21 h. ago Indian rock sensations Bloodywood: ‘What’s more metal than standing up for people you love?’

The trio’s playful mix of heft and traditional instrumentation sent them viral. But they’re also confronting racism and rape culture, and struggling in a Bollywood-dominated music industry‘We’re serving a really nice dish called metal tikka masala,” jokes Bloodywood guitarist Jayant Bhadula. “It’s metal but with so many spices that it’ll overwhelm your senses. You will headbang and you will end up dancing with us.”This is the tongue-in-cheek mission statement of one of metal’s most original bands. Formed in 2016, Bloodywood flavour the conventions of nu-metal with traditional Indian instruments, meaning their songs are as likely to feature crunching riffs as they are the flute or the dhol. The trio – bulked out to a six-piece on stage – became viral sensations covering pop songs and alternative hits on YouTube before writing original material. From there, their fortunes soared. Their first ever gig was at German metal festival Wacken Open Air in 2019. Four years later they drew a ma...

Events

22 h. ago ‘Only for the richest people’: With Love, Meghan infuriates viewers who declare show is ‘fake’

‘I have never been so uninspired in my life,’ one person wrote

Politics

2 d. ago 'I found the best English breakfast in Benidorm – and the price left me floored'

Lots of people love tucking into a good breakfast, especially when they're abroad. But one man thinks he's found the best spot in Benidorm to have a full English

Politics

5 d. ago Sex 20 times a week? New study identifies four types of romantic lover

Australian research is ‘first to empirically show that we don’t all love the same’, lead author saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew research has identified four types of romantic lover, including one that has sex up to 20 times a week.The research, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, categorised lovers as mild romantic, moderate romantic, intense romantic, and libidinous romantic.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news emailMild: About one in five – 20.02% – fell into this cluster, characterised by “the lowest intensity, lowest obsessive thinking, lowest commitment, and lowest frequency of sex”. This group also had the lowest proportion of people who thought their partner was “definitely” in love with them – just 25.31% – and the lowest proportion having sex, at 82.72%.Moderate: About four in 10 – 40.91% – landed in this category, which Bode described as “fairly stock-standard” – or in the words of the journal articl...

Politics

6 d. ago ‘The love child of Mick Hucknall and Crazy Frog’: is Eurovision’s Lumo the worst mascot ever?

Meet the song contest’s first ever mascot – a sentient heart with a bizarrely sexy mouth that looks like the result of the ChatGPT prompt ‘please ruin my day’. Why oh why has this happened?The miracle of Eurovision is how much it has legitimised itself over the last decade and a half. For years, the song contest was the laughing stock of Europe, a toe-curling night on which all the continent’s fifth-rate novelty acts would gather and bing-bam-boom themselves to death while the rest of Europe looked on and jeered.But look at it now. By carefully repositioning itself, and by encouraging countries to submit relevant, modish entries, Eurovision has transformed into the party of the year. People love Eurovision – and not ironically, either. At a time of growing international strife – the sort of strife that it was designed to combat – Eurovision represents a moment of unity. It is, in short, in the shape of its life. It would take something spectacular to mess it up. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago 'Many people love him... others love to hate him': Keir Starmer jokingly compares Peter Mandelson to Donald Trump as he arrives in Washington

Prime Minister Keir Starmer jokingly likened Peter Mandelson to Donald Trump last night at the British ambassador's residence in Washington.

Politics

1 week ago ‘Now is the time of monsters’: young Berliners despair at far

Alternative für Deutschland projected to finish second in federal election with about 20% of the voteFor more than 150 years, the symbolism of the Siegessäule, or Victory Column, in Berlin’s Tiergarten, has shifted alongside German identity: from emblem of the empire to strategic relocation by the Nazis and, finally, its adoption as an icon of Berlin’s legendary love parade.On Sunday, as throngs of people gathered in its shadow, the golden statue bore witness to yet another shift – an election that had yielded an emboldened far right in a result that was unprecedented in Germany’s postwar history. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Brits most misunderstood insults revealed – including 'git', 'pleb' and 'numpty'

British people love a good insult, but it looks like some of the more 'classic' jibes are getting lost in translation - we take a look at some of the most 'misunderstood' words

Politics

2 w. ago Seven 'famous whisky lovers' and their favourite Scottish drams

A new list of "famous whisky lovers" who have been known to enjoy a dram has been shared. Whisky is one of the most iconic symbols of Scotland. While there are distilleries all over the globe that produce world-class whiskies, nothing can compare to a Scottish dram.Experts at Master of Malt have published a list of "famous whisky lovers", and even their whisky of choice. The varied roundup includes celebrities both past and present, and even one fictional character. Master of Malt wrote: "You probably know lots of people who love whisky. We certainly do. Fine folks, all of them. Some of them are quite well known in our circles, familiar faces on the ‘gram or published authors even."But they’re not celebrities. Proper A-listers. And that makes them RUBBISH in the eyes of the baying public. "The pitchfork populace, who demand only superstars and bloody royalty if you don’t mind too. We live to please, so if you want to hear about legitimately big nam...

Politics

2 w. ago Bridget Jones: Director hopes people 'fall in love' with London

Bridget Jones: Director hopes people 'fall in love' with London  BBC.com

Politics