{"id":3253,"date":"2017-10-20T20:35:06","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T18:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=3253"},"modified":"2018-12-07T16:04:43","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T15:04:43","slug":"italian-pop-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/italian-pop-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Pop Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italians do many things very well.\u00a0 The perfectly tailored suit, the high-performance automobile, and undoubtedly the best food in the world. And there was a time when we could add music to that list. Opera Lirica<\/em> is known world-wide as the benchmark for vocal achievement, and the stars of opera train their voices with the same intensity that Andrea Pirlo works on his corner kick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However much has changed in the Italian music scene in the 200 years since Verdi, Puccini, and Donazetti enthralled us with the arias of their bel canto<\/em> style. Italian pop music of today pairs unimaginative melodies with overly sentimental lyrics making for a pretty unbearable combination.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say that there aren\u2019t a few exceptions, but I think the overall trend speaks for itself.<\/p>\n

It seems that many Italians would agree. If you listen to popular radio stations such as Radio Kiss-Kiss or Virgin Radio, you\u2019ll notice that more than half of the songs are in English. The same for the video music channel, RTL 102.5 FM, that plays in most bars. I hear more \u201880s British\/American music in Italy than I do back in the States. (Which is cool for me, because I like that sound, and it reminds me of my university days\u2014back when I had a mullet haircut and parachute pants.)<\/p>\n

So let me quickly run down a list of the good, the bad, and the unbearable among Italian pop music stars. Actually, let\u2019s go in reverse order, saving the best for last. This is of course one man\u2019s opinion, but I\u2019m willing to bet that if you subject yourself to one solid hour of non-stop Laura Pausini and Gigi D\u2019Alessio, even Justin Bieber\u00a0will actually start sounding good.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Italian Pop Music Stars of Yesterday and Today<\/h2>\n

[one_third_first]\"one<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Gigi D\u2019Alessio<\/a><\/strong>: The top notch of the unbearable. Started off as a clone of the more genuine Nino D\u2019Angelo, he keeps alive the long, sad tradition of the neo-melodic singers; the modern artists who pretend to pay tribute to the classic Neapolitan sounds.\u00a0 With awful results.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"eros<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Eros Ramazzotti:<\/a><\/strong> The man who learned to sing with just his nose. \u00a0He should be awarded a special prize for this unique talent\u2014not a singing prize, however. \u00a0Better than a ventriloquist, but even more excruciating.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"laura<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Laura Pausini<\/a><\/strong>:<\/a> One of the many wasted great voices.\u00a0 Truth be told, she\u2019s quite talented.\u00a0 But who needs to hear over and over and over again how tragic the end of a love story is?\u00a0 Kill me now.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"giorgia<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Giorgia:<\/a><\/strong> See Laura Pausini. With a few small bonus points for attempting to add a little jazz beat every once in a while.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"pooh<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Pooh<\/a><\/strong>: Referred to in the plural as i Pooh (the Pooh), as in shit, not the Disney character.\u00a0 Now, I mean, seriously? Why would you call your band \u201cshit?\u201d\u00a0 (Unless they\u2019re trying to say colloquially that they are \u201cTHE shit!\u201d\u00a0 Somehow I doubt it.) \u00a0These guys are known for the impressive machinery and special effects that they first introduced at their concerts. \u00a0Unimaginable stuff for the modest Italian street-singers. Too bad that all they produced is some agonizing, sad, sad, sad, love songs.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"jovanotti<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Jovanotti:<\/a><\/strong> Began singing in his twenties as a side gig to his primary job of boneheaded DJ.\u00a0 He grew up, eventually, and improved a bit. Even switched his stage name back to his real name of Lorenzo Cherubini for a while. Overall he remains mediocre in both music and lyrics. A few years ago he moved to New York to try to catch the attention of the American audience.\u00a0 Good luck with that, Lorezno.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"andrea<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Andrea Bocelli<\/a><\/strong>: Well, I\u2019m sorry, americani,<\/em> but this guy is actually the Barry Manilow of Italy.\u00a0 I know we all love him and his romantic voice and his lyrics that we don\u2019t understand.\u00a0 But really, there\u2019s nothing worse than a pseudo opera singer with a microphone torturing a duet of Besame Mucho<\/em> with Celine Dion. Probably in a few more years he\u2019ll have surpassed Barry Manilow on the cheesiness scale and will be approaching the likes of Liberace–SO kitschy that he might even be cool.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"zucchero<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Zucchero<\/a>:<\/strong> Started off as good, now fully deserves to be in the list of the intolerable. \u00a0Why do all the singers who decide to \u201cgrow up\u201d feel the need to also become doleful?[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"ligabue<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Ligabue<\/a>:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0The man who has been writing the same song for the last 20 years.\u00a0 Seriously, ever since his first album, all his songs sound exactly the same.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve already bought one of his albums, congratulations, you can rightly claim to know his full repertoire.<\/span>[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"vasco<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Vasco Rossi<\/a>:<\/strong> Do you need an easy quote? \u00a0All you have to remember to quote Vasco Rossi is, \u201cEh\u2026\u201d \u00a0Every line, every pause, every song. \u00a0\u201cEh\u2026\u201d \u00a0Still, there\u2019s something oddly appealing about him. \u00a0His life philosophy? \u00a0Well, he was a young man who craved a life \u201clike Steve Mac Queen\u201d and \u201cfull of troubles,\u201d according to one of his hit songs.\u00a0 Well he got his wish.\u00a0 In and out of jail\u2014and rehab\u2014he\u2019s still singing and writing songs with his trademark lyric: \u201cEh\u2026\u201d[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"litfiba<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]LITFIBA<\/a><\/strong>: I’ve heard many swear that they\u2019re good. But I just cannot understand them. \u00a0I\u2019ve seen the lead singer attempting to look like the devil, or a clone of Gene Simmons\u2019 damned soul, but in Italian. No, I can’t say that I love their sound…but pretty cool-looking, though.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"caruso<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Lucio Dalla<\/a><\/strong>: He deserves respect for having been a long page of the Italian music panorama. I can appreciate his voice and some of his themes\u2014sure as hell not his sunglasses.\u00a0 But he holds a special place in my own heart.\u00a0 When Demetra was still “nella pancia della mamma<\/em>,” I used to always sing \u201cCaruso\u201d to her. Funniest thing\u2014now, more than five years later, she turns up the radio whenever she hears that song. It makes my day.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

[one_third_first]\"pino<\/a>[\/one_third_first][two_third_last]Pino Daniele<\/a><\/strong>: Good. Really good. A blues lover and talented songwriter coming from the poorest neighborhood of Naples, singing about his hometown and his people. He can be forgiven the not-so-occasional cheesiness.[\/two_third_last]<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a vote!<\/h2>\n

So\u2026who gets your vote for the most intolerable? Italians, I want to hear from you, too. And who are some of the bright stars of Italian pop music today? Honestly, I don\u2019t know and I\u2019d love to have some suggestions from all walks of life and all musical tastes.<\/p>\n

Now if you\u2019ll excuse, I need to get going.\u00a0 I don’t want to be late for the\u00a0Justin Bieber\u00a0concert tonight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Italians do many things very well.\u00a0 The perfectly tailored suit, the high-performance automobile, and undoubtedly the best food in the world. And there was a time when we could add music to that list. Opera Lirica is known world-wide as the benchmark for vocal achievement, and the stars of opera train their voices with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257,10],"tags":[487,48,258,53,488,486],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}