Dream Job: A&R

Well, actually, no. I've always been slightly repulsed by the idea of being an A&R dude. It checks out very well on paper, and some of my good friends work in A&R, but i just couldn't cope with the psuedo-parental elements of the job - pandering to juvenile, untalented wannabe-rockstars and endless evenings out vacuously wheeling and dealing, boozing and schmoozing to sign naive no-hopers or for favours and leg-ups. I guess maybe i have a distorted view, having never tried it myself, but one of the great things about being a radio DJ for so many years is you still get to go to all the gigs, hear all the latest music and meet the same talented, interesting people who share your passion, but without having to be anyone's drug dealer or nurse.

Drowned in Sound though have a great little ten point guide to making it in A&R if my rant hasn't been too off-putting.

Dream Job: Music Supervisor

Listening to the raddest fresh tunes all day, picking the perfect new ditty or long lost classic to fit just right under that exciting car chase, love scene, poignant moment or opening credits of the latest Wes Anderson flick... or an episode of The Wire even. I have no idea what being a Music Supervisor would actually entail as a day to day job, but its sitting just below Rage guest programmer in this monkey's fantasy career list.

Interesting then to spy on Daily Swarm this great article with the 'hot tips' and recommendations from nine influential music supervisors from TV and film. Everything At Once favourites like Yeasayer, My Morning Jacket, Cass McCombs and Noah And The Whale as well as a few new discoveries like Fleet Foxes and The Virgins. Expect to hear the latter two pop up in my new podcast later this week...