Saturday 4th April 2026
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Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ – a modern classic

William McCathie
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Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ – a modern classic

According to all known laws of the music industry, there is no way that ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ should have been a hit. Before its release, almost nobody outside of Australia had heard of Gotye and even in Australia, he was very much an obscurity. The chorus does not start until a minute and a half into the song, after two low-key verses, violating the accepted rule of pop music stipulating that the chorus should start within the first minute. The song was mostly recorded at Gotye’s house, not a professional studio. Rumour has it that the featuring artist, Kimbra, was only brought in as a replacement after a much higher-profile Australian artist dropped out. The main instrumental hook is an obscure sample of a Luis Bonfa jazz song. Gotye himself is a Belgian-Australian artist, a far cry from the usual Brits or Americans to whom international pop hits seem exclusive. The song wasn’t even following a trend – most international hits in 2012 more closely resembled Swedish House Mafia’s ‘Don’t You Worry Child’, with hard-hitting EDM production and sidechain compression, than stripped-back indie pop.

And yet not only was it a hit, it was an enormous smash. It topped charts across the globe. Not only did it top the Billboard Hot 100, but it topped its year-end list too. The music video now has 1.4 billion views on YouTube. It may not have had the TikTok-provided help many modern indie songs enjoy, but through twitter promotion from high-profile individuals including Katy Perry, and later inclusion in the TV show Glee, the song managed to burst out from its obscure origins and into the world music spotlight.

This immediately begs the question of how. How can a relatively unknown artist from Australia produce a song that violates almost every convention of pop music and still produce an enormous hit? This question, however, can be most easily answered by simply listening to it, whereupon the quality of this modern classic becomes undeniable.

‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ comes across as an honest song. In a landscape of music where we do not question the reliability of the narrator, the dynamic created between the perspectives of Gotye and Kimbra on the record, with the latter in her verse blatantly calling out the former for misrepresenting the truth in his, provides a satisfying layer of depth and realism that one can so rarely enjoy in popular music, or even in any other genre. Combined with an inspired choice of sample, well produced dynamic shifts between sections, and a relatively simple, catchy chorus with an earworm hook line, this song becomes a true ideal of indie pop – bringing something new and repeatedly interesting to the table on an excellent foundation of pleasing sonic quality. The relative mellowness of the production and tasteful sample choices give the song a timeless quality, as if it could have been a hit whether it was released in 2011, today or 1980. As a package, then, this song becomes a modern 21st Century classic, destined to stay in memory and to receive playtime for decades to come alongside the likes of ‘F—k you’, ‘Get Lucky’, ‘Kids’ and ‘Uptown Funk’.

We should, of course, not forget the final ingredient that made ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ a hit – the video. Much like the rest of the song, it is distinct and unique, and its art style matches the album cover art well. The concept of two people naked against a background, performing the song mostly stationary, whilst both the wall and the people are painted in a matching pattern was immediately attention-grabbing and memorable. I would like to say this is because the two artists being nude brings out some ‘raw’ or ‘undisguised’ nature of the song lyrics and meaning, but while this may be true, it is likely this video stuck with people for the same reason putting tits in a YouTube thumbnail guarantees more views – sex sells. After all, much of the very early success of the song in gaining traction and shares from the aforementioned high-profile individuals were shares of the video.

I should admit here that I’m something of a Gotye fan. Making Mirrors was the first album I ever bought in physical form (and, given the advent of Spotify, one of the last). Beyond ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’, I would highly recommend that you listen to some of Gotye’s other highlight tracks: ‘Heart’s a Mess’, ‘Eyes Wide Open’, ‘State of the Art’ and ‘Easy Way Out’ are all excellent listens, and indeed all come with their own memorable videos.

I find it a great shame, then, that Gotye (real name Wally de Backer) has released nothing since. He apparently has absolutely no interest in maintaining a celebrity status and producing music for a popular audience (making his enormous pop success all the more astounding and impressive), and has spent the years since Making Mirrors maintaining the legacy of an obscure instrument called the Ondioline and performing as part of his long-time band, The Basics. He has yet to properly announce any future solo Gotye projects.

So, if you turn on Radio 2 in 40 years to listen to an oldies’ program in an attempt to escape whatever monstrosities our children will have come up with to play on Radio 1, don’t be surprised to hear the familiar opening notes of Gotye’s only major hit. After all, one can already find plenty of evidence on YouTube, from parodies to ‘80s remixes, that the song has scarcely left the public consciousness at all. And that is something you definitely cannot say about most charting songs from 2012.

Image credit: Pat David via Flickr

Investigation: Prelims Favour Private School Students

Rachel Muir
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Investigation: Prelims Favour Private School Students

An investigation into the attainment of ex-state school students, which includes both state comprehensive and state grammar, and ex-independent school students at Oxford has shown that between the academic years 2014-15 and 2018-19, independent school students got a higher proportion of distinction grades in 14 of the 15 largest subjects at preliminary examinations.[1]

The only exception is physics, in which an average of 16.8% of ex-independent school students received distinction grades per year compared to 23.1% of ex-state school students.

