Here is a little piano cover of "Pretty When You Cry" by Lana Del Rey, one of my favorite Ultraviolence-era songs. Be sure to subscribe if you want more! I'm going to try to deliver one of these per week! ~~!!&&$#@~

Pretty When You Cry (Lana Del Rey Cover)

Thank you to the fine folks at Homoground for the premiere.

"Dancin' Thru the City" by Johnny Darlin
Produced by Sefi Carmel
Additional mixing by Francis Steakknife

Dedicated to the celebration of pride during particularly scary times. 
Photo art of myself and my best friend Noble at our 5th grade dance. This song is a love letter to our younger selves. And for every queer kid out there who wants to give up. Do not do this.

LYRICS:
Your stepmom drives you to school, but you’ve got nothing to talk about,
So you hop on the bus, now you’ve got something to complain about.
They call you a faggot every day, a word you can’t defend,
You’d try to tell them it’s not your way, but your voice just does you in.

Give it some time, boy, you will see,
This is not the end.
Give it a year, or maybe five,
It won’t be more than ten.

Til you’re dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker,
Just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker.
Your granny, she may not approve,
It don’t mean you don’t love her,
You’re just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker.

Little girl, would you prefer a different pronoun?
Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother now.
The restroom mirror in your church,
Shows the monster your preacher’s been preachin’ bout,
But look even harder and you will find,
Such a Noble man tryna come out.

Just give it some time boy, you will see,
This is not the end.
You’ll get a new birthday you’ll share with me,
You’ll start over again.

Dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker,
You’re just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker.
Your auntie, she may scoff at you,
But you just see her in the summer,
Cause you’re dancing through the city like a

Breakdown

And when all this time alone feels like a waste,
You may be free, but your bed has one big empty space,
I hear that’s when you know,
That you’ve gotten to know yourself.
You’ll put yourself out there,
You’ll put yourself out there,
(It’ll be scary but) you’ll put yourself out there,
(It’ll be hard but) you can put yourself out there,
You’ll put yourself out there -

You’ll be dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’ll be dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’ll look in their eyes and you will find it was worth the while,
Cause you're dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’re dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker,
You’re dancing through the city with a -
And you dance, and you dance, and you dance...

Dancin' Thru The City

Happy birthday, Olly! We love you!

"Olly Alexander" by Johnny Darlin & Gandor Chorale

A little diddy about my #1 celebrity crush. Thank you to my favorite band Gandor Chorale for bringing this song to life with me :)

Like what you hear? Thank you! Consider donating (or coming!) to "Johnny Darlin: In the Closet" which opens in the New York Fringe Festival on August 14, 2016. Learn more about it here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/206740…k-fringe-festiv

LYRICS: 

I wanna marry 
Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! 
Nobody better, 
Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander!

You tell me it’s a fantasy,
You say he’ll never look at me;
But he’s already liked a picture on my Instagram. 
(Not to mention -)

In the middle of the night he comes to me in my wildest dreams, 
Reveals to me years and years its seemed 
Life was going nowhere are history 
Cause the air, it shifts, when we’re together
Olly Alexander 
And Me.

I wanna marry 
Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander!
I wanna marry 
Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander!
Monogamy’s a stranger, 
Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! 
But not forever 
(or with) Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander! Olly Alexander!

You tell me that he’s awful busy, 
Got no time for a guy like me,
But he already liked a picture on my Instagram
(And don’t forget that - )

In the middle of the night he comforts me, makes me feel pretty
We speak only complex poetry
And our love surrounds us, somehow tangibly 
While the earth’s core cools when we’re together 
Olly Alexander

He comes to me in my wildest dreams,
I get on one knee,  look up at my King,
Propose sweet nothings  I’ve been told may mean, 
"Can I be with you, my dear, forever,
Olly Alexander"?

In the middle of the night we drive away, 
“Don’t look back,” he’ll say,
He loves me so,  we're never letting go;
Dreams accelerate, yet all of time stands still,
Cause it’s “Clockstoppers” when we’re together 
Olly Alexander 
And me
<3

OLlY aLEXanDeR (ft. Gandor Chorale)

"Boy Loves Me So Much"
written by Johnny Darlin
produced by Idan Altman & Johnny Darlin
mixed & mastered by Idan Altman

Boy loves me so much he turned off his phone
Boy loves me so much he left me alone
Boy loves me so much he got overwhelmed 
Boy loves me so much, he couldn’t be found 

Boy loves me so much (Sha la la la la la, look at me)
He loves me so much! (Sha la la la, happy as can be)
Boy loves me so much (Sha la la la la la, finally free)
He loves me so much (Now that I got a boy in love with me!)

Boy loves me so much, he promised his soul
Boy loves me so much, I’m not letting go
Boy loves me so much, he just disappeared
Boy loves me so much, I dried all my tears

Boy loves me so much (Sha la la la la la, on my knees)
Boy loves me so much (Stop making this so very hard for me)
Boy loves me so much (I want my baby in bed with me)
Boy loves me so much (His whereabouts are a mystery)

Sha la la la la la, on my knees
Stop making this so very hard for me
I want my baby in bed with me
His whereabouts are a mystery

Boy loves me so much, it just isn't fair
Boy loves me so much that he's unaware.

Boy Loves Me So Much

"Way With Words" written, performed, and piano by Johnny Darlin
produced, mixed, and mastered by Idan Altman

	
You’ve got a way with words, my darling. 
You’ve got a way with words and me. 
You’ve got a way with words, my darling. 
No one competes with your vocabulary. 
When the sun rises, you greet me good morning 
And you tell me bout all your crazy dreams. 
And as it sets, you tell me about your day at the office. 
And not one single detail bores me. 

