Whiskey & Bananas Presents: “Dancing in the Dark,” A Playlist by Ron Lazzeretti
Featuring Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, T-Bone Burnett, Anderson .Paak, Jodi Walker, & more
We asked our friend Ron Lazzeretti, writer, director, musician and ad man, to curate this month’s playlist, presented by “Whiskey & Bananas.”
To introduce Ron, his work has been hailed by the likes of The New York Times, Creativity Magazine, The Clios, the Emmys, and Cannes, and he’s been writing and directing commercials since McDonald’s hamburgers cost a nickel. He currently owns and operates Hog Butcher, an unorthodox creative SWAT team of content creators made up of writers, comics and improv artists from storied Chicago stages including Second City, IO and The Annoyance Theater.
We’re excited to feature his selections for this month’s playlist “Dancing in the Dark,” which was the result of some existential, birthday-related reflection, as he explains below:
When OKRP asked me to do this, they said, “Don’t think too hard about it. Just do whatever comes to mind.” Instead of a well-crafted, jaunty summer mix, I ended up with a reflection on aging, yearning, and life in a world gone mad. I attribute this to the fact that:
A. I just had a birthday recently.
B. Morose has been my default setting lately.
C. The world HAS gone mad.
So, here you go. With my apologies. And my assurance that, while it’s no giddy summer romp, this semi-dark but occasionally danceable playlist that I deliver to you now (sort of like the way Mia Farrow delivered Rosemary’s baby) is not without hope. In fact, the back end seems to be loaded with it. Not sure how it got there.
Life is a mystery.
Join us now on Ron’s eclectic journey of existential self-examination, featuring some visual aids and insight to his selections, many of which were inspired by the folk music scenes outside of Chicago.
Almost Like The Blues — Leonard Cohen
There’s not much Leonard Cohen music that I don’t like, but I like his last few records best of all. It’s like when his life was nearing its end, he collected all the wisdom he’d gathered and put it all together for an awe-inspiring grand finale.
In A Parade — Paul Simon
I took a trip to the emergency room last year. Everything turned out fine, but the insanity of that scene…the vulnerability. I love Paul Simon because, like Cohen, he writes from the perspective of where he is in life. There’s nothing sadder than an artist trying desperately to still be what they no longer are. Not just because it’s pathetic. But because it prevents them from becoming that next thing. And no one seems to know that better than Paul Simon. Or the guy coming up next…
Things Have Changed — Bob Dylan
I share a birthday with Bob Dylan. So every year on my birthday, I listen to all Dylan, all day. Which is why I guess it’s natural that I think of him when I reflect on age and where I am in my life.
“People are crazy and times are strange
I’m locked in tight, I’m out of range
I used to care, but things have changed.”
Lonely Ride — Jodi Walker
This track comes from Chicago singer-songwriter Jodi Walker. It’s from her record “Broken Bubble.” I love the fact that a track titled “(It’s A) Lonely Ride” plays like a sing-along.
A Little Tattoo — Ron Lazzeretti & Naomi Ashley
OKRP suggested I include a song of mine, which honestly, felt weird. Until I thought of one that featured singer-songwriter Naomi Ashley. Her last two records, “Another Year Or So” and “Trying To Fly” are particularly wonderful. I wrote this for her and we ultimately recorded it as a duet. It’s a song about an aching yearning, a sign, and the haunting feeling that you’re on the wrong track.
It’s Not Too Late — T-Bone Burnett
Here comes some of that hope I promised. Virtually every aspect of this T-Bone Burnett gem speaks to an unmistakable air of darkness, degradation and decay. But that title, that refrain tells us that, formidable as our plight may be, it ain’t over yet.
The Boat Song (We’re Getting Loaded) — Ike Reilly Assassination
Libertyville, Illinois’ own Ike Reilly is one of my favorite writers and performers. I co-created a web series called The Graveyard Show and all the music in that series is Ike’s. Like Dylan, his songs all seem oddly topical. They seem that way because they’re timeless.
“In these trying times you don’t know what you need
You don’t know what you want, you don’t know what to leave
You don’t know what to take, you don’t know what to believe”
Down To The Bottom — Brian Anderson
Like Jodi Walker and Naomi Ashley, I met Brian out of the legendary roadhouse, Fitzgerald’s, in Berwyn, Illinois. There’s a wonderful music community in and around that strip of Roosevelt Road that some call The Veltway. Brian is one of my heroes from that crowd and this song about where to find the truth is one of his best.
Love Resplendent — Jenny Bienemann
Yet another artist from that scene. Jenny just released a record called “Every Soul Grows To The Light.” Absolutely beautiful. And this song about the redemptive power of love is sweet and reassuring without being saccharine and naïve.
Celebrate — Anderson .Paak
My favorite part of this wonderful, Sly and the Family Stone-style pick-me-up is when a troublesome reminder of the past is recalled, threatening to run the song’s good feelings off the rails. Until another voice interrupts, saving the day with, “Let it go, let it go, let it go.” Which is my new mantra.
