MUSIC

If you love both fashion and music from the ’90s, you probably know that one of the steamiest videos of that decade is “Wicked Game”. The video, shot in Hawaii and directed by Herb Ritts, features singer Chris Isaak and super model Helena Christensen spending time on the beach, rarely taking hands off each other. Compared to what we’re used to see now, the video is almost chaste but I guess there’s a reason why it’s still considered beautiful and sexy.

“Wicked Game” is a beautiful ballad about unrequited love. Isaak sings “what a wicked game you played to make me feel this way/what a wicked thing to do to let me dream of you”. The song is part of Isaak album “Heart Shaped World”, which wasn’t successful at all when it was released in 1989. Then, after David Lynch used an instrumental version for his 1990 film “Wild at Heart”, starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern, the song became a hit.

Few days ago I found a beautiful cover of “Wicked Game”, sung by London Grammar. It’s sweeter and, maybe, even more melancholic. If you watch “Peaky Blinders” you may know it as it’s been used in the trailer of season 4.

A beautiful song is timeless. “Wicked Game” is, for sure.

In case you haven’t seen the video with Isaak and Christensen, here it is. When music and super models were a perfect match.

“List of Demands (Reparations)” by The Kills is such a great song and I’m listening to it on repeat! It’s a cover of a 2008 song by Saul Williams but, since I’m a rock n’ roll girl, I obviously prefer this version.

I discovered The Kills years ago thanks to “True Blood”. I heard one of their songs, “Future Starts Slow”, in the trailer of an episode of the HBO series but I didn’t have Shazam so I searched for it googling the lyrics! And so I discovered this cool band formed by Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince.

Enjoy the song and  video, directed by Ben Strebel.

“Lost in Translation” is one of my favorite films. I love its soundtrack and “Just Like Honey”, by The Jesus And Mary Chain, always makes me think of the final scenes of the film, which always move me (that is to say always make me cry).

So, “Just Like Honey” is the song of the week. Just another great song from the ’80s (what a decade for music!).

Are Lana Del Rey and BØRNS a match made in music heaven? I think they are! The two singers recorded “God Save Our Young Blood” for BØRNS second album,”Blue Madonna”, which was released last January.

Unfortunately they didn’t make a video (yet?) for this song. I’m sure it would be great and they would look amazing, possibly both dressed in Gucci. The singer said that he always had Lana Del Rey in his mind when recording “God Save Our Young Blood”. For “Blue Madonna” BØRNS also collaborated with Del Rey’s sister, Caroline “Chuck” Grant, who shot all the photographs for the album. And then the collaboration with Lana happened, too.

The song is beautiful, so Lana Del Rey-esque, dreamy and kind of mesmerizing.

The song of the week is “Across The Universe”, one of my favorite songs by The Beatles, sung by Fiona Apple. I like her version even more than the Fab Four’s. It’s part of the soundtrack of “Pleasantville”, a 1998 film directed by Gary Ross with Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire.

You probably know that Stephen Hawking, “cosmologist, space traveller and hero” (as he’s described on his website) died three days ago. Obviously, socials mourned and celebrated him with some of his famous quotes. Who doesn’t like to remember somebody (and get likes) with some inspirational words?

Anyway, in 2008, on occasion of the 40th anniversary of “Across The Universe”, NASA beamed it into the galaxy. So, I thought that Hawking probably liked this beautiful song.

And among his beautiful words, some of my favorite ones are certainly less poetic than those about stars and universe, but for sure more practical. “People won’t have time for you if you’re always angry or complaining”. So true.

Enjoy this beautiful song performed by an amazing singer.

Wolf Alice recently released the video of another beautiful song from their second album, “Visions Of A Life”. “Sadboy”, like other songs of the English band, is a bit sad, a bit dark and sweet at the same time.

The video show one of the band’s night out at a party but then things go pretty creepy because front woman Ellie Roswell throws up a black liquid, ending up in a dark, Stranger Things-esque place where she cannot reach anymore people around her.

How cool is “Make Me Feel”, the new song of Janelle Monáe? It’s been love at first listen! The singer/actress will release her third album, “Dirty Computer”, on April 27. Meanwhile, we can listen to two singles, “Django Jane” and “Make Me Feel”.

The sound of “Make Me Feel”, with its funky rhythm and synth line, clearly reminds of Prince, which was involved in the making of the song. I love when Monáe sings “It’s like I’m powerful with a little bit of tender, an emotional sexual bender”. She even reminds of Prince in some dance movements.

The video was directed by Alan Ferguson and styled by Maeve Reilly. It’s pretty opulent and colorful (with a sequence of purple lighting). Obviously, Janelle Monáe sports some cool outfits and many designer pieces.

I particularly like the striped sequined jacket, but the pieces that probably steal the show are the Swarovski crystals veil by House of Emmanuele (Monáe also wears it on the cover of the album) and the see-through rose-embroidered Adam Selman jeans. I’m sure somebody loves The Lace by Tatyana crystal bralette, too. For those who can’t sport such statement pieces… colored tights are definitely back!

Kylie Minogue’s videos are always enjoyable and interesting to watch because Minogue has a great taste for clothes and accessories.

“Dancing” is the first single of her upcoming album “Golden”, which will be released on the 6th of April and it’s going to be her 14th studio album. In the video, directed by Sophie Muller, Kylie (and according to her fans there’s one and only Kylie) wears some beautiful, shimmering clothes and shoes. Her guitar, bought by Muller for £12 and then covered with tons of crystals is so shimmering, too!

Minogue dances a lot, in the video (of course!) channeling her inner Dolly Parton. The singer even recorded a part of “Golden” in the capital of country music, Nashville.

The meaning of “Dancing” is that “life is not always a bed of roses so we should enjoy the sparkling moments when we have them”. And if you’re dressed in such pretty clothes and shoes is even better.

If you regularly read this blog and listen to the songs I choose you may have realized that I like a lot of different genres. Sometimes I surprise myself but I read that listening to different musical genres is good for our brain, because each genre engages it in a different way. More or less, I’m not a scientist, but if you’re like me, good for us!

Last week’s song was a very beautiful love song while the song of this week is “Mine” by Bazzi, a relaxing love song (more or less) that I find so catchy and that the teenager that sometimes prevails in me likes so much!

Andrew Bazzi is an Lebanese American singer, musician and songwriter and I never heard about him before listening to “Mine”. Then I read he was the first musician to release a song on Vine, in 2015.

The video of “Mine”, directed by Benjamin Kutsko, reminds me a lot of “Pillow Talk” by Zayn for all the psychedelic special effects (like the flowers that spread from the girl’s body, just to make an example) and “Sign of the Time” by Harry Style for the way the singer fluctuates over Los Angeles. That could be enough, so I don’t get the video of the fertilization of an egg cell (I’ve always found the view quite annoying) because there’s already a lot of stuff going on in the video.

“Into My Arms” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is a beautiful love song. I listened for the first time months ago and I immediately liked it. This song was recorded in 1997 so it’s more than 20 years old and it aged so well! Or it’s better to say that it didn’t age, at all.

The video is pretty depressing so just listen to the song! Some consider it one of the most beautiful (and underrated) love songs, ever.