Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image Description: Musicians Alexander 23 (left) and Jeremy Zucker (right) standing in front of a doorway. I remember the day I first listened to Jeremy Zucker’s music. Predictably, the Spotify algorithm threw up his most popular track ‘comethru‘ and I found it an easy enough listen while I packed away my things on the last […]
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Image Description: Maddie Ziegler wearing headphones while playing the autistic character ‘Music’ in Sia’s new film. Autistic people are not well served when it comes to seeing ourselves reflected in the media. According to Hollywood, we are either socially unaware geniuses or child-like Rain Men with special abilities from whom the neurotypical (non-autistic) protagonist learns […]
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Image description: Taylor Swift performing, wearing red and singing into a red microphone. Taylor Swift has long been someone unafraid of speaking up against the music industry. In 2014, she withdrew her music from Spotify to protest against the small amount of royalty payments that the actual singers receive for each play of a song. […]
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Image Description: Album art for The Christmas Present: Williams in top hat and tails in front of a Christmassy shop window. Robbie Williams’ new Christmas album, The Christmas Present is, frankly, nothing less than awful. In case you’re reading this and thinking that it can’t be that bad, one example is enough. In the song, […]
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Image description: An open book and cup of tea resting on some wood in front of a lake As we enter further into second lockdown, and the evenings are getting darker and longer, no doubt many of us are finding things rather tedious. If living through these ‘unique times’ isn’t quite entertaining enough for you, […]
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Image description: Close up of artist Jorja Smith on stage The coronavirus pandemic has imposed restrictions on almost every part of our lives, music videos have been no different. Artists’ responses to the problems caused by coronavirus have been as diverse as the genres they occupy. The results have also varied massively, some are gorgeous, […]
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Image description: Ariana Grande in mid-performance. Ariana Grande is probably the only artist of the moment who can truly be identified as a ‘pop star’. There are other pop artists, to be sure – Dua Lipa, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat – but none of them come with the glittery sparkle and cult of personality that […]
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Image Description: Laura Marling singing into a microphone with a guitar, on a black stage. In August, I wrote a review of Haim’s bubbly, frenetic, exploratory album, Women in Music Pt. III. I thought that it was a lockdown vibe, it buoyed me up, and I listened to it over, and over, and over again. […]
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Tintin and Alph-Art is the 24th and final volume of my favourite comic series growing up. Its creator, Hergé, died before its completion. Just three pages are in pencil, another 42 comprise rough sketches, and scattered throughout the volume are various notes (translated from the Belgian) alongside a number of rediscovered pages. In the last […]
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Image description: A picture of Jenny on a blue background. CN: Transition and transphobia. I first met Jenny Scoones on a cold Tuesday night in November. She borrowed a cigarette so that she could sing me a more accurate rendition of Lana del Ray’s Video Games as we stood in a crowd of Skittles attendees, […]
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Image Description: Haim performing at a concert, singing and playing guitar. Haim’s 3rd studio album, Women in Music Part III is a triumph. Affectionately known as WIMPIII, and released in June, the album has found a primary place on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and was the no.1 album in the UK for a week. Its […]
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Image description: open book with fluttering pages on black background Oxford students from a variety of disciplines have called for departments to diversify curricula and reading lists over the past couple of weeks. Students studying Politics, History, English, Philosophy, Linguistics, and Music, amongst others, are pushing for better Black and minority ethnic representation on reading […]
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Image description: Stormzy at Glastonbury festival 2019, wearing a stab-proof vest designed by Banksy While re-watching the momentous Brit awards performance by South London Grime artist Stormzy, I was asked by a friend “I get what he’s saying, but why does he have to sound so angry?” Because he is, and because he has every […]
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Image Description: A sign saying ‘Smash the Patriarchy’ with cutouts of Janelle Monae, Dolly Parton and Doja Cat overlayed on top. As lockdown eases, and we begin to emerge into the big bad world (if only for a rendezvous with our ‘support bubble’), we will once again be met by the harsh realities of wearing […]
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As Black Lives Matter protests continue to rock the foundations of racist institutions all over the world, protestors are following in the footsteps of Civil Rights activists by once again using the music of black artists as their rallying cry. From copies of Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ being mailed to senators in advance of an […]
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Image Description: Crowds at a festival I took my time to get into the 1975. The phenomenon of their ever-growing fame has been fairly recent in terms of universal recognition. I’ve been exposed to them for a long while though, with my high school friends overflowing with excitement over an album whose title was way […]
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Image Description: Charli XCX performing on stage Charli XCX has long been known for her obsessive work ethic, pushing herself and their collaborators to their creative limit, often in a short space of time. Her lockdown album how i’m feeling now was written, produced, mixed and released, all within two months, which is a considerable […]
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Image Description: trombone and music stand lie on of a pile of scattered sheet music Arts and culture have proven of insurmountable importance during lockdown, and the proliferation of online resources has certainly served us well. But we all know that’s it’s not quite the same as in-person consumption. On top of that, though, is […]
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Image description: a shot from ‘First Thing’ music video A discussion with Flora Faulk, an Art History student at St. Peters, on her recent production of the music video for fellow student, Gigi William’s debut EP and single ‘First Thing’. Flora explains how she got into film-making and ways to get involved from a student […]
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