AmericanAnDerTU

I really should have gone to bed by now, but I got a bit nostalgic lying in bed and decided to put my thoughts down. After joining Twitter and then after starting this blog, I wish I had done all of this back in 2007 when I first arrived in Vienna. I had virtually nothing but free time back then when I was first learning German and the person I am back then is greatly different than the person I am today, nearly five years later. To the point…

I moved to Austria because I have a girlfriend here. We had led a long distance relationship for about two years and both of us had had enough. For most native English-speaking people living in Vienna, this is such a common theme as to be a stereotype. Because of it, I don’t really like to bring it up and usually brush the question off with a joke typically like “Because I lost a bet.” This usually results in a few laughs and gives me the opportunity to steer the conversation away. I don’t know why I do this nowadays, maybe I’m embarrassed to admit how I got here? I have no idea. I love my girlfriend dearly, though. I’d also always wanted to study abroad and moving to Austria (the initial plan was for just a year) and having a girlfriend here just kind of worked out. 

My first few months in Austria were great. I went to London, moved into my first apartment (with my girlfriend), furnished it and started a life far away from home. At the same time, I was also scrambling to get my visa in order after the first month. When I moved to Austria, aside from my girlfriend (Rabbit), I had my cousin and a single friend. My one friend (we’ll call him Roo) was from Australia and I met him in 2005 when I first visited my family here. Over the course of the past two years, we’d kept in sporadic contact and after moving to Austria, Roo became my one and only friend. He helped me navigate the bog that was the Austrian visa system back then (it’s gotten better!) and showed me the ropes of the city, two things that I always do for newcomers that I see are in similar straits after arrival in this city. If it wasn’t for Roo, I might honestly not still be here. He knows this and knows how grateful I am to him. He’s since moved back to Oz but continues to remain one of my best friends. 

The next months challenged me constantly. My German class was filled with people from all over the world and I honestly expected that because I was from the USA and others in my class were from countries that had less than friendly diplomatic relationships with the USA that we would not get along at all. I seriously thought this, that’s how naive I was back then. Obviously that wasn’t the case and I made some friends. None of us really shared a language other than broken English and broken German, but it was still a great time. It does sadden me to think back and remember how many gave up after the first semester of classes or with how many I lost contact with. Regardless, it was a great time and I loved every day of going to class. My teacher was great and my peers were fun.

One story that stands out pretty strongly was when during the winter I sliced my finger open cutting a package of RAM open and bled all over my desk and apartment floor. I’d lived there for a few months but never had to see a doctor and my German was after only a month and a half of classes spotty at best. With a towel wrapped around my finger, I was asking old ladies where the nearest doctor was and managed to get there JUST as they were finishing up for the day (or maybe they had finished but my panicked pounding on the door forced them to open up). There I stood, white-faced and scared, knowing that if the doctor didn’t speak English, I was going to have some issues. Thankfully, as it turned out, blood squirting out of a finger is a universal sign for “Help!”. I went to the doctor over the next years as I lived there and it was always funny to see how each time I went, my German was better and she even noticed.

I went home for Christmas that year in 2007 for two weeks and regaled my family and friends with tales from Austria. I was able to even hold some basic conversations in German and so could show off some of my hard work. 

Over the winter and into the spring, I developed my core group of friends: Sheep (a girl from New Zealand) and Phoenix (a girl from the USA). These two ladies joined Roo, Rabbit and I and we became a pretty tight-knit group. Everyone in the group has gone their own separate ways but I still keep in touch with them. Sheep remains to this day, despite the fact that we can’t always talk to each other due to geographic and career reasons, a close friend and my part-time conscience.

The spring was rather uneventful but the summer - oh the summer. In June 2008 was the UEFA European Championship and leading up to it, Roo was determined to teach me soccer… err, football. In March we went to the Austria v. Netherlands game and I have to say, after seeing my first live football game, I was hooked. When the Euro 2008 finally rolled around, I knew the game, could discuss it in German and was rooting for Austria all the way. Unfortunately due to some poor refereeing, Austria didn’t make it past the group stage but it was still a great tournament.

As the tournament ended, so also came to an end my first year in Austria. It was an awesome year and also saw my decision to stay beyond a year and finish my degree here in Vienna. I enrolled for a third semester of German classes and began preparing for my language exam that would follow in the fall. I was geared up and ready to kick some ass and I was sucking up the German language and the Austrian dialect like a sponge. Year #1 was an absolute success and I was jazzed to see what year #2 would bring.

