There are a lot of great reasons to come to UCLA: the outstanding academics, the championship-winning sports teams ,and the Los Angeles nightlife, just to name a few.
Like everybody else, I slept through midterms, cheered on the Bruins as we crushed the hopes and dreams of the USC football team, and spent more nights at Margarita Monday than I ever did at the library.
But as much fun as I’ve had here, what brought me to UCLA was the Daily Bruin. (And the cute girls.) When I arrived at school, I wanted to write ““ and I wanted to write about music.
Since joining The Bruin, I’ve done little else (besides being in love with the cute girl who’s been my girlfriend and fellow A&E staffer for the last few years).
Beyond going to concerts, interviewing musicians and writing it all up for The Bruin, I can’t imagine how I could’ve spent college any better. As music editor in 2005-2006, sitting on the other side of the editorial fence was just as satisfying as being a reporter, so it made sense to take on the position of section head my senior year.
Much to the chagrin of my predecessors, my pride and joy as A&E editor was getting to close out 2006 with our inaugural year-end best-of lists. All critics are list-makers at heart, and so it’s only fitting that I close out my last Daily Bruin article with, yes, my top five A&E moments.
5. Interviewing Marty Crandall of the Shins in 2004. At the time, he hadn’t seen “Garden State,” which seems unfathomable now. I had a similar experience with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine and “The O.C.”
4. Dropping a five-paw rating on Wilco’s “A Ghost Is Born” and beginning my A&E career with a laudatory review of Ryan Adams’ “Rock N Roll.” I regret nothing.
3. Going to Coachella 2006 for free. Best part: Daft Punk’s unbelievable set. Worst part: driving around in the trunk of Mark Humphrey’s Toyota Prius.
2. Interviewing Stan “The Man” Lee, the creative genius behind Spider-Man, X-Men, and the vast majority of the Marvel Comics pantheon. He has been my hero since first grade, so the half-hour I spent on the phone with him in 2005 was like talking to God, except better, because I have it on tape. And as the voice mail on my cell phone.
1. This one was obvious: Getting to work with the finest, most dedicated group of people I’ve ever met in my life. I’ve made more than a few lifelong friends at The Bruin, and being in the office with them every day was always a joy and an inspiration, no matter how much we complained about the late nights and meager pay. I’ll always look back fondly at our lunch sessions in Ackerman, and particularly Sbarro’s baked ziti, which I’ve probably eaten well over 100 times.
Now, like all good things ““ namely, “The O.C.” ““ my A&E career has come to an end. Hopefully, Adam Brody and I are both destined for bigger things, him in cheesy big-screen romantic comedies and me writing for glossy entertainment magazines.
Until then, remember: With great power comes great responsibility. Excelsior!
Greenwald was the 2006-2007 Arts & Entertainment editor. His sixth favorite moment was getting to be his girlfriend’s boss all year.