Just Gagging

It’s been almost two years since my friend put Lady GaGa’s ‘Just Dance’ on a compilation CD for me and told me she was gonna be huge. Likewise, it’s been almost two years since I wondered, ‘why?’

I understand the appeal of pop music. I understand why people want to switch off and dance to computerised, auto-tuned melodies. I really do. I know why Girls Aloud and Beyonce are so successful. I know why Whipping Boy and The Moldy Peaches haven’t achieved ‘household name’ status despite being widely regarded as musically superior to anything which has ever been associated with Simon Cowell.

What I do not know, and will never know, is why Stefani Germanotta, a woman but 360 days my senior, with two mediocre techno-pop albums, has come to be hailed as the most groundbreaking thing in pop culture since Andy Warhol met Campbell’s.

One thing about Germanotta which seems to have snuck past the psyche of planet pop is her undeniable parrallels with a certain front-woman-turned-solo-artist-turned-fashion-designer named Gwen. And I’m not just talking about the name Stefani. The first time I heard Paparazzi, a song which I could spend an entire blog post pointing out the failings of, I thought Gwen was back. Of note in particular is the irritating spoken part towards the end. I would point you to a link, good reader, but I’ll spare you that if you are willing to take my word for it.

In interviews, there is nothing charming or inspiring about Lady Gaga. I has the displeasure of watching her on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, as she sipped herbal tea and tried to maintain the demeanor of eccentric artist. On planet Gaga, she is controversial, interesting and original; truthfully, she is your typical rude Los Angeles pop star with ideas so far above her station as to be out of sight. But perhaps this is the essence of Lady Gaga- a woman so infested with delusions of grandeur that she has managed to convince an equally deluded public that there is more to her than what her stylists put on her.

British artist M.I.A, in an interview with NME, summed up Gaga in one swoop:

“None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is. She models herself on Grace Jones and Madonna, but the music sounds like 20-year-old Ibiza music, you know? She’s not progressive, but she’s a good mimic.”

There is a place in the world for Lady Gaga’s music. However, just as Biffy Clyro’s ‘Many of Horror’ doesn’t belong on the X Factor tour setlist, neither does Gaga belong in the realm of ‘groundbreaking contributions to pop’.

I SERVEd in Young Africa, Beira, Mozambique

Below I have copied the four weekly diary entries which I wrote for the SERVE website during my time volunteering in Young Africa, Mozambique this summer.  I think the words below say it all.

For more information see http://www.serve.ie and http://www.youngafrica.org

Young Africa – Week One

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 8:40AM

So this is Young Africa! On our first night here we were treated to welcoming songs performed by the 12 girls who live full time in the on-campus hostel. Although we couldn’t understand the words, or repay them by singing a few tunes as Gaeilge, it was the perfect antidote to the 17 hour bus journey we had just endured. Our first week as volunteers on the Young Africa campus was a busy one. We had all been looking forward to meeting the founders, Raj and Dorien, and they didn’t disappoint. They are such interesting, engaging people who instantly welcomed us into what has essentially been their home for the last four years. In just one week we have begun to see how their approach to development works.

We had the honour of attending the graduation ceremony on Friday, when over 200 students were presented with certificates in skills such as carpentry, mechanics, computer repairs, cookery and beauty therapy. The buzz around the place was a testament to the hard work put in by all students, teachers and staff over the last year. We hear so much about how education is key in developing countries, so it was great to see some positivity and success in this area.

Saturday’s Copa do Mundo 2010, Young Africa’s World Cup tournament, turned out to be a much larger affair than we’d ever imagined. An array of football teams made up of young people from Manga and surrounding areas descended upon the campus on Saturday morning and brought with them cheers, excitement and dancing. My God, the dancing! It’s a surreal experience to see hundreds of children, with no possessions bar the clothes on their backs, smiling so broadly and dancing so heartily to Wave the Flag… literally all day long. They made us feel so welcome as we threw ourselves into dancing, balloon modeling and face painting, to such delight. While this was going on, the main purpose of the day, football matches, were taking place.

SERVE were well represented with a male team, and a female team which included some of the hostel girls. Congratulations to the girls, who came third in their competition. I feel obliged to tell you, however, that there were only four teams. Still, they managed to score in every match and even win one, whereas your male representatives finished without so much as a goal between them. Ah well, it’s the taking part that matters, right lads…?

