When I was in elementary and middle school the weekend meant one thing: videogames. My mom had a rule in the house that my brother and I could only play video games on the weekends and Friday night was the glorious start of the time when we could lose ourselves in the 16-bit glory that was our Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Our game of choice was Street Fighter II, the original, and then the championship edition and then turbo and well, in retrospect they really did milk that franchise for all it was worth. Oh, but that was good times.
In high school, weekends started to become catch up time to do homework and to work on big projects. I spent a good amount of time during the week going to private music lessons and practicing my musical instruments so often homework got pushed to the weekend. I didn’t really party much on the weekends in high school. It was a time to hang out with friends a little but in general it was all about catching up on schoolwork.
Then there is college, in which the weekends start to mean some very different things. In fall quarter the weekends were all about marching band, whether it was a football game or a gathering of marching band friends. In the winter and spring quarter, weekends could start as early as Thursday depending on the your class schedule and because of the lack of restrictions on your time, you could treat pretty much any night of the week as a weekend. I mean when your earliest class is 11am, staying up until midnight to party really isn’t that unreasonable.
It wasn’t so much that it was a free for all when it came to partying. I had things to do, homework, rehearsals, and fraternity responsibilities to balance out life but my time was fluid and if I wanted to spend a Tuesday night not doing work I could shift my work to another night. Weekends no longer a special time in the week where you could do something specific they were just more time you had in the week.
Now that I’m officially an adult and in the work force, weekends are a time to do laundry, clean the house, run errands, and plan for the week. However, even though adulthood requires that I take care of stuff on the weekends, there is always some time, a couple hours in which I can truly relax, get my party on and enjoy life.
As much as I love my job, I would lying if I told you that I didn’t look forward to the weekends. Maybe it’s because the stage of life that my friends and I are in. We are in our mid to late 20s, working hard to establish ourselves, get ahead and we all work really hard during the week. Even though we don’t have kids we still struggle in our personal lives, with our identity as an adults and the transition into the “real world.” We all need a break sometimes and that’s why I thank God for the weekend.
Loverboy’s 1981 song “Working for the Weekend” is an anthem for anyone who's ever sat at work, looked at the clocked and wished for the sanctuary of the weekend (which in my experiences in pretty much everyone on the planet). The song explodes with guitars, bass and keyboards in a call and response phrase, first with a descending line answered by a lower rumbling which expresses a feeling of urgency. The drums create an infectious groove that melds the feelings of frustration with anticipation and excitement as the vocals enter.
The first verse comes gives some advice to a worker who feels that everyone is watching and judging him. It's the feeling of being new in a company and hoping that you are doing everything right. Then the realization comes in the end of the verse that everyone is in the same boat. As the song progresses there is a feeling that the work is not that bad. In the second verse, the singer reassures us that everyone is actually wants you to “come through.” This song not only comforts people letting them know that they can make it through the week and that they aren’t alone in their feelings.
The chorus is a joyous celebration, an anthem that not only encapsulates the motivation for many people in the working week but also how good the weekend feels when it actually comes. The melody is the chorus is a crafted between two different notes and the rhythm a slower then in the verses. These factors make the chorus not only catchy but also easy to learn and sing along with.
The instruments in the beginning work against each other. In the verses, the background is scaled down and then the when chorus hits all the instruments play together in a joyous chorus that mirrors the feeling of a group of people singing along to a rock anthem.
Sometimes music does not need to have multiple layers to hold meaning to people. The message in this song is clear. Everybody is working for the weekend and needs a break, everyone wants love, everyone is trying as hard as they can and everyone deserves a second chance. These are things that we all felt at some point in our lives which is which is why this song connects with us like it does..
One of my favorite Saturday Night Live skits features Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley audition to be Chippendale dancers and the song these two dancers audition to is “Working for the Weekend.” There are many things that are funny about this skit. Yes, the fact that Chris Farley clearly does not have the body type to be a male stripper and Patrick Swayze’s insistence along with the judge that Chris is a better dancer is both mystifying and hilarious. What gets me every time is how hard Chris Farley is dancing. He could not be committing any more to the skit. He is the perfect example of someone “Working for the Weekend” giving it his all. We watch, hoping beyond reason that he will get the job and in that moment, we become the narrator in “ Working for the Weekend.”
