South Wales is better than North
Friday, 16 April 2010
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Arts London News, Heavy metal article
Heavy metal on the rise
The genre that started as an underground scene has been dragged by its straggly pony tail right into the mainstream.
Whether the trendies wearing Municipal Waste and Slayer t-shirts, leather and ripped denim are actually fans is debatable, but it is safe to say the look is officially ‘in’.
True metal fans inhabit every corner of the globe: from frustrated teenagers in Southend, enthusiasts in Japan, to defiant headbangers in Baghdad; literally risking their lives for the metal.
The music itself is often criticised for being obscene and inciting hatred and violence.
But if that is true, why does everyone listening to it seem to be filled with such unadulterated joy?
Bit of fun
Perhaps we should look at lyrics such as “F*** your God, Holy mother for the whore she is,” as just a bit of fun and not instructions on how to kill Christians and worship the devil, as many metal fans do.
The bands themselves often approach the music with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.
Though on stage they can be bleak or aggressive, it is often an act for the audience.
There are those artists who are deadly serious about the subject matter of their songs, but most certainly do not seem dangerous and quite a few of them even seem geeky or mundane.
When interviewed, the members of Slayer seem like very nice chaps, making bad dad jokes and chuckling with one another.
It is hard to imagine them singing lines like “Flesh starts to burn, twist and deform, eyes dripping blood realisation of death” with genuine fervour.
'Love their mothers'
A documentary was even made proving that members of black metal band, Cradle of Filth, were not as evil and hateful as their performances suggest.
The mother of a teenage fan of the band went on tour with them to find out if they were as bad as they seem.
It resulted in hugs and kisses and the decision that they are “just a bunch of young men that love their mothers just like anybody else.”
Lovely.
On the whole, it seems that the fans take the bands far more seriously than the bands take themselves.
Pioneers are encouraging fellow metalheads to fill out the religion section of their next census questionnaire as ‘Heavy metal’, arguing that it is a real faith and if Jedis can do it, why not them?
Aside from love of the actual music, perhaps it is the desire to shock, or the comfort of the identity created by wearing certain clothes or make-up that is so attractive about the metal scene.
God's metal
Even Christians have jumped on the bandwagon with their own pro-God version of the genre, where Christian beliefs are put across as a counterbalance to the dark messages of mainstream metal.
For whatever reason, the true fans or ‘disciples’ seem to be in it for the long haul.
Despite the stigma surrounding it, heavy metal is a product that has a global consumer audience.
Though some people are appalled by the genre’s devil-worshipping subject matter, inexplicably speedy rhythms and dress code, it gives the youth of today and past youth generations something to be part of.
And for those who disapprove, it may be of interest to know that studies have shown that the characteristics of heavy metal fans are in fact virtually identical to those of classical music fans.
Apparently those who listen to either of the genres are more creative, introvert and at ease than other people.
So whether it’s Mozart you are into or Decapitated Midget Fetus, you can be reassured, perhaps, by the knowledge that you are one and the same.
http://www.artslondonnews.co.uk/20100225-heavy-metal-on-the-rise
Arts London News supplement article: Heavy Metal
Heavy metal on the rise
The genre that started as an underground scene has been dragged by its straggly pony tail right into the mainstream.
Whether the trendies wearing Municipal Waste and Slayer t-shirts, leather and ripped denim are actually fans is debatable, but it is safe to say the look is officially ‘in’.
True metal fans inhabit every corner of the globe: from frustrated teenagers in Southend, enthusiasts in Japan, to defiant headbangers in Baghdad; literally risking their lives for the metal.
The music itself is often criticised for being obscene and inciting hatred and violence.
But if that is true, why does everyone listening to it seem to be filled with such unadulterated joy?
Bit of fun
Perhaps we should look at lyrics such as “F*** your God, Holy mother for the whore she is,” as just a bit of fun and not instructions on how to kill Christians and worship the devil, as many metal fans do.
The bands themselves often approach the music with a tongue-in-cheek attitude.
Though on stage they can be bleak or aggressive, it is often an act for the audience.
There are those artists who are deadly serious about the subject matter of their songs, but most certainly do not seem dangerous and quite a few of them even seem geeky or mundane.
When interviewed, the members of Slayer seem like very nice chaps, making bad dad jokes and chuckling with one another.
