emme13

I finally managed to see it. Clearly, congratulations on the review, although I almost completely disagree with your judgment about the film: in trying to engage with the "social," Soldini enters a minefield from which he emerges with a film where his gaze, straddling the line between the oblique and the surreal, poorly fits the nature of the events narrated. I found the final result to be a weak compromise between his aforementioned style—which I loved in "Pani e tulipani" and "Agata e la tempesta"—and a desire to tell a social story without having the tools to do so effectively... perhaps his first misstep. Both Margherita Buy and Antonio Albanese are brilliant.

I’ve only heard about the great conspiracy groups, but I admit I’ve never listened to anything; the recommendation seems excellent and could be a good push to explore it. I appreciated the way it highlights the ability of the "periphery/province" to reinterpret the stimuli coming from the "city/center" to extract original material (a strategy that remains a valid form of human resistance when living in a culturally suffocating place)... I also tend to admit that I feel a visceral sympathy for the bands that play passionately in front of fifteen unpaid people!

"They said that we were trash, well the name is crass, not clash. They can stuff their punk credentials, cause it's them that take the cash"...undeniable, but I admit I also adored the Clash (nobody's perfect, let alone me)!

@muitosaudosismo - Great! "Walkscapes" was recommended to me by a friend (the same one who introduced me, at 13, to the Clash and Tom Waits) and I read it last September: it wasn't what I expected but, considering that it exceeded my expectations, I would say it was a really great suggestion! As for the album by l'enfance rouge, I realize I've completely fallen in love with it!

It turns out that the only fool who hasn't seen them live is me: I need to fix this!

@unusual. I like Leopardi as a poet, but my favorite remains the one from the "operette morali": if you read him without the blinders of the bullshit they shove down your throat in school, you can actually find quite a few interesting "political" insights... I know I risk anathema and excommunication - and I don't give a damn, since I'm not even baptized! - but I believe that, had he lived a bit longer, Leopardi could have been close to the more libertarian fringes of emerging socialism... maybe you're right: the ginestra matters!

@mien_mo_man Look: I'm Sardinian and I live in Veneto, but I liked the CD anyway... so I can only support the choice ;-)

I have never attended one of their concerts; unfortunately, I believe that for logistical reasons, the last album will tour without the Tunisian musicians, but if I were to get lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend the event, I think I would easily miss it. I'm glad to know that they can stand out on their own as well!

@UhuhPanicoUhuh: besides the influences mentioned in the review (which are those declared by the band themselves on their website!), I would add the Velvet Underground from their first two albums (Locardi has a vocal style reminiscent of Nico; from there, they might also derive a certain taste for atonality, noisy passages, and hypnotic reiterations); Cambuzat's vocal style seems to be a mix between Lou Reed's spoken-word and Serge Gainsbourg's, and I think the darker side of French chansonniers may have influenced certain melodic openings and orchestral arrangements; the tribal drumming reminds me of the more claustrophobic Joy Division (Unknown Pleasures) and the early Bauhaus... this to expand the list of influences, trying to mention some more well-known ones! I saw Haino live last fall, a double set - solo and with Peter Brotzmann - a devastating performance; unfortunately, certain moments of pure genius get lost on record while others are utterly negligible!

Don't worry Naif, the poem is Leopardi's "ginestra," of which a part is missing! What it has to do with the end of your review, you could ask an unusual one, but the nickname seems to speak for itself :-) !