Wednesday, October 26, 2005

A Turn To The Future & Bands to Listen

As the first rainy day of the season welcomes me to a chilly San Francisco morning, I must face the change from summer to winter (well, for my Midwestern bones it will be more like a rainy autumn) and welcome it much as my life and where I anticipate heading in the coming months change. And at the end of this message, you will find new bands I have been hearing lately that I think you will all enjoy.

I have decided after much thinking to apply to grad school for journalism and am in the exhilarating midst of applying to schools, which really means following a laundry list of instructions and filling out endless streams of paperwork and compiling it all correctly via the ever-changing and explicit needs of the individual school. I have learned immediately, that an admissions committee must really have a checklist of who reads and follows their instructions. If you cannot, how can you survive in graduate school. I have heeded and learned lesson number one. If anyone has lessons number two through one-hundred in this process, please do let me know.

In realizing that grad school is right for me, I will be writing about my experiences and changing / updating the page to include my resumes and some work experience. Maybe someone in some far-distant place can read my blog and find the much needed support that it takes to move yourself to make a change in your education. I truly find it very important to know that in the future to warrant yourself a great position doing something that makes you happy, you truly have to separate yourself from the rest of the potential applicants, no matter what job. If that means having an undergrad degree, extra knowledge or experience or even a master's degree, than whatever it takes is where I shall go.

Right now I am looking at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia (New York) and Wisconsin -- Go Badgers! All of those schools having amazing journalism programs that pride themselves of having graduates reach the types of jobs that are exciting, demanding and in far off places. The ideas of world travel have excited me since my trip to Europe, and I feel that I want to go to a school that will help diversify myself and educate me in accordance with the people and places that I can travel to. Journalism, after all is about people and it is both a revelatory tool that showcases the news and the events but also is a method where people can turn to hear different angles of news. Arguably, in this country, oftentimes it seems to me that the media is often pointed in the wrong direction, it is stagnant politically and it sugarcoats news for the masses and diverts attention from importance by profiling celebrities and meangingless dribble. I hope to plant myself as a seed in school and learn the skills of true journalism and change that direction in the real world. It is my only hope and will combat my anger when I read stories today.

In any event writing this helps me prepare my intensive applications for each school and allows my ideas to flow. Hopefully you find something interesting in my banter.

Until next time I will leave you with some bands to check out and listen to;

Okkervil River & Sparklehosre - both bands which produce what seems like monumental symphonies of instrumental music, although not in the Muzak format in anyway. Amazing to disect what you hear and follow the paths of different instruments and the way the music is written.

A Northern Chorus - take ideas of above bands and add lyrics. Voila, you have A Northern Chorus, a decent Canadian Band. I believe they are touring the Northeastern states right now.

Iron & Wine / Calexico - currently touring together, I saw them at the Warfield in San Francisco. The show was amazing, and combines their talent on their most recent CD, "In the Reins" Calexico is mighty popular in their homestate, Arizona and Iron & Wine, from Miami has slowly been gaining popularity over the last few years.

Great Lake Swimmers - another Canadian band that hardly anyone knows about. Their melodic tone combined with their eerily shy (in person) lead singer makes for a great sound. They are currently touring in Europe so if you are over there, catch their show.

The Lovemakers - something about this San Francisco band's music just makes me want to get up and drink and dance. Their show, which I have not seen, combine great sounds plus the sexy antics of their two lead singers, who used to date. Expect removal of clothing, making out and sexual gyrating. Their new CD, "Times of Romance" is really great.

Cheers,

tay.p.

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