«Focus» (A Spotify Playlist)Â
Focusâa sense of grounding through a sea of emotions. Click HERE to listen.
This playlist, which Iâve been working on since mid-February, is apropos for the recent lunar eclipse on the full moon in Capricorn. It starts with âTeclista TelequinĂ©ticoâ by Astrud, a testament to reality responding to the mind as a reflection: Pienso que estĂĄis bailando (âI think you are dancingâ).Â
The psyche is like a computer hard drive which generates reality, and so we have âComputer Sourireâ 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 Lagerfeldâs last Chanel resort show, complemented his vision shortly before passing and denote a reliance on the senses for pleasure.Â
This reverie leads to âUseless Informationâ by Chris and Cosey, preparing the ears for a segment of four protest-disco songs. The first, âHDA (Historia del arte)â by Las Biftecs, sends up the male-dominated history of art, with a mention of Cecilia GimĂ©nez, the restorer of Ecce Homo in Borja, Spain, planting a pino, which could be a turd or pine coneâsymbol of the pineal glandâwithin the narrative. Pet Shop Boys do an assessment of the superficiality and anonymous emotions dispensed âOn Social Mediaâ. Madonna delivers her perhaps best-ever production on âGod Controlâ, with sobering lyrics on the state of gun-law affairs over Mirwais disco delirium. ABBA shows theyâve been doing it since the ice age with their wry social commentary âOn and On and On,â complete with vocoderized vocals light years ahead of their time.Â
The conflicted lyrics of these four numbers hover somewhere between pithy observation and outrĂ© humor. As a child, I never paid attention to the lyrics of songs. Iâve 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.Â
Long versions of both the glorious Fun Boy Three and Bananarama collaboration âReally Saying Somethingâ and Cristinaâs sardonic cover of âDrive My Carâ precede the LP version of Blondieâs âRaptureââwhich I love with its offhanded sax solo perfectly complementing Debbieâs sublime rapâand Gino Soccioâs delirious âI Wanna Take You There (Now)â concluding the set.
On the cover photo, I am wearing a vintage Uniqlo âWeapons of Mass Creationâ 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.
