Così ho pensato a quale disco potessi regalarle, molto al di là della ricorrenza; un disco per tutto. La domanda si è coagulata meglio: a quale disco poter regalare lei? Allora è arrivata la luce. Ed era, per il rotto della cuffia, notte-fonda. Il mondo, col tempo, vuole esser questo, diviso in canzoni e persone. Non conta altro (che ciò che si canta). La cosa più “elementare” è far incontrare le persone e le canzoni giuste. Quand’è il momento. Perché, è chiaro, le canzoni crescono più in fretta delle persone. E tradire, non tradiscono. Che, poi, è molto più facile lasciare uno spazio in sé ad una canzone, piuttosto che a una persona. Quando lo fai con le persone, ti prendi un rischio che è l’Everest, cui quasi sempre siamo impreparati e difficilmente giungiamo in cima. Mi pare sia successo, d’arrivarci, con un pugno minuto d’amicizie. E con una costumista, conosciuta pochissimo. Ma le canzoni me le hanno indicate loro. Io ho dovuto soltanto lasciare lo spazio per farli entrare. Con la grazia del reciproco!
L’impresa ora è altra. Opera sciocca che vorrebbe diventare scioccante. Il nitore comunicativo di un disco è un sapore irrinunciabile. La sete che distilla le giornate. È tutto di tutto. Allora è la notte d’estate in cui i bambini corrono a catturare le libellule tra gli acquitrini.
Quali bande di Spotify sfiorano l’anima? Si sentono ma non ci sentono. E vorrei sentirci. Sono, ebbene, bisogni formativi. Come lo è “If You're Feeling Sinister”. Una danza di pioggia e tormenti, che trema in dieci nomi. Un sogno stravagante in un libro dimenticato. La sconcezza scoperta della sensibilità. Arrangiamenti intricati come i giri dei pollini nell’aria. Un umorismo che tocca solo corde dovute e vere; il canto del grillo e delle fate assestato fuori dal tempo, flebilmente. Acquerelli acustici come antico modo di pittura del mondo e selvaggia invenzione; pigmenti a base d'acqua, gomma arabica e bile di bue, opachi per catturare l’anima nei dettagli.
Se ha tanta bellezza, la spartirà con chiunque gli voglia assomigliare, anche per contrasto, oppure solo per lo scambio (intangibile) di sogni.
PS
Echi di Nick Drake, Simon & Garfunkel, Felt, Smiths, Housemartins, Left Banke, Kinks, in un disco che ha compiuto 25 anni, lo scorso novembre. Brani: Me And The Major, Dylan At The Movies; un granello di sale e una goccia di miele. 10/10.
Elenco tracce testi e samples
01 The Stars of Track and Field (04:48)
Make a new cult every day to suit your affairs
Kissing girls in English, at the back of the stairs
You're a honey, with a following of innocent boys
They never know it
Because you never show it
You always get your way
They never know it
Because you never show it
You always get your way
Have you and her been taking pictures of your obsessions?
Because I met a boy who went through one of your sessions
In his blue velour and silk
You liberated
A boy I never rated
And now he's throwing discus
For Liverpool and Widnes
You liberated
A boy I never rated
And now he's doing business
The stars of track and field, you are
The stars of track and field, you are
The stars of track and field are beautiful people
Could I write a piece about you now that you've made it?
About the hours spent, the emptiness in your training
You only did it so that you could wear
Your terry underwear
And feel the city air
Run past your body
Could I write a requiem for you when you're dead?
"She had the moves, she had the speed, it went to her head"
She never needed anyone to get her round the track
But when she's on her back
She had the knowledge
To get her into college
But when she's on her back
She had the knowledge
To get her into college
02 Seeing Other People (03:48)
We lay on the bed there
Kissing just for practice
Could we please be objective?
Cause the other boys are queuing up behind us
A hand over my mouth
A hand over the window
Well, if I remain passive and you just want to cuddle
Then we should be ok, and we won't get in a muddle
Cause we're seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing
How are you feeling?
I don't think you can be dealing
With the situation very well
You take a lover for a dirty weekend, that's ok
But when it's over
You are looking at the working week through the eyes of a gigolo
You're kissing your elbow
You're kissing your reflection
And you can't understand why all the other boys are going for the
New, tall, elegant rich kids
You can bet it is a bitch, kid
But if they don't see the quality then it is apparent that
You're going to have to change
Or you're going to have to go with girls
You might be better off
At least they know where to put it
We lay on the bed there
Kissing just for practice
Could we please be objective?