In contrast, history and chemistry are the subjects with the biggest divide between state and independent school attainment, with an average of 37.4% of independent school students receiving a distinction in history prelims compared to 26.4% of state school students across the past 5 years, whilst the figures for chemistry are 38.8% and 28.6% respectively.

The history faculty did not comment on whether they are doing anything to address the fact that the proportion of state school students receiving distinctions at prelims has been consistently lower than the proportion of independent school students for every year of the past five years.

Despite the stark attainment gap at prelims, by finals ex-state school students got a higher proportion of firsts in 8 of the 15 subjects. While these were predominately STEM subjects, the eight also included geography and modern languages.

Whilst it is good news that the distribution of firsts between ex-state and ex-independent school students is equivalent at finals, the importance of prelims both psychologically and materially means that the disadvantage state school students face cannot be ignored.

This investigation calls into question the awarding of monetary prizes for performance in prelims. Whilst prizes are meant to solely reward students based on academic ability, it is clear that they are more likely to be awarded to those who come from more affluent backgrounds. These prizes are far from insignificant, with some colleges awarding over £300 per year. There are also colleges which give further financial benefits to their Scholars, such as St. Hugh’s, whose Scholars, alongside a £200 scholarship per year, also get several nights free vacation residence annually. Keble gives its Scholars “two free meals a week in Hall during term” alongside £200 off their battels per year.

Along with monetary prizes, a distinction in prelims enables you to wear a coveted Scholar’s Gown. The psychological implications of such a tradition has been called into question many times before, but the student body voted to retain it in an OUSU vote in 2017. However, in light of the above analysis, it seems strange that a student body who voted to retain subfusc in 2015 because of it being a mark of equality, would be happy to also keep Scholar’s Gowns which are demonstrated here to be a mark of inequality. A spokesperson from the Student Union said: “If students want to bring the issue to the student council this year, we’d be more than happy to have another vote on the issue.”

Sofia Henderson, the co-chair of Class Act, a Student Union campaign which supports and represents students from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds at Oxford, says: “The fact that students from state school backgrounds find it difficult to attain the same marks as their more privileged peers at the end of first year means that all the awarding of monetary prizes, room ballot privileges and scholar’s gowns does is entrench class divisions in Oxford further”.

The 93% Club, a recently established society which aims to make state-educated students feel more at home within Oxford, takes a different approach to scholars’ gowns, saying: “We are not looking to tear down our traditions, but instead build up from them. A future in which state educated students flaunt the Scholar’s gown in higher proportions is entirely possible, as long as we continue to make the effort to include them and help reveal the talent they have, in full.”

Prelim examination results do not just have short term impacts but can influence the course of a student’s post-university career, with many applying to jobs and graduate schemes before they have received their final degree result. Therefore, for many subjects the only official University examination which will be seen by the prospective employer when they apply will be their preliminary examination result. This makes it all the more important for the University to make a conscious effort to combat the inequality.

Sofia Henderson says: “Oxford must work harder to ensure that these students are not left behind, and that they are given the encouragement, resources and flexibility that they need to settle into the academic environment at Oxford and achieve the grades they deserve.”

The 93% Club suggests that a greater attempt by some tutors to acknowledge “the ‘cultural capital’ that a classical education provides” would be a “step in the right direction”.

They also express concern about the potential for coronavirus to worsen the divide between state and independently educated students for future cohorts of students arriving in Oxford. They say: “We would expect that those who have missed teaching are given sufficient pre-reading, resources, and study skills advice upon entering the University. Otherwise, we fear that the gap between the best and worst educated diverges further.”

Tucker Drew, the Access and Academic Affairs representative for the Oxford Student Union said: “We’re supporting the Centre for Teaching and Learning in their development of new study skill platforms for incoming students. I also plan to lobby this year for the implementation of a clearer set of academic expectations for new students. Students should not have to rely on their older peers to tell them what’s expected in Oxford work or how to write a tutorial essay, that information should come from the tutors and departments themselves.”

A spokesperson from the University of Oxford said: “The University is committed to ensuring all students can succeed at Oxford regardless of their backgrounds, and we have set out ambitious plans for reducing attainment gaps between different groups of students in our Access and Participation Plan.”

“Programs such as the recently launched Opportunity Oxford are specifically designed to ease the burden of transition to Oxford for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, from the very start of their time at university.”

“There is still some evidence of disparities by the end of their first year of study. However, attainment gaps reduce as students get closer to graduation, which indicates that the University’s approach to levelling out prior educational disparities is working over time.  We continue to focus on this area to ensure that all students can thrive throughout their time at Oxford.”

Having acknowledged the attainment gap at the end of the first year of studies, it would seem odd that the University is happy to maintain a system which rewards that gap via the scholar’s gown and monetary prizes. The University has a long way to go in addressing this issue, which has shown no sign of improving in the past five years.

“Examination Schools” by netNicholls is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

[1] For Classics this is based on an average of 4 years, between 2014-15 and 2017-18, since I did not have access to the results for the 2019 preliminary examinations.

Univ places second-year accommodation in lockdown

Cherwell News
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Univ places second-year accommodation in lockdown

University College have told all students at their accommodation site in North Oxford to stay within their households, from this afternoon. This includes almost 100 second-year undergraduates and some graduate students.

