Playlist- Il Viaggio

To go with Menu #1 or any other Italian food party!

I have died and gone to an Italian Heaven, and that is where I write this post.

For months I've been working on various playlists to share with you to use as a backdrop for your social gatherings, and this one has been the most fun to create. This is partly because I'm very new to any sort of contemporary Italian music, and partly because the music I discovered is either so fun or so unbelievably beautiful. Some of these artists perform with a certain raw, poetic quality that allows them to reach the emotions of their listeners in a way that I think is rare in most of today's American music. I
love how they try to squeeze too many words into into a line or stanza. They're just so darn unaffected, and I can't get enough! Many thanks to Putumayo for introducing me to these wonderful musicians.

Here are some songs and artists to listen to:

• Gianmaria Testa. I listen to this man and feel like he knows something about me that I don't. Iwant to be on a train in my artsiest clothes with a notebook and pencil in hand on a mission of self-discovery, and I want him to be my soundtrack. (Too over-the-top?)  :) I've named this playlist after my favorite of his songs: "Il Viaggio" (The Journey), track #6. The playlist concludes with another favorite of mine, "Dentro la Tasca di un Qualunque Mattino."
• Giorgio Conte. I have to point him out now, because you will certainly notice him. He is his own man, for sure. Very unique, but I think very fun, and certainly gutsy. "Gne Gne," track #5, is about a woman he once had a romantic encounter with who was very beautiful, but the conversation tanked. The "gne, gne" you hear is him imitating the extent of what she had to say. It's the Italian version of "blah, blah." Love it.
• "Tu Vuo' Fa' l'Americano" by Quadro Nuevo. The only song that's entirely instrumental. It's lively and represents well, in my opinion, the kind of personality you'll find in a lot of the songs on this playlist. #12.
• "Juke Box" by Fred Buscagliane, #18, will give you a good taste of the few tunes in the cue that nod to Italy's early and mid-twentieth century. Classic and playfully charming.  

As always, stream directly from "Eats and Beats" by finding the playlist in the right side menu, or click the link below to go to Grooveshark where you can alter the list, adding or taking away songs as you please.

Il Viaggio