There may be people out there who make your work miserable, but never forget there are always people rooting you on. Don’t forget to reassure the people around you, because in doing so we remind ourselves that we are all together not only while working but also during the weekends.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Friday, February 6, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Promised Land by Bruce Springsteen
"The Promised Land" studio recording
Do you live to work or work to live?
One of the consequences of the industrial revolution and the fervent economic progress in American history is the fact that many people work to live. Whether it’s a migrant worker traveling across the country to pick fruit or a single mother working two full time jobs to support her family, many people’s lives are nothing but their work. The path to a more fulfilling job that not only provides a reasonable wage and also enriches their lives for many people seems unattainable.
I’m not going to try and blame any group of people or “society” for the fact that some people feel forced to work jobs they hate, but it is undeniable that work for many people including close friends is a necessity, a burden and one of the more depressing parts of life. If everyone only worked because they wanted to, not because they had to the American workforce would look very different and it would reveal the difficult choices and perseverance that keeps people going to work and this country of ours running.
When Bruce Springsteen released “Promised Land” in 1978, America was in the worst decade for economic performance since the 1920s. The misery index (combination of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate) rose to an all time high by the end of the decade. Whether this was due to the growth in the Japanese economy, the oil crisis in 1973 and 1979 or the government’s mismanagement of the economy, people were hurting.
Many musicians in popular music focused on escapism. With disco still central in the culture, many artists focused on joy through excess and creating images of wealth for people to aspire to. So when Springsteen came out, a vision of the working man, looking like a someone who just got off working a night shift in a factory, he spoke out for the struggling working man because that is what he truly was.
This was a man who wore jeans on stage, had scraggily hair and had enough biceps to back you up in a bar fight. He doesn’t sing with the cleaned up tone and he doesn’t sing about their idealized romantic love. What Bruce sings about is the reality of the struggles in people’s lives and expresses them through a spirit of undying hope.
The first verse of “Promised Land” begins speaking about driving through the Utah desert. The narrator is enjoying the freedom of driving thinking back on the fact that he works all day and drives all night “chasing some mirage.” That illusion is that feeling of driving through a open space feeling the cool wind in your hair and for a moment feeling free of responsibility. At the end of the first verse, he assures us that soon he will take charge. A change is coming, something will happen and we get a sense that this is more than a dream. Many people work jobs for years and talk about taking a chance and making big change in their lives and Bruce taps into this idea, this belief.
The chorus speaks to a deep sense of frustration and restlessness.
The dogs on Main Street howl
'cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister I ain't a boy, no I'm a man
And I believe in a promised land
The dogs, are not only the animals but other working people who understand that if the narrator could take one moment and control their destiny, stand up for himself something huge could happen. Bruce sings “mister I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man” like it means something. The fact that he is a man means that he deserves to be treated a respect. This is more then a declaration of adulthood or manhood but a declaration of humanity. The Promised Land alludes to the goal of Israel as Moses led the Jews through the desert from Egypt. It’s not so much that the narrator believe in the promise land that is important but rather that he believes in something. In saying our beliefs, we are stating what we believe in. Moreover we are declaring that we are strong enough because of the fact that we believe in something to change your lives.
The second verse is about the struggle of going to work every day. Bruce sings about doing the best he can, working hard but it hurts. He feels like it is blinding and it makes him feel “so weak, I just want to explode.” It’s doing the same monotonous activity for 8 hours and just wanting to scream at the top of your lungs “let me out!” Doing a job that you hate not only breaks down the spirit but is a physical pain, a cancer and Bruce describes this as something that he can cut form his heart. In the end of this verse like the end of the first verse, there is a call to action and Bruce takes that first step in the last verse.
The narrator takes a journey in the third verse. He sees a storm rising in the desert, and decides to back his bags and head straight into the storm.
There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
There is a tornado coming and the narrator has no realistic hope of fighting the storm but there is something deeper, more powerful at work here. Bruce points out that the storm doesn’t have faith and argues that belief in a single man is stronger then any force of nature. Bruce screams out to the tornado to do its worst.
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted.
In facing the storm, Bruce challenges the twister to take away everything that holds him back. Broken dreams, hoping for things that never come true tear you apart and constantly break your hearts. Letting go of lies is about getting to the truth of our belief, where our perseverance and our power truly lies.
