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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2004)
Four college grads travel, learn in roadtrip film A road trip serves as the foundation for an insightful documentary on the modern job hunt By Natasha Chilingerian Pulse Reporter “The Open Road," created by four recent college graduates, is a docu mentary that asks the number one question on the minds of most col lege students: "What am I going to do when 1 graduate?" The film gives a wise piece of advice for this common conundrum: how to explore the possibilities MOVIE out there REVIEW and turn something you love into a career. The creators of "The Open Road" are also the founders of the individu ality-promoting project Roadtrip Na tion. In the film, the foursome — Michael Marriner, Nathan Gebhard, Amanda Gall and Brian McAllister — decide to forgo their original, tradi tional plans of becoming doctors, teachers and working for family busi nesses. They beautify an old 1985 RV with a coat of bright green paint and travel 15,000 miles around die nation in search of insight to their futures. This search takes them to college cam puses where they talk to students about their future plans, eventually taking them along to interviews with successful people. On their journey, the road-trippers talk to such professionals as the co founder of Nantucket Nectars juice, a lobsterman in Maine, Dell CEO Michael Dell and Starbucks chairman aqd founder Howard Schultz. These honest question-and-answer sessions gave the interviewees a chance to talk about how their career plans changed while in college and what strategies got them to where they are today. The professionals offered an array of ad vice to college-age people, such as turning a hobby into a career, follow roadtrip nation Courtesy ing your dream even if others criticize you and accepting low pay in the be ginning to gain experience. Each in terviewee left their mark on the young travelers by signing the ceiling inside their RV. "The Open Road" functions as a travelogue and a tool for career inspi ration. The film showcases beautiful places, such as Seattle and New York City, and includes segments with the four travelers engaging in enjoyable activities, such as jumping off a dock into water in Maine. By including fun and games, the focus is taken away from the serious topic of the post-col lege job search, reminding viewers that life isn't all work and no play. The documentary also shows the prob lems they encounter, such as mechan ical problems with their RV and an anthrax scare in Washington, D.C. This film offers great insight to anyone who is struggling with their future career plans. By giving the lobsterman just as much respect and attention as Schultz, the road-trip pers prove that quirky careers can be just as appreciable and rewarding as big-business careers. The variety of people interviewed shows that no interest is too dumb to become a life-long occupation. For example, the vice president of programming for the Cartoon Network said in the film that he chose his career because he loved cartoons and wanted to go to work wearing jeans. The only thing missing was a con clusion from the four stars of the film. Gebhard, Marriner, McAllister and Gall never go into how their own ca reer plans evolved during or after the trip, which seemed like a glaring over sight after such a journey. Roadtrip Nation has released a book by the same name which details the group's fall 2001 road trip and of fers advice on finding one's path in life. The Roadtrip Nation founders also run a program, "Behind the Wheel," where they select several col lege students every year to embark on their own path-finding road trip. A second documentary, "Destination Unknown," was released recently and followed the first "Behind the Wheel" road trip from last summer. Both doc umentaries are available on DVD. For more information about Roadtrip Na tion, visit their Web site at http://www.roadtripnation.com Contact the Pulse reporter at natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com. Milton Mapes' two albums go from bad to boring The Texas country band makes music for masochists and elevator passengers By Natasha Chilingerian Austin, Texas-based country/rock group Milton Mapes went through a dramatic metamorphosis between their first and second albums — from inducing headaches to creating unno ticeable background music. Milton Mapes writes songs about the West, and although their lyrics are po etic and show expertise and insight into seem to match in quality. Their debut album, "The State Line," introduces Greg Vanderpool's gritty voice and the group's uninspiring sounds. Pulse Reporter