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Combining Eastern bloc imaginaries, Italian national popular aesthetics, Berlin punk, local liscio , new wave and expressionist theatre in a do-it-yourself, nostalgy-ridden and sometimes overtly provocative fashion, Affinita e Divergenze has prevailed as one of the best Italian albums of the 1980s. Giacomo Botta explores 1964-1985 Affinita - Divergenze Fra Il Compagno Togliatti E Noi - Del Conseguimento Della Maggiore Eta the groundbreaking 1980s album by Italian band CCCP - Fedeli alla Linea, arguing that their aesthetic, musical, and ideological approach embodies an ''imaginary and affective territorialization'' caught between maximalism and minimalism. The album''s exploration of cultural and national borders offers a unique rethinking of music and place in a time marked by cultural imperialism and shifting geopolitical power dynamics. Drawing on Doreen Massey''s theory of space and Svetlana Boym''s concept of the off-modern, the analysis delves into provincialism, Ostalgie, and the way CCCP reshaped post-punk. The band broke free from national and class constraints through literature, music, and politics, creating a distinct form of communication through their music. The book examines CCCP''s ''provincial'' sound and their ability to bridge local and global cultural landscapes. It focuses on a multi-dimensional relationship between music and place, using qualitative methods including interviews and participant observation in Reggio and Berlin, while engaging with media ''texts'' like online interviews and live performances. Through chapters that analyse the band''s origins, the album as an artifact, and its deeper theoretical implications, the book explores CCCP''s ambiguous position, their unique sound, and their lasting influence on European alternative music. Ultimately, this study reveals the band''s out-of-time and out-of-place nature, capturing their controversial yet pioneering role in shaping creative identities across Europe. ...
List of contents
Acknowledgements
TimelineIntroduction: There is a house in Fellegara
1. CCCP A Band From Anywhere
2. Listening To and Looking At
Affinità E Divergenze3.
Emila Paranoica: Imaginary and Affective Territorialization from an Italian Province
Conclusions: Post-Punk and Trans-European Cultural Sensibilities
BibliographyIndex
About the author
Giacomo Bottà is an adjunct professor and researcher specializing in cultural urban studies. Currently based at the University of Turku, Finland, he has also taught at the University of the Arts Helsinki and the University of Helsinki, both in Finland. He is the author of Deindustrialisation and Popular Music (2022) and has published widely on musical geographies, nightlife, industrial cities, intangible cultural heritage, and urban culture.
