@[Mark76] Dear Mark, I don't know how old you are or how extensive your biblio-discography is, nor your cultural level, an element that is almost redundant otherwise, which can almost always be avoided to paint a somewhat rough picture of the person whose writings one is reading... However, and I hope you forgive me for intruding, I see in your judgments a somewhat violent form of contrarianism at all costs that raises eyebrows. Of course, I renew my apologies for delving into unsolicited analysis of your persona, but still, we are all here on DeBaser, and believe me, without wanting to appear "aligned with conformist criticism," I come to inform you that, with the possibilities offered to us today by the Web but also by the press you would call "non-aligned" (it exists!!!), everyone can, as long as they want to, form their own personal and considered judgment on a subject like the one you seem to care a lot about, Italian singer-songwriter music.
While I share your love for Conte, Battisti, Dalla, and Daniele, I must assert to you that, without any animosity, both from a strictly literary point of view and from a more pedestrian musical one, a comparison like the one you proposed between De André and Mario Castelnuovo is really not defensible; to any inexperienced consumer of words and music, the galactic difference would be glaring. I must clarify that I have loved Castelnuovo for some of his truly personal and sincere works and the Moda you mentioned, it’s just that I struggle to regard them as key points in the Italian singer-songwriter discography, you understand? If you tell me that you prefer Castelnuovo to De André, I get it and that’s where I stop, but don’t try to support your taste assertions with judgments that, forgive me, really seem far-fetched.
It seems to me rather that the biting and somewhat bombastic judgments you express about the supposed "meddler" figure of De André, about his physical appearance, his deviant (deviant from what, by the way? From your way of thinking? Patience...) lyrics, and his (by the way, always openly acknowledged) derivation from French chanson, well, it seems to me that all this is the result of an evident, acerbic contrarianism that permeates every line you write, and that, if you allow me, but even if you don’t, is nonetheless your problem which you could try to solve without boring us with pronouncements like those you have displayed.
And, mind you, I’m not accusing you of lèse-majesté towards a certain "singer-songwriter" class, far from it; it's just that I’ve been following Italian singer-songwriter music for decades (unfortunately for me, I’m not that young anymore, eh...) and I have thus had the opportunity to witness the birth and development of many of its offshoots, so if you’re of a certain age, you know what I’m talking about; if instead you’re a youngster, try to inform yourself a little better and, if needed, verify some notions of dubious origin and veracity.
With friendship,
Dislocation
PS Just so you know, the De André/Ghezzi kidnapping took place in 1979, while the Farouk one happened in 1992; they are not at all contemporaneous. And the mala del Brenta has nothing to do with that occasion, really, just as Don Gallo can't have any connection. It’s a matter of timing. Bye.
