Good Music is Back!

With Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto coming out tomorrow, after three eyars of toil, tears and loving, I thought I’d write a review of one of the lead (and probably will prove to be most popular) songs from the whole album: ‘Princess of China’ ft. The one and Only Rihanna.

Enjoy!

‘Princess Rih Rih becomes a ‘Princess of China’ in Coldplay’s new album.’

The much anticipated collaboration between the princess of pop and the gods of rock has finally been leaked. The track features on Coldplay’s forthcoming fifth studio album, ‘Mylo Xyloto’ and has already been widely tipped to reach the meteoric heights of Rihanna and Eminem’s ‘Love the Way You Lie’. The track was uploaded onto YouTube and Soundcloud after it debuted on Dutch radio stations but has since been taken down by Coldplay’s record label EMI.

The band have claimed that this might possibly be their last studio album as they have been in the game for so long and newer players such as Rihanna, Adele and Justin Bieber are stepping up to the plate. With that in mind, Chris Martin tells us that the album took three years’ worth of toil and ‘is designed as a whole piece’. It tells the stories of boy and girl lead characters and Rihanna was at the top of their list to provide vocals for the female characters. It is hard to believe that legends like Coldplay have ever felt nervous about approaching an artist for a collaboration, but with Rihanna making her name as a global superstar, they can be forgiven for ‘being very Hugh Grant-like and spluttering about it’.

I heard the song last night and wasn’t too enamoured at first if I’m honest. I thought that Rih’s classically flat but hypnotic voice was too overpowered by the strong techno-buzz beats of the band’s legendary guitar riffs. I remember thinking that her voice sounded too auto-tuned. But I gave it another chance because I truly love and respect both Rihanna and Coldplay as artists and I really wanted to like their latest offering. Having listened to it on Soundcloud on RIHpeat (see what I did there?) for over two hours, I can now say that I really love the tune. It might definitely prove to be a grower but Coldplay have not been in the business for over fourteen years for nothing; and with Rihanna claiming ten number ones under her belt, with ‘We Found Love’ (her latest collaboration with DJ Calvin Harris) currently topping the British iTunes and singles charts, this song will surely prove to be a winner.

It is no wonder that Rihanna is famous for her many collaborations with successful male artists (Yes and um, Nicki Minaj). Over the six years of her mind blowing career, her voice has grown from strength to strength and she has transformed herself into a sexy, strong, powerful and influential figure in the industry – powerful and versatile enough to work with pop, rap, RnB and rock titans. Naturally, she can hold her own as ‘Loud’ has shown us, but it seems she is at her very best when part of a dynamic duo. As one fan puts it on Twitter: ‘[Rihanna] sings pop like pop, she sings reggae like reggae, she sings rock like rock!’ and is should also be noted that this lady keeps making histoRIH (I did it again!) as this is the first and possibly only feature in the long history of Coldplay albums. Chris of course collaborated with Kanye West in ‘Homecoming’ but that was a side project – a bloody good one at that!

But anyway, whilst we wait for ‘Mylo Xyloto’ to be released on October 24^th and ‘Talk that Talk’ to be released on November 21^st, we can sit back and enjoy the sultry vocals of Rihanna come together (and work really well) with the classic sound of Coldplay, as if there had never been anything more natural to have ever happened.

I reckon this deserves an unapologetic solid five stars from me.

 

Siana Bangura.

 

Ps: Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter !

One Love.

 

Tags: Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto, new album, new music, Princess of China, Reviews, rihanna, Rihanna Navy, Siana, Twitter, We Found Love

What’s it like to join a leadership programme?

Read this blog from 22 year old Rowan for a first hand account

For six months prior to my current role, I volunteered with City Year full-time in a primary school. The level of responsibility was immense; the children would confide in us any problems that they would have. This was definitely an amazing experience for me.

To tell you a bit about myself, it was slightly over a year ago that I graduated from university with a degree in English. I left university extremely unfocussed and unsure of what my next step would be.

After a brief spell of experimentation with trying to gain entry into various job sectors, I quickly realised that it was a waste of time trying to pursue jobs that I had little or no interest or passion for. I decided to join City Year because I recognised that it would allow me to step into a world that was completely alien to me. I had never volunteered or worked with children before. The reason for my decision was that I thought the experience would allow me to uncover hidden depths in myself.

