What do you listen to, read or watch knowing it will definitely cheer you up?
For me, old episodes of the simpsons will always lift my mood, that and the fresh prince of bel air are just shows I can stick an episode on, even half way through and enjoy it.
For books, Harry Potter books are like this for me too, though jk rowling really took the shine off of them for me, it is difficult for me to separate the art from the artist. Also books by Danielle Steel, I started reading them when I was a young teen and ill read anything of hers, they’re just so easy and fast and immersive. Have been picking up her latest from whatever supermarket I’ve seen them in for years and years, got a new one about 2 weeks ago, idk how she’s been putting multiple books out yearly since the 70s?? Though her stories aren’t entirely unproblematic and as I grew older, I learned to recognise this, I really enjoy how easy it is to read her books, while cooking, in the bath, while waiting for my hair to dry etc.
For music, BTS songs always cheer me up, their various shows do too and generally everything they put out, its so heartwarming. There was one show last summer which was just them going to a forest for a while doing wholesome activities like racing toy boats on a lake and cooking and painting and it was so nice and calming.
TV: Gilmore Girls or Grand Designs. I’m rewatching the OC atm while knitting. I also like it when we’ve got the football or Match of the Day on even though I’ll spend most of the time reading my phone or something, I find it relaxing for some reason.
Music: my pop or R&B playlists if I need cheering up, some pop punk if it’s sunny out or one of those lofi beats to relax to playlists if I need to calm down a bit
Band - I would say stuff I liked as a teenager is my ultimate comfort. Blink 182, No Doubt, the kind of stuff where it’s familiar and soft and warm. (Blink 182 live album always cheers me up.) The House of Tomorrow by the Magnetic Fields is what I listen to first though.
Book - I don’t really read enough to have a comfort book, the closest thing is Norwegian Wood if I can’t sleep but it’s been a while since I dug that out
TV show - individual episodes wise Electric Shock Showdown from Pokémon, Brand New Attitude from Bojack Horseman and Alan Attraction from I’m Alan Partridge are what I turn to in a real crisis and need 20 minutes of reassurance. If I need multiple episodes it’s Archer S1-3 or Arrested Development S1-2.
Tv: dads army makes me laugh like an idiot, but really really annoys gf so I’m only allowed it when she’s not around. This is probably a good thing
Books: Adrian mole: even though the content is actually fairly depressing, nothing ever goes particularly well, they just tap into a world I empathise with and find very familiar
Music: I dunno, very much depends on mood. I’d say if I want to be cheered up then I’d probably reach for squeeze though. Maybe nirvana
I struggle to reach for anything when I feel down, my fear is always that I’ll taint my enjoyment of it by associating it with bad times. I guess there are ever present things I find comforting - Office US, Food Network stuff like Man vs Food and Diners, Driveins and Dives. Often just sports podcasts that are distracting. Occasionally re-read old Bill Bryson books as a mental palate cleanser, I know some of them practically by heart. I’m a bit worried he’s lost his way in later years but Lost Continent, Neither Here Nor There, Notes from a Small Island and Walk in the Woods are all comforting classics.
Music: If i’m not feeling great then i might not be in the mood for loud or upbeat stuff but stuff like Smog will feel more on my level - raw and cynical. Or James Yorkston makes for decent, quiet comfortable background music, just to keep you company without being too invasive.
TV show: Traditionally old Simpsons episodes as well but more recently Taskmaster, just good pure silly fun.
Book: Don’t think I read much when I’m down and also I don’t tend to re-read things often (though I would like to, I just have too many other books to get through) but again I do find James Yorkston’s book It’s Lovely to Be Here: The Touring Diaries of a Scottish Gent to be a lovely little relaxing and wholesome journal to dip in and out of, just a nice man travelling around and playing shows and meeting people.
if i’m not properly down and just a bit deflated or tired then Oh Sees will probably raise my energy levels and adrenaline a bit and get me air guitaring
show is probably due south or sharpe. love how formulaic sharpe is, man. you could come in at any point in an episode and know exactly where you’re up to and what’s going on -
he does something heroic in the opening bit, goes back to camp or london or whatever, an upper class officer assumes he’s a common oik and tries to thrash him with a whip. he reveals that he’s actually a major/whatever rank he currently is… sometimes he seduces the upper class officer’s wife, sometimes it’s a free spirited bandit commander, or something. his friend sings a folk song, his other friend says something charming in an irsh accent and then they have another battle where sharpe is a hero. sometimes he feels conflicted about his class position. fin. it’s like a lovely cup of tea.
I listen to mariachi el bronx a lot when I’m not feeling great, it makes me think of being happy in the summer.
dunno about books really. I read a lot of le carre and elmore leonard as easy reads, they’re great.
And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out by To La Tengo is a very comforting album for me. It has such a soothing atmosphere with a bit of melancholy: it feels like accepting that you feel a certain way and knowing it will pass. Thinking Crying of Lot G in particular.
I can listen to it happy too, and it’s a great album in general, but it feels like a safe place when I’m in that mood.
The last year Bill Callahan/Smog has been my comfort listening. Something about his voice just feels like a big hug, I’m immediately comforted. Dunno what I’d have done without him the last year tbh.
Music - generally '80s stuff, Prince, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Cher, Phil Collins, Huey Lewis and the News. I need big synths and guitars, beats, grooves, that intersection of extreme gutsy emotion and weird melancholy that those songs are all full of.
TV - If I want to reset my brain I just stick on something like Ice Pilots, I like watching people do their jobs.
Film - Depends really. I like hokey action films, so that’s always a good shout.
Oh books! I read Iain Banks if I want something comforting, either his genre stuff or his sci-fi
Music: early Miles Davis, early Joni Mitchell, Silver Jews, Disintegration Loops (yes, I know).
TV Show: The Simpsons, Joe Pera Talks With You
Movie: Lost In Translation, Napoleon Dynamite, anything Studio Ghibli.
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