Working in your own bindery has a multitude of pros and cons. If, like me, you have the privilege of working from a space within your own home you'll understand the true bliss that is your daily commute. However, you may then also be far too familiar with the distracting sensation that is dinner dishes still chilling in the sink. It's true that bindery cats or dogs will always be there to help you ease into Monday morning paperwork, but that view out into a perfect summer day can be nothing short of a trial from up on high pitting you against your focus and will power. I won't pretend that I don't miss the camaraderie of working with others, or that constant stream coming into the lab of your library's most invaluable books. But everyday I am grateful for my three-foot tall, vintage Warfedale speakers with their cherry cabinets and that deep, deep base. All you archivists out there should find a bit of irony in the fact that, despite having three sets of vintage speakers in my six room apartment, my analogue music collection is just about non-existent. I've made the switch to digitized albums, and me and my shelves are never going back.
In my opinion, the best time of year for music (old or new, analogue or digital) is Autumn. There's something about bright blue skies, crisp air and warm sunshine that just begs me to crank up the Warfes while I work. I'm writing this piece because Shannon (our fantastic blog editor) asked what's been playing in the bindery lately, and she thought it might be fun if I'd put together a short playlist to share.
So for all of you listeners out there, put in your ear buds, or if you're lucky like me, turn it way, way, way up, because here is my version of October's Greatest Hits.
Happy listening,
Marianna.
1. Ooh La La. Faces.
2. Heavy Metal Drummer. Wilco.
3. Riptide. Vance Joy.
4. Sweet Thang. Turbo Fruits.
5. Gimmie Some Salt. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
6. Always Like This. Bombay Bicycle Club.
7. A Sentence of Sorts In Kongsvinger. Of Montreal.
8. Casanova, Baby! The Gaslight Anthem.
9. Close To Me. The Cure.
10. I Wanna Dance With Somebody. David Byrne.
Ps. If you're curious about what's the best piece of overhead one can have while working in private practice, it's a Spotify subscription...