sanremo music festival 2018: my top 20!

having really enjoyed watching the 2017 sanremo music festival, i decided to watch the 2018 edition! even though i enjoyed it slightly less since there were much more songs i really did not like (even though, i should say, 2017 is an anomaly in this aspect, as there was only one song in that festival i really did not like) and it definitely feels that the festival became a much larger event between those two years, which feels rather unorthodox to me because i am really used to the smaller sanremo festivals, there were still a lot of songs i liked and, of course, a lot of songs i have a lot of opinions on. so, without further ado, here are my opinions.

20. elio e le storie tese - “arrivedorci”

i really do not like this band’s music even outside of sanremo and thought that whatever they could send to the festival through which, in fact, they became well-known, would be very unappealing to me and my expectations were definitely met. i really do not like how sugary this song sounds (it reminds me of il volo and, if they were actually making fun of il volo through this song, i would have actually really liked it because i really do not like il volo for their support of the italian government!), especially at the end and do not like its strange, inconsistent structure which confuses me more than it engages me. i also really cannot understand why the band’s members are wearing sarongs and turbans throughout this performance: this choice feels meaningless and, actually, rather offensive because i feel this has nothing to do with the song. in the end, i understand why critics call this song elio e le storie tese’s worst.

19. decibel - “lettera dal duca”

now, listen, i usually ignore italian musicians’ efforts to sing strange, random parts in english in their songs when i actually really like the music, no matter how laughable some of these interjections are (like, i can definitely say that the english parts in this song are rather funny to me, but i really, really like it musically!) but this, i feel takes that to another level because i cannot help but burst out laughing at the random english descriptions of nature in this song. musically, i expected something i would like much more from a band which was active in the punk scene in the 1970s and the 1980s and definitely not this, otherwise, really monotonous song which sounds rather like the annoying, mass-produced country rock music which was also present in those decades. i also really do not like the lead singer’s voice.

18. max gazzé - “la leggenda di cristalda e pizzomunno”

this had a lot of potential as a song: max gazzé is a great musician (i really like his 2008 album, “tra l’aratro e la radio”) and i thought that this song’s really interesting lyrics, which concern a pugliese folk legend, could be adapted really well, but, alas, i was met with a disappointing, sugary mess with a strangely fanfare-like chorus. at least my favourite combination of acoustic and electric guitars is there!

17. giovanni caccamo - “eterno”

even though i was intrigued by the wide variety of musical instruments used in this song and really like giovanni caccamo’s voice, the flute and celesta parts in this song have it a fairytale-like quality, which i am, personally, really not a fan of.

16. le vibrazioni - “cosí sbagliato”

the vocalist’s voice, very sadly, i feel, does not suit the energy and tone of the song and i felt that this song was generally performed very weakly (and it is very clear from it that le vibrazioni, despite having been a really famous band in the early 2000s, clearly did not become prominent through sanremo, because i would expect them to have a greater awareness of what music suits them to be performed live by them if they were). i also really did not like the timbre of the electric guitar in this song too (even though, isolated, it can sound pretty good!), mainly due to how unnerving it sounded to me when combined with the strings, also prominent in this song’s instrumentation.

15. diodato and roy paci - “adesso”

one can clearly see that diodato has a very powerful, clear voice and that he definitely has potential as a sanremo participant (which is, of course, very true, since he then would go on to win in 2020! he is also competing in the contest this year: even though most people do not think he has any chance of winning again, i am excited to hear his entry!) however, this song, no matter how well it is performed, will probably never be something i like: even though i find the way the song builds up texturally great, a lot of the brass instrument solos (especially the trumpet solo at the beginning of the song, which differs very dramatically from the beginning of the first verse, which follows it, in terms of dynamics) felt unnecessary. i also really do not like this song’s lyrics (this song encourages people to look up from their cell phones, explore the natural world and communicate with people in person and treats cell phone communication as the worst thing in the world… as if that is not a valid way of communicating that is much more accessible and less stressful to some? using technology is definitely a way for many to learn, communicate and speak out and are not all of those things beneficial? while it is important that we are not too dependent on technology and the internet, can we not understand that technology is even liberating to some and there are reasons why one would prefer to use it as a means of communication? either way, this message feels strangely funny, in a way, to me)

14. ron - “almeno pensami”

there really is not much i can say about this song, but it is undeniably pleasant and i really like the jazzy timbre of the drums! both by appearance and voice, ron really reminds me of dino merlin.

