Rant « Words to Lyrics

10 June 2011

Covers and Samples

Filed under: I Wonder,Rant — Tags: cover, music, sample — Ben @ 2:23 pm

When it comes to current popular music, I usually prefer to listen to the longest, most original version of a song. Sometimes these songs are sampled or covered by others; I tend to steer clear from those (except in certain tasteful circumstances).

One example about duration. I have the Sister Sledge’s 8-minute long hit single ‘We Are Family‘ on my iPod. It’s far better than the 3-minute version that is often played on the radio. If you search through the iTunes Store for this song, you will find plenty of covers. Yuck.

It can be said that the radio has toned down the appreciation and creativity of popular music. Short versions, ads in between plays and countless and tasteless cover versions and samples. This is an extreme generalisation, I know.

But given all that, I must confess that I have a weakness.

Last week, I bought the album ‘The Very Best of Supertramp‘. When I listened to ‘The Logical Song’, my mind almost instantly thought of the version done by the German happy hardcore group Scooter. See the YouTube links for comparison.

Despite trying to block out the Scooter version from my mind in favour of the original, I couldn’t. Maybe it’s because I currently enjoy some forms of dance music. Who knows? Mind you, I still thoroughly enjoy the original. Often, they are the best version out of the lot. The only reaction for me is to simply laugh it off. *cue laughter*

This is a behaviour that will linger in my mind for sometime, perhaps until I get tired of hearing Scooter’s version.

In the meantime, back to exam study. Here’s another pair of songs to fill in the time.

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6 March 2011

Uni 2, Week 1

Filed under: Rant,Reflection — Tags: experience, university — Ben @ 9:48 pm

It’s Sunday night. My desk is very messy, filled with documents and brochures. There’s almost no control of what’s happening. This is my desk after week 1 at Sydney University.

Here’s the back story if you missed it. It’s been a week at a new university, and I’m exhausted. Three 8am starts, and a 9am start. Thankfully the early starts are gone, more on that later.

If I had to describe my week in one word, it’s ‘chaos’. Most of the time was spent sitting in introductory lectures, and chasing up my credit application. It’s strange to be doing all first-year subjects in my second year of university.

Because I had completed units at Macquarie, I applied for credit at USyd. Who would have thought that this ‘simple’ application would take 5 weeks to process? I got very frustrated at the lack of progress, because this meant that I couldn’t finalise my enrolment. The application was only completed on Friday afternoon, and then I got a clear idea of what to study for this year.

There was something interesting about the outcome. I had been given credit for Accounting 1B, whose prerequisite was Accounting 1A. Naturally you would think that you wouldn’t need to do both subjects, but no, I was told I had to do Accounting 1A. This was because prerequisites are ignored during credit applications. On one hand I thought this was ridiculous, but to put a positive spin on this, at least I could ‘revise’ the things I learnt last year.

Now, the timetable. USyd would prefer to let a computer decide your timetable, no matter how ridiculous it looked. I thought I wouldn’t bother changing my timetable much because I would have to change it again depending on the outcome of the credit application. Part of the reason I was frustrated, was because human-assisted timetable changes closed at the end of last Friday. If the credit application wasn’t back by Friday, I’d be at the mercy of the computer. Luckily I was able to get a human to change my timetable, and now I have three 11am starts, and a 10am start, with Wednesdays off.

I’ve also bumped into old friends, and people I haven’t seen for a long time. At least that’s something good that happened. I’m also liking the longer train trip. At least I can read or sleep comfortably.

The brochure to the French Film Festival remains unread, and that starts this Tuesday! It should be a good lineup this year.

I’d better get back to the readings for this week. So much to read! Talk soon.

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8 August 2010

A response to ACA’s Tim Tam story

Filed under: Rant — Tags: a, aca, affair, current, import, parallel, tim tam — Ben @ 6:51 pm

Last Tuesday, Channel Nine’s current affairs show ‘A Current Affair’ aired a story about the Tim Tam.

It said that Australian shops were selling cheaper and poorer quality Tim Tams manufactured in Indonesia. The story went on to say that the practice of parallel importing was the main cause of this problem.

Link to the ACA story.

