Features
Kings of Leon: Only by the night
Written by A Review
Monday, 06 October 2008
I feared the worst with this release,
but even I am not impervious to hype and marketing, otherwise I
wouldn't have bothered. Besides, an excuse to shout, "Your sex is
on fire" was not going to be missed. The Kings' new sound seemed to
defeat their purpose. Without lyrics alternately (sometimes
simultaneously) shouted, and mumbled, they seemed like just another
rock band, -the Doobie Brothers, with post-millennial angst; or
post-punk's answer to Pearl Jam. Yes, the shout/growl/mumble thing
was a gimmick, but it also defined them as a band (what if Iggy
didn't growl, or Freddie lost his falsetto), and it seemed
appropriate with the fuzzy aesthetic of their first two albums. But
shabby charm can't last, without feeling forced, and last year's
"Because of the times" clung to that old aesthetic, but with
slicker, cleaner production, and was worse off for it. That album
came out grating, and confused. Damned if they did, damned if they
didn't I guess.
Read more...
The glitz and glamour of student media awards
Written by Talia reflects on debate's trip to H-Town
Monday, 06 October 2008
The
debate team recently headed down to the thriving, almost raging,
metropolis that is clap-town Hamiltron. For it was in this mighty
city that student editors, sub-editors, designers and all-round
bitches gathered to celebrate the lucrative industry in which we work
in. The ASPA (Aotearoa Student Press Association) Awards are a
celebration for all those that put their hand up to produce weekly,
bi-weekly and monthly publications for you, the dear consumer, to
absorb, hate, love, use as loo paper and generally form an opinion
somewhere along the line. With the enticing proposition of a free
buffet and booze at the awards ceremony, five of us hopped in the van
and our adventure began.
Read more...
Summer 08/09 and why it's going to rock out
Written by ...
Monday, 06 October 2008
I have a responsibility to fill this
page with words, so I'm going to make myself feel happy about
summer coming. Feel free to join me.The weather's hotting up, in case you
haven't noticed, and if you haven't managed to pick up on that
then you definitely won't know that debate is running out of
issues...what does that mean? The end of the year! The final episode
of AUT 2008 is approaching; let's hope it's better than the last
Matrix film. How could it not be though because, friends, summer is
approaching. Its sexy body is skimming toward us on the beautiful
slippery slide of seasonal happiness. Winter has gone inside to have
a shower, and autumn has pissed off to spring's house for a
sleepover. Fine by me.
Read more...
Brainwashing and Indoctrination: Should we be Afraid of Subliminal Manipulation?
Written by ...
Monday, 06 October 2008
During a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was
watching Derren Brown on UKTV. This guy, if you don't know, is
either a terrifying genius, or convincing fraudster. I'll pretend
for the sake of this article (and the lack of evidence to support the
latter) that the former is true. Brown is a master of manipulation,
suggestibility, and some form of hypnotism which I have no idea how
works. He once converted a room full of agnostics by pushing them
over without touching them (he is an atheist), he can tell you how
much money you have in your wallet, and he can pretty much make you
think anything he wants you to think, which is what I want to touch
on.
Read more...
Kickin' it old school
Written by Stupidity Police
Monday, 06 October 2008
The first US presidential debate took
place last week, of which we here at debate feel somewhat proud to be
the sponsors of. However we here at Stupidity Police are a little
confused about something. Either US presidential candidate John
McCain can time travel. Or he paid off the moderators. Or his
campaign was confused by American time zones. Or he is way too
overconfident. Whatever the reason, something has to
explain the ad he printed on the once respectable Wall Street
Journal's website stating "McCain wins debate! (Paid for by
McCain-Palin 2008)". Sure there's no harm in celebrating a good
victory and all that, even if simplifying and reducing an hour and a
half of fierce discussion to three words is cause for a SP entry in
itself (and for the record, polls conducted after the debate all
favoured Obama), but you see the real stupid moment was that the ad
made its way online before the debate even took place.
Read more...
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