REVIEW the Western United States, the music, for the most part, doesn't The first track, "Used to be Enough," is a song about an unsatisfying love that tries to be emotional but fails as soon as a percussion instrument sounding like a rattlesnake emeiges. But this song sounds heavenly compared to the next track, "Down By You." "Down By You" can be played at full blast to purposely annoy much hated neighbors. It is a scratchy, muf fled tune with lyrics that are yelled and a droning, deafening guitar play ing the same chord over and over. The remainder of "The State Line" is a little easier on the ears. In "Lub bock, " Vanderpool's voice is almost soothing, but the song has about as much variety as the Slim-Fast diet plan. The same guitar/drum melody plays repetitively throughout the track like a broken record, and this sent my level of irritation up the wall. The mood then turns to slow and soft, except for the second half of "Numbers," which showcases a fast beat that rests on the line between fun i mmmwrnrn Courtesy and annoying. The last track, "Quick Eyed Love," has fast percussion that, like "Lubbock," is repetitive. Other wise, the songs are sweet and relaxing. This is the safest way for Milton Mapes to go, because although their slow tunes aren't quite breathtaking, they are much easier to listen to than the rapid, headache-inducing noise in their fast music. The band seems to have realized this just in time for their second al bum, "Westemaire," which is mostly slow and quiet. On the tracks that do speed up a little, the improvement from irritating to catchy is evident. "Westemaire" boasts creative lyrics about feelings and life in the West, but they are so abstract that they tend to confuse instead of inspire. It's likely that the only person who understands these songs is Vanderpool himself, who writes all music and lyrics for Milton Mapes. The words are like di ary entries, free-flowing feelings with out any explanation of the related events. The only straightforward song is "A Thousand Songs About Califor nia," which is a nice tribute to the state: "Some go for money. Others go for love. / Some wanna be the last ones who can sit and watch the sun go down / So if you make it to those golden mountains / Tell my good friends I'll be seeing them around." The quiet nature of "Westemaire" is a nice break from "The State Line," but each track on the former is indis tinguishable from one another. Since the music fails to jump out, the al bum will best function as background music for a quiet social gathering or as a relaxation tool. Greg Beets of The Austin Chronicle said the Milton Mapes “plays the kind of music you warm up to gradually." But in my opinion, music should reach out and sweep the listener away the minute it is played. Captivating music normally captivates immedi ately, and after the first play, Milton Mapes is just noise. I doubt I'll listen to Milton Mapes again, but if you're willing to wait for weak music to grow on you, there will be an opportunity to give Milton Mapes a chance at a live performance this month. The band will be playing on Jan. 27 starting at 11 p.m. at the Samurai Duck, located at 980 Oak St. Contact the Pulse reporter at natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com. Bourbon Street Lounge All Well Drinks All Day, Every Day! $ 1 Pints Of Pabst Blue Ribbon - Always! $3 Microbrewed & Import Beer - Always! Stop Chasing Cocktail Specials! Neighbors Features The Lowest Regular Prices In The Campus Area! Neighbors Also Offers Eugene’s Largest Selection Of Kegs To-Go! Call Today To Make Arrangements For Your Party! Convenient Campus Location 1417 Villard - Two Blocks East Of Campus 541.338.0334 www.TheEugeneBar.com Have some great UO stories to share? Help new admitted students with their transition to the UO by working at IntroDucktion this summer. •The summer job Includes all of July and the last week of September. • Earn 3 upper division credits and up to $ 1200 • Pick up an application in 465 Oregon Hall. • Come to our interest session tonight at 7:30 in the EMU Rogue Room Applications are due by January 26th at 5pm. For more information contact: Student Orientation Programs Oregon Hall 346-1159 017977 ■VI11VI HALL 8th & Lincoln ■ Friday ■ Truck Stop Still Lifes: Casiotonefor the Painfully Alone and Films by Bill Brown and Stephanie Cray Keyboant/Films 8:oo pm, $5 door ■ Monday ■ The Decemherists, CorinnaRepp, Mine Thirty-Seven Rock S:oopm,$7door ■ Tuesday ■ The Klezmatics Klezmer 8:oo pm, Ut, advance, Si6 door ■ Wednesday ■ Lawrence Arms, 2 Bucks Short, The Ghost, Cap Cun Suicide Punk Rock 8:oopm, $6 door A11 Ages Welcome 687-2746 Community Canter for the PerformtogArts
