• 2 Posts
  • 137 Comments
Joined 1 month ago
cake
Cake day: June 12th, 2025

help-circle
  • I’m not sure the comparison with a missing tourist is the right one to make in this case. The German backpacker scenario appeals more to us because we feel like we have a responsibility as locals to look after this person who has come to our country as a guest and has run into trouble. I hope that people in other countries feel similarly about Australians in their countries too.

    But I definitely agree that there is obvious negative bias against Indigenous and non-white men if we are comparing the way their cases are handled and covered (or not) compared to those of other missing Australians here.







  • a school teacher needs 4-6 years worth of higher education to be eligible to teach meaning a school teacher is more likely to come from a wealthier, more conservative background

    Most Australian university students have their study 100% funded upfront by the Australian government and only pay it back over time if they earn above a minimum threshold, so the connection between socioeconomic background and university education isn’t as strong as in the US (though it definitely still exists).


  • I know it’s almost exclusively negative experiences here, but I do think it depends heavily on the student and their teachers as to whether that type of coursework is appealing. Personally I devoured English throughout high school, it was my favourite subject by far and the only one in Year 12 where I felt empowered, confident and challenged myself. It really established my ability to think deeply about complex issues and articulate my arguments with more clarity (and listen to and engage with those of others), which are some of the most widely applicable and useful life skills I learned in school.













  • Big Room is slower than 90s Trance, usually more around the 126 - 130 BPM mark (old school Trance is more in the mid-to-high 130s, sometimes up to 142 BPM). In Big Room there are usually other elements tied directly to the kick as well, like snares, claps, hats or the bass which gives it a “jumpy” kind of feel. If you were to compare it to an older genre, it’s a lot closer to something like Hands Up or Jumpstyle which are also a big jumping genres (also think classic Eurodance like Basshunter). Designed for festivals and raves or anywhere you have tons of people packed in a tight area where they can only move vertically.

    Aside from generally being faster, Trance also has a lot more complexity which means there is a lot more variety in how you can dance to it. There are extended breakdowns and slower build-ups, which is where the name comes from (people feel like they’re in a trance). Swaying, hand movements like gloving, and Tecktonik are some of the other common ways people dance to Trance subgenres. Trance and its subgenres are much more underground and niche than House and its subgenres though, which I suspect is due to the complexity and tempo making it more challenging and individualistic to dance to (some people feel more self-conscious to dance in their own unique way). Stuff like Big Room is super accessible because the structure is short and basic and it’s built around very friendly “drops” after which everyone can just jump up and down together, which I think is another reason why it has that Saturday night mainstream club popularity.

    There is of course overlap between House and Trance since they are both four-on-the-floor genres and they both have tons of subgenres, some of which blend elements of both. For example, Progressive Trance is a similar tempo to House but retains the complexity and melodic structuring of Trance. In the 2010s there was also this subgenre called “Progressive House”, which had nothing to do with the more traditional Progressive House and was more like a predecessor to Big Room. “Progressive House” had some more Trance elements like atmospheric (but shorter) breakdowns and big uplifting synth leads, but it was still very much a House subgenre.

    Anyway, subgenres of electronic dance music can get quite messy and there is often a lot of blending and overlap which means it’s often up to the individual how they want to define a particular track. In the case of Big Room and 90s Trance, however, there are so many major differences that they live quite firmly in their own distinct categories.


  • I only go to raves and specific artist/label events these days, so I’m not too sure what’s happening in mainstream clubs on a Saturday night. In my experience, the dance floor is always full later in the night and people are enjoying the music and having fun. Interesting to note that one guy quoted in the article complained about people “just jumping” instead of dancing - that’s the result of genre trends in electronic music, not social media or smartphones changing our behaviour. The more popular mainstream club genres for at least the last decade have been house sub-genres like Big Room that are festival-friendly and designed to be jumped to.