Viva Lì

Here we soar high, the exceptional musician Miles Davis, with that trumpet he could do anything, even move us. Since I don't own the record (and I've always listened to more or less scattered tracks of Davis, whether on the radio or through the airwaves), I would like to tease you, if I can, with a slightly quirky tidbit: did you know that Miles Davis appears very briefly (playing a street trumpeter) in a B-movie from 1988 with Bill Murray, "SOS Fantasmi"? They often air it on television around Christmas, so if you catch it, pay attention. Ipse Dixit.

Oilalà, this CD is sold online for 13.99 euros. Are you sure that if I go buy it in a store it will cost me that much? Caution: anyone buying online should always check prices first; otherwise, scams are always lurking around the corner. Another note: on "Fontessa," about the Modern Jazz Quartet, and more specifically about jazz, Monsieur Scaruffi also dwells at length, writing, verbatim: "Fusion of jazz and classical composition, huge variety of instrumental colors, free individual improvisation." Please be patient, is there anyone who can explain to me exactly what "huge variety of instrumental colors" means? No, because I really don't understand it. Ipse Dixit.

I admit my ignorance (and considering the times we live in, it’s not even such an obvious thing): I've always heard the name Modern Jazz Quartet, but I've never listened to them nor had the chance to enjoy their music. However, reading reviews on this site and others, and informing myself about their works and artistic features, I've discovered quite interesting things, especially about Kenny Clarke, an excellent drummer, or so they say. I will fill this gap. But Mr. Iko, I’m pulling your ears (as Mike Bongiorno would say): just because you listen to jazz doesn’t mean you’re the best music lover possible, and those who listen to Baglioni (okay, he’s not the best) or the Sex Pistols aren’t music idiots. Maybe they have different tastes from yours, but continuing to be snobbish at all costs risks becoming a caricature over time. And anyway, good for you that you always know what to choose (I mentioned Ligabue, please don’t cry!). Ipse dixit.

Was Carmelo Bene really a great artist? An open discussion, but first let me share my thoughts: he was a great theatrical artist, a worthy heir to that minimalist and even slightly surreal theater that had Samuel Beckett as its natural father. However, it would be unfair to other greats to define Carmelo Bene as the most extraordinary theatrical reader. There is a risk of forgetting that a certain Giorgio Strehler was for years, perhaps more than Carmelo Bene, the true genius of avant-garde theater. Certainly, Strehler was a director, but wasn't Carmelo Bene one too? Second point: Bene's films are often difficult and mysterious, yet it's worth spending an evening watching "Nostra signora dei Turchi" or "Un Amleto di meno," although it would be unfair to call them supreme masterpieces. In cinema, the masterpieces are others; is there perhaps anyone on this site who knows Dziga Vertov or Friedrich Murnau? A little hint: they are two directors from the 1920s and 1930s. They created splendid masterpieces, unlike anything by Carmelo Bene! Ipse Dixit.

Gospel, funky, soul, blues: there's a bit of everything, and not everything hits the mark, in this curious end-of-the-millennium album by Los Lobos. It's fair to remember them, as they are still a curious and, in their own way, extraordinary phenomenon within the California music scene, but it would have been more appropriate to recall "Kiko" (the masterpiece) or "Good Morning Aztlan" (almost a masterpiece). "This Time" is a solid and professionally honest album, with beautiful songs ("Oh Yeah," "Corazon") and some musical quirks that are a bit too over the top ("La Playa"). Ipse Dixit.

I'm dragged into this, and I arrive late. I apologize for that. So, let's try to understand one thing: I am not a sponge and I never told you that I am a fake of someone; I never said that about Bernard. Anyway, let's see who this Bernard is, who hurls insults at everything and everyone; here’s his biography. Born in Bracciano, province of Rome, he writes little horror-gothic stories (or rather, crap) like "Werewolves" or "The Last Vampire" on some cheap websites, like Ali di Carta. But the interesting and scandalous thing is that this kid who talks about communism and fascism, racism, and everything else was born on September 29, 1990, which means he’s 15 years old. A bit young to be presumptuous and to give lessons to someone, and you know well that I have a few more years than you. I can accept criticism, even though I don't share it, from Grasshopper, but not from a spoiled little brat who still lives in a dream world, reads dirty magazines, gets off, and doesn't even know what it means to have sex, a student and not even a worker, that is to say, reliant on others. In short, someone who, given his young age, would do well to avoid making adult discussions and enjoy the last bits of freedom and youth before the season of responsibilities arrives (and it’s good for you to know that). I might also seem like a pedantic moralist, but I won’t accept lessons from someone who is 16 years younger than me. Ipse Dixit.

Alright, I calmed down a bit. It's just that at first, I couldn't stand you for some comments about certain stances on the aforementioned (and also mentioned by you) singer-songwriters. Do we have different tastes? Yes, but it's nothing serious. So be it. Ipse dixit.

Errata corrige: because you find yourself, the is not wrong. Sorry.

Well, you see Grasshopper: you have a very high self-esteem (and that’s a good thing, of course), but it’s also true that in all the reviews you’ve written (or at least in those I’ve read) you give ample space to often shareable musical considerations (though it all comes down to taste, it’s understood). You have a strong musical culture, and then I ask myself, if you’re so musically skilled (not like me, I admit I know very little compared to you), why don’t you find yourself writing reviews on an internet site rather than in some major nationally relevant newspaper? It’s easy to come and play the know-it-all on a site, but much more difficult to do it professionally. And by the way, from the height of your intellect, explain to me why Carboni, Ligabue, and Gianna Nannini (whom you don’t like) are rubbish? They’ve done something good too, or are the best always just those four? Ipse Dixit, of course.

Alright Grasshopper, if it’s not classical music or stuff that is unanimously considered highbrow (that’s what they call homogenization, if I’m not mistaken), you don’t like it. Carboni isn’t good, but at least this album isn’t abominable. Open your musical horizons a bit; you can’t always listen to Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Paolo Conte, and De Andrè (all great, no doubt), but every once in a while, a bit of fun, my son, come on! I know that, as you say in your personal biography, you live on a meager salary as a civil servant, but if you’re not happy and feel like a failure in life, I don’t know what to tell you. A little bit of fun every now and then, I say every now and then, doesn’t hurt. That forty-something guy is at least a bit strange... Ipse dixit.