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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

100 best (?) Italian records



OK, so for its 100th issue celebration, the Italian version of Rolling Stone decided to publish a list of the 100 top Italian pop/rock records (albums, not songs). I must admit that I was living in the most shameful ignorance of the existence of Italian Rolling Stone. I haven't paid that much attention to the American version, either, for ages.

Nobody really believes in these classifications but everyone loves to take a peek, maybe just to express their righteous indignation at the outrageous unfairness and lack of taste. Well the number one choice here is a 1983 album by ever-popular Vasco Rossi, featuring the highly popular song above, called Bollicine (tiny bubbles). The song is ostensibly in praise of Coca-Cola, but everyone has always known that it was about the other coke. In other words, a song about the joys of taking drugs, and in fact Vasco sounds like a stoner while he's singing it. Catchy, but no masterpiece. I would have put Lucio Battisti first (up from third place).

No, I don't think this is the best Italian album, and most Italians won't either. For the complete list, see the original article here. A good way to familiarize yourself with Italian popular music if you don't know where to start.