Cast your mind back to June 2016. What do you remember? Rome elected Virginia Raggi as its first woman mayor and Britain Brexited itself, a general sense of trepidation falling over the cosmos like a bad joke at a funeral. That all happened. But also, Zara Holland was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title after bedding someone on UK reality TV show Love Island, which remains a national outrage. I am pleased to announce the latter event has finally been paid due attention in the form of an off-kilter and heartfelt new song by Leeds and Sheffield-based duo Alimony Hustle.Comprised of Leah Pritchard and Matt Mndolo, who have previously described themselves as "the non White Stripes", Alimony Hustle take lots of minimal elements – understated vocals, skittish drums and intricate guitar parts – and combine them into something huge and chunky. Unpicking the pitfalls of fame and the fundamentally fucked notion of punishing a woman for having sex, the band say "Miss GB" is about "sexism, regret, the death of dreams and, ultimately, doing what you want in the face of all of that". Not to get all 'extremely satisfying posts' but this song is so well arranged there is not a single second that doesn't give the sensation of having your head rubbed with one of those scalp massagers.While we're here, you should also know that Leah is currently working on a magazine about mental health called Do What You Want, which is raising money for UK charities like Mind, Beat, Sisters Uncut and Centre for Mental Health and you should definitely buy it. Now, listen to "Miss GB" and read our conversation with Leah and Matt about the glorious microcosm that is reality television below!
Leah: Love Island is a show on ITV Be that airs over the summer and it's on every weekday for what feels like months. Basically a handful of men and a handful of women go to this villa in – I guess – Ibiza?? but for the purposes of the show it's on "Love Island" and they have to couple up and then the odd person at the end of each week gets kicked out. It's basically that film The Lobster except good and fun.Zara Holland was robbed of her Miss GB title due to having a sexy "romp" with someone on Love Island. Obviously you saw something in that that was representative of a much larger, systemic problem. What made you want to write about it?
Leah: Zara was really struggling to pair up with anyone – the first guy she went with ditched her and then she was alone for a long time, so when this guy Alex came in she was, I think, really desperate to prove that she was wanted. So she dived right in and one thing led to another… and then it was just devastating, really.Like all of the chirpy confidence she'd had before was just gone, and she obviously really regretted what she'd done. And she got slaughtered by the press and obviously he barely got a mention. Then she was stripped of this title that everyone had been joking about, but I think after it had been taken everyone realised like, this really meant the world to her. It was heartbreaking to watch. Like I can't imagine anyone will read this and feel particularly devastated for her but watching this person's dream dissolve in real time was really moving.You've said that "watching reality TV is like seeing the whole world in a microcosm". In the recent history of reality TV which is your favourite show and why?
Leah: The show that me and my girlfriend pause most often to discuss on an academic level far beyond anything we ever actually achieved at school is Celebrities in Therapy. The premise is that reality TV stars go to multiple therapy sessions with "renowned therapist" (they tell us) Mandy Saligari. My friend recommended it and we thought it was a bit of a joke at first, and we would shout "SHILL!!!" every time she came onscreen. Obviously there's something quite exploitative about getting these celebrities to air their dirty laundry on-screen but I really do think Mandy wants to help these people. It's celebrities who have absolutely been sucked into the Gossip Mag Industrial Complex, getting paid to gain and lose weight, photographed in compromising positions getting out of cars, and the like… and we get to see this other side to them, and it's quite serious a lot of the time – these aren't stupid people who have thrown themselves into dangerous situations for kicks, these are people with soft hearts and goals and dreams (and often, it seems, a lot of trauma) who, at the end of the day, just want to find a place to be accepted in the world.Matt: One of my favourites is MTV's Ex on the Beach. A mix of stars from other reality tv shows and reality tv star hopefuls are sent to an exotic villa for a summer holiday together and encouraged to drink and date. Then every episode one or more of the contestants' exes get sent into the villa to join them. There is so much screaming, furniture goes flying, there's usually the obligatory jumping under a blanket and plenty of snogging and bitching behind each other's backs. It's amazing to see how the contestants interact with each other, the different character types and politics and cliques that form. It's also startling to see how gendered morals play out especially in regards to sexual ethics and the double standards in terms of behaviours expected.Which is better, Love Island or First Dates?
Leah: Because I am greedy and impatient, Love Island. It's on every day. As opposed to First Dates, which is on once a week for what, like six weeks a year? Pathetic.Matt: A tough one, but First Dates is beautifully low-key and I think more romantic. Love Island has all the fireworks though.Jersey Shore or Geordie Shore?
Matt: Geordie Shore. I used to live in the north-east so it's lovely to hear the accents again. The mix of heartbreak, hangovers, hookups and heartfelt friendships is perfect. Part of me wishes I had that much drama going on in my life although most of me is very relieved I don't.Do you think reality TV is gendered? Like it's often discredited because it's considered throwaway entertainment for women the same way One Direction or Ariana Grande are discredited in music.
Leah: Yeah, while men's "throwaway" entertainment about whiskey, boobs and/or cars is still allowed to be seen as "art".Matt: Just think of the way shows like Made in Chelsea and TOWIE are talked about and looked down on by your average pseudo-intellectual male Guardian reader or overrated alternative comedian. It's very much the same. I think a lot of it is either a fear or inability to let yourself enjoy something because of class, gender, racial or sexual prejudice that's often so ingrained you can't recognise it. Once you let go of that, it doesn't matter. I've had people make suggestive or disparaging remarks to me when I've mentioned watching reality TV like TOWIE or Geordie Shore or listening to One Direction or Justin Bieber. The insults always boil down to some attack on either my masculinity or mental capacity.If you could be a contestant on any reality TV show which would it be.
