OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With Italian Sleazemeister Daniele Luppi!

Welcome, fellow music hors, to another edition of Manor Music Monday. Today's entry is 'specially dipped in sleaze - and before you say, "Ah, so a regular Monday," I'd like to point out that this time it's Italian sleaze. Intrigued? I know you are, so hop by the Manor's exclusive "Minchia Mouthful Lounge" tonight, where DJ Li'l Scratch will be spinning tunes by an early-aughts maestro who'll be there in person. You'll want to show up, I swear. 

Who, you ask? Let's put it this way. Very few men can get away with a porn-stache, but voila! Or rather, ecco! Italian composer Daniele Luppi wears it well. Bell'uomo! Or as Hotmami Silver-Flint said when I first posted his picture last Friday, "He looks like he'd fuck you and leave you before the cum dries. So, yes, would."

There's something swingin', yet smarmy, about Luppi's picture, and the same might be said of his music (I mean this as a compliment!). In "Italian Story," which put him on the map in the early 2000s, he mixes and matches a little Ennio Morricone here, a dollop of Pino Donaggio there, plus a touch of retro Italian porno music, after which he shellacs it all with a glossy electro sheen. So-o-o yummy.

Every time I listen to it, it reminds of New York City in 1981. The smuttiness from the 70s was just beginning to rot. 42nd Street was rife with prostitutes of every variation, most of whom were more undressed than dressed; drug dealers were pushing eight balls, smack and three joints in sandwich bags; crumbling peep shows and Triple-X venues were showing the latest from Marilyn Chambers and Seka; plus countless ratty wig shops offered their very best for discriminating drag queens. In other words, it felt like home.

"Italian Story" brings it all back, especially 42nd in the morning, when bleary-eyed prostitutes mingled for a few precious hours with rush hour travelers walking very quickly past the squalor to get to work. For many, it seemed, this was the only time during the day in which "the other half" mixed with "the better half," creating a charged atmosphere that was both tense and amusing. Or as Luppi puts it musically: 

If you'd like to hear more of "Italian Story," go HERE.

Talent doesn't stay hidden long. After "The Italian Story," everyone was clamoring to work with Luppi, including the film industry, which wanted to add his swagger to their soundtracks, and musicians and groups like Danger Mouse, Jack White and Norah Jones, all of whom contribute to "Rome," an equally lively bit of raunch and moody glamour. Really, you can't go wrong.

Want to hear more "Rome?" Go HERE.

What are you listening to this week? DJ Li'l Scratch wants to know.
Till next time...purr, bitches, purr! 🐾

Photo Credits: Rhino Records, Getty Images