You know how when you walk into a shop, the person behind the counter will almost certainly smile or wave hello?
That wasn’t the case when I walked into a “fashionable” optometrist in Sydney tonight. The guy behind the counter looked over at me, and then looked away as if I wasn’t worth his time to acknowledge. My aunty Edna once described something similar as she entered an optometrist in Brisbane wearing glasses held together with sticky tape.
As I wandered around looking at the display spec, I overheard the other sales assistant chatting to a reasonably fashionable-looking young woman. “Darling, how old are you”, he asked with the intonation of the character created by Sacha Baren Cohen of “Brüno” the uber-gay fashionista. “You should never wear glasses like this until you’re at least forty”, I overheard him say. I think I might have laughed out loud.
I looked around for a while and at no stage did either of the shop assistants come up to me and ask if I’d like some help. In the end, it doesn’t matter, as I don’t need glasses. I was just wandering around looking in shop windows, as it’s the first time in at least a couple of months since I’ve done anything like that. I did, however, see some rather nice-looking specs that I’ll consider for the next time I need new glasses.
I left work just before five this afternoon, a minor miracle given how busy I’ve been over the last few weeks. The election, another project I’m working on, and covering a few absences, and the last month, in particular, has been uber-busy. But there’s now light at the end of the tunnel, and so this afternoon I left work a little early and went on a window shopping adventure.
As always, Valerie Geller was an inspiration at Radio Days Europe. I first became aware of her work. Even though I’ve heard her mantra of “tell the truth, make it matter, and never be boring” many, many times over the last decade, it’s a message which continues to resonate. “No matter what the platform, story-telling matters”, Valerie said today.
Valerie Geller and Valerie Weber at Radio Days Europe 2013
She was on a panel with another Valerie, Valerie Weber from a commercial music radio station based in Bavaria, Germany. She explained how story-telling is important in mostly music radio also, not just talk. “Every song is like a short movie” she said at one point. She illustrated this by saying, her listeners had been moved by the dramatic qualities of a song by Adele which they had simply translated from English into the Bavarian dialect. She also mentioned a great sounding on-air promotion they did where they asked listeners to tell them the story behind a significant bill they had to pay. For the best story, the radio station paid the bill on the listener’s behalf.
As a boy originally from the bush, it was also interesting for me to hear Craig Bruce, Head of Content from Southern Cross Austereo, talk about the importance of developing talent in regional areas, providing them with guidance and coaching which hopefully leads a path to capital city success. He gave the example of Kyle Sandilands who worked in promotions and marketing in a number of markets, always begging to be put on air, and who then, through a series of smaller radio stations was able to be guided and coaxed until eventually achieving the level of success he now enjoys.
Over lunch, I had a brief chat with him and with Sam Cavanagh is Executive Producer of Hamish and Andy, about an issue I mentioned yesterday, the idea of developing “fans” not “listeners”. They both agree once you’ve taken that leap of understanding, you end up with a whole new relationship with your audience.
In the midst of a lot of talk concerning technology in radio (obviously an important issue) it was great to hear people like Valerie, Sam and Craig talk with such passion about the on-air talent and on-air content.
That said, technology is important, and there are lots of new platforms emerging, such as Spotify, Soundcloud and Pandora which might replace some radio stations completely, and challenge many others. The American researcher, Larry Rosin said today radio can choose to ignore Spotify and Pandora, and say “that’s not radio” at its peril. He illustrated by showing how the current market value of Pandora exceeds by many times the value of many important national radio networks in the United States.
There was also a really interesting presentation at the end of the day about how a Germany radio station had developed a smart-TV app. One of the developers of that app noted both the Android and Apple phone app markets are close to maturity, with several hundred thousand apps in each place. By comparison, he noted the opportunities for smart-TV apps is wide open, and radio stations should try to find a home there in the space of a relatively green-field site.