On Sunday we attended a mass, which didn’t disappoint in terms of hand clapping and singing. The hostel girls were proud to show off their old orphanage to us, it is good to see that they still have happy ties to their childhoods.

We are being fed twice daily in Magico, the public restaurant on campus run by locals, Gift and Manoso, and incorporating the cookery school of Young Africa. If you are somebody who gets anxious at the thoughts of eating meals in a place as foreign as Mozambique, you needn’t worry. We have been treated to some of the best food of our lives here. They are not afraid to experiment with food from varying cultures, and cater to anybody’s individual needs.

The rest of the week was filled with painting flags and a banner in preparation for the football, cutting the grass on the pitch with hand-held choppers, a bit of carpentry, playing with the kids in the crèche, development education, some itchy mosquito bites, more dancing and Portuguese lessons with the hostel girls.

We have learned to be open to anything, to be prepared to do things we hadn’t originally expected, and to enjoy every moment of the experience. We have met so many new people, and somehow formed relationships despite the language barrier. The next three weeks will probably go by way too fast, and so we’ll have to make the most of it, learning, experiencing, and having some fun while we’re at it.

Atè logo!

Lindsay, Donna, Catherine, Emily, Nick, Cathal, John, Kieran and Francois.

Young Africa – Week 2

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 11:41AM

Our second week in Young Africa is over and all of us have well and truly gotten stuck in. Our time in the carpentry workshop is finished, with a nice few benches completed for the school nearby. Our painting of the local Munhava orphanage has come on in leaps and bounds. The refectory is now covered in colourful murals of fruit and vegetables, on top of a sky blue background which makes the room so much more bright and welcoming for the kids. We still have to paint the dorms and classroom, so hopefully by the end of next week the orphanage will be colourful and suitable for the smiling kids who welcome us so much every morning. Everybody takes the chance to spend some time playing with the children from the orphanage and adjoining crèche before we start work. They love to have new people to entertain them, and it’s impossible not to enjoy it. It’s keeping up with their energy in the heat of the morning that is difficult!

We have also made an excellent start on the hostel arts project. The three artists in the group have taken on the task of teaching the girls who live on campus the basic skills and techniques of art. The rest of us are learning as much as the girls are, as we help them with their projects and contribute some of our own too! Each girl and volunteer decorated a t-shirt with all manner of colours and sequins. Later we drew and painted on paper circles, with each person adding them to their own piece of string with additional discs outlining where they’ve come from and their hopes for the future. This is a great exercise for the girls, and is in keeping with Young Africa’s approach to development. It is great to see them writing about their aspirations of finishing their education and seeking careers. The feedback on the project so far from the girls has been very positive, and we can see their confidence in their work growing every day.

Our own education has been an important factor in our time here too. We have been divided into groups of three to present chapters from the 80:20 development education book. There have been laughs at the methods which some of us have used to present the information, but this hasn’t taken away from the seriousness of the issues we have been discussing. Everybody appreciates the chance to learn and discuss such important issues as women’s rights, ethical consumption and HIV. The discussions don’t end when the presentations do; we are taking the knowledge and chatting and thinking about it in our day-to-day lives. Vernom, who has joined us from Zimbabwe and will be working with us for the rest of our time here, has proven to be an invaluable source of first-hand information about the developing world. His presence has really added a new dynamic to the group, as well as having an extra person to laugh with and have the craic with on our down time!

Our daily Purtuguese lessons are still going strong every morning with Monica and Fatima from the hostel. It’s only a half an hour after breakfast but it is benefitting everybody. We are finding it easier to chat with the people who live and work here, as well as helping the two girls realise that they have something important to offer us too.

We had the chance to visit Rio Savanne on our weekend off. The beach there is pristine, and at night you can see the Milky Way and the sky is full of shooting stars. It was a surreal experience, and we managed to see a field full of wild monkeys which you can imagine was quite a sight for a minibus full of SERVE volunteers. We’ve also been in to the centre of Beira to look around the town and the craft market. It’s good to get out of the Young Africa campus and see what else is happening in the area.

Having said goodbye to our esteemed leader Chris, we are all very aware that we are now halfway through our project. Next week will bring some more physical work in the form of building study huts, so we’re looking forward to seeing how that goes!

