Latest news with #Cagney
Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'It's like a second Berlin wall': The art of door selection at Berlin clubs
Berlin-based musicologist Dr. Liam Cagney shares his thoughts on the recent University of Bath study sharing the elusive paradox of door selection at Berlin's infamous techno clubs The criteria for getting into Berlin's renowned techno clubs has long been shrouded in mystery, but a recent study sought to shed light on the door selection process. Published in the Journal of Marketing, the research from the University of Bath, King's College London, and Freie Universität Berlin revealed door 'selectors' paradoxically look for people that 'fit in' and 'stand out' to add to the experience. But according to Berlin -based writer and musicologist, Dr. Liam Cagney, the study only tells part of the story. Cagney suggests that Berlin's club scene exists 'somewhere between a public space and a private space' making the criteria for door selection more of an artform. 'The door selectors are like people who are giving out invitations to attend the party…they're inviting people to come into their house in a way,' explains Cagney. He says that Berlin's heritage means that clubs are space for rethinking social interactions and that significance can cause confusion for club tourists that show up and expect to be allowed in. That said, he accepts that clubs make use of the experience economy and monopolise on people's curiosity for business reasons. 'It's like a big, imposing wall, almost like a second Berlin wall,' says Cagney. 'There's probably an intentional aspect of keeping things hidden and that excites desire.' Social platforms like TikTok have driven swarms of 'techno tourists' to the city and to test their luck getting into the most scrupulous clubs. There are also dedicated Reddit threads and videos about how to act and dress to increase your chances of getting invited inside well-known haunts like Berghain and Tresor. According to Cagney, the social media tourists have brought a more 'consumerist attitude' to the scene and can negatively affect the experience of regulars. 'You notice them appearing in the club and they're kind of looking around as if they're at a zoo'. In Cagney's view, it's up to the bouncers to protect the space for regulars. He says that he's seen the bouncers get creative when it comes to dealing with who gets in on a given night. He describes one evening when it seems bouncers were rejecting anyone wearing black. 'It was like they decided, okay, we're going to f--k with this today. We're going to buck the stereotype.' Still, being rejected at the doors after you've queued for hours is certainly a gutting experience, and Cagney says he and other Berghain regulars are not immune. But he contends that the current system is the 'least bad option', even though the door gets it wrong at times. But that's why Cagney says reframing the idea of Berlin techno clubs as more of a personal 'party' rather than just an entertainment venue is so important. 'The unpredictability does make it more inaccessible, but it becomes less unpredictable once you're really becoming more of an insider," says Cagney. Sometimes it just isn't your night and that's solely up to the discretion of the bouncers. Cagney recalls one tale of the bouncers deciding who to let in based only on their footwear. "I think occasionally they probably play a little bit with each other as well. They make up games to keep themselves amused." Unpredictability is part of the territory. Cagney will be publishing his novel, Berghain Nights, in October 2025. The book is an exploration of Berlin's club scene. Blending essay and memoir and includes interviews with major electronic dance music artists and other members of Berlin's night-time economy.
The Guardian
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Havoc review – Tom Hardy's gonzo gun mayhem misses the point
The title is appropriate. Welsh director Gareth Evans is the action maestro who rocked our world with his superb skull-rattling thrillers The Raid and The Raid 2; this new one for Netflix certainly has its fair share of OTT gonzo mayhem. Shootouts in cramped interiors and in the open air sometimes seem to go on so long that the gunfire feels like an extended drumroll. Dozens of people get riddled with bullets from automatic weaponry; they all go into that shoulder-rolling, arm-waving, blood-spurting choreography. At one stage, a comatose and heavily bandaged person in a hospital bed gets the same machine gun treatment, and even this poor guy has to jitterbug, infinitesimally and horizontally, in his hospital pyjamas as he gets filled full of lead. But frankly the action and the violence is too chaotic and almost meaningless and the CGI-Gotham-type cityscape where the drama takes place feels too artificial to me. (The film was actually shot in Cardiff.) Tom Hardy, doing his wheezy-nasal and faintly Cagney tough guy voice, plays Walker, a disillusioned but basically decent cop, who has found himself coerced into doing dirty work for corrupt politician Lawrence Beaumont, played by Forest Whitaker. When Beaumont's son Charlie (Justin Cornwell) is wanted for involvement in drug running and apparently slaying a pampered young prince of the Chinese gangs, it is Walker who has to somehow rescue Charlie both from the police and the vengeful triads. He has the help of a smart young rookie cop Ellie (Jessie Mei Li) but must face a horribly corrupt and cynical officer, Vincent, played by the reliably malign Timothy Olyphant. Evans certainly brings the craziness and the violence but, for me, without the stylish martial arts of his Raid films and without any plausible sense that anything is believably at stake. Havoc is on Netflix from 25 April.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blockchain is at 'tipping point' as tradfi moves in: Mike Cagney
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) saw a sharp decline since its all-time high in January 2025 but has since rebounded back above $84,000. At Bitcoin Investor Week in Manhattan, Figure Markets founder and CEO Mike Cagney shares his perspective on the ongoing cryptocurrency market fluctuations with Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi. Cagney emphasizes that the recent bitcoin price dip is part of normal market volatility. "I don't put too much stock in terms of what's happened. It's just typical bitcoin volatility," Cagney says, adding that the crypto market's fundamentals are improving despite short-term setbacks. When discussing the industry's future, the SoFi (SOFI) co-founder and former CEO highlights the increasing involvement of traditional finance in blockchain technology: "Look, I think we're at a tipping point in particular where we're going to see a lot of TradFi move into blockchain finally." Also catch Yahoo Finance's full interview with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. "I think with a lot of regulatory clarity that's going to come through this year, you're going to see a lot of traditional entrants, especially within the bank and financial services sector, come into blockchain in a serious way, and it's supportive for the whole ecosystem," Cagney explains. Additionally, Cagney notes the long-term potential of blockchain incorporation, predicting that in 'the next four years, you're going to see real innovation. Real transformation,' and asserts that the current market is fundamentally different from past crypto winters. Also catch Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sit down with Professional Capital Management founder and CEO Anthony Pompliano at Bitcoin Investor Week to discuss the digital asset's volatile nature. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here. This post was written by Josh Lynch Sign in to access your portfolio
