Ā«FocusĀ» (A Spotify Playlist)Ā
Focusāa sense of grounding through a sea of emotions. Click HERE to listen.
This playlist, which Iāve been working on since mid-February, is apropos for the recent lunar eclipse on the full moon in Capricorn. It starts with āTeclista TelequinĆ©ticoā by Astrud, a testament to reality responding to the mind as a reflection: Pienso que estĆ”is bailando (āI think you are dancingā).Ā
The psyche is like a computer hard drive which generates reality, and so we have āComputer Sourireā for good measure...dynamic technopop from Italian electronic wunderkind Alexander Robotnick. The next two tracks, by Niagara and Glass Tiger, taken directly from the playlist of Karl Lagerfeldās last Chanel resort show, complemented his vision shortly before passing and denote a reliance on the senses for pleasure.Ā
This reverie leads to āUseless Informationā by Chris and Cosey, preparing the ears for a segment of four protest-disco songs. The first, āHDA (Historia del arte)ā by Las Biftecs, sends up the male-dominated history of art, with a mention of Cecilia GimĆ©nez, the restorer of Ecce Homo in Borja, Spain, planting a pino, which could be a turd or pine coneāsymbol of the pineal glandāwithin the narrative. Pet Shop Boys do an assessment of the superficiality and anonymous emotions dispensed āOn Social Mediaā. Madonna delivers her perhaps best-ever production on āGod Controlā, with sobering lyrics on the state of gun-law affairs over Mirwais disco delirium. ABBA shows theyāve been doing it since the ice age with their wry social commentary āOn and On and On,ā complete with vocoderized vocals light years ahead of their time.Ā
The conflicted lyrics of these four numbers hover somewhere between pithy observation and outrĆ© humor. As a child, I never paid attention to the lyrics of songs. Iāve always been more interested in melody and sonic texture. There is plenty of that here to keep the focus on wellness, while the lyrics express their point of view.Ā
Long versions of both the glorious Fun Boy Three and Bananarama collaboration āReally Saying Somethingā and Cristinaās sardonic cover of āDrive My Carā precede the LP version of Blondieās āRaptureāāwhich I love with its offhanded sax solo perfectly complementing Debbieās sublime rapāand Gino Soccioās delirious āI Wanna Take You There (Now)ā concluding the set.
On the cover photo, I am wearing a vintage Uniqlo āWeapons of Mass Creationā tee, vintage Forenza bandanna, Sabine Be frames, and a Polaroid Big Shot camera, the same one Andy used for taking portraits in preparing his silkscreens.
