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Articles by Rowan Christina Driver
live review - The Courier Online
The Manchester band's nostalgic indie tracks proved a hit with the student crowd in City Hall, as did an unlikely 6-foot tall stage prop....
Taylor Swift - The Courier Online
Sign up to our mailing list so you never miss any future updates 22nd September 2024 21st September 2024 7th November 2023
The Heavy Heavy are One of a Kind
Earlier this month saw Brighton band The Heavy Heavy release their debut album, One of a Kind. A full-length follow-up to their 2023 EP, Life and Life Only, their new material departs from their previous folk-rock sound, and explores new avenues centred around the band’s British roots, drawing on the iconic retro styles from the likes of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
Rowan Christina Driver
Sign up to our mailing list so you never miss any future updates 9th March 2023 20th February 2023 10th November 2022
Taylor Swift announces release date for Speak Now (Taylor's Version)
Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) will be released 7 July, it has been revealed. 33-year-old star Taylor Swift made the highly anticipated announcement during the first night of her homecoming Eras Tour stop in Nashville, Tennessee. The new record will feature all of the original track list, including “Sparks Fly”, “Enchanted” and “Long Live”, plus 6 previously unreleased songs “From The Vault”.
Jakub Jankto becomes first international footballer to come out as gay
Football star Jakub Jankto has come out as gay, making him the first active international player to do so. The Czech Republic midfielder made the announcement in a video uploaded to social media site Twitter on 13 February. He said: “I am homosexual, and I no longer want to hide myself.” He also expressed his wish to live “without fear, without prejudice, without violence but with love.” The 27-year-old is currently on loan to Sparta Prague from Spanish side Getafe.
BAFTAs 2023 Roundup
Sign up to our mailing list so you never miss any future updates The awards event saw all quiet on the western front dominate the accolades Image Credit: Twitter-@BAFTA Sunday night was all about celebrating film, as the 2023 BAFTAs got underway. Richard E. Grant hosted the star-studded event in an unlikely duo with Alison Hammond, who spent most of the ceremony chatting away backstage to a host of names in a format not unlike a glammed-up talk show.
A decade in fashion: styles from the seventies
Image: Instagram @70s_fashion_inspo When we imagine a specific era, the first thing we always picture is the clothing we associate with the time. Fashion can encapsulate an entire aesthetic more so than anything else. And this could not be truer than for the decades of the 20th century – everything from the floating swing dresses of the 1950s to the neon-saturated looks of the ‘80s is seemingly iconic. This is certainly the case for the 1970s.
Marketing the marginalised
Image credit: Pixabay Queerbaiting is a technique often used in media and marketing, a common practice of heavily implying non-heterosexual relationships without ever actually depicting them in the form of a bait-and-switch tactic. The term itself is accusatory, but is queerbaiting necessarily always harmful? The short answer is yes. Representation of non-heterosexual relationships remains few and far between in mainstream media.
Transport troubles: the problems with travel costs for students
Increasing transport costs are just another financial burden placed on students For the past couple of years, I have been trekking in and around Newcastle by Metro with a 19-21 Pop Card, which offers a welcome discount on fares. Having just turned 22, however, my Pop Card is now (unsurprisingly) invalid. What was costing me around £3 a day is now £5.70 – a sharp increase to say the least. Now, I must admit until this point, I was oblivious to the student season ticket option for use on the Metro.
'Daisy Jones & The Six' preview: from paper to the screen
Image credit: IMDB The first look at the upcoming ten-part adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestseller Daisy Jones & The Six dropped last month, ahead of the miniseries’ Prime Video premiere on the 3rd March. Starring Riley Keough in the titular role, alongside Sam Claflin as Pittsburgh rocker Billy Dunne, the series will follow “how an iconic band imploded at the height of its powers” amidst the tumult of the 70's rock music scene.
Battle of the Breakfasts: Pancakes vs. Waffles vs. French Toast
Image: Pixabay Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? That’s generally what we are taught, so when faced with so many breakfast options, understandably we want to make the best choice. And so, with Pancake Day just around the corner, I bring to you an ultimate first world culinary debate: pancakes vs waffles vs French toast. First up: the humble pancake.
