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Last Active 05-20-20 4:11 pm Joined 08-28-12
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| A Year Abroad
up close and personal | 1 | | The Mountain Goats Sweden
last year, i graduated college and was offered a job which would relocate me to Sweden for a year. personally, i did not give much of a sh!T about the job itself, but the opportunity to travel and live abroad was quite hard to argue with. so, i accepted, applied for my visa, packed a few suitcases and moved my life to this promising, foreign land. i'm not trying to tell the full story here in this little list, but rather use it to share and have a place to remember the scattered fragments of the moments, travels, adventures, and observations that seemed most meaningful in what ended up being the most meaningful year of my life. and, of course, since we are on a MUSIC WEBSITE, to point out all the incredible tunes that came along with it, which are inevitably tethered to these memories | 2 | | Kate Carr Fabulations
first, tjena to all my sput swedes, wherever you all are. and i would like to put it on record how disappointed i am that i never met up with Havey to make field recordings at any point during my stay. now then... | 3 | | Red House Painters Red House Painters
sverige // staring out the window on the ride from the airport to my city and just being transfixed with the endless sea of beautiful, tall, narrow trees which engulfed the highway. breathing the cleanest air. listening to people speaking swedish. everything is strange. an outsider looking in | 4 | | Vikki Jackman, Andrew Chalk, Jean Noel A Paper Doll's Whisper of Spring
jönköping, sweden // the city i would call home for the next year. it's not your glamorous side of sweden, but when the weather is good (as it was on the warm, summer day i arrived), this lakeside town has a special, quaint beauty that is hard to match | 5 | | Elliott Smith Roman Candle
culture shock // lying motionless in a tiny, sparse apartment, in this strange, foreign place. at least elliott was a known quantity. | 6 | | My Bloody Valentine Loveless
but, you learn. how to get around, how to ask for help, to buy groceries, to speak the basics of the language, to work, to live, to be. when you are forced to adapt, it isn't as hard or as different as you might think. thankfully, those boundaries were constantly pushed, as i experienced more new places than i ever would have imagined through work and personal travels | 7 | | Modest Mouse This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About
the north of sweden // the first was to a tiny village in the north of Sweden, where the company I work for originated. it is an isolating place, especially in the winter (a second trip followed in february...), but i can see the appeal - the beauty and the quiet is stunning, and the peoples' way of life is so much simpler | 8 | | The Knife Shaking the Habitual
stockholm, sweden // my girlfriend was equally keen to go abroad, and we were fortunate enough that she was able to find an opportunity to work temporarily in stockholm starting in the fall. her arrival marked the first of dozens of trips to the capital, and was one of the last days before (record-breaking?) snowfall began to hit. this beauty of a city became my second home, and one of the only ones i spent enough time in to truly begin to uncover many of the hidden, rewarding details | 9 | | Okkervil River Away
milton keynes, uk // a city of squares and blocks and gray buildings and little else. | 10 | | Stimming Alpe Lusia
*still finding the time to get caught in sput hype....* | 11 | | Whirr Distressor
jakarta, indonesia // i cannot listen to this album anymore without being immediately transported to this time of constantly sweating profusely and/or having the worst shits of my life. whirr wasn't really that fitting, but regardless, distressor was my nasty jam during those times - especially "sandy". what a fascinating place it was, though | 12 | | Edamame Ochre
holiday time in sweden, and the joyous feasts and dainty christmas markets that came with it // warm sweaters and downtempo delight every night of this season | 13 | | Andy Stott We Stay Together
learning the metro system of Stockholm - one which is beautiful in unexpected ways, with unique and colorful station designs at seemingly every stop. shout out to Stadion - a stunning display that i passed every time i used the tube // despite the metro's frequent vibrancy, it's only fitting that stott's grimy beats would become my go-to for the cold underground. a cog of many in perfect unison | 14 | | Boards of Canada Geogaddi
the long, solitary winter nights // getting snuggly w/ the occult | 15 | | The Microphones The Glow Pt. 2
the countless bus rides to and from Stockholm and Gothenburg // the frigid solidarity of winter gusting by, made comforting by Phil's warm guitar | 16 | | Tim Hecker Ravedeath, 1972
amsterdam, netherlands // i already feel like i can't avoid cliches while describing this place, so i'll just stop here. but what. a. city. more to come... | 17 | | Voices From The Lake Voices From The Lake