Leah: I would like to go on Couples Come Dine With Me because every couple on there is always HORRIBLE without fail, like really truly vile and rude and awful, and I want to see whether it's the producers egging everyone on or what. I want to see if I could be pushed to be that fucking horrible.Matt: I auditioned for X Factor with my housemate this year for a laugh. It was actually super nerve wracking and I was shaking and everything even though I didn't expect to get through and wasn't doing it seriously. I'd quite like to audition for the judges and get in the show but I think I'd probably even find bootcamp too much. Once you're on the live shows I can't imagine what's it like to have to consider how what your doing is going to be perceived by the general public. Part of me feels like I should have waited for The Voice though, I love Tom Jones and Jennifer Hudson.Anything else you'd like to add?
Leah: Yes if anyone has insider knowledge please can you tell us when the next series of Take Me Out is coming on because it is overdue now.Follow Emma on Twitter.Miss GB will be available from all digital music outlets and as a limited edition art print package from Bandcamp. You can order Do What You Want here.
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Noisey: Hello, Alimony Hustle. Firstly I would like to talk about Love Island. Would you please summarise for our readers who have not had the pleasure of viewing?
Leah: Love Island is a show on ITV Be that airs over the summer and it's on every weekday for what feels like months. Basically a handful of men and a handful of women go to this villa in – I guess – Ibiza?? but for the purposes of the show it's on "Love Island" and they have to couple up and then the odd person at the end of each week gets kicked out. It's basically that film The Lobster except good and fun.
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Leah: Zara was really struggling to pair up with anyone – the first guy she went with ditched her and then she was alone for a long time, so when this guy Alex came in she was, I think, really desperate to prove that she was wanted. So she dived right in and one thing led to another… and then it was just devastating, really.Like all of the chirpy confidence she'd had before was just gone, and she obviously really regretted what she'd done. And she got slaughtered by the press and obviously he barely got a mention. Then she was stripped of this title that everyone had been joking about, but I think after it had been taken everyone realised like, this really meant the world to her. It was heartbreaking to watch. Like I can't imagine anyone will read this and feel particularly devastated for her but watching this person's dream dissolve in real time was really moving.You've said that "watching reality TV is like seeing the whole world in a microcosm". In the recent history of reality TV which is your favourite show and why?
Leah: The show that me and my girlfriend pause most often to discuss on an academic level far beyond anything we ever actually achieved at school is Celebrities in Therapy. The premise is that reality TV stars go to multiple therapy sessions with "renowned therapist" (they tell us) Mandy Saligari. My friend recommended it and we thought it was a bit of a joke at first, and we would shout "SHILL!!!" every time she came onscreen. Obviously there's something quite exploitative about getting these celebrities to air their dirty laundry on-screen but I really do think Mandy wants to help these people. It's celebrities who have absolutely been sucked into the Gossip Mag Industrial Complex, getting paid to gain and lose weight, photographed in compromising positions getting out of cars, and the like… and we get to see this other side to them, and it's quite serious a lot of the time – these aren't stupid people who have thrown themselves into dangerous situations for kicks, these are people with soft hearts and goals and dreams (and often, it seems, a lot of trauma) who, at the end of the day, just want to find a place to be accepted in the world.
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Leah: Because I am greedy and impatient, Love Island. It's on every day. As opposed to First Dates, which is on once a week for what, like six weeks a year? Pathetic.Matt: A tough one, but First Dates is beautifully low-key and I think more romantic. Love Island has all the fireworks though.Jersey Shore or Geordie Shore?
Matt: Geordie Shore. I used to live in the north-east so it's lovely to hear the accents again. The mix of heartbreak, hangovers, hookups and heartfelt friendships is perfect. Part of me wishes I had that much drama going on in my life although most of me is very relieved I don't.
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Leah: Yeah, while men's "throwaway" entertainment about whiskey, boobs and/or cars is still allowed to be seen as "art".Matt: Just think of the way shows like Made in Chelsea and TOWIE are talked about and looked down on by your average pseudo-intellectual male Guardian reader or overrated alternative comedian. It's very much the same. I think a lot of it is either a fear or inability to let yourself enjoy something because of class, gender, racial or sexual prejudice that's often so ingrained you can't recognise it. Once you let go of that, it doesn't matter. I've had people make suggestive or disparaging remarks to me when I've mentioned watching reality TV like TOWIE or Geordie Shore or listening to One Direction or Justin Bieber. The insults always boil down to some attack on either my masculinity or mental capacity.If you could be a contestant on any reality TV show which would it be.
Leah: I would like to go on Couples Come Dine With Me because every couple on there is always HORRIBLE without fail, like really truly vile and rude and awful, and I want to see whether it's the producers egging everyone on or what. I want to see if I could be pushed to be that fucking horrible.Matt: I auditioned for X Factor with my housemate this year for a laugh. It was actually super nerve wracking and I was shaking and everything even though I didn't expect to get through and wasn't doing it seriously. I'd quite like to audition for the judges and get in the show but I think I'd probably even find bootcamp too much. Once you're on the live shows I can't imagine what's it like to have to consider how what your doing is going to be perceived by the general public. Part of me feels like I should have waited for The Voice though, I love Tom Jones and Jennifer Hudson.Anything else you'd like to add?
Leah: Yes if anyone has insider knowledge please can you tell us when the next series of Take Me Out is coming on because it is overdue now.Follow Emma on Twitter.Miss GB will be available from all digital music outlets and as a limited edition art print package from Bandcamp. You can order Do What You Want here.