Off topic: A burst of musical colour

I try to keep this (rather scarcely-updated) blog to "official" business of mine, but I think MGMT's album, Oracular Spectacular, deserves a mention.

In a word, fantastic. A burst of musical colour, the record is an energetic, adventurous experience. It's a wild mixture of all things disco, Bowie, 80s synths, big drums, and anything else you can think of. I liken it to staring through - or perhaps being sucked into - one of those kaleidoscopes that you never had but had to borrow from your more interesting friend.

It also goes to show that amongst the anodyne R&B, Tupac reissues, unadventurous pop and bland MOR rock we are bombarded with today, someone somewhere is still making records that dare to be different.

Words and phrases that fill me with dread: "Can-do attittude"

As an employer, I would make a point of firing any employee or HR representative who ever suggested that a potential employee should have a "can-do attitude". It says to the candidate, "we couldn't think of anything else to write, and to be honest we aren't really sure what we're looking for, plus everyone else puts this in their job ads, so, erm...."

What's wrong with a bit of honesty? "We want someone who can do A,B,C and maybe D, and who isn't a complete social pariah and won't p*** off the rest of the office. If you are that person, call us. If not, don't bother, we are still using the last set of rejected CVs as scrap notepaper, so we don't need any more right now."