Italian summer music 2013

Continuing my anniversary celebration – it’s been years since I’ve done an Italian summer music roundup! Hat tip to Rose for the suggestion. If you don’t see all videos in this post, be sure to click through to the site to view them.

If you haven’t read my past roundups, one thing is certain is that there is always a song which is played sooooo much that you get sick of it. Since I spend a lot of time walking around, in the markets, in the train stations, at the beach, these common areas get filled with music and you start to hear the same songs. This is one of the great reminders that it’s summer (yay! warm! being outside!) but at the end of the summer, you are desperately looking for new music inspiration.

First I despaired that there wouldn’t be a clear summer jam this year in Italy (which is almost always Latin), and I thought instead it would be Pharrell, two times (also two of my favorite songs at the moment).

Daft Punk – Get Lucky ft. Pharrell Williams (not sure why no video online, it exists)

and Blurred Lines (feat. T.I. & Pharrell) by Robin Thicke

But I found it. Or them, rather.

“Zalele” by Claudia Asu and Ticy – it’s not Latin originally (it was Romanian), but there is a Latin flavor to it and they’ve since recorded a Spanish version. Here’s a link to the original version, below is the Spanish version. I suspect I’ll be hearing this all summer.

And I suspect we’ll see more of Serebro – Mi Mi Mi which is very new – I think it will end up being bigger than Zalele. This is from the same “genius” which brought us “Mama Lover” last year. We don’t expect a lot from them but hot videos and ear worms, and they deliver. They actually performed at a community concert I was at last summer, but that’s another story.

But back to the Italian music.

Guè Pequeno – Bravo Ragazzo – I have a complex relationship with Italian hip hop & rap – I sometimes feel like it’s watching kids play dress-up (this guy kinda looks like he’s trying to be the Italian Pitbull) and put on this “gangster” persona but I guess most musicians put on a persona which isn’t completely them. In any case, this song is very catchy.

NTO’ – Memorabili - rapper + singer, too. This rather quick song takes place in the backstreets of Naples and he does a few stanza in dialect which you won’t be able to follow, but I like the song.

Fabri Fibra – Ring Ring – one of the more well-known Italian hip hop artists – you can tell how popular artists get because they can start to make “mini films” instead of just music videos. The song’s pretty forgettable.

Gianna Nannini – Scegli Me - she has really grown on me over the years – kind of like a female “Boss” (Bruce Springsteen) and some of her older stuff is great, too.

Greta – L’estate – she’s new to me, but I like this song and also the views in the video. Who hasn’t seen Italy through the windows of a car like this?

Neffa - Quando Sorridi - he’s been a favorite of mine though this song is a bit slow for summer (my favorite is Prima di Andare Via)

Jovanotti - Ti Porto Via Con Me – I’ve never been a Jovanotti fan (which I know will disappoint some of my friends judging by how many Jovanotti concert photos I saw recently in my social media feeds). I just don’t really enjoy his music, but if you’re a fan, you’ll want his latest release.