I heard you missed me, I'm back! Yes, after a self-imposed blogging exile the last few months I have returned to the trenches at RFC. What did I do with my time off? Well, long story short I spent a lot of time reading, freelancing, looking for gigs, sending out resumes and drinking copious amounts of coffee to keep me awake through it all. The time off from RFC was designed to free up some time to focus more on all those efforts this summer, with the added hope it would also recharge my creative batteries and help me recover from a mild case of music burn-out.
Thinking I'd probably drop completely off the new music radar for the rest of the year, much to my surprise by the end of the summer a whole slew of new tracks had permeated my soul inconspicuously while cranking away at my laptop and bouncing between various wi-fi hot spots across the city. It seems the cure for music burn-out doesn't necessarily require a drastic abstinence, one just needs to take a step back or two from it and let the appreciation grow back naturally.
What I Did On My Summer Vacation by Radio Free Chicago
Of particular influence on me specifically this summer was the Sirius XMU channel blaring at what become my favorite home-away-from-home work spot, Sip, and a rediscovery of the joys of “John in the Morning” on KEXP. This DJ set (the first in what I hope becomes is a new regular Monday feature here) is a mix of favorite tracks that recharged my musical soul the past few months and is dedicated to the fine broadcasting of John Richards at KEXP, the infectious repetition of satellite radio and the hardworking baristas at all the great neighborhood coffee shops in the city.
Tracklisting:
1. The Field - Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime
2. Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart
3. Twilight Circus Dub Soundsystem - Horsie
4. Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move
5. Take - Slouched Over
6. Phantogram - Mouthful of Diamonds
7. Tortoise - Charteroak Foundation
8. The Horrors - Mirror's Image
9. Moderat - Porc #1
10. Black Heart Procession - Rats
Welcome back, Brad. I was at Sip on Labor Day... I thought of you. Man, I miss that place.
Posted by: mychelle | 09/15/2009 at 09:56 PM