Slang Editorial :: Never Underestimate The Value Of A Holla'

Friday, April 10, 2009
Neapolitan Neomelodics

My biking bro Mike, who works at VBS.tv (the Vice magazine internet TV channel), has just finishing editing a crazy ten part series on a internationally unknown but regionally popular genre of local pop music found in Naples called "Neapolitan Neomelodic". An intro to the series, in their words:

Ask any average Italian what pops into their head when they think of Naples, and you’ll almost assuredly get the same three things every time: pizza, garbage in the streets, and the most powerful international crime syndicate in the world—the Camorra. Does that sound bombastic? Well, this is an organization that in the past 30 years rose to be valued at around one-tenth of the aggregated wealth of the Italian nation. It is a mafia that deals in illegal activities, such as drugs and weapons trafficking, contraband, and extortion, and additionally controls a huge amount of legal, straight businesses in pretty much any economic sphere in which they find an opportunity to invest. It is in this reality that a very distinctive genre of music rose to prominence over the last two decades.

Neomelodic music is a strange mixture of techno, pop, Latin American music, and traditional Neapolitan love songs, an entirely singular and totally bizarre form of music that, critics say, is generally performed by nothing more than ex-criminals who became Camorra minstrels.

The army of Neomelodic singers (ranging in age from eight to 80) tell stories of love found and lost, of the crime that surrounds them, of dreams of success and escape, and of running away from the law, all in the Neapolitan dialect—a very different language from “normal” Italian. The songs are 100 percent cheesy and melodic—not to mention melodramatic—but at the same time they’re incredibly funny. They tell stories that resonate with their audience much more than any other musical genre can (yes, we’re looking at you, American rap circa 2009).

I have now made my way through five of the ten episodes and I have to say: wow. These performers may play 600-700 shows in a single year--imagine a breakneck SXSW pace upheld for an entire year, in perpetuity--and demonstrate a FJM-esque devotion of grit to their trade. In this time of increasing globalization and fading of regional identity in pop culture, particularly in Europe and North America, I implore you all to check these videos out, as they tell a story so particularly and spectacularly "at home" that it's both mindblowing and heartening.

Below is Episode 1, which you should start with, but make sure to check out parts two-nine here.

Labels: CRAZY, curiosities, fucktactics, music, small giants

posted by Nihilist Loves Hate, Hates Everything at 4/10/2009 11:07:00 AM 0 comments

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