Tchau!

All the SERVE team in Young Africa.

Young Africa – Week 3

Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:08AM

Our third week is over and we are becoming quite aware that our time is running out! We have finished our work in Munhava Orphanage. They invited us back for a morning of face painting and balloon modelling, as well as a few thank you songs and more of their amazing dance moves! For many of us this has been the highlight so far, as we got to see how our work puts smiles on the faces of the staff and kids of Munhava, and how we are really appreciated. We found it difficult enough to keep up with all that energy so early in the morning, but it was well worth it!

On the Young Africa campus this week we have been working on building Machesas, which are study huts with thatched roofs and concrete table and seats underneath. It is nice to be getting out and about on the campus, getting to know the guys who work and study here. Through a mix of English, Portuguese and Shona we are managing to have a laugh and form friendships while working. Relationships really are as important as the actual work on this trip, as getting to know the locals personally makes our time here much richer.

The hostel arts project is pretty much wrapped up, and the hostel girls have a created a beautiful canvas which will be brought back to Ireland for exhibition before returning to Young Africa in Mozambique. The canvas, like the circles project last week, is focussed on the past and present. Through images of flowers, each individual girl has outlined who she is, where she has come from, and where she is going. Because of the language barrier at first it felt as if the concept would be a difficult one to get across, but it worked out wonderfully and it is great to be able to read all about their aspirations. There are future business women, teachers, doctors, activists and lawyers in the hostel, and we are lucky to have met them.

Raj took some of us to visit the future site of the next Young Africa project in Dondo, not too far from the campus in Manga. We got a glimpse of his vision of a future agricultural college, as well as meeting some local small farmers who were very interesting to listen to. It is great that we have got to see so many different aspects to the area, as well as getting some insight into how sustainable development can work.

It is strange to be heading into our final week of work, knowing that we will be on the plane back to Ireland very soon!

Young Africa – Week 4

Friday, July 30, 2010 at 7:11AM

Wrapping up our time in Mozambique, we painted Our Lady of Peace Parish and planned our final exhibition.

The orphanage was in need of a new coat of paint on the outside. Unfortunately it rained really heavily on Monday so we had to cut it short, but we got the kitchen finished and then spent the next two good days painting the outside. It made a huge difference and the place looks much brighter now.Back on campus, we put together Wednesday’s exhibition and performances. We decided to do the Siege of Ennis with the girls, but realised that none of us knew exactly how it goes so it became a sort of hybrid ‘Siege of Beira’ dance! Most of the volunteers had to learn their one-two-threes from scratch, and the Mozambican hostel girls really gave them a run for their money in terms of perfecting the steps!

On the day of the exhibition, all the rehearsals paid off and the dance went down really well. We also held a fashion show of the Tshirts we had decorated, sang a few Irish and African songs, explained the concept of the canvas, and made speeches in Portuguese. We finished the show with the Portuguese song and dance we learned at the training days, and were delighted that the audience all joined in. There was a great buzz surrounding the day, and it really highlighted our achievements since arriving in Young Africa.

That night, the girls cooked for us and we had what could probably be described as a leaving party. It was an emotional evening, as it is always hard to say goodbye to people who have come to be close friends. The following day was spent packing up and cleaning the huts, although we got one last goodbye song before the girls went to bed and we headed off to the bus. It seems that there is a song for every occasion in Mozambique, and it is such a great feeling to be sung to by a group of young Africans!

Our long bus trip back to Maputo wasn’t without its glitches but we got there eventually. On our last day we met Fr. Esteban who showed us around the Xipamanine area of Maputo. We could really see the big difference between rural and urban areas of Mozambique. Even though the month is over, our relationships with the people we’ve met will continue into the future, hopefully some of us will even get to visit them again.

Thank you so much to everybody in Young Africa for giving us such a great experience!

A year on…

Typical of the third-level-student-writes-blog demographic, a year has passed since I updated The Dogs’ Bucket. The blog has been snuggled nicely into the ‘stuff’ folder of my Bookmarks, clicked into every once in a while to remind myself that I wasn’t always useless.

This New Years Eve I told myself as I always do, “No resolutions. Sure you make resolutions every month anyway!” So, tempting as it may be, I am not going to promise to update this blog on a regular basis in 2011.

