Saturday Night Listening - Warren Zevon's "Excitable Boy"

Excitable Boy is a true classic.

I've been listening to a lot of music lately, both new and old. One disc that has been on standard rotation in my car right now is Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy.

It is Zevon's most commercially successful work and also one of his best (although he has many other great albums). He really is one of the more underrated rock 'n' roll geniuses, and in my book, is in some ways as brilliant or moreso than Bob Dylan or even Bruce Springsteen. Instead of singing about small-town working class life, Zevon's work was much darker, and his political commentary was always engaging as well.

Below is a live version of the album's title track, "Excitable Boy", which tells the tale of a young man who murders his prom date, as an example of Zevon's macabre style of humor and lyricism.

Someone should tell the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame to induct the artist. But it's not like he needs the honor, since many fans already recognize Zevon for the legend he was up until his death.

How much are you willing to sacrifice for your art?

One thing I have been struggling with during my job hunt is whether to continue trying to find arts and culture journalism jobs, pursue hard news reporting, or apply for jobs in my other area of interest and major - marketing.

I recently read a blog post on the site MetalSucks.net, in which Eyal Levi (guitarist of Daath), asked readers, what they thought sacrifice really means and the lines people draw when deciding what to sacrifice for their careers (he takes the angle of struggling musicians / artists, but really could apply to any job with long hours, lower pay than desired, etc.) It really is worth a look.

It started to make me think about my goals as I prepare to embark on an important part of my life in settling down at a career (I know, your first job isn't your last, but I still like to believe in a thing called loyalty and sticking with a job for awhile). I went into college with the dream of writing for a music magazine, so I signed up as a journalism major, took several classes, and wondered if the stressful life of a journalist was for me. I then added a second major in marketing as a back-up plan.

Later I took a class with an inspiring professor by the name of Don McLeese, who has written for The Chicago Sun Times and Rolling Stone, among other publications. He pushed me to believe in my writing ability and motivated me to apply at the campus newspaper, The Daily Iowan. At the paper I made a lot of new arts-loving friends, improved my writing technique, and even worked my way up to editor of the section in one year. It was both stressful and rewarding, but rarely boring.

I also had some amazing marketing professors, who encouraged my writing, in addition to helping me develop my public speaking skills. I really enjoyed most of the marketing classes I took and began to see it as another very plausible career choice for me.

So now, I am in a position where I am balancing applying for jobs in both fields. Part of me feels like doing anything but writing would be like selling out. But another part of me likes the idea of using my talents to work for a marketing firm (or for a music label / magazine / innovative company).

While times are confusing, I feel I have the ability, personality, and motivation to land a job in this tough economy and no matter whether it is in journalism or marketing, I will accomplish work I can be proud of.

'The New York Times' Print v. Online

So I don't read the print version of The New York Times anymore, only because I don't really have the money to spend on a subscription right now and was used to getting it for free from The University of Iowa (along with cheap rates on The Wall Street Journal and free copies of USA Today and The Des Moines Register). However, that doesn't stop me from checking out the newspaper's website, and enjoying its many articles and video features.

Truth is, I actually read the most articles in The New York Times arts section, in addition to the major headlines and top videos. I miss the science section, but don't actively seek it out - which brings up a point about reading the paper online. In print I would read at least a few paragraphs of every single article in almost every section, whereas online I spend less time engaged and read only the things I actively seek out. Guess that's the big difference between print and web, which is kind of a shame. 

The main reason I am making this post is to share an intriguing video I just saw about eating bugs at a gourmet restaurant in Brooklyn. Now I generally dislike bugs and am not afraid to stomp on most of them, but it is interesting to see people paying money to get a perspective on a practice that is generally frowned upon in America. I can't say the bugs enjoy us eating them in mass quantities though...

An Insider's Look: A Day in the Life of a Recent Grad

Well, as you can see, I will be posting on here whenever I feel the urge to vent / find something cool to talk about. Today I just wanted to give an insider's look at what a day is like when you are working part-time and on the full-time job hunt. Enjoy!

