Archive for August, 2010

The gender reversal challenge

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Take a look at the tagline on the front cover of the recently-published Hollyoaks – Girl Talk book: “Boys, bodies, relationships, fame and the important issue of what to wear.”

Are those topics genuinely the most important things these actresses have opinions on? Are they really the main issues that people would be interested in reading?

Cultural stereotypes are so deeply ingrained in both sexes – women as nurturers and homemakers who should be aesthetically pleasing at all times, men as breadwinners with Neanderthalic tendencies - that most people aren’t even aware of it. It’s about time this social conditioning was challenged but where do you start?

The mainstream media are probably the most frequent purveyors of this self-perpetuating narrow-mindedness. Pay close attention to the line of questioning in any interview, particularly with female celebrities, and you’ll find examples of glaring sexism.

To demonstrate the point, The Pop Cop decided to meet a couple of bonnie young Scottish musicians, RACHEL SERMANNI and DONALD MACDONALD, to see how they fared with a few questions that are rarely asked of their gender…

Rachel Sermanni, 18, hails from Carrbridge, near Aviemore, and is about to enter her second gap year. Her mum works for the NHS and her dad is in the police force. She is currently staying with relatives in Glasgow as she chases pop stardom.

What’s your favourite type of car?
Mini. I can’t drive but I’m taking lessons in September.

What cool gadgets do you own?
I have a mobile phone, a laptop – a nice Mac thing – and an iPod.
What kind of iPod?
A thin one!

Which football team do you support?
Celtic.
How many Celtic matches did you go to last season?
[laughs] None. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a football match.

What sports do you take part in regularly?
I like to run. Football is probably my favourite to play, though. When we were with Admiral Fallow on tour, we had a game and our team won. It was something like 11-8. I was an attacker, at the front. I scored about three goals.

Would you fight for your country if there was conscription?
It depends on the cause. Probably not. I’d maybe be a nurse.

Have you been in a physical fight?
Only with my younger brother. I think the first time was when I was 12 and he was eight. It was more slapping than anything else. I don’t think I’ve ever punched him in the face. I’ve probably punched him elsewhere, though.

Have you ever been in trouble with the law?
I was out with a group of friends from the village and one of the boys had brought back a water pipe from Turkey. We were all completely oblivious to the fact that you’re meant to smoke drugs through it. One of our friends was 18 and we wanted to see how it worked so he put some tobacco in it and we sat in the park and watched him smoke that. And then the police came down. It was so bad. They shone a light on him and told him to come over. But everything was legal.

What’s the drunkest you’ve been?
I was once sick in Sleazy’s because of White Russians. They are bad. I remember being escorted out by the guy with his hand on my back. But I’ve never been so drunk that I can’t remember anything or fallen over. I don’t drink a lot. If I’m going out I’ll stick to something like vodka and lemonade.
What kind of drunk are you?
I take on the observer role. I step back and barely talk. I watch interactions and get really engrossed. I’m a big people-watcher.

How would you feel if you started getting grey hair?
I’d think it was kind of cool because it shows a wisdom. I’ve got one white hair, which I like to call silver. I, my mum and my sister have it in the same place. I pull it out but it grows back. My mum is 50 this year and she doesn’t have any greys except that one.

Do you have any tattoos?
No, but I want one. I’ve known that I want one for a while. I’d like to do a lot of the design myself. I’m thinking of getting a fox. My dad once told me a really cool phrase, ‘As soft as a doe but as sharp as a fox’. I’ve thought of getting something like that, a little deer – you’re gentle but you have good instincts.

Would you feel uncomfortable if your partner earned more money than you?
I’d be alright with it. It would be nice but you wouldn’t want to rely on them too much. I’d like to feel as independent as possible.

Rachel Sermanni – Eggshells

August 27, Ivory Blacks, Glasgow
September 18, Loopallu, Ullapool (tickets)

Donald Macdonald, 21, grew up in Contin, about eight miles from Dingwall. His dad, Calum, is one of the founder members of Runrig and his mum is a teacher. He went to college in Skye and is now working in Glasgow.

When do you plan to settle down and have a family?
63! Ohhh, I really, really couldn’t answer that. Ehhh. Oh, lordy. I’d say th-, th-… not before 35, 36.

How many children would you like?
That depends on the wonders of contraceptive! I would like three kids… eventually. I’d like three boys, teach them shinty.

Are you ever worried about your weight?
No, it has never been a problem. I’m quite active and go to the gym.

Do you watch what you eat?
Not at all.

Have you ever been hurt in a relationship?
Emm… in what way?
Emotionally.
Not physically then! I’ve been cheated on and stuff, it’s not nice. I’ve never done that to someone myself.
Did the experience make you more cautious of women?
THAT woman, yes! I suppose a wee bit. I don’t really think about it.

Chocolates or flowers?
Chocolates. I don’t think I’ve ever received flowers. Or chocolates for that matter, except Dairy Milk.

