This is House of Fun Radio, a monthly stream-of-consciousness/mixtape. ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡
Today’s Episode: Electronic, House, Synthpop, Japanese Funk, Dance, Avant-Pop, Electro-Folk, Alternative Rock
The past few months have been stressful, but it reached a peak in May as I settled into a new job and settled out of my apartment in preparation for summer travels. I’ve been bumming around my hometown since last Saturday, and have one week left before I leave. It’s the most time I’ve spent here in years.
There is a subtle brainwashing that happens when you spend too much time in your childhood home. The eerie cosmic hold of this town will have you thinking differently, acting differently, even talking differently. Being at home for one or two days is restorative and grounding. For any day after that, your brain begins to rewire. You realize that you actually are dependent on your rituals in order to get through a single day. A cup of your favorite coffee blend while sitting on the couch you so proudly found on Craigslist three years ago is vital to your sanity, actually, and not just a thing you do out of convenience.
Routines used to feel like a sign of a boring life, but without them I am falling apart.
How ironic. For what is an extended hometown stay if not a return to the original routine? There was a time when driving around here late at night with a stack of CDs was just as grounding as coffee on the Craigslist couch. But I’ve changed, obviously. I ponder this from the patio of a local coffee shop that opened here long after I moved out.
This town has changed, too.
Today’s show doesn’t have a theme, per say. It is simply a collection of songs that feel good to listen to these days. Most of them are familiar and remind me of my life in Brooklyn, however there are a few new (to me) gems in here that are a reminder of the beautiful things I have yet to discover, regardless of where I physically am.
In the meantime, I’ll cultivate new routines in my hometown. I’ll sit with the dog my parents’ adopted three years ago and scratch his tummy (his favorite). I’ll talk to my parents in the morning with a cup of my mother’s chai which is better than any chai I could ever make. I’ll read on the swing in the backyard and figure out a go-to order at the local coffee shop. I’ll take my watercolor palette downtown and sketch people and flowers and buildings. I’ll sketch forever until even this routine feels impossible to leave behind.
[Tracklist]
01 Spring Is Coming With a Strawberry in the Mouth by Operating Theatre (1986) / 02 Pump Up The Volume by M/A/R/R/S (1987) / 03 BE A SUPERMAN by YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA (1993) / 04 Playgirl by Ladytron (2001) / 05 Spacelab by Kraftwerk (1978) / 06 Kelly Watch The Stars by Air (1998) / 07 Astroglide by Mocean Worker (2000) / 08 communication by COLTEMONIKHA (2006) / 09 Rush Job (やっつけ仕事) by Ringo Sheena (2003) / 10 Don’t Pick Up Slackers by Peel Dream Magazine (2018) / 11 Sudden Stars by Stereolab (2004) / 12 Trashy Like TV by Laila France (1997) / 13 D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L by Panchiko (2000) / 14 SOME DAY, THAT PLACE IN TIME by DOOPEES/Yann Tomito (1995)
In Limbo! ♡ HoF RADIO 005