trickykid

Dear HAL, I see that we agree on the sporadic production of ALLEN (and it couldn't be otherwise, as mentioned...). The line you recalled is in this film, but I remember it like this: "I WAS OF THE JEWISH FAITH, BUT NOW I HAVE CONVERTED TO HEDONISM."

You can't give this little film more than * (3), driven more by affection for the author than for the work itself. Indeed, it is full of jokes and clichés typical of Woody's films. ZiOn put it well... The SILENT promise of the DIRECTOR to HIS AUDIENCE, namely I MAKE YOU A FILM A YEAR, results in the vast Allenian filmography where some films are sometimes dull, repetitive, or mediocre. THE SCOOP is one of those, while the previous MATCH POINT is a masterpiece of maturity.

a masterpiece of a record...

i DENOVO were a great band. Please don't mess with me...

I N C R E D I B L E ! ! ! a) I am Sicilian; b) I am from Catania; c) I recognize a mandolin and I play it myself; d) the mandolin used by CONSOLI is more a citation of R.E.M. than a connection to Sicilian tradition (she uses an electrified mandolin, not the typical "round" double string one etc. from the south); e) what does "Sicilian music" have to do with it? Do you think that Consoli is Rosa Ballestreri? MAH... obviously you don’t know what you’re talking about... REVIEW C.CONSOLI'S LIVE SHOWS?!? PLEASE... I'll leave that to the 17-year-olds...

But then you’re stubborn... or you don’t know the mandolin! That one EXHIBITED like a relic by Consoli is NOT THE MANDOLIN OF SOUTH ITALY...!! It’s the American mandolin, the one played by the guitarist of R.E.M. in dozens of songs!!!!! And it is played, only to embellish the pieces, with a few notes... not with the typical VOICE/MANDOLIN vibrato technique of our musical tradition from South Italy. That was present, as a fixed instrument, in the concerts of Fabrizio De Andrè.... mere citation isn’t enough to “discover” the so-called roots.

already ALICE... she was one tough cookie!!!

already ALICE... she was one tough cookie!!!

Well, having read such passionate defenses, I can only leave you to those listens. If any characteristic can be recognized in Consoli, it lies in the MASSIVE introduction of adverbs in the texts of her songs. Among other things, typical of spoken Catanese. But to even consider her a SCHOOL OF THOUGHT, someone with a SOUND/POETICS capable of influencing thousands of artists, the new generations, the succeeding generations... well, that seems excessive to me. Singer-songwriters in Italy have existed and were there even before Carmen, of course, always a phenomenon quantitatively almost negligible. But Carmen's success did not open a new season in this regard. Singer-songwriters already existed before; they just were never supported... I think of Mariella Nava - a lady of Italian music, who might make you wrinkle your nose, forgetting that THIS is Italian music - or Teresa De Sio... What about the vocal experimentation of GIUNI RUSSO, where do we place that?!? Not to mention the thousands of EXCELLENT ITALIAN INTERPRETERS (from Mina and Vanoni down, the list could be very long, passing at least through PATTYPRAVO, MIAMARTINI, BERTE' MANNOIA, etc.). With Carmen, they created a character who could speak to the new generations, to an audience to whom female Italian music says little. A sound that is little or nothing Italian, but an international pop of Anglo-Saxon origin. As for the example of PAOLA TURCI, it is irrelevant, as she was helped by Consoli to put together her album. It was the period when Consoli, through her friend Maugeri - her fellow countrywoman - was making waves on MTV with videos in heavy rotation. Through that media exposure, she imposed that trademark made of glam & guitars, which was then taken up by Turci who probably didn’t know what to do to create a “passable” single even on the radio for 10 days...

@il panes: whereas I know the music of Consoli; I can say with reason that there was no lack of it. Artistically irrelevant, without a doubt. Certainly, in the suffocating Italian landscape, even a fart carves out its importance, especially if it makes contemporary winks. Anyway, I’m waiting for the LIST of musicians that CONSOLI has influenced...