azzo

Listen, Lux, mama's little darling, I don't have time to waste writing treatises on albums. But I can at least give two or three reasons to explain whether I like an album or not. You can't. The only thing you can say is that there are some bands that did it better in the past. That's a kind of absurd absolutism. If you compare And You Will Know to the Killers, it means you really haven't understood. What's next, do you think you're omniscient?

It seems to me that the comparisons made by Lux are completely irrelevant. What does it mean that Yow sings better or that Jesus are fiercer? It's worth as much as saying that the Black Flag were nastier. This is an album with remarkable psychedelic latency, a beautiful guitar barrage, and a melody that's nothing short of captivating. The Killers, come on... Go back to listening to the DTs because you don't understand anything about alternative. As for the value of this album, Surfer doesn't need defending; Pitchfork gave it 10/10, AMG four and a half, and it was among the albums of the year according to Rumore. I know that our Trell loves it too. In short, the problem is with Lux.

I, too, was struck by it at first, but in recent years I've listened to it very little. The other albums you mentioned from 2002, on the other hand, seem to have stood the test of time. Especially Sea Change, which I believe is destined to be an absolute classic of acoustic songwriting. Good review, in any case.

I was waiting for someone to review this movie, but... it’s a film. Just like in the review of Il Divo, you talk about something else. Sure, politics is important, but come on, there’s also a director, a cinematographer, a soundtrack, actors. If I want to read those four considerations about Italy, I’ll pick up L’Espresso, and they’re written better. If you don’t have the technical skills to talk about a film, then just leave it be. You’ve written two useless pages about the two most important Italian films in recent years! That one about Il Divo is a cry for vengeance to the heavens.

A film that is close to reaching the stature of a masterpiece. Sorrentino fortunately renounces realism and interprets everything in a grotesque key, remembering the lesson, as already indicated, of Petri's Todo Modo. The cast is nothing short of spectacular, not only the immense Servillo but also Bonaiuti, Degli Esposti, Bucci, Bosetti—all truly outstanding. Remarkable, as always, is Bigazzi's cinematography, darker than ever, amidst the golds and stuccos of Roman palaces. Magnificent as usual is Tehardo, although the combination of images and music often works better with other scores (the scene of Riina going to the garden accompanied by Beth Orton, or the moment when the Andreottis shake hands while watching Renato Zero, for instance). To say that the reviewer did not understand anything about the film is an understatement. They probably lack the means to comprehend such a film and are used to Santoro's docudramas and Blu Notte. However, that review would have been better left unsaid, as it is truly an insult to the film. A 4, which is really a 4.5 for the film.

I'll summarize for the other Debaseristas. Merdadicane, generally emotionally unstable, loves to come to my reviews, and for reasons unknown to me, since he is a remarkably ignorant person, he usually expresses negative opinions, like giving a string of 5s a 3. This is doubly idiotic, because not only does it mean I am an idiot, which may be acceptable, but it also suggests that many other Debaserians are idiots as well. That’s not acceptable, because it means he is the real idiot. I kindly invite him to stop. No, he persists. At this point, I warn him that he has really pissed me off, and let’s see if he finds it amusing when I do the same. So I come here and give him a 1—what does he do? He goes to my reviews where he hasn't already given low scores, since that wouldn't be useful, and in the few he missed, he gives me a 1. But then not only are you as stupid as a three-year-old child, but also a little fascist. What do you think, that I didn't know this would be your behavior? What a poor thing you are. Come to terms with it; just read the other comments on this lovely page of yours—others have understood it too.

"Who is an idiot remains an idiot." Azzo, 21st century, regarding Blackdog

I’ll wrap it up since I’ve started. First of all, I would like to applaud the usual gentlemanliness of Primiballi, who responded to the criticisms with his opinions rather than insults. As always, everyone has remained steadfast in their views, but that’s fine. I just want to point out that he did not respond to my specific criticisms. That is, the excessive Dylanian influence, the overuse of tired clichés, the lyrics far removed from reality and twisted in on themselves, and the comparison with a couple of names that indeed engage with reality, both political and musical. If I came down hard, as Jack says, it’s simply because the character is of a high standard and, yes, rather smug. I don’t understand, dear Tobby, where in my critiques of De Gregori I would be smug. The massive Dylanian influence, for instance, is acknowledged, to his credit, even by De Gregori...

Comment #1 is blunt but says it all. The review is well done, but the first lines leave many doubts about your musical knowledge and therefore about what you claim in the rest of the review. I will try to listen to it, even though the last one did not bode well.

Envy at a thousand and I won't add anything else...