Also Available on SoundCloud ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა ♡
Today’s Episode: EDM, British Pop, New Wave, Downtempo, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Electronic Rock
For the past year, House of Fun has been a growing collection of music essays inspired by nothing but my love of the game!! Over time, it became a place to explore music commentary and regain (some) agency over what I publish.
Now, I’m so excited to share the next phase of House of Fun: A radio show! No one could have possibly seen this coming!!
House of Fun Radio will be a monthly mixtape, available on Substack and SoundCloud. For the moments in your life when you’re sick of being your own DJ, enjoy 40–60 minutes of curated tracks and some brief commentary by moi, featuring my voice sometimes (Yikes!) The first episode is called New Beginnings.
Maybe it’s because New Year's is still fresh (for me, anyway), or maybe it’s because every existential question about my future is hitting me all at once these days, but the idea of new beginnings has been top of mind. For me, last year was about breaking down old systems, reassessing my goals, and taking the first steps towards them. It was simultaneously the most exhausting and rewarding year of my life.
This mix is a reflection on that time and a call to move forward, featuring new and familiar tracks that made my new beginning easier to visualize.
Each episode will serve as an audio companion to this newsletter, where you can find the complete show notes: A tracklist and a short syllabus. Sometimes, I will include footnotes on my favorite tracks, but this month’s episode speaks for itself. ♡
[Tracklist]
01 Ball In Kick Off by Cornelius (1997) / 02 Nothing Can Stop Us by Saint Etienne (1991) / 03 So Hard by Pet Shop Boys (1990) / 04 I’m Not Scared by Eighth Wonder (1988) / 05 Before We Begin by Broadcast (2003) / 06 New Radiolab-Rip-Off by Flowchart (1995) / 07 Another Life (feat. Rema) by PinkPanthress (2023) / 08 Zwing Ting by Streamer (2002) / 09 Breathe In by Frou Frou (2002) / 10 Beginnings by Astrud Gilberto (1969)
[Syllabus]
Heath, Chris. Pet Shop Boys, Literally. Da Capo Press, 1992: I literally can’t get through a sentence without talking about this book, but I do mention Pet Shop Boys a bit in the episode and recommend this book if you have any interest in them at all. It’s one of the most thoughtful artist portraits I’ve ever read.
Alwakeel, Ramzy. How We Used Saint Etienne to Live. Repeater, 2022: I love Saint Etienne so much and this book is by someone who probably loves them more. It’s memoir meets music journalism, which is my favorite kind of music writing.
Thanks for tuning in as I figure out this new format. Who knows what shape this will take, but we’ll figure it out together. Xx
Ani
New Beginnings ♡ HoF RADIO 001