13. noemi - “non smettere mai di cercami”

this song reminds me a lot of fiorella mannoia’s entry from the 2017 festival and, i must say, i do not particularly like this song that much for exactly the same reasons as that song.

12. nina zilli - “senza appartenere”

even though the song is nothing much and rather disappointing for something i would except from nina zilli (i really liked nina’s song from the 2012 festival!), the harmonies between nina and her backing vocalists are very pleasant to listen to and i really like how the song becomes more texturally dense as it progresses! i also really like the seemingly random intrusions of the brass instruments in the second half of the song, as well as how the guitars, strings and the piano sound together!

11. mario biondi - “rivederti”

i keep wanting to call him “marco” because his short, grey hair, long, grey beard and glasses make him look like marco masini! i actually like this song quite a lot and find it really warm and pleasant: i love the jazz drums’ and vibraphone’s inclusion in this song’s instrumentation. i also really like the improvised-sounding piano passage at the beginning of the song, which includes a lot of dissonance that is resolved, which i feel engages the listener a lot and prepares them to listen to the whole song. this part also really reminds me of (warning for themes of institutional violence and suicide) the winning song of the 2007 festival, which i absolutely adore.

10. renzo rubino - “custodire”

while i do not love the beginning of this song because i feel that the dynamics at which all of the instruments play do not fit together at all, i feel this song resolves itself really well by the end and has a really catchy chorus! the bridge is also great (even though it is the only sign of rhythmical variety in this song, to be honest! good to hear some more irregular-sounding rhythms for a change at least once) and i feel renzo’s very pleasing voice suits this song pretty well!

9. the kolors - “frida”

this song grew on me a lot. while i still really do not like its annoyingly repetitive chorus, i really like its verses a lot (even though the amount of reverb used in them is questionable), as i do the voice of the vocalist of this band (which is framed exceptionally pleasantly by the backing vocals) and the guitar solo of this song (even though i feel the violin solo that precedes it contrasts it really uncomfortably)! i love how drum-focussed this song is!

8. roby facchinetti and riccardo fogli - “il segreto del tempo”

i really appreciate all of the songs the older participants sent to this festival and this song is most definitely not an exception to that appreciation, because i like it a lot! i like the dark tone of the verses and the acoustic guitar parts in it. roby and riccardo sound very powerful when they sing together and make a great duet (one of many in this festival!), but i feel their voices sound weak and lacking in the verses, where they sing alone: personally, i think this song would benefit a lot from some backing vocals!

7. ornella vanoni, bungaro and pacifico - “imparare ad amarsi”

a very impressive performance for an eighty-four-year-old singer and a great and very catchy song: for what else can i ask for? her harmonies with bungaro also sound amazing. 

6. red canzian - “ognuno ha il suo racconto”

this is a very energetic and very catchy song with a great bridge (i really like the crescendo in it), which also includes my favourite electric guitar and acoustic guitar combination! while i really love this song’s tune and my inclination to listen to it again and again is what is making me rank it this highly, it’s performance felt underwhelming; i feel red’s voice is not powerful enough for a satisfying performance of this song. however, i have not seen this song’s performance from duets night (i have only seen ermal and fabrizio’s performance with simone christicchi: while i feel christicchi’s vocal range does not suit “non mi avete fatto niente”, he sounded absolutely amazing in combination with ermal (simone, next time ermal participates in sanremo, please apply as a backing vocalist for him!) and i loved the trademark spoken word part he added to the song’s bridge), but i know he performed this with marco masini and, as i love marco masini and feel his voice will suit this really well, expect the best of it!

