Season 399 - Bella Italia

Tarantella Napoletana

Sorry, had a duplicate post here, once is surely enough :D
 
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Ciao di nuovo, Seasonistas! The playlist is updated and I have a blast, listening to your entries. It's both entertaining and informative.

We have some classic songs like "Buona Sera", "O Sole Mio" and "Tarantella Napoletana", but also new (for me) musicians have been introduced, as well as new songs from familiar songwriters. And we have some fine original songs - a paoriginal in Italian by Brian (Pabrizzer), a quintessence of "all things Italian" by Jon (Mountain Goat) and a song, quoting words of wisdom by Berni (Barbablanca). We have as different entries as Ferdinando Carulli, Britney Spears and an Italo house tune in da house, so I'm a happy and a thankful host.

This week, Buck Owens is "Italian" and all songs that were written on a napkin in an Italian restaurant are very welcome! :) Grazie!
 
an original song for the season.



MARTIN SCORSESE

Martin Scorsese's a hero to me.
Taxi Driver came out when I was just 3.
Since that fateful day at the old Kogarah Mecca
everything in my life took a turn for the better -

I sat there barely breathing in anticipation
as De Niro strode out of that underground station.
My heart like a raging Bull pounding my chest
he spoke those 5 words I'll never forget:

Are you talking to me?
No, are you talking to me?

You can have your Fellini's, your Sergio Leone's -
none can hold a camera to the One and Only.
I've lost count of the times that I've watched Casino
with the lights all dimmed down gripping my cappuccino.

Yes I'm talking to you.
Yes I'm talking to you.

There's Cape Fear, The Departed, Gangs of New York,
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,
Mean Streets, Goodfellas, The Last Temptation of Christ
No Direction Home, The Last Waltz, Shine a Light.
(I could go on...)

Now there's some things in film that are up for contention;
like which actor or actress most deserves our attention.
But on that fateful day at the old Kogarah Mecca
I declared Martin Scorsese the world's greatest director

at the ripe old age of 3.
Scorsese will always be
a hero. A hero to me.
 
I've mentioned Playing For Change a few times over the years here on the seasons.
All their videos, of people from all over the world collaborating and making music, are just fabulous.
Everlasting Arms
The 'from Italy' connection here is the bassist and the mandolin player. But the main connection is Roberto Luti who, though not playing from Italy in this clip, is Italian and he plays fabulous slide guitar in almost all of their clips.

This is a Cha and Pa collaboration. Charlie wasn't happy with the way she looked through the video so you just get a still and an out take at the end.
It was great to do a video with her again with the usual 20 minute familiarisation with a song she has never heard before.
 
Hi, Ylle!

This may be the most obscure song I've done, but it's from a band with quite a following stateside: The New Rhythm & Blues Quartet, NRBQ. Also known as The World's Greatest Bar Band. They've actually appeared on The Simpsons as themselves.

Their original bass player, Joey Spampinato, wrote a lot of their songs, and here's one from their early (1971) record Scraps. It's homage to his hometown of New York City. This is, at best, a rough approximation.

 
Here is another one as recorded by Frank Sinatra amongst others: My Funny Valentine. This was a tough one as I am playing the ukulele arrangement by Lyle Ritz from the Ukulele Masters Jazz Book. Took a good evenings practice to get acceptable. Playing one of Marco of Antica Ukuleleria's other creations, the 'Elettrico' in a custom built version. (Names just sound more sexy in Italian).

 
King of Rome
Song about a pigeon race from Rome in Italy to Derby in the UK.
Sometimes we need small victories to lift us up.
 
an original song for the season
w/ double entendre alerts



SILVIO BERLUSCONI

Last night I stole myself away and took me to a party;
the one that was hosted by Silvio Berlusconi.
Cause there's things there you can't see everywhere under the sun -
I was just glad to come

for the finely sliced prosciutto, the creamy panna cotta,
red wine like a waterfall and blue blood flowing hotter
when the chicks came in....

Well 'bout halfway through the evening Silvio gave his benediction.
But there's never cameras present when truth gets stickier than fiction.
I lost track of all the hot salami that got drowned
in the strawberry gelatos passed around
when the chicks came in.
(I didn't see a thing.)

Sei Davvero Bravo! Grazie Silvio!
Fantastico! Che Grande! Che Fico!
 
Deano song
And listen, if you can't say anything real nice.
It's better not to talk, at all, is my advice.
 
Hello again, Ylle! This is about as Italian as I can sound, but I had to stop because my flower kept falling off and trying to make a ukulele sound like a mandolin is quite hard on the fingers. I vaguely remembered this song from the distant past ... it's one of those really irritating "novelty" songs which were a standard feature in children's request programmes during the Fifties and Sixties.

 
According to a family legend, I could be 1/32nd Italian, or maybe more. My great great grandfather, John Phillips, was born in Rotherhithe, London. He was a cheesemonger, with a shop on the Tottenham Court Road. But his mother-in-law was Italian, and had a terrible temper. After one huge row with John, she threw all of his account books on the fire, and he went out of business.

I hope this story is true, as it gives me another team to cheer for when England get knocked out of football tournaments early. But of course it could be total nonsense, a bit like this song that I remember hearing when I was a child. This is another "live from the van" session.

 
Hi all - I have some hugely frustrating internet problems that aren’t likely to be sorted for a couple of weeks (thank you BT - not!!!), so forgive me for not being able to listen and comment on your songs. I’ve uploaded this one thanks to a kind neighbour - it’s from the film ‘A Star Is Born’ - co-written and performed by the wonderful and multi-talented Lady Gaga, who is apparently of Italian descent.

Thank you Ylle for hosting and for being such a devoted and consistent supporter of the Seasons. :)

 
I am on a Jazz roll this week and there is at least one more song in me. Another jazzy tune as sung by Frank Sinatra 'A Foggy Day (In London Town)' - my favourite version is however the early George Benson rendition from his album 'It's Uptown'. That is the version I usually hear in my inner ear. Check it out on youtube. It doesn't include the intro verse from the Frank Sinatra version.

This one is recorded 'live' in my attic in our new house and I am playing my KoAloha KSM-02 long neck soprano. Such a little gem of an uke. Not very used to record acoustically but I hope I got away with it, creaky floorboards and bum notes all included.

Some great music this season and I am enjoying listening to everyone while working... Happy Friday.

 
Salve, Seasonistas! It's Friday evening in Finland and in Italy and the playlist is up to date. Thank you for your terrific songs! During the weekend, we'll start to celebrate Season 400, but there is still time to bring Italian songs or Buck Owens songs.

LimousinLil (Val) made a fine version in English of "Papaveri e papere" (1952), and here is the host's entry in broken Italian:
 
Good job all! Have already tried out videoing, and my first is not very far from fruition. Will probably not get the roughest edges off for Bella Italia, but maybe next week?
 
wee_ginga_yin got us going this week with a lovely instrumental version of "Bella Ciao," a beautiful Italian melody with a rich history.

Here's a vocal take with English lyrics from Tom Waits and Marc Ribot's version, performed live today on a Portland community radio station :p



Ciao bella!
 
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