Has anyone ever told you that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life? Didn’t you secretly wish their toilet would overflow? Most of us do not love what we do. That is not to say that most people hate their jobs, in fact, a lot of people like them just fine. There is just something they would rather be doing. How do you know if you love your job? That is a great question! The answer is simple. If Bill Gates gave you his entire fortune, which is hundreds of billions of dollars and you did not need to have a job, would you still do it? I am pretty sure the answer is no for most of us. Yes, we would put a few days in after we got the money just to amuse ourselves, but that is about it.

Van Dyke

The way I look at my job(s) is simple. My real job is hanging out with my family and friends, playing and listening to music, watching baseball or football, and eating stuff that is bad for me in moderation, well most of the time in moderation. I just have the job(s) to keep me grounded. What does any of this have to do with music? I wish I knew.

Do you get to listen to music when you work at your job? I understand that it may not be appropriate to have music blaring everywhere, but I think most employers should allow some form of music to be heard by their employees. For those of you who do listen to music while you work, how much less would you like your job if you were no longer allowed to? For me, my job(s) would become a miserable experience, much like listening to Dan McGlaughlin announce baseball games. I have the luxury of being able to listen to whatever I feel like listening to at my job. This is the best workplace music situation, by far. I have experienced just about all of them in the many jobs I have had over the years. There is the piped in ‘elevator’ music which is nearly as bad as nothing at all. It is interesting to hear an orchestral version of ‘Pumped Up Kicks,’ but I am not sure I could deal with it for 8 hours. There is the radio station controlled by ‘someone up there,’ which is usually a station only 40 percent of the employees like. Then there is the radio that is accessible by everyone. What dictates who chooses the channel? It is usually determined by the person nearest the radio, I suppose. What is your music situation at work? What if you work at the radio station? Then you couldn’t really listen to a different one, could you? I wonder if it is like working at a pizza place and getting free pizza all the time. You get sick of pizza after a couple weeks. Or is it like a donut shop where it is impossible to be tired of it? Do the rock station people listen to country when they are off work? Do the country station people listen to the Nickelback station? I would hope not. These are the things that keep me up at night.

In these days of satellite radio, and all the portable devices, it is easier than ever to listen to your own stuff. Then, after a few years, all you do is hit the skip button and end up listening to 4 songs an hour. Maybe letting Gus control the radio was not such a bad thing after all…

It is ok to listen to bad music at work. It makes you appreciate the good stuff that much more. So, if Chet thinks he is all that because he is picking all the music, just smile and tell him thanks. They play the best stuff during p.m. drive time anyway…

Now, go out and jam with your favorite local band already. I hear they added some new stuff just for you.

Don Van Dyke