#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”?

My favourite recent album is probably Moses Sumney’s Aromanticism, which came out last year. It’s so many things that I love.. it’s ethereal, weird, slightly jazzy, and his voice is absolutely stunning and he has such an impressive range.

He appeared on an episode of Song Exploder (just quickly gonna shoehorn that recommendation in here too because it’s an incredible podcast) to talk about how one of the songs was made, and it sounds like such a mish-mash of ideas - for example you’d get a harp improvisation one minute and then suddenly a full band, but the musicians often didn’t meet each other and no-one really knew how it was going to turn out until the end. It seems like such a fun way to create music and the result is beautiful and enormous.

#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)?

I know everyone’s watching it but I recently started watching the Handmaid’s Tale and I think it’s the best thing I’ve seen in a long time, or at least it’s the first show that’s made me go about my day wondering what’s going to happen next and being really excited to go home and carry on watching it.

It’s also the first time I’ve shouted at the screen, possibly ever… It gets me so angry, but the moments of vindication are so satisfying and empowering! Now that I’ve found out it was originally a book I’m going to add that to my reading list.

#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)?

Recently my friend lent me The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and I finished it in a couple of months, which is a first for for me since I was about 15! I’ve often felt really guilty about the fact that I don’t read as much as I used to. One reason being having less time on my hands, and also I think if you don’t read frequently your attention span for it does get shorter.

I feel like this book came to me at a time when I was very confused about who I was and about other people, and it helped me to think about things in a different way. The premise is that it divides people into two types, ‘light’ and ‘heavy’, depending on the way they view the world and their actions in it. Through this it explores human nature and free will but through people’s relationships with each other. I don't take the ‘light/heavy’ distinction as bible, but it’s an interesting way to consider people which I hadn’t thought of before.

It’s set in the late 60s/early 70s in Czechoslovakia, so also provides loads of insight into the Soviet invasion there. If you’re someone like me who finds it easier to absorb History through fiction then this book is great for that. It’s also just beautifully written… I felt really teary when I finished it, but in a good way.

#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?

Like loads of people nowadays I overuse social media. I can lose twenty minutes of my life scrolling and sometimes it even gets into my dreams. I've had a couple of dreams where I'll see a breathtaking view and pull my phone out to take a picture for Instagram. I can't tell you how much that depresses me, and I've been making a big effort to use it all less. But it does worry me how bummed I and so many other people would be were this all to go away. At the same time it's undeniably useful for so many things, but it's just a case of getting the balance right.

In terms of what is a more useful way to spend my time, the Night Sky app is great. There have been a few times I have seen a nice star in the sky and I consult the app to see what it is. It’s a cool feeling to be like ‘oh hi, Saturn is chilling right outside my bedroom window tonight’, and the fact that a free app can tell you that is pretty amazing.

#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.

Fold your clothes properly. Recently I watched one episode of Tidying Up With Marie Kondo and it was life-changing, for now at least. All the clothes in my drawers are now organised vertically so that you can see them all and pluck an item out like a book from a shelf. It saves so much time and the frustration of not being able to find something because all your clothes are laid on top of each other, and then throwing everything all over your floor and having to fold it all again.

It’s a no-brainer but it had never even occurred to me before! There’s something about even this small action which I’ve found to be really calming and good for the mind.

OK folks, there you have it. Things that Patchwork Guilt thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go practice folding your clothes correctly, make sure to follow Patchwork Guilt on the Facebook / Instagram / Twitter and then also give latest single ‘Arch My Back And Fade To You’ a listen below…

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