OK, let me first start with a little disclaimer in case I’m talking about of my ass here: I don’t know if the other Austrian mobile companies have a similar policy in place, but I doubt it given that my Australian friend never had this problem I have. 

I came to Austria in 2007 and shortly thereafter signed away my soul to the largest mobile provider in the country, A1. Since then, the market itself has matured greatly and become much cheaper than it was before (likely the cheapest market in all of Europe). One funny thing when I signed the contract, though, was that because I had only recently arrived in Austria, if I traveled outside the country, my phone would not receive service of any kind. Odd, but whatever. Obviously I needed a phone and A1 was the only one that provided coverage where I needed it and there were no contracts that allowed free calls between networks at an affordable price (unlike now), so I took what I could. I was told after a year, this would expire. At the time I had only planned on staying in Austria for a year so for me it was nothing more than “big whoop”. Signed the contract and off I was. 

Since then I’ve signed a new contract that has a data package along with it and I figured at the time, “new contract, new SIM card, no more lock”. It wasn’t until I took a trip to Germany and turned my phone on after landing that I realized the lock was still on. I went back to Austria after my trip and swiftly forgot about the lock since when I leave Austria, it’s usually to go back to the US, a day trip over the border to Bratislava (you know, the capital city of Slovakia) or a short trip elsewhere.

Now I’m flying alone to Germany for a few days in April to visit my father and my cousin and it would be nice to be able to coordinate via phone with them. I mean, smoke signals and alphorns are cool and all, but building a fire in the middle of Berlin doesn’t go over well with the locals and that horn doesn’t fit in a suitcase. Back to the phone then. 

So I just called A1 to try and sort this little problem out. It’ll only take a few minutes once I’m no longer on hold, just a few mouse clicks for the other person on the phone and done deal, right? Oh I WISH it was that easy. Turns out that I have to call the accounting office, request a form be sent to me (hopefully electronically), send it back to them (likely via snail mail, but we’ll see) and then they can take care of this problem I’m having. Beautiful…

I really don’t understand this policy. From my experiences (as with my Australian friend I mentioned above), no other mobile provider in Austria does this. Other friends that don’t have EU citizenship have signed contracts with other providers and have never heard of something like this. Combine this with the absolutely atrocious way A1 treats their existing customers (they’ll kiss your ass to get you to sign but once you’ve signed the dotted line, they’re evil) versus the other providers and I’m sick and tired of it: I’m switching providers at the end of the year when my contract runs out.

Fuck you, A1.

A couple of my Austrian friends are coming over for a meal this evening and I have to brag about it because I’ve never done a meal like this before (my girlfriend is the cooking fiend in our house). Tonight’s plan:

• Welcoming drinks in the form of Pepper Jacks (my own concoction I came up with at a party one time: Jack Daniels and Dr. Pepper)
• Dinner consists of Southern Fried chicken (with fresh ranch dip), succotash and homemade macaroni and cheese - all the recipes I got out of the book in the picture. If you want to have an awesome American cookbook, this is one of the better ones I’ve come across. My girlfriend wanted to have one for our place here in Vienna and the two of us looked at countless books in the store before we found this one. 
• For dessert I’ve made brownies from my own personal recipe. My brownies are famous at my office in the departments that have tried them, so now whenever I bring in any to work, I always have to make a double batch in order to feed everyone - they’re that good.

Both of my friends coming tonight are also my colleagues and one of them is leaving at the end of March to begin training to be an aircraft controller and the other is leaving in August to study for a semester at the University of Georgia. Kind of fitting that he gets a taste of the food he’s going to be eating all fall and winter while he’s down in the Deep South. 

I wish I had some American beers like SweetWater or a Florida wine or two to keep up the Southern flavor. As it is, I’ve got organic beer from Salzburg and red and white wines from Burgenland. Really looking forward to this evening and hoping that it does go as well as I intend.

As I said in my recent post, my father is coming to Europe. He’s going to be spending a few days in Vienna, but I would also like to go and visit him during his trip while he’s in Germany. Since I’m in Europe, I can actually take a look at what it costs to take the train because sometimes the train can be significantly cheaper than a plane - just depends on when you’re planning on traveling. 