In those six months I learnt more than I could possibly have imagined as well as gaining some direction as to which way my life was heading.

In the schools, we had an active involvement in the playground as well as the running of activities throughout the day and after school.
What was really good about volunteering with City Year is that we had a huge amount of freedom as to the types of activities we could run as well as developing our own teaching methods to use.

The school allowed a colleague of mine and I to organise and run a listening exercise for a short period in the day. This was received well with the school and the children. We also developed and ran two concurrent after school art clubs, one for the younger children (5-7 years old) and one for the older children (5-11 years old).

When I was offered to return to City Year for an additional year, the decision was difficult for me because of the level of commitment that it would entail. However, I think that a part of me knew that I really did want to stay on after the amazing experience I had had the year before. I would hugely recommend volunteering with City Year to anyone who wants to develop themselves as a leader in our society, as well as acquiring some extremely valuable experience mentoring children.

Being a volunteer at City Year also has many other advantages, for example there are many opportunities to interact with our corporate sponsors at training sessions as well as various other functions. If you are interested in recruitment there are also many opportunities to get involved.

This year we will be having a mid-year volunteer intake to coincide with our move into a school in Tottenham. For more information phone 02070142680 or email: londonrecruitment@cityyear.org.uk

To find out more about other leadership schemes read more here

Tags: City year, leadership, Volunteering, volunteering london

Video – going viral

Last Tuesday during the London Riots everyone was stuck to the TV, on Twitter or youtube watching video pieces. So why did some videos go viral and not others?

Discussion

Hackney Woman

Passion – it was inspiring and a beacon of hope in a really depressing time. She spoke her words with passion

Clapham Junction – Sky NEWS

He used his initiative, filmed it well and it sounds and looks good.

Brave – he is one of the only people who went up to looters and spoke to them.

Puts you into the situation – ” it’s 10 o’clock, I’m in Clapham “

Malaysian Student

Shocking – this is so shocking

Darcus Howe  – Why did we forward it to mates?It was funny but it was also relevant and you don’t normally see a news reader put in their place. It also had drama

All of the above keep your attention because you’re interested in the people, there is a human interest. In some way they all express and capture views we identify with.

TASK 1 : Strengths ( S ) and weaknesses ( W )  – how do we see ourselves?

Pete S : I love planning and shaping W : not very good at thinking on my feet

Nat S : Directors eye and good storyboarding W : I don’t know how to edit

Ish S : Creative thinker W : Sometimes I lose the story in the edit

Size S : Creative ideas, pick things up quickly  W : Planning – I hate planning. Maybe getting my point across

Jenkins S : Good ideas, I look at things in a different way. Find the story really well W : too confident, don’t finish things to high standard

HOT TIPS :

• Always hold the story in your mind
• Be braver when it comes to cutting things out, even if you’re tired and impatient. Sleep on it if your not sure
• Planning – rough script and shot list

TASK 2 : Look at stuff you LIKE and ask why do you like it? LEARN from it and imitate it. Stuff you HATE – hold it in your mind and make sure you don’t make the same mistakes

The interrupters – 2 cuts of the same film

:

Explains the story, introduces the characters and goes more in depth as to the story. It’s slower

Geared towards festival film heads so you need to cut through to an audience who might of watched 4 films a day. They leave the explanation as to what it’s about till the end

What do they do to get your attention? You’re told people are getting KILLED but you don’t see much. They’ve used their own footage, news footage and audio from the news, audio of interviews over images & text.

Standard :

Captivating, emotional, traditional Hollywood trailer. It doesn’t give away the story line, it keeps you guessing

What do they do to get your attention? Strong passionate woman talking. Dead body right at the beginning, audio GANG WARFARE, emotional music

10 minute Challenge – pitch a response to the riots

Sizwe / Ish : Through My Eyes

Showing the build up and excitement, BBpin is pinging, getting ready to go out then flashing of all different races, sexes, ages pulling their bandana’ s up and leaving the house

Nat / Jenkins : Did This Have to Happen?

Split screen – man goes out on a normal street, normal day, comes home after the looting with.

Pete / Lucy : What Next?

