An update from last year’s Italian Summer Music 2007 roundup: Check out my Italian Music section to immediately buy some popular albums!

I usually use the FestivalBar CDs as a bit of a barometer for the Italian hits of the summer. They must be hard up for money, as they are also shameless enough to have the FestivalBar site hosted by MSN and they are taking a “year off” of doing the FestivalBar tour.

By now the compilations are pretty predictable: almost half “foreign” bands: Duffy, Amy Winehouse (a mere two years after her album came out), Coldplay, Leona Lewis, James Blunt; the usual “Italian standby’s” : Zucchero, Vasco Rossi, Max Pezzali, Ligabue mixed in with some new(er) blood.

The biggest phenomenon this summer is of course Giusy Ferreri, who is not on the FestivalBar CD. She is the runner-up to X-Factor show in Italy (Leona Lewis was a winner in the UK version of X-Factor)

Giusy is extraordinarily popular not only because she sings well, but because she was “just a cashier” in a supermarket before being discovered on X-Factor, and this is usually the first phrase out of someone’s mouth when speaking about her. I would call her the “Italian Amy Winehouse” without, of course, all the drugs and crack-house features. Yet.

Here’s the song performed during the finals of X-Factor: Non Ti Scordar Mai Di Me (Don’t Ever Forget About Me) written for her by none other than Tiziano Ferro (mentioned in last summer’s round-up) [Buy Giusy Ferreri's album]

So, who won X-Factor, you might ask? An acapella group called the Aram Quartet who now have their single “Per Elisa” making the rounds heavily on radio and TV. They have pretty good voices, though this is a remake of an old hit, but the melodramatic tone of the video kind of makes me chuckle and the various outfit changes (with sunglasses, without glasses) makes me wonder how many of them are really in the group.

Negramaro, mentioned in my post about Italian Summer Music 2007 with “Parlami d’Amore” (and who were quite good live at FestivalBar) are back with another song this summer, Via Le Mani Dagli Occhi (Take (Your) Hands Off Your Eyes). [Buy Negramaro's La Finestra album]

This next song came out before the summer break (and Michelle from Michellanea talked about this song in June), but I think it’s worth noting as it combines two interesting Italian artists: Fabri Fibra (a rapper from Le Marche) and Gianna Nannini (the Italian “Melissa Ethridge”) in a song called “In Italia” about the dichotomy of the reality of the beautiful and dysfunctional sides of Italy – I recommend taking a look at the Italian lyrics. From the chorus:

“There are things no one will tell you
There are things no one will give you
You were born and will die here
You were born and will die here
Born in the country of the half-truths”

Above all, I really like some of the images that the director included in the black and white video, these little slices of Italy and the people who live there. [Buy Fabri Fibra's Bugiardo or Tradimento albums]

Caparezza is noted for his crazy hair, his catchy music (Sono Fuori dal Tunnel, Vengo dalla Luna), but of course his beats are usually wrapped around a social commentary. “Vieni a ballare in Puglia” (Come dance in Puglia) is another song that is undeniably catchy (our 5-year-old cousin sings it often) but I suggest reading the original lyrics while watching the video as you’ll see “Turista tu balli e canti, io conto i defunti di questo paese” Tourist, you dance and sing, I count the dead of this country.

Bet you’ll dance, though. [Buy Caparezza's Habemus Capa]

An “oldie” but a goodie is Jovanotti who has been around for a while and whose “A Te” single from the album Safari is popular right now but I would suggest listening to “L’ombelico del Mondo” below for a fun, drum-filled dancing song from the 90s. [Buy Jovanotti's Safari or 1990-1995 Raccolta with the single below]

Elisa is one of the first Italian artists I discovered in 2000, and though she sings mainly in English, she’s finally making her debut in the US with “Dancing” (available on iTunes and Amazon) – many songs are from her previous albums. Below is Elisa’s song “Dancing” featured on “So You Think You Can Dance” (US) and the full-length song of Dancing mixed with clips of Elisa’s other videos.

