🍱 Delicacy of the Day
British Creature Jon Hopkins is a master of sound design and melodies.
Even more, my boy Hopkins made a whole album for tripping on shrooms.
He KNOWS how to use music to put you in a specific state of mind
This is one of my all-time favorite songs. It's so hypnotic and awe-inspiring.
It's an odd way to describe a song but it sounds like entering and exploring a living forest.
Yeah sure, it might be a “simplistic” song but it's executed so well that you don't even notice it.
Another “bonus” feature is the reflective and blissful mind state it puts you in.
If you’ve ever wondered what “hypnotic” electronic music sounds like, this is the song for you.
Njoy.
Tidal includes links to Youtube, Sloptify, and Apple Music.
💭 Quick Drivel
For the next 5 days I’ll be exploring the ridiculous trip from last year. Can’t believe it’s almost over!
I didn’t have time to write it when it happened. So why not take advantage of Nostalgia Year to re-live some memories, eh?
If you don’t mind or care (no blame there), enjoy the hand-picked songs that made up this trip a lot more special. They’re even better than the amazing stuff we regularly send.
Today is a special day.
I had been waiting for this moment for 3 months.
Nothing “wacky” happened this morning, so let's just get straight to the story.
Starting with…
Puffing billy
The autism allegations came true the second I saw this pull up
This is a genuine steam engine train.
It also lets you sit on the window ledge and lose dangle your legs while the train moves.
…Which is cool until an hour goes by and your whole body hurts (my legs also had a couple of near misses hahaha)
That said, the route is beautiful.
The train traverses through the middle of the forest.
It gave an “intimate” view of the “remote” parts of Melbourne.
You get to see houses, roads, and other everyday life things.
Photography is my passion
People usually wave at the train which really adds to the experience. Everyone has been very nice to be honest.
Let me showcase a bit more of the forest though…
Photography is my passion
I know, the sky looks like heaven. Not sure how to fix it lol.
After a two hour ride we got to our destination.
Emerald station (Editors note: I didn’t even realize this was the name of the station until after choosing the song. Emerald Rush has a whole other meaning now lmao)
Once the train arrived and everyone got off, they allowed us to take some pictures of the train.
There were a couple of hours before the train back departed, so we went to explore.
The first discovery was Emerald Lake
And not too far from theres a shack with art in it.
I'm not art expert so it all looked good to me.
After that we returned to the station to get something for lunch.
Most expensive sandwich in Australia. It was quite fresh, though.
After that we spent a good 10 minutes feeding birds before realizing the train was about to depart.
This prompted a sprint to the train (we made it right before the trian left lmao.)
Ride Back
Especially as the view on the way back was MUCH better.
Shortly after that picture, we arrived at the main station.
Pretty crazy to think this was a 6+ hour adventure.
It’s worth every minute and I give this place my highest recommendation.
If you’re ever in Melbourne, check out the Puffing Billy; you won’t regret it.
Now the curious thing about Australia is that most things close around 5- 6 p.m. It was 4pm which meant the day was effectively over.
Must be nice having that work-life balance since most things in America stay open until like 10:00pm.
No biggie though, we went back to Olivia's house (who’s also been part of the Australia trip. She’s been in the background mostly tard wrangling us. She’ll become important later on.)
Australian TV
Olivia wanted to indoctrinate someone who hasn't watched tv since 2008 (me) into the wonders of Aussie shows.
This is where I got exposed to Australian TV.
One of them was called YOLO. This show is literally the Aussie version of Smiling Friends.
And because the show was Australian, there were A LOT of cultural jokes I didn't understand.
“You don't like comedy shows?” Olivia asked when she saw me struggling to understand what was going on.
“No I love them! …I just don't know what any of this means.” I replied.
She then showed me some other shows which were pretty funny but I kept running into the same cultural understanding wall.
Still, the Australians have some hilarious stuff going on. VASTLY different from American media, which is cool to see.
After all, TV ain’t the only cultural export the Aussies are better at (wink wink)
Chill evening
After watching TV for a couple of hours (bringing a bit of that American’t culture into the household), Clara decided to make dinner for everyone.
It was one of the best things I ate this whole trip.
So good in fact that I forgot to take a picture :(
Then we played some board games to wind down the night.
The first one was called ‘The Gang”
It’s this a coop game where you’re supposed to guesstimate who has the best poker hand without actively saying it.
The game is supposed to be a team effort and a reflection on how the group would work as a team.
…which proved that if we ever robbed a bank we’d probably crash on the way there.
The second and final game was Mysterium.
It’s a Clue-like game where you have to find the murderer, weapon, and location.
EXCEPT, there’s a “ghost” player that gives hints in the form of schizo cards and it’s up to the players to decode the hints.
These are the cards you get handed. Have fun figuring out which one means “knife” (it’s the second one, apparently)
… let's just say Clara (the one dealing the hints) no longer wants to play with me after I managed to derail the game by making connections not even a 7-Eleven crackhead could make.
Mysterium is a fantastic game though. Highly recommended.
After that, it was getting late, so we all headed home.
Final Thoughts
It’s bittersweet when you get to the last days of a trip.
The best way I can describe it is that feeling of “ah crap, gotta get back to work and live the regular ol life. I’m just going to quit my job and become a world traveler!”
…Which quickly turns into “Okay, maybe I DO need to get back to work” after taking one glance at the bank account.
But still, after 40 days of running around nonstop, its jarring to realize that it’s almost over.
And how does a person cope with the inevitability of work?
By spending a chunk of the night building a playlist!
…and also catching up on work, lol.
In classic Hz fashion I ended up sleeping at 1am.
Which didn’t bode well as “tomorrow’s pickup time” was in 3 hours.
Why so early?
That’s a story for tomorrow.
See you then,
Always ending up around trains Forward
Hz
P.S. TRIP SCORE: (40 days)
Hours slept total: 210.
Times phone died: 15.
Times lost/taking the wrong train: 33.
Strangers met and talked to: 45.
P.P.S. Yo, these Fridee releases have lowkey been cheeks. It's part of why you haven’t been receiving them. Also the Bonobo album was a bit sleeper. More to come about this.
Post-Email Backstage
- Got this sent by a friend? Join them and start getting your daily song by signing up here.
- Artists: Want to have your music showcased? Let us know about you here.
- #VibeFind: Need a song for a special moment or the right tune for the vibe? Reply with #VibeFix, and we’ll get you sorted.
- Song Requests: Want your favorite song featured? Reply with it and a short story about what makes it special, and we’ll send it!
-Can't concentrate to screeching sounds or forced vocals? Brain.fm will fill the electronic void while doubling your focus. Get the first month FREE by clicking here