getting lost // regardless of season, Sweden's forests hold a special beauty - always made better with a friend to trek or camp out with. voices from the lake was often a suitable companion for wandering through the trees, and though i have listened to it with some frequency for the last few years, it only began to fully reveal itself to me during my time in Sweden. dazzlingly hypnotic and deeply engrossing in each passing moment, VFTL is the most adroitly executed piece of music i've ever heard - an actual "perfect" album, i say | 18 | | Grouper Ruins
belgium // brussels, gent and bruges crammed into a ridiculously stressful 3-day weekend (worth it for gent - jaw-dropping) | 19 | | DJ Sports Modern Species
falling into routine // after settling back in jönköping for awhile again, i fell into a predictable routine. go to work, come home, cook dinner, do yoga, smoke and listen to stuff like voices from the lake, dj sports and the like on repeat (any recs for anything with similarly natural aesthetics - hit me!). life was normalized again | 20 | | Nicolas Jaar Time For Us
the evenings dedicated to food and friendship // long nights of cooking delicious multicultural dinners, getting stoned and dancing to "mi mujer" | 21 | | Women Public Strain
the first real days of spring, taking in the sunshine by lake vättern // usually i (and most others, i think) associate public strain with extreme weather, but it was the sun bleached tracks like "eyesore" that made me feel the freest as warmth finally came | 22 | | Terveet Kadet Aareton joulu
booze cruises to finland // getting loose with drunk old-timers on the dance floor to terrible covers | 23 | | John Talabot Fin
familial love // my parents planned their vacation to visit my girlfriend and I once the warm came to stay in mid-May. to live in the same state as them for my whole life and then to show them everything that I had learned and experienced in my time in Sweden was uniquely heartfelt | 24 | | Efdemin Efdemin
london, UK // visiting a friend, but more importantly.... | 25 | | Forest Swords Compassion
field day 2017 // seeing war it live: 12/10 | 26 | | Sinkane Life & Livin' It
field day 2017 // i never listened to this dude before but my girlfriend liked him; either way i started getting drunk as hell at this point and it was so much fun. great crowd and vibes at this 1 | 27 | | Nicolas Jaar Sirens
field day 2017 // nic became an obsession of mine after sirens came out and my desperation to see him is partially what led me to this festival in the first place. jaar had just as enigmatic of a stage presence as i would have expected and played in an amazing venue (enormous hangar). quite the surreal show, three sides of nazareth in particular was :-O | 28 | | Slowdive Souvlaki
field day 2017 // incredible. alison :'))) | 29 | | Flying Lotus You're Dead!
other sets: flying lotus, loyle carner, lady leshurr (yep), run the jewels, tsvi, kaitlyn aurelia smith | 30 | | Radiohead In Rainbows
ericsson globe, stockholm // at the time, i kind of forgot about this due to buying the tickets so long ago and it being directly off the heels of field day, but seeing them was really something of high school me's squirmiest dreams, and seeing them abroad is never something that version of me would have ever expected. i hadn't listened to them much in the time since those days, but (as good shows oft do) i honked that replay button on their records for weeks after, finding so much unexpected life in an old favorite | 31 | | Today Is the Day Willpower
doing the dishes // always there to make the mundane a little more eventful | 32 | | Gas Nah und Fern
the long twilight of summer nights // suitable for sleeplessness | 33 | | Susanne Sundfor The Silicone Veil
the end of midsummer marks the beginning of over a month of travel with friends, wrapping things up and seeing as much as I can before returning back to what is inevitably a post-trump wasteland... | 34 | | Digable Planets Blowout Comb
stockholm, sweden // it's worth mentioning again if only for the complete 180 between the city in the winter and in the summer: though it is stunning either way, there is an attitude, a certain sense of freedom and joy in the air during the short summer that i hadn't witnessed before | 35 | | Trentemoller The Last Resort
copenhagen, denmark // the last trip to copenhagen. spending the sun soaked days with friends at nyhavn, christiania and papirøen - i don't know if there is a happier combination | 36 | | DJ Tennis DJ-Kicks
berlin, germany // berlin had perhaps a greater impact on me than any other city I have been to. seeing a place so shaped by its recent history and the people who have inhabited it was just stunning – biking through these spaces, not only seeing but truly feeling a raw beauty that can be observed in each small detail, is something I’ll never forget. and the night clubs – unbelievable. Watergate, you have my heart (we went there the night !K7 was throwing a party to celebrate this mix's release, which happens to be the best dj-mix I've ever heard. happy coincidence) | 37 | | Husker Du Zen Arcade
prague, czech republic // the beautifully baroque | 38 | | Pantha Du Prince Black Noise
austria // just astounding. bike rides in the wachau valley, small mountainside towns and pantha du prince, the best train ride companion for the endless wonder and beauty passing by | 39 | | Various Artists (Techno) Mind Over Matter
munich, germany // we only passed through for a day, but in that day i had some of the best food and beer i have had in my life | 40 | | Swarms Old Raves End