But in the silence, in the quiet, your eyes turn a shade of mean. 
And your lips keeps talking to someone, but your eyes are talking to me. 

You don’t have to say a word, baby, cause I know that you’ve been down 
You don’t have to say a word, my darling cause for now I’ll be around 
Born to ignite and light on fire conversation 
You impress every new soul you meet 
Raised to recite your monologues with perfect dictation – 
You’re so quick … to think on your feet. 

But after your curtain call, no rehearsal tomorrow – 
Can we just breathe while we sway to the beat? 
My disco ball spinning, tiny mirrors reflecting our feelings - 
On a room full of just you and me? 

You don’t have to say a word, baby, cause I know that you’ve been down 
You don’t have to say a word, my darling, cause for now I’ll be around 
This bed was made for two, this bed was made for you 
So slide in silently…

Way With Words

"You Did a Number on Me" written, performed, and piano by Johnny Darlin
produced, mixed, and mastered by Idan Altman

You did a number on me, you did a number on me 
I gotta be seen to be believed, cause you did a number on me. 
Mama’s Sunday School is praying for me; she hasn't heard from me in weeks. 

Friends try to take me out for a drink, but my dark room's become sanctuary; 
Cause you used to be here too, I used to be with you. 
And no matter how dark the room, my heart would shine for two. 

You’re right, I’ll be fine. 
In my next life, I’ll be fine. 
But for this time, I’m just slowing dying 
Til my time finally comes, 
Cause you were my number one. 

You did a number on me, you did a number on me 
I wear your pajamas in the street, put out your cigarettes in my sheets
This feels like my end. Please God, let this be the end. 

You’re always right, I’ll be fine 
In my next life, maybe I’ll be fine. 
But for this time, I’ll be slowing dying 
Til my time finally comes 
Cause you are my only one.

You Did a Number on Me

"Pincha's Outro I (We Out)" written, produced, and performed by (the anonymous and mysterious) Pincha Jones. To sample more of Pincha's work, check out their interlude on Johnny Darlin's EPs "Hump Daze" and "Mr. Monogamy."

Pincha's Outro I (We Out)

One of those instances where a demo is actually way better than the final product. There's a fully produced version of "Dancin'" you can get from the Hump Daze EP, but as the years have gone by, the distance between my intentions with this song and that version of it has grown. I've only ever performed it live as a piano number, as that is how it feels the most natural - me and that baby grand at the Bowery Poetry Club, to be specific! And so, for this reissue, I went looking for the demo that started it all - and I found it! So here is the demo of Dancin' Thru The City - an it-gets-better anthem I hope has moved at least one person not to give up.

Your stepmom drives you to school, but you’ve got nothing to talk about, 
So you hop on the bus, now you’ve got something to complain about.
They call you a faggot every day, a word you can’t defend, 
You’d try to tell them it’s not your way, but your voice just does you in.

Give it some time, boy, you will see, 
This is not the end. 
Give it a year, or maybe five, 
It won’t be more than ten. 

Til you’re dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker, 
Just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker. 
Your granny, she may not approve, 
It don’t mean you don’t love her, 
You’re just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker. 

Little girl, would you prefer a different pronoun? 
Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother now. 
The restroom mirror in your church, 
Shows the monster your preacher’s been preachin’ bout, 
But look even harder and you will find, 
Such a Noble man tryna come out. 

Just give it some time boy, you will see, 
This is not the end. 
You’ll get a new birthday you’ll share with me, 
You’ll start over again. 

Dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker, 
You’re just dancing through the city like a big-time motherfucker. 
Your auntie, she may scoff at you, 
But you just see her in the summer, 
Cause you’re dancing through the city like a 

Breakdown 

And when all this time alone feels like a waste, 
You may be free, but your bed has one big empty space, 
I hear that’s when you know, 
That you’ve gotten to know yourself. 
You’ll put yourself out there, 
You’ll put yourself out there, 
(It’ll be scary but) you’ll put yourself out there, 
(It’ll be hard but) you can put yourself out there, 
You’ll put yourself out there - 

You’ll be dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker, 
You’ll be dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker, 
You’ll look in their eyes and you will find it was worth the while, 
Cause you're dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker, 
You’re dancing through the city with a big-time motherfucker, 
You’re dancing through the city with a - 
And you dance, and you dance, and you dance...

Dancin' Thru the City (Demo)

The 2019 Music Video cut of "Way With Words." 
Check out the music video: http://youtu.be/DCICE5NdFw8

And listen here, on Spotify, or Apple Music!

You’ve got a way with words, my darling. 
You’ve got a way with words and me. 
You’ve got a way with words, my darling. 
No one competes with your vocabulary. 

But in the silence, in the quiet, your eyes turn a shade of mean. 
And your lips keeps talking to someone, but your eyes are talking to me. 

You don’t have to say a word, baby, cause I know that you’ve been down 
You don’t have to say a word, my darling cause for now I’ll be around 

When the sun rises, you greet me good morning 
And you tell me bout all your crazy dreams. 
And as it sets, you tell me about your day at the office. 
And not one single detail bores me. 

But after your curtain call, no rehearsal tomorrow – 
Can we just breathe while we sway to the beat? 

You don’t have to say a word, baby, cause I know that you’ve been down 
You don’t have to say a word, my darling, cause for now I’ll be around

Johnny Darlin

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