#1 - WHAT IS THE ONE ALBUM (OR EP OR SONG) THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE VERY NEXT MUSICAL THING THAT EVERYONE PRESSES PLAY ON THE NEXT TIME THEY FIND THEMSELVES THINKING “WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NOW”?

One of my all-time favourite albums is Laura Jean’s Devotion - I still think it’s practically perfect. If you can only hear one song, start with “Girls On The T.V.” It’s a narrative that crosses decades from childhood to adulthood between sisters, and yet somehow is still a great pop song.

I knew Laura Jean mostly as a folk singer before this album, but she found this kaleidoscopic pop sound after experimenting with a Kawai home keyboard.

#2 - WHAT IS THE ONE MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE NEXT IN EVERYBODY’S NETFLIX QUEUE (OK, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE NETFLIX, WE’RE ALL INTERNET ADULTS HERE AND KNOW HOW TO FIND ANYTHING ONLINE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER)?

The Bureau / Le Bureau des Légendes, is endlessly compelling. It’s a French spy show my wife and I watched in lockdown, with great dialogue and narrative arcs that just get better across seasons. There are five seasons, and near the end I felt physically ill because of my attachment to the characters.

We loved watching it in the original French, with subtitles so that we could feel our French was improving. You’ll start talking around the breakfast table in hushed French accents as if you are spies.

#3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE LOCAL BOOK STORE (OK, MAYBE THE LOCAL LIBRARY FIRST) TO FIND THE VERY NEXT BOOK THAT I WILL BE PUTTING SOME EXTREMELY VALUABLE ‘ME-TIME' ASIDE FOR. WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU GET, IF YOU WERE ME (AND, I SUPPOSE, YOU HADN’T ALREADY READ WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO SUGGEST)?

Tranquillity and Ruin by Danyl Mclauchlan. (If you’re outside NZ you might have to make do with a kindle version). Danyl is my favourite political essayist, but in recent years his writing has become more philosophical in nature. A scientist and a long-time sceptic, he took up meditation for his mental health, and was frustrated that even though it worked for him - there was no adequate secular explanation of why.

This book examines philosophy, morality and achievement of change. It sees him go to extraordinary lengths to understand meditation, effective altruists, and some incredibly difficult-to-read philosophical tomes.

#4 - WHAT IS THE ONE WEBSITE (OR JUST ANY OLD INTERNET THING: APP, GIF, SERVICE, WHATEVER) THAT YOU WOULD GET REALLY DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT IF IT WERE TO SUDDENLY GO AWAY?

I subscribe to the London Review Of Books. I love that the articles are incredibly long, filled with snark and intellectual score settling only a British publication could pull off, and that the magazine arrives on paper, from London to my home on the other side of the world in Whanganui.

Reading the LRB is often what I do to wind down. During lockdown, the magazine didn’t arrive for a while, so to prevent reading on a screen I printed the articles on paper - that works just as well.

#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITTING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.

I use Boomerang’s ‘Pause’ function on my email, so that I can ensure that when it’s time for me to focus on a task - I don’t get distracted answering every new email that comes in.

It’s a great struggle in our age to be proactive rather than reactive, but a pause button is a great help.

OK folks, there you have it. Things that Anthonie Tonnon thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go put your email on pause, make sure to follow Anthonie on the Facebook / Instagram / Twitter and then also give ‘Entertainment’ a listen below…

…and if you like what you’re hearing, go do some further anthonie-tonnon-flavoured audio exploring over on the Bandcamp / Spotify.

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And don't forget there's a Spotify playlist featuring something from everything that's ever been highly recommended over 100s of Q&As + there's an IMDB list for all the movies & tv shows *AND PLUS* there's also a Goodreads list for every book that's been recommended.