The college told students in an email that the lockdown has been caused by “a spike in positive Covid-19 tests among Univ students”. Students are waiting on “further advice” about how long the lockdown will last, and it is described as a “precautionary measure”.

This is the first known case of accommodation-wide isolation in Oxford, though many other colleges have households currently in isolation. Other colleges may also be dealing with significant clusters.

The measures are in light of concerns about Public Health England (PHE) involvement, who can step in to manage the outbreak with further restrictions when there is a cluster. Students will receive an update by midday Monday at the latest, after a PHE review.

Students will be supported with grocery deliveries, laundry, and welfare.

The University of Oxford reported 61 Covid-19 cases in Freshers’ week, making 91 total confirmed cases among staff and students from 20th August to 9th October.

A spokesperson from University College told Cherwell: “There has been a spike in the number of students at University College who have tested positive for COVID-19. The students involved live in college accommodation on one of the College’s sites. As of Saturday 17 October there have been 19 positive cases.

“The College is working with Oxford University’s Early Alert Service and the public health authorities to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to limit the spread of the virus. On an interim basis, the College has asked students who are resident on the site concerned to remain in their households, pending further advice.

“College staff and student representatives are in regular contact, and are making sure that students have food and other support. Online tuition and other academic support will also be available. ‘We are working with students to reduce risks both to them and to the wider community’, said a college officer. ‘Resident staff are on hand to offer support and advice as required.’”

This article was updated at 18:15 on 17th October to include University College’s comment.

Image credit: Megan/ Flickr.

“And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another”: Grosvenor Park’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’

Felicity Hudson
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“And now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another”: Grosvenor Park’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’

Chester’s Grosvenor Park is normally teeming with playgoers over the summer months, with performances of two Shakespeare plays and a classical children’s book booking up year after year. All changed in 2020, unsurprisingly – but director Alex Clifton managed to band together a cast of eight for two weeks of intensive zoom rehearsals, which culminated in a fast paced and surprisingly polished socially distanced performance of The Comedy of Errors. Stewards ushered audience members to their seats and ensured they were suitably distanced from fellow theatre goers with the help of a six foot pole, which certainly brought new meaning to the phrase “wouldn’t go near you with a barge pole”! Once seated, however, it was easy to forget about the distancing measures as masks were not required in the open air and the actors leapt around the stage so quickly that it was hardly noticeable that they never actually touched.

The plot, in brief, hinges around two sets of twins, Antipholus of Ephesus and Antipholus of Syracuse, and their servants, both called Dromio. They grew up in different countries after being separated in a shipwreck whilst young and the play begins with Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant arriving in Ephesus on a mission to find their respective siblings. A day of confusion and mistaken identity ensues with the servants and masters confusing each other, a wife locking her husband out under the impression he is someone else, and a debt collector sending the wrong Antipholus to jail. Naturally, all is resolved in the final scene when the siblings appear onstage together.

As with almost every Shakespeare comedy, the exaggerated slapstick could be a little repetitive; directors are often fearful that their audience might not understand the Shakespearian language, so resort to non-stop physical comedy to try to guarantee an easy laugh. However, the direction had to be a little more imaginative with a socially distanced cast, and so even the standard visual gags had something more to them in this performance. The Comedy of Errors is full of fight scenes as both Dromios repeatedly become the victims of their masters, the politics of which can be uncomfortable for the audience. This was alleviated by wild kicks and punches at a two metre distance, accompanied by well-timed bashing of pots and pans for the sound effects, which meant that the fight scenes became not only more entertaining but felt far less uneasily violent. A combination of more imaginative slapstick and the stripped-back script saved the production from becoming overly reliant on repetitive physical comedy, and made Shakespeare’s shortest comedy an even faster and more exciting piece.

The casting of two sets of identical twins for the main characters (Danielle and Nicole Bird playing the two Antipholuses and Lowri and Mari Izzard the Dromios), worked on both a visual and an emotional level. Distinguishable only by their accents, I spent the first ten minutes wondering if it was just the same actor running on and off stage every scene and trying to spot differences in their costumes to prove it one way or the other. However, by the final scene this casting offered something more than breezy entertainment and occasional confusion. Although at its core the production was a slapstick comedy – complete with country covers of pop songs and audience interaction – the final scene of the play was a reminder of the times we live in. The two sets of twins were reunited and, as members of the same family and household, were able to hug each other. Shakespeare often places a great deal of importance on familial bonds in his comedies, which seems particularly appropriate these days. The final line of the play is spoken by Dromio of Ephesus to his brother: “and now let’s go hand in hand, not one before another.” The cast then left the stage with the siblings holding hands, a moment of familial affection which felt much more poignant than the socially distanced punch ups and Scooby Doo style chase scenes which had gone before. No one really knows when theatre, or in fact life, will return to normal, but until then scenes like these will hold even more significance for audiences eager to see their own families again.

Review: Lil Peep’s ‘Hellboy’

Ernest Lee
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Review: Lil Peep’s ‘Hellboy’

TW: mental health and suicide

In 2016, Lil Peep’s Hellboy mixtape dropped on Soundcloud. In 2017, Lil Peep died of a drug overdose. The release of his fifth and final mixtape on major streaming platforms, exactly four years after it first came out, offers an opportunity to rethink the ascent and tragedy of one of underground emo rap’s gems.

