During our visit to the Olympic museum in Lausanne, every exhibit seemed to be laced with – or at least allude to the importance of education, peace, and a possibility for change through Olympic sport and competition. Although education and competition were easy to identify, Peace seemed to be presented as an obscure concept with few references throughout, making me question the importance of peace to the International Olympics committee and the Olympics in general.

Research suggests Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee and the instigator of the modern Olympic movement was convinced that peace could only be effective if theoretical learning was accompanied by personal experience.

To him, personal experience was Olympic sport. He believed his aim could be achieved if sport was used as an instrument to reform traditional education systems, impacting upon reforms to global economy and politics inevitably securing universal peace.

The one thing which undermines this ethos is the amount of dubious sponsors the museum is founded on. With sponsors including The Bank of China and several other large capitalist organizations often associated with conflict, it seems strange The IOC and the Olympic museum has accepted their funding.

Surely they should boycott these companies - or does money outweigh morals? Either way it’s definitely something worth discussing. I guess if you’re pragmatic about the whole situation you have to take into consideration the reality of it all. Without accepting the funding of their sponsors the museum wouldn’t be there now promoting Olympic sport and ethos. 

check it out? yes. 

Dupstep. I have always appreciated it from a distance till recently - in the words of Drake ’ one thing ‘out music when it hits you feel no pain’ its definitely one of the  new sounds i will relish in 2011.

Check out upcoming dup delight, Nero who recently joined Chase and status’s record label : MTA.

Innocence never sounded so good.

Happy new year.

The Power of Protest.

Can’t wait for the next  London poerty game!

  here’s what i wrote for the 2010 edition:

To celebrate the multicultural melting pot of London in true London style, Apples and Snakes have teamed up with Hide and Seek, Lift 2010 and word maverick Ross Sutherland for a innovate literature game, The London Poetry Game. 

Each line of a brand new poem written by Ross Sutherland has been translated into twenty six (!) different languages and it’s up to all you bilinguals, polyglots and language enthusiasts to translate these poems into English so that poem can be heard. It’s said that you’re never more than ten feet from a speaker of a foreign language in London so look around you…

Participants are asked to call 0870 8200025 (calls charged at your local rate) and to follow the prompts to translate a line.  Each translation will receive a prize and there will be a top prize for the person who translates the most lines.  

 The finished poem will be assembled from every translation that is phoned in and broadcasted at the National Theatre (London) on Sunday 11th July. Your translation could be included! Come Sunday afternoon, all the recordings will be infused into a sonic performance at The National Theatre, as part of the culmination of the Hide and Seek Weekender. Even Ross Sutherland confesses ‘ it’s already become a much better poem than the one I initially wrote’!

What are you waiting for?! Join in now

Au revoir!

JESSIE J DOIN’ IT LIKE A DUDE.

No introduction needed.

The video says it all!

Briton songstress Jessie J is fast becoming one of the country’s most anticipated new artists. Essex-born Jessie, 21, is signed worldwide to Universal Music Group, and has inked a deal with Lava and Island Records in America.

She has worked with an assortment of artists including Chris Brown, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. After bagging a US number one hit for Mylie Cyrus’s, Party In The U.S.Ait was about time she got on the stage instead of behind it. She has also toured with modern industry greats such as Macy Gray, Girls Aloud, Jools Holland and Taio Cruz.

Jessie’s first single, Do It Like A Dude, has been commended as a future number one which word of a debut album to follow.

She says: ‘I feel like my album is an example of what exists in the world of music right now.

‘It’s like my album is an iPod…  it’s like when you go clubbing these days, you don’t have a pop room and a separate RnB room, they’re all together. People just appreciate great music.’

Rudyard Kipling

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Anyone who’s emerged as a major talent in the music scene over the last decade will know that being a one-trick-pony is no longer viable. It’s become increasingly important for new faces, particularly without the backing of a household name to bring a multi-faceted approach to music; and this is what 19 year old Ed Sheeran has proven having released 6 EPs to date. As a singer, acoustic guitarist, beatboxer and at times emcee, it’s obvious that there are plenty of sides to this Norwich teenager (not to mention the fiery mop engulfing his cranium!)

The expression ‘it takes one to know one’ has certainly been exemplified by Ed, as one of Hollywood’s multi-talented personalities,Jamie Foxx has recently taken a strong interest in the redhead musician. Foxx, who has cemented his name as a successful actor, singer and comedian and host of a Sirius Satellite radio show where he invited Ed to perform his hit ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ earlier this year. Rumour is Ed is on the verge of being taken on by Jamie Foxx and has been taken under the wing of 21st Century Management who also represent Elton John, Lilly Allen and James Blunt.

“Ed’s organic and understated background is reflected in his work.”

Ed’s a believer of the saying “If you don’t know where you have been, you don’t know where you are going” something certainly reflected in his appearance. Hailing from the East-Anglian market town of Framlingham, Ed’s organic and understated background is reflected in his work. Don’t expect any braggadocio or auto-tuned ballads, instead expect singing and rapping about experiences which have shaped him. His discography dates back to his 2005 debut, ‘The Orange Room EP’, which maybe a reference to his afore-mentioned hair but is more likely an example of his likening of music to colours. Speaking on his vocational path into music, he declared “I didn’t know whether to become an artist or musician but I realised I could paint with music. All my songs have colours.”

Other artists Ed’s ‘painted’ with include an impressive roster from the urban music scene including Wretch 32, Scorcher and Jake Gosling (who produced Wiley’s experimental album ‘See Clear Now’) and his affiliation with the grime scene is set to continue as he’s currently recording a collaborative album, with each track set to feature an artist from grime’s array of talent.

Only a tsunami-scale disaster would be able to stop Ed Sheeran’s juggernaut-like progression, and having a favorable name within the underground and mainstream will only lead to his name being placed on every promoter’s wish list.

WORDS: Nick BlatantlyBlunt