> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.glamglare.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Joy of Not Choosing - URL: https://www.glamglare.com/music/the-joy-of-not-choosing/ - Published: 2026-10-22T14:37:52.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T14:37:52.000Z - Description: The return of human-curated radio, a new cultural space in Berlin, seven fresh music discoveries, and autumn impressions from Woodstock. - Author: Oliver Bouchard - Tags: Newsletter Classic radio – the kind where you press a button and an endless stream of music, talk, and, unfortunately, commercials starts coming from the speakers – has been out of Elke’s and my lives for a long time. We used to have a receiver in our living room, but we discarded it when we moved to Queens almost ten years ago. For a short while, we listened to our old hometown station, „Bayern 3,” over the internet and were surprised by how little has changed there in the last 20 years. But the top hit music simply was not our cup of tea, even in the German variant. A report from [MIDiA](https://www.midiaresearch.com/?ref=glamglare.com), a UK research firm, found that radio is making a comeback among younger music fans. Of course, this is not the radio that rotates a limited playlist interlaced with advertising that tries to hammer 1–800 numbers into your head. Instead, listeners are returning to thoughtfully curated radio, drawn to DJs whose taste they come to know and trust. The study cites a craving for „scarcity, shared experience, and human creations” that drives listeners back to radio. That should come as no surprise. Music is a personal, human experience, and a machine on the other end can never quite offer the same satisfaction. Additionally, even though you can now pick and choose your favorite music at any time, it’s still a jolt of joy to hear someone else play it. Will Elke and I go back to listening to the radio? It has become difficult since the days when radio devices were standard furniture in a home. We don’t have a car, and even internet radio requires some fiddling with an app and the wireless speaker system. Also, we’d miss the skip function. Part of the appeal of radio is that you cannot bend it to match your exact taste, but we listen to so much new music that skipping songs has become an essential habit. But that is good news for music lovers and artists alike: a countertrend is emerging to the culture of consuming music mostly as a soundtrack to short video clips. And for us, it is encouraging to see glamglare, a human-curated music blog, as part of that growing trend. ## Discovery of the Week: Freude Cities around the world struggle to keep culture alive. Here in New York, it’s easy to imagine a future where the streets belong to [ghost kitchens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual%5Frestaurant?ref=glamglare.com) and delivery bikers, while the well-off enjoy their entertainment systems at home. A group of people in Berlin wants to do [something about it](https://freude.bar/?ref=glamglare.com) with a bar, venue, and cultural hub called *Freude*, German for ‘joy.’ To avoid the constant pressure of rising rents, which crush many independent venues, they plan to buy a place through a crowdfunding campaign. We’ll definitely check it out the next time we’re in Berlin. Find more information on [their website](https://freude.bar/?ref=glamglare.com), which is entirely in English. ## Cover Song of the Week: Deep Sea Driver - Teardrop UK trip-hop legends Massive Attack released “Teardrop” in 1998, and it became one of their biggest hits. In the hands of Seattle indie rock band [**Deep Sea Diver**](https://glamglare.com/artist/deep-sea-diver?ref=glamglare.com), the song naturally takes on a different character. But this is more than merely a rock version of an electronic masterpiece: the band preserves the original’s complex atmosphere, while Jessica Dobson’s powerful vocals retain a touch of Elizabeth Fraser’s (Cocteau Twins) vulnerability. ## This Week in glamglare history ![Matt Elleray, VLURE, and Low Girl](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/Throwback-Oct-22.jpg) Matt Elleray, VLURE, and Low Girl ### 1 Year Ago: [Low Girl - White Gown](https://www.glamglare.com/music/low-girl-white-gown/) We wrote a year ago that this song is “brimming with nervous energy,” and listening again, I can confirm. “White Gown” was the last single from their debut album *Is It Too Late To Freak Out*. ### 5 Years Ago: [VLURE - Heartbeat](https://www.glamglare.com/music/song-pick-vlure-heartbeat/) The hard-hitting Glasgow indie electronic quintet VLURE planned a release in early 2022, but “Heartbeat” now appears on their 2025 album *Escalate*. They are playing a [show](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeRx%5FtjACsP/?hl=en&img%5Findex=1&ref=glamglare.com) in their hometown in November. ### 10 Years Ago: [Matt Elleray - Talk Baby](https://www.glamglare.com/music/song-pick-matt-elleray-talk-baby/) Matt Elleray removed all his music from the internet, so it seems there is no way to listen to “Talk Baby” anymore. Elke described it as “dark and sultry vocals over clear and bright guitar chords,” so set your imagination loose. ## Song Pick of the Day ![Detalji, MACEDO, King Mei Mei, GEISTE, iowna, Tusks, and MG x CD + JL =](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/Song-Picks-42-2016.jpg) Detalji, MACEDO, King Mei Mei, GEISTE, iowna, Tusks, and MG x CD + JL = *Listen to all seven songs on* [*YouTube*](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWnpLwhAeGrA&si=Y-Ab3ox8Ucl73tYD&ref=glamglare.com)*, or follow our daily updated Song Pick playlists on* [*YouTube*](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBZBrXEVQLhsRhhtmfJI7EZyhLZ-ANm4A&ref=glamglare.com)*,* [*Apple Music*](https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/glamglarepick/pl.u-255Bqh628qv?ref=glamglare.com)*, or* [*Spotify*](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1IcRfqHINV6sOlkeZwk7z7?si=3bba35638cd64801&ref=glamglare.com)*.* - [MACEDO - Do You Believe Me Now?](https://www.glamglare.com/music/macedo-do-you-believe-me-now/) - [GEISTE - Overflow](https://www.glamglare.com/music/geiste-overflow/) - [iowna - Somewhere Else](https://www.glamglare.com/music/iowna-somewhere-else/) - [Detalji - Drifting](https://www.glamglare.com/music/detalji-drifting/) - [King Mei Mei - Slow Strobe Light](https://www.glamglare.com/music/king-mei-mei-slow-strobe-light-video/) - [Tusks - How Can I Be the Same](https://www.glamglare.com/music/tusks-how-can-i-be-the-same/) - [MG x CD + JL = - Cross Whisper](https://www.glamglare.com/music/mg-x-cd-jl-cross-whisper/) We publish one Song Pick of the Day every day. You can [subscribe](https://www.glamglare.com/#/portal) to receive them by email. ## Nine Photos: A Birthday in Woodstock, Part 2 — Back to Opus 40 Some places are even better the second time around. We first visited [Opus 40](https://opus40.org/?ref=glamglare.com) in June 2021 and loved it, so during our birthday getaway to Woodstock, Oliver and I decided to return. And somehow, I loved it even more this time. Trading June’s green for the beginnings of autumn, we explored paths between beautifully layered stone walls, admired sculptures, and caught a glimpse inside Harvey Fite’s home and studio, still being restored. Fite spent 37 years transforming this abandoned bluestone quarry by hand, naming it for the forty years he thought it would take to complete. Imagining the patience and vision behind it all made me appreciate the place even more. Last week’s nine photos couldn’t hold everything I wanted to share from this birthday trip, so here comes part two: a starry Woodstock sky to begin with, followed by a place well worth returning to. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---2.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---3.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---4.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---5.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---6.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---7.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---8.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/18/0d/180d05b3-e8e5-483a-b156-c2596ebfc2ae/content/images/2026/10/10212026-birthday-in-woodstock---Opus-40---9.jpeg) Photos: Elke Nominikat