Ben Fawkes from Soundcloud at Radio Days Europe 2013
Also interesting today was Ben Fawkes from Soundcloud, who I’m going to talk with more tomorrow when I visit their Berlin HQ. Stay tuned…
Today’s Tweets
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 11h Every hour starts with a list of disasters. #radio #rde13
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 11h Bavarian radio promo. Tell the story of your bill eg big taxi fair and they pay it for you. Cute. #rde13
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 10h Southern cross austere runs a closed Facebook group to better contact regional and metro staff. #rde13
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 10h How sthn cross austere develops talent and fan base. #rde13 pic.twitter.com/O8pzr2o1I9
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 9h Through Facebook etc remember your audience has an audience. #rde13
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 9h Dublin to host #rde in 2014. Tempting….
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 7h All swedish radio stations allow you to download programming playlists. #rde13
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 7h As always @vgeller inspires at #rde13
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 7h Brand playlists threatens music radio. Eg. Coke radio. #rde
Ross Adams from Spotify at Radio Days Europe 2013
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 7h Larry rosin says radio can ignore spotify and Pandora at its peril. #rde13
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 6h Phone app stores overcrowded. TV apps the next frontier to dominate early. #rde13 pic.twitter.com/zSNIc2k0XI
James O’Brien @JamesOBrienAU 6h .@abcrn gets a mention at #rde13 pic.twitter.com/rD5OSeHMlD
We finished up at about four o’clock, and that was probably just as well, as I beginning to feel a little tired. After two days of talking radio, I think it’s time to go back to my holiday.
Best quote of the day? I started chatting to a radio bloke from a non-English speaking background. Within seconds of striking up the conversation, he stopped me and said, “I’m sorry I can’t understand a word you’re saying. Can you please speak English?”. “Don’t worry about it…”, an English bloke (with a distinct UK accent told me), “…they can’t understand me in America, either.”
I wasn’t really sure what to expect when a friend and I went to “His Story” https://hisstory.live/ a story-telling night held last night at the Beresford Hotel. Honestly, walking into the Beresford felt slightly surreal. My strongest memories of that place are anchored in the 90s and 00s—Mardi Gras laneway recoveries and wild Melrose Place nights—so to be there for something so introspective and raw was a completely different experience.
The main reason I went was to meet Scott Reardon, someone I’ve been chatting with about doing my podcast on limb loss and resilience, which I’m calling The Limb Shift.
Scott is a man in his 30s who lost a leg as a teenager while working on a farm in Temora. He has since become a Paralympian and is a fantastic motivator who speaks to people all over the country. Since he lives in Canberra, I was keen to meet him face-to-face.
It’s funny—when you connect with other amputees, there is an immediate shorthand. While some people do want to talk about the trauma of what happened, I find that introductory conversations usually gravitate toward the practical—who looks after your prosthetics, the pros and cons of different types of gear, and the lighter, day-to-day aspects of life.
Noting the disco ball in the top of the photograph, chatting with Scott Reardon
Beyond that, the event itself—titled “Growing Up Without A Map”—was genuinely fascinating.
I’ll admit, I was skeptical going in; I wondered if it would be some New Age fringe event, or perhaps a “men’s rights” gathering or something similar. Instead, it was a profound evening featuring six men from a variety of backgrounds sharing their personal life stories.
One of the younger speakers gave an incredibly deep and touching presentation about his struggles with suicide, even reading a poem he wrote for his parents, which the audience absolutely loved. Another man shared his raw experiences with body dysmorphia and using drugs to self-medicate, while others spoke about everything from growing up with a single mum to surviving childhood sexual abuse, and the loneliness that can come with being suddenly single.
The audience was overwhelmingly male, and there were far more younger men there than I expected. My friend, who was just as skeptical as I was, ended up enjoying the night immensely and is already looking forward to the next one in October.
It was a great reminder that there are plenty of reasons to say no to things in life because of preconceived ideas, but sometimes it pays to walk in with an open mind. I’m really glad I did. While I’m not sure I would commit to becoming a regular, I’m tempted to go back for one more just to see if it’s something I want to attend on an ongoing basis.
I had a fantastic night attending the Grand Final of the ABC’s band competition, Exhumed.
Unlike the Sydney final, I liked the music as well as the atmosphere. The Sydney final was all a bit “rock and roll” for my own personal musical tastes. At the National final, I really enjoyed the different musical styles much more, from country music to reggae.
