5 Things Your Commute Needs: New Music, a New Book to Make You Creative + More

1. Wedding Season Is Coming: Yep, wedding season is rapidly approaching, and BuzzFeed perfectly captured all our fears. While it’s fun to poke at the dread of receiving the endless invites and spending too much money on gifts, we can’t deny we love a good reason to party. So after relieving all the anxious feels from this “trailer,” bookmark our wedding tag to be fully prepared for any ceremony that comes your way.

2. StartUp Podcast (Available on SoundCloud, iTunes + Stitcher): This podcast, hosted by Alex Blumberg of “This American Life” + “Planet Money” is described as “A series about what happens when someone who knows nothing about business starts one.” If you think this is a hypothetical series, think again. After years of reporting on other people’s businesses, Alex decided to start his own — Gimlet Media — and this podcast follows the process of that life-changing choice. Each episode continues the journey of a man transforming into a businessman with stories happening in real time (well, at the time of recording). From disastrous pitches to difficult conversations with his wife and tense negotiations with his co-founder, this honest and transparent account is something that is quite the listen, as entertainment or study. Sidenote: If you’re into this podcast, try the media channel’s other show Reply All, which is all about the Internet.

3. Rithm (Free on iOS + Android, $3.99/month for service): Streaming music is fun, but what if you could enjoy your tunes with your friends rather than having a solo dance party? That’s the question this new music player + social messaging app is answering. Users are able to jam to the millions of tracks available on Rithm’s library while also sharing their favorite songs with friends using the app’s integrated messaging feature. If you think easy music shares would be the best part of this app, think again, because there are emoji! Send your friends dancing emoji or artist-inspired emoji to turn the party all the way up. Spotify (and all you other streaming competitors) watch your back for this newbie.

4. The Crossroad of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna (Available on IndieBound, Amazon, Barnes + Noble + iBooks): Add this blog post-turned-hardcover — out Wednesday — to your April reading list. The book answers the question “How can I find and follow my true calling?” through page-turning visuals. Throughout the book you will be taken from a moment where you discover your “Must” to actually doing something about it with the help of techniques that will reconnect you with your inner voice, confront your common fears and more. Through colorful, creative and vibrant images, you will be fully engaged and invested in this one your entire commute, morning and evening. (Photo via @ryanfitzgibbon)

5. Every Noise at Once Map: This interactive site allows you to play with and hear more than 1,200 genres of music without ever leaving the page. At first play, the scattered names may not make a lot of sense, but developer Glenn McDonald of The Echo Nest told CNET there actually is a purpose for each placement. “Down is more organic, up is more mechanical and electric; left is denser and more atmospheric, right is spikier and bouncier.” So get your 30-second discovery listen on — hover over a genre to get artist info so you can hop over to Spotify for the full tune — to power through your commute while simultaneously getting a music history lesson.

What are you using to get you through this week? Let us know in the comments.