There are times in my life when I need to listen to this song like I need to breathe air. When I’ve worked 12 hour days and have to go to work early in the morning hearing the two drum hits and the harmonica is like opening doors to everything that gets me through the struggles in my day. The organ that dances throughout the song sparkles reminding me that that there will be a sunrise after the night, no matter how dark it is.
As we were reminded that we have nothing to fear but fear itself in the great depression, “Promised Land” assures us that there is nothing we can’t endure as long as we hang on to what we believe.
One of the consequences of the industrial revolution and the fervent economic progress in American history is the fact that many people work to live. Whether it’s a migrant worker traveling across the country to pick fruit or a single mother working two full time jobs to support her family, many people’s lives are nothing but their work. The path to a more fulfilling job that not only provides a reasonable wage and also enriches their lives for many people seems unattainable.
I’m not going to try and blame any group of people or “society” for the fact that some people feel forced to work jobs they hate, but it is undeniable that work for many people including close friends is a necessity, a burden and one of the more depressing parts of life. If everyone only worked because they wanted to, not because they had to the American workforce would look very different and it would reveal the difficult choices and perseverance that keeps people going to work and this country of ours running.
When Bruce Springsteen released “Promised Land” in 1978, America was in the worst decade for economic performance since the 1920s. The misery index (combination of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate) rose to an all time high by the end of the decade. Whether this was due to the growth in the Japanese economy, the oil crisis in 1973 and 1979 or the government’s mismanagement of the economy, people were hurting.
Many musicians in popular music focused on escapism. With disco still central in the culture, many artists focused on joy through excess and creating images of wealth for people to aspire to. So when Springsteen came out, a vision of the working man, looking like a someone who just got off working a night shift in a factory, he spoke out for the struggling working man because that is what he truly was.
This was a man who wore jeans on stage, had scraggily hair and had enough biceps to back you up in a bar fight. He doesn’t sing with the cleaned up tone and he doesn’t sing about their idealized romantic love. What Bruce sings about is the reality of the struggles in people’s lives and expresses them through a spirit of undying hope.
The first verse of “Promised Land” begins speaking about driving through the Utah desert. The narrator is enjoying the freedom of driving thinking back on the fact that he works all day and drives all night “chasing some mirage.” That illusion is that feeling of driving through a open space feeling the cool wind in your hair and for a moment feeling free of responsibility. At the end of the first verse, he assures us that soon he will take charge. A change is coming, something will happen and we get a sense that this is more than a dream. Many people work jobs for years and talk about taking a chance and making big change in their lives and Bruce taps into this idea, this belief.
The chorus speaks to a deep sense of frustration and restlessness.
The dogs on Main Street howl
'cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister I ain't a boy, no I'm a man
And I believe in a promised land
The dogs, are not only the animals but other working people who understand that if the narrator could take one moment and control their destiny, stand up for himself something huge could happen. Bruce sings “mister I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man” like it means something. The fact that he is a man means that he deserves to be treated a respect. This is more then a declaration of adulthood or manhood but a declaration of humanity. The Promised Land alludes to the goal of Israel as Moses led the Jews through the desert from Egypt. It’s not so much that the narrator believe in the promise land that is important but rather that he believes in something. In saying our beliefs, we are stating what we believe in. Moreover we are declaring that we are strong enough because of the fact that we believe in something to change your lives.
The second verse is about the struggle of going to work every day. Bruce sings about doing the best he can, working hard but it hurts. He feels like it is blinding and it makes him feel “so weak, I just want to explode.” It’s doing the same monotonous activity for 8 hours and just wanting to scream at the top of your lungs “let me out!” Doing a job that you hate not only breaks down the spirit but is a physical pain, a cancer and Bruce describes this as something that he can cut form his heart. In the end of this verse like the end of the first verse, there is a call to action and Bruce takes that first step in the last verse.
The narrator takes a journey in the third verse. He sees a storm rising in the desert, and decides to back his bags and head straight into the storm.
There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
There is a tornado coming and the narrator has no realistic hope of fighting the storm but there is something deeper, more powerful at work here. Bruce points out that the storm doesn’t have faith and argues that belief in a single man is stronger then any force of nature. Bruce screams out to the tornado to do its worst.
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted.
In facing the storm, Bruce challenges the twister to take away everything that holds him back. Broken dreams, hoping for things that never come true tear you apart and constantly break your hearts. Letting go of lies is about getting to the truth of our belief, where our perseverance and our power truly lies.
