Perks and Benefits

Working as an entertainment writer, you get certain privileges and benefits. You're not entitled to these things. There is no such thing as entitlement in the world of music writing (at least, not in my little world). That's reserved for the people who ask for the punch bowls full of green M&Ms, the weird bottled water and have the groupies offering mind blowing sexual favors. They're talented. The music writer is always a bum.

Still, management isn't above casting stray bones to boost morale and get you on board.

Perk #1 -Free CDs. Yes, that's right. As a music/entertainment writer it practically hails CDs at my desk. They arrive by the metric ton on some days and I open each package like it's Christmas. Since it's my kind of Christmas and not yours, these gifts are always viewed with joy, but suspicion, followed by disappointment. It's never what you hope it will be. It's never the latest from Rage Against The Machine, the new one from U2 or anything by The Shins.

On a very good day, I might get the latest Nashville release, featuring whoever placed second on Nashville Star two years ago, or an advance release of a Joni Mitchell album that will soon be available where some people go to buy coffee -neither of which I have any intention of listening to unless I have to. On a very bad day, it's a children's holiday rap album or music performed with an electric zither. No one listens to that kind of stuff unless they've completely lost the will to live.

Of the unsolicited stuff, about one in ten ends up getting heard in my car stereo. This is where I do most of my heavy listening. The rest is sent to relatives, donated to the poor or is cast to the back table for the rest of the newspaper staff to fight over like a pox-ridden army blanket.

Occasionally, I do get music sent to me in conjunction with some upcoming interview. Some of these end up becoming favorites. I still listen to albums sent by Rachel Yamagata, Bell X-1 and both albums sent to me by Shooter Jennings. I love Grace Potter and Josh Ritter's last albums. Hell, I even put on Duncan Sheik's White Limousine EP from time to time.

It's always better when they offer to send something. When you have to ask, you get shafted about half the time. They send you what you don't need (like the old album the guy you want to talk to doesn't remember) or something encrypted that will only play if you give Lars Ulrich a dollar every time you stick in a CD player.

But, it's not all bad. You can't eat CDs, but you get to listen for free.