April 10, 2020
Let's be honest: in these quarantine days TV shows are nearly as important as the air we breathe.
Of course there are books to be read, bread to be baked and online classes to be taken. But when the sun sets, there is nothing better than a couch and a nice episodes binge.
As you might know, one of the latest TV shows to be released is the fourth season of the Spanish Money Heist on Netflix.
Even though I wouldn't define it as the best season of the show, there was a scene that really impressed me.
I am referring to Berlin's wedding, where he surprises everyone by singing "Ti amo" by Umberto Tozzi and "Centro di gravità permanente" by Franco Battiato, which are two classic Italian hits from the late 70's / early 80's.
Pretty cheesy scene I have to say. Nevertheless I was still surprised by the choice to use two old-fashioned Italian songs in the Spanish TV show.
Again.
Actually, the first one that was used in Money Heist is much more than just a song for us Italians: it's a real historical anthem.
I am referring to "Bella ciao", a popular song that used to be sung by Italian partisans before the liberation of the country in World War II.
The song soon became a synonym of resistance, not only in Italy but also in the whole Europe.
Maybe it's because of its popularity throughout the old continent that "Bella ciao" was chosen to be sung by the Spanish robbers in some of the most crucial moments of Money Heist.
Also, speaking of antifascist Italian songs, I have to add another one which, in my opinion, is the most peculiar one ever used in a non-Italian TV show.
I'm talking about "Crapa pelada", sung by the chemist Gale Boetticher in Breaking Bad episode 13 season 3.
What struck me here is that this song is completely unknown even to Italians, probably because it was written in Milanese dialect and it's not easy to understand.
I personally know it just because my Milanese father used to sing it to me when I was a kid.
But I'm still wondering where the hell screenwriter Vince Gilligan heard of it!
Maybe he is a Duke Ellington fan who found out the Italian Gorni Kramer had revisited one of the jazzman's tunes.
Since every sort of foreign music was forbidden during Fascism, Gorni took an Ellington's melody and turned it into an Italian song by adding some Milanese words.
He basically tried to import an American tune by camouflaging it as an Italian one.
Be that as it may, I find it was pure genius to use "Crapa pelada" in Breaking Bad.
Why? Because "Crapa pelada" means "bald head".
Even though the song was originally referred to another, sadly famous "Crapa pelada", Gilligan must have thought the two bald heads had something in common and used this song more than properly.
As an Italian, I find it always funny to discover that such old Italian songs are used in contemporary international TV shows.
It's even funnier when the songs are so old, we don't even remember them ourselves here in Italy!
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