Helen Nianias muses art, the student stereotype and our supposed intellectuality...
Music blogs! The home of music and opinion on the internet - a global force for people's listening tastes and something we dip our toes into every Wednesday. This week it's the sublime and the ridiculous (although not necessarily in that order) with Pop Justice and Music Is Art.
Music! Blog! An very old word and a fairly new one. What happens when old meets new? Find out in our weekly look at two of the internet's receptacles for music and opinion.<br />
This week's foray into the grimy world of music blogs turns up London-based '2ManyScenes' and an American view of British indie from 'In Search of Arcadia.'
You’ve arrived at university. York perhaps isn’t quite what you expected (it’s normal to be disappointed in the first term, it makes you love Tru even more in the second term when you’ve sort of forgotten what a proper club looks like) and you’ve read student guides so patronising it makes you wonder why you ever bothered leaving the loving bosom of your family. So, what the hell do you do?
From an outsider’s point of view, this small city can seem a bit unfortunate. I think there was a night at Nexus called ‘Pooh Ya Pants.’ There might even still be one. The flyer had a picture of Winnie the Pooh on it. That’s pretty awful, isn’t it? However, despite appearances, York provides a true spectrum of activities; from VKs to Vikings, Chav nights to churches and beyond, whatever you want to do, York can probably provide a small-scale version of it. Or if it can’t, York’s cooler older sister Leeds isn’t too far off.
The clash of culture and unashamed idiocy is something I’ve always found intriguing about York. The fact that the multitude of chundering drunks outside Ziggy’s on a Wednesday exist within the same walls as the quaint Shambles is, when you think about it, amazing.
The York Art Gallery, when I first entered it, seemed pretty underwhelming. When you live in the same city as two Tate Galleries, the National and the Barbican centre, it’s easy to be a bit snobby about things. My eyes were only opened to what a wonderful thing this gallery is when I decided that my attitude made me look like a knob. It is small, it isn’t the National, but it is definitely worth a look. The current exhibition, curated by Tracy Chevalier of Girl with a Pearl Earring fame, consists of paintings selected from the permanent collection rearranged to tell a story, finishing 11th January. The Stanley Spencer exhibition starting on the 24th January also has The Yorker practically wetting itself with excitement. York Art Gallery will be opening until 9pm on 24, 25, 31 October and 1 November, 2008, as part of the Illuminating York festival.
If that’s not your ideal type of ‘Gallery’ (pretty smooth) then York’s self-professed ‘Number 1 Nightclub’ is but a lurch away. Boasting the bizarrely named ‘VIP’ room that anyone can access, a DJ that will insist talking over every song, and some pretty weak Indie playing downstairs, Gallery may not be classy or ‘good’ in the conventional sense, but it can be hella fun. Revel in the snobbery based around which flavour VK you take; enjoy the snogging on the sofas; bask in the luxuriant atmosphere. Ziggy’s may have a reputation for being the bawdiest club in town, but don’t judge too quickly; I once saw a girl get fingered on the sofas downstairs in Gallery, and then the boy who had done the dirty wiping his ‘guilty hand’ on the flare of his jeans. Seriously. Say hello to Gallery, and gleefully wave your dignity goodbye.
Putting York on the map, York Minster is one of the most impressive buildings in this country. If you bring your student card with you, you get in free. The second largest cathedral in Northern Europe, it is still partially covered by scaffolding as the sheer weight of the stained glass windows means that they are at risk of falling in on themselves, but still looks impressive supported by its giant crutches. If you’re looking for somewhere to take a parent or even go on a nerdy date, this is the place. Climbing the tower and visiting the Crypt are also options if you want more Minster. And if you get bored, reading the amusing names on the wood panels kills time. I think my mum found an ‘Edmund Cockburn’ on the list.
The TopShop lock-in on the 21st-22nd October from 6-10 pm provides a balance to the Minster daytrip. With 20% off on all purchases over £25 and a goody bag included, you can join the packed-out Coppergate store and spend your heart out. Beware of buying the nicest dress in the shop, though. You may have it at a reduced price, but so will everyone else on your next night out. Sometimes, buying something a little less trendy pays off. I found this to be true when a picture of myself in 1999's must-have street-sweeper flares surfaced. Pretty rank. Don’t make my mistake.
Whatever you choose to do, just try and make the most of York. Three years of Tru-Ziggy’s-Gallery on rotation like a hideous merry-go-round will take their toll. Variety is the spice of life. Even if it is just trying Salt and Pepper’s instead of Efes after a night out.
"and you’ve read student guides so patronising it makes you wonder why you ever bothered leaving the loving bosom of your family"
ouch
"York’s cooler older sister Leeds..."
Older?
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