children and their staff hostage. After a police negotiator spoke to the gunman through a school window, he agreed to let the remainder of the children go.

More shots were fired around this time, but Assistant Chief Constable Alan Rose insists this was merely “bravado” from the gunman, although he does admit that a school staff member suffered laceration and grazes to the arms and face as a result.

Alone in the building, the gunman resolved to come out peacefully if he could speak to his wife, who was brought by police from Dorchester to speak to him via radio link.

The man agreed to leave the building and surrender himself, but was shot 17 times by six armed officers after taking aim at a police officer and refusing lower his firearm.

None of the children or school staff was witness to the shooting.

The man’s wife is currently being comforted by the police.

What Makes a good reporter? An Interview with Rob Young of Wire

2009-01-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

What Makes A Good Reporter?

Bristolian Rob Young, 40, has written for venerable music magazine Wire for 15 years, as well as contributing to high distribution magazines such as Uncut.

Although most music and arts publications have a high turnover, Wire is in his words “unique in its continuity” as most staff writers stay there for an unusually long time.

Untrained as a journalist, Young has a degree in English and always aspired to be a writer. The attraction to music journalism for him was that it seems to be the “province of enthusiasts”, and he writes for Wire because it “follows the energy of less mainstream artists”.

Although not a news reporter, he feels that there are certain qualities which translate to the job of a music reporter, such as being able to react quickly to incoming news.

The most important feature of a reporter in his eyes is curiosity and the ability to “question everything and keep an open mind”.

He continues: “A reporter is always on the receiving end of new things” and they are responsible of “transmitting a way of approaching this new music”.

What differentiates a music reporter from news, is the need to “Get out and see what’s going on”, as opposed to sit at a desk and rifle through a pile of CDs. This practical approach is necessary in all forms of reporting.

When reporting it is important to “avoid clichés” and try and look at something in a way people haven’t before, while sticking to the facts.

The average wage for a staff writer on a magazine like Wire is around £24,000, but it is common for a writer to add to that with freelance work.

Rob Young currently lives in Norway, Wire is published monthly.

Running News Story

2009-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

A heroic act by twins has saved the lives of four passengers after a plane crashed into an Army Firing Range at Bovington, but cost them their lives.

The Cessna 337 light aircraft was carrying four rookie parachutists on a charity jump, until a mechanical failure caused the plane to veer off course and plummet 500 feet to the firing range below.

Tragically, Pilot tony Sharman and his brother, Jump instructor Dennis remained aboard the plane, after ensuring the charity jumpers made a safe escape.

The plane took from Compton Avis earlier today, and came down at the firing range near Bere Regis at 1:05pm.

Tony and Dennis were former soldiers with over 3,500 jumps experience between them.

The parachutists all suffered shock and bruising, while Laura Cameron, 44, broke her leg.

Mr. McGrath, of Winchester, explained how as they readied for the jump, there was a large bang from the plane’s rear engine.

The plane then proceeded to spin as it fell, an experience he likens to “being in a washing machine on a spin cycle”.

As Tony Levelled the plane, Dennis pushed the women out one by one, opening their parachutes.

“The last thing I heard before I left the Plane was Tony Telling Dennis to save himself, but he refused and stayed on the plane with his Brother”, explains Mr. McGrath, adding, “We owe them our lives”.

The emergency services were immediately called to the scene, yet were faced with the task of making their way through the 12,000 acre site, on which 70,000 armour piercing rounds are fired every year. There was a danger that some had remained active.

Lieutenant Daltrey, based at the Firing Range, claimed he had never seen wreckage this bad from which people had escaped alive.

The plane was rented from the Dorset Parachute Club. Part owner “Big Mac” made it clear that the plane was in “tip top condition” and had only done 50,000 hours flying time, a relatively low amount.

Students and Pigeons unite against shopping centre

2009-01-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

Anti-Pigeon devices in place at the Sovereign shopping centre on Boscombe high street have been ticking off the younger locals for quite some time.
The Pigeon, often thought of as quite gentle on the ear, has recently become the cause of a slightly less pleasing sound to Boscombe residents.
The devices emit a high-pitched noise, inaudible to anyone under 25, in order to deter the common Pigeon, or Rock Dove, from flying inside the Centre.
Tourism student Lois Crispin, 18 living on Westby Road in Boscombe, spoke out on the indiscriminate nature of the devices “I don’t really care about the Pigeons, but toddlers and babies shouldn’t have to hear it too”.
When quizzed on the noise, a spokesperson for the shopping centre who preferred not to be named said “we have turned the volume down so most people can’t hear it”.
This is, of course, assuming that ‘most people’ doesn’t include the large amount of students who live in Boscombe and see the centre as a vital asset to the town. There has been no research into the possible adverse effects the units can have on hearing.
RSPB employee Lloyd Scott exclaimed dismay at the use of the device, claiming, “the negatives by far outweigh the positives” and even going as far as to call the initiative “daft”.
He explained that owing to the loss of natural habitat, lots of rare bird species are being found in built up areas, and as the machine is not species specific, it could put some endangered bird species at risk.
The Common Pigeon is thought to have a population of up to 28 million across Europe, that’s equivalent to the population of Iraq.

Love of travel spawned from Makeshift Toilet

2008-10-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

Pauline Roberts, 59, has to stop many times while explaining her earliest memory to delve into fits of a racking cough.
Her earliest memory is from when she was of 3. when she was bundled into her family's vintage British car to complete a 2000 mile round trip, from their hometown of Bolton, Lancashire to the South of France. This proved a foundation for her future love of travel.
“It would take us four days to get from Bolton down to the south coast of France” she reminisces. “We went in my dad’s old Black Vanguard”. A journey of close to a thousand miles each way can’t have been nice in a car I probe “No it wasn’t, there weren’t as many motorways back then, and France was very difficult to get through”.
The activity most ingrained in her memory from this trip shows just how times have changed. “Back then it seemed perfectly normal to dig a latrine into the beach,” she remembers fondly. “We all used it, we didn’t think it mattered that much. I doubt it would happen today!”
Ms. Roberts has never had a steady job, preferring to take non-permanent positions so she could concentrate on travelling. “My favourite destination has always been New Zealand, the scenery is beautiful”.
It was the travelling lifestyle she led that echoes in her beliefs and politics. “I’ve been a Liberal Democrat all my life”. Does she think they’ll ever reach power again? “Not in my lifetime, but hopefully in my niece’s”.
A resident of Boscombe for 20 years, she echoes the sentiments of every Boscombe resident by saying “There’s never a dull moment”. Of course, that doesn’t mean she’s being positive.