There are times in my life when I need to listen to this song like I need to breathe air. When I’ve worked 12 hour days and have to go to work early in the morning hearing the two drum hits and the harmonica is like opening doors to everything that gets me through the struggles in my day. The organ that dances throughout the song sparkles reminding me that that there will be a sunrise after the night, no matter how dark it is.
As we were reminded that we have nothing to fear but fear itself in the great depression, “Promised Land” assures us that there is nothing we can’t endure as long as we hang on to what we believe.
Monday, February 2, 2009
9 to 5 by Dolly Parton
The first time I worked a 9 to 5 job was after I got out of graduate school. My parents wanted me to focus on school above work in high school so I never got a full time job, but I did work. In high school, I was a piano accompanist, and got gigs playing at weddings and churches. In college, I worked teaching lessons and also made some scratch arranging music. My work often kept me busy but it wasn’t ever structured in a full 8 hour day.
I’m in my third year of work 9 to 5, which is more like 7 to 3 as a teacher, first in high school and now in elementary school and it is a challenge. I love my job, but there are times when the 8 hour, 5 day a week thing gets to you and when a three day weekend roles around it’s like greatest thing ever.
I’m not sure if the 9 to 5 structure is the best thing for productivity but from my observations, mostly from people around my age (twenty-somethings) it can be a grueling and grate at your spirit especially since an 8 hour day is rarely actually 8 hours. This combined with the fact that most people do not have perfect works situations makes just getting from 9 to 5 a struggle.
Dolly Parton released “9 to 5” in 1980 which has became anthem for the struggles of all of us who work. It was featured in the film of the same name that stared Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jan Fonda. This was a song that people all across America could relate to and topped the pop, country and adult contemporary charts at the same time. “9 to 5” speaks about the every day struggle from getting out of bed to dealing with an annoying boss and she does it a way that comforts us and reminds us of our self-worth.
Through her exuberant personality and hard work, Dolly Parton has made a mark on the popular culture as one of the most well-known and loved musicians. Her influence is so wide that when the first cloned mammal was born on July 5th, 1996, the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh scientists named the sheep Dolly after country singer Dolly Parton. Was this because of Dolly Parton’s scientific contributions? No, of course not, it was because Dolly was cloned from breast tissue and Dolly Parton 40DD’s are some of the most famous breasts in our culture.
Dolly Parton is more then her breasts. She is one of most successful people in popular music history. She is an accomplished composer and musician and have charted on the pop, country and adult contemporary charts. Her most famous song that she composed is “I Will Always Love You,” that Whitney Houston recorded for the 1992 film, The Bodyguard (here's Dolly singing it, which I prefer). She has appeared in film, television shows and been nominated and won for numerous awards for acting accomplishments.
Dolly Parton is incredible business woman who owns a theme park called Dollywood as well as Sand Dollar productions which have produced film and television including Father of the Bride starring Steve Martin and the greatest television ever, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is also a philanthropist working with her literacy program “Imaginary Library.”
When people complain about work, sometimes they are angry, sometimes they are sad and other times there is a level of humor. This level of humor can be a result of a situation that is so hopeless that laughing is the only way to cope. Other times, people complain with a quiet a smile. People do this more to point out the good things and the hope in the situation and only complain about the bad things as a way to say “things are hard, but it’s not that bad and we can persevere.” This is exact what Dolly Parton is expressing in “9 to 5”
The song starts describing the start of the day. There is struggle in getting out of bed but also a sense of hope, “cup of ambition.” The upbeat instrumentation and the rising melody line underlines the general optimism in this song that foreshadows the second verse. In the chorus, Dolly describes work, as something that we give to and get little back which is enough to drive you crazy.
In the second verse Dolly reminds us of our dreams and that we are not only in our struggles.
They let your dream
Just a watch the shatter
You’re just a step
On the boss mans a ladder
But you got dream hell never take away
On the same boat
With a lot of your friends
Waiting for the day
Your ship’ll come in
And the tides gonna turn
An its all gonna roll you away
Even though others may shatter dreams, they are something that the boss can’t take away. Also the sense of fraternity, knowing others are going through the same struggle makes us feel better about our emotions knowing that we are not alone. This song has a great supportive feeling that reflects our experiences and our feelings in a brighter light.
