YouTube Video of the Day

Ok, so I know this is a cop-out, but I feel like I haven't posted in a long time with all that's been going on, so I wanted to put something up for those of you who check back regularly. I am too busy with school for the next few days to put up anything of substance, but I promise a mega-article (probably a 2 or 3 parter) about my life and the big move will be posted by Monday at the very latest. In the meantime, for those of you who have never seen it (and of course for those who would love to watch it again!), I bring you the Winnebago Man. Give it the full watch, you won't be sorry.

The Greatness That Is Anberlin

I like to think that I stay somewhat ahead of the curve when it comes to music. I have hopefully brought you some songs and maybe even bands on here so far that you haven’t heard of or didn’t know much about. My favorite band is a very fluid notion, and I have gone through several in the last few years. I would say since 2005, at bare minimum, I went through a period when it was My Chemical Romance, and then it was Fall Out Boy for a bit (probably for their 2^nd run at the title). In recent times, I was getting more into classic rock, and I would say either Zeppelin or Floyd were it for a while. But recently, as I’ve really started to absorb their whole catalog, I realized that Anberlin is currently taking that crown. Many of you may not know who they are, and many others may only know their first really bit hit (finally!), Feel Good Drag (not to be confused with an earlier song of theirs: The Feel Good Drag, which is good, but not as great as the aforementioned hit). Their musical ability is incredible and their lyrics are modern poetry in both their ability to be insanely profound and nonsensical at the same time. A very large portion of their music seems to revolve around relationships, beginning, during, and end, which brings about the raw emotion that makes most great music. And thus, as a service to you, my loyal readers, here is a primer to get you started if you decide to immerse yourself in this amazing band (and really, what are you waiting for?).

Some Background:

Anberlin is an alternative rock band from Winter Haven, FL. That city was, up until last year, the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians, and is a scant 45 minute drive from Tampa. Serendipitous? I think so! They were formed in 2002 and signed with a semi-independent label: Tooth & Nail Records. The same label that has represents some my other favorite underappreciated bands, including: Hawk Nelson, Thousand Foot Krutch, FM Static, & The Almost. The majority of this information, by the way, is from Wikipedia, “so you know its good. 60% of the time, it works, every time.”

Album Reviews:

Blueprints for the Black Market (2003) – Ironically, this debut album is one that I’ve only recently absorbed. You can definitely hear the rawness and the band still trying to discover their sound. However, incredible songs like ‘Naïve Orleans’, ‘Cadence’, and ‘Autobahn’ still make this an incredibly worthwhile album.

Never Take Friendship Personal (2005) – The title track is definitely the star, and overall, probably my least favorite of the albums, but that honestly is not saying much since all of their albums rock. ‘A Day Late’ and ‘Audrey, Start the Revolution’ would be the other classics on this album.

Cities (2007) – What I would call their breakout album, despite them getting their first significant airplay from a song of their next album. This is the album that got me into these guys, and I honestly don’t remember how I originally got into them. I do remember that the first songs I had by them were ‘Fin’ and ‘Dismantle Repair’ and it steamrolled from there. I give you a 100% Guarantee that there is not a back track on this album.

New Surrender (2009) – This album is still new, but is a great follow-up to Cities. ‘Feel Good Drag’ had a great combination of catchiness and musical awesomeness to propel them into the radio scene. ‘Breaking’ is the 2^nd single set to be released from the album, so let’s see where that ends up. It’s a very capable song, to be sure, but I would like to see ‘The Resistance’ get some play soon as well.

Top 10 Songs by Anberlin:

1. Unwinding Cable Car

2. Fin

3. Adelaide

4. A Whisper and a Clamor

5. Never Take Friendship Personal

6. Naïve Orleans

7. A Day Late

8. Feel Good Drag

9. The Resistance

10. Autobahn

Just a few of their more profound lyrics (in my humble opinion)

“This is the correlation of salvation and love”

“I am the patron saint of lost causes”

“I want to be your last first kiss”

“As time seems to drip like Dali, and neither of us has a place to be”

Just In Case You Didn’t Hear…I Recently Received (and Rejected) a Job Offer :)

Alright, I know a lot of you have been waiting for a blog about my recent job offer, so without making this too boring for you with all the specifics, here is the gist of how I got (and then rejected) the offer.

As most of you know, I had given up on getting a job for the 2009-10 school year. Thus, I was very surprised to hear from Middle Tennessee State University exactly 2 weeks ago, that they wanted to talk to me about their temporary one-year opening. I was even more surprised (and flattered) when they offered me the position just 3 days later. And I was the most surprised that the offer was more viable then I would have expected that late in the year (mostly because it was an good I/O program that focuses on teaching and there was a chance of getting hired on as tenure-track). However, once the surprise and excitement of just getting any job offer after a year of rejection wore off, I realized it wasn’t the right opportunity for me at this juncture. There were several reasons for this decision, some of which included:

-I never got to visit or formally interview with the school, and it was hard to commit for a year (or beyond) that I had never been.

-I just moved in with the bestest girl in Tampa, why would I want to give that up to live by myself in a place where I don’t know anyone?

-I would have had to start about 3 weeks after I had gotten the offer.

-I would have had to teach 5 classes a semester (probably at least 3 different classes), leaving me only those 3 weeks to prep for said classes (while trying to organize a move, of course).

-I was (and am!) looking forward to spending one more year hanging with all you fantastic Tampa peeps who read this blog!

-Teaching so much would have severely limited ability to get more publications out and prep my job applications, which I would have needed to keep doing since I wouldn’t have been sure that the MTSU job was permanent.

-While the money offer was pretty good, once you took out taxes, moving expenses, paying for 1.5 apartments, plane tickets to see previously mentioned bestest girl and fantastic peeps, I really wouldn’t have made too much more than I will teaching 1 class a semester here.

-Not sure I could work at a school that actually uses the above mascot! (Kidding, of course)

So there you have it. My decision was made, with lots of support, advice, congratulations, and confirmation from many of you loyal readers. They really are a great school, and I hope that they open a tenure-track job that I can apply for this year. I am so happy that this decision is over though, and every day that goes by I am more and more sure I made the right choice. It is still nice to know that I am marketable enough to be get an offer, which makes me more confident that I will get a tenure-track job this coming year. I already have about 20 schools where I might apply, and more come out every day. So stay tuned, applications will be going out as soon as the end of this month and through October and beyond. I will keep you all posted on my top choices, and more importantly, schools that show interest in me!