student blogger

A much-awaited album was set to be released in 2012: The xx's second studio record, called ‘Coexist'. It carried big expectations following their very successful debut album ‘XX' (2009), which brought fresh air to the alternative music scene and influenced many artists to come (like Alt-J, whose own album review you can read here).

The band's trademark playing style is definitely minimalist: Jamie Smith & co managed with just a few instruments and simple electronic beats to create a great chill-out atmosphere in each of their old tracks, using low-tone vocals which gave the listener many reasons to keep thinking, sometimes for hours, about the lyrics and the whole meaning of the songs.

However, it seems that with ‘Coexist' this approach has become a little bit excessive, and their melodies are not as interesting as they were.

Beats sometimes keep on playing for minutes without any real aim, without any really bright spark. The vocals do not provide any further interest - making it very difficult to get the messages of many songs, which remain completely hidden and leave the listener with some reasonable doubts ('Tides', ‘Reunion', ‘Our Song').

I do believe in a world without borders and I strongly support the free circulation of people among countries. The planet where we live does not belong to us: it is just our temporary home not buyable with money. Therefore we should not apply any restrictive rule as we do not concretely possess any land.

Immigration and emigration are two aspects which have always characterized human beings; there will always be eras of regression that lead groups of people to move and settle down in different areas. Despite some governments' efforts to eliminate this aspect, there is nothing we can do as immigration is a natural process of survival.

Of course there have to be rules and procedures that regulate immigration, and governments should take action against those who represent a threat to the society and the economy of a country. However, an en-masse prohibition is not the right answer and, unfortunately, it is exactly what is being suggested amongst the UK government, where plans to discourage overseas students to come to the UK have been being whispered for months.

I am not going to lie, sometimes I feel homesick even if I am not so far away from where I came from. And when I do feel homesick, I ring my mum; I mean it is only a two-hour flight. I miss the sun, the essence of citrus fruits and nature that floats in the air. I miss French bread too. But London, London... I can't even find the right words to describe this city.

London is more of a visual, artistic city. It is a multicultural city where many languages are mixed up. I rarely hear English, in fact I hear French everywhere I go. And whenever I go out somewhere people always tell me that I am the first French person they've ever met in London. Now that's impossible! Cultures have taken over the city and meander in the famous branded stores, the most popular streets, the coffee shops, pubs and clubs. International people have even taken over the gym I go to. The only language that we have in common is English. Oh, and the graffiti too!

London is amazing- I came here to improve my English speaking and writing skills, but to be honest, I have learned about many other cultures, and I now know a few words in several languages. London is an encyclopedia and a history manual all in one.

A recent report has revealed that people in London are eating more and more unhealthily as living costs continue to increase. Here Erik gives his view on this growing problem.

"Better quality foods are often more expensive, as well as often the healthier options. For example, a box of chips with two spicy chicken wings costs £1.50 at my local fast-food place, but when I asked for rice, which is healthier than chips, they wanted to charge me £4. No wonder many people do not have any other option than to just to live unhealthily.

Or bring their own food, which is often impractical, and unusual in the eyes of the consumer society. Recently, I saw a man open a sachet of instant soup and add to it hot water from a flask, right in one of the London's shopping malls. Way to go, but I thought him weird and would not like to be viewed as such. No one would. And therefore we choose rather to be the victims of fast-food than public disdain.

In my country, rugby has no tradition at all, which is pity, because I think it is one of the best games in the world. I like it, although I have never actually played it.

Recently, during my Cambridge visit, I saw a bunch of guys playing rugby in a park. They reminded my of my high school P.E. lessons, when we would play football outside regardless of the harsh conditions. Although rugby does not have any tradition in Slovakia, in passion we matched the guys from Cambridge. And that matters. Such sports should teach young men fair play, build fortitude and improve physique. They are part of the curriculum of most of the schools in England. In Slovakia, the most popular school game is football (soccer).

There are only a few American Football teams in Slovakia. Actually, many people back there do not differentiate between Rugby and its "commercial" brother - American Football. Once someone allowed the players to pass the ball forward, dressed them in protective gear so that they look like Darth Vader and filled their heads with pre-learned tactics. And this is how American Football was born. I can not help, but to me it comes across as a game more connected with the commercial culture of eating up hamburgers than the original spirit of sport.