#62 Audio dopamine
Issue #62 Audio dopamine
17th May 2023
What up, home slices?
Chris Mead here. I'm having a productive week - getting up early, running the trails with Radio, cooking food instead of ordering in and ticking off To-Do list items like it's going out of style. I'm almost never this motivated but happily this week has been full of sunshine and potential.
Next week, I'm in Vienna - teaching and performing with Project2, then it's time for a whole slew of new classes (including the first online version of my Mockumentary NOW! course).
OK, I'm off to waterproof all my running shoes.
Rule of three
[TV] Colin from Accounts
I'm calling it. This is my favourite TV series of the year. I can't see anything topping it. Properly funny, beautifully written and with just the right amount of acidity to cut through the sweetness. This is a glorious show. If you see me in real life, I will tell you to watch it.
[Gadget] Therabody Smart Goggles
I got myself a massage gun after one pretty much saved my life during the 48-hour improvathon. These Smart Goggles are by the same brand and they are incredible. They massage your face with magic fingers and sing you lullabies. That makes them sound creepy but they are such a balm after hours of screen time. Like having a little oasis of calm you can strap to your face.
[Music] Folk Hip Hop
I'm not sure this is a real genre but it basically includes any band with a fiddle, a loop pedal and a double bass player who also beatboxes. The grand-daddies of the genre are Nizlopi who once improbably got a Christmas number one with the beautiful JCB Song. Interestingly, their guitar tech was a little ginger kid called Ed Sheeran - I was actually a big fan of his when he was still rapping over acoustic guitar and not churning out turgid ballads. Anyway, folk hip hop is great and I've created a playlist if you're interested in its weird genre-mash.
PS - even if this doesn't sound like something you'd like, I urge you to listen to Mother by CoCo & The Butterfields - I've been dancing around my kitchen to it all week. It's like audio dopamine.
Spotlight
The mighty Bristol Improv Theatre are letting me do a FIVE DAY version of my Improv Fables Intensive in August. And there's a show at the end in their wonderful theatre with proper theatrical lighting and everything. I can't tell you how excited I am about the prospect of leaping into a whole week of improv with a bunch of like-minded artists. Are you potentially one of those brave, creative souls? You can grab your place on the BIT website.
Longform thoughts
I’ve played the classics - your waiters, your taxidermists, your people who own a spatula, every improviser worth their salt has played at least several dozen of those.
Read about one of the unexpected perks of being an improviser in 🐈⬛ Curiosity thrilled the cat.
Radio contact
My noble beast.