The Tepid Take

Toothless is a small band. They play small venues, they’re down the bottom of the festival line-up, and - however millennial this might sound - their Instagram garners only minor attention. Despite a cohesive and wide advertising campaign for their debut, The Pace of the Passing, Toothless appears to be performing poorly (pun somewhat intended) when compared to the solo project of Bombay Bicycle Club’s hesitant frontman, Jack Steadman. His alias, Mr Jukes, enjoys a much higher number of listens if one examines Spotify alone. The story is much the same on iTunes. The fact of the matter is that Steadman has enjoyed a greater degree of success following Bombay Bicycle Club than Ed Nash, perhaps because he is a more recognised figure, or perhaps because his musical panache (sorry) is simply greater. Regardless, this difference in the success of the two solo projects is a comparison that ought to be made; not least because it helps us to analyse what each member contributed to Bombay, b...

In Beauty Matters , Roger Scruton argues modern art is in general inferior, on the basis that art is based, at its deepest roots, in beauty, and that the inclusion of what he considers “ugliness” paints modern art in an inferior light.  In response to the claim that modern art is beautiful because of its meaning and symbolism, rather than its aesthetic beauty, Scruton replies that this claim relies on a utilitarian worldview, that art must have a use in order to be of value. He quotes Oscar Wilde as stating “all art is useless” as a compliment to the art of the times; it did not require a 'use', because it was beautiful enough already. This feeds into Scruton's vision of modern architecture as a blight that too often prioritises function over form. Scruton believes that modern architecture exemplifies this utilitarian view of art, leading to buildings that are less desirable because they lack form. Scruton is, in part, correct; some buildings are indeed left abandoned an...

This piece was originally published in CityMetric in 2017. Connectors on the Tube Map are so often the unsung heroes of London’s transport network. Because of its advanced age, many of the lines in the capital snake around each other and interchange in ways that a modern transport system built from scratch would never even consider. This means some stations are linked to each other, necessitating a ‘connector’ on the Tube Map, like the big one between Bank and Monument. However, the sheer number of situations in which these humble connectors are applied means they often fall victim to problems. Case in point: Camden. In TfL’s recent public consultation into their upgrade of Camden Town Station, it was noted that the new station, moved up onto Buck Street, will ease interchange with Camden Road Overground station, an option opened up by the new station’s increased capacity. This is already an official “out-of-station interchange” (OSI), which means you can change from one station t...

Far from Theresa May's expectations, the general election has led to sea change as far as public perceptions of Jeremy Corbyn is concerned. As for why this might be the ca se,  this Times article eloquently describes how it is, at least in part, down to Corbyn's ability to change his mind on things he's said in the past. He has come out in favour of second-use of nuclear weapons , condemning  the IRA , and the police's shoot-to-kill policy . The 2015-2016 period of Corbyn's leadership has been marked by his inability to converse and mediate between the different wings of his party, eventually leading to a state of affairs where his Shadow Cabinet is bereft of the most notable, stalwart members of his party - either because they resigned, because they could not be persuaded to take up positions, or because Corbyn chose not to offer them. However, the mood within the party appears to have changed decisively since the snap election was called. In the midst o...

At the meeting over Labour’s manifesto on 11 May, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner expressed dismay at John McDonnell’s announcement that Labour would prize abolishing the tuition fee over early years support. Her justification for this ire came down to two central factors: that she, as a single mother under the first New Labour government, benefitted massively from their development of the Sure Start scheme and others like it.While Rayner’s backstory is certainly an engaging & endearing one (which certainly merits a read), for now I’d like to focus on the other half of her reasoning, one centred in politics rather than admittedly subjective, if not persuasive, personal experience. Rayner claimed that the abolition of the tuition fee would be likely to benefit the middle class, because those are the kinds of people that go to university, whereas every child needs support, especially the children of working class parents – that was the whole point of Sure Start to begin wit...

     Most Brits recognise that Donald Trump is a dangerous figurehead of a dangerous movement, one that’s stoked the fires of bigotry in ways we never thought possible, since its inception last year. He is widely recognised as being an incompetent buffoon – he is no longer allowed access to his own Twitter, for example – and yet, his support continues to be large. His rise is unprecedented; if he won, he would be only the fourth President of the United States not to have previously held political office. Why does he garner so much support from the average American if he stands for hurt and bigotry? It seems obvious, but the fact of the matter is that the underlying motivations of making America great again are not rooted in hatred, but hope.      Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is a bastion of the establishment. People support her for a variety of reasons, but one of the greatest is the sheer horror provoked by the idea of a Trump presidency. Hillary is knowab...

     I went to Leeds Festival this year. This wasn’t because I felt like I ought to try the whole festival experience (though I did), nor because a lot of my favourite bands were going to be there (though they were). No, I went because, if I went with Oxfam, I got to go for the outstanding price of 0, in whichever currency you’d like. Zip. Nada. Free. More pressingly, I didn’t have to find anyone to go with me, as is oft the struggle when all your university friends are strewn across the kingdom and your girlfriend is somewhere up a pike near Windermere. Oxfam provided the entertainment, the food, the electricity, the lodging (assuming you’d brought a tent), and the company. All we had to do was work a six hour shift each day and assist with opening and closing; the rest of the day was free for us to do as we wished. The one thing they didn’t provide us with, unfortunately, was the weather.      It rained like a Leeds summer. Which is epistemological...