amsterdam & haarlem, netherlands // the second time around, we skipped being tourists and just enjoyed the city for all of its charm and bustling activity and endless places to be, but with no rush to be anywhere. our accommodations were in haarlem, which is such a quaint, small scale version of Amsterdam and an amazing place to unwind | 41 | | Moodymann Silentintroduction
buiten westen 2017 // the second day, a dutch friend took us to a festival. i was nervous going with a group of electronic skeptics to a house/techno fest, but in the end, it was better than any of us could have ever imagined. everything was beyond words - the atmosphere, the people, the weather, the food, the drugs, THE DJS. moodymann was unbelievable and definitely a crowd favorite, especially when he came down from the table to talk to everyone in the front and pour grey goose shots - i don't like vodka, but of course i took one - if that isn't a life defining moment, i dunno what is. legitimately the best night of our lives, surreal in the purest sense of the word and an experience of truly unadulterated joy. my only concern is: why does this kind of incredible festival culture not exist in the US? (or if it does, please direct me to it) | 42 | | DJ Koze Amygdala
buiten westen 2017 // SPELLBINDING | 43 | | Daniel Avery Drone Logic
buiten westen 2017 // CHILLING | 44 | | Perfume Genius No Shape
italy // a perfect encapsulation of the love and heartbreak of a distressing, but ultimately beautiful 10 days trekking about | 45 | | Cigarettes After Sex Cigarettes After Sex
ex dogana, rome // these guys happened to be playing while we were in rome so why not. pretty much in line with my feelings about the album though - very nice and dreamy and pretty and other words but ultimately a bit lukewarm I M O. their openers were really something though | 46 | | Fever Ray Fever Ray
gothenburg, sweden // after almost a year, i had never visited gothenburg other than the airport, so i'm so glad it was my last stop before heading back home. gothenburg is so different from stockholm, and the contrast was staggering. to me, it felt like sweden's own grungey sub-culture (meaning it's still quite nice, but compared to the posh perfection of stockholm, it was night and day). the relaxing end to an exhausting and tumultuous period of travelling, and a welcome return to sweden for my final days. | 47 | | Claro Intelecto Reform Club
jönköping, sweden // in my last few hours here, in the midst of cleaning my apartment and packing up all my belongings, i could not shake the sadness and emptiness that leaving gave me. i thought back to that first night in the same, tiny apartment, being scared and exhausted and alone, and how different that person was. what seemed like every memory, every fleeting moment of each day of the past year spun around in my head until everything collided and i broke down. sweden gave me a home, a means to travel, a job, a life, friends, but most importantly, it gave me meaning, and i couldn't admit that until these final moments. i am forever changed | 48 | | Boards of Canada Tomorrow's Harvest
dallas, tx // home | 49 | | Prince Of Denmark 8
wew | 50 | | Kelly Lee Owens Kelly Lee Owens
good album | |
Chortles
08.17.17 | go sweden!!! | Papa Universe
08.17.17 | Well this is going to be an interesting read. | Papa Universe
08.17.17 | I'm assuming you're still amidst finishing this up, right? There's no way you have so little to say about Prague... | Deez
08.17.17 | Sweet man. Travelling (real travelling) has been my life for the last 13 years or so Ive spent 8 of them abroad. Mostly backpacking but have living in Aus,Belize,Cambodia too. I always wanted to travel I never got a careerer or a house or kids. Just went awa for a few years spent all my money come back get a job save more. Its not sustainable long term but fk it. Ive seen more of the world now than most will ever see and Im good with that. | SandwichBubble
08.17.17 | man i'm envious at people can just get up and leave for a different country. I like my little peninsula (formally known as the penis of the US) too much | Papa Universe
08.17.17 | Florida? | SandwichBubble
08.17.17 | yea
it even has a little streak of jism on the tip | Chortles
08.17.17 | That's awesome deezer. It definitely opened my eyes in so many ways that are difficult to explain
Unique, unfortunately i don't have much else to say... Prague is indeed very beautiful but we were unfortunately only passing through for a day. I did forget to say that the food there was also quite good though :^) | Chortles
08.18.17 | Smh I didn't even mention Swedish cuisine now that I'm looking at it | Dewinged
08.18.17 | I spent my first year abroad in denmark (Aalborg) when I was a student so i totally identified with your arrival in Sweden, it was exactly the same for me. Lovely read Chorts, traveling is life. | Chortles
08.18.17 | They're pretty magical places right? Where do you come from originally? | TheWrenKing
08.18.17 | hi i Love this list and i Love you
pop by éire next time xoxo | Dewinged
08.18.17 | @Chortles south of Spain, so the great North in January was quite a shock, plus it was my first time going to a foreign country alone. | Chortles
08.18.17 | Thx wrenny luv u boy. Next time!!