On this mixtape, Lil Peep (real name Gustav Åhr) creatively combines electronic and hip-hop production, moody alternative rock, and distinctive reverb-heavy vocals. The atmosphere is depressive rather than abrasive. Although Hellboy, like earlier mixtapes, is sample heavy, his vocals are no longer layered over other people’s riffs. They emerge clearly from a sea of emotions, allowing us to discern his alternation between anguish, frustration, apathy. At times, a brief clarity emerges, searing, scary, and surprising as he seeks out hope in darkness.

The hazy instrumental of ‘We Think Too Much’is the album’s most serene point: “I just wanna lay my head on your chest, so I’m close as it gets to your heart/We can fall apart, start over again”, he promises. “I know all about the pain that you go through”, he sings, as the Aphex Twin sample fades into the next track. It is as if he’s speaking directly to the listener, and in this moment one can imagine Lil Peep’s tortured universe enmeshing with their own. It is the final track that he recorded for the album.

As the face of a newer brand of emo, his music has always attracted complaints. Reduced to bare lyrics, some songs seem repetitive, juvenile, even shallow. “I used to wanna kill myself/Came up, still wanna kill myself/My life is goin’ nowhere/I want everyone to know that I don’t care” – and then repeat, for the chorus of OMFG. “Tears in my diary stuff”, scorns music reviewer Anthony Fantano: the “worst and most extreme” of edgy Soundcloud rap. Further controversy surrounds Peep’s subject matter: the extensive drug use, the apparent beautification of suicide, and the generally self-destructive way that he navigates sex and emotions. If the lyrics, delivered through off-pitch vocals and melodramatic production, seem turgid, self-absorbed, even dangerous, then they naturally seem to amount to an aesthetic nothing.

Yet, this disregards how appeal of emo music partly lays in the realm of the affective. Any album attempting to thematically explore a gamut of feelings, a variety of confused, chaotic experiences quickly runs into difficulties. Some part of his psyche remains deliberately impenetrable: on the titular track, he raps, “You don’t even know what I been through”. ‘Fucked Up’ mixes raw sexual desire with the regret of taking drugs, while ‘The Song They Played (When I Crashed Into the Wall)’ is a bittersweet, whirlwind look at a past life. These songs all make extensive use of samples, the bassline of an Underoath song or a Blink-182 acoustic are recognizable, yet are assimilated into Lil Peep’s own sonic world. It is less of an aural disharmony that permeates Hellboy, than a tumultuous personal navigation of ennui and earnestness, fulfillment and fading away.

Some brief digital archaeology might illuminate Fantano’s puzzlement at how “for whatever reason there seems to be this really big following for dark edgy rappers”, exemplified by Lil Peep. Attraction to and connection with any artist are personal and intimate: Cherwell’s own Joe Bavs, writing in the wake of a 2017 concert, would posit that he was “our greatest living icon” – both gig and crowd spirited if amateurish. The comments on YouTube or Soundcloud sincerely professing a kinship with Lil Peep’s own dark moments, giving a quick thanks or small tribute (“in tears over this, man I miss peep”), are countless. Walking about in a town of 8,000 in Slovenia last summer, a piece of graffiti caught my eye:

Image: Ernest Lee

In death, a great number of Lil Peep lyrics seem prescient. Not eerily so, for part of his charm lay in the tragedy and self-knowing passion of choruses proclaiming: “And as long as I’m alive, Imma die, baby” or “These drugs are callin’ me, do one more line, don’t fall asleep”. Lil Peep did as much to prop up the mythos of the rockstar prematurely departed, as he was consumed by it: “Call me Cobain, she can see the pain/Look me in the eyes, tell me we are not the same”. Debates about the quality of his music – whether he could rap, or did justice to the musicians he sampled – have become muted.

In other ways, he seems to live on. Lyric pages are dotted with annotations that unfold into anecdotes from living friends. His mother, who has managed his songs and estate, makes her love for him and appreciation for his music evident in various interviews and speeches. Some songs, their samples now cleared, have been re-released, and in their accompanying videos, another side of him always emerges. Last year, the documentary Everybody’s Everything was released. The volume of unreleased songs and footage, of course, dwindles.

If any album is deserving of being called Lil Peep’s magnum opus, Hellboy might be it. Whatever nascent genre it could be fitted into – ‘emo trap’ a good contender, or ‘alternative rap-rock’ – would flourish only in the wake of his death. Even here, there are signs of his dynamism. “I’m not coming back/Move on/Be strong”, goes the chorus that closes the album. The final song features growled ad-libs and hints of metalcore, a tantalizing hint at the shifting directions future albums might have taken. We will never know.

Society Eats: German Society

Helena Koch
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Society Eats: German Society

Have you ever wondered where all your German friends disappear to each Friday of 1st week at around 5pm? Why all their stuff is left in the library, as if they have left in a hurried flight? Why they don’t join you for dinner in hall that day? Here’s the secret: your friends are disappearing in order to have cake. On that special afternoon of term, many Germans in Oxford drop everything they are doing and rush towards the German Society where they’re going to have their unofficial fourth meal of the day, “Kaffee und Kuchen” (eng. ‘coffee and cake’). Perhaps the most essential part of German culinary culture.

