The Predicament of Student Nightlife

Being a student is fairly great. Granted, it seems that the government wants to put a stop to that, with talks of scrapping maintenance grants and further upping tuition fees, but in the mean time, the student experience is one which is almost universally acclaimed as being 'pretty top'.

And I for one, would certainly have to agree. Despite the constantly looming shadow of massive debt and adult responsibility, university has so far been one of the best experiences of my life, and the same can be said for many, many others too. And of course, one of the key factors of a great three years, would be copious amounts of alcohol consumption.

Thanks to £1 Jagerbombs and £2 mixers, it's relatively easy to have a night out on a tenner, something which I'm proud to have proven on multiple occasions. That being said, the prospect of student nightlife is looking increasingly grim. Over the past ten years, an alarming amount of clubs have permanently shut their doors; the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) have seen 1,411 venues close from 2005.

So what's going to happen to student nights? As the figures suggest, they'll be few and far between, and how will us young people get extraordinary pissed now? Well, we may just have to resort to more traditional methods. To tell you straight, it seems that a good student night is becoming harder and harder to find. 

I've always been torn between the idea of going out to a pub or a club. Both have their benefits and flaws, and these subjective terms often differ greatly across the country. For example, a night out around Sheffield would often cost me around £50, whereas a equally good night in a series of pubs in my local town would be about half of that, (and local pubs will often treat you to music with the odd guitar or two thrown in, which is always a bonus). Of course, my opinions on what constitutes a decent night out will differ drastically from your own, so I can't really say which night is better for certain. But I'll give it a go regardless.

I'm sure I've mentioned somewhere before, but to keep you informed, I'm at the University of Lincoln. It's good, although admittedly I've not had many other universities to compare it too. However, as I hinted at earlier, the nightlife here does leave a bit to be desired every now and again. And coincidentally, this weekend has been a prime example.

If you enjoy rock, or generally alternative music in Lincoln, you may struggle from time to time. The key nights consist of Cubesday, (Tuesday), Dive, (Friday), and Propaganda, or occasionally the odd Transmission (Saturday) or Subculture (Friday). Unfortunately, the two most consistent nights are both on a Saturday, which leaves you essentially stumped for the remainder of the week, and don't say a single night is enough, because if so, how dare you call yourself a student...

The former two nights, if my memory serves me correctly, were poor, for lack of a better word. One is cheap, so great if you don't mind the possibility of getting stabbed, and the other is expensive and seldom busy. Admittedly, a particular genre of music shouldn't dictate your nightlife, some of the best nights are often had when you go out with a great group of friends and just get slaughtered, regardless of what happens to be playing. 

But, if I wanted a consistently grand night out, my options at uni are regretfully slim, there's only so many times I can hear 'Mr. Brightside' or 'When the Sun Goes Down' before they make me slip into a psychotic rage, and leave you wanting something a little less mainstream. Sure, cheap drinks and the opportunity to meet new folks is good, and is often something which you don't get in pubs, but how do the free houses and bars back home compare to the student-centered nightlife of Lincoln?

You'll have to forgive the informal focus and first-person references in this article, but I can't see many other options I'm afraid. Back home, nights are of equally reputability. Clubs are essentially a miss here, so it's better to boil this discussion down to a pub and club comparison. 

Of course, a round back home is notably more costly, more so than the student-friendly campus pubs, and if you're not a fellow who can understand the broadest of Northern accents, be ready to have a plethora of dirty looks thrown in your direction. But, unlike the Lincoln scene, the nightlife of this particular small town is fantastically Northern: There's live bands covering all types of music, most days of the week. There are jukeboxes, which are essentially non-existent in Lincoln. There's even £1.50 pints, and more importantly, friends that you haven't seen in ages. All these factors add up into a solid night out. 