And what about the quintessential “latin” hit of the summer? Well, it looks like this summer we’re to be spared from overkill on one particular song, though I’ve heard Cinema2′s Ah Ah Ah a few times. Maybe next year!

Check out my Italian Music section to immediately buy some popular albums!

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Related Articles at Ms. Adventures in Italy:

• Italian Summer Music 2007
• I’ll be your Hardy…
• Grayed in

The Importance of a Good Driver

We were lucky to have two excellent drivers through most of the trip. The first was a fellow villager who had his own driving business and took us around personally in Gujarat. He was funny and a little crazy, as I think you have to be to be an agressive driver in India. We always felt safe when he was driving and stop questioning what he was doing when he didn’t stop (or pay) at toll booths or stopped to help another driver out with a flat tire.

Though, I did have to snap this picture quickly – if you notice, we are heading in the direction of oncoming traffic on the highway. Yes, oncoming. Often crossing the highways, which are incredibly crowded, take some innovation and definitely daring. I don’t recommend anyone trying this at home. Directly after I treated myself to an ice cream. Note the little Ganesha statue on his dashboard. It must be working!

After we left Gujarat, we had another driver who took us around Mumbai. I kept seeing our driver’s eyes in the rearview mirror and finally it hit me: he had a striking resemblance to Snoop Dogg. He was the Indian Snoop Dogg! (Don’t know who Snoop Dogg is? Here’s Sensual Seduction, a favorite video of his)When I mentioned this to my fellow passengers, they were all in total agreement. A cool guy that spoke very little and often seemed to be affecting a lean in his driver’s seat, he was an excellent driver and an even better waiter. No matter what we’d do in the meantime or how long we’d take, he’d be available to pick us up after.

A driver can cost upwards of 1600-2000+ rupees/day for an A/C car that carries several people, and of course for multiple days you’ll be able to ask for the famous “discount” that will be given to you anywhere from 10-20% on the first try (usually with a calculator to make it seem more official) and possibly more if that’s your intention. I didn’t think bargaining for a driver was the best way to assure we’d have a stress-free day, and we ended up tipping our driver quite a bit at the end of the day because he really enhanced our experience. A good driver will know the routes to avoid, the streets that are already blocked and where construction is going on. Heck, he even waited when we found a coffee house and dashed inside for our fix. Nescafe isn’t bad but there’s nothing like a real shot of espresso.

Before I get any emails about contacting our drivers, they both spoke only Hindi and Gujarati, no English.

Bollywood

Our driver in Mumbai also gave us the added “Bollywood Star House Tour” since my friend wanted to see where the Bollywood stars’ houses were. Bollywood, a hybrid between Bombay and Hollywood, is the “home” of the Hindi language film industry, though there is no sign on the side of a hill somewhere. In India there are several film industries, divided by language, Bollywood being the biggest.

At first it seemed strange that even a driver would know where they were, but I realized that everyone knows everything about these Bollywood stars and they can’t buy a house without the whole world knowing about it. There are even websites with Bollywood star addresses on them. You come to recognize their houses, too – tall, 20-ft walls often with barbed wire at the top and several guards standing at the bottom, guarding the gates.

We saw both of Amitabh Bachchan’s houses. Not sure who he is? Besides being one of the most popular Bollywood actors (since the 60s), he is the father of Abhishek Bachchan, and therefore Aishwarya Rai’s father-in-law. You know, that stunning blue-eyed Indian woman often called the most beautiful woman on the planet. On a side note, I’m looking forward to seeing Amitabh’s debut in an international film in Mira Nair’s (Bend it Like Beckham, Monsoon Wedding) next film – the adaptation of the book “Shantaram” with Johnny Depp as the lead! My friend loved this book but I haven’t read it yet. We also saw Shah Rukh Khan’s apartment and Hrithik Roshan’s house which had several fans standing outside it.

