Steve Albini is a well-know figure in music circles. He produced Nirvana’s final studio album, In Utero, as well as lesser known but very appreciated underground bands. (By the way, last month was the 20th anniversary of “Nevermind.”)
Below is a short excerpt of Albini’s interview with NYC-based website, The Gothamist. In the interview, Albini makes an important point about the “gentleness” of Italian culture and how it is translated into its language. By doing so, he stresses, funnily and graciously, how core cultural differences between Anglo-Saxon cultures and Italian culture are reflected in their respective languages.
Now, this is not a new “finding.” Writer Luigi Barzini had made the same point in his 1964 bestseller, The Italians: A Full Length Portrait. The book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the secrets, delights, charms, and deficiencies (sometimes with disastrous effects) of Italian’s manners and morals. And if you do not get it, Nevermind.