I include here an excerpt from a Facebook Chat with one of my best, yet distant, friends Micheál.

oh youve had a notion havent you
if i know you like i know you, you get these notions every two or three weeks and set about doing it for a week
then everything calms down and goes back to normal until you get another one.

Best of 2009: Not a definitive selection!

Pearl Jam, MEN Arena, Manchester, August 17

Well worth the Ryanair flight! A hostel full of Pearl Jam fans from all over Europe, an amazing setlist and the most awe-inspiring arena I have ever seen. Sadly I had seated tickets, but for this summers’ Dublin show I’m on my feet, boy! See the setlist from the Manchester show here.

Kasabian, O2 Arena, Dublin, November 22

Thanks to the wonders of Toutless, I managed to get tickets to this sold-out show for the Tesco-Value low price of 35EUR. The best performance I have ever seen, give their Lighting guys an award. Not enough people recognised Noel Fielding, I was pleasantly surprised at the New Point Theatre, and Kasabian’s confetti and reverb graced the quays for a few days afterwards.

Avatar

I’ve almost been convinced of the merits of 3D. A bit of a Pocahontas story, with blatantly obvious references to Africa and exploitation at the hands of the USA, but there’s no real harm in that.

Grooveshark

I hate listening to music through laptop speakers, but beggars can’t be choosers.

A Serious Man

New Coen Brothers film takes Jewish tragedy and synchs it with your biggest fears. Still not sure about the ending though.

More lists to come!

My song of the moment: Paolo Nutini: Pencil Full Of Lead

Why wasn’t this song a bigger deal? I haven’t had this much fun in years.

Holly White Interview

Interview with Irish actress and journalist Holly White. Originally published in DCU College View newspaper, October 2007.

(c) 2007

Answering her phone on the bus, the first thing Holly White does is offer to get off if it becomes too noisy. Immediately, I know I’m not dealing with some obnoxious actress. She speaks in the same South County Dublin twang as her Becs character, and she’s friendly, open and bubbly.

I ask the Dan and Becs star what’s happening with the show now that the second series has finished on RTE. She tells me that it doesn’t look like they’ll be continuing with the show. “Maybe in a few years, but for now we’re both really busy with other stuff.” David Coffey, creator, writer and the Dan to her Becs, is busy working on some new scripts and the release of the Dan and Becs DVD.

Holly is currently in London, in her final year studying Fashion and Journalism. Indeed, she has plenty of journalistic experience, including some work for Tatler, a high society London magazine. She says that she is “crazy busy”, trying to readjust and perform the balancing act of studying, working and doing everything else in between.

Holly comes home to her parents’ house in Killiney every three weeks or so. She tells me she misses home, and still meets her school friends when she comes back on the weekends. “Sometimes I actually crave home!” she laughs. What pubs she goes to when she hits the town depends on who she’s with. Usually she just trails after her friends, and likes a mixture of things from casual house parties to getting dolled-up to go out clubbing. “It would definitely get boring if you went to the same places in Dublin all the time.”

For Holly, London is completely different to home. A few weekends ago they were on the Ryan Tubridy show, drinking champagne and  getting the star treatment. The following night she flew back to London to assemble Ikea furniture. “I’m really just living the student life when I’m over there!”

Holly went to boarding school, got a good Leaving Cert and applied for Classical Studies and French in Trinity. The course didn’t suit her and it was full of “much older, very serious people”, so she dropped out to do a spot of travelling before doing Fashion design and working as Fashion Assistant for the Irish Times. Now she’s in her third year in London.

I comment on the similarities between her and Becs’ educational and professional lives, and she doesn’t deny it. She tells me that when they were coming up with the characters of Dan and Becs, they thought it would be better to ask themselves “what do we know?” and base their characters on that.

“The Fruice ad, Fair City, dropping out of college, I know what it’s like!” She even admits, “in one episode Becs says, ‘I spend a lot of time in my car, so people think I have something to do.’ Well, that was me!”