Bollywood movies are typically characterized by a love story (usually with a family element of conflict) interspersed with large musical dance numbers and the couple will never kiss. I loved the old-school musicals from Rogers & Hammerstein (Oklahoma, Sound of Music, etc.) so I fit right in with the Bollywood fans. I started watching them several years ago when my (Indian-American) friends introduced me to them. More recently, Bollywood films are becoming more controversial and modern – including a kiss, the women are not wearing saris all the time, and action, sport and period-pieces are being explored.

If you’re interested at all in Bollywood movies (and music), their popularity is often tied to their soundtracks and vice versa. Songs are not always the traditional “cat singing in a long alley” that I’ve heard said about the female voices singing in Hindi (which I find beautiful, anyway), but incorporating more modern beats like bhangra, techno or R&B rhythms.

Some of the songs we heard over and over are from these movies (song names in parenthesis) – Om Shanti Om (Main Agar Kahoon, Deewangi Deewangi), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (Bhool Bhulaiyaa), Partner (Soni De Nakhre, Do u Wanna Partner), Jab We Met (Mauja Mauja, Yeh Ishq Hai) and Heyy Babyy (Mast Kalandar, Heyy Babyy). And Welcome (Welcome, Insh Allah, Kiya Kiya) is turning into a big hit for 2008. If you enter these movie or song titles into You Tube, there are a lot of videos available, or you can listen to Bollywood Music Radio online or, if you need your music now, I tried out Amazon’s MP3 (DRM-free, can be played anywhere!) Download service over the weekend and I was pretty happy with it – fast and cheap! I was even happier to find some of the songs I heard in India available online. I only brought back one CD with me (and 8 movies) so I’ll be stocking up now that I have instant gratification! I added some Bollywood albums and movies to my Amazon store, and I’ll keep adding as they become available – most of the ones I listed are still in theaters.

Colorful trucks

The trucks in India seem to have a higher suspension system than I’m used to, making the truck very tall for a short body, and the bumper coming to your windshield level. But what really struck me is how colorful all of the trucks were. The names of the operators were written on the side door of the cab, which was often cracked open to let some extra air in and perhaps to provide some entertainment during the long, boring trips.

Almost every truck or rickshaw / tuctuc car had this phrase painted on it “Horn Ok Please”

And by what I witnessed of the use of the horn, I would say everyone is Ok with the horn. I kept waiting to see one that said “Try the Horn…See What Happens” or “Screw the Horn” or even the simple “Horn NOT ok.” I never saw one.

The road is everywhere and everwhere is a road

Here’s a clip of one of our memorable car moments driving on the highway in Mumbai – Bombay. The music in the background (playing in the car) is from Heyy Babyy – Mast Kalandar. Thanks to Deirdre for the video software tip.

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Related Articles at Ms. Adventures in Italy:

• Juhu Beach, Goa Beach and Beach Food in India
• Some Notes & Winner of Passports with Purpose Giveaway
• Reflections of India

Reading and Watching

• Books (new) read in 2007: 65 (of which 55 were ebooks). I am almost completely digital now. I just find it so convenient – you can read my previous posts about ebooks. When I borrow paper books it’s almost harder for me to finish them. Though the number of new books read in 2007 is lower than 2006′s 98 books, I had a ton of re-reads now my electronic library is so large. That’s another e-advantage! If I finished a book while on the tram, I just opened the next file!
• Biggest reading month: August – 12 books. Gotta love the beach. This is also the biggest month for bookstores in Italy.
• eBook readers used: old Palm Zire, HP PocketPC and I just received an old Treo from a friend that I am going to test out. Still waiting to buy a dedicated ereader, I’ve briefly played with the Bookeen and I’ll hopefully have a chance to test the Iliad soon!

I enjoyed Publishers Weekly’s 15 Trends to watch in 2008 and how much they talked about digital – I can’t wait for e-formats to keep growing and gaining popularity!

Movies: I saw very few movies in the theater, though I was glued to my in-flight entertainment on all of my long flights! I enjoyed this sneak-peek into some of 2008′s new movies. – a few from the list that tickle my fancy: Australia, Be Kind Rewind, The International, The Love Guru, The Other Boleyn Girl – and with a nod to my series/sequels I definitely can’t miss: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Sex and the City: The Movie.