When most people think about the German diet, our love for cake definitely won’t be the only stereotype that comes to their minds. “Why are you not having a Bratwurst?”, a friend of mine jokingly asked me at the Oxford Christmas market last year, pointing towards the German food truck, which was promoting its freshly fried Bratwürste. It took me a second to realise why I should be having one: as a German, I am expected to be an enthusiastic meat-eater. As much as I’d love to say that this cliché is entirely wrong – it’s not. German cuisine might not only consist of sausages, bread and the occasional potato, yet I can’t deny that all of these are considered essential parts of most traditional dishes.

“So this must be what British people call bread” – was my thought when I went to the bakery of a Tesco store for the very first time. I was, quite frankly, devastated. It was around lunchtime sometime during my first week at Oxford and I had been dreaming about a deliciously smelling, freshly baked loaf for days. However, where I was hoping to find an abundance of different breads from which to choose, I was instead faced with piles of impressively dry sponge that seemed to consist more of holes than bread. When I left the supermarket, I genuinely wondered whether I was going to make it through the next couple of months without ‘proper bread’. (Spoiler: I made it, and actually got some nice bread at the university’s German Society, but more about that later.) It’s not for nothing that the famous line “Food, glorious food” from Oliver Twist literally translates to “Bread, glorious bread” in the German version. Our country’s love for loaves is phenomenal. In Germany bread is not just a food, it’s an art.

The German translation of the Oliver Twist song, by the way, doesn’t continue with “we’re anxious to try it” but with “ham, cheese and butter”, yet another strong indicator of what our nation likes to consume. On both breakfast and dinner, a variety of bread delicacies is enjoyed with an even bigger selection of spreads and toppings, ranging from cheese and ham to jam and honey. Dinner is most often called Abendbrot (eng. evening bread), a name which easily speaks for itself. If you’d ever like to try it, the German Society usually organises a very authentic one, which is also what saved me from my severe, self-diagnosed bread-deficiency in Michaelmas (I promise there will be other spreads than liver!).

Enough about bread now, let’s remember the food truck at the Christmas market with its sausage-heavy menu, giving vegetarians far from an easy time. Even though the stereotype of a meat-loving Germany is slightly exaggerated since, in fact, we consume far less meat per person than some other nations (ask Google), lots of traditional dishes do rely on meat as an essential component. With this in mind, it might be less of a surprise that you can find over 1,500 different kinds of sausages in German supermarkets! Perhaps the most famous is the already mentioned Bratwürst, which is basically just a general term for any barbecued sausage. Sausages are far from the only once-living-now-dead items to be found on the menu of traditional restaurants. The most widely known meaty dish is the Schnitzel. Originally from Vienna, it is a breaded and particularly flat piece of veal. Equally famous is the Schweinshaxe, a giant roasted ham hock, and definitely not the option you should go for when you fancy a lighter meal.

You’re probably waiting for me to mention potatoes, sauerkraut and cabbage, and voilà, here they come. Most traditional German dishes (at least the meaty ones) are usually accompanied by some variation of these. I will admit that there is not particularly much that you can make of sauerkraut apart from, well, sauerkraut, but you would be surprised in how many different disguises you can discover potatoes on a restaurant’s menu. Kartoffelknödel (eng. potato dumplings), Kartoffelpuffer (eng. potato fritters), Kartoffelsalat (potato salad), and much more. Only one vegetable seems to be able to compete with our beloved potato, and that’s asparagus. Ironically, despite its short season, it’s somewhat of a star among vegetables. In the months from April to June some restaurants even devote an entire menu to it!

Last, but, for many people, certainly not least, we must not forget about German beer. I’m sure you’ve already seen Erdinger Weissbier or Beck’s at Sainsbury’s, perhaps even tasted it. The occasion where most beer is served every year, is the world-famous Bavarian Oktoberfest, attracting about 6 million visitors. Taking place at the end of September (despite its name), it lasts two entire weeks, and results in a beer consumption of several million litres. The atmosphere is not just that of an ordinary festival, instead it’s almost carnival-like. If you’d like to (literally) get a taste of it, the German Society usually organises one, which is certainly worth a try!

Talking about special occasions, something else you definitely shouldn’t miss are our Christmas markets. I know there are British equivalents, like the one in Oxford, but trust me when I say that they can’t be compared with the German original. Featuring charming wooden huts, beautiful fairy-lights and decorated trees, they’re already lovely to look at. But then there’s also the smell of delicious, Christmassy food. Schmalzgebäck (eng. deep fried dough) and Stollen (a very special fruit bread!) are just some of the delicacies you can purchase when you visit – which you definitely should. And don’t you dare forget the Bratwürst, of course.

Perhaps you think this was it, but let me tell you, the most important part is still to come. I’m talking about the unofficial fourth meal of the day, the legendary ‘Kaffee und Kuchen’ (eng. coffee and cake). These are the hours when cafés in Germany are overflowing with customers, bakeries bursting. Who doesn’t crave something sweet in the afternoon? Germans definitely do, and for most of us, there is nothing that can beat a delicious slice of cake. Schwarzwälder Kirsch (eng. Black Forest) might be the most famous one.