When asked if she ever gets sick of the whole ‘Southsider’, rich-kid stereotype, she becomes more animated all of a sudden. “There are a lot of incredibly talented people in Ireland. I’m tired of Irish people being painted as these satirical characters, when there are so many really intelligent people, talented actors, cool bands, hot rugby players… [Rising young chick-lit writer] Ruth Gilligan is studying in Cambridge!” So the ‘I Can’t Believe it’s not Ross O’Carroll Kelly!’ label isn’t justified? “I don’t think Becs is like Sorcha. In the second series she’s worked really hard and become a much more likeable character… she’s moved away from a lot of her girlfriends, who are quite bitchy!”

So what of her new celebrity status? Holly says that people do recognise her on the street, and everybody has been really sweet. She’s still just a young student from Killiney, however, as her evening at the Meteor Awards proved. “I was pointing, ‘OH MY GOD, there’s Glenda Gilson’ and ‘there’s Ryan Tubridy!’… Nicky Byrne from Westlife and Georgina Ahern came over and told us they loved the show. I nearly died… I’m so sad!” Becs’ Bebo page has been a source of plenty of surprises, too. Holly is amazed at the reaction she’s been getting. “People say really cute things about Becs… I’m really touched by that.”

So what does she see herself doing after she graduates? I ask Holly if she is going to choose between her acting and writing and she replies, “I’ve enjoyed it all, and it would be a pity to give up the acting after getting so far… I’m going to try and give everything a shot!” She admits, however, that it isn’t going to be easy. “I still have a lot to learn about acting”. She was never a Drama Club girl in school, but she’s not going to let that hold her back. As she says herself, “I have this huge, renewed self-confidence, compared to when I was eighteen… I’m very optimistic!”

With her track record and honest, hard-working attitude, we can be pretty confident we’ll be seeing more of Holly White in the future.

Danny O’Reilly interview

Interview with Danny O’Reilly of Irish band The Coronas.

Originally published in DCU Flashback Magazine, November 2007

(c) 2007

Danny O’Reilly is running late and I’m thinking that maybe The Coronas have already developed a rock star complex when it comes to dealing with humble college publications. But then the smiley Terenure lad arrives, all apologies, gives me a box of sweets and orders some tea. Talented, handsome AND unpretentious? Form an orderly queue, ladies.

The Coronas have been honing their art since secondary school, when they were first known as Kiros. Danny (vocals), Graham Knox (bass) and Conor Egan (drums) started jamming at a young age. “We’re friends since we were like, twelve so we just started messing around and then sort of formed a band. It was summer two years ago that we met Dave [McPhillips, guitar] and straight away we all wanted him to join. From the word go it worked.”

Now The Coronas are causing a bit of a stir among music fans and critics. “We were lucky enough, we got into the Dublin college scene when we were in college ourselves. We started off, as most bands do, with our friends coming to our gigs, then friends of friends and then before you know it there’s nobody you know there. And the big thing for us was before we got signed, when we did one gig in Whelan’s and it was sold out. People were touting tickets outside and we were just like, ‘this is weird!’ That’s when we decided that we had to start taking this a bit more seriously. We actually got signed that night. That was a year ago and its been mental since, you know.”

Heroes or Ghosts was released in October, to great critical acclaim. I ask how it feels to finally have a full length album in the shops. Are dreams coming true left, right and centre? “We’ve been working hard the past few months, its great to finally see it paying off, you know… Its so deadly to be able to say you have an album out at 22.” And, still pinching himself, he can’t resist calling into HMV every now and again, “just to have a look at where it is on the shelf!” He’s modest about the fact that they built it all themselves, taking The Coronas from word-of-mouth gigs in the city to a mention on the cover of HotPress. “I think with downloads and everything, you can have a bit of a following and if you work hard it can be done.” Remarkably, they’ve come across lots of fans who first got hold of their recordings as far afield as Oz and Asia. “Yeah, you get people who are like, ‘I heard ye on a beach in Thailand!’ I think it’s best for a new band to hand out demos and see what happens.”

It seems that the excitement of impending fame hasn’t worn off yet. Danny is still like an excited schoolboy playing a gig to ten friends. But this year, it was  Oxegen and The Late Late Show that provided the buzz. “My Bebo profile photo at the moment is actually of me and Pat Kenny”, he laughs. And what of their appearance on the Oxegen second stage last summer? “It was brilliant. We opened up so for our first song there was literally nobody there, but by the time we got to the last song everyone was there, it was deadly. Its great to be able to say that we did it. Like, our name was as big as Bloc Party’s on the poster!”