5. luca barbarossa - “passame er sale”

this song has a very specific atmosphere which reminds me of a liqueur store, which the song “susanna” by the art company and most of leonard cohen’s music also make me think of, and i really love that (especially the electric guitar’s timbre is really reminiscent of it: “goodbye to yesterday” by elina born and stig rästa and “stoli i trendafilave” by alban skenderaj (to be honest, the only song of his i can tolerate!) have it too! i should really make a liqueur store playlist…) aside from the guitar, i really like the string instruments in this song as well (and the contrast their arco parts provide to the plucked guitar parts).

4. annalisa - “il mondo prima di te”

annalisa has a very powerful voice which suits and leads this very strong song anazingly. i really like its almost explosive climax and its chorus, which has a very unique, confident-sounding tone, which i really enjoy. the specific guitar timbre i was talking about when talking about the previous song is also, funnily present here and it, of course, sounds great! the only complaint really i have is about the inclusion of the strobe lights in the performance: not only do they ruin the chance of watching this song performed live for many people, but they also feel unnecessary because this song flows very smoothly and i feel such harsh lighting does not suit it.

3. lo stato soziale - “una vita in vacanza”

i initially did not like this song and found it annoying but it grew on me so much! this song is very well-structured and is very rhythmic, engaging and catchy in its entirety, which propels how fun this song really is to a great extremity (as does the performance. i love the dancers and the fact that the singers are not dressed in a serious or formal manner!), and i like both of the vocalists’ voices. i also really love the specific sound of the synthesiser played in the first verse! the only part of this amazingly fun song which i do not like is its ending: i really do not like the annoyingly sugary-sounding choir, but tend to ignore this part as the rest of the song is just so enjoyable!

2. enzo avitabile and peppe servillo - “il coraggio di ogni giorno”

i love this nostalgic-sounding song and i feel the two vocalists perform it very well! i adore its dramatic tone, the saxophone, acoustic guitar and string accompaniment and also its place in the final’s  running order (this was amazing as a closing entry!) this song’s atmosphere reminds me of “belle” by garou, patrick fiori and daniel lavoie and therefore makes me think of france more than italy, but really, does that matter? i really enjoy listening to this song and that is that.

1. ermal meta and fabrizio moro - “non mi avete fatto niente”

once again, where do i start?

i first heard this song when i was twelve years old. at this age, i never thought about war, terrorism and politics and reading the song’s lyrics for the first time led me to an epiphany. this song was initially inspired by the manchester arena bombing and the fear ermal and fabrizio felt as musicians going on tour at the time when this happened and the reactions of the relatives of the victims of the bombing to it, yet has a universal message (like “pensa”, another song by fabrizio that i discussed a while ago): war is pointless, as are the ways in which people divide themselves and a hopeful, liberating future is always possible because, in the end, life, quoting the song, goes beyond people and useless violence. this was a novel message to me as a twelve-year old and, upon realising what the song is about (this song was performed at the 2018 eurovision song contest and there were on-screen subtitles in different languages and the very impactful “there is no peaceful bomb” was one of the ones that was translated into russian), i burst out in tears because this was the first time i realised that people who are not me are suffering and dying due to things with no meaning that should never have happened in the first place and i really should care. i, therefore, always state that this song is what radicalised me!

aside from the lyrics, i love this song musically too: ermal and fabrizio are, of course, amazing singers whose voices compliment each other incredibly (i love ermal’s high note as well and the ending of the song!) the electric guitar (which has a sound reminiscent of ringing at the end, which i really like) and piano sound great and make up an amazing backbone of the song’s instrumentation. there are plenty of opportunities for rhythmic clapping in the second verse as well as the drums, which are really important in this song’s instrumentation as they keep the song together and allows for a beautiful, sparse-sounding ending which, unlike the bridge of the song, is most definitely not the most hopeful, includes some lovely dissonance.

this song is, inarguably, extremely important to me and i could not imagine myself putting it anywhere but first which, i mean, was its actual place in the festival (even though ermal and fabrizio were on the brink of disqualification early on in the festival because this song’s chorus takes material from a 2016 song which was not released for profit and was, in fact, written by fabrizio. imagine being disqualified for copying yourself!) i can definitely say that this is my favourite winner of the festival, perhaps, ever!

if anyone read this to the end, thank you and please drop some song suggestions for the liquor store playlist because, now, i am really considering compiling it!