Match live tv footage with talking heads : 1. smashing shops / shop keeper ” i’ve run this barbers for 60 years ” 2. relaxed kids laughing and enjoying the looting / young person  ” we just got hyped up ” 3. girl screaming at policeman / policeman ” i don’t understand why there is so much hate ” – What next? Get each talking head’s POV

Tags: film tutorial, goign viral, Riots footage, video, video tutorial, viral video

I Predict A Riot

Glenn Mcmahon has reported from countries in conflict including Palestine, Libya, Egypt & now Hackney! He came into the office to give us some advice on reporting from the front line :

When it’s kicking off how do you find out what’s going on?

• Twitter – live updates, good way to meet up with people, follow up stories and find contacts to interview
• Get down there  – don’t just believe what your hearing, get down there and assess the situation yourself
• Speak to demonstrators or community leaders beforehand if possible – find out whether there is a plan and whether this is something they’ve done before ( what happened last time? )

Where should you stand?

• Behind the police can be a safe place to stand unless people are throwing things
• Get a vantage point but be prepared to move with the trouble.
• Stay on the peripheries, stay on the edge so you can observe the activists, police and authorities. See as much as you can.

Writing good content

• Quotes add colour to a story – shop keepers, looters, police as many people as possible
• Meet people, be outgoing and chatty. Find out as much as you can from as many sources
• Research well with 2/3 sources and understand the issues
• What you lead with will dictate the tone and ultimately express your opinion
• Look for an angle – There’s not much point writing something from the same perspective as everyone else so try to offer some new insight

You can ask your local MP or councilor. Call the press office. There are other useful sites like : what do you know ( freedom of information – you can put a request in to the information officer in the council )  / they work for you ( what are your councilors up to )

You ARE legally allowed to film policemen. The individuals can say no but legally you can.

Being safe / are you a journalist?
Press card – you can get a press card from the NUJ even if your not with a newspaper. That can get you behind the police lines.

Be in groups and watch each others backs. Make sure someone knows where you are.

Remember – you have no special rights as a journalist

When you’re talking to people on the street sometimes it helps to make it clear your a journalist rather than a spy / police – at least they know where you stand with you and can decide whether they want to talk to you or not – You have to use your judgment as to whether it’s better to explain this or keep quiet.

How to get your story seen :  News is only news for a day or two so get it up quickly. Build a list of contacts or Independence news websites that you can publish your stories on ie Indy Media or Demonix . Follow big hitters on Twitter and hope they share your stories. Use Twitter # tags. Comment on other people blogs.

Hackney -what was our experience?

The rioters didn’t want to be filmed. It’s better to witness and write about it than lose your camera and get beaten up

Jenkins : me and Tom went down Dalston @ 8. There were 80 to 90 people and a lot of people form the Turkish community trying to protect their shops. Turkish were chasing the rioters out of Dalston, then the police started to question the Turkish community, which created  lot of tension. There were old grey men with machetes from the Turkish community

Liz : I went to the top of Clarence Rd, it felt like a party that had got out of hand. Everyone was drinking and seemed to be having a good time.

Tags: glenn mcmahon, hackney riots, journalism, news stories, war reporting

Video 101

We’ve got some many YH Creatives into video right now that we need some help from the professionals. Luckily for us and thanks to Media Trust we got in touch with Pete Deagle a Producer / Director for the BBC. Pete’s background is music videos and working with celebs on  T4.  Over the next couple of weeks we’re going to get some direction and hopefully see the results in the video we make. This is installment 1, next session 18th August – if you’ve got an idea you need help with come along!

Pete, how did you get into TV?  ” I did a history degree, then got into media as a runner and worked my way up. There are some good courses but you just learn on the job constantly, film, sound. I’ve been in the job 6 years and now I’m now a producer Director for the BBC.”

What are we going to work on?

Jenkin’s idea : Jenkins won funding for his first short film from Live Unltd. What’s it about? Can you use uni fees as an excuse for making money by whatever means?

Possible strap lines : “Which role would you pick?” Are you going to do something good with your life or something stupid?

Ish & Nat ( Double Trouble ) : Create Youtube videos that build bigger buzz

Alika : Create video that’s commercial enough to get on TV but still have room for some diverse and creative ideas

Where are We NOW?

Twins videos :

Wanted 3,334 views

Who’s doing what you do Well? Soldier Boy

Jenkins

Encore 300 +  views / Rich Mix 91 views

Alika

50k views

Discussion

How long should video be? As long as it’s interesting! If it’s for dance video then it has a time span but the question is – is it interesting?

