Are you tired of the old Christmas songs sounding like a broken record? Do you think Wham’s Last Christmas is as dead as the cold turkey?
Exeposé Music brings you a definitive playlist to spice up Xmas proceedings.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs kick off in style with a heavy cover of one of the most popular songs at this time of year.
Thom Yorke, recently voted Exeter’s favourite alumnus, isn’t a name you would associate with festive frolics. But he delivers a warming rendition of this Christmas classic.
American alternative band Jimmy Eat World rock around the christmas tree with a cover of an xmas staple.
Lindsey Buckingham’s ‘Holiday Road’ gets The Walkmen treatment. A tune to get you off that sofa and shuffling in your brand new slippers.
Perhaps the most obvious title of the bunch, Weezer deliver a heavy track true to their roots. We wish all Weezer songs were soaked in this much melancholy grunge.
Not one for the grandparents, Eazy E reimagines the Christmas narrative with characteristic old school barbarity.
Run DMC pick up from where Eazy E left off with an x-rated xmas banger.
A change in tone as Badly Drawn Boy delivers a modern pop classic full of optimism and Christmas cheer.
Sufjan Stevens produce a delightful pithy track crying out for a happy family sing-along session.
The Flaming Lips complete our festive playlist with a weird and wonderful xmas track full of whimsy and psychedelic feeling.
After whittling down the competition to just three and seeing the vote count soar to over 1000, we finally have a clear winner.
Thom Yorke has been voted the University of Exeter’s favourite alumnus. He finished up with 51% of the vote (599) comfortably beating his closest rival, JK Rowling by 252 votes. Will Young, who managed an early lead after the first two days of voting, faded badly, finishing with 19% of the vote.
Before voting began, JK Rowling had seemed the obvious favourite, writing the Harry Potter fantasy series which has gained world wide attention, won multiple awards and sold more than 400 million copies. In fact, some had even questioned why Exeposé Comment had bothered to seek out a vote fearing it would be too much of a one horse race.
How wrong they were.
Thom Yorke was lagging behind in the poll up until Thursday, only managing 20% of the vote with Rowling way out in front. Dom Madar’s piece certainly helped Yorke’s case with votes in his favour rising at a rate of knots after it went online.
So who exactly is Exeter’s favourite alumnus? During his time at Exeter, Thom Yorke was a DJ in the Lemon Grove and also helped set up the Cavern Club. He is most famous for being the lead singer, pianist, guitarist and chief songwriter of Radiohead. They’ve sold over 30 million albums worldwide. In 2005, Radiohead were ranked number 73 in Rolling Stone’s list of “The Greatest Artists of All Time”. Thom has been outspoken on various contemporary political and social issues. Thom’s activism in support of fair trade practices, with an anti-WTO and anti-globalisation stance, garnered significant attention in the early 2000s. For a full acount, see Dom’s account here, or Callum Burrough’s piece.
Overall, the total vote surpassed the total number who voted in the recent Blurred Lines student referendum.
Dave Reynolds and James Bennett, Online Comment Editors
Harrison Jones and Tom Elliott, Online News Editors
Dominic Madar expresses his dismay at Thom Yorke being overlooked in Exeposé Comment’s inital 5 suggestions for Exeter’s favourite alumnus. Thom does appear in The Final Three and if you’re convinced by Dom’s arguments you can vote for him at the bottom of this article.
Quite how Thom Yorke was overlooked by Exeposé Comment in their quest to find Exeter’s favourite alumni, I’ll never know. Aside from JK it’s not a particularly inspiring bunch – the outspoken Katie Hopkins may be famous(ish), but she’s hardly popular. Will Young is mostly remembered for coming out, once he’d wooed a sufficient number of female votes to win Pop Idol. It’s not exactly music pedigree.
“Thom is a rock deity, devoid of the maniacal egos that have laid many before him to waste.” Photo Credit: wonker via Compfightcc
Anyway, for those unaware, Yorke is the lead singer, pianist, guitarist and chief songwriter of Radiohead; a band with the rare ability of selling albums by the million, while simultaneously impressing music snobs; a heaving global fan base means gigs sell out in seconds. Add in the five number one records and a ton of awards and a strong case can be made for Yorke’s inclusion; however to simply look at the stats is to grossly underestimate the man’s legacy.
In an increasingly corporate music industry, few artists come close for sheer talent or integrity. Admittedly, music taste is highly subjective and I write this as a self-confessed Radiohead fanatic (no surprises there then). His songs may be less catchy than the garbage played in Arena and the Lemmy – if only he still DJ’d there – though given time they may grow on you. Personally, it took me about five years.
Thom is a rock deity, devoid of the maniacal egos that have laid many before him to waste. He rejects the spotlight, so craved by the majority of talentless and spoilt celebrities that seemingly saturate the Tabloids and gossip mags. Unlike most modern ‘musicians’, Thom writes his own material, impervious of record label pressures. A relentlessly brooding personality is stamped all over his refreshingly unique brand of sound. He doesn’t just create and perform either.
