Le Bain

Love Unlimited: Queen Nadine

Our resident DJ, Queen Nadine, tells us about the records she shares with the love of her life, her dog Roi, before she plays Saturday at sunset in Le Bain's skyline.

"I love nothing more than Roi…and then records."

"I found Roi when he was six weeks old in Lombok, Indonesia. The country is one of the most ecologically diverse in the world, being made up of 13,466 islands, only about 6,000 of which are inhabited by humans. Growing up in New York, you tend to forget the importance of nature. As a child, I hated grass and silence, though I always loved all creatures. Thank goodness I visited that archipelago or else goD* knows whom I would be today (without love, that’s for sure)."

"I Will Follow Him" 
by Peggy March 
"A dog’s instincts, especially a wild dog’s, are with only nature in mind. Each and every day, all I want to do is explore with my sweet, sweet love and let him lead me through trails of dirt and into fields of flowers where his nose guides us to an injured pigeon or a squirrel who’s willing to participate in his games, or more recently, discovering the Harlem deer in our backyard of Jackie Robinson Park (RIP). Luckily, Roi likes beds, too. It’s what he’s earned by giving into domestication. I will follow him wherever he may go. Dog knows best."

"All My Loving" 
by 
Prince Buster 
"For Roi; all love songs are only for Roi. Though the Prince proved himself quite the misogynist with his own original lyrics—man, oh man! How lovely this version is!"

"Out in the Streets [demo]
by Blondie [starts at 2:08] 
"The ’50s hold the record for the best love songs without a doubt for me, but this rendition (the demo version) of "Out in the Streets" takes the cake directly out of Mary Weiss’ mouth and is poured out straight from Debbie’s guts. This is Roi’s song, and it brings me to tears every damn time. We must never try to force someone or something into change, even if we may believe it's for the best. Let us not only relate this to the fact that I kidnapped my dog, but that we as humans kidnapped the planet and need to learn to let the Earth be the Earth and stop building on top of it! It doesn’t like it very much, I don’t think."

"I’m Partial to Your Abracadabra"
by Ian Dury & the Blockheads
"goD’s* gift out of man. He makes me less angry at man, just for existing and being one and yet being able to create such magnificence. What a damn brilliant man. He never really wrote about love, just sex, but that’s fitting for this (if I gotta pick a song in regards to humans)."

*goD = Dog

Sunset at Le Bain
Featuring Queen Nadine every Saturday
The Standard, High Line | 2pm

Header photo by Neil Aline

Related Stories

Book Now