Occasional shifts at your "temporary" job (Note: Any job you don't want to have, but needed for the money is temporary no matter how long you work there):
7:30 a.m. - Wake up. Put on coffee. Shower.
8:00 a.m. - Stumble around for awhile. Don polo shirt and khaki pants with matching shoes and belt.
8:20 a.m. - Realize you still need to eat. Gobble down some food and get to the car and DRIVE!
8:55 a.m. - Clock into your shift (generally between 5 - 8 hours depending on season).
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Work.
4:00 p.m. - 1 a.m. - Promise yourself you will find a full-time job that you actually enjoy as soon as possible.
Note: If working a later shift (starting at 2 p.m., etc.), just interchange the order of these things.

Days you don't have to work:
10:00 a.m. - Try to wake up. Realize that you don't have a reason to wake up at a set time. Sleep another 30 minutes.
10:30 a.m. - Try to wake up. This is successful about 50% of the time.
11 a.m. - SUCCESS! You have to enjoy the little things, right?
11:30 a.m. - Hopefully check e-mails. See the dream job you wanted currently isn't hiring, but appreciates the application nonetheless. Browse The New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal websites. Go on Facebook and be sad if someone is more successful than you / happy if someone seems more miserable than you on his or her job hunt. Check other favorite websites.
1:00 p.m. - Realize you haven't eaten anything today. So go eat you fool!
2:00 p.m. - Check your bookmarks of job sites. Try to find some cool sounding jobs you would enjoy (doesn't matter where, as long as it's bigger than anywhere else in Iowa, and if in Iowa, preferably Des Moines or another larger city). Find a few, apply to a few. Write cover letters.
5:00 p.m. - Go for a jog / bike ride. This is successful about 50% of the time, but a great stress reliever!
6 p.m. - Eat dinner with the family. Realize you need to get out of home soon, this feels like high school all over again.
7 p.m. Play Halo Reach / other videogame that is currently out. Realize this truly is like high school again, without the school.
11 p.m. - 3 a.m. - Try to go to bed sometime in this range. Repeat if don't work the next day. If work the next day, see original schedule.
Note: The weekend does not exist until you get a full-time job. So this works for pretty much any day, although you will likely socialize more on the weekends and sleep-in later, unless you work at your job, which is likely, because it's probably in retail / some other thing that has you work long weekend hours.

I know this schedule seems bitter, but it actually helps to vent, and I exaggerate some of it of course. But I do hope I will land a cool gig sometime soon! I know I have the talent, just need to find the right place!

The Corporate Life

I'm going to be as honest as possible on my blog, because what's the point in me giving you some BS story about how amazing post-graduation life with a double-major is (I still think the time spent in college was 100% worth it and am confident I will find a job I will love sometime soon).

I've worked hard to get to where I am at in life. And while I may not be where I want to be yet, I'm working on it. It takes time and perseverance to live the dream... and don't forget suffering.

I recently applied for a job at a corporate chain of stores while I continue looking for some reporting and writing (or at least better marketing) gigs. So far the said chain (which will remain unnamed), has put me through 9 hours of orientation (yes, that's not even training yet folks), only to tell me there is one more round left to go. Then there is a week where the schedule has already been made and then I'll be able to start working normal shifts.

The iPod killed my music collection

Try as you might BOSE sound dock. It's not the same.

I hate my iPod.  OK so I don’t hate it. But I dislike what it has done to my beloved CD/vinyl collection.

While the latest iPod Touch allows me to view awesome album covers at least a little better than previous versions of mp3 playing technology (the Zune does a great job too), it has made selecting music a chore for me (even after opting for an eight gigabyte model over the bigger sizes).

I thought the smaller model would somehow limit the amount of crap that ends up on my iPod (old pop punk I used to listen to in middle school? Sure why not, I got the gigs!), but now I’m in some sort of limbo where I have crap on my iPod, but plenty of good stuff that hasn’t made its way over there.

But the main thing Apple’s invention of the iPod has done is take away my ability to listen to an album in its entirety. Sure I still can listen to a full album, but when I’m crunched for time, I just put that badboy on shuffle. And then I skip a song, and another, and I am never truly satisfied. It’s like channel surfing, except with music.