The return of Made in Chelsea

Crack out the champers, guys (if you’re over 18), because finally, after a long summer off, our favourite posh people on the box are back! Yep, series 4 of Made in Chelsea is hitting our screens tonight! If you, like us, have spent the last few months wondering if Jamie would ever get the girl, scratching your chin in confusion over what happened to Louise when Spencer hit The Bachelor, querying what Kimberley was really all about and questioning Ollie’s sanity over that Union Jack suit, set your woes aside! The gang are back with the promise of more drama, chaos…

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REVIEW: Dog is Dead – All Our Favourite Stories

The debut album from Nottingham five-piece Dog is Dead is an assured if uninspired first step into a music industry that has not been kind to indie music of late. In fact, so desolate is the alternative music landscape that five years ago was a cornucopia of opportunity that there really is only room for one band at a time to find any kind of success and, on this evidence, it is hard to see Dog is Dead dethroning Mumford and Sons at the top. ‘All our Favourite Stories’ opens with the plodding but strangely uplifting ‘Get Low’, with the…

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Sound Bites with Ally McCrae

I feel so lucky that it’s my actual job to find bands and artists in Scotland to put on BBC Radio 1. The hope is that their careers will progress and important people will hear them, like Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and industry heavyweights. Here’s three amazing acts who I think might blow up soon…   CHURCHES – chvrches.tumblr.com If you like really catchy, bouncy, electronic pop songs in the vein of La Roux or M83, then you are going to fall in love with brand new Glasgow band CHURCHES. They are relative newcomers to the scene but have got…

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REVIEW: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Every now and then, you’ll hear someone mega pretentious harp on about the book, the film, the song, the play, the art exhibition, the whatever that changed them. It moved them to their very core. Made them re-evaluate their whole life. It really changed – You get the picture. It’s pretty annoying. But I’m about to make the same claim. When I read Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower aged 18, that was it for me. Life = changed forever. No other book could come close to it. It knocked the socks off Harry Potter, left Jane Eyre…

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MON£Y MATT£RS

Mystified by money? Bad with a budget? You’re not alone! We spoke to Phillipa Cook, who graduated in 2009 and now works for the Financial Ombudsman Service – the free service set up by law to sort out problems between customers and financial businesses – for the top money tips she wishes she’d known before she began student life… As you’re getting ready to start – or head back – to college or university, you might be thinking about reviewing your finances for the coming year. Whether this is your first taste of financial freedom away from home or you’re…

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Spendy-savvy students

If you wish you were better with your budget, don’t despair! We take a look at all the brilliant discounts and cost-cutting tips to save you some cash and help your social life, your wardrobe and your travel plans… One of the downsides of being in education is the lack of income. While you might have a weekend job or parents to help you out, let’s face it – it’s never enough to let you do and buy everything you want. Luckily, lots of retailers, restaurateurs and other businesses have noticed it’s not easy in these times of recession and…

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REVIEW: Ellie Goulding – Halcyon

On 8 October, Ellie Goulding’s new album Halcyon hit the shelves nearly three years after the release of her triple-platinum, number one, debut album Lights which sold one and a half million copies. Many British fans have been chomping at the bit to hear some new material from Hereford-born Ellie, left patiently waiting while she chased success in America. With only two new tracks added when Lights was re-released as Bright Lights in November 2010,  this new album is long overdue. As a massive Ellie Goulding fan myself, Halcyon had big shoes to fill. Halcyon by definition means calm, peaceful…

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REVIEW: No Doubt – Push and Shove

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? It’s certainly the case for No Doubt, their latest offering Push and Shove, released 21st September 2012, after an eleven year break. The album cover features an interesting, warped portrait of the band, and if that’s not enough to grab your attention, the first track ’Settle Down’ has already risen to success when it was released as a single earlier this year. The dancefloor-ready anthem ‘Looking Hot’ is going to be an instant hit, fusing pop, punk and electro effortlessly. The ska influences that they’re so famous for are still there though, particularly…

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Confessions of a Shopaholic

Student life can be expensive, and many young Scots struggle to manage on their own. We take a look at the urge to splurge and offer you advice on how to get your balance out of the red… When Isla Fisher took on the role of Becky Bloomwood, shopping addict extraordinaire, the world rolled its eyes in unison as her spending problem spiralled out of control. Imagine having that much debt, we all laughed. Can’t she just say no to a designer handbag? It turns out that the leading lady from Confessions of a Shopaholic isn’t that unusual – one…

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