I went to school at the University of Illinois in Urbana.  My friends and I used to study at the local coffee shop called “Espresso Royale'” and back then it was open 24/7.  It was a serious coffee shop.  It was a professional coffee shop.  it was the mother of all coffee shops.  Oh, you need to pull an all nighters?  This coffee shop is where you went.

There weren’t any “grandes” or “ventis” at this coffee shop, only LARGE.  One would order a large coffee and pull and all nighter studying.  Or caffeinate yourself and stay up all night, not studying and just talking the night away with your friends. Or have several coffees and stay up all night at the cafe pretending to study while you and your friends stalk a guy in a local band who was actually studying.   I never did such a thing…well.  Maybe. Actually no.  I’ll never tell.  All I know is that I went to Espresso with a lot of good intentions and more often than not ended up over-caffeinated and giggly, and not studying as much as I should have.  Real studying only occurred in a couple all nighters before mid-terms. Oh hallow’d halls of high’r education, how i has’t did miss thee.  Did you know I took Shakespeare classes for fun?  True story.

Well, since those days coffee shops have held a special place in my heart. They are the meeting ground for like minds who want to get away and read or write or just zone out and browse the interwebs for hours. It’s good for people watching, and chatting or just looking at local art.  And guess what? Coffee shops, they are also very hygge. Oh yeah! You know it.  It’s Friday, we have to talk about how to get your weekly dose of hygge.  Because hygge = happiness and that cozy feeling all Danes know about and we here in the States are just learning.

In last week‘s episode, I explored the West Loop and the Allis. It’s basically a lounge on a stretch of block in Chicago’s west side that will remind you of New York’s SoHo neighborhood.  A little bit.  Maybe. Try squinting.

This week, we are going explore some college nostalgia in a coffee shop.  My all time favorite coffee shop in Chicago is Filter Cafe. Appropriately named. There is no mistaking their line of work. They serve coffee in a no non-sense kind of way that reminds me of the coffee shop of my youth in Urbana. The coolest thing about Filter is you get to sit on all of these really awesome retro couches and chairs.  I call it “grandma-chic”.  The only thing missing is the plastic covers.  I kid you not…the velvet vibe is strong here.

And so, I get my coffee and my book and sit down in one of these old sofas and perch my legs on the coffee table and read. And it feels like a big hug.  A big soft grandmotherly hug.

A little flashback to college again. My friends and I were very much into the local music scene at the time in Urbana.  We listened to bands like Hum, Steakdaddy Six,  Jumpknuckle, Mother and Tiny.  I might have also had a crush on the guy from Jumpknuckle, but I never stalked him in a cafe.  Maybe.  Actually no.  I’ll never tell.

Anyway, the only place to get music back then, was at the record store.  This was the cassette tape and CDs era boys and girls.  The last stop before iPods took over our lives. So that’s where we got our music and created mix tapes. Remember mix tapes? I am so digging into my mom’s basement this weekend to find my mix tapes. But I have to find a cassette player first.  Do they even make cassette players anymore?

So the reason I bring this up is because two doors down from my favorite coffee shop in all of Chicagoland, is something else that reminds me of college. A record store! Reckless Records. Now this place has real records, vinyl, you know, the stuff we had before the age of cassette tapes. I am all into analog music now.  There’s just something special about listening to vinyl. It’s warmer, more intense and forces you to listen to the whole album. Do you know how many gems are lost these days because your iPhone allows you to buy only the “hits” if you want?  So much art is lost, never to be heard. Don’t do it guys. Someone worked hard on these songs, they should be enjoyed in their entirety, like a good book, even the B-side. Okay, off my soap box now. I will dedicate a different post to vinyl another day.

Anyway, records stores: good browsing here.  Look at those posters up there.  ^^  A 1981 poster of Prince, next to one of Hüsker Dü.  You just never know what you will find.  Maybe some Ella Fitzgerald or some Talking Heads.  Or an old copy of REO Speedwagon.  Did you know REO Speedwagon is from Champaign-Urbana? Yes!  It’s true, the I’m Gonna Keep on Lovin’ You guys are from the Midwest.  Sometimes, I get lucky and find a rare or oddball copy of a Greek album and I feel it is my duty (as a Greek girl) to save it from oblivion.  I once found this crazy copy of Mikis Theodorakis at the record store and wondered how it came to pass, that this obscure album found itself here in a Wicker Park record store.

So, this week, why don’t you go to your local coffee shop and cozy up In a soft chair with a good book drink too much coffee.  And then, find an old record shop, buy and album and play it at home and really listen to it all night with your friends, because, well, too much coffee.  Listen to the music, the words, and the story this artist wants to tell.  It’s musical hygge for your ears.

Enjoy.

-Kallie

P.S.  Do you have a  favorite coffee shop?  Tell me.  What’s your favorite album?  I wanna know!!!