freelancing

      Well, this week beats last week's gig as a waitress at a money-laundering operation for Albanian thugs. That blog was too hard to write, so I skipped it.

      "Ok, here's the pitch." The producer slid into the chair between the piles of vhs tapes and invoices, pushing aside the giant rubberband ball and the plastic keyboard accessories that we'd been throwing at each other earlier. He shoved the storyboard in front of us. "So there are these people and they're driving in this car. They're having so much fun that they don't want to leave. We need music for it that is classical but still kind of poppy. You know, fun and cute but sweeping and orchestral. Something hip but not too young. Something moving, but not powerful. You know, popular but not too recognizable. And we need it in an hour."

      So the task fell to us to dig through our music files and memory for our favorite songs that could be used for the pitch. It was the first creative task that we'd been asked to do all week, so we fell to it with enthusiasm, trying to picture glorious American exteriors and cozy happy drivers and the music that would add depth to their experience. So I confess it took a little while as I looked at my list of Morcheebas and Madeline Peyrouxs and Postal Services and tried to guess which songs would be a better sell for a luxury SUV. It took a little longer than I would have liked for the revulsion to set in. I could never work in advertising.