Music Review: Katty Perry's Witness

This year American singer, Katy Perry has received a lot of flak for her new political image. She has also received a lot of flak for her music and even the artwork of her new album, Witness.

Let's start by talking about the artwork for Witness.

It features Katy Perry with her new blonde pixie cut slicked back and her hands over her eyes. An eye is in her mount and it almost looks as if she is naked with a shadow of colour around her.

Rather than jumping to conclusions and saying the album cover is awful (which on the surface it is) we should actually dissect it and analyse it.

When you look at the colours, it almost looks as if the background could be Katy's aura. One part of the aura is purple. A quick search shows that purple is a colour of vision, imagination and daydreaming. With Katy's new political image, it's no surprise that she would choose a colour symbolic of her desire to look to the future. The pastel pink on the other hand symbolises a need for serenity and sensitivity, which definitely seems to tie in with Katy's new image.

The blocked eyes conveys a message that people have their eyes closed and don't want to see what's going on in the world around them. This is a fairly true analysis of how most people live there lives. You only have to look at people when they're on public transport and you'll see that they all look like zombies. In fact, on that note, I was on a bus a couple of days ago and some guy said that exact same thing. I had been the only one to pay attention to what he said. Most people ignore their surroundings.

They tend to just speak.

That's where the second part of the cover comes in. She has an eye in her mouth. In an interview Katy said that she sees her voice as her eye the world and that she speaks what she sees.

Basically the cover is about her opening her eyes and rather than just speaking, watching what's around her.

Her view on the world is evident in her song, Chained to the Rhythm.

Are we crazy?
Living our lives through a lens
Trapped in our white-picket fence
Like ornaments
So comfortable, we live in a bubble, a bubble
So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, the trouble
Aren't you lonely
Up there in utopia
Where nothing will ever be enough?
Happily numb

It clearly indicates that people are going on in their lives without looking at what's around them. They're just focused on their everyday existences without even questioning what's happening. People like to live in a bubble.

Katy's previous music was pop like this, however it was very superficial whereas this isn't. When you really look at the lyrics and see them, they have an excellent meaning, and are about serious issues.

Witness is similar, however it's a love song, where Katy sings and questions, "would you stay with me if I lost it all?" It's an interesting question given she's been in the public eye for more than 10 years now. She wants to know if the people around her are genuine or if they're only around her for her success.

The second single from the album, Swish Swish is rumoured to be about Taylor Swift who she has been feuding with for the last few years, but is it really? It could really be about any friendship that has turned sour. One line in the song sounds like another song.

It's the line:

Another one in the basket

It sounds very much like the song Another one bites the dust featured below.

It's very subtle though, but there is definitely a similarity.

Power, sounds like it's a follow up to one of Katy's earlier tracks, Pearl, featured on her album Teenage Dream. It's a little bit faster paced than Pearl though and sounds like it could have been written when she was with Russell Brand.

The album changes pace with the song, Miss you more, which is a love ballad. Katy sings of missing an ex and reflecting on the times gone by.

Another couple of standout tracks are Tsunami, Save as Draft and Into Me You See, which closes off the album.

The album is much better than what you'd expect based on the first three singles.

It's confusing why the songs chosen as the singles were actually the singles. Collaborations, as they all are, are never ever good. The album generally speaking retains Katy's old sound.

My only criticism of the album (aside from the cover, but from a visual point of view, the cover is rather fitting) is the collaborations and the amount of auto tune used on the songs. They'd be better if they were more raw but that is true of most music released today.

I give it 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Why Australian uni fees for foreigners aren't expensive

Every week there is at least one headline where New Zealand citizens are either whinging about a lack of access to welfare in Australia or the cost of studying. It's not just New Zealand citizens whinging about fees but for the purposes of this article that is what I will focus on (because we all know how much I love NZ bashing).

So when the budget was announced last month the idea was that permanent residents will pay full fees for university education and that the fees for New Zealand citizens will also increase.

The picture painted by the mainstream media was that these fee increases will be astronomical and will force some people to leave the country because they no longer get subsidised education and will have to pay up front.

Let's talk about that though. Is it really a problem?

Presumably the majority of New Zealand citizens are of working age, and let's say they live in Sydney and earn the average salary of around $80,000. That's around $1500 per week. 

Let's then assume the average rent or mortgage payment each individual pays is $500 per week. That still leaves $1000 but minus tax and you're left with $700.

Now to make another assumption, living expenses would be $200-$300 per week which leaves you with $400-$500 per week worth of discretionary income.

Each undergraduate university unit costs anywhere from $793 - $1324. It can be as high as $2900 for some units.

Either way, that's still very affordable.

Now let's analyse the cost of living in Auckland (Auckland is used because that's where the majority of jobs are).

The average wage is allegedly $76,000 (Im doubtful of this based on viewings of Seek advertisements and think it's closer to $50,000. Wages tend to peak lower in NZ than they do in Australia where $100,000-$200,000 is not impossible). Rent is around $300 a week per person and the cost of living would be comparable with that. When you minus tax you'd have about $200-$300 left over.

The average university unit in New Zealand would cost $886  for an undergraduate qualification.

So the question is, which country is more affordable for tertiary education? 

As you'd expect, I'm going to say Australia and I'll explain why.

The fees are comparable between the two countries and although the cost of living in Sydney is more than in Auckland, the higher wages compensate for that. There is a greater capacity to earn a very high income in Sydney than there is in Auckland.

Yes, New Zealand citizens do have to pay up front but most people would easily spend thousands of dollars a year on things they don't need so is paying for education really a huge cost? When you consider that your earning potential and job opportunities are greater, it's actually a tiny investment.

Most people who don't have qualifications end up stuck in jobs that aren't going anywhere because they don't have anything to offer their employer. They have limited knowledge and few jobs are open to them unlike those with tertiary qualifications.

This brings me to my next point. 

Are New Zealand citizens just looking for an excuse to go back to New Zealand? I would say yes. If people truly wanted to live in Australia then they would find any way to do so. The other question is, is it truly that people can't afford an education or is it that they don't value it? These same people who criticise the up front fee payment would no doubt be taking at least one holiday per year which would cost them thousands of dollars. An education may cost $32,000 but when you consider that over your lifetime you'll earn significantly more than that as a result, it actually pays for itself.

Not being eligible for HECS is actually a good thing because it saves you getting into debt which constantly rises each year at the rate of inflation.

The only thing that doesn't make sense about university fees in Australia is that those who take out a HECS loan get a discount but those who pay upfront don't: Shouldn't it actually be the other way around because the person who pays upfront is not a drain on the Australian taxpayer? You would think that you're doing the government a favour by not taking out a HECS loan.

All the talk from foreigners whinging about the cost of tertiary education jumps up and down as if there is a massive difference between domestic and international fees but $200 per unit (in most cases) is pretty insignificant when you consider the opportunities available as a result of that education.

The bottom line is that as long as you work full time, studying as a foreigner in Australia is extremely affordable. Anyone who says otherwise is just expecting handouts from the government. If you don't study the most you can expect to earn in a city like Sydney is about $50,000 whereas if you do study that amount is actually limitless.