This song for woman is a statement of solidarity. In 1980 when Dolly Parton released “9 to 5” singing about work from a woman’s perspective with such a deep understanding of the 9 to 5 workday proved that woman were as just a part of the workforce as men were.
I’m lucky in the fact that no matter how hard my day at least one students does something or says something that makes me smile that helps me get through the day. The little things make the struggle of out of bed in the morning worth it. If you don’t have those little things getting you through the day try to remember that the weekend is always just right around the corner and never forget your dreams.
I’m in my third year of work 9 to 5, which is more like 7 to 3 as a teacher, first in high school and now in elementary school and it is a challenge. I love my job, but there are times when the 8 hour, 5 day a week thing gets to you and when a three day weekend roles around it’s like greatest thing ever.
I’m not sure if the 9 to 5 structure is the best thing for productivity but from my observations, mostly from people around my age (twenty-somethings) it can be a grueling and grate at your spirit especially since an 8 hour day is rarely actually 8 hours. This combined with the fact that most people do not have perfect works situations makes just getting from 9 to 5 a struggle.
Dolly Parton released “9 to 5” in 1980 which has became anthem for the struggles of all of us who work. It was featured in the film of the same name that stared Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jan Fonda. This was a song that people all across America could relate to and topped the pop, country and adult contemporary charts at the same time. “9 to 5” speaks about the every day struggle from getting out of bed to dealing with an annoying boss and she does it a way that comforts us and reminds us of our self-worth.
Through her exuberant personality and hard work, Dolly Parton has made a mark on the popular culture as one of the most well-known and loved musicians. Her influence is so wide that when the first cloned mammal was born on July 5th, 1996, the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh scientists named the sheep Dolly after country singer Dolly Parton. Was this because of Dolly Parton’s scientific contributions? No, of course not, it was because Dolly was cloned from breast tissue and Dolly Parton 40DD’s are some of the most famous breasts in our culture.
Dolly Parton is more then her breasts. She is one of most successful people in popular music history. She is an accomplished composer and musician and have charted on the pop, country and adult contemporary charts. Her most famous song that she composed is “I Will Always Love You,” that Whitney Houston recorded for the 1992 film, The Bodyguard (here's Dolly singing it, which I prefer). She has appeared in film, television shows and been nominated and won for numerous awards for acting accomplishments.
Dolly Parton is incredible business woman who owns a theme park called Dollywood as well as Sand Dollar productions which have produced film and television including Father of the Bride starring Steve Martin and the greatest television ever, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is also a philanthropist working with her literacy program “Imaginary Library.”
When people complain about work, sometimes they are angry, sometimes they are sad and other times there is a level of humor. This level of humor can be a result of a situation that is so hopeless that laughing is the only way to cope. Other times, people complain with a quiet a smile. People do this more to point out the good things and the hope in the situation and only complain about the bad things as a way to say “things are hard, but it’s not that bad and we can persevere.” This is exact what Dolly Parton is expressing in “9 to 5”
The song starts describing the start of the day. There is struggle in getting out of bed but also a sense of hope, “cup of ambition.” The upbeat instrumentation and the rising melody line underlines the general optimism in this song that foreshadows the second verse. In the chorus, Dolly describes work, as something that we give to and get little back which is enough to drive you crazy.
In the second verse Dolly reminds us of our dreams and that we are not only in our struggles.
They let your dream
Just a watch the shatter
You’re just a step
On the boss mans a ladder
But you got dream hell never take away
On the same boat
With a lot of your friends
Waiting for the day
Your ship’ll come in
And the tides gonna turn
An its all gonna roll you away
Even though others may shatter dreams, they are something that the boss can’t take away. Also the sense of fraternity, knowing others are going through the same struggle makes us feel better about our emotions knowing that we are not alone. This song has a great supportive feeling that reflects our experiences and our feelings in a brighter light.
This song for woman is a statement of solidarity. In 1980 when Dolly Parton released “9 to 5” singing about work from a woman’s perspective with such a deep understanding of the 9 to 5 workday proved that woman were as just a part of the workforce as men were.
I’m lucky in the fact that no matter how hard my day at least one students does something or says something that makes me smile that helps me get through the day. The little things make the struggle of out of bed in the morning worth it. If you don’t have those little things getting you through the day try to remember that the weekend is always just right around the corner and never forget your dreams.
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