Pubs are great, in all their different varieties, and for all their unique flaws. I can't think of a building much more welcoming that a Wetherspoons, (possibly a McDonalds when you're abroad, but that's a different story). Not much can top the consistently cheap deals of a 'Spoons, and the chain itself is a brilliant concept; rock up for either a casual drink and a curry, or proceed to get suitably pissed. No-one at a Wetherspoons seems to care, nor judge, it's a church of inebriation, and that church also happens to be a wonderfully restored market hall, theater or bank. If a consistently welcoming atmosphere or reliably cheap prices don't appeal to you, think of the impact of a Wetherspoons on the local community, and I mean that in a good way...

Pubs bring people together, in a rather casual and friendly manner. If you've noticed that your local Spoons is refreshingly lacking when it comes to music, it's because a conversational atmosphere is king to whatever's currently in the charts. And that is one thing that I hate about clubs. Not the sticky floors, the intrusive gentleman in the toilets, or even the less than favorable characters, it's the atmosphere and lack of communication.

In an age which highlights the worrying lack of understanding when it comes to consent, pubs are still welcoming places of chivalry and manners; I've never once been spoken rudely to in a pub, or barged past. Everyone manages to remain content, even when pissed. Clubs, regardless of the music they play, still stand as somewhat intimidating arenas, in which jumped-up lads jostle for position on a hierarchy that only exists in their heads.

Your average club, (please note, while I say 'average', this isn't a description of all clubs), tends to be a dark and crowded place, abiding to a wave of lad culture which should've been vanquished from existence as soon as it became a thing. Every time I've ventured into the wilderness of such a venue, I can guarantee that you'll bare witness to one of two crappy practices: Firstly, you may witness a guy trying to dance or grind on a woman with a begrudging look on her face, which I always find to be both awful yet amusing. This amusement isn't from the position of the woman, it's the desperation of the male, who can't conjure any basic conversation, so he subsequently proceeds to just rub his genitals over his chosen lady. How lovely. Are you that worried that if you open your mouth, this poor soul will immediately realise how much of a shitty person you are? 

The second, and arguably worse practice that I encounter, is that you'll always see someone stirring shit, or trying to start a fight. I can seldom think of a night in which I haven't seen one of these things occurring, unfortunately. I appreciate that alcohol makes people behave differently, but surely if people in clubs learnt how to use their words, everyone would be much better off in the long run, with no trips to A&E. 

All this unnecessary hostility does make me wonder, why do people bother with clubs at all? Then I remembered, it's not really a case of the venue, more the people you go with. Admittedly, the aforementioned £1 Jagerbombs are a bonus, but some of the best nights out I've had have been with people that are great to be around, and because of this, we've endured some of the worst venues with a smile on our faces. If I had to sum all of this up in a sentence, I'd stick with that idea; it's not the venue, it's the people that make a night out.

While that middling perspective does seem pretty obvious and predictable, recently, I've discovered a new medium which has led to nothing but cracking nights for me. I don't know what these places are classed as, but that simply doesn't matter. I'm talking about places that somehow straddle the line between pub and club, mixing the perfect atmosphere with music and decent prices. Maybe it's the creeping adulthood which is causing this change of heart, or maybe it's a reality of nightlife. Places like Lola Lo's and Subculture, (for Lincoln anyway), have given me my answer to this debate. I've never had a bad experience at these places, and I can't see one happening anytime soon. And I mean, Subculture is held in a really nice waffle house, how can you say no to that? 

I can assure you, this isn't a sponsored post. Of course, the right group of friends is essential, but a location which combines the best of both worlds really manages to turn a solid night out into a great one. 

So if you want something different, which isn't your usual battle between rock and pop music, go somewhere new, where no-one has been before. Venture into the inebriated unknown, and you might just find yourself a new favourite place. And if you simply can't be arsed with such exploration, there's always one of the places that I just mentioned. Props to them for having something unique, and for providing a haven for tired individuals such as myself. 

What Did You Expect from The Stone Roses?

Twenty-one years is a very long time. As someone who has yet to reach that magical age, I can’t even properly comprehend it.

