#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”?

This one was really difficult! There are a million things I want to recommend. Going to cheat a bit and recommend two albums, one from last year and one from this year.

Lung Cycles new self-titled album was one of my favorites from last year. Deliberate and slow moving, it is one of those albums that feels like a whole world you can go visit. The physical cassette release is really beautifully done as well. All of their music is great, so please go check it out and buy a tape!

Lomelda’s newest album, “M for Empathy,” has been on a ton since it came out at the end of last month. It is so, so good.

The songs are short and concise, but very beautiful and full of feeling.

#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)?

Watching Star Trek: Discovery (this season is awesome) has made me return to The Next Generation again. It’s what got me into Star Trek in the first place and is forever my favorite Star Trek series.

If you haven’t watched it yet, it is a classic and covers a lot of ground.

#3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE BOOK STORE (OK, PROBABLY AMAZON) 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)?

I’m currently reading “The Listening Book” by W.A. Mathieu. I'm a little over half way through it and I like it a lot. It’s a collection of short essays about listening deep and meditatively to the world around you.

Some are about music and listening in that sense, but most of the ones I’ve read so far are about just listening to the sounds of your life and your surroundings and zoning in on them. I think it would be a good read for anyone who is interested in music or sound in general.

#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 have this YouTube video saved and return to it every few months. I can't remember how I found it originally, but it's ridiculous and I love everything about it.

The host’s accent reminds me of the place I grew up, and I love the way the performer plays this instrument so passionately and that it exists at all.

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

Start doing things you are not naturally good or talented at but have always wanted to do. Allow yourself to do the thing badly without any self judgement and repeat when you feel up to it. I have been painting some lately even though I am bad at it because it’s enjoyable and I’ve always wanted to. I have a few bad paintings now, but it’s fun and fulfilling to paint.

Maybe you will enjoy and get better at the thing? Maybe you’ll discover you like the idea of the thing more than the thing itself? Either way you will probably learn something about yourself.

OK folks, there you have it. Things that German Error Message thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go start practicing that thing you’ve always wanted to be better at, make sure to follow German Error Message on the Facebook / Instagram / Twitter and then also give ‘Red Kitchen’ from the new album a listen…

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