Transcription of the episode #S1E7
Opening: Daniele Silvestri
GoOooOOoOOoOod Morning Vietnam and Welcome Back to MU-SI-TA-LY Radio Show. The unique radio show that introduces you to the best of the unknown Italian songs abroad via podcast.
Who am I? Well, I’m like John Belushi in the Blues Brothers movie. I have seen the light, this is my Mission and you can simply call me Cocopraise.
It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark… and we’re wearing sunglasses. HIT IT!
Elwood
Hence, we are comfortable enough to start our journey into Italian Music. The two main topics of this episode are LGBT & Pride.
So, let’s start quickly listening to the first shot of the day.
His name is Daniele Silvestri and he is one of my favourite Italian singers. He started his career around 1994 with a record simply called Daniele Silvestri. That album won an important Italian music award called the Targa Tenco.
As one would say in Italy “una partenza con il botto”.
BTW the Targa Tenco is an award that every year the “Club Tenco” assign to Italian songwriters who stand out for their music. The Club Tenco was established in the city of Sanremo in 1972 in honour of Luigi Tenco, one of the most important Italian songwriters of the last century who, apparently, committed suicide in 1962. I’ll talk about him sooner or later. Trust me.
Vabbé, let’s talk back about Daniele Silvestri.
This guy is a politically committed composer and most of his songs are about human rights and against wars. In the next song, Daniele sings about homosexuality from the point of view of a married man, Gino, who despite his fulfilled life prefers a man like him.
Alfetta, instead, is the name of an iconic car model built by the Alfa Romeo factory in 1972. That car also sold in the USA from 1975 onwards was used in many Italian cult movies of the 70s and that is why that car is still a dream for many Italians.
Gino e l’Alfetta was released in 2007 and the same year the song was used as the official anthem of Rome Gay Pride.
Daniele Silvestri – Gino E L’Alfetta
Part 2: Giorgio Gaber
And… As per Gino e l’Alfetta song, let’s go ‘di fretta’ to the second artist because we need a couple of minutes to introduce him.
His name is Giorgio Gaber and he is one of the most talented Italian songwriter, singer, composer, actor, producer and playwright. He is still considered one of the most influential Italian artists and thanks to him Franco Battiato began his career.
His life was connected and linked with other Italian artists, protagonists of an important era for Italian TV, Italian Music and Theatre.
For example, one of Giorgio Gaber’s first musical groups was Rocky Mountains Old Times Stompers founded by him and Luigi Tenco together with Enzo Jannacci, Paolo Tomelleri and Gian Franco Reverberi. Two years earlier, Giorgio Gaber played as a guitarist in one of the music bands founded by Adriano Celentano.
He also played music with Mina, starring together for a famous Italian TV show named Teatro 10.
Insomma, his long career has been something important and his heritage is still alive.
He died in 2003 and the song we are going to listen to was released as one of his last songs in the same year after his death.
The name of the song is Io non mi sento Italiano, which we can translate as I don’t feel Italian.
The song begins as a letter sent to a President. I assume he talks to the President of the Italian Republic.
Gaber starts talking about a list of reasons why he doesn’t feel Italian, for example, because the Italian Football Team, la Nazionale Italiana, who don’t know the official Italian anthem. He doesn’t feel Italian because of the overestimated and overrated politicians we have in Italy as I think. Let’s read this part of the song:
It may be that the Italians
due to a long tradition
are too fond
of talking about everything.
Even in parliament
there’s an explosive atmosphere
they tear each other apart over everything
and then nothing changes.
But it’s exactly at the end of the song when Giorgio Gaber seems to want to change his mind. And that is what happened to every single Italian. We are champions in talking bad about our country until someone else starts talking about Italian stereotypes like spaghetti and mandolins.
Then – Gaber says – I get pissed off
I’m Proud and I boast about it
I throw the Renaissance
in their faces.
Ok… Ladies and Gentlemen … now let’s stop talking and we listen to Io non mi sento Italiano.
