ALBUM REVIEW Tame Impala - the Slow Rush by Rhys

Home , Tame Impala

Contributors:

Ellie (Media Studies student) – Photographer, Writer

Erin (Music Business and Media student) – Writer

Felicia (Music Business and Media student) – Photographer

Francesca (Media Studies student) – Photographer, Artist

Jordan M. (Music Business and Media student) – Writer

Lefty (Music Business and Media course leader) – Editor

Lewis (Music Business and Media student) – Writer

Loulou (Music Business and Media student) – Artist

Lucas (Music Business and Media student) – Fun and games

Naz (Media Studies student) – Photographer

Rhys (Media Studies student) – Writer

Editorial:

The little piece of culture you hold in your hands, or view on your screen, is the result of the combination of cultural competences and imagination of the LM176 cohort, in the School of Media. University of Brighton. It was put together in less than a day, online, using a plethora of skills, cultural knowledge, and everyday media technologies. It is an example of our active and creative engagement with technology and the various cultural texts that surround us. It is also a piece of Brighton music culture. We hope you enjoy it! Table of contents:  Skegss  Harry-Mania!  Jordan's top 10 Harry outfits  An interview: Brighton, records, and photographs  Review: Tame Impala  What to listen to in everyday lockdown situations  Being a gig photographer  Bedroom culture  Word search  Missing summer festivals?  LM176: The stuff you need to know!

(Drawing by Loulou) By Erin, Harry-Mania!

(Harry drawing by Loulou) JORDAN’S TOP 10… 10. LIVE LOUNGE (2019) 9. NASHVILLE (2017) 8. ANOTHER MAN (2017) 7. BEAUTY PAPERS (2020) 6. DALLAS (2018)

8 10

7 6 HARRY STYLES OUTFITS 5. GUCCI (2018) 4. BRITS PERFORMANCE (2020) 3. MET GALA (2019) 2. BRITS RED CARPET (2020) 1. LIGHTS UP (2019)

2 A short interview: Brighton, records, and photographs

Francesca, a Media Studies student in Brighton uni and contributor in this zine, talks records, technostalgia, photography, and Brighton's retro lexicon.

By Francesca and Lefty,

(Photograph by Francesca)

L: Why did you decide to photograph the Resident record store? F: For the kind of photography I wanted to do, I wanted to represent an underground nostalgic place, and the atmosphere with the music and everything motivates me. I took photos of other record stores as well. L: Do all record stores have a nostalgic aesthetic? F: Record stores that have vinyl are much more interesting - the image is bigger of the cover or the singer - so this record store and a couple more are more interesting than ones that only have CDs. Also, it's in the North Laine where everything is a bit vintage and retro. L: Explain the composition of the photograph above. F: I'm a fan of Neil Young, so I decided to choose a Neil Young vinyl record, so I went outside the record store and I told Giada to pick up the vinyl record and put it on her face. ALBUM REVIEW Tame Impala - The Slow Rush by Rhys,

Tame Impala's latest album, The Slow Rush, is a throwback to disco funk, a departure from his psych-rock roots. It is Kevin Parker's (Tame Impala's real name) fourth album, five years after his critical acclaimed album, Currents. Slow Rush (a debated delayed sequel) is a different contrast to Currents' psychedelic rock to a now more mature disco funk. In this album Parker wonders a lot more about happiness and relevance as he's ageing.

Parker's relationship with his father is a backbone throughout the album. Posthumous Forgiveness is a love song about his late father who died from cancer and about Parker, a grown-up son, accepting his flawed father.

Slow Rush's main theme is time. My favourite track, It Might Be Time, is a reflection of that. Its core is ageing and maturing, and to me, listening to it, it's made me reflect on my life, how I see it and where I want it to go. Parker's line "You ain't as cool as you used to be" is a constant thought that has plagued my mind as I age.

To follow up after Currents is a difficult task for Parker. Currents provided tons of emotion and letting loose with life. The Slow Rush is addressing more about life and reflecting how things were. The Slow Rush is worth the wait, and even though the absence of the guitar is significant, Parker provides commanding electronic strokes. What to listen to in everyday lockdown situations by Naz,

Walking your dog (Rock music)

Shopping with emptiness (Opera) Brighton's live music culture and being a gig photographer

