August 2007
Daft Punk are not plagiarists
(A comment left at the blog linked below…reposted here just cos.)
This is a non-issue. And old news, actually, that Sample Wednesday link is from months ago, isn’t it? It made the rounds of the blogosphere and then vanished into the ‘ah, interesting, but meh’ file.
I get a bit cranky when a bunch of Year Zero musical purists get on a legless high horse about sampling. Of course Daft Punk use samples. If you couldn’t hear that they were samples originally, you need to get out more.
Secondly, part of what gets me upset is that this anti-sampling attitude is essentially rockist. It’s like those “No Synthesizers!” stickers that dinosaur bands would put on their albums in the 70s.
It’s a misplaced quest for authority, couched as a search for authenticity. Apparently, as long as Daft Punk were writing every note themselves and ’sampling’ their own performances in the studio to make loops, that was OK, but once their hooks are revealed to be sampled off old, obscure tracks, that somehow invalidates the fact that Discovery is a kick-ass album that’s still head and shoulders above anything currently on the market, years after its release?
I say these kinds of fans want ‘authority’ in the guise of authenticity — they don’t want to be caught out listening to something uncool, they want to be assured by the Powers that Be that it is indeed True and Righteous.
When in fact most pop is all tinsel and artifice and all our idols are not as working-class as they make themselves out to be (John Mellor, the diplomat’s son, anyone?). To expect ‘authenticity’ from a couple of guys in robot masks (who may not even be the people we think they are underneath!!) is a bit of a stretch.
Sour Lingonberries
Photo by JaxPhotography, used under Creative Commons license.
Recent trip to Ikea with blogger friend Zura. As usual, the pilgrimage through the Halls of Temptation was fun, plenty of ideas for the eventual kitchen remodelling I’m going to do.
Once you get to the self-serve warehouse, however, all bets are off. Zura was looking for those wire-basket drawers for her new Pax wardrobes; in the Boucherville store, they’re available in self-serve, but at the Cavendish location, you have to speak to a sales staffer…. all the way back in the Storage department.
Then you need to take the multiple slips and forms and whatnot that they give you down to the cashier, pay for everything, then go to the Immigration Canada-like waiting area where you wait for some bored teenagers to hunt your merchandise down, verify it, and actually hand it over to you.
And wait. and wait. and wait.
If you want to get your merchandise delivered, you have to take your newly received cart of the precioussss over to a completely separate counter where you then fill out even more forms and pay a fee to the transport company.
Inevitably, carts and people pile up in a space that was apparently designed as a last minute “F—- it” afterthought. Why not build something like…I don’t know…an actual car drive-through pick-up? Grocery stores have had this problem licked for decades now.
Why not treat customers to something like the SAS first class lounge while they wait for their order to be picked, so they can then relax, and when their number is called they can leisurely finish their coffee and bun, and go to the drive-thru to pick it up in their car (further avoiding the scramble for pickup parking spots?)
Is this fun? Is this easy? And what’s with all the paperwork? Why isn’t there just some sort of integrated system? Why can’t I pay (using credit or debit) up in a different section, say, kitchens or storage, get a receipt, and just leave?
At a certain point, the hassle of going to Ikea outweighs any sort of ‘value for money’ considerations. I try to order online whenever possible, but even that seems stuck in a 1980s dot-matrix timewarp, because once the order is placed, someone phones you to complete the order. That’s like 1982, when people would call to ask if that fax went through…
Not only that, but often the telephone staff are clueless about what you’re trying to buy. When I purchased my Bonde cabinets for my dining room, I asked them specifically if the mirrored bar insert would fit in the unit I was buying - the one with a central vertical brace so you can make 12 cubbyholes. They assured me it did, but when everything arrived it was apparent that it actually fits in a different model of cabinet, necessitating a return trip to the store to get a refund — sadly, I can’t get money back for my wasted time.
How hard would it be to include a little information notice in the online store, to the effect of, “fits inside model XXX-XXX-XXX only”, with a hyperlink and photo of said piece? Many other websites use this: it’s called cross-selling. Show compatible accessories, sell more items…
And furthermore, what’s with certain things not being available for online purchase? When I bought a full-length Hovet mirror, I was informed I had to go to the store, buy it there, then arrange for delivery myself…essentially, spend 30-40 minutes or more getting there, picking the mirror from the warehouse, going 50 feet to the checkout, then going another 50 feet to the delivery area, waiting in line and filling out forms? Does Ikea think this is “common sense”, as their ads say? — having their customers pay for the privilege of being glorified warehouse stock-pickers, and to drive several miles, in order to move merchandise a total of 100 feet?
I know that the ‘central’ Ikea operation and the franchisees who run the stores are separate, but the customer doesn’t care about that. To us, it’s all one big blue-and-yellow machine and it ought to just work the way we think it ought to work, not the way that’s convenient for someone else.
If they sell it, it ought to be online, and we should be able to order it online and have it delivered — no hassle, no extra paperwork. With their volume of sales, surely the cost of paperwork and IT integration could be covered by tiny, imperceptible price increases across the catalog…a nickel here, a dime here. Surely they could do something smart - say, integrate a smart chip into their Ikea credit cards that stores your purchase history and address details.
Overall it’d more economical for the customers, and more ecologically friendly, to have a dozen trucks making multiple deliveries, vs. 1000s of cars coming to Ikea every day.
so…while it pains me to say this…. I’m just going to boycott Ikea until they get this sorted out.
In the meantime, while it may be pricier, I encourage you all to shop at local stores making sustainable furniture right here in Quebec (plenty on St-Laurent just below Mont-Royal), or check out the wonderful array of stores with vintage modern pieces on Amherst…or why not recycle a vintage piece with new upholstery?
August 28, 2007 in In Real Life | ✍ 1
A slew of updates and tidbits
some notes:
• Man’s man, ladies’ man, man-about-town Alston Adams (aka Jonas Parker) is in recovery from his 6.5hr surgery for esophageal cancer today. Our thoughts are with him and Julie, and if you want to lend some moral support, join our Facebook group.
• It’s been a very strange year. I don’t usually delve into personal matters here on the blog, but my wife and I separated about a year ago; I got together with and broke up with the same person twice in the interim, and I’ve been just dating since then. The biggest morale-booster: repainting and decorating the bedroom. Make of that what you will.
• It’s been a very strange year, volume II. Technically, I don’t work for King Marketing anymore. I’m still working with with Ken on projects for existing and new clients, and I’ll continue to write things here, but I’ve started my own specialized practice in presentation design / coaching — Marks & Pixels, Inc. (website in the works.)
In the meantime, if you’ve dealt with me through King Marketing or Ken, please continue to do so, and if not, why not get in touch?