Cause the other boys are queuing up behind us
A hand over my mouth
A hand over the window
Well, if I remain passive and you just want to cuddle
Then we should be ok, and we won't get in a muddle
Cause we're seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing
03 Me and the Major (03:51)
Me and the Major could become close friends cause we
Get on the same train and he wants to talk to me
Me and the Major could become close friends cause we
Get on the same train and he wants to talk
But there is too much history, too much biography between us
Me and the Major don't see eye to eye on a
Number of things, he'll take a guy like me oh yeah
Me and the Major don't see eye to eye on a
Number of things, he'll take a guy like me
And put him in the army
Cause the Queen's own army makes a man of you
But he doesn't understand and he doesn't try
He knows there's something missing and he knows it's you and I
We're the younger generation, we grew up fast
All the others did drugs
They're taking it out on us
They're taking it out on us
Me and the Major are from different worlds, but if
I get stuck in the lift it's always with a toff
Me and the Major are from different worlds, but if
I get stuck in the lift it's always with a man
Of noble standing who looks down on me like I was never born
I think the Major's going quite insane, he goes
Along the pavement and comes back again, oh yeah
I think the Major's going quite insane, he goes
Along the pavement and comes back again
Like he is on parade, and he is on parade
At least he thinks so
Now he is swapping his tent for a sheltered home
He doesn't have a family, he is living alone
He remembers all the punks and the hippies too
And he remembers Roxy Music in seventy-two
He doesn't understand and he doesn't try
He knows there's something missing and he knows it's you and I
We're the younger generation, we grew up fast
All the others did drugs
They're taking it out on us
They're taking it out on us
They're taking it out on us
I want a dance, I want a drink of whisky so I
Forget the Major and go up the town, oh boy
I want a dance, I want a drink of whisky so I
Forget the Major and go up the town
Because the snow is falling
04 Like Dylan in the Movies (04:14)
Lisa's kissing men like a long walk home
When the music stops
Take a tip from me, don't go through the park
When you're on your own, it's a long walk home
If they follow you
Don't look back
Like Dylan in the movies
On your own
If they follow you
It's not your money that they're after boy it's you
Pure easy listening, settle down
On the pillow soft when they've all gone home
You can concentrate on the ones you love
You can concentrate, hey, now they've gone
If they follow you
Don't look back
Like Dylan in the movies
On your own
If they follow you
It's not your money that they're after boy it's you
Yeah you're worth the trouble and you're worth the pain
And you're worth the worry, I would do the same
If we all went back to another time
I will love you over
I will love you over
I will love you
If they follow you
Don't look back
Like Dylan in the movies
On your own
If they follow you
Tenderly you turn the light off in your room
05 The Fox in the Snow (04:11)
Fox in the snow, where do you go
To find something you could eat?
Cause the world out on the street is you are starving
Don't let yourself grow hungry now
Don't let yourself grow cold
Fox in the snow
Girl in the snow, where will you go
To find someone that will do?
To tell someone all the truth before it kills you
They listen to your crazy laugh
Before you hang a right
And disappear from sight
What do they know anyway?
You'll read it in a book
What do they know anyway?
You'll read it in a book tonight
Boy on the bike, what are you like
As you cycle round the town?
You're going up, you're going down
You're going nowhere
It's not as if they're paying you
It's not as if it's fun
At least not anymore
When your legs are black and blue
It's time to take a break
When your legs are black and blue
It's time to take a holiday
Kid in the snow, way to go
It only happens once a year
It only happens once a lifetime
Make the most of it
Second just to being born
Second to dying to
What else could you do?
08 Mayfly (03:42)
Lovesick on a sunny afternoon
You are tired of staying in
You are waiting for a sign
Mayfly, woken up when skies are clear
I don't mind you coming near
Keep me company till she comes again
You are the one who's making do
I am the one who's privy to
Because you saw him in the park
Because you saw him at the bridges
with the people in the dark
Cana was the start of something big
You were there in the beginning
You were there to see him play
Mayfly, woken up when skies are blue
I don't mind the sight of you
Keep me company till she comes again
You are the one who's making do
I am the one who's privy to
Because you saw him at the celebrations
Standing at the side
He had the moves to save the day
And you would love him anyway
Lovesick, it came back upon yourself
You are the one left on the shelf
You are incapable of playing the fool
Longing so what's different today?
You sent the boy and girl away
You are concerned with matters lofty
But puzzled so it makes you sick
Your diary's looking like the Bible
With its verses lost in time
And lost in meaning for the people who surround you
It's a crying shame
You know it's a crying shame
You know it's a crying shame
Mayfly, woken up when skies are blue
I don't mind the sight of you
Keep me company till she comes again
Mayfly, woken up when skies are clear
I don't mind you, come in here
Keep me company till she comes again
la la la la
she comes again
la la la la
she comes again
la la la la la
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di Francesco
Mai come in questo caso la bellezza sta nella semplicità.
I Belle&Sebastian sono esattamente quello di cui c’era bisogno!
Di Emme.
"Sei solo un disco in grado di mettermi di buon umore."
"Un lungo viaggio che si conclude in maniera quasi stremata, sconvolgendo l'ascoltatore."
