I’ve got a good feeling that if Nick Di Paolo ever catches wind of this, if he knows how to navigate an RSS feed, that he’s not going to understand what’s going on here. I barely understand myself.
A decade ago, the odds of Larry Gus, a Grecian electronic producer, having knowledge of Nick Di Paolo the comedian and actor fall under the “not likely” category within the Magic 8 Ball. Even with Di Paolo’s minor role in The Sopranos. Part of me still doesn’t understand how Larry Gus had enough Di Paolo knowledge to curate a mix inspired by such a detailed idea of the comedian, specifically of an era before he achieved celebrity. And yet, here we are.
Larry Gus is not exactly Greece’s Yakov Smirnov or Andy Kaufman, but his fans are accustomed to wry humor tucked within the music and sometimes standing in stark contrast to it. Is the “Nick Di Paolo Mix” his way of expressing admiration for the comedian? I’m not certain. There’s little logic in Gus’ curation. I remain baffled as to how the Brazilian jazz of Elis Regina and the experimental explorations of Andrew Pekler relate to the life of Nick Di Paolo. But, I’m not opposed to it.
Larry Gus offered the following insight into his inspiration:
“Well, I named it ‘Nick Di Paolo’, and I had this specific image of Nick Di Paolo in my mind, where he is young and handsome, right before his college years, and he swimming in the calm sea, right next to a huge, gigantic mountain, and after 5 hours of swimming it starts getting dark, and while he emerges from the waters, he slowly transforms into a very healthy vagina.”
Larry Gus’ I Need New Eyes LP is out now on DFA Records. Stream the LP in full here.
“Nick Di Paolo Mix” tracklisting:
Arif Mardin, “Flight” (Atlantic, 1974)
Peter Gordon, “Diamond Lane” (CBS, 1986)
Hiroshima, “One Wish” (Epic, 1985)
Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls” (excerpt) (ECM, 1981)
Elis Regina, “Bala Com Bala” (Philips, 1972)
Gilberto Gil, “Expresso 2222” (Philips, 1972)
Andrew Pekler, “Prepaid Piano 1” (Senufo Editions / Entr’acte, 2014)
Jon Hassel, “Courage” (Editions EG, 1981)
Flying Saucer Attack, “All About Dreams” (Ptolemaic Terrascope, 1994 / Weltraum, 2012)
Andrew Pekler, “Replayed 4” (Senufo Editions / Entr’acte, 2014)
στέλιος καζαντζίδης / μαρινέλλα, “το πέλαγο είναι βαθύ” (His Master’s Voice, 1961)