Blogging, Photography and Computing

• Blog posts this year: 126 – Most active month: May
• Favorite blog posts: How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy, How to Avoid a Pickpocket and the Italy Gift Guide
• RSS feeds following: 210 in 13 categories (down 5 feeds from last year) – I just switched from Bloglines to Google Reader.
• Pictures taken / on Flickr: 3070 / 1014 – This year was the year of the camera for me. My old camera died, I bought a Canon Rebel XTi (the price has come way down since!) and then I bought a small on-the-go Canon PowerShot SD750 7.1MP in November that I keep in my purse for quick shots and video!
• External drives: 2 – I broke my shiny 250GB Seagate drive a week after being back in Italy (argh!) but now I’m using a flat (non-tower) Western Digital 160GB (which I won’t tell you how many euros I paid since I’m embarassed, but on Amazon it’s CHEAP!). I need space for all the pictures!
• Bloggers met (in person) in 2007: 2007 was a huge year for me in meeting Italian bloggers. From the Girl Geek Dinner to FemCamp to Pandemia’s dinners to the Cena Lunga dinner to founding Web Women Italy, I can’t list them all! I did meet a few non-Italian bloggers that I had been following for a while: David, Robyn, Finny, Arlene, Jessica – I hope to meet many more since I’m hoping to attend BlogHer’s conference in SF in July. Anyone else??

Website logo and design: I found these Logo trends interesting. My own website went through a redesign in early December.

Moving away from Microsoft Office: I think I created less than 10 Office files this entire year for personal use. I’m using Google Docs heavily but I’ve been checking out Zoho and Open Office as well. I think the most important thing about documents, spreadsheets and presentations now is mobility! I can reach them from anywhere.

Food, Cooking & Eating

• Stops documented on the Tour del Gelato: 22!
• Food Trends in 2007: Pomegranate, panna cotta, matcha tea, pumpkin, marshmallows, gelato, cupcakes (Serious Eats Ed Levine has his 2008 trends and predictions)
• Trends in 2008 I see coming up: Flax seed, champagne, fennel/anise, semifreddo, the rebirth of the egg
• My dominating tastes of 2007: Pistachio, Hazelnut chocolate, Onion foccaccia
• Leaving behind this year: Treacle toffee – Sadly, I OD’d on this in September after Scotland and it will never be the same for me.
• Does My Blog Look Good in This (DMBLGIT) recognitions: 3 – This definitely motivates me! This year, I’ll be hosting DMBLGIT in April, so I’m really looking forward to it!

How did I do on my “I Dare” cooking challenges for 2007? I think pretty good.

1. Eggplant Parmigiana – I made Eggplant Parmigiana stacks but I haven’t done the way S’ mother does. That’s next.
2. Troccoli (pasta)- I made pasta quite a bit this year, and every time I like adding my special touch like hot pepper or lemon.
3. Gelato - David Lebovitz’ Perfect Scoop gave me some inspiration for this goal and I made both Watermelon Sorbetto-Granita and Fig Sorbet!
4. Roast - I did not make a roast this year but I saw that Pioneer Woman just put up a post about a roast so I’m sure I’ll be tackling that one soon!
5. Bread - I made bread a few times, most notably around Easter with the Sage, Honey & Pecorino Heart Bread and some multiseed rolls for Thanksgiving.

So what’s in store for “I Dare” cooking goals of 2008?

1. Macarons - Everyone’s been abuzz about macarons for some time and since I went to Paris and sampled them from Laduree and Pierre Herme directly, I’ll be able to judge my own attempt more accurately, since I have something to base it on.
2. Roast - It will be taken off this year!
3. Orrecchiette and Ravioli- I want to continue my foray into handmade pasta. It’s incredibly satisfying.
4. Bread - Continuing the bread theme, I’d like to tackle two of my favorites – naan and challah.
5. Indian - I took an Indian cooking class, I went to India and I brought back spices! Nothing should stop me now.

