Offlaga Disco Pax
Gioco di Società

Dialogue between a Sideshow Bob and G, a don't know.  

T: I’m pessimistic about the new "Offlaga Disco Pax" record.

G: It’s not easy to repeat oneself, especially when you use a formula with low intensity. Where, by principle, you've given up on many things. 

T: He can't sing: why should he try? He can't do it, period. He tried once with Dente and they were about to lynch him. 

G: Oh, that doesn't count. You can't stand Dente. 

T: I forgot; I’m talking to Maria Callas. Do we want to discuss your karaoke performances during the third half?

G: Those are the effects of beer. Anyway, you're derailing the discussion.

T: I repeat: he can’t sing. Why should he try? Risk ending up like Massimo Volume with "Club Privé"?

G: In life, you can also take risks. It’s too easy to follow the comfortable path.

T: Indeed, you're an artist in this. The day you turn towards the "confessing to a woman" exit, we’ll talk about it. 

G: You’re going off-track. It was a brave experiment, they failed but at least they tried.

T: Perhaps "Cattive Abitudini" was more of a failure, even though it’s improper to use the word failure.

G: PERHAPS!?

T: Yes, perhaps. I still have to decide. And anyway, I’m pessimistic: I think they’re already at a crossroads.

G: Explain yourself better.

T: "Socialismo Tascabile" was a flash, it went way too well. "Bachelite" had something different

G: And indeed, I liked it more

T: But it had the flaw of "Sensibile".

G: Perfect things are impossible to achieve. Not even by the one up there.

T: Let’s go back to "Bachelite". There was less resentment in Max’s lyrics.

G: Resentment?

T: Yes, resentment. There was the one who broke soaps, Kappler, and do we want to talk about the Dead Kennedys?

G: Maybe another time. I understand what you mean. He put a bit more irony in it. But even the music was different.

T: Yes, aiming for a low profile. A quest for normality...

G: You’ve used the magic words: low profile.

T: So I’m right. Why try to sing at all costs when you can't? After all, Max Collini is a real estate agent. Do you think someone doing that job can be a rock star? Or a singer?

G: Indeed...

T: Indeed, not at all! I’m right.

G: Since you’re right, what would you expect from Offlaga Disco Pax?

T: A good record, with a low profile. Maybe in line with the style of their concerts. Songs that slowly emerge, with few memorable phrases but longer thoughts. Maybe a record that stays as much as possible in Max’s microcosm. Deep down you know it too: he is great at recounting the "little tasteless things" of his Reggio Emilia. 

G: Max Collini like Gozzano?

T: Maybe, but it’s not important.

What’s important is that Sideshow Bob got what he wanted. You can notice it in the album’s artwork (a tribute to "Corteo", a '70s board game. Now long out of print). Reggio Emilia, and its hexagonal layout, at the center of everything. Sequoias, ultras, and a lot of architecture. Structures as imposing as small houses in the suburbs. All places that Max knows well, for one reason or another. Places he has experienced firsthand. And the only time he escapes from his city ("Tulipani") he chooses to stop in the upper Val Camonica. Province of Brescia, like Offlaga. The village. And Enrico and Daniele, in the background, each sulking. After all, Max is a real estate agent and, no matter how much he claims that his work is dangerous, he wasn’t born on stage. Each time, he needs to get used to it, even after exhausting tours. So why complicate life right away? With time, you can take satisfaction, calmly. They've spent a year working and refining in the studio. You too, don’t run too fast. Look around a bit. Often what we desire has always been beside us, but we realize it too late, when it's already far away.