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The Years of 883: Italian Popular Music at the Time of Commercial Broadcasting

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Sounds, Societies, Significations

Part of the book series: Numanities - Arts and Humanities in Progress ((NAHP,volume 2))

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Abstract

The article aims to outline some key features of Italian popular music in the context of the national commercial broadcasting system, which had developed in Italy since the 1980s, and was fully established by the early 1990s. Issues regarding both music production and consumption will be considered. Also, some methodological concerns in the study of popular music history will be raised. The case study presented here (the pop band 883) offers a valuable illustration of new trends in Italian music and media, in addition to some related methodological questions.

This article, originally presented at the ICoN 2014, is part of a larger research project, developed by the Research Group on Italian Popular Music in the 1980s and 1990s, established at the University of Torino. I would like to thank the group members Jacopo Conti, Gabriele Marino and Errico Pavese, and Franco Fabbri. I would also like to thank Giacomo Bottà for his precious comments.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This idea of “normality” in music practices should be thought of also in connection to Christopher Small’s idea of “musicking” (Small 1998).

  2. 2.

    For a study on 1960s “we” rhetoric, see Tomatis (2014a)

  3. 3.

    Also, other popular songs of these years—as an example, some iconic songs by famous rocker Luciano Ligabue—seem to use similar strategies, and to share this kind of worldview.

  4. 4.

    That is: song structure, the “disposition […] of musical episodes in terms of chronological placement” (Tagg 2012: 586).

  5. 5.

    Fiorello also took part in a Sanremo Festival performing a song written by 883, Finalmente tu (Finally, You, in 1995).

  6. 6.

    Unsurprisingly, cartoon themes exploited similar strategies than 883’s songs.

  7. 7.

    On the concept of community, see: (Fabbri 2012a; Altman 2004; Anderson 1983; Kaufman Shelemay 2011).

  8. 8.

    Altman himself suggests the image of people watching the same TV show at the same time.

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  1. University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Jacopo Tomatis

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  1. International Semiotics Institute, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas, Lithuania

    Rima Povilionienė

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Tomatis, J. (2017). The Years of 883: Italian Popular Music at the Time of Commercial Broadcasting. In: Povilionienė, R. (eds) Sounds, Societies, Significations. Numanities - Arts and Humanities in Progress, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47060-3_13

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