Grasshopper

The 2 indeed has purely sentimental value: rationally it would be a 1.

As a child, I liked them, and at the very least this review has the merit of making me remember the cassette player with a crackling voice, complete with a microphone, with which I "captured" in some way, from an equally crackling radio, the legendary Hit Parade by Lelio Luttazzi, which often included their songs. Back then, I didn't know, and couldn't know, that during those same years the Premiata Forneria Marconi, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, and Le Orme were at their best, not to mention Area or Perigeo, who belong to another world, all while remaining within the limited realm of Italian progressive rock. Of course, in comparison to these groups (not to mention the foreign ones), Alunni del Sole are merely a sweet childhood memory, and their value is purely sentimental. Thank you anyway for bringing me back to those times.

I'm replying here because discussing Ivan Graziani in a review of Vivaldi makes no sense. Thank you for what? But of course, it’s actually me who should apologize for certain expressions that slipped out, like "singers of banality," and "insipid praises of these puppets," even though they weren't aimed personally at you, but said in general. It seems to me that from your side, despite the truly low value of the characters you defend, there is an absolute, almost naive good faith, and I can't believe that you are just another fake who enjoys messing with us all. I think I understand why Ivan Graziani inspires you more than other singer-songwriters: he sings stories related to everyday life, with simple and direct language, even if often very ironic. But if I were you, I wouldn't be intimidated by the apparent cerebral nature of other singer-songwriters, wrongly considered "politicized" just because over a forty-year career they’ve composed three or four engaged songs. A classic example is Francesco Guccini: it may seem strange, but he has written many more sentimental, or at least existential, songs than protest ones. Returning to Ivan Graziani, think about it: it seems that musically we are at opposite ends, yet I consider the melody of "Olanda" one of his most inspired compositions ever. Alongside "Firenze (canzone triste)" I would say it's the best track from the excellent "Viaggi e intemperie," which I add to the recommendations for telespallabob.

I join Cacchione in the pleasant surprise, and at the same time I invite Romeo (if he hasn’t done so already) to read my response, which I hope is calm and exhaustive, to his understandable complaints (see Quattro Stagioni by Vivaldi). P.S. Could it be that the ineffable Romeo, starting from Alexie and the absent cashiers of Esselunga, moving through the indestructible Fidenco and then to the excellent Ivan Graziani, surprises us with a Rossinian crescendo and in a few months we find him discussing '50s jazz, psychedelic rock, or progressive and (why not?) even classical music? Who knows... if they are roses, they will bloom. In any case, the best albums by Ivan Graziani for me are others: especially "Agnese dolce Agnese" and "Pigro."

@Romeo1985: first of all, there was no personal reference in what I said about the staunch defenders of the commercial products imposed (rather than proposed) by TV. It seems to me there’s more than one of you, and you certainly belong to that group. As you may have noticed, I've always been careful not to make easy 1 + 1 (or even worse, insults) on your reviews of these "artists," both because I see in you a sincere passion, albeit in my opinion utterly unwarranted, for what you so heroically defend, and because I know little to nothing about the "artists" you propose, apart from the catchy tunes that radio or TV bombard us with daily, and it’s not my habit to dismiss an entire album (for example) by Tiziano Ferro just because I've heard only one track, no matter how alarmingly flat and banal it may be. However, let me at least say that I don't understand what the necessity is to propose a type of "music," if we want to call it that, even on a site for music lovers like debaser, that already benefits from huge and powerful propaganda channels, and that in fact, in certain venues, like some TV programs, is practically the only "musical" offering available. You can continue to delight us with the magnificence of your Syrie, Alexie, Giorgie, Elise, and all the saints of the calendar: I will never insult you or give you 1 + 1. I only advise you, if you like, to broaden your musical horizons a bit, avoiding to focus solely on what achieves mass success. I assure you that the best is elsewhere, and there really is an abundance of it.

P.S. I wouldn't want to come across as a fan of Giovanni Allevi, but I think that if he avoided getting too full of himself (figuratively speaking, without reference to the lice he has on his head) and instead of considering himself a classic author (I read an interview in Venerdì di Repubblica where he said that, like him, Mozart was not immediately understood... sic) his POP PIANISTICO in itself would be rather pleasant, and could serve as a useful springboard to true classical music for those who have never listened to it. It's a shame that for now the character is winning over the artist.

It’s nice to see re-emerging on debaser, where I visit less and less frequently, what Pollini calls "musical art," to distinguish it from "consumer music." Maurizio Pollini, much like Uto Ughi, is a rather pretentious, elitist, and selective type who gives no quarter to light music, and from his point of view, it’s understandable: is it really possible that any random loser, perhaps lacking talent but flaunting a nice hairstyle, invented by a specific show and then consecrated by another, should earn in one fell swoop more than everything these two masters, who in their field are international stars, will manage to scrape together throughout their honorable careers? It’s a shame that with this snobbish attitude, Ughi (and Pollini with him) end up making the mistake of lumping together Fabrizio De André and the countless “new phenomena” constantly churned out from thin air for the use and consumption of the gullible masses, who thank, gulp down, and (not satisfied) recently send here on debaser some heroic singers of banality, willing to be covered in heaps of dung just to avoid conceding an iota in the insipid and extravagant praise of these puppets, often referred to as "artists" (but then aren’t Mastro Lindo or Activia artists too... after all, they’re also products, right?). Therefore, let a healthy (and well-done) review of Vivaldi's work come forward, despite all the voicemail systems and ringtones that would vulgarize it, but they will never succeed, even if in my case I prefer to the well-known opening motif of "Spring" the two movements rightly mentioned: the pyrotechnic "storm," the third movement of "Summer," which is not only pre-impressionistic but also pre-Beethovenian (Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"), and the second of "Winter," a muffled little picture that stands up well when compared to the onomatopoeic "Des pas sur la neige," a prelude by Debussy written about two centuries later. Perhaps those critics who define these concertos as "the highest expression of figurative music ever to appear on Earth" are exaggerating, but we are certainly faced with a great example of "seminal" music, rich in solutions of unheard modernity for its time. It’s a pity that the same cannot be said for all of Vivaldi's vast concert production, but it is clear that in over 500 concertos (not counting those that have been lost), it’s impossible to maintain this qualitative standard.

Alright, you're perfectly entitled to feel that way. Indeed, upon closer inspection, they are certainly not among the most original thoughts I've had, but the intention (to calm things down) was good, and judging by the Beatles versus Pink Floyd controversy, it seems that some people are not at all aware of what you consider clichés.

Alright, fair enough, but can I at least take pleasure in stating without ifs or buts that vintage Barbaresco is undoubtedly of superior quality to young wine, or should I be branded as a snob or “elitist” for that reason, even though I’m not, as I’ve already mentioned, an intellectual? I willingly leave it to others to carry out this truly incorrigibly snobbish task of extolling the average taste, especially the Italian one.

Hymnen, do you want news? What kind? Why are you looking for it in a review of an album that's 40 years old? Is my moral stance too obvious? Let’s say it is, but do you think it’s better to quell the controversies by proving (or trying to prove) that they are unfounded, or to incite people to insult each other with absolute, terse, and irrefutable comments? I think the former is better. I know for you it’s a bit obvious, so I’ll add a piece of advice: beware of the winds from the northeast. In January, they are really very cold, but even in February, they are not to be underestimated. Anyway, if I were you, I would reevaluate Little Red Riding Hood: it might not be exactly the kind of novelty you yearn for, but it’s a very relevant fairy tale, complete with "not-so-hidden references to topics like violence and cannibalism." At least that’s what Wikipedia says: I certainly didn’t know that.