Those who know me will know that I have the opinion that the current affair shows (Today Tonight, and ACA) run stories whose purpose is to stir up some old controversy. Also worth noting is that both shows have had legal troubles in the last few years. (ACA’s most recent problem was covered by Media Watch last week)

Parallel imports aren’t new in Australia. In 2006, the ACCC handed down a notice to Aldi supermarkets to stop importing cheaper Nescafé instant coffee and selling it alongside the local product, Blend 43. The ACA story also mentions of Chupa Chups produced in Vietnam and sold in Australia. Lots of companies like to differentiate their product offerings in each region for profit or market reasons. Now, this was the only part of the story that was worthy of broadcast.

The other elements of the story are worth chastising. First, ACA attempts to demonstrate the inferiority of the Indonesian Tim Tam by weighing the biscuit in a ‘lab’. The ‘lab’ is a dimly lit studio with a fire extinguisher, and shows a ‘scientist’ with a what looks like a pair of black swimming goggles on her head and a set of kitchen scales. It raises the question, “Does ACA have to go to great lengths to get people to believe their reporting?” On the same note, the reporter doesn’t really ‘report’. Instead he confronts certain parties with allegations of unethical activities and biases the story to reveal only the negative effects of parallel importing.

Apparently ACA have the view that most of their audience aren’t particularly smart. Therefore they say that the only way to tell the difference between Australian and Indonesian Tim Tams is to open the packet itself, thus discouraging people to buy Tim Tams. If you had a look at the packaging, you’d be suspicious of the origin of the Tim Tam would you? ACA even had a shot of the two packets together!

Also, let’s face it. Have you noticed that tourists/visitors to Australia always carry a few packets of Tim Tams back home? I would think that most people believe the saying, “the original is the best”.

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21 July 2010

Again on Facebook: The Friends List

Filed under: Rant,Reflection — Tags: facebook, friends — Ben @ 10:06 am

This is another post about what I think about Facebook. Previously: this post of general thoughts.

I noticed that my intended use of the Friends List had changed this year. Now, on the surface, the List is exactly as it says it is; a list of friends made on Facebook. But you may or may not know about the extra functionality of creating groups of friends, that also extend to Chat (function of hiding from these groups of people).

In other words, the core purpose is to list out your friends, or more accurately, your personal connections (you will see why later).

But this isn’t the point. I want to focus on who makes up your Friends List, not how many.

Now, Facebook has default groups of friends by network. If you think about it, you make friends at high school (one network), at university (another network), and at each workplace you work at (yet more networks). It is fair to say, that the social nature of each environment is different. Hence (if you have one), the criteria of whether someone is your ‘friend’ or not differs between networks.

Using my criteria as an example, someone who graduated with me from high school (i.e. same Year 12 group) will have more chance of being my ‘friend’, than someone who I met once at uni. My previous criteria was that only people I associated with regularly were ‘friends’.

Obviously, the more social experiences one has, the more friends there should be. But from the example above, be aware of who you friend and what you share with them. I have found that there are people who you would want to ‘friend’ due to the value of a personal connection with them. But be aware, there are some statements that shouldn’t be made public, because there are people who do not deserve to know/care.

We can also extend this thinking to family members on your Friend List. There has been lots of debate about whether one should friend their parents/relatives. A general rule is if the relative lives overseas or is of similar age, then it is acceptable for them to be added. But for those that are older, some caution must be taken.

The lesson to take away from this, is to be careful who you ‘friend’ on Facebook. Unless you want to become a news story.

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8 June 2010

I do and don’t like Facebook.

Filed under: Rant,Reflection — Tags: facebook, marketing — Ben @ 4:24 pm

So, today I have completed the marketing exam. My mind is still quite focused on concepts (and my performance in the exam), so in the little ‘power-down’ period I have, I thought I might write a few thoughts on a service we all use so much that it is now ubiquitous: Facebook.

Facebook now has hundreds of millions of users around the world. It has been described as a ‘meta-layer’ (BOL podcast, within the last 2 weeks) of the internet. This is easily seen in Facebook Connect and Instant Personalisation functions. These extend your Facebook account identity to third-party websites, and personalise the content of said website according to what you have in your profile.

