"I've Learned That (Jonathan Kaspar Remix)" by Dino Lenny

This amazing song, "I've Learned That" by Dino Lenny checks all the boxes for me. Dance beat? Check. Otherworldly electronics? Check. A dark melodic sense? Check. Profound lyrics? Check. And the musical build to that buzzy, hallucinatory center section, driving in dangerous rain (we are all fragile), is incredible. This remix features a truncated version of the lyrics but the tighter narrative works very well and makes the sense of the song more immediate.

Thanks, Dino!

Lenny says:
“My daughter Victoria is seven years old. Since she was born, I always felt I had to make sure she knew about me straight away. You never know how much time you have. At first, I was going to write a diary with all my thoughts and stuff like that. But if she’s a little bit like me, she’d probably pick up the book a few times and leave it there. So I decided to transform my thoughts for her into songs. ‘I’ve Learned That’ is one of those.”

Now all this stuff’s happening to me
What is the point now of doing something proper if you can’t live it
Was it lesson to learn
I haven’t learned anything here or maybe I have learned something maybe I knew already
I’ve learned that life is too short
I’ve learned that I’m fragile
I learned that...I learned that
I want to live every moment of my life now
I’ve learned that...I need balance
I’ve learned that everything matters—EVERYTHING matters
I’ve learned that

It’s raining it’s pouring I’m riding the road that leads down to my house

It's raining I'm sorry I’ve decided to ride on my own to my house

I don’t want to waste time I don’t want to waste time with time wasters
I want real stuff
It has to be real now
I’ve learned that
I still want to laugh, I wanna have fun
Laughing is serious, it’s a serious thing
I wanna leave something behind, I wanna leave something behind
I think I deserve it

Dino Lenny by Simona Tortolano

http://www.dinolenny.com/

Currently listening to...

...the luscious "dark disco" sound of "Blind" by Hercules and Love Affair with vocals by Antony Hegarty. It popped up on my playlist a few hours ago and I have had it on repeat for a while now...

As a child I knew
that the stars could only get brighter
then we would get closer
get closer
mmm mmm

As a child I knew
that the stars could only get brighter
then we could get closer
leaving this darkness
behind

Now that I'm older
the stars shed light upon my face
but when I found myself alone
find myself alone

Now that I'm older
the stars shed light upon my face
but when I found myself alone
I feel like I, I am blind

Feeling
Feeling
Feeling
Feeling
like I am blind

I wish the stars could shine now
For they are closer, they are near
But they will not present my presence
they will not present my presence

I wish the light could shine now
For it is closer, it is near
But it will not present my presence
And it makes my past and future painfully clear

To hear you now
To see you now
I can look outside myself
I must examine my breath
I look inside
ooooh

To hear you now
To see you now
I can look outside myself
I must examine my breath
and look inside
Because I feel blind
Because I feel blind

Feeling
Feeling
Feeling
Feeling
like I am blind

http://herculesandloveaffair.com/

"White Light" by George Michael

After his harrowing health ordeal and coma last year, George Michael has recorded a song seemingly about close calls, randomness, life, death, and fate. Kate Moss plays Lady Luck in the video. She tosses a coin to see if you will live or die... powerful image. And the music is equally as powerful. I like how Michael's music over the years has gotten more complex and darker (listen to "Cars and Trains" about suicide, or "Precious Box" about the isolation of modern culture, both from his album "Patience") while still retaining its dance-music usefulness.

http://www.georgemichael.com/

Currently listening to...

...a fantastic remix of the heartbreaking "Shoegazer Disco" by Morel, from his most recent release The Death Of The Paperboy. Listen to his monologue...really understand his words...and try not to cry.

I've loved Rich Morel's music for nearly a decade now, ever since I heard his awesome dance track "Funny Car" on a cable music station. His literary music is a thrilling fusion of dance and rock tinged with a bittersweet melancholy and an introspection which strikes my heart just right. His sensibility resonates with me. He is a storyteller, lovingly chronicling the lives, loves and losses of those on the fringe, those who don't fit in, those who are marginalized... and himself. His stories carry an import similar to the writing of Edmund White.

Video by Rich's husband Nick Lopata.

http://www.morelworld.com/