Dewi I would love to visit Spain, I was sad I missed it. That north really was a shock tho, mostly the dark hours | Ryus
08.18.17 | this is terrific bro | Artuma
08.18.17 | "booze cruises to finland // getting loose with drunk old-timers on the dance floor to terrible covers"
lmao, been there done that. awesome list buddy | NordicMindset
08.18.17 | Jude Law and | Chortles
08.18.17 | thanks ryes < 3
art, you're a finn yourself right? | Artuma
08.18.17 | yee | Chortles
08.18.17 | You are a fun people 8) | zakalwe
08.18.17 | Less of the drivel did you shag any Swedish birds? | butcherboy
08.18.17 | fantastic fucking read, Chort! and coupled with some fine music.. | Chortles
08.18.17 | sex is sacred zak :^)
Thanks butcher! You're quite the wordly lad yourself, no? | butcherboy
08.18.17 | i do fancy myself an expert escapist, yes.. hahaha | Chortles
08.18.17 | so, where should my next escape be then, all knowing one? :-D | bloc
08.18.17 | Is it true you get taxed a lot there | guitarded_chuck
08.18.17 | propa jelly, would love to visit scandanavia | butcherboy
08.18.17 | argentina (cheap and amazing), japan (expensive but amazing), cuba (off-resort), central europe towards the former Yugoslavia..
i'm going back to havana in a few weeks, and i can't wait!! though i will be absent from here for a while, because Internet is too sparse and expensive there.. | Chortles
08.18.17 | It is true, especially on alcohol
butcher - amazing shortlist there! Argentina especially has been on my list for a long time... especially I get to meet rodrigo90. Enjoy cuba my friend! | Chortles
08.18.17 | Oh, and thank you to kind overlords for the feature! | Sniff
08.18.17 | Kom tillbaka snart-ish | VheissuCrisis
08.18.17 | Awesome man. What was the job? I qualify next summer and will be going away for 2-3 months, hoping to live somewhere Spanish speaking for a little while and really take it in like you've done. | Chortles
08.18.17 | Sniff - jag ska!
It was a global management trainee program, the company is Swedish so they invest in young employees coming to work at their headquarters for a year. That sounds like an amazing opportunity, what countries are you looking into? | Conmaniac
08.18.17 | THIS LIST IS GORGEOUS im so glad u had a good time
"but, you learn. how to get around, how to ask for help, to buy groceries, to speak the basics of the language, to work, to live, to be. when you are forced to adapt, it isn't as hard or as different as you might think. thankfully, those boundaries were constantly pushed, as i experienced more new places than i ever would have imagined through work and personal travels"
literally the most convincing thing you can say to study/work abroad man like wow | Ocean of Noise
08.18.17 | I've been to Stockholm, Gothenburg, Copenhagen and Amsterdam and I love all of them to bits. I envy you being able to spend a whole year up there. Great list. | Chortles
08.18.17 | THANKS CON < 3 it was incredible, beyond words really but I tried. Wheeeereee did you study abroad dude?? | Conmaniac
08.18.17 | I'm going to study abroad in Florence, Italy next year :D so so excited. you've convinced me to look into living abroad though for a bit, maybe after college | Chortles
08.18.17 | That's awesome ocean. Those Scandinavian cities are really magical, I esp fell head over heels for copenhagen | Chortles
08.18.17 | That's incredible dude! Florence is so beautiful, the art, the culture, the people..ahh man that will be amazing for you. So glad this wee list had some sort of an impact :') | Conmaniac
08.18.17 | love all around man (: | Chortles
08.18.17 | xxx
u must go out and visit cinque terre while you are there, it is unbelievable and not crazy far from Florence | protokute
08.18.17 | very nice list, mate!