Well Fed recognized Food Blogs in their annual Food Blog Awards – find a new blog to follow!

Travel and Moving Around

Cities lived in: 1 – Milan, Italy (finally I stayed put. Living in the center is great).
Countries visited: 6 – U.S., Germany, Scotland, France, India, Switzerland
Years without a car: 4.5 and counting. We may buy one in 2008 but I’ll still continue to use public transportation or my bicycle for everyday travel.

Buying More Handmade

In addition to going more digital, I am going to try and buy more handmade things this year. I am looking to Etsy.com for inspiration, but I have a lot of crafty lady friends that I hope will step up to the plate and put some of their things on sale for me!

To help keep abreast of designers and crafters, I follow several blogs:
Design Sponge, Oh, Joy!, SwissMiss, ThisNext and even NotCot have some good discoveries.

New Year’s Resolutions

I’m not really big on NY Resolutions, but this year I am making…one.

Here it is: Improve my (outgoing) relationship with the Post Office. I want to get better at organizing, scheduling and mailing things here in Italy. I will have a lot of opportunities to test this in the new year with all the contests and events I have coming your way!

How was 2007 for you? Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? Do you hate them?

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Related Articles at Ms. Adventures in Italy:

• An Army of Orecchiette on a Sunny Day in Puglia
• Creative Cost-Cutting: the Company Christmas Party
• 2008 Year in Review

I told you how summer means aperitivo in Italy, but it also means “Latin music” to many Italians. There is usually one song in Spanish that will follow you to every corner and corner shop in Italy, tormenting you until you know every word and recognize it from a few muffled bars from someone’s upstairs window.

The year I arrived, it was “Obsession (No es amor)” by Aventura, and it hung on for quite some time and was rejuvenated when Frankie J. came out with his English version.

This year, it’s “Toda Joia Toda Beleza” by Roy Paci & Aretuska feat. Manu Chao. I’m guaranteed to hear this song at least another 5,000 times.

Luckily, those with a Latin-fixation in Milan can get some satisfaction in the summer going to the Festival Latino Americando and they have a concert every night – sometimes bringing in big stars like Elvis Crespo, La India, Fulanito, Gilberto Gil and Paulina Rubio. I went several times in 2003 and had a great time – just make sure to spray with plenty of mosquito repellent before you go!

Interested in other popular music in Italy right now?

Here’s a few songs buzzing right now – feel free to add your recommendation in the comments!

Negramaro, who made an appearance at the Festival Bar concert in Milan I went to in June, has one of the most popular songs of the summer with “Parlami d’Amore.” The audience practically sang this song for them. They were also very good in concert, working the crowd and doing extra songs during commercial breaks – it was obvious they love their fans.

Check out Tiziano Ferro‘s “Raffaella è mia” about Raffaella Carrà, a popular TV host/actress/singer from the 60s. Tiziano is popular but not very well-liked by many “serious” music fans – most of my Italian friends groan when I say I like him, but I can’t help it. I definitely recommend him if you’re learning Italian, and tell me that this song doesn’t make you dance!

Nek is another artist I recommend if you’re learning Italian. He sings very clearly in Italian and was one of the first artists I started listening to while I was back in the U.S. I also saw him this year at the Festival Bar concert in Milan. He often has albums in Spanish, like Laura Pausini and Eros Ramazotti. His recent song is Nella Stanza 26, but here’s arguably his most popular song, Laura Non C’è.

Irene Grandi‘s “Bruci La Città” is not a particularly great song, but the refrain just sticks with you…. “e tuuuuuuuuuuuutti quei ragazzi…come teeeeeeeeee” – if you listen to it twice you’ll probably have it stuck in your head. The video has a Second Life appearance that I’ve seen in a few Italian music videos lately.

If you want to keep up with what’s popular in Italian music, I recommend checking the MTV charts or Radio Italia charts (only Italian artists) or check the ringtones sites which will tell you immediately what’s hot and what’s not.

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Related Articles at Ms. Adventures in Italy:

• I’ll be your Hardy…
• Italian Summer Music 2008
• Grayed in