The next logical step would be to try and crack the UK. In a bizarre union, The Coronas supported Pink in Malahide Castle last summer, and she asked them to do six nights with her in Britain. Danny laughs, remembering, “She came into our dressing room after [the Malahide gig] and said she though we were ‘awesome’. We were like, ‘Ah, howiya Pink!’ Like, what do you say?!” He admits that they were a bit apprehensive about playing to Pink’s audience. “It’s not really our crowd, mostly young girls but we couldn’t say no to playing in venues like Brixton Academy!” And was it successful? Well, they still get comments on their MySpace asking when they’re going back to the UK, so they’re obviously more appealing to Pink’s fans than they’d given themselves credit for. So they’ll be heading back across the Irish Sea? “Maybe next year”, he says hopefully.

Danny has been writing songs since the tender age of 11. He recalls the first song he ever wrote, when he penned some lyrics from the point of view of an alcoholic. “It was the most cheesy, terrible, I’m-so-deep-right-now song,” he laughs, telling me that he still remembers all the words. So his love for music started early, did that have much to do with his family? He tells me that his mother is a professional singer, so there’s always been music around, as well as some sound advice about the industry. “Mam warns me that the business is tough…it’s good to have her there to keep me grounded”. All of the lads have managed to keep the folks happy by getting good academic backgrounds to back them up. Danny has a degree in Commerce from UCD. He tells me that UCD was too “big and impersonal, but the course was ok. Hopefully I won’t ever have to use it, though!”

Musically, they’re moving forward and still writing away. Danny wrote “about 75 percent” of Heroes or Ghosts, but says that the song writing on their next album will be split more evenly. “The lads want to get more involved and I’m all for it”, he tells me.

The Irish alternative music scene is alive and well, with great live acts attracting cult followings all over the country. I ask Danny, as an insider, if there are any Irish bands that particularly stand out for himself and the rest of the band? Among others, The Chapters have really impressed them and Danny tells me that they’ll be supporting The Coronas at their Christmas gig in The Button Factory. But they’re not big scenes-heads when it comes to mingling with other bands. “We sort of bypassed the whole Whelan’s clique…its just the way it happened… But I think everyone just wishes the best for each other!”

For now, The Coronas are enjoying the musician’s life, spending their days watching dodgy TV and then gigging at night, living in “a different time-zone” to their friends with office jobs. There was a time when people would roll their eyes when he told them he was a musician, but now that they’ve reached a level of success it’s more credible. It’s not quite the Motley Crue rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle yet, though. The nearest thing they have to groupies are “secondary school girls screaming at us like we’re McFly or something!” But surely they’re enjoying all the praise and the buzz surrounding them? “I don’t think I could ever get sick of people coming up and saying they like the album… that means a lot!” And well deserving of it they are, too.

Old Reviews 2007-2008

A selection of some DVD and CD reviews originally printed in The Nenagh Guardian: ‘Sound and Vision’, to which I was weekly contributor.

2007-2008

Various Artists-Juno Soundtrack-(Rhino Records)

Every once in a while a film comes along with a soundtrack that plays as important a role as the story itself. Glen Hansard’s Oscar winning ‘Once’ was built around his and the Frames’ music, Badly Drawn Boy recorded the soundtrack for About A Boy, and now there’s Juno. This brilliant film was made even more enjoyable by the excellent music accompanying it. Juno, the lead character, is a sixteen-year-old music lover, and she forms a bond with Mark, who’s band ‘once opened for the Melvins’. Kimya Dawson, and her New York ‘anti-folk’ band the Moldy Peaches form the bulk of this collection of gorgeous songs. There are appearances from such legendary acts as The Kinks, with A Well Respected Man, and Sonic Youth, with Superstar. Mott the Hoople’s All The Young Dudes is one of the central songs on the play list, which is fitting as it was the background to such an important scene. Soundtracks are usually merely a snapshot of what a movie has to offer, often just a quick moneymaker as a supplement to an already successful project. They can be heartless in this respect, but the Juno soundtrack is somewhat different. Lovers of this highly recommended film will be reminded of it’s charms, and would-be Moldy Peaches fans will be prompted to go out and listen to more of their stuff. Poignantly, the album closes with the stars, Michael Cera and Ellen Page, singing Anyone Else But You.