i'm very fascinated by europe too. | InfamousGrouse
08.18.17 | sounds like a grand little year you had chorts, where'd you trek to in Italy? (hoping you didn't venture south towards where I'm based..)
| Cygnatti
08.18.17 | Wow thats rly cool, chorts! :]
Always like hearing these kinds of things. Color me jealous x.x | JohnFire
08.18.17 | You missed out on Hamburg and Poland :o
But it's nice to see an American actually taking his time to see as much of Europe as he can ;)
Checking out some music that's very left of field for me right now. | Chortles
08.18.17 | thanks friends!
grouse, we mostly stuck up north, the furthest south we went was rome for just a few days. are you italian or did you move there? | Chortles
08.18.17 | hamburg was on the list initially actually, i'm very sad we missed it :/ and poland would be great as well.. as with these things time and money are sadly limited | demigod!
08.18.17 | awesome list brohemian rhapsody | Chortles
08.18.17 | thanks man. haven't seen ya around these parts in awhile, how've ya been? | InfamousGrouse
08.19.17 | moved there, round about halfway into my sojourn: will leave probably next may. | Chortles
08.19.17 | Where are ya at exactly? Were you hoping I didn't go down there bc I woulda missed you or bc it would have been unsavory lol | TheWrenKing
08.19.17 | i've seen precious little of mainland europe, need to get goin on eurorail one of these days | Havey
08.19.17 | yooo | Havey
08.19.17 | a paper doll's whisper of spring is amazing to listen to while overlooking a lake...fuk
preferably by a smaller lake tho, vättern is a bit intimidating | Winesburgohio
08.19.17 | i tried to rendezvous with Havey once but he couldn't get day leave from the lunatic/public nuisance asylum :(((( F | mindleviticus
08.19.17 | chortles congrats buddy. awesome list | Chortles
08.19.17 | wtf hi harvey. But don't u want to look at the endless horizon while listening???
Wren bb I will come back and we can galavant together. | Chortles
08.19.17 | thx mindle! Good 2 see ya around | Dedes
08.19.17 | I thought me having had been to 8 or 9 U.S states was a lot.
I guess not eh? Glad you enjoyed your trip man i've yet to meet | Chortles
08.19.17 | no need 2 compare my man, and if I makes u feel better I'm p sure you've got me beat on US states anyhow lol | Dedes
08.19.17 | Haha yeah I guess I shouldn't be comparing, perhaps i'm a tad jealous you got to go to Sweden :p. If you ever get the chance to visit more U.S states I definitely recommend Maine, it's stunning there. Nearly untouched by man. I love it. | InfamousGrouse
08.19.17 | i'm in Apulia, down by the adriatic, lots of beaches and cheap beer ;D
woulda been a shame if you'd passed through without me realising | Havey
08.20.17 | true but waves r suboptimal, gotta have as much stillness as possible for music that fragile
where in northern sweden did u stay my dude?? | Chortles
08.20.17 | Grouse I'm already regretting not making it down there now
havey I went up to a villege around Alfta and Bollnäs, so not rly geographically north per se but anything above Stockholm seemed like it | neekafat
08.20.17 | Fuckin' loved Sweden when I visited | Deez
08.20.17 | That's awesome deezer. It definitely opened my eyes in so many ways that are difficult to explain'
True dat. You can never really understand it unless youve really travelled. it sounds a really hippy/elitist thing to say but its true so fk it
| Sniff
08.20.17 | Little did you know Bollnäs was once voted the ugliest town in Sweden? | brainmelter
08.20.17 | great read bb | verdant
08.20.17 | bumped, deservedly | someguest
08.20.17 | Who's the broad? | unclereich
08.21.17 | Weed |
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