These functions are also common functions of social networks which include the Wall (public messages), groups/pages, events pages, photo/video sharing etc…

Now, don’t get me wrong. Facebook is fantastic at keeping in touch with people you haven’t spoken/seen in a long time. As people’s contact details change their Facebook presence is constant, regardless of whether they have updated it with their new address or not (in most cases). It makes easy to arrange events at a moment’s notice, share media, tell your friend that they’re cool, and so on. That’s why I like Facebook, now here’s why I don’t.

Facebook has moved into a position where it wants to be a central repository for your identity and content. Because all your information (including page, group data etc) is on the site and organised (in most cases) by you, this potentially makes it easy for them to share this information to advertisers and third-parties. Subsequently, marketers can segment down to your interests what you like, and serve up super-relevant ads. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder) said at the recent D8 conference that the world will move towards applications designed around people and the nature of what people do, not software.

What is also noticeable, and mentioned by Zuckerberg, is that new Facebook features are almost always protested, because an engineer has found a new way to present information. Take a look at News/Live Feed. It was met with intense criticism initially, but now it is standard and quite useful.

Now here is what I prefer to do. I’m not a fan of signing up for services that duplicate functionality I already have. I share my photos on Flickr. I try to use email as much as possible (minimise Facebook messaging/wall posting). But note, this doesn’t mean I’ll stop using Facebook. (Actually, maybe this will)

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19 May 2010

“Why does KFC taste so good? Uh, It just does.”

Filed under: Rant — Tags: kfc, service — Ben @ 6:46 pm

No offence to those who work at KFC. It’s just my opinion. Also, thanks to Calum for inspiration.

Recently, I was waiting in the line of a KFC for a meal. The people in front of me were very frustrated, not only because of the long wait for food, but also because the lid of the large potato and gravy had some burnt on food on top.

Now, this was probably from an earlier accident where there was some spillage. But it is the reaction of the customer that is more important. He asked the staff member (a young-ish boy) to replace the potato and gravy, claiming that KFC weren’t allowed to sell spoilt food. The staff hesitated for a short while, and a small discussion ensued, and eventually the customer got new potato and gravy.

The moral of this story is that sometimes, these chain outlets hire incompetent people or do not train them enough. This is where most of the negative word-of-mouth feedback originates from.

Now, I’m not saying that every chain outlet is bad in this way. Take McDonalds for example. They train their staff so that they can handle almost all of the situations they are presented with over the course of their shift. The same service quality is present in any given restaurant anywhere in the world. (Yes, I am alluding to marketing theory, I’m typing this after my lecture.)

KFC have very inconsistent service across their stores. Their high-patronage outlets tend to have higher service quality than smaller stores. Also noticeable is that the store supervisor/manager has more presence in the shopfront. I interpret this as a stern reminder to the other staff to serve customers properly, instead of an attempt to lift standards of service.

Another noticeable example is Bunnings Warehouse. They hire a wide range of people from school students, to older tradespeople. All too often I see the ‘lower rank’ employees wandering around the shelves, attempting to present themselves to assist customers. Most of them possess no knowledge of the hardware that they sell, which renders them useless. Instead, they should be restocking shelves and serving at the check out counters. One example of disappointing service was when a customer asked where the insulation batts were. The staff member said that they did not stock insulation batts, and fibbed an answer.

If you have ever been served poorly by these incompetent people, I encourage you to be proactive about it and make a complaint to the supervisor. That way, we will never them get away with it.

Next rant: International students.

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20 March 2010

Politics and Personal Agenda

Filed under: Rant — Tags: agenda, personal, politics — Ben @ 10:11 pm

Just a quick one tonight! Again, something I want to get off my chest. Also, I promise that the review for Skirt Day will be up tomorrow morning!

I’ve just finished reading this article in the Sydney Morning Herald, and it reminded me of some similar stories during this week. The article is about NSW Premier Kristina Keneally cycling to work.

Much news has been written about the NSW Government’s commitment to make Sydney more cyclist friendly. One project that is in progress is the construction of bicycle-only lanes in the CBD. Some would infer that Keneally, a frequent bicycle rider, appears committed to completing this project to please people with a similar interest (and also to appear to have done something useful while in office)

A similar issue was discussed during the last week.

Waverley Council, who are responsible for the Eastern Suburbs and Bondi area, introduced new rules that ban smoking around parks and reserves, and outside restaurants and cafés. This was welcomed by anti-smoking groups and beach and coffee lovers.