Giorgio Gaber – Io non mi sento Italiano
Part 3: Motta
Ok and now let’s slow down the BPM and let’s fly to one of the most famous regions of Italy, Tuscany. We will listen to one that belongs to that amazing place.
Francesco Motta, better known as Motta. We already listened to one of his songs during the second episode of Musitaly dedicated to the End of Love Stories & Decades.
Today, instead, we are going to listen to the song Sei Bella Davvero, You are Beautiful for real, a dedication to all women. Although via an Instagram post the singer said that this song is dedicated to a transgender woman.
Anyway… we really don’t care because we love everyone and this song is awesome.
Part 4: Alfredo Cohen
Buddies, I don’t know your opinion but I think this song is amazing.
Ok, we are almost at the end of the episode and it’s time to say thank you once again to our sponsor… My Wallet!
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Ok, stop alla televendita and let’s introduce the fourth song of the episode dedicated to LGBT and Proudness.
The next song has an interesting story. If you are a bit tired or busy, click the Pause button, take a breath, go for a walk, take a shower and then click the Play button again. #esifacciunarisata
Ok. What’s the Story? Let’s start with the protagonists of the “fattaccio”:
One of my favourite Italian artists, Franco Battiato and Giusto Pio. You should remember them from Musitaly episode number one. When I told you about the Sanremo Festival. They won with the song Per Elisa sung by Alice and the song Oppio sung by Sibilla.
Then Alfredo Cohen, stage name of Alfredo D’Aloisio one of the first Italian LGBT activists, Milva, the transgender Valérie Taccarelli and my beloved city of Bologna.
According to the Italian newspapers Repubblica and GayNews, Alfredo Cohen wrote a song called Valerie in 1978. It was a dedication to a young transgender, Valérie Taccarelli, a transgender activist from Naples who lived in Bologna, and is said to be one of the activists who created the well known Arci Gay Cassero.
BTW, I don’t know if you have any idea what it meant to be homosexual in 1978 in Italy. Just think that at that time in Italy diversity was not acceptable and many people with the only sin of being homosexual were also tortured through electroconvulsive therapy. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
So, despite everything, Alfredo Cohen, a member of the association FUORI (Fronte Unitario Omosessuale Rivoluzionario Italiano) inspired by the French FHAR (Front Homosexuel d’Action Révolutionnaire) released this song. But perhaps, due to the song’s content, it never achieved any kind of success.
End of the story? Not exactly. Four years later Franco Battiato wrote a lyric for a song named Alexanderplatz, the famous square in Berlin, which describes life before the fall of the wall.
What happened then? Well, Battiato and Giusto Pio asked Cohen for permission to use the sound of the song Valerie and this is the story of the success of the famous song Alexanderplatz sung by Milva.
Part 5: Sud Sound System
And soooooo… What do you think about this song? Please, visit the transcription of this episode. I will link you to the Youtube URLs of both songs: Valerie and Alexanderplatz. Then, let me know which one you prefer.
And now, Beautiful People, let’s fly back to Apulia. The region of Lu Sole, Lu Mare, Lu Ientu because we are going to listen to the last song of the day.
As the last one, I chose one that talks about the pride of our origins. Whatever they are and wherever we come from.
They are “The Sud Sound System” a reggae dancehall music group from Salento, a famous area of Apulia. The peculiarity of this group is that they sing in Salento dialect, the local language from which they come from.
The name of the song is Le Radici ca tieni, which means The root you have. It’s a song about the importance of pride we should have for our origins and… just turn up the volume and dance.
Sud Sound System – Le radici ca tieni
Closing
I know … it’s super sad. You feel like listening to more songs but Musitaly is like fireworks: beautiful and fast.
But don’t worry Baby. Musitaly Radio Show will be back in exactly 167 hours and a half circa.
Thank you for listening to me
In the meantime remember you are Stunning!
Love You
And … Don’t Forget Me!
Ciao
