8. FranciscoMusic Business
This is on my list because the older you get, the more difficult it gets to find things that throw you for a loop. It’s the same with friends: I’m 53, and you don’t really get new friends that often. With music, things don’t come along that often that enter into your hall of fame. I can’t tell you how much I love this record by Francisco, which came out in 2005. It’s something I like to listen to while driving. I listened to it in a rental car driving around the Dolomites in northern Italy, and it was such a cool juxtaposition of the beauty that’s been there since time immemorial and these Italo disco bangers.
Francisco roams around Rome with his posse, DJing until the early morning, partying away, and he absolutely loves it, from what I can tell. I was supposed to meet him once but he never showed up because he was out with his posse. He’s that kind of dude. I’d love to meet him but I’m also perfectly happy letting him exist out there with his posse, painting the town red in Rome. It’s mysterious and sexy, I suppose. But fuck I love this record. And I love introducing it to people because they’re usually delighted by it. It’s one of my secret weapons. It’s a record that made its way into my heart late in life, and it’s difficult to do that, so that’s why it’s here.