How much attention do you pay to your own appearance?
I spend about six minutes in the morning putting gel in my hair and that’s pretty much it. I don’t pay too much attention to it but I make sure I’m presentable. Some days more than others. If I’m going out I’ll maybe spend seven minutes.

Do you think people judge you on how you look?
They would if I went into the local back home. If I go out here I wear skinny jeans. If I go out to the Strath hotel – that’s the shinty pub back home – I have to dress down so you put on a hi-viz jacket and boilet suit and off you go. Absolutely no skinny jeans at the Strath hotel. Once, I was labouring on a building site across the road for a summer job. It was a Friday and we brought clothes to go straight out after work. I brought these pointy shoes with a wee heel in them, they were pretty cool. Unbeknownst to me, they sanded one of the heels down for a laugh. I ended up hobbling about all night.

Donald Macdonald – Wreck Of A Ship

August 19, Bar 10, Glasgow
August 21, Isle of Wedge, Skye (tickets)
September 2, Twa Tams, Perth

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Music Alliance Pact – August 2010

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

There’s no mystery in pop music any more. What happened to the days when Michael Jackson’s dancing defied the laws of physics, Godspeed You Black Emperor seemed like prophets of the apocalypse, Belle & Sebastian refused to do interviews and Prince became ungoogleable?

Perhaps DEMS can bring some stealth back to the table. The one-man Edinburgh-based musician has never played a gig and there isn’t even a face to go with the name. Normally, I wouldn’t pick an artist for the Music Alliance Pact who has only two songs to be judged on, but you just have to rewrite the rulebook when one of them is as incredible as Jarndyce vs Jarndyce.

The Music Alliance Pact is a team of blogs from all around the world, and every month each of the 36 blogs from these 36 countries select one song they like from their homeland. All these 36 presentations are put together into a big MAP post, which is published on all 36 blogs on the same day, the 15th. All artists featured have agreed for their song to be made available to the MAP project as a free mp3, which you can download either individually or as a compilation using the link below. There are links to all previous MAPs on the right-hand side of this blog.

To download all 36 songs in one file click here

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Dems – Jarndyce vs Jarndyce
Dems is a truly exciting newcomer to the Scottish music scene. London-raised but Edinburgh-based, Dan Moss has just two songs to his name at the time of writing and no live appearances on the horizon. What we do know is that he’s a man whose talent is matched by his ideas. Jarndyce vs Jarndyce is a classy, clever and thoroughly accessible piece of electro-pop, like a more edgy Postal Service.

(more…)

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Detour: the live wire daredevils

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

For the past three month I’ve been fighting with Talk Talk to fix my horrendously slow broadband connection (0.38mbps average download speed, I shit you not), which has involved no less than 100 phone calls, mostly to India, and three engineers sent to The Pop Cop HQ in an attempt to get to the root of the problem. It eventually got sorted earlier this week, which finally allowed me to watch video clips online without the computer going into buffer meltdown.

The one link I had saved in anticipation of such a momentous day was footage of renegade Scottish video-bloggers DETOUR’S inaugural ‘Wee Jaunt’ around Glasgow on May 30, which I have embedded below.

The all-day event started off with Stevie And The Moon playing in Brel’s beer garden, before the audience was taken by subway to St Enoch Square where The Second Hand Marching Band were in full flow; they then led the crowd to the first of four performances in venue toilets – Rachel Sermanni in Mono followed by Energy! in The Arches, This Silent Forest in The Admiral, and Admiral Fallow in The Flying Duck. Oh, and Bronto Skylift also rocked out in Bothwell Lane (pictured above).

The geniuses behind Detour are 23-year-old duo Ally McCrae and David Weaver, who are famed for their monthly ‘Kidnap’ series in which they huckle a band into a transit van and drive them off to a secret, unorthodox (often outdoor) location and film them playing a short set, powered by a petrol generator. On top of that Detour also do regular podcasts, put on live nights and have even recorded a pilot for their own TV show. Considering the incredibly professional job these guys do with no funding – just a wealth of ideas, an infectious enthusiasm and the goodwill of people with a shared passion for local bands – they really do deserve to make a living out of this. The Scottish music scene is lucky to have them.

The second Wee Jaunt will take place on Sunday, August 22 in Glasgow. The entertainment will begin at 3pm at St Enoch Square with the last stop being Bloc’s open mic night at 9pm, but quite what will happen in the six hours in-between is anyone’s guess. If you fancy going along, email givemeabelterofadayout@hotmail.com to reserve your place. See here for more info.

November 2009: Bronto Skylift kidnap video (Forthside Bridge, Stirling), podcast
December 2009: The Whisky Works kidnap video (Glasgow film studio), podcast
January 2010: Other People kidnap video (Forth Rail Bridge), podcast
February 2010: LightGuides kidnap video (Scotland/England border), podcast
March 2010: Hey Enemy kidnap video (Bath Street, Glasgow), podcast
April 2010: The LaFontaines kidnap video (Falkirk Wheel), podcast
May 2010: Carnivores kidnap video (Glasgow Science Centre), podcast
June 2010: Song Of Return kidnap video (St Peter’s Seminary, Cardross)