Friday 10th April 2026
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Cherwell Recommends: YA Guilty Pleasures

Cherwell Books
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Cherwell Recommends: YA Guilty Pleasures

In an already unusual term, this 5th Week, giving its name to ‘5th week blues,’ might be more difficult than most. Whether after an essay crisis or just in a time when you’re in need of a comforting read, some books offer just the right medicine. We often call these books guilty pleasures but there’s nothing wrong with reading something purely for the fun of it. So, the Books Section recommends some of our most comforting, binge-worthy Young Adult reads from years gone by, all of which certainly hold up to another read.

Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan

Recommended by: Jess, Deputy Editor

In my Oxford interview, my tutor asked me if I had come across any piece of modern literature which I thought was an interesting example of Classical Reception. All I could think of was ‘For the love of (the) god(s), don’t say Percy Jackson’. But now two years into my Classics degree and a proud passer of Mods (don’t ask anymore about them), I’m able to enjoy this series with more pleasure than guilt. Adult fans of The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller) or the Penelopiad (Margaret Atwood) may well have spent their teenage years being brought up on this expansive series. Rick Riordan’s imagination spills Greek goddesses, gods and monsters into the world and his teenage demi-god protagonists are depicted in a non-patronising way as we see them negotiate love, puberty, awful step-parents and of course, quests and the risk of gruesome death.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Recommended by: Ella, Deputy Books Editor

There is one and only one reason for studying Medieval literature- to, like Gansey and friends, study and search for an ancient sleeping king. The atmosphere of the books, each one corresponding to its own season, is nostalgic and evocative of the West Virginia landscape this quest unfolds in. It’s hard to describe exactly what the Raven Cycle is about; by the time you read the final book, the first, a not unusual urban fantasy YA story, is revealed to be only the middle of the entire story. Or, depending how you look at it, the first book is the natural conclusion to the cycle. It’s a series which invites rereading, especially because not only are the characters developed throughout the story, but key information about their motivations are kept hidden up until the final book. As well as this, there are brilliant secondary characters, my favourite of which are the yuppie villainous couple who manage to be both evil and entertaining. The series is slightly ridiculous in some aspects, but it has a beautiful sincerity which extends through murder, magic, apocalypse, college applications, and the difficulties of falling for your ex’s friend. With the new book of the sequel trilogy coming out in May, now is a perfect time to get into the series. 

We Were Liars by E. E. Lockhart

Recommended by: Sofie, Books Editor

I remember devouring E. E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars in a single sitting a few summers back. It is equal parts edge-of-your-seat thriller and resonant coming of age story, with a dash of escapist summer romance. The novel centers on the wealthy and seemingly perfect members of the Sinclair family, who spend summers on the family’s idyllic private island. One year, however, things take a tragic turn, leaving Cadence, one of the Sinclair grandchildren, searching for answers. Lockhart’s novel is as gripping and addictive as any YA guilty pleasure I’ve read, but it is also unexpectedly poetic and poignant. It is well worth a read to liven up the dreary days of lockdown.

Image Credit: Mohamed Hassan, Pixabay

Cherwell Recommends: Love of all kinds

Cherwell Books
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Cherwell Recommends: Love of all kinds

It’s not hard to find examples of romantic love; however, literature celebrates the expanse of human emotion, so our books editors have picked out two moving illustrations of the other forms love takes.

The Journals of Sylvia Plath by Sylvia Plath

Recommended by: Irene, Books Editor

Sylvia Plath obsessions are a rite of passage for a certain subset of young women, but beyond stereotypical images of ‘mad’ genius and feminine depression lie a rich oeuvre treasured by diverse readers and a complex, surprising human being. Plath’s Journals take immediacy of emotion to the highest level as the author confides into an imaginary audience, all her ambition, joy, and suffering thus laid bare. Novels and poems are controlled artistic expressions, but life has neither thesis nor singular narrative; as the storyteller herself confronted this, her relationship with literature continued to evolve right until the last moments of her life. The Journals illustrate passion, sensitivity, and imagination with unparalleled intensity, making for an absorbing read like no other.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Recommended by: Ella, Deputy Books Editor

The Road is the story of a father and son trekking through post-apocalyptic America in search of the meagre food- and escaping those who have turned to cannibalism due to the shortage. 