Since I’m not going to be traveling during the holiday season (I’ll be looking to travel during April), there aren’t really any special deals going on. I also don’t have one of those cards that you pay for so you can travel cheaper with either the Austrian ÖBB or the German DB (the two train companies), so this is a pure price comparison. 

The tickets to fly to either Stuttgart or Berlin are about €115, give or take a few euro, and that price includes my return ticket to Vienna and is with either German Wings, Austrian Airlines or Air Berlin/Fly Niki - all the airlines were within a few euro of each other, so from there it’s really taste, I suppose. 

The price from ÖBB? €126 to Stuttgart, one-way! To Berlin? Not much better: €129. Again, one-way! My first thought: “It’s no wonder that ÖBB is slowly going under…” I didn’t even bother asking what the return ticket would cost me but it honestly would not have surprised me had the man on the telephone (their website wouldn’t give me the price, I actually had to call…) asked me for my first-born child. I just thanked him and hung up. 

I headed over to the DB website to see if maybe they had a better price. Not likely considering they’re using the same tracks and only the trains are likely to be any different, but you never know. At first glance I was quite surprised: an overnight train costs €39 and a train during the day €62! Awesome (and I didn’t even have to call)! Then I realized that this only includes the trip to Stuttgart. When I checked what the return trip would cost and I was offered two prices: approx. €121-101, depending on when I left, for a special savings offer and this required that I be on that train at that time and there was no possibility to change my ticket. The normal ticket is twice the price, so no chance in hell of that. But then just looking at the price to get back is more than the price to fly there and back with the PLANE.

Quite the little underhanded tactic - show me a great price to get me in the door and then slap me in the face with the other half of the trip. I hate it when companies do this, I don’t care who they are. I’d much rather you be up front with customers or potential customers rather than pulling a bait and switch. 

It really doesn’t surprise me that trains are dying. Sure, planes pollute more, but when I can get to my destination in an eighth of the time at less than half the price, why would I take the train? If the train was cheaper, though, I could certainly imagine taking the train. It’s nice to see the countryside from the window of a train, there’s no airport security and I don’t have to worry about crashing, but really, when you want to charge me that much and you take that long to get me there, I’d rather deal with airport security and take my chances with the plane.

(image courtesy of Kleine Zeitung)

My dad is coming for a visit before he heads off on a business trip that has him travelling throughout Europe, so that means I get to stock up on all the stuff from home I normally bring back on my own. Whenever an American friend flies home, all his/her friends here in Vienna all hand over a shopping list of things they want. It’s tradition. I’ve not been home in a year now (today a year ago was the day I flew home to surprise my parents) and my friends that have been home recently never got a list from me, so now my dad’s going to have to stock up for me. Here are some of my favorite things to smuggle into Austria:

• Old Spice Red Zone “After Hours” - my favorite deodorant. If I ever want Old Spice, I have to travel to Eastern Europe to buy it and even then I can’t get exactly what I want - only normal Old Spice and the various scents they have. Still great stuff, but no where near as great as Red Zone. 
• Reese’s Pieces - I’ve been eating this little candy for my entire life. Every one knows I love peanut butter and combining it with chocolate and making it portable? I’m there! Peanut Butter M&M’s can piss off, this is the OG peanut butter candy.
• Butterfinger - Anyone who remembers the early days of “The Simpsons” most certainly remembers the old Butterfinger commercials with Bart Simpson as the spokesman. “Don’t lay a finger on my Butterfinger!”
• Ballcap Washer - this isn’t something that I’ve ever ordered before, but they’re impossible to find here in Austria. Need to get Dad to bring a few of these for me and friends. 
• Lollipop sticks - my girlfriend is requesting these now so she can experiment with “cake pops”. Another one we’ve never bought before but been meaning to for a while…
• Vanilla Extract - we ran out when I made my last batch of brownies and need to get a few more bottles this time around. 
• Taco Bell seasoning - we usually buy a few assorted packages for when we do Mexican food nights and anyone that has been at our place for Mexican night (burritos, tacos, fajitas, enchiladas - we do it all) knows how awesome this stuff is. 
• Ranch dressing mix - there’s nothing like Ranch dressing and making it yourself is the best. I’m sure that there are some awesome recipes to make it from scratch, so maybe we’ll have to try that out one day and cut the cord with Hidden Valley. 
• Honey Mustard - again, probably could make it ourselves but it’s just so damned good straight out of the bottle. Lots of great memories connected to it. Outback Steakhouse has the absolute best, though, so I need to try one of these recipes the next time I make fried chicken. 
• Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce - oh look, another bottle of American sauce. You say that at first, but until you’ve tried it, you have no idea. This stuff will make anything taste better and I mean anything. 