I was really pleased Jahsifik won, as I thought they were musically really interesting, put on a good show, and the whole band had a really great vibe about them.
Here are some photographs I snapped…
Rooty Hill RSL
Exhumed Grand FInal
Bought a Santa Snowdome for a friend who collects them.
“There are too many awful people, who I don’t care about”, I thought to myself as I scrolled through today’s paper. I got to about page fifteen or thereabouts, and decided I really didn’t want read any more. So I pulled out my laptop, and went looking for some more interesting reads.
Surry Hills Breakfast
I also put my thoughts toward the last few weeks since I’ve updated this blog. So much has happened, without an obvious narrative. So I guess this is a “bits and pieces” blog update with some of the most interesting things that have occured. And there has been a fair bit happening.
Catchups
There have been some terrific catch-ups with friends in the last few weeks, including a roast lunch last Sunday with my friend, Michaela (who has been overseas), as well as family and friends.
I caught up with a bunch of ABBA-fan friends. A couple of weeks ago my cousin, Matthew was briefly in Sydney, and we caught up for a coffee and some family memories. Though we share the same grandfather, it’s only in the last couple of years that we’ve connected. Though I was a good friend of his next door neighbour, I didn’t really know we were related until much later in life (when I did some serious family history research).
Movies
In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen a couple of good movies. “Rocketman” was an awesome film, even if Elton John was a bit of an arsehole. I thought the whole film was very enjoyable, and the actor who played him was very good. Unfortunately, it reminded me it’s been a long, long time since Elton John has had a decent song. Another film I’ve seen, “Red Joan” was also very good. In a true life story, Judi Dench played a woman who leaked information to the Russians during the 1930s/1940s. At the end of the film, I actually had a tear roll down my face. It was that good.
Theatre
On Friday night, Grant and I went to see the latest show by Tim Draxl. “Love Is A Drag” (currently playing at the Seymour Centre, as part of the Sydney Cabaret Festival), is based around an album recorded in 1962.
What was interesting about the album was that it was a series of classic love songs, normally sung by women about men, sung from the perspective of a man singing about other men. Interestingly, the singer and musicians remained anonymous until 2012. Tim sang songs from the album, amidst a narrative about changing perspectives on homosexuality in the last one hundred years.
Grant and I have been big fans of Tim for many years, and both really enjoyed the show. I remember first interviewing Tim when he was eighteen or nineteen years old. Grant and I tried to remember how many times we’ve seen him perform live, and our memories struggled. But here’s a nice photograph from his Chet Baker Show from 2010.
I have a new favourite Swedish pop star: her name is Laleh. With quite an interest in Swedish pop music, I don’t know how or why she’s slipped under my radar.
But it wasn’t until about a week ago, when I checked out the Swedish Charts that I discovered her. Just a week or so after the release of her latest album, Sjung (Sing), it’s topped the Swedish album charts, and she currently has two songs in the Swedish single charts, including a remake of Eva Dahlgren’s “Ängeln i rummet”, a song she performed in front of Eva on “Så mycket bättre”.
“Så mycket bättre” (so much better) is a Swedish television phenomenon. The basic premise is you get a bunch of well-known and loved Swedish pop performers from the last fifty years, put them together in a house (no it’s not Big Brother), and ask them to interpet each other’s songs. A good example of what this can lead to is Lasse Berghagen’s interpretation of “Längesen”, a song written and performed by Swedish rap performer, Petter.
Here’s the original
And here’s the version by Lasse.
Another good example is September’s re-interpretation of Petter’s song, Mikrofonkåt which topped the Swedish charts, and which has now been released in English.
This is a seriously good television format, and I hope we see some English language versions develop.
After appearing on “Så mycket bättre”, Laleh is now also topping the charts, and deservedly so. She sings well, has a dramatic quality to her work (she’s an actress also), and sings in a wide variety of styles.
