Like a version: rewind, play again
Music, like any art form, has a unique relationship with time. A song unfolds over time, changing from beat to beat, carrying the listener along, from the introductory notes to the concluding phrases. And a song itself continues to evolve even after it's been recorded and published in live performances, in covers, and in reinterpretations.
Strong Songs S08E03: "Both Sides, Now" by Joni Mitchell, 20 Mar 2026
What is it about a new interpretation of a familiar song that invites us to stop, pause, and listen to something we’ve already heard a thousand times?
When Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson threw a punchy, Motown-infused cover over ‘Valerie’ (2007), who knew it would become more popular than the Zutons’ original from 2006? Or Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 disco hit Murder on the Dancefloor? Over 2 decades later, the Royal Otis cover for Triple J’s Like a Version caught the imagination of millions with an awkwardly cool indie-rock makeover. It may also have benefitted from Saltburn bringing a whole new meaning to ‘stripped back’ vocals in the movie... but still, it made you listen, didn’t it?
The point of a cover version isn’t just to copy - at least not if you’re doing a really good one. The point is to find something unique in an artefact we thought we knew, or show a side of it that wasn’t obvious at first: some fresh vulnerability in the lyrics, perhaps, or a new way to overlay the instrumentals that changes the whole mood of the song. Not convinced? Listen to how Strong Songs podcast host Kirk Hamilton breaks it down in his ‘Strong Covers’ episodes; his deconstructions of ‘Jolene’ (Dolly Parton vs. The White Stripes) and ‘All Along The Watchtower’ (Bob Dylan vs. Jimi Hendrix) offer a whole new insight on what can be done with the same ‘core’ material, and what each artist brought to their version.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
This is the bit where I draw parallels between music and student experience research (again), but bear with me - this track is on repeat for good reason.
If you’ve worked in the same team, sector, or organisation for a while, it can start to feel like you’ve heard all the ‘customer stories’ before. There’s a temptation to hit ‘skip’ as you hear the opening bars of a familiar refrain: the one about the students who missed orientation and messed up in the first semester (Track 1 on the album - always a classic), or the one where they struggled to balance study with work commitments (Track 6 - a real banger, that one). If you’re lucky, you might be offered a ‘greatest hits’ of all the star students who have wonderful things to say about their experience… but those ones get boring pretty quickly.
It can sometimes feel like there are no new stories, just variations on the same themes. We’re hearing the same themes, however, because we haven’t fixed the problems yet - so instead of skipping this track, can we find a way to listen differently?
Same song, different version - what’s your take?
I interview a lot of students each year, engaging in long-form, deep conversations that map experiences from primary school right through to second, third and fourth careers. Education is the main topic of almost every project I work on, but it never gets boring. Every time I sit down with a student for a research project, I’m locked on and listening to hear what their version of this story will be. What does it feel like to go through high school in the 2020s? What role are parents playing now? How do they feel about the future? What does university mean for this person, in this situation, at this time in history?
It’s exciting, hearing what each version will add to our understanding. For one student, moving from regional Australia to study in the city is a thrilling adventure; for a first in family student, that same path can be a terrifying prospect, with no back-up if things go wrong. These ‘versions’ shift with time, too; an international student applying for uni in 2022 might have seen open doors everywhere; fast forward to 2026 and the tune has changed, with visa costs at record highs and those same doors slammed shut.
How could anyone imagine they’ve heard it all before when there are so many different versions to be explored?
The insights remix: your version
When budgets are tight, you can’t always commission new research when you want to - but I bet you’ve got a whole box full of research ‘albums’ you haven’t listened to lately. Here are some suggestions about how to uncover new versions of your insights that everyone will want to listen to…
Start with your back catalogue: which datasets need dusting off and looking at through a longitudinal lens? Which student research projects did you promise yourself you’d go back to, but never make time? Set aside a day with your team and re-discover some classics you can link to your current strategy.
Remix research with fresh ears and voices: who didn’t get to hear the insights the first time? Whose perspectives might add a different lens to a specialist area? This is a great opportunity to break through silos and bring together teams who don’t usually work together.
Make a mix tape! Pick an important topic (e.g. a strategic theme, or a student cohort you’d like to focus on) and find all the research you’ve done on that topic. When you put it all together, what patterns do you see? What gaps are there now? What’s already been implemented from the research, or forgotten about and needs revitalising?
If you’re finding it hard to put a new spin on your old research, remember you don’t have to do it alone. This kind of work benefits from different perspectives, from those who ran the research, to those whose roles depend on it, and even those who participated as respondents. Play it back, talk it over, and see what new creative ideas start to emerge.
If Joni Mitchell could re-interpret her own song over 4 different decades of her life and bring something new to it each time, you can pull out that old report and see what your wiser, more experienced eyes can add to it since you last looked. At the very least, it might remind you how far you’ve come, and how much you’ve already learned.
…just as a piece of music changes from month to month or year to year, so do we, the people who sing the songs and the people who write them.
Strong Songs S08E03: "Both Sides, Now" by Joni Mitchell, 20 Mar 2026