Obviously there is a lot of junk food and sauces and stuff, but hey, you can’t bring a basket of Georgia peaches with you in a suitcase, can you? ;)

I know exactly what I’m going to be doing in my old age and I can’t wait: 

• I want to be a dirty old man. I always remembered the laughs that old guys would get when they hit on chicks in their 20s. When you’re old, you can say whatever you want and it’s hilarious. 
• Go to retail stores and ask stupid questions. Not simply stupid questions, though - I want to get the teenager talking to me to cock his head to the side and look at me like I’m a fucking Martian. Shit like, “Excuse me, but if I turn the TV off, how do I turn it back on?” You think I’m kidding? I’ve heard crap like this. You cannot be that stupid on accident, that has to be on purpose. I want to be that old guy. Gotta keep the tradition alive, amirite?
• Drive slow on the road. I know I’ll be driving well into my old age and I’m sure I’ll still be a good driver, too, so I want to be the old guy that just moves at a crawl. Then just when I’m about to get passed, step on the gas and keep going at a normal pace. The look of that mixture of anger and surprise is nothing short of priceless. 

Now that I’ve gotten to play with the Lumia 800 for a few weeks, I think I’m qualified to make a few observations on not only the hardware itself but also Windows Phone 7 as a platform. Let’s talk about the hardware itself first, though.

When you open the box of your Lumia 800, sitting right on top is your device and when you take it in the hand for the first time, you’ll notice that while it isn’t made of aluminum, it most certainly isn’t cheap plastic. I’ve never been disappointed by Nokia hardware when it comes to build quality and they certainly didn’t just design any piece of trash when they made this device. The case is a single piece of polycarbonate and this is an excellent material to make a phone from: if you scratch it, it doesn’t matter because the dye itself is a part of the plastic and not just sprayed on. The material also gives the phone that same feeling you get with the soft-touch rubber that you find on the backs of other phones and on some laptops. In the box you’ll also find a rubber sleeve for the phone in case you want a case. The screen is Gorilla Glass, so don’t ever worry about getting scratches in the display. I never used the case myself, but it’s nice to see Nokia put one in there for those that wanted one. Considering that WP7 itself is still very new and Nokia controls only but a fraction of the smart phone space, you likely won’t be finding much in the way of accessories any time soon, anyway. You also get a set of headphones (seriously, though, Nokia, no in-ear headphones in 2012?), a USB cable and a USB-to-AC adapter.

Looking at the top of the phone you have a headphone jack and two doors that can be opened: one for the USB jack and the other for the micro-SIM card. Along the right side you have four buttons that control volume, lock and turn the phone on and a shutter button for the camera. I’m not too crazy about the power/lock button because I found myself pressing it all the time in my pocket by accident. Nokia did a sliding switch on the C6 (Symbian) that I won from A1 a while ago and it was really nice. It’s not that much of a gripe, though, but it’s just a little niggle. I’m not too crazy about the power/lock button on my LG Optimus 3D or my girlfriend’s Nexus S, so clearly I’m a bit picky and hard to please here. Aside from the two doors and the four buttons, that’s all you get in terms of the case.

Once you turn the phone on you’ll be prompted to select your language and locale settings, put in your Windows Live ID if you have one and also create a Nokia ID (if you don’t already have one). The phone is a really snappy piece of kit – the only time I experienced any lag was when using apps downloaded from the Marketplace and after talking to a developer on Twitter for one of those apps, he/she said it was due to the lack of optimizations for Mango for his app (and I’m assuming this carries over to other apps). The home screen has all the basics already set up and ready to go, just put in your email information and you’re good to go.

Next I’d like to talk about the software. Nokia delivers the phone with a few of their own applications that really should be included on all WP7 devices, but this device isn’t only the WP7 flagship for Nokia but in my opinion the flagship for all WP7 phones.