While the father is not demonstrative in his affection, his whole world and character centre around protecting his son. McCarthy himself, when asked by Oprah, said he would not be able to say ‘I love you’ to his own son, but that the story stood as a ‘love story’ to him, inspired by his fears as an older first-time father. Questions from the boy about morality and death which the father struggles to answer in the hopelessness of their circumstances are directly taken from McCarthy’s son. If anyone can write realistically bleak landscapes it is McCarthy, whose other novels were set in the Southwestern desert he scouted himself. He meticulously lays out how his characters wash, carry their possessions, and scavenge. Some find the pacing boring, especially as the monotony of the road is mirrored by the writing, mainly in simple and compound sentences in precise but literal language. But I found myself drawn into the world, reading the whole book over two days, and deeply invested in each new search or plan. The usually sparse writing also style gives power to the flights of metaphorical language which appear a few times- especially the extraordinarily cryptic and beautiful final passage. Just so, the deceptively simple relationship between father and son, a stoically masculine affair of few words and physical protection, comes under question. To say more would give away a lot of the joy of discovery in the story, but if you want a startlingly unique tale of paternal love, including the failures and doubts of a parent in dire straits, it might happen to lie in a post-apocalyptic adventure. 

Artwork Credit: Lucy Tansley

“Hey Ya!” Or Hey Nah?: Why your life is empty without “The Love Below”

Lily Kershaw
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“Hey Ya!” Or Hey Nah?: Why your life is empty without “The Love Below”

The Love Below is the latter half of OutKast’s double album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which represents André 3000’s solo work. The experimental concept album, which found wide acclaim upon its release in 2003 (nominated for 6 Grammy Awards, winning 3 including Album of the Year), effortlessly melds jazz, funk, hip-hop, pop, electro and more, to create an atmospheric classic; it takes the listener on an introspective journey, asking the question ‘is it better to be ice cold or should we just give in to the love below?’. 

That is not to say, however, that the album is some pretentious, shallow attempt at depth; André never appears to take himself too seriously, and it is his use of wordplay and light-hearted subject matter to explore the deeper parts of his own emotions, that really adds a special charm to this album. Even the name, The Love Below, reflects this; while it is a clear reference to sex, it is also a reference to looking deeper within ourselves to find what love means for each of us.

In a way, it is a surrealist masterpiece: every song is vastly different yet wholly connected. Listening to the album in its entirety, it is apparent how thoroughly considered the sound is. Despite its variety, it never feels disjointed. Instead, it feels almost like an Alice in Wonderland journey of sound – despite constant growing and shrinking, we still know that we’re down the rabbit hole.

The album opens with two songs – “The Love Below” and “Love Hater”: neither could possibly prepare you to expect what is to come next, yet they prime you to be open. They both represent a significant shift away from OutKast’s previous work in rap; instead, the strings and the piano seem to be reminiscent of the opening of a musical – the set up for the voyage we are about to go on. Similarly, the jazzy stylings of “Love Hater” are constantly subverted, whether it be through the whine of his guitar that seemingly interrupts the jazz piano, or the lyrics themselves, shifting from the unsurprising musings on how “everybody need [sic] somebody to love” to the comedic “everybody need [sic] to quit acting hard and shit/ before you get your ass whupped”. It is here that the listener comes to understand the basis for this album and its themes and subversion of musical and cultural expectations. This is no normal love album, but the journey of one man as he tries to find true love while manoeuvring the landscape of modern sexuality and all its complications. 

The Love Below is deeply introspective and the interludes are works of art and self-expression within themselves. Much as the rest of the album, they are predominantly comedic in nature but hit at deeper concepts. The first one is a conversation with God where André expresses his fears of being alone and never finding true love, even conceding that “she doesn’t even have to have a big old ass” he just “need[s] a sweet bitch” – isn’t that what we all want?  The accompaniment to these musings, the honeyed rhythm of the bass guitar, ensures that the atmospheric intensity of the album is carried over into these conversations – the message remains just as clear.