By Ellie,

What is the best thing about Brighton... some Getting into music photography isn’t actually may say it’s the quirkiness of the locals, the as hard as some might think. With so many classic pier or even the eclectic shops, but as a local gigs going on, most of the time you can gig photographer it is the music culture.In just show up with a camera and ask at the door Brighton alone there are over 50 music venues if it’s cool to shoot the bands. Like with that have events on almost every day. Each day anything though, gig photography is about is different, one night you could be networking and putting your name out there, photographing a student singer at The confidence is key with this part - go chat with Brunswick and the next you could be at a heavy the bands after their set, build rapport and trust. metal concert at The Concord! You never know If your work is good and you’re a cool person what you’re going to be doing or where you’re to be around, things will happen and your going to be… as a photographer this is name will get around. Success as a probably the most exciting thing to be doing. photographer isn’t an overnight thing, it can You meet so many artists that can always use a take years for you to even get your first paid photographer so you constantly have things to shoot, I know it did for me! Gig photography do whether that be going to their gigs or doing for me isn’t about getting paid or making a shoots around the town. name for myself, it’s trying to capture the sound, the emotion and the experience in a As a photographer, I have visited around 15 single moment. Even if that band on that stage venues so far within my first year of moving isn’t one of my favourites, I know there’s down to Brighton, and, let me tell yo,u there someone in that crowd who loves them more has definitely never been a dull moment in any than anything. of them. One time, whilst photographing a band called koala club at The Hope and ruin, the A music city is one where music matters most. place was packed and the lead guitarist jumped It’s a city which has an undeniable musical off stage laid down on the floor then started to history… and an obvious musical future. A city play his solo, the crowd went wild making for which is vibrant and creative, with regular easy an amazing shot! Another time at The Green access to gigs and is full of creatives. It is the door store photographing glass caves, it was best place to try and experience a whole new one of the support artists' birthday so the whole life! Brighton was made to be music city, how crowd sung happy birthday whilst he downed a could anyone not love it! whole pint! Like I said there is never a dull moment, you get to meet so many people and make so many memories that it is something that can’t be found anywhere else but here. (Bedroom culture, by Felicia) CULTURAL STUDIES WORD SEARCH Lucas came up with the word search below, using keywords from LM176. Lets see if Lefty can use them all to construct a coherent paragraph...

Adorno was a Marxist, not a Feminist. He was very critical of popular culture, he thought that popular music makes us all uncritical, and that listening to radio was associated with a regression of listening! From a culturalist perspective, Adorno's views are very reductionist. Instead, proponents of culturalism demonstrate how culture is heterogenous, and how consumers engage with texts and technologies to create, for instance, their own bedroom culture, among other things. Nevertheless, Adorno's views on the radio taught us that the medium matters. His ideas on vinyl records are particularly interesting, as he sees them as both alienating (through the reification of music) and democratising (because everyone can access music). Today, vinyl records are at the centre of the phenomenon we call technostalgia. Semiotics is awesome.

(Created by Lucas) (Photograph by Felicia)

(Photograph by Ellie) Are you missing festivals this summer? By Lewis, With most gigs and festivals being cancelled or postponed, due to the coronavirus, a new kind of festival is on the rise. A virtual festival that you can stream from the comfort of your own home. Grab a beer and sit out in your garden with the sun shining on you, whilst listening to some new and exciting upcoming bands, with virtual festivals such as Homeschoolfest and Finsperry. Homeschool is a free virtual festival set up by dork magazine to promote their own magazine and features artists such as Tom Grennan, The Amazons, SWMRS and Circa Waves.

Finsperry is an online event that’s fan- made to replace the cancelled The 1975 festival that was supposed to take place at Finsbury Park. You pay £2.50 for access to the website that the festival is hosted on and all the money goes towards the NHS and has artists, such as Bloxx and Alfie Templeman, performing with more to be announced over the next couple of months. There will also be a The 1975 listening party as the headliner accompanied by never seen before 3D visuals and stage setups for each song. LM176: THE STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW!

By Lefty,

So, the basic idea that we spend most of our time discussing in this module is really simple... Our everyday life, is not boring and unproductive! Instead, it is full of hidden instances of creativity and resistance! Yes, indeed we spend most of our everyday time consuming all the stuff the entertainment industry throws at us... BUT, that does not mean that we passively consume it! Instead, in the case of popular music, we interpret the lyrics we consume, we often oppose them, sometimes we agree with them, sometimes we don't even engage with them at all! One person might take things from different bands and performers and combine them to create their own identity, or to build their own haven at home. Another person's fascination with a singer might lead to finding like-minded people to hang out with and build a community. In other words, each one of us makes things with music => Identities, communities, cultures!

In this module we learn to identify and appreciate these instances of everyday creativity. We try to think how creativity is not the privilege of the few, and how we use it daily, mostly unconsciously, to evade control by the entertainment industry, the state, family, and the world of employment.