Careers Helped by Country Music May 18, 2008

I found a really interesting blog online called 10 career lessons from country music written by Calvin Sun. The way he starts the blog was really good and helps prove our point that country music isn’t as mainstream as it could be because people do not take it seriously, even though there are good songs that can teach people life lessons. His opening paragraph reads: “Okay, stop snickering. Although this article discusses country music, it nonetheless can help you. Yes, I know all the stereotyped themes of country music: She leaves him, he cheats on her, his dog dies. And of course, let’s throw in Chevy trucks and the Tastee-Freeze. However, if you get beyond these initial impressions and really think about the lyrics, you can gain some insights into advancing yourself in your career by working better with others.”

He looks at 10 different ways to improve one’s life and supports each with lyrics from a country song. He then continues to break down the lyrics and show how they can relate to life experiences. The ten ideas and songs he used to support them were:

1. Set and manage expectations – Blue Clear Sky by George Strait

2. Don’t trust your memory alone – Write This Down by George Strait

3. Remember that your electronic creations hang around – Write This Down by George Strait

4. Use the right medium to communicate – I Can Still Make Cheyenne by George Striat

5. Think before you speak – It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett

6. Keep the customer informed – That Ain’t No Way to Go by Brooks and Dunn

7. Tell customers when a problem is fixed – Already Gone by the Eagles

8. Have a positive attitude when you communicate – That’s Be All Right by Alan Jackson

9. Don’t forget that lost customers are difficult to get back – Love Is Like the Mississippi by Brooks and Dunn

10. Do what’s right for the customer – Almost Home by Craig Morgan

This is a very interesting article that you should all look at. I always knew country music lyrics were more about life stories, family, etc., but I never really made a connection between country music and life the way that this article has.

-Natalie Boyce

‘Kasey Gets Intimate’ Newspaper Article May 18, 2008

I am not a Kasey Chambers fan, and I don’t really keep that a secret. However, I have to commend her on her touring schedule. She always visits small towns right around Australia, and she is soon to come to my home town of Taree, where she has been before. In our local paper the “Manning River Times”, on the 9^th – 10^th of May, there is a little write up about her upcoming Acoustic Tour.

The article begins by stating how she has sold over a million albums, which actually surprises me a little. I did know her fan base was large but I didn’t realise it was to this extent. This particular tour will be an intimate acoustic set, in a very stripped back and plain style and she will be playing at the “Manning Entertainment Centre” on Thursday the 12^th of June.

This upcoming tour comes after an 18 month break from touring so she could give birth the her child Arlo. In her touring break she has also been writing her first collaboration album titled “Rattlin Bones” which is a more ‘country roots’ album.

In her show, she will not only be paying songs from her new album, but she will also be playing the best of her past songs from her previous four multi-platinum albums, however the concert will be all acoustic so the songs will be a little more toned down then usual.

Personally, I will not be attending the concert, but I do hear that she puts on a good show. I don’t know what it is about Kasey Chambers that I don’t like, but there is just something about her voice that drives me insane, especially with the song “I’m Not Pretty Enough”. in saying that though I do respect her. She has a great following and she is a popular artist and she would not still be around if there wasn’t something about her that helped to draw in the fans. So what ever she’s doing to keep her audience, I say keep it up.

 

By Jacki Tipton