For The Love Below, intermissions are not interruptions. In “Where Are My Panties”, as André begins to catch feelings for his one-night stand who was so “goddamn sweet”, we hear, as if from a distance, a loud angry voice shouting “ice cold”, giving us an insight into the internal war taking place. These intermissions are just as vital to the rest of the album as any other element. From a conversation with God to a love letter, these moments are beautiful and intimate and reveal a sense of vulnerability which is echoed over and over in the rest of the album. They offer breathing room to appreciate each and every song, without which, I would imagine this album would be rendered a totally overwhelming and meaningless experience.

Throughout the album, André ricochets between accepting love at the cost of his “ice cold” persona and or rejecting love and accepting sexual relationships which are doomed to remain empty so long as he refuses to accept his own feelings. We jump between “Prototype”, a sun-drenched song (almost reminiscent of Tyler, The Creator’s far more recent “See You Again” (2017)) with its uplifting, optimistic bass considering how “I think I’m in love again”, to songs like “Hey Ya”!, an open rejection of love – if “nothing is forever […] then what makes love the exception?”.

These songs are beautiful and entrancing in their own way. In fact, I would highly recommend watching the music videos for both “Prototype” and “Hey Ya!”; they perfectly capture the energy of their respective tracks. A song rejecting love doesn’t have to be downbeat and sad, just as a song that fully embraces it doesn’t have to be overly saccharine. His music is just honest, no forced intensity, just introspection. 

Even the more comedically leaning songs reveal a certain vulnerability; “Dracula’s Wedding”, a song unsurprisingly about the nuptials of our favourite vampire, reveals a fear of love and commitment – “I wait my whole life to bite the right one, then you come along and that freaks me out”; but this fear is calmed by the Kelis (of “Milkshake” fame) who features here as Dracula’s lover. The song ends on a rather cute note (“till death do us part […] not in our case, ‘cause we live forever”) and represents a final, more conclusive shift in the message of The Love Below.

André finally sheds his fear of emotional vulnerability and leads us into the self-explanatory “Take Off Your Cool” where he rejects the “ice cold” mask which he so encouraged in “Hey Ya!”. In “Vibrate”, André reminds us that “every boy and girl, woman to man” have to confront these questions of love and sexuality and what they truly want. He encourages the listener to take their desire into their own hands, to “become the master of your own ‘bation”.

The variety of sound and lyrical concept all remains uniquely André There is never a moment where he seems to deviate from himself. Thus, while the album is about finding and accepting love, it is just as much an acceptance of love for oneself, loving who we are, every facet and every contradiction. In fact, André’s choice to make this a solo album is a testament to this: he may be a member of OutKast, but both he and Big Boi are incredibly different, with their own strengths and weaknesses, and so deserve to have the opportunity to showcase their talents independently without having to reject their label as a team (as they eventually came to do in 2006). 

So, having said all that, I fully recognise that most people do not have the time nor the patience to listen to all 21 songs and interludes on the album. So, I figured it would be worth sharing the top songs that The Love Below has to offer, in the hope that hearing them will encourage you to listen to the album in full. In order of appearance:

  • “Spread” – Like the soundtrack to a one night stand between jazz and RnB, this song is fast-paced, fun, and messy. An open acceptance of desire, it jumps and hops and is comfortable with that feeling of mutual passion.
  • “Prototype” – Gorgeous, open, and earnest, this song perfectly captures the soft intensity of falling in love for the first time. If you like anything from Flower Boy, this song is certainly for you.
  • “She Lives in My Lap” – I don’t know how to describe this song beyond pure satisfaction, it is filled with incongruous elements that are somehow perfectly balanced – the musical incarnation of his internal struggle. It’s beautiful in a way that is tough to fully put into words, it’s just one of those songs that shouldn’t work, yet does.
  • “Hey Ya!” – This one really needs no introduction. If you have somehow managed to miss one of the best dance songs of the past two decades, please rectify that immediately and have a listen.
  • “My Favourite Things” – I’m not sure many people wanted an electro-jazz rendition of “My Favourite Things” from The Sound of Music, but here it is –  with no lyrics – and it’s brilliant. 

The album as a whole is incredibly forward-thinking in its notions of masculinity, love and sexuality. Both men and women alike are encouraged to own their bodies and open themselves up to experience love to the fullest, topping charts with songs stuffed with complexity and nuance in an era where pop music seemed to encourage greater simplicity regarding sexual matters (think Stacy’s Mom). Perhaps this album is more relevant now than ever. With casual sex more available than ever before (COVID allowing), being nude is no longer the height of vulnerability, instead, true vulnerability is in being open to real emotional connection and all of its consequences, for better and for worse.

