I Want That Job: NPR Music Guy

I've decided to create a segment for my blog called: I Want That Job. Coming up with this segment was  part me deciding what I want to do with my life, part practice in research and writing, and part a starting point for any blog entry. I'm sure more segments will follow. Anyways, back to I Want That Job. I list a job that I want.

Pretty self-explanatory.

First, watch this video.

Here's the description for what just happened.

...intimate video performances, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in the NPR Music office.

This guy, Bob Boilen, convinces the big wigs of the indie scene to sit at his desk, and perform live. Don't believe it happened more than once?

Still don't believe me? (man that guy looked like Johnny Depp...)

So who exactly is this Bob Boilen, and how did he get this super cool job?


I Googled him.

This is taken from NPR's site, and you can find the whole biography here.

Before coming to NPR, Boilen found many ways to share his passion for music. From 1982 to 1986 he worked for Baltimore's Impossible Theater, where he held many posts, including composer, technician, and recording engineer. Boilen became part of music history in 1983 with the Impossible Theater production Whiz Bang, a History of Sound. In it, Boilen became one of the first composers to use audio sampling — in this case, sounds from nature and the industrial revolution. He was interviewed about Whiz Bang by Susan Stamberg on All Things Considered.

In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.

Inspiring stuff.

The lesson to learn from Bob Boilen is to know your field, and be persistent. 

Then you get to sit at the tiny desk where this happens.