I’m entirely new to the WP7 environment, though, so take that last statement with a grain of salt. I’ve admittedly never used a WP7 phone before at any length; I’ve only watched others use them and played with the offerings from Samsung and HTC in stores. The interface itself is very natural to use and in my opinion, the easiest of any other smartphone. Android does have a certain amount of complexity to it that has become easier with 4.0 and iOS is also extremely simple but it doesn’t have the natural flow that WP7 offers.

Since the OS itself is still very new, it’s lacking a great deal in terms of what applications are available for download. There is still a large amount of them in the Marketplace, but when the majority of applications only have a few reviews to each one, it’s evidently apparent that WP7 has not reached the market share that Android or iOS have. I remember this when I first bought my HTC Magic back in 2009 but the offerings will grow as the user base grows. Microsoft has also been very aggressive in bringing developers into the fold and this partnership with Nokia will only help them grow their market share. It is a bit strange that there is no Skype application for WP7 given that Skype now belongs to Microsoft, but apparently this will be changing soon (and Skype will also have deeper integration with the OS itself in the future).

The notification system is very different here in comparison to Android or iOS, however. Push notifications for apps are still a new feature that hasn’t been fully integrated in all apps apparently (correct me if I’m wrong); the official Twitter app doesn’t even have push notifications enabled. A lot of apps seem to show notifications by just popping up a little icon on the lock screen (the top bar of the display remains almost exclusively black when using the phone, presenting the user with zero information and this took quite a bit of getting used to) and/or taking advantage of the live tiles to show you that something new had arrived. The live tiles are really one of the shining features of the OS, just like Android’s widgets. I would say that it’s probably just as good as push notifications, so long as you have a tile attached to the start screen, otherwise a push notification would be nice. The OS is new, though, so who knows what we’ll see, especially once the next generation Apollo is released later this year.

All in all, the phone is a tight little package. If you’d like to see photo quality and perhaps get some more technical details, there are plenty of other reviews out there. In my next blog entry I’m going to talk about the migration from Android to Windows Phone. It’s not as seamless as I was led to believe and left me with quite a few head scratchers.

I’d like to end the blog with a few thank yous: Fabian Lebersorger from Grayling, for getting in touch with me and inviting me to the Nokia World Vienna press event;Stephanie Urbanski from Nokia for answering all my questions at the event and making sure along with Fabian that I got a test device; the person running theRowi Twitter account for explaining a few things to me about WP7 (this was also my favorite Twitter app for WP7 – it’s a bit rough around the edges but apparently a large update is coming soon that will add a ton of features that other clients already have and some that others don’t, be sure to check it out and buy the pro version). 

This is something I’ve been struggling to understand since I’ve been studying here at the Vienna University of Technology. There seems to be amongst the most hardcore of the computer scientist students, namely those studying software engineering, a great disregard for personal hygiene. I mean, I know when you’re on a hardcore studying binge that certain things might be ignored and only the most basic things paid attention. Some of the people that I’ve met and seen, however, absolutely have no idea what things like a toothbrush, deodorant or even soap are.

Today, for instance, I was in a lecture today and one guy sat next to me and was absolutely vile. His smell almost made me retch, his teeth looked as if they hadn’t been cleaned in days and he still had food from his last meal around his mouth. Not a week ago I tweeted about the stench in one of my classes that is primarily taken my computer scientists (we business informatics students are in a very small minority) and a number of folks agreed with me.

No one has ever been able to answer the question for me: why are computer scientists so often, so damned filthy?

Kürbiskernöl (don’t worry if you can’t pronounce it, it took me a while when I was first learning German) is a culinary delight from Styria (Steiermark in German), a province in the southeast corner of this backward country I call home. I’m not going to go on and tell you what it is other than an oil made from a specific variety of pumpkin native to the region. If you want to know any more about it, click the link and you can read the Wikipedia article. What I’m going to write here is a tribute to this gift from the gods.

If you’ve never tried it before, you absolutely must. A true Austrian restaurant should always ask you if you would like Kürbiskernöl on your salad and if they don’t, call the police and say that the restaurant is infested with rats and get that shithole shut down. Should you reply to the question of whether or not you want Kürbiskernöl with anything other than something in the affirmative, go ahead and throw yourself in front of oncoming traffic and let me have your salad for you. 

