Issue 4 of The Edge magazine is out today, and it is a Christmas special! In our final issue of semester 1 (we’ll be back in February) we take a look at everything entertainment at Christmas, including the coveted race for UK Christmas number one! Check out some snippets of what we have in store for you below.
Live
Chris Brooks investigates the acoustic stylings of the lovable Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls at the O2 Academy, Bournemouth: “His subsequent rise to glory has been both well deserved and phenomenal.”
James Wignall puts his eardrums on the line to let us know if Motörhead still dominate the genre they helped craft over 30 years ago: “Their music hardly reinvents the heavy metal rulebook, but it doesn’t need to — they wrote it after all.”
Rob Leane gives us his take on The Vaccines at the Guildhall: “Tighter than the skinny jeans dominating the audience, The Vaccines continue to play lengthy, upbeat, entertaining shows despite an unrelenting tour schedule.”
Features
Alexander Green discusses the Christmas number one, and why there’s always such as fuss about it: “Maybe the Christmas number one is nothing more than an accolade to gain in order to go down in history as ‘that Christmas song’.”
Meowea Heazwani takes a look at The Edge‘s first ever publication back in 1995: “We are still aiming to do what we aimed to do all those years ago: ‘boldly review where no one has reviewed before’.”
David Martin provides a few comments about his Christmas pet hates: “There are many irritations around the time to be jolly — or not, as the case may be.”
Records
A team of writers take a look at this year’s contenders for Christmas number one: “The little spawn of Satan Justin Bieber proves that he can even ruin Christmas … Nirvana — this is what Christmas is supposed to sound like … It looks like Simon Cowell has won the Christmas number one battle yet again.”
Alice Porter on Rammstein’s ‘Mein Land’: “A fantastically catchy, thumping song.”
Jan Vini Kobal reviews ‘Sail Away’ by The Rapture: “I can’t help but find the overly simplistic progression and one repeating hook to grate on me.”
Joe Moor rewinds to review A Christmas Gift for You by Phil Spector: “It manages to both define a whole era of music and continue to influence our idea of Christmas songs.”
Film
Barnaby Walter takes a look at the new blockbuster My Week With Marilyn: “Perfect feel-good escapist entertainment for lovers of cinema and those who need a break from the stresses of work or Christmas shopping.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Dean Kay-Barry reviews Joel Schumacher’s Trespass: “Forgettable … awkward … predictable … improbable … confused.”
The Daniel Craig-starring Dream House gets the once over by Barnaby Walter: “The big ‘whodunit’ reveal is laughably absurd. I hope it sinks without a trace.”
The first chapter in the final outing of the Twilight saga is also given its just reward by our Film Editor: “A strong contender for worst film of the year. Vacuous, ridiculous, and a complete waste of time.”
Christmas classic animation The Polar Express is reviewed in time for the festive viewing period: “At Christmas, a bit of light, well-meant joy is never a bad thing: sweet and enchanting.”
Culture
Richard Herring’s Objective comes under the Edge knife: “An enjoyable slice of radio comedy; more substantial than many of its TV counterparts.”
Nick Mould takes a look at David Attenborough’s latest series Frozen Planet: “Another offering of eye candy from the BBC that singlehandedly justifies the existence of the licence fee.”
So make sure you pick up issue 4 of The Edge around your students’ union today!
