StefanoHab

For those who want to take a look, here is the website of the Nemici... www.inemici.it

Anyway, there's a mistake, the concert was on June 12th!

A great album. I've always considered My Chemical Romance a band definitely a notch above the others in their genre, and they have created a distinctly personal style—one of their songs can be recognized immediately, and they know how to infuse good pathos into their pieces. They have many influences that range from Thursday to Iron Maiden, but they reinterpret them through their own lens, reflecting the third-generation emo. Obviously, if you hate new emo by default, you can't appreciate them, which is why there are so many people ready to trash them. Don't get me wrong, I'm the first to shout "death to emos" when necessary, but we must recognize when a band knows how to deliver WITHIN THEIR GENRE. If I hate death metal, I would never dare to say that Cannibal Corpse hasn't created masterpieces; yet they have, WITHIN THEIR GENRE. Personally, I hate power metal, but I would never criticize an album by Helloween, Angra, or Avantasia just because I don't like the genre. So please, don't have prejudices against this group. Regardless of their success, they are not just a fake dark band for hormone-crazed teenagers as they might seem; they are real artists, they know how to play, and they know how to write beautiful songs. They are not an exceptional band (I don't think their success is entirely deserved), but they are also not a band to be booed. Save the boos for those crappy Tokio Hotel, for example. Anyone who doesn't appreciate the genre they propose should avoid commenting, let alone insulting them without even having listened to the album. Personally, I don't mind them, even though I usually listen to something else.

I almost agree with Geb's comment. Vasco has things to say, to say in a new way, and we twenty-somethings (I'm a year younger than him) should support him, stand by him. But not "without reservations" as Geb says; Vasco often has lyrics that hit me, and I love his music, but that doesn't mean I don't sometimes (especially in this album) read phrases that seem inconclusive, weak. I absolutely love his atmospheric and melancholic music, but it's clear that it relies heavily on the arrangements; otherwise, his guitar alone would be almost trivial at certain points. In short, the fact that he should be supported doesn't mean we can't recognize his musical and poetic limits and weaknesses, as well as his strengths. Music is not a dogma. That said, the presumption, elitism, and "Scaruffi-esque" arrogance that too often the users of Debaser "capiscioni de sta minchia" demonstrate is the only thing that sometimes tempts me to tell this beautiful site to go to hell, but that's a much more general discussion and doesn't pertain to this review in particular. From this perspective, I wholeheartedly agree with Geb's outburst.

Some moments of the album are not too bad (when you come back from abroad, I’ve worn it out by listening to it), but we're talking about 3 songs that I liked, 4 at most. Overall, a big disappointment, especially compared to the first one which I found really beautiful, innovative, and intelligent. This one is at times almost embarrassing, almost self-parodistic. I defend Brondi, I appreciate his art. I really value his creative efforts. I'm not a detractor of his; in fact, I consider myself almost a supporter, because I truly enjoy his way of making music. But he should evolve, not remain anchored to his style, which eventually tires even those who appreciate it. To say: it means little to find some beautiful and successful images in the lyrics of one of his songs ("like an amulet, I keep your eyes in the inner pocket of my jacket") if the rest is unconvincing and inconclusive. The album succeeds at 35%. In my opinion, those who consider it a beautiful album are very mistaken, but even more so those who think it’s complete rubbish. Fantastic arrangements and string sections. Still, it’s still immature; I hope he has the chance to reflect and change his philosophy and approach for the next album, otherwise, he’d do better to call it quits (and I believe in him, so I hope that doesn’t happen).

Alright, I understand, it's all words in the wind... 1. I did not make any comparison between Brondi and God, it was just a trivial example, just as trivial as it seems to me to have to specify it.... 2. "dog shit is a slide," and then Vasco Rossi (who annoys me, but whatever) wrote "Fegato spappolato" and Cristicchi wrote "I would like to be Biagio Antonacci" and Rino Gaetano wrote "Gianna had a crocodile and a doctor"... Even that line you quoted, which seems silly to you, is not silly when placed in the right interpretative context. It’s a way of making music, a way of writing lyrics, that maybe you don’t understand and someone else does. Want some REALLY stupid lyrics? Read those of the Dari (Wale tanto wale) and you’ll get an education on the infinite indecency of human idiocy. 3. Do you think my father didn’t live through the 50s? For that matter, my grandfather escaped from concentration camps... and yes, I would have gladly lived in that era, even better in the USA during the beat period. The "level" of life is not the same as the "quality" of life. I will never tire of repeating it. You can have everything and still live a miserable life. You can live in a more evolved era and still feel out of place in it. The poetry of Brondi also arises from this, like it or not. 4. Working at Brondi? Why not direct this invitation to those who truly deserve it?! (A certain Renzo who earns thousands without having ever done a damn thing in his life, not to mention the idiots who participate in Big Brother, and those hussies who are seen as candidates in parliament just because they have a nice ass, etc). It would be better to direct the energy for criticism elsewhere and not at those who have actually earned their success, even if only partially.
Finally: I am my own "PR" and defender of my opinions, every time one wants to defend their point of view, it must be done with arguments, not with stupid attacks, banal generalizations, and failed attempts to divert the topic. Instead of responding to me in tone, you just limited yourself to saying "wow what a hodgepodge".... Anyway, I won’t return to the subject, I don't care at all, also because I'm not crazy about Brondi's music so I don't feel the need to defend it fiercely. And I repeat for the umpteenth time that it is not music for everyone and that discussing it is pointless.