Would I say that The Love Below warmed my cold, dead heart and taught me how to love? I wouldn’t rule it out. What I can say is that I am ridiculously bored and finding this album reminded me that there is a world beyond lockdown. A world where we will all, eventually and hopefully, fully realise what it means to love ourselves and to love others.

Image Credit: ondarock.it.

Oxford study claims deaths outside Wuhan in China did not increase in early 2020

Daisy Aitchison
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Oxford study claims deaths outside Wuhan in China did not increase in early 2020

Outside of the city of Wuhan, overall deaths did not increase in China during the first three months of the coronavirus pandemic, research by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Oxford University has shown.

The study has found that the rise in deaths due to the disease was offset by the decline in mortality from other causes. Deaths from pneumonia declined by 47% and road traffic accidents by 23%, largely as a result of a national lockdown in China from January through to April. 

However, the situation in Wuhan itself was very different, with the overall death rate up by 56%. The combined effects of pneumonia and COVID-19 are being blamed for the rise, although there were additional small increases in deaths from cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The study has also found that there were more excess deaths among men than women, and that mortality was higher in central areas and among the over 70s. There was a drop in hospital deaths, but a rise in mortality outside healthcare settings, which researchers have suggested highlights either difficulties or reluctance to access professional healthcare.

These findings highlight the importance of rapid, large scale actions to combat the pandemic, with the Chinese national lockdown proving effective in reducing both COVID and non-COVID related deaths. 

The senior author for the study at the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Professor Maigeng Zhou, said “The data showed that during these first three months of the COVID-19 outbreak, there were totally different situations in Wuhan city and in the rest of China. Within Wuhan city, there were also major differences in the severity of the outbreak between central and suburban districts.”

Dr Jiangmei Liu, another study author at the China CDC, added: “This was the first nationwide study in China to systematically examine the excess mortality during the COVID-19 outbreak, not only from pneumonia but also from a range of other conditions across different regions of China.”

Researchers examined data from the Chinese death registries from January to March 2020, as well as the Chinese Surveillance Point System, which represents over 20% of the entire population of the country. 

The new strain of coronavirus was first discovered in mid-December in Wuhan, China. It has since killed over 2.5 million globally, with over 100 million cases recorded.

The senior author for the study, Zhengming Chen, who is the Professor of Epidemiology at the Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University, said: “It would appear that the lockdown and associated behavioural changes – such as wearing facemasks, increased hygiene, social distancing and restricted travel – actually had unintended additional health benefits beyond those of reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.”

Cherwell’s Australian Open Round-up

Matthew Cogan
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Cherwell’s Australian Open Round-up

The Australian Open of 2021 was one like never before. The event was dogged with problems and complaints from many of the sports stars before the event as they were forced to quarantine upon their arrival in Australia, something that was even further compounded by a spate of positive coronavirus cases amongst some of the players. However, once the tournament started, it was business as usual. There were some big questions on everyone’s minds before the tournament started: Can Rafael Nadal win his 21st Major? Will Novak Djokovic prove to be back to the best that we saw of him last season? Will Serena Williams finally be able to break the women’s Grand Slam Record? The action that followed in the next two weeks would answer all of those questions, and more, whilst providing some upsets and excitement along the way.

This Australian Open was a disappointing one for British tennis fans. In the Men’s singles there were only two entrants, with Kyle Edmund injured and Andy Murray unable to travel. Those two entrants faced off in the first round, with Cameron Norrie overcoming an in-form, and higher ranked, Dan Evans. Norrie then won his second round match against a qualifier, before eventually being comfortably beaten by Nadal in the third round.

Likewise, in the Women’s draw success was limited. Four British players were in this draw, but only Heather Watson was able to make it to the second round before also being beaten. There was more success in the Men’s doubles for the Brits, with Joe Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram the defending champions. They defeated another British favourite Jamie Murray on their way to the final but were eventually themselves defeated by the ninth seeds, Dodig and Polasek.