Later in the week, Willoughby City Council, who are responsible for the Chatswood area, made a statement saying they will not follow suit yet, pending further discussion on this matter.

What you ought to know, is that the councillor who introduced the rules at Bondi was a former chain smoker who has lost a lung due to cancer. Also, the mayor of Willoughby City Council, is a reformed smoker. It seems that personal stories are now the new way to convince people into supporting policies.

Does it appear to you that politicians are doing things to satisfy their personal agenda? Granted, the entire society can never be completely happy with any decision. Do you think that public servants should keep their personal agenda out of politics?

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3 March 2010

Grow(ing) up.

Filed under: Rant — Tags: social, views — Ben @ 4:00 pm

Before I begin, I feel that some people haven’t got the capacity to take into account all sides of this issue. So let’s set things straight.

Every time a celebrity or well-known person does something outside what we are used to seeing, there is always a group of people who will whinge about how what they have done is demeaning and offensive to greater society.

One example is when Daniel Radcliffe, who we all know and love as the actor who plays Harry Potter, appeared in a stage of production of Equus. Equus is all about a boy’s love of horses, and features Radcliffe fully nude in one scene.

Another is Lindsey Vonn, the American alpine skier. She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated recently, and not only that, but also had a section in the Swimsuit Issue.

Also from the Winter Olympics, the Canadian women’s ice hockey team were caught out on the ice drinking and smoking after their win against the United States for the gold medal.

The problem arises when someone or a group of people (e.g. a parents’ organisation) makes a lot of noise about said well-known person and condemns their actions.

Parents (especially from England) said that Radcliffe was setting a bad example to children, by encouraging them to do something risqué (possibly something related to nudity). Likewise, people said that Vonn was no longer a role model for young girls getting into snow sports.

The first thing these narrow-minded people need to realise is that celebrities and people in general mature as they get older. Daniel Radcliffe can’t play characters that are geared towards children forever, he has a career path to follow that leads to bigger and better things.

In Vonn’s case, athletes like people in general like to have some variety in life, and it is completely harmless doing a fashion shoot. Especially when you just happen to look good.

As for the Canadians, they deserved that gold medal because they won the match. So what’s wrong with celebrating? I’m hoping you’ve been to a party before.

For parents, what they need to realise is that by over-protecting your children, you are exposing them to higher risk activities in the future. For example, if your kid climbed up and fell off a tree when they were young, would you think that they have learned not to put themselves in such a risk in the future?

For narrow-minded people, if you think something is socially acceptable, shouldn’t those in the public eye be allowed to think the same?

Why are we so selective about what is correct and what isn’t? Why have we not said anything discouraging about Emma Watson becoming a major figure in the fashion world?

Have we forgotten how society learns from the risks it takes?

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5 February 2010

31 December 2009

2009 to 2010

Filed under: Rant,Reflection — Tags: eve, new, review, years — Ben @ 4:52 pm

What’s interesting is that at the start of every year, we say that the year ahead will be the best one has ever seen. It begins to wear off about 20 years after (you don’t see older people make such a claim do you?) but for now the statement still holds.

2009 has been a fantastic year. I’ve finished Year 12, that’s something. Next year begins the next step of many steps into this wide world of ours.

I’m not a fan of talking about the past. Although I do it often, looking back on it, it has been a very foolish act. Instead, now I will talk about the future more often.

I guess this is what many people do at this time, in the form of New Year’s Resolutions. (Mine will come tomorrow)

But for now, I’m here to tell you what I’ll be doing differently next year. It’s not a big thing, but it has a big impact.

Tell the truth.

Yes, it’s that simple. This past year, I’ve realised that in order to please others, the truth had to be manipulated in some way.

From now on, it’s the raw truth, whether you like it or not. It is undesirable to see a web of lies and cover-ups cloud one’s thoughts and judgement. It is undesirable for one to believe that everything is okay. Nothing is perfect, it shouldn’t be. After all, if the world was perfect, there would be nothing to make us think.

Obviously someone or something will be upset or disturbed by truth in any case. This is not a concern, because when such truth is divulged, it teaches one to deal with the consequence of the truth and to move on.

It is not right for someone to influence or dictate the direction of one’s thoughts or life. Everyone is unique and this is what preserves the diversity in society.

Thank you for reading my blog in 2009, and a Happy New Year to you all.

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