Mythologist in Microgroove: A Study of Italian Myths and Cultural Shifts with Fabrizio De Andre on Lead Vocals

Julianne VanWagenen's book explores how popular music and other genres engaged with and critiqued modern myth in Italy during years of cultural and political upheaval, using Fabrizio De André as a lens. It examines myths of the hanged man and the scaffold, the cowboy, Jesus of Nazareth, and Edgar Lee Masters's Fiddler Jones, and interprets them through contemporary events and cultural contexts. De André's music is shown as deeply critical of western culture's guiding elements.

Format: Hardback
Length: 314 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2023
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

In her book, "Mythologist in Microgroove: A Study of Italian Myths and Cultural Shifts with Fabrizio De André on Lead Vocals," author Julianne VanWagenen explores the ways in which popular music, including other popular genres, interacted with and critiqued modern myth during a period of cultural and political upheaval in Italy from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. The Italian singer-songwriter Fabrizio De André serves as a focal point of the book, as it examines the myths of the hanged man and the scaffold, the cowboy, Jesus of Nazareth, and Edgar Lee Masters's Fiddler Jones. VanWagenen incorporates contemporary events and cultural contexts in Italy and abroad, interpreting them through the lens of popular cultural productions. She skillfully weaves the voices of various artists, including Bob Dylan, Francesco De Gregori, Francesco Guccini, Dario Fo, and Edgar Lee Masters, with that of De André to offer a fresh perspective on the countercultural years. Throughout the study, De André's music stands out as deeply insightful and enduring in its critique of elements of Western culture that have shaped its trajectory since the late medieval period.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781683933991