There were some thrilling matches across the Men’s Singles draws. Novak Djokovic needed five sets to defeat Taylor Fritz in the third round, a match that during which he required medical attention and would later state if it had not been a Grand Slam, he would have pulled out of the tournament. Possibly the pick of the matches, however, was the third round match up between US Open champion Domonic Thiem, and Australian home favourite Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios led the match two sets to love, before a spirited fightback saw Thiem claim it in five, in a match that lasted almost three and a half hours. Eventually, at the end of the two weeks, it came down to a final between Djokovic and fourth seed Medvedev. Despite Djokovic’s much greater time spent on court over the tournament as a whole, he was easily able to defeat Medvedev in what looked like a routine victory to claim his 9th Australian Open title and 18th Grand Slam.

In the Women’s tournament, Serena Williams put up probably her best display in a Grand Slam in the last couple of years. She powered through the early rounds including a strong victory over the second seed Simona Halep, to be defeated eventually in the Semi-finals by Naomi Osaka. Many of the other big names were also defeated early on in the competition, with defending champion Sofia Kenin succumbing in the second round with world number one, and home favourite Ashleigh Barty failing to move past the quarter finals. This led to a final between Osaka and the American Jennifer Brady. It was a closely fought match in the end, with Osaka prevailing to win her fourth Grand Slam title.

This year’s Australian Open was one that will be remembered probably only partly for the tennis, as it will be overshadowed by the pandemic as much else has been in the last year. It was, however, great to see some fans at times able to watch the tennis live, a great hope for what sport could look like again soon across the UK and the rest of the world. With three more Grand Slams on the calendar this year, might it be the time for Serena Williams to finally break the record? Or have we finally seen the changing of the guard in women’s tennis (something we are certainly yet to see in the men’s, with the domination of Nadal and Djokovic seeming to continue)?

Image credit: Peter Menzel via Flickr

England in India: the Tests keep coming

Matthew Cogan
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England in India: the Tests keep coming

In the first Test at Chennai, England produced a stunning victory over a very strong India team. Many doubters were proven wrong, Jimmy Anderson at 38 was able to produce one of the finest overs in recent years to dismiss Gill and Rahane at a crucial point in the second innings, and Joe Root continued his imperious form, posting a commanding 218 in the first innings on a difficult pitch. However, despite such a brilliant result, the second test at the same venue this week looks to be an entirely different game.

Given England’s decision to rotate players, Anderson will have to watch from the side-lines and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler is returning home. This, coupled with an injury to Jofra Archer and the choice of the England camp to drop spinner Dom Bess, means that the 11 that line up to face India in the second test will be a very different one to the first.

Some of the replacements are like for like; Stuart Broad for Anderson and Moeen Ali for Bess do not overly alter the strength of the side. However, the loss of Archer and Buttler could be felt much more. In the last couple of years Buttler has proved himself to be just as talented in the red ball game as we all knew he was in white ball cricket. His ability to bat and accumulate runs patiently before going through the gears and scoring almost at will is something very few cricketers in the world can match. The wicketkeeper coming in is Ben Foakes, a man with proven pedigree in sub-continent conditions, but with only 5 tests under his belt – it can hardly be argued that he is the same calibre of player as Buttler.

Possibly more worryingly for England fans is the loss of Archer. Since his test debut in 2019, he has illustrated that he can mix it with some of the best fast bowlers in the world, and whilst he might not have been at his best in the first test, he brings something very different to the England side in terms of raw pace. Archer’s replacement is the Warwickshire bowler Olly Stone, a man with decent stats at First Class level, but only a solitary test to his name, a 2019 home match against Ireland. To be suddenly thrust in against one of the best test teams in the world, in Indian conditions, seems as though it could be a bit much for Stone to handle.

Of course, I hope that I am wrong and all of these replacements prove their worth to the side, but I struggle to see the 11 men starting this second test for England replicating the display of the first. Either way, that will not stop me from waking up early and watching whilst I attend my lectures or get on with my reading, something only possible due to the long awaited return of test cricket to terrestrial television. 

Image credit: It’s No Game via Wikimedia Commons

Lockdown in Football: a sacrifice worth making?

Matthew Cogan
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Lockdown in Football: a sacrifice worth making?

