99 Posse live 2012, image: CAU Napoli
Young Italians are acutely embarrassed by their country’s musical legacy, and from afar it’s easy to see why. The image of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi singing schmoozey guitar ballads to a roster of neofascist thugs is only the most extreme manifestation of a widespread culture of crooners and hairy-chested sleazebags that blight the nation’s media. From the balls-out rock of Vasco Rossi to the sentimental ballads of Eros Ramazzotti, it is difficult to find an example of mainstream music that does anything other than offer a bland affirmation of the status quo.
Even in the magnanimous world of European counter-culture, Italian music has a reputation for being self-indulgent and melodramatic. The ‘alternative’ scene is uninspiring and derivative, confined largely to copycat indie bands and ‘new rave’ outfits, while in the electronic music the nation has been unable to offer anything other than some lacklustre variations on Brazilian house (slightly less samba, slightly more zampogna). Punk and hardcore have been more successful, with groups like CCCP and Marlene Kuntz holding their own on the international circuit, while folk, particularly ‘classic’ artists like Fabrizio de Andre’, are most appreciated at home.