of presenting himself as a singer of the existential malaise of the youth in this new society. Perhaps he hasn’t fully succeeded, sure, but in the meantime, his attempt is by no means foolish. Quite the opposite. If for you we live in the best of times just because all we have to do is step into a shopping mall to find what we want, well, good for you. But they say that a person, the richer they are inside, the more destined they are to be sad… a word to the wise.
That said, I repeat, we can find all the flaws we want, from the nonsense of the lyrics, pedantic, boring, presumptuous, pseudo-intellectual, and useless, to the lack of musicality. There will always be those who instead find the lyrics pure post-metropolitan poetry made of metaphors (the only way to talk about the filth surrounding the new generations and the Italian provinces) and his minimalist music a melancholic arrow shot at the heart. I feel closer to the second category, while recognizing his limits (often one can’t make heads or tails of the lyrics) but that’s not the point. Brondi is either loved or hated; it’s not music for everyone. So discussing it is somewhat pointless because everyone will have diametrically opposed opinions, but both are shareable as they are SUBJECTIVE, indeed personal. It’s a bit like discussing whether God exists or not: a debate that leads nowhere, as an absolute truth will never be found.

Not shareable, okay, perfect, but I found something "stupid" in the simple fact that it seems generalistic and doesn't closely examine the Brondi case. I take the liberty to respond to the comment in question by presenting my humble point of view.
1. "but what the hell, still talking about this guy? now I'm getting angry!" is controversial, and usually, controversial artists are talked about for a long time since we all have different and equally respectable opinions...
2. "what does that angel Nick Drake have to do with this luckless recommended guy?" In fact, Drake has nothing to do with it, and it doesn’t seem worth comparing Fanta and Coca Cola. Luckless? Perhaps because he has shown to be one of the few new songwriters who still has a soul? Recommended? Just because Giorgio Canali (who isn’t Berlusconi recommending the showgirls to parliament) believed in his work and (this isn’t about “promoting” the artist, because Canali doesn’t have that power) started playing with him (Canali is part of the group in every sense)? I find it STUPID to define him as a "luckless recommended guy." Has he had success? Has he been noticed by the mainstream? And what is that, a damn crime? As he says, indie artists are often independent "more by misfortune than by choice" since independent labels often apply the same policies as majors without having the requirements, especially economic ones. Stop thinking about the equation "mainstream = crap music." Art belongs to everyone, it must be popular. If he had stayed in his niche and sold only about fifty copies, I assure you, all the alternative/pseudointellectuals in the music world would be praising him saying "I discovered him first! ha ha ha!" and now they’re throwing crap at him accusing him of "presumption" for being pseudo-intellectual, a bad copy of Gaetano and Faber (and let’s remember that in the 60s there were people who spoke poorly of Faber, just as there were people who spoke poorly of Joyce before he died, and the list is long...). Now, I find this behavior RIDICULOUS. You might not like his music and his lyrics, fair enough, but that’s a whole different conversation.
3. "aside from the fact that he's off-key like a bell and if he knows how to play guitar... who am I? but above all, who was DRAKE?" He has a particular way of singing, emphasizing words, a mix between spoken and shouted, which is an integral part of his music style. So don’t come talking to me about "being off-key," but why should he have sung a record like this in falsetto? Can you imagine some conservatory singer, I don’t know, James LaBrie, singing on this record??? And the same goes for the guitar. Can he play it well? Or not? Who cares! His way of making music is based on few and simple chords, what the hell should he do, ruin the atmosphere with a nice solo? And why, excuse me, when Steve Von Till recorded the first solo album didn’t he have guitar parts of disarming simplicity? So what? Wasn’t the point to be minimalistic? Has anyone ever doubted Von Till's guitar skills when he was in Neurosis? There you go, attacking Brondi on a vocal or guitar level is another behavior that I consider stupid.
4. "come on, "the despair of the 0s" cannot exist: we have everything! he has a sea of consumer crap coming out of his butt... it’s anachronistic. Dylan had Vietnam, Drake was a poet, but this guy here is the son, like you and me, of Maria De Filippi and Non è la Rai." Exactly, unrestrained consumerism, the decadent society of the "0s" now wrapped in capitalism and trash TV. "We have everything!" Then when we read about a filthy rich person who has committed suicide because HE WAS ALONE, we are amazed. Our generation of the 0s generates loneliness, decay, malaise. I would have preferred to be born in the 50s, even if I didn’t have a PC! Brondi has attempted to present himself as the singer of the existential malaise of young people in this new society. Maybe he didn’t fully succeed, sure, but in the meantime, his att

I find Alia76's first comment quite silly. No offense, of course—I respect his opinion—but it seems to me that he's answered his own question: the generation of the 2000s has everything and is under DeFilippi's control. Doesn't that seem like a sufficient reason to feel discomfort? This album is a bit of a small gem that stands out from the generational decay of Italy and expresses inner feelings like few other singer-songwriters have managed to do, with due proportions. Let's not get bogged down in discussions about the arrangements or the fact that he's "recommended" (by Canali? It seems to me that his genuine belief in Brondi's music says more than a lot...). I repeat the concept: it's not music for everyone. If I had reviewed the album, I would’ve given it a nice Senza Voto, because this album is a masterpiece but also a mess, depending on how you look at it. (For the record, I also listen to Moltheni and Valentina Dorme...)

One of the most controversial artists of the Italian indie scene, yet I admit it: his lyrics are too hermetic. I love this album, but sometimes it really feels like he’s just shooting out random words (there's even a website that, to poke fun, created the "automatic generator of vascobrondian fragments"). I would say let’s end this debate; their music is either loved or hated depending on personal inclinations. For me, he’s a great artist; however, I respect those who find him unbearable. You either love it or hate it. It’s not music for everyone. The review is very beautiful because it expresses the most important thing this album conveys: the malaise of a generation.