With the current increase in coronavirus cases around the UK, it raises the question: should elite sport, specifically football, see another lockdown like it did in March last year? The last few weeks have been plagued by stories of footballers failing to follow lockdown rules, with the period around Christmas and New Year seeming to have a new story everyday about a top-class player who had attended a party or gone on a trip to Dubai.

This, of course, has had a knock-on effect on the pitch, with games being cancelled left, right, and centre due to entire squads having to isolate after a positive case. Just last weekend I watched my team Derby County lose in the FA Cup to Chorley after fielding a team made up of predominantly under 18 players due to our squad isolating. This was the same in the case of Aston Villa and begs the question: how much further does it have to go before sport has to be cancelled? There have been suggestions within the last few days that players just need to be reminded of the rules and prevented from celebrating as a team once a goal has been scored; in reality, that takes so much of the passion away from the game – at a time when it is already lacking due to no crowds – that it may as well just be cancelled (without even mentioning the limited likelihood of a player not celebrating).

Clubs themselves have acted recklessly. Celtic went on a warm weather training trip to Dubai, which whilst not illegal when they went, did lead to positive cases and game cancellations. Just this week, it came to light that several players in the WSL took a “business trip” to Dubai; resulting positive cases have thrown the fixture schedule into doubt. I understand that football is an escape for many people, offering a sense of normality when the rest of the world is anything but. However, in a time such as this, with over 1000 people dying of Coronavirus daily in the UK, it seems entirely irresponsible for football to continue, especially when so many footballers have shown complete disregard for the rules time and time again. Furthermore, with so many games being cancelled due to positive cases at clubs, fixture congestion is only going to get worse in this already shortened season, increasing the risk of player injury.

I want football to continue as much as anyone else, and the sooner fans can be back at games the better, but at the moment, with the country facing possibly its toughest struggle against coronavirus to date, the continuation of elite football seems like a luxury and a risk that we cannot afford to have.

Image credit: Katie Chain via Wikimedia Commons

Like A Record Baby: Vinyl in the Pandemic

Shreya Banerjee
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Like A Record Baby: Vinyl in the Pandemic

There are so many harsh ways in which this respiratory pandemic has affected people, but one of its more minor impacts is that it has denied us the experience of skimming through reams of records in person. I’m at risk of sounding pretentious here, but with a pinch of self-awareness, I can say that music browsing is a hobby of mine. With its worn paper case, browning at the corners, a pre-loved vinyl invites its owner to remember that there are other people out there too – people who listen and love, smile and cry to the same songs as us. 

In an ordinary world, these are people you might meet at a concert and instantly feel connected to; but our experience of that category of friendship has all but disappeared since March 2020. It seems unlikely that this attraction of vinyl is something that can fill the void left by casual musical friendships, but it may contribute to its rocketing popularity right now.

But vinyl renaissance started long before the pandemic. After years of only hardcore enthusiasts keeping the industry alive, record players and vinyl are now sold in Urban Outfitters. The industry has grown for thirteen consecutive years, from only 205k vinyl sales in the UK in 2007, to 4.8m in 2020. These statistics indicates vinyl’s re-emergence is not just something I’m imagining in my relatively indie, Oxford bubble. It is especially impressive that the record industry stayed resilient through 2020, with sales increasing by a tenth on 2019’s figures despite the restrictions on the art of instore record shopping.  Geoff Taylor, Chief Executive at the British Phonographic Industry has summarised this surge as demonstrative of “the timeless appeal of collectable physical formats alongside the seamless connectivity of streaming”, which rings true to my own relationship with records.

While I’m glad that we’re seeing a vinyl second coming, there can be no denying that the industry has morphed into something new in the last few decades. The fact that 40% of the 40 top-selling EPs of 2020 were released more than a decade prior shows that nostalgia is crucial to sales. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours is widely regarded as an essential piece in a record collection, so it’s no surprise that this flawless album was the #1 best-seller. The idea of some albums being essential to a record collection extends nostalgia into a sense that when you’re buying a record, you’re engaging in a tradition. A tradition of forking out for a physical symbol of your dedication to a band, of being cautious with it as you lower it onto the turntable, and of listening to the crackle and craft intently. Admittedly, this experience is one that Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram are pretty familiar with. Yet, what does that show, other than that our generation loves to show off what we’re listening to?