See, now you know where, and especially why, your German friends usually disappear each Friday of first week, and, honestly, can you blame them? In fact, maybe you should even join them next time in order to get initiated into the mysteries of German food traditions. Oh cake, glorious cake!

Image Credit: Oxford University German Society

Time spent in Oxford

Georgia Brown
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Time spent in Oxford

If you had asked me what I missed most,

I might have said the stone cobbles or

the way the buildings still stand after years and years.

I might have said how at night sometimes

there is a moment, a single golden moment,

where the city itself looks to be on fire, rich in embers.

Or I might have said dawn, the early morning winter glow.

The feeling that something is happening, people are moving,

they have somewhere to be that only they know.

I think perhaps now I would say it is you,

not you alone, but you amongst the many.

The paths and avenues that you pursue.

Those who have never spoken, whose names I may have forgot.

Watching their lives and feelings dance across their faces.

The possibility of knowing them, or not.

The possibility that you will know enough to love them, or not.

And somehow feeling half in, but still half out.

The fear that you will become stuck whilst life unravels before you,

a mere spectator to time.

The photographs on the walls show people years ago in the same spot.

Did they feel the same, love the same, breathe the same.

It seems impossible that they did, even more so that they did not.

For they too ran to escape the rain, droplets falling off their cheeks.

They lost old books, laughed, cried and blushed

crimson as the wine they drank, softly gazed, hesitant to speak.

This inheritance seems to embrace the city and sing slowly as to a friend.

Not a spectre but simply a circle,

Telling us that we will be who we will be, our moment is not the end.

If you had asked me what I missed most

I might have said the stone cobbles or

the way the buildings will stand after years and years.

Ode to the Sunflowers my Dad bought for me

Matilda Houston-Brown
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Ode to the Sunflowers my Dad bought for me

You –

yellow in 5 Acts,

yellow in division to make up a whole

– belong to the morning, shuffling in early hours

busy with errands of growth so, half asleep, I hear

the rustle of you working, know the outburst of your

shape, comfort in company of distance, company

that doesn’t speak.

Oh, you

– yellow as it exists in movies,

or in sunsets –

are the result of years-ago hours spent battling numbers

at a kitchen table, DIY projects: a gardened golden

summation sitting in my mum’s vase, on my bedroom

desk that was chosen, cleaned for me.

Oh –

yellow in last scene

yellow in prologue

– what was it like in the field where you were born?

How did it feel to raise your dark centre, round of

a moon, up to the sky? Did you rise from the earth –

in the mass of your comrades– knowing that you

would be mine?

 Here

– yellow of egg yolk

yellow of cut roots –

I get to look at you, see you alive.

Artwork by Rachel Jung.

A Eulogy for America’s Postal Service

Natalie Vriend
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A Eulogy for America’s Postal Service

When I imagine all the possible ways 2020 could get worse, a catastrophic election in one of the greatest Western powers, manipulated by a ‘fascist quasi-dictator’, forcing millions to risk their lives in the name of democracy, alongside the death knell of one of its strongest and most trusted institutions, ranks pretty high on the list. And yet, that is almost exactly what we may face this coming November. Trump’s recent attacks on the US Postal Service (the USPS), while not yet making him a fascist, threaten to undermine one of the most essential agencies America has, eroding the very roots of democracy. With two epidemics to tackle, COVID-19 and an increasingly dwindling public faith in democratic practices only magnified by a leader constantly evading them, America’s presidential election this year will undoubtedly be like no other.

The USPS has long been fighting for its life financially, the first bullets fired by Republicans decades ago. The most crippling blow, however, came in 2006, when the Bush administration passed a mandate ordering the USPS to pre-fund workers’ pensions 75 years in advance, a requirement no other federal agency has ever been burdened with. Every year since then has seen it drop further and further into debt, now with a staggering bill of $14 billion waiting for it. Despite being entirely at congress’ beck and call and despite providing a constitutionally binding service, it has received no federal funds since 1982 – its only financial lifeline is direct revenue from mail deliveries. Thanks in part to the coronavirus, these have already fallen by nearly one-third compared with last year and as a result, it expects to add $22 billion more to its continuing operating losses by the end of 2021. Although the USPS continues to take in a profit notwithstanding its debt payments, a first-class stamp costs a mere 55 cents. It seems as if the USPS can but watch as its own casket is prepared to be gracelessly lowered into the ground.

