Mike76

So, from what you write, it would seem that Christianity was introduced in Europe also thanks to a certain military force. Very interesting. I also do not feel inclined to judge the complex Israel-Palestine situation; I was merely noting that the respective sacred texts do not favor dialogue, and this certainly does not help.

@Psychopompe: well, I realized it a few years ago (let’s say six or seven) after some studies I did following my listening to "The Divine Punishment" by Diamanda Galàs, which used verses extracted from the Old Testament. Rather than cursing the nomadic peoples, I would curse all Middle Eastern-origin religions, but it’s impossible to say that without them today life would be better, even though there is a passage in the Old Testament where God explicitly warns the people of Israel against making alliances with the Canaanites (i.e., the ancient Palestinians), which would explain many current issues.... I have to admit I never deeply explored pre-Christian European cults (the ones that would truly belong to us), but I have no trouble believing that they were more open to other cultures compared to the Middle Eastern monotheisms. However, from what I know, syncretism is not so foreign to Christianity, which in some cases has merely "overlaid" previous customs without erasing them, as in the case of December 25th, originally a pagan celebration of the winter solstice (the tree and exchanging gifts are traditions that have remained unchanged since then), except now they make you believe that the reason for the holiday is Jesus' birthday.

Some time ago, I became curious to read the Old Testament. Narratively, it’s quite a drag and could use a more modern translation. Nevertheless, there are many curiosities to discover, and if we think we're facing a book of feel-good catechism, we’re very much mistaken; not by chance, the Bible was the favorite book of Alex in "A Clockwork Orange."
First of all, God is depicted as rather "bastardly," someone who does not think twice about wiping out those who annoy him, even for trivial reasons (he kills a guy who practiced withdrawal, sets fire to a few people for messing up a ritual in his honor), not to mention the gruesome fate he imposes on poor Egyptian firstborns and all the "infidel" peoples who had the misfortune to fight against Israel. Then there are episodes of prostitution, incest, and of course, extreme male chauvinism—things we will never hear during readings in church.
Reviewing the Bible is a good idea; it’s a shame this opportunity was wasted on a series of cheesy jokes.
P.S.: Nowhere does it say that Jesus is blonde.

Well, look, I only have "28" by Noriko, a great collaboration with Aoki Takamasa that I was tempted to review. From what I've heard, it’s very convincing when the singing is "tainted" by electronics or when it tries to experiment, but it works a bit less when it plays the card of pure melodic singing because, in my opinion, it often falls into the sugary. Takamasa created around her some very interesting electronic textures, but in his solo albums I don’t know if there’s an equally valid musical part.

The book is truly an evergreen. The review is from a dandy snob, just like Wilde, so it's more than fine.

@Psycho: well, of course I also have something to say about this statement. What Bianchi meant, however, is that even discs that sold very little and went almost unnoticed at the time of release have proved to be seminal in the long run and have still influenced future musicians, including perhaps your friends. There’s also a lot to discuss about what they mean by "deleterious styles and cultures," but anyway, this book is not the bible, but it deserves credit for providing an unusual and broader perspective compared to others.

@Psychopompe, Azzo etc.etc., I quote a part of the introduction of the book that clarifies the criteria of choice and judgment: "We have included many albums forgotten by historiography but which had a greater influence than usually believed (the biggest music listeners, as we know, are always the musicians...) and we have obviously excluded many others, either because - although beautiful - they seemed to contribute little, or because they introduced styles and cultures that we consider even detrimental."

I've never listened to the album in its entirety, but I confess that "Love My Way" is so beautiful that I prefer it to all the tracks on the otherwise good debut album.

I haven't listened to it, but I'm sure it will be a 5. I trust it.

It's a very valid work because it's different from the usual. It doesn't aim to create a ranking of "best albums" like Il Mucchio sadly does, but rather a chronological list of 600 works that have influenced rock, and thus also non-rock, providing a broader and less "compartmentalized" view of music. Many choices are unusual, and there's the courage to include even recent albums whose future influence is yet to be demonstrated. Moreover, fortunately, there are very few duplicates; they try to represent an artist with only one album—if I remember correctly, only Wyatt, Eno, and the Clash are present with two works. When I see "essential" albums in a list that include trash like "Appetite For Destruction" or "What's The Story (Morning Glory)," I get a stomach ache, and here, thankfully, such nonsense is avoided (okay, there are "Mellon Collie" and the Queen's greatest hits, but we know no one is perfect). It's thanks to this little book that I discovered Y Pants, El Guapo, and Otomo Yoshihide; that's enough for me to give it a 5.