Since March 2020, I’ve set foot in only one record store – the pretty small Vintage and Vinyl, in the coastal Kent town of Folkestone. I was aware of how different this experience was to the first time I excitedly visited Rough Trade East. The sanitiser that coated my hands before entering Vintage and Vinyl was sticky. I was conscious of every fingerprint I might leave– a world away from thumbing through endless stacks of records in a pre-COVID world. I noticed soon that there was a couple waiting outside the store – I was taking up precious space. Since I wasn’t planning to buy anything that afternoon, it seemed irresponsible to linger. 

The pandemic has undoubtedly transformed our retail experience. Record stores around the world have committed to operating online stores and Discogs marketplaces, and even  delivering by cycle. Nevertheless, I’m reassured by our pandemic love affair with vinyl  that the importance of physicality cannot be diminished by the technology that surrounds us, or the circumstances we’re in.

Image credit: Milesoftrane.com via Creative Commons.

(Re)call Me Maybe: Re-evaluating Carly Rae Jepsen

Katie Kirkpatrick
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(Re)call Me Maybe: Re-evaluating Carly Rae Jepsen

Picture the scene: the year is 2012, you’ve spent the afternoon crimping your hair and messily applying glittery eyeshadow, and now you’re ready for the highlight of your social calendar: the famed Leavers’ Disco. Sure, you may not even be leaving school, and sure, you definitely don’t have a date, but this is it. Tonight is going to be your night.

You arrive at your grotty school hall-meets-gym, tottering on your kitten heels, and know exactly what you have to do first. Awkwardly avoiding your crush, you wobble over to the DJ, wait in the endless queue of sugar-high ten-year-olds, and prepare yourself to request the absolute best song in the world right now: “Call Me Maybe.”

Okay, so maybe we didn’t all have the same primary school experiences as me. But there’s no denying that for at least a year after its release, Carly Rae Jepsen’s annoyingly catchy pop single could not be escaped. It made her pretty much a household name, but not in a favourable light: she was branded a one-hit wonder. 

But of course, “Call Me Maybe” is not the only CRJ song most people know. Her other two hits came in the form of “Good Time”, a cheesy collaboration with Owl City (yes, of “Fireflies” fame), and “I Really Like You”, a pop hit famous for featuring Tom Hanks in its music video. It’s the latter of these which is most interesting in terms of Jepsen’s music career: this is because it came out in 2015, just before the release of her third album, Emotion.

One element of her career that has made Jepsen something of an internet music icon is her habit of releasing B-Side albums – both Emotion and her fourth studio album Dedicated were followed up by B-Side albums of almost the same length and quality as their predecessors. Alongside her collaborators, who include pop mastermind and Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff, she can churn out consistently excellent pop music at double the speed of almost everyone else in the game… except Taylor Swift, perhaps.

Pop music, especially by younger female singers, gets a reputation for being ‘bad’ or ‘trashy’. But what is pop music supposed to do in the first place? By putting on Katy Perry or Jessie J, you’re probably not looking for a quasi-religious experience. There’s no need for overly philosophical lyrics or boundary-pushing orchestral accompaniments; rather, you want catchy hooks, relatable lyrics, and, above all else, fun. Jepsen does this all flawlessly. 

Let’s look at an example: “Want You in My Room”, from Dedicated. The song starts with an instantly 80s-sounding rhythm. After the first verse we get an incredibly catchy pre-chorus complete with instrumental beats that it’s impossible not to dance to – this is one of the Antonoff tracks after all. The digitalised backing vocals make the chorus feel like it’s from another era – whether this is the eighties or the future is yet to be determined. The lyrics are very tongue-in-cheek, and far more risque than the candyfloss world of “Call Me Maybe” and “Good Time”: you’ll have ‘on the bed, on the floor’ stuck in your head endlessly. Coming in at just under three minutes, the track is a nugget of pure pop gold.

This is my message to you: forget about “Call Me Maybe’”. Listen to either Emotion or Dedicated with a fresh mindset. Think of her as the next exciting thing in pop rather than a tired one-hit-wonder. You’ll be surprised how much-preconceived notions influence your enjoyment of music. We all need a little joy right now, and Carly Rae Jepsen offers it in bucketloads. Do it for my lipgloss-covered ten-year-old self.

