Magic Shop

C'è chi parte con un raga della sera E finisce per cantare "la Paloma" E giorni di digiuno e di silenzio Per fare i cori nelle messe tipo Amanda Lear Vuoi vedere che l'Età dell'Oro Era appena l'ombra di Wall Street? La Falce non fa più pensare al grano Il grano invece fa pensare ai soldi E più si cresce e più mestieri nuovi Gli artisti pop, i manifesti ai muri I Mantra e gli Hare Hare a mille lire L'Esoterismo di René Guénon Una Signora vende corpi astrali I Budda vanno sopra i comodini Deduco da una frase del Vangelo Che è meglio un imbianchino di Le Corbusier Eterna è tutta l'arte dei Musei Carine le Piramidi d'Egitto Un po' naifs i Lama tibetani Lucidi e geniali i giornalisti Supermercati coi reparti sacri che vendono Gli incensi di Dior Rubriche aperte sui peli del Papa Magic Shop © 1979 Franco Battiato "Magic Shop" is a commentary on the commercialization of art, culture and religion in the New Age movement.

There are those who start off with an evening raga and end up singing “La Paloma.” And days of fasting and silence to sing harmonies in the masses à la Amanda Lear. Do you want to bet that the Golden Age was but a mere shadow of Wall Street? The scythe no longer makes you think of grain; instead, dough makes you think of money. The more you grow up, the more new professions: pop artists, handbills on the walls. Mantras and the “Hare Hare” for a thousand lira, the esotericism of René Guénon. A lady sells astral bodies – the Buddhas go above the night stands. I deduce from a line in the Bible that a housepainter is better than Le Corbusier. Eternal is all the art of the museums, cute the pyramids of Egypt. A little “naïve art” the Tibetan lamas, clear and brilliant the journalists. Supermarkets with holy departments that sell the incenses of Dior, opinion columns on the hairs of the Pope. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser L'Era del Cinghiale Bianco was released in 1979 and represented a 180-degree turn from Battiato's first eight avant-garde albums, which ranged from electronica to musique concrète to minimalist piano explorations. Battiato reinvented himself as a pop singer/songwriter and in so doing created a unique sound and style he would continue to rework for the rest of his career. The songs on this album introduce several touchstones for Battiato, with references to spirituality, ancient and modern history, Arabic culture, and his native Sicily. Violinist Giusto Pio collaborated on the arrangements. The constellation that we call the Age of Aquarius was once that of the Boar. In the Celtic tradition, the White Boar symbolized spiritual knowledge, or Consciousness.

Back to Album List         Back to Song List