Laleh Pourkarim (Persian: لاله پورکریم, born June 10, 1982) is an Iranian born Swedish singer-songwriter and former actress. She uses her given name Laleh as her stage name. Following a short acting career, she entered the music industry in 2005 with her self-titled debut album which peaked at number one in Sweden and went on to become the highest selling album of the year. She has since released three further albums, all of which have been produced, written, recorded, engineered and performed by herself. She has sung in both English and Swedish, in addition to her parents native tongue, Persian. In 2011, she participated in the Swedish television show Så mycket bättre, which sees a number of artists create new interpretations of the others songs. Her performances on the show were lauded by both critics and the public. Following the show, it was noted in the media that she had been given “a second breakthrough”. Her latest album, Sjung, was released across Scandanavia on 25 January 2012.
Her latest CD is both in English and Swedish, and contains a wide variety of musical styles. It’s kinda quirky, it’s a little bit Kate Bush. A little bit Tori Amos.
My favourite tracks on the album are… as follows, but sadly, WMG has restricted their re-use, so you’ll need to watch and listen via the Youtube links below.
The big hit song from the album so far is “Some Die Young”.
Elephant
Who Started It?
Vårens Första Dag (Spring’s first day)
And finally… I love this… her cover verion of E-Type’s “Here I Go Again”
Do yourself a favour. She’s a star.
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Hi J O’B – I remember this too well – just before I left Brisbane to make my way to Edinburgh mum and Joannie were spending a few days together in Brisbane, I’m sorry I wasn’t around to take some candid photos of the two of them- heads angled to hear each other better, giggling and scheming like two school girls- John tells me he saw them at the ice cream shop on Sunday – a friendship of more than 80 years- amazing and something to aspire to
James, excuse me for using the comments to make one observation about your blog.
You have made numerous changes to the layout etc over the past 12 months or so and I really like the look and style of your blog nowadays. However, a downside of the changes for me is a loss of accessibility when viewing a series of posts at one sitting.
It used to be a simple matter of scrolling up/down the screen. Then the changes required entering one posting then using the forward/backward arrows in that posting to navigate to another posting. Now those arrows are not available (well, I couldn’t find them) and I enter one posting to read it, then exit that posting to enter another posting to read and so on.
It’s a minor irritation really (‘first world problems’, as the current saying goes) but I thought I’d provide the feedback.
I still look forward to reading your thoughts and activities.
I once went to a fashionable optometrist boutique. The optometrist (whom I remember reading about in the real estate section of the newspaper, having sold her house for a few million dollars), actually told me off about my spectacles! She couldn’t believe I was wearing such large, unfashionable frames! They were so last year. (Apparently they made me look like an unskilled worker, which is what I am.) I only wanted to see! I didn’t care whether my glasses were fashionable or not.
Hi J O’B – I remember this too well – just before I left Brisbane to make my way to Edinburgh mum and Joannie were spending a few days together in Brisbane, I’m sorry I wasn’t around to take some candid photos of the two of them- heads angled to hear each other better, giggling and scheming like two school girls- John tells me he saw them at the ice cream shop on Sunday – a friendship of more than 80 years- amazing and something to aspire to
I wondered if you would remember this. Obviously yes!!
James, excuse me for using the comments to make one observation about your blog.
You have made numerous changes to the layout etc over the past 12 months or so and I really like the look and style of your blog nowadays. However, a downside of the changes for me is a loss of accessibility when viewing a series of posts at one sitting.
It used to be a simple matter of scrolling up/down the screen. Then the changes required entering one posting then using the forward/backward arrows in that posting to navigate to another posting. Now those arrows are not available (well, I couldn’t find them) and I enter one posting to read it, then exit that posting to enter another posting to read and so on.
It’s a minor irritation really (‘first world problems’, as the current saying goes) but I thought I’d provide the feedback.
I still look forward to reading your thoughts and activities.
Regards, Victor
Hi Victor. Welcome feedback. I’m a constant re-decorator on this site, and probably will continue to be. But will keep in mind. James
PS. I decided to go back to something more simple.
I once went to a fashionable optometrist boutique. The optometrist (whom I remember reading about in the real estate section of the newspaper, having sold her house for a few million dollars), actually told me off about my spectacles! She couldn’t believe I was wearing such large, unfashionable frames! They were so last year. (Apparently they made me look like an unskilled worker, which is what I am.) I only wanted to see! I didn’t care whether my glasses were fashionable or not.