Recently, he pulled his latest album from Spotify, over their alleged manipulation of smaller artists. A vocal campaigner on environmental issues and fair trade practices, Yorke has attended an array of protests and summits over renewable energy sources and carbon reduction; anti-war movements and charitable events likewise. Whether or not you agree with his outspoken politics, at least he cares enough to contribute a significant amount of his time and resources to a host of noble causes.
Ultimately however, it’s about a man who spearheads one of the biggest bands on the planet. They’ve been there for well over a decade now, constantly evolving their sound through Britpop and Alternative to Electronic. In a world full of truly awful celebrities, it’s good to know that one of the most fiercely intelligent, genuine and passionate attended our university.
Exeposé Comment are looking to find Exeter’s most popular alumnus.
We’ve cut the shortlist down to three. Will Young and JK Rowling led the way in our initial poll of Exeter’s favourite alumunus. The sheer volume of people calling for Thom Yorke has parachuted him into the final vote. Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 1st December. Obviously the person with the most votes will be unofficially crowned as Exeter’s Favourite Alumnus. Below are a reminder of who the three candidates are, along with a short piece about why you should vote for them.
[poll id=”72″]
1) Thom Yorke
Exeter University having alumni of note is an important part of any university’s existence, it says a lot about the type of person they are, where they come from and what they hope to achieve. Politicians, comedians, authors, bankers, journalists and even legendary Apprentice Raef Bjayou have traversed hilly Devon. One name has however stood out from the rest in terms of sheer achievement but also excellence. Thom Yorke studied at Exeter and has left an indelible mark upon the world of music. As the lead singer of Radiohead, but also Atoms for Peace, Yorke has crafted albums of international acclaim, constantly aiming to push the boundaries of music and is a reference point for many young artists in the UK today.
Though the irony of an aspiring writer defending the famously press hating singer has crossed this author’s mind, it is out of undiluted admiration that a man who has shaped many a person’s musical tastes, been named one of the top ten most powerful people in music and helped create Exeter’s famous Cavern club be held aloft. Though there is little higher acclaim than being a former Lemmy DJ, Yorke is known as a global activist for environmental causes, fair trade, good journalism (Listen to the Radiohead track ‘The Daily Mail) and anti-war movements.
Callum Burroughs, Online Music Editor
2) Will Young.
As it’s been pointed out this week, Will Young is more than just a contemporary pop artist. The past ten years have seen Young jump from strength to strength within the entertainment industry, particularly diversifying himself as an actor appearing on television, film and stage. Regardless of anyone’s personal consideration on the quality of his body of work, it includes a number of hugely successful albums and an extensive acting and performing career which earned him a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in Cabaret.
So why does any of this warrant Will Young being called Exeter’s Favourite Alumni? Exeter is a holding pen for talented and successful people in almost every field imaginable. This is true, but Young stands out as arguably the most media friendly and popular alumnus and that is what makes his connection to the University so important. When we talk about the University’s alumni and why they’re important, it’s not only their achievements but their reputation and philanthropy that reflects the status of the University. For his work with Women’s Aid, Mencap, Catch22 and many other charitable organisations, as well as his diverse and ever-popular media representation, I would argue that Will Young is surely the best example of the values held by Exeter and should be your choice for our favourite alumni.
James Bennett, Online Comment Editor
3) JK Rowling.
Conservative MPs are a dime a dozen, washed up talent show competitors litter the upper reaches of the top one hundred and, let’s face it, everyone’s a comedian these days. But no one, not from Exeter University nor anywhere-else for that matter, has come close to replicating the genius of Harry Potter.
J.K. Rowling deserves the top spot as Exeter’s favourite alumna because of this genius. She created a fictional world that for many exists parallel with our own, inspiring generations across the world with her stories of courage, friendship and magic. There is no way to compare the practically transcendent effect of reading Harry Potter with the mediocrity displayed by the other competing alumni.
Photo Credits: The Telegraph
J.K. Rowling also has her own charitable trust and dedicates much time, resources and energy to other philanthropic endeavours, particularly regarding multiple sclerosis, child welfare and anti-poverty. Not to mention her astounding ability to coax millions of literature-shy kids into reading.
In her 2008 commencement speech to Harvard University, she managed to juggle Harry Potter jokes alongside intensely moving accounts of her personal struggle with poverty and her time spent working with Amnesty International.
The title of her speech was, in part, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure”. Together with Harry, Ron and Hermione, J.K. has inspired a generation into believing that no matter how much you ‘fail’ – whether it be accidentally entering the Triwizard Tournament, snapping your wand in half or taking Polyjuice potion with cat hair in it – you will still be able to come out on top. What is more valuable than that?
exeposedev 