Trump certainly appears eager to attend its wake in any case, having only amplified the chronic nature of their collapse. Calling the Post Office “a joke”, “horrible”, and “corrupt”, he has degraded the USPS at every possible chance. This undermines public confidence in the integrity of postal voting, already at a dangerously low level. He has threatened to veto a coronavirus relief package explicitly because it included emergency funding for the agency. Without the necessary funding, the USPS will be unable to cover their operating costs and expect to run out of money this fiscal year. He has appointed Louis DeJoy as Postmaster General, a major Republican donor with significant investments in USPS competitors, who has, in turn, implemented near-fatal cuts to the service, including banning overtime and removing collection boxes. The USPS itself has admitted that these restrictions have been the primary cause of a massive surge in delays and undelivered mail this year. He has promised to appeal to the Supreme Court if he believes the election results have been invalidated by postal voting. He has, essentially, embarked on a brutal and ruthless crusade against the organisation. At a time when the economy’s strength is being tested the most in living memory and essential services must be prioritised, the omission of arguably the most essential of services from Trump’s attention is glaring. If the death of the USPS had seemed certain but distant before, the sound of the hearse starting up is now almost unmistakable.

In the case that Trump’s intentions weren’t already clear enough, he has kindly spelled them out for us: “They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. If they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting…. Sort of a crazy thing.” This is a public and unadulterated attempt to sway the presidential election through suppressing postal voting. With no supporting evidence whatsoever, Trump has accused mail-in ballots of electoral fraud, both to purposely deter voters from using the method and to cast doubt over the legitimacy of any results not in his favour. In the first presidential debate, he repeatedly emphasised this point, saying it would lead to “fraud like you’ve never seen.” (This conveniently ignores the fact that he himself votes by mail.) Indeed, such conspiracy theories are so far from the truth that studies have shown it is more likely for an American to be struck by lightning than to commit mail voting fraud. Yet if nothing is done to silence this tirade of abuse, these claims may well send millions of voters to the crowded ballot box, driving them to ignore social distancing if they want to fulfil their constitutionally given right to vote. The method by which an American citizen fills their ballot is ultimately their decision, but they should not be forced to pick between risking losing their rights or losing their lives.

In any given presidential election, the USPS is essential: one in six Americans live in states with no online voter registration and roughly a quarter will send mail-in ballots. With the coronavirus making in-person voting considerably less attractive, that number could double in 2020. In the absence of a functional post office, this risks disenfranchisement on an unprecedented scale. The primaries earlier this year were a useful test run. They were also a mess. At least 65,000 ballots were rejected because they arrived too late to be counted. If Trump succeeds in killing off the USPS, or at least in significantly delaying its services, the presidential election can hardly be considered democratic.

We are not alone in recognising the acute political danger Trump’s actions pose. In the past month, two federal judges have issued historic and unprecedented decisions attempting to prevent, and undo, any harm already done to both the service and the election. DeJoy has been barred from making further alterations to USPS policies, must reverse all recent changes, and must immediately prioritise every postal ballot. The rulings reveal a common pattern of thinking: this attack on America’s postal service is an attack on democracy and must be stopped at all costs. While a step in the right direction, the USPS’ life remains threatened by Trump’s callous comments and refusal to provide essential funding. This is but a brief moment of relief, one final gasp for air, before the organisation’s floundering resumes.

Irrespective of November’s potential horror story, the USPS is a vital service provided to Americans and deserves to be saved. Nearly 250 years old, it has a rich and surprisingly interesting history. It is so dedicated to connecting the entire nation, delivering 48% of the world’s mail, that it even uses mules to reach those living at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The isolated, the elderly, the sick – all rely on the postal service to check up on them and keep them in contact with the rest of the world. The Post Office’s star quality derives not from any breath-taking ability to rake in profits, as Republican critics overly focused on profitability have imagined, but from its magical powers of uniting a nation otherwise so riddled with divisions. Sending not only letters and postcards from corner to corner of America, but ideas and ambitions, hopes and dreams, it is a rare example of an institution continuing to uphold what is good and right. No nation is too diverse, no house too remote, no ballot box too full – the postal service will deliver to anyone and everyone if it can just survive. The USPS must be saved. The presidential election must be conducted fairly and democratically. The two come hand in hand, and, as the funeral procession edges closer to the ballot box, I wonder if the American public will realise in time who is driving the hearse and how to vote them out.

Cherwell Recommends: Historical Fiction

Cherwell Books
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Cherwell Recommends: Historical Fiction

History is often treated as a work of art, or artifice. Churchill boasted that “history will be kind to me for I intend to write it”, while Napoleon called history “a set of lies agreed upon”. Historians speak of weaving pieces of evidence together like threads of silk. And, I, a history student, can attest that coming up with an essay thesis at 3am requires a hefty dose of imagination.

The reigning queen of historical fiction, Hilary Mantel, discussed the “cultural cringe” associated with the genre when she started out in the 1970s. It was seen as a fluffy genre, elevating sex and scandal above ‘historical truth’. But as Mantel reminds us (alongside Napoleon and Churchill), records of the past always represent a crafted narrative. The difference between history and historical fiction is that readers of the latter are “actively requesting a subjective interpretation”, compelling the writer to “recreate the texture of lived experience”.

This week’s recommendations each represent a unique “texture of lived experience” to perfection, proving that historical fiction is a genre full of excitement and experimentation, and one that also demands to be taken seriously.

Entry-level: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Amelia, deputy editor

If historical fiction “isn’t your thing”, read this book. It’s about as far from stuffy period romances or war novels that you could possibly get, yet its filmic quality offers an enchanting look into 1950s Hollywood, with all its glamour and grotesqueness. 

