When their first album "Elio Samaga Hukapan Karyiana Turu" came out (1989), the concept of an underground band was outdated by the 150,000 copies that were sold in the first ten months. This result was even more significant since they were not supported by the official media.
Slowly the media's ostracism would be transformed into a clear admiration for a project that did not undergound traditional market rules, but had instead created a new market. Today Elio e le Storie Tese is one of the most appreciated bands by the press and one of the most requested to appear on television.
The second album "Italyan Rum Casusu Çikti" that contains "Pipppero" (recorded with Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, the world-famous female Bulgarian traditional choir), reached success even quicker selling 150,000 copies in the first 6 months.
The hilarious impact of the lyrics, the catchy melodies, the stage presence, (their concerts are real happenings that are attended by a more and more vast and loyal audience), the professionality (the six musicians are some of the best performers in Italy); all these things together with a boost of energy and the constant seek of innovative ideas, make the group undoubtely a "unique case" in the Italian musical panorama.
Their impact on the media grew constantly, more and more. In 1996 they participated in the world-known "Festival di Sanremo", which contributed to increase their popularity without diluting their original and intelligent way of making music. Both critics and audience were stunned by their hit "La Terra dei Cachi".
Their next album "Eat the Phikis", released a few months after Sanremo, jumped immediately to number one of the Italian top selling chart.
Between 1997 and 1998 two new releases from Elio e le Storie Tese: their greatest hits called "Del Meglio del Nostro Meglio Vol. 1" and the special box "Perle ai Porci", containing all of their recordings, previously released and unreleased. Few days before the new year's day the band dramatically lost Feyez, the sax player, who died during a concert, because of an ictus.
"Craccracriccrecr", the next studio album, was released in 1999, followed two years later by "Made in Japan", a double live cd that ironically refers to the well known Deep Purple live album.
Their latest studio release is "Cicciput" (2003). Some of the most popular italian artists (Gianni Morandi, Laura Pausini, Max Pezzali, Litfiba) gave their contribution to the record.
During these years the band won more than a prize for their musical carreer: Best Italian Band at the Mtv European Music Awards 1999, Best Videoclip (Shpalman) at the Italian Music Awards 2003, "Critics' Prize" plus the second place at the Sanremo Festival in 1996.
They have been pioneers, in their own special way, in the field of marketing, communication and promotion. Nothing that ever comes from Elio e le Storie Tese could be less than unique.
At present Elio e le Storie Tese are the first artists in Italy (and among the very few in the world) to record each live performance and sell the mastered copy right after the show; in addition to that, this new website has been activated, with a new form of membership (annual or quarterly) allowing members to download a wide range of audio/video recordings for free.
The band:
Elio: voice, flute
Faso: bass guitar
Cesareo: guitar
Rocco Tanica: keyboards
Christian Meyer: drums
Jantoman: additional keyboards
(source: elioelestorietese.it)
Cani e padroni di cani
Elio e le Storie Tese Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
posso stringervi le mani molto forte
in uno strumento di tortura e di morte?
Perchè ho appena pestato una merda di cane
che ora è un tutt'uno con le righine
delle suole delle mie scarpe sportive nuove.
Bastoncino di ghiacciolo consumato
Bastoncino che utilizzo per rimuovere
la merda dalla scarpa (Che poi mi riutilizzerai).
Bastoncino, bastoncino, avresti mai pensato
di finir così, quando fosti ricavato da quel pino lì?
Bastoncino, dimmi tu cos'hai pensato
mentre la menta ti si gelava intorno.
Quanti sogni finiti dentro il ghiaccio,
quante speranze finite nella merdas.
Nella merdas.
Cani e padroni di cani,
le mie scarpe sportive
sono tutte smerdate
e adesso voi me le ricomprate.
"Guardi che porta fortuna,
a tutti è capitato di pestarne una!"
Sì, ma non con le scarpe sportive alla moda
che mi sono costate grandi sacrifizi
e ora sono - come dire? - sporche.
E ora sono - come dire? - sporche.
Bastoncino di ghiacciