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Made in Italy serves as a comprehensive and rigorous introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of contemporary Italian popular music. Each essay, written by a leading scholar of Italian music, covers the major figures, styles, and social contexts of pop music in Italy and provides adequate context so readers understand why the figure or genre under discussion is of lasting significance to Italian popular music. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music, followed by essays organized into thematic sections: Themes; Singer-Songwriters; and Stories.
List of contents
Introduction: An Egg of Columbus: How Can Italian Popular Music Studies Stand on Their Own Part I: Themes 1. Italy in Music: A Sweeping (and Somewhat Audacious) Reconstruction of a Problematic Identity 2. Sanremo Effects: The Festival and the Italian Canzone (1950s-1960s) 3. And the Bitt Went On 4. Naples Power: Neapolitan Sounds of the 1970s 5. Music Economies and Markets in Italy Part II: Singer-Songwriters 6. A Portrait of the Author as an Artist: Ideology, Authenticity and Stylization in the Canzone d'Autore 7. Canzoni Diverse: A Semiotic Approach to Luigi Tenco's Songs 8. You Can Call Them, If You Like, Emotions: The (Un)Orthodox Songs of Lucio Battisti 9. Saved Souls: Locating Style in Fabrizio De André's and Ivano Fossati's Record Production 10. Mystical Arrogance: Franco Battiato's Esoteric Pop Part III: Stories 11. An Escape from Escapism: The Short History of Cantacronache 12. Virtuosity and Populism: The Everlasting Appeal of Mina and Celentano 13. In the Court of a Foreign King: 1970s Italian Progressive Rock in the UK 14. Radiofreccia: An Rocker from Emilia behind the Film Camera 15. Killer Melodies: The Musica Neomelodica Debate Coda 16. Lasciatemi Cantare and Other Diseases: Italian Popular Music, as Represented Abroad Afterword Provisionally Popular: A Conversation with Ennio Morricone
Report
"Taken together, the chapters in this book present a fine introduction to major topics in the field of popular music in Italy since the 1950s... Readers whose knowledge of popular music in Italy is only partial or superficial, and certainly readers who are novice and seeking to learn about it, will greatly benefit from this book. Clearly written, the chapters provide a wealth of information, both at the factual and at the interpretive level." - Motti Regev, Open University of Israel, Journal of World Popular Music