Image credit: Raph_ph via Wikimedia and Creative Commons

Narratives of Grief: Creating ‘Opera for One’

Katie Kirkpatrick
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Narratives of Grief: Creating ‘Opera for One’

CW: death, grief, abuse.

Back in December, when I was once again scrolling through the Oxford side of Facebook, I stumbled across Opera for One. They were looking for composers and librettists to produce new songs for a production. Intrigued by this unusual writing opportunity, I filled out a Google form and promptly forgot all about it. Two months later, I’ve written the libretto for a new opera piece and our performance is being recorded. 

Opera for One is a recorded musical performance consisting of five original songs, commissioned for the piece and all written by students. While able to function as individual pieces, the songs each focus on one of the five stages of grief, meaning the performance as a whole acts as an exploration of the grieving process. I spoke to some of the composers and librettists involved to get a look into how this narrative of grief progresses in this exciting new performance.

The first piece explores the theme of Denial, and is composed by Toby Stanford with lyrics by Cyrus Larcombe-Moore. It is followed by a composition on the theme of Anger, composed by Lauren Marshall, with lyrics by Oliver Banks. They took inspiration from a range of sources, with Oliver mentioning Russian novels and free verse sound poetry, but focussed on personal experiences. Many of the compositions walk this line between the specific and the universal: Oliver said his lyrics ended up being ‘quite archetypal’, but were written with the feeling of satisfaction of taking revenge upon a former abuser in mind. 

This composition is followed up by a song on the theme of Bargaining by Dan Gilchrist with lyrics by Tamsyn Chandler. In the fourth piece of the performance, Georgina Lloyd-Owen and Joshua Ballance then explore the theme of depression. In light of a concept that could become dreary and flat, they said that it was very important to them not to ‘over-simplify what can be a varied and complex experience for individuals’. This is a strength of the performance: with a range of experiences of grief explored by a variety of composers and librettists, no one singular experience is presented, but instead the performance looks at the nuances of the emotions of grieving. Not wanting their it to feel lifeless, Georgina and Joshua felt their piece was characterised by ‘the feeling of immobility, and inertia’. They also wanted to contrast the lethargy of depression with ‘the fight of the individual’, doing so with ‘more impassioned moments of piano and vocal writing’.

One of the most unique aspects of this project was the way in which composers and librettists worked together, most of whom having never met each other in real life. Writers signed up via Google form, and were then paired together and allocated one of the five stages. Georgina found that she really enjoyed the process, saying ‘it really has been wonderful to be able to create something, and to connect and bond over shared experiences through this process too’. It’s comforting in these times of turmoil to see how the arts can bring people together, providing inspiration and enjoyment even when dealing with difficult themes.

I felt similarly about the process: working with composer Adam Possener, we were commissioned to pen the final piece in the show, on the theme of Acceptance. After bonding over our shared love of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ‘Crashing’, we created a Google doc of ideas that ranged from YouTube short films from 2016 to books about LGBTQ+ psychology. Acceptance felt slightly different from the other stages in that it looks to the future, and finds an element of hope; we were keen to have this in our piece. 

Our composition was originally not specific: words of my libretto include ideas about memory and imagery of fading into the sky, but never specify any names of genders. The lightly hopeful lyrics are set to a score that repeatedly switches focus to reflect the different images in the libretto. Adam said that ‘the vocal part draws out the consonance and harmony that is hidden within the dissonances of the piano based on the constructed chords’. This conflict between hopeful lyrics and a score full of dissonance echoes the experiences of accepting grief. As Adam said, ‘the final stanza explores a tension between the two parts, with the piano eventually bowing down to the tonality articulated by the singer’ – we were keen to present a piece that feels resolved, while still leaving open the possibility of moving on and life continuing. Our piece took on a new specificity when Adam’s grandmother passed away: we titled it ‘May her memory be a blessing’ as it’s a Jewish honorific for the dead, and dedicated the piece to her. Ironically, though, Adam noted ‘my grandma would not have enjoyed the music one bit, but hopefully would have appreciated the sentiment!’

It is this that makes the way Opera for One deals with grief so interesting: with so many voices approaching the theme from so many different angles, both imagined and personal, the performance as a whole encompasses the full range of experiences. 

Opera for One is available on YouTube from 6pm on Tuesday 16th March. 

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