Ageing film star, Evelyn Hugo, who has long been shrouded in mystery, decides to tell her life story through unknown journalist, Monique Grant. We follow Hugo, born Evelyn Herrera to Cuban immigrants, as she fights her way from poverty and obscurity into the limelight. Her methods are often ruthless, but her flaws make for compelling and unforgettable narration. Evelyn has to fight against the pressures and discrimination faced by women caught up in 1950s celebrity culture, as well as trauma experienced in her personal life. 


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo reads, in many ways, like a delicious gossip column, but it never strays into the superficial. Despite the historical setting, it is superbly modern. Queer representation is a central feature of this novel, and with two biracial female protagonists, it feels like a story that needs to be heard.

A taste of Dickens: Fingersmith – Sarah Waters

Cora, books editor

Fingersmith is a novel set in the Victorian era that is also reminiscent of a novel from the Victorian era. Hailed as a modern-day Dickens, Waters achieves that unique combination of page-turner and painstaking detail that is the hallmark of the greatest Dickensian works (don’t worry, though, the sentences are definitely shorter!).  

The novel tells the story of orphaned Sue Trinder, who has been primed for a life of crime in “a Fagin-like den of thieves”. Sue is enlisted in a plot by the villainous ‘Gentleman’ to seduce a rich heiress, robbing the girl of her fortune before chucking her into a ‘madhouse’. Commence a thrilling crime story, equipped with stunning plot twists and a fraught love story between two young women.

Waters is straightforward about the aspect of the Dickensian landscape she seeks to explore. This is a book about female sexuality, and the attempts of men to manipulate and abuse it – a book thatopens with a reference to Dickens’ Oliver Twist,but zeroes in on the murder of the sex worker, Nancy, rather than the story’s male protagonist. If you’re looking for a read with all the richness of Dickens, told through the lens of women’s struggles and desires, then Fingersmith is for you! And check out its (not safe for work) South Korean film adaptation, The Handmaiden, while you’re at it.

Booker Prize winner: The Narrow Road to the Deep North – Richard Flanagan

Eve, books editor

This novel portrays the barbarity of a Japanese prisoner of war camp on the Burma railway. Military surgeon, Dorrigo Evans, the leader of a starved and depleted group of Australian prisoners, contemplates his affair with his uncle’s young wife as he struggles to ensure the survival of his men.

In an achievement befitting of Hemingway, Flanagan weaves together the complex, interconnected nature of love and war: both “annihilation, destroyer of worlds”. But the narrative is not confined to this devastating chapter of history. What Flanagan, himself the son of a prisoner of war, depicts so powerfully is the far-reaching impact of horror. Dorrigo, hailed as a war hero in the national imagination, cannot comprehend the world he occupies as he tries and fails to “rouse his spirit” in “consecutive and concurrent adulteries”. Japanese camp commander, Nakamura, cannot reconcile the kindness of his wife caring for him in his final days with the violence he has inflicted. The Narrow Road to the Deep North is a study of what it is to be human, both good and bad, and acts as a powerful tribute to the victims of the railway: “There is no book for their lost souls. Let them have this fragment.”

Recent history: Half of a Yellow Sun – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Devanshika, deputy books editor

Set against the backdrop of the Biafran War in Nigeria, Adichie’s novel avoids the most common trap of historical fiction – centring on the wider issues of the historical period at the expense plot and character development. Instead, she writes a story that is at once defined by and distinct from its setting. Narrators shift continuously, beginning with a young servant boy, Ugwu, and then cycling through intertwining stories of the professor he works for, the professor’s mistress and her sister.

The simple yet evocative writing – including insertions of Igbo idioms and phrases – help to situate the reader in the book’s vivid cultural background. Praise for the novel often references its inclusion of characters and anecdotes from across very different spectrums, from the corridors of wealthy urban bureaucracy to bombed villages. Undercurrents like the gap between Western modernity and indigenous ties, family loyalty and national identity, are visible throughout, but never overshadow the social drama at the foreground. Essentially, come for the history, stay for the gripping character arcs.

YA favourite: The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi 

Devanshika, deputy books editor

Historical fiction with a fantasy twist, the first book in Chokshi’s latest trilogy also addresses the complex social issues of its temporal setting whilst managing to deliver a compelling plot. The central heist, set during the 1889 World Exhibition in Paris, is undertaken by a diverse group of young Parisians – the protagonist is of mixed race, two main characters are Indian and Filipino immigrants, another is on the autism spectrum. This allows for a nuanced portrayal of the time that doesn’t gloss over prevalent problems like racism, imperialism and sexism.

Colonialism is especially well-integrated into the fantasy world’s magic system, which uses stolen magical artefacts to reflect the European appropriation of objects, beliefs and practices from around the world. Don’t worry that it’s too serious, though, because there’s no shortage of high-adrenaline escapades, romantic subplots and surprise twists.

The book as a whole treads the line between a number of different literary genres, including fantasy, history and contemporary YA. This mix of elements means that the Gilded Wolves is enjoyable even for readers who may find historical fiction too confined to actual events and facts to be exciting. FYI: the sequel, Silvered Serpents, came out on September 22nd!

Artwork by Sasha LaCombe.

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