I spent hours last night looking for old Italian songs on iTunes. I was stunned to discover lots of albums from the 70’s and 80’s that I used to listen to and love when I was in high-school and college. And I am not talking about the main stream italian pop (although I Pooh and Al Bano are there) but the song-writers so close to our hearts that I used to sing as loud as I could with my friends–usually after an excessive amout of bad wine and late at night. iTunes had albums by Battisti, Guccini, Lucio Dalla, even Franco Battiato (but strangely not De Gregori and De Andrè). Scarily enough, I can still remember all the words of the songs. I just listened to the 30-sec snippets and sang along the entire evening.
When I moved to the US I left most of my musical past behind, except for a few tapes that I put in my suitcase. Little of the Italian music that I loved ever made it to America. Sometimes I could find some overpriced Italian CDs in the World Music section of the largest music stores (I’ve just bought a CD by Zucchero Fornaciari at Starbucks); but in the end, my music was one of the many things that I had to give up when I moved here.
Of course I still had all the American/British music, which was a big part of what we listened to. But there is something different and much more emotional about listening to (and singing) Italian songs, maybe because they describe my world, things I am familiar with and that I shared with my friends. The underlying emotional tone is different: a certain type of melancholic longing, sometimes anger and indignation with the social conditions, sometimes hope for a better future. And they are so inestricably connected with my memories.
Yesterday, I bought an album by Pino Daniele that I am listening right now. Ah, the memories… I hope iTunes has a maximum monthly spending threshold. In the meanwhile, I disabled the devilish One-Click, just in case.
September 23, 2005
Wow! I am SO happy when people find music that they love!!!
Maybe it is because I once worked for the greatest online music store on earth – CDNOW.com, before they got sold to Amazon. We use to try our best to help people discover new music and find the obscure things that weren’t in the local brick & mortar stores.
I also had to disable the “one click buy” button on I-tunes. My weakness though is classic funk & disco from the 60’s & 70’s. Just got some Barry White, Donna Summer and Kool & the Gang not too long ago.
I will keep an eye out for Italian music for you as I surf other music stores.
September 23, 2005
Antonella, come ti capisco!
I am Italian (toscano, to be precise); I moved to Florida with my family 5 years ago.
Though some of my favorite groups as a teenager were English (Genesis, Yes, King Crimson), Italian music has a unique way to bring memories. Lyrics seems much more powerful, probably because I can understand and appreciate subtle nuances, unlike in English.
Pino Daniele was a favorite of mine. Great concerts, too. Paolo Conte, Lucio Battisti (even the late Battisti, whom not everybody liked), Lucio Dalla, Ivano Fossati; Jovanotti and Carmen Consoli among the more recent.
If you still have an Italian credit card, create a separate account for the Italian iTunes Store. You will find many more songs from Italian artists. Two problems with that: you pay in Euro, which is more expensive now, and you are much more likely to spend a lot!
Complimenti per il blog. I really like some of your entries. Keep it up!
February 4, 2006
Wow, I am so thrilled to find a website where my taste in music is not only recognized but appreciated, I used to swoon at cugini di campagna, i pooh, and so many more that just rip me down Via Nostalgia,, and I was hoping maybe I could chat with others who would remember that “time” ahh che belli ricordi
We’ll talk soon I’m sure..
February 4, 2006
Maybe we can have sing along chat sessions… That would be a lot of fun!
June 20, 2007
Hi Antonelle,
My commpany offers a streaming music service and we are expanding into Italy. The biggest challenge is to acquire the right music to be relevant to the users. Do you have any suggestions to a good source for Italian music? (circa 1960’s – current). Also, once its released it will be availabe in other countries such as the US for free.
Thank you!