Knocked Up-(Directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl. Rated 18)

Judd Apatow, producer of Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad and other such comedies, directs and writes this years’ hit comedy Knocked Up. All the usual suspects appear in this movie; Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd, as well as Apatow’s wife Leslie Mann and a cameo appearance by Steve Carrell. Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl plays Alison Scott, an up-and-coming E! Television Network presenter who meets unemployed Ben (Rogen) at a nightclub and eight weeks later discovers she’s pregnant. Heigl is a charming actress and plays the role well, a more serious character among all the slackers. A hilarious, original comedy from a great cast and crew, Knocked Up is full of loveable characters and laugh-out-loud moments. While many aspects are completely unrealistic (such as the expensive lifestyle led by a group of unemployed, illegal Canadian immigrants in LA, and the budding relationship between polar opposites Ben and Alison), it’s to be expected in a comedy like this. Be prepared for plenty of expletives and crude dialogue throughout. The film carries on for more than two hours, a little bit long for a one with such a basic plot. It will never be a cult classic like the American Pie movies or Anchorman, but it’s good for a laugh and will most likely be enjoyed by teenagers, college students and big kids.

MGMT-Oracular Spectacular-(Columbia Records)

MGMT (formerly The Management) are a two-piece made up of Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. The duo formed in Wesleyan University in the USA back in 2002. Oracular Spectacular is their debut album, boasting the surprise hit song Time to Pretend, an electronic track with nods to the psych-rock of the Flaming Lips. This similarity is unsurprising, with Flaming Lips producer James Fridmann having provided his services. However, MGMT are more than just a Flaming Lips tribute act. On Oracular Spectacular you will find ten tracks with elements of disco, funk and fantasy with often sarcastic and funny lyrics. While it is doubtlessly a modern sound, there are definite throwbacks to the psychedelic tunes of 1960s America. Their songs are pop enough to get regular play in nightclubs and late night radio, while alternative and original enough to appeal to the more cynical indie set. The album couldn’t have come at a better time either; its light and summery feel doing justice to the longer evenings and hints of sunshine in March and April. The two guys may look like a novelty act, but there is serious music production happening here. Their songs look set to become alternative anthems of the noughties, and it’s highly likely that they will become a fixture in dance tents and club nights for years to come.

The Condemned-(Starring Vinnie Jones, Steve Austin. Directed by Scott Wiper)

Anybody who has seen classic Japanese film Battle Royale will be instantly reminded of its story when they see or read about the Condemned. It’s basically the same plotline, but modernised and Americanised by director Scott Wiper. It’s not the first time two or more films have had huge similarities; Cruel Intentions was a remake of the classic Dangerous Liaisons, which was in turn based on a novel. The difference here, however, is that the credits name Wiper, Hedden and Hedden as writers of the story. Clearly, there are enough differences between Battle Royale and the Condemned to avoid an embarrassing lawsuit, but that doesn’t stop the bad taste of rip-off surrounding it. An online reality show creator comes up with the idea of putting ten Death Row inmates on an island, battling it out until the last one standing is set free. Wrestler ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and tough-guy Vinnie Jones are the central characters here. Throughout the film it’s unclear whether you’re supposed to revere or hate any of the characters, you’re led to believe that there is more to them than meets the eye. This mystery doesn’t manage to rescue the film from descending into a stereotypical, Good versus Bad story, one that has been told so many times it couldn’t possibly impress anyone. If you like WWE you’ll love the fight scenes, but if you’re a fan of Battle Royale you’ll be left disgusted.

Once-(Directed by John Carney. Starring Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova)

Once is the story of a Dublin busker, played by Glen Hansard of the Frames. He meets a Czech cleaning lady, a young mother new to Ireland who shares his love of music. Together they set out to write and record a demo CD, enlisting a motley crew of helpers. This isn’t Hansard’s first attempt at acting; he played the part of guitarist Outspan Foster in the 1991 film adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments.