Oh, you must be exaggerating. No oil can possible be this good, especially one you simply on a salad. How wrong you are, silly mortal. The first time you try it, I will not guarantee you like it but after you get used to the taste if you do anything but fall in love, you surely have no soul. The oily thickness. The Kürbiskernöly taste. It defies words. I’m really not trying to sound like some fanboi out after the latest Apple iWhatever, it really cannot be described. Wikipedia will tell you it has a nutty taste, which is certainly true, but it cannot really be described. It’s like sex. Sure, you can figure out the mechanics of it, but you never know what it’s like until you’ve tried it. And just like sex after that first orgasm, once you’ve tried it, you’re hooked.

The best part about it, however, is that you can put it on anything and instantly make it light years ahead of whatever it was before you put Kürbiskernöl on it. Vanilla ice cream? Prepare to have your world rocked. A plate of fries? Fuck you, ketchup, take your shit back to Malaysia. I mean this: putting it on anything instantly makes it better. 

Like anything truly great, there are unfortunately some negative aspects (but so does sex, ever heard of VD?). If you get it on your clothes, it’s nigh impossible to get out. There is only one trick that always works: do not wash it, simply place the garment in direct sunlight for a number of hours. The oil will disappear leaving your garment as you had it. It’s also notoriously expensive. Buying it anywhere outside of Styria will cost you a bit of coin but if you know a Styrian (chances are you do or you know someone that does), get them to buy a bottle for you. Every Styrian has a hookup to get it on the cheap. It’s like weed in that respect. Everyone knows someone. If your Styrian contact says they don’t have a connection, beat the ever living hell out of them until they give in to your demands - they ALWAYS have a hook up. 

At my office, they have a few liters of Kürbiskernöl along with other dressings. Which container needs to be refilled the most? You bet your sweet ass - the Kürbiskernöl one. Best part is that it’s free and I get to drown my salads in the stuff with abandon. Today I had a particularly divine concoction in my salad bowl and as I was eating it, I realized I put A LOT of oil on my salad this time. It was something along the lines of “You want some salad with that Kürbiskernöl?” but you know what? It only made it better. Granted, I probably put too much but it was exquisite. I could have achieved the same taste with less (did I just admit there is such a thing as too much Kürbiskernöl?) but it’s just so g’damn good. 

The next time you’re at the store, make sure you get a quality bottle if you’re one of the unlucky few that don’t know their own Styrian. If you’re just visiting, bring a few bottles home. Who knows when you’ll get back to Austria again? Get yourself some of that epic godly nectar, you won’t regret it.

One of the things that I love about going to concerts is that if you have a real artist playing in front of you, the art will always be presented differently each time. Presentation is key with all things in life - think about how products are presented nowadays. If you don’t do it right or get people excited, no one is going to care.

There’s a moment in my life from last year that I really treasure. I got to go to K’Naan’s concert here in Vienna right after the World Cup and it was one of the single coolest experiences and perhaps the best concert I’ve ever been to. It was in a small place called Club Szene that fit maybe a few hundred at best - a really intimate venue. Best of all I was right in the middle in front of the “visual stenographer” himself.

I’m sure most people know K’Naan for the song “Waving Flag” that he did for Coca Cola during the World Cup (a song so successful that more people thought IT was the official song for the games rather than Shakira’s track). I heard the song and really liked it but it wasn’t until I heard the album version and got my hands on K’Naan’s original material and his newest album that I really fell in love with his music. Once you’ve heard the album version and listened to the lyrics and then also seen him perform live, the other two versions that get the radio airplay don’t even compare… Let me show you…

This version from the Vienna concert isn’t the best, but this is how it starts. Below are other videos that continue the song that are of a better quality.

Now wasn’t that just touching? You’ll see in the comments I left in the video - I cried a bit during the song. The performance itself was a bit longer than in the videos and to listen to him live tell his stories and the atmosphere… simply wow. Here’s the album version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znVB25YFZiQ (embedding disabled - for whatever reason)

Keep what you’ve heard above in your mind and listen to the Coca Cola version:

Now the Coca Cola version isn’t bad. It lacks the touching lyrics of the album version, but I can get why they made the changes they did. It’s understandable. Up next, however, is the absolute WORST version… The upcoming version embodies all that is wrong with mainstream music and the destruction that can be wrought when something becomes popular and is chewed up by the industry to make it for the masses. The album version itself was perfectly fine and with a tasteful video could have been made into an excellent release. Instead we get this piece of trash (sorry to K’Naan or anyone affiliated with him, I’m pretty sure you guys had nothing to do with this).