Who are you trying to reach? Most people watch video online on youtube. Virals are 1 minute, music videos are 3. We’ve got a short attention span these days.

How do you get noticed? There’s some great stuff on the internet that gets ignored and some really bad stuff gets popular. Have this question in your mind constantly.

What do you forward to friends? Funny or controversial, human interest gets people engaged – basically we watch things for a reason.

Answer : You’ve got to GRAB your audiences’ attention straight away and lead them into your video

It’s all about the ideas – it does matter what it looks like but you need  great idea before anything else

Constantly ask : is it entertaining people, is it interesting people and will it get them hooked???

Watch other peoples videos : what do you like about them? What don’t you like them? What would you do differently?

What’s out there already? What’s good, not so good and what would you do differently??

+ you really cared about the lead actor and it kept you interested. The story was really easy and simply to understand

+ split screen good, story kept Twins and Jenkins interest

- Pete and Lucy lost interest, no music

+ Beautifully shot and lovely story but slow to build and the entry point clearly puts peoplesl off as only 900 views

I can feel your smile

Firstly a retrospective in the Hayward is a big deal, but then Tracey has been up for a Turner and had a leading role in Saatchi’s  Brit Art movement so it shouldn’t be a surprise.

“the girl went out like a 40 watt light bulb”

Then again Emin has always seemed to be an outsider, from her dirty bed and tent ‘everyone i have ever slept with’ to her pissed up performance on TV commentating on the Tate she always seemed to be making a scene.

What’s a whole gallery of her work going to be like?

Firstly let me say I used to HATE Tracey Emin I just didn’t get how she used her sexuality, calling herself a slag and talking about her abortions.  I wasn’t a slag, I hadn’t had gonorrhea, i didn’t think that having a c*nt was the most interesting thing about me and i thought that art should be, well, visually appealing. I also loved painting. I still love painting but i now love Tracey Emin too so what changed?

” I never liked school i was always late “

Me probably. Where before i only saw the hate, anger and negativity in her work ( and her work is anchored in the most negative, human, dark spots of her life that seem to force her creativity ) I started to notice the love love love and the humor and the detail. She hand stitched hard words into her patchwork quilts.

“there’s no one in the room who hasn’t thought about killing”

She makes etchings ( a laborious process ) of rough masturbating line drawings and she tells beautiful stories. God she uses words with such beauty I will forgive her for making me look at her used tampons.

Emin do’s and don’ts

Do look for the beauty and the detail in her work

Do watch ALL the videos. Just do it. Wait because she takes you on a journey and one of them ( The reason i never became a dancer ) made me cry

Don’t expect to look at beautiful art objects or great paintings ( although I do really like some of her paintings )

Don’t be freaked out by all the abortion stuff or the fact that it’s £12 to get in – it’s worth it

Do go straight to the book shop and buy her book ‘Strangeland’

So, an acquired taste – definitely, but if you can get over the surface sense of annoyance that you’re not served good looking art objects the beautiful raw humanness of her work and the emotional  integrity will make you want to find her and buy her a drink or 4.

Tags: art exhibition, everyone i have ever slept with, hayward gallery, saatchi brit art, strangeland, tracey emin

The Only way is Birmingham… ‘Course.

Howdy!

Long time, no blog. Sorry about that, I’ve been busy (as always).

Between launching my alternative radio show, completing my first year at Cambridge and trying to kick-start my career in journalism, I’ve been busy with Lucy trying to nab a bit of funding for a really cool project.

We want to make a film that is so bad, it’s actually brilliant. Why? Well, to help show you what not to do when you take that huge step and make your first film.

Lucy, Adam (from Brickwall Films) and I took a lil’ trip to Birmingham. We were wowed by the modern take on vintage interior of an old converted church and the taste of halloumi Meze but were dismayed by the general greyness and industrial mood of the city (to be expected as I suppose as historically Brummy’s an indusrtial town). We came close to death by Adam’s driving (well kinda) and made it home, with mochas and flakes in hand. All of this for your delight, peeps!

So in any case, watch this space and get excited!

I’m off but remember: Keep it real, keep it raw and always keep it togther;

Siana, Over and out

*Salutes*

x

Tags: Birmingham, blog, Brickwall, journalist, Siana Bangura, young people, youth