However, in that space of time, the world has changed a great deal, and more importantly, so has the music landscape of Britain. Since we last saw The Stone Roses, their previous single, also a personal favourite of mine, was ‘Begging You’, released in 1994. We’ve seen the rise and fall of the Britpop movement which arguably muscled the Roses out of prominence. We’ve seen new bands like the Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian rise to maturity, headline festivals, and subsequently retreat to their back to their positions as key players in British music. We’ve also witnessed the reunion of the four-piece back in 2011, taking the world by storm and leaving fans itching for new material to stick their teeth into.

And it seems the stars must have aligned, because they released the new single, ‘All for One’, just six days ago, polarising fans in the process.

With a series of massive shows on the horizon, it seems that interest in The Stone Roses is as high as it ever has been. Get out your bucket hats and anything with Adidas all over it. Dust off your lemon-themed merch and your Pollock-inspired prints, because it seems that this summer will be the home of a Madchester revival, fronted by the chief figures of the movement. Some tabloids are even predicting a new album to drop soon, coinciding with their summer gigs. I mean, with streams of The Stone Roses’ material increasing by 500 percent, it seems that the sudden appearance of a new single may have very well attracted a whole new younger audience for their work, alongside older fans who were involved with the band in their earlier years.

It really is a cracking time to be a Stone Roses fan. But if there’s so much love for the Manchester band, why are people utterly divided when it comes to ‘All for One’?

The first thing that hits you in this track is the riff, and with this being The Stone Roses, I’d be a tad surprised if it was any different. You’re immediately struck by Squire’s distinctive playing, taking you swiftly back to the nineties. It reminds me of the gap between their eponymous debut album, and Second Coming, with the sound reminding you that the group have had a lot of time to practice. It certainly provides a solid foundation for a memorable Stone Roses tune, with its original and catchy riff, something which is bound to get thousands of fans jumping at the Etihad later this year. 

The one understandable quarrel that many have with the new single would be the lyrics, which have been almost universally panned. Between the repeating jingle of "me", "be", "see" and "family", along with an opening line which could've very well been scribbled down five minutes before recording, there's not a lot of lyrical love for the new track. Although, chances are you'll remember the words for how bad they are, and that definitely won't stop tens of thousands of people from singing them. Despite these judgements, the song is undeniably optimistic, and this makes it all the more potent, especially when we've been deprived of new Stone Roses material for so long. If you're longing after masterful lyrics, have a look back at their older stuff.

The format of the song makes sense, or at least by Stone Roses standards. The chorus is a simple three-chord affair, with some easy to remember lyrics; there aren't any adventurous rhymes or complex meanings behind any of the lyrics, as to be expected. The chorus repeats until a welcome stop, which then holds you in place for a blinding solo. 

If you're still not getting the gist of this article, 'All for One' is exactly what it needs to be: A simple, no-nonsense deal which brings attention back to the band, while providing us with a tune which instantly sounds like The Stone Roses with very little effort. Thankfully, Brown and friends haven't tried anything new, or at least not yet. All of their experimental bits and pieces can stick around as B-Sides or filler album tracks. That being said, 'Begging You' could be classified as a little on the experimental side, and quite a few people are fans of it. 

Ultimately, can't we all be happy that there's a new lot of Stone Roses material on the horizon? It's a miracle that the band haven't permanently tarnished their legacy with their third coming. They're not returning to be the band which pioneered a new wave of indie music, they're too far gone for that. They're returning for a giant, feel-good nostalgia trip, and so far they're doing just that. Alternatively, the four of them could be bored and skint, but let's look past that and keep an optimistic outlook. If you've got a problem with the new tune, rather than immediately going with the flow and slating it, why don't you simply ask what you expected of a band who've been stagnant for the best part of two decades?

Regardless of what you think, 'All for One' could've been worse. A lot worse. I just hope they keep this going for the summer of the Stones.