It is hard to imagine them singing lines like “Flesh starts to burn, twist and deform, eyes dripping blood realisation of death” with genuine fervour.
'Love their mothers'
A documentary was even made proving that members of black metal band, Cradle of Filth, were not as evil and hateful as their performances suggest.
The mother of a teenage fan of the band went on tour with them to find out if they were as bad as they seem.
It resulted in hugs and kisses and the decision that they are “just a bunch of young men that love their mothers just like anybody else.”
Lovely.
On the whole, it seems that the fans take the bands far more seriously than the bands take themselves.
Pioneers are fellow metalheads to fill out the religion section of their next census questionnaire as ‘Heavy metal’, arguing that it is a real faith and if Jedis can do it, why not them?
Aside from love of the actual music, perhaps it is the desire to shock, or the comfort of the identity created by wearing certain clothes or make-up that is so attractive about the metal scene.
God's metal
Even Christians have jumped on the bandwagon with their own pro-God version of the genre, where Christian beliefs are put across as a counterbalance to the dark messages of mainstream metal.
For whatever reason, the true fans or ‘disciples’ seem to be in it for the long haul.
Despite the stigma surrounding it, heavy metal is a product that has a global consumer audience.
Though some people are appalled by the genre’s devil-worshipping subject matter, inexplicably speedy rhythms and dress code it gives the youth of today and past youth generations something to be part of.
And for those who disapprove, it may be of interest to know that studies have shown that the characteristics of heavy metal fans are in fact virtually identical to those of classical music fans.
Apparently those who listen to either of the genres are more creative, introvert and at ease than other people.
So whether it’s Mozart you are into or Decapitated Midget Fetus, you can be reassured, perhaps, by the knowledge that you are one and the same.
http://www.artslondonnews.co.uk/20100225-heavy-metal-on-the-rise
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Nothing Bad Magazine, Catorialist feature
The Sartorialist fashion blog has set the standard for street style pages, but why should we stop at trends from mere humans?Maxwell Krivitzky, LA based cat enthusiast, but unfortunately allergic to the creatures, saunters onto the scene with his own blog 'The Catorialist' which beautifully documents cats' styles from different countries. "Any cat can be stylish, they just need to find the style that suits them best, be it grunge, groomed, disheveled..."
On the blog Krivitzky features cats such as Minow, an old friend of his sporting the 'Gentlemen's style': "To this day I am impressed with the way he carries himself; he is from an age where cats learned to wear their fur instead of letting their fur wear them."
Giving us 'real' cats as opposed to the pretentious, showroom prize-winners and pure breeds we may see on tv, Krivitzky is breaking fashion boundaries in the name of the previously unappreciated domestic and street felines of today.
Photo compliments of http://thecatorialist.blogspot.com/
http://nothingbadmag.com/index.php/mag/
Nothing Bad Magazine, fashion recycling article
Fashion Recycling
In the wake of the Noughties: the decade of recycling, many of us are trying to do our bit for the environment. Remembering to bring your 'bag for life' on a quick run to Tescos is more difficult than it should be. But we can compensate for the pang of guilt that comes when the cashier produces yet another flimsy plastic bag that we'll save in our stash but never use.
Let's get creative. As we are already recycling fashion trends from eras gone past why not recycle our everyday paraphernalia of life too?
Open your mind (and possibly lower your standards of your own appearance) and your home can become a free of charge shop.
Think about it. After Christmas, if you have any seemingly obsolete plastic toys from a cracker why not transform them into a necklace pendant or brooch? Unless you are particularly unlucky, no one will have the same one as you. Do the same with nice looking beer bottle caps. While educating your taste buds with a new beer advertised by an interesting image, you also instantly have something to liven up a gold chain. Lovely.
As for present-wrapping equipment, if you have saved it for other present-giving occasions, by which time you may well have lost it, use it now. If you have a wedding, funeral or a formal occasion coming up, and buying something like a fascinator seems a little wasteful as you're probably not going to wear it again, collect any ribbons, bows and wire, tie them together decoratively and whack them on your head with a hair pin. Perfect.
Finally, if you're feeling adventurous and not afraid of the possible ridicule you might receive, keep an eye out for attractive plastic bottles. Once you have finished drinking it and washing it out, cut a slit vertically down the side, attach a chain or leather string to top and bottom and bingo...you have a new, quirky bag.
http://nothingbadmag.com/index.php/mag/
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