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A few weeks earlier, I had seen the poster for their tour, very charming, very old-style, just how we like it... Marydolls, Grunge, Brescia: on an amethyst background I see three faded figures.
Honestly, I always feel a certain skepticism towards the grunge label, but oh well, if the convent passes the Duff or the Sconnessi, punk-whatever, Cosenza and surroundings, why not the Marydolls?
It's late when they start playing. I'm sleepy, with vague thoughts in my head, the Sublime and the Uncanny, the usual talks on Power, the startling revelations, the interrupted dreams, some ridiculous episodes, and a dark professor telling me about Coleridge.
The previous band, the Bad Swan, ended with a song titled "It's only rock 'n roll", then introduced the Marydolls. And it’s all perfect. The Nirva-Verdenian canon is now codified, and the Marydolls demonstrate it well. And for this reason, suspension of disbelief is necessary to understand that this is not a weakness. The Marydolls stick to the paradigm, but as we know, mimesis is the basis of artistic creation, since the times of Homer. Following a canon doesn't necessarily entail mediocrity or a lack of personality. After all, in Italy, we are full of fundamentally grunge bands that are ashamed of their formation, mediocre and yet much praised, masters of blunders that become embarrassing. If the Marydolls copy the Nirvana, at least they do it well.
The themes remain the same: "I got lost/ while searching for the meaning/ of the universe/ and maybe I've already seen too much"; "I wanted to make a smart piece/ but nothing comes to me"; "live strong/ live slow/ anyway you never go far", then the fallback on individuality, an excellent and moving cover of "School", and a "My Sharona" in Cobain style.
All this, enriched by the singer's voice and the bassist's humor, seemed very evocative to me. And once again, I know who to thank. If renewal is necessary and vital, it's also true that we need to learn from the past to build the future.
The Sublime is the beauty that evokes fear or emotion. The Uncanny is the memory of what is hidden and past and resurfaces, disrupting the unity of the Self.
What I listened to yesterday, was just rock 'n roll, and quite dated as well. And as the Stones said, it's only rock 'n roll... but I like it.
P.S. It’s not true that the lùmbard have short arms! Ask Portland...!
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