Queer Sex in Literature: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (2002)
Image Credit: Pixabay Well-written sex in literature isn’t always easy to come by. Finding well-written queer sex is, unsurprisingly, harder still. Sarah Waters’ 2002 historical crime novel Fingersmith, however, is perhaps one of few instances which comes close.
Ticketmaster faces legal repercussions after Taylor Swift fiasco
Taking on Taylor Swift rarely ends (all too) well, and Ticketmaster have become the latest to suffer the 32-year-old singer’s wrath. The ticketing and events giant received a tsunami of backlash following its botched handling of sales for the US leg of coveted star Swift’s upcoming ‘Eras Tour’ last week. The tour, which comes following the release of her 10th studio album Midnights last month, will be Swift’s first since 2018.
Album Review: Martha, Please Don't Take Me Back
Durham indie anarchists Martha are back after a long three years with their best album to date. Image: Spotify Three years on from the release of Love Keeps Kicking, Pity-Me indie punks Martha are back with their fourth album, Please Don’t Take Me Back, a much-needed party after the “darkest timeline” of late. ‘Beat, Perpetual’ opens the record with the roar of pumping guitars riffs, a signature hallmark of a Martha track which rears its glorious head multiple times over the 35-minute set.
Live Review: Melanie Baker at The Lubber Fiend
Image: Facebook @melaniebakermusic Indie/folk artist Melanie Baker’s first UK headline tour played its penultimate show at Newcastle upon Tyne’s new 140-capacity DIY music and events space The Lubber Fiend late last month - after the 24-year-old singer-songwriter had driven herself, her gear, and her girlfriend up and down the motorway to play several venues nationwide.
Just Stop Oil activists target "Girl with a Pearl Earring"
Johannes Vermeer’s 1665 masterpiece “Girl with a Pearl Earring” has become the most recent focus of climate activism, after Belgian supporters of Just Stop Oil targeted the oil-on-canvas tronie at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague on October 27th. In videos posted to social media, one activist can be seen gluing their head to the painting while a second glues his hand to the wall before pouring tomato soup over the first.
“Life’s So Fun!”: A Commentary On Queer Music
From punks to mods, hippies to northern soul, subcultural emergence influenced by music has become a defining concept in modern history. The past decade has arguably seen the development of an ever-present subculture, an emergence of a genre in its own right from the shadows of oppression to the forefront of popular musical consumption. The genre, of course, is queer music. Traditional industry logic has long dictated a stigmatising discourse for sexuality in music.
Album Review: Dance Fever, Florence + The Machine
When Florence Welch encountered the medieval concept of ‘choreomania’, she felt an instant resonance with the desire to release all tension and dance. Using this, Welch indulged in inspiration for her new project. The product, Dance Fever, is one as unique as Welch’s formidable vocal, steeped in iconic theatricality and laced with antitheses: the ecstatic and the sombre, the angelic and the satanic, the mundane and the extraordinary.
Heartstopper's Chart Toppers: Netflix hit shines spotlight on lesser-known artists
Netflix’s newest hit Heartstopper was released last month, to rave reviews from both audiences and critics. “Wholesome to the point of retro,” claimed the Guardian, “like a hug in TV form.” Based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name, and adapted by Oseman herself, Heartstopper follows openly gay high-schooler Charlie (Joe Locke) and his relationship with classmate Nick (Kit Connor), the popular rugby player on whom Charlie develops a crush.
Album Review: Adele- 30
@adele on Twitter An artist’s past is not an artist’s present. Adele’s first release in six years, 30, is different from its predecessors, yet delivers timelessness in the singer’s authenticity. It is more than just an album; it is a journey. Admittedly, on first listen, I wasn’t sure how to feel about this album. It was unexpected to say the least.
On the stage, on the sofa: 5 musicals to stream
Image credit: Trusted Reviews, IMDb The term “proshot” generally refers to the recording of a theatrical production, usually in a professional capacity for commercial release in cinema, online streaming or archival purposes. Anything Goes has now joined the ranks of the musicals being released in this format as a cinematic event, along with recent productions including Kinky Boots (2020) and Les Misérables: The Stage Concert (2019).
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