by Emma Gilpin “Expectation vs. Reality” is a classic meme, one that has achieved its success through the relatability of its wry analysis of the sometimes seemingly unrelenting disappointments of modern life. The internet is a strange, ethereal space where we are able to connect with people who have similar, or wildly different, interests and […]
Read moreDissonance Management
by Michael Leong I’ve been meditating again recently; 10 minutes a day is a relatively low cost for a sense of having dedicated time and space to take care of myself. One exercise I’ve always struggled with is visualisation – imagining a ball of light at the top of your head, sending warm, spacious sunlight […]
Read more‘Washing Cycles’
The rhythmic hum of the washing machine reminds me that not all metronomes are perfect and that water smells like flowers sometimes and that sometimes it smells like mud and that you are still in the room. You sent me teardrops in damp envelopes and poems you didn’t write. And I realised your voice doesn’t […]
Read moreAd Extremis – The Call
by James Page Beyond the tumbling hills, the great storm brewed on the horizon. Katherine found it mesmerising: its devastating vastness, the way it twisted and changed from moment to moment, the flickering light from within it flashing and fading. There was something strangely calming about its intricacies, despite the inevitable destruction it contained. She […]
Read moreThe Sound of Instability
by Lauren Hill Dissonance pervades our world. Tensions and conflict can tear apart the perceived stability of our lives, shifting harmony and order into a harsh cacophony of sound. In relation to psychology, cognitive dissonance can be explained as the inner mental conflict which results from simultaneously holding contradictory and incongruous beliefs; in order to […]
Read moreA Tale of Two Halves: A Review of Twelfth Night
by Chloe Whitehead Five English students, a medic and some wholesome Shakespeare – a day out made in heaven? We thought so. On a rainy Thursday in January we went to see Twelfth Night at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, and on the whole witnessed a brilliant performance. Despite being an English student, I’d […]
Read more‘Mind’s Eye’
by Tom Saer Please, my deer, sell your tiger’s hides and Harvest my empathy I promise it’s worth it? In an anxious Greek murmur of the brazen-clad I found your stone antlers Weeping words from a cherry tree In a fucking dance I will grind you into a paste I’ve met you before synthesised waltz […]
Read morePleasant Discord
by Michael Angerer It seems that the most desirable thing to achieve in life is harmony – that is, at least according to many religions and a sizeable number of personal coaches. Your life is supposed to run along like a well-crafted symphony: all dissonances are to be resolved at the end. That is also […]
Read moreTime’s Up on Hypocrisy in the Media
by Rhiannon Savage
Read moreIssue #27 – Dissonance
A pdf of the print version of Issue #27 – Dissonance – can be downloaded here: Issue #27 – Dissonance
Read moreSlow Travel: Rich Lands
by Tobias Thornes It was nearing summer in the Northern Hemisphere when my boat at long last docked, but somewhere along the way we had slipped imperceptibly into the South, and – for now at least – winter was setting in around me for the second time in six months. I didn’t know it then, […]
Read moreThe Sound of Sheer Silence
by Amanda Higgin Xanda and I, reluctantly and rushed by timetables, exchange our goodbyes a few times in between final parting witticisms. I really do have to go!’ She laughs, ‘Bye!’, and with a click of her mouse and a low bee-doop Xanda disappears from my laptop screen. I lean back in my chair, still chuckling […]
Read moreDamn! That’s Crunchy: Very Brief Thoughts on Dissonance in Jazz
by Josh Cottell I sit down at the piano and play two chords. It’s a C7(♭9) leading to a F▵(add9). Damn! That’s crunchy. Hearing these chords would make many think immediately of jazz. But why? What is it about these chords that makes us think of jazz? The answer to this question is in the essence […]
Read moreEscape
by Joe Gardiner
Read moreBeautiful Thing: A Review
by Amanda Higgin It is often said that simple things are beautiful, and this show was certainly a Beautiful Thing. This straightforward but delicately told story brings its audience to three neighbouring flats in a London council estate. Jamie lives with his mother, Sandra, and her boyfriend, Tony. On one side lives Leah, who has […]
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