Once is a typical indie affair, and almost comes across as a documentary about the music recording process, rather than an actual story about the characters and their lives. The plot is weak, with the characters never really showing their true colours. Rather stereotypically, they are all down-and-out people trying to make their way in difficult city life. It ends abruptly, another annoying habit of low budget indie flicks like this. Part of this film’s charm, however, is how it was shot. Filmed on location in Dublin city, there are a few instances of passers-by looking into the camera and staring at the actors. All the familiar places are there, Grafton Street, Stephen’s Green and the likes. Naturally, it is coupled with an excellent soundtrack, mostly made up of songs from The Frames’ last album The Cost. A shameless plug no doubt, but it works. Once won’t be remembered as one of the greatest rock and roll movies of all time, but if anything it will heighten Hansard’s profile outside of Ireland, and hopefully give Ireland’s music scene even more coverage.

Girls Aloud-Tangled Up-(Fascination Records)

Tangled Up is the fourth album from 2002 Popstars: The Rivals winners Girls Aloud. Released before Christmas, it debuted at number 4 in the British charts and the single Call The Shots is their tenth top 3 hit single. Nobody ever thought that the reality show winners would have such huge success, but somehow they’ve proved the critics wrong. Their personal lives have been as high profile as their songs, and the five girls have provided much tabloid fodder and made a lot of money in the past five years.

Tangled up is more of what they do well; catchy, cheesy pop tunes you just can’t resist singing along to. There are no surprises here, but there doesn’t need to be. No matter what Girls Aloud produce it’s going to sell. They are as popular on late night dancefloors as they are at pre-teen birthday parties. It’s easy to brush them off as a manufactured pop band and forget that these girls can actually sing; but that’s how they ended up in this band in the first place! Professional production and excellent pop song writing ensure that Tangled Up won’t end up in the bargain bins any time soon. With the Sugababes constant fighting and line-up changes and the Spice Girls questionable reunion, it looks as if Girls Aloud have become the most successful and popular of all the UK girl bands. Annoying as they may be, their trademark floor-fillers and tacky matching outfits are here to stay.

U2-The Joshua Tree: Remastered-(Mercury)

It’s been twenty years since the release of U2’s most famous album The Joshua Tree, and to mark the occasion Mercury have re-released it to the delight of many and the cynicism of many others. U2 are one of the longest running bands in history, and still manage to sell CDs by the truckload and fill stadiums with screaming fans of all ages. Often hailed as the “Greatest Album of All Time,” 1987’s The Joshua Tree is still one of those records you can go back to again and again. There is no doubt that these eleven songs showcase what made U2 famous in the first place; impassioned songs full of youth and rebellion, created by a bunch of Irish lads seeing the world for the first time.

In all honesty, one must wonder why it’s necessary to reissue and remaster an album that is still widely available in mainstream music shops. It’s hard to avoid thinking that it’s just an easy cash cow. A book, a DVD, a CD of B-Sides and all manner of extras are included in this made-for-Christmas boxset. Presumably, this is a ploy to convince those who already own a copy on vinyl, cassette, CD or MP3 that it’s still a necessary purchase. Buy it as a gift if you must, but if preferably you could dig out that old dusty copy in your attic, and enjoy it the way that was always intended.

The Simpsons Movie-(Directed by David Silverman)

The Simpsons has been gracing our screens for years now, with the Springfield family and host of characters keeping us entertained and delivering endless classic one-liners. Well into the nineteenth series in the US, it has become a thing of legend among children and adults alike.

The Simpsons Movie was released amid rumours of it marking the end of the long-running television series. For many, the end of the series should have come long ago, with The Simpsons’ popularity waning slightly as cartoons like Family Guy and South Park tackled more controversial subjects and delivered wittier and more up to date jokes. In reality, the writers of The Simpsons haven’t quite been able to live up to their own standards, with the “new episodes” failing to thrill in the same way as the repeats.

In The Simpsons Movie, Homermesses up and causes the whole of Springfield to be encased in a glass dome. In typical Simpsons fashion he has to right his wrongs and make it up to his family and neighbours. Surprisingly, there aren’t many celebrity guest voices, quite unexpected from a franchise that has recruited so many celebrities over the years. Instead, it created a new celebrity in the form of Spiderpig, a minor character that became a new star and even led to a hit song this summer. If you’re a Simpsons fan you’re going to end up watching this film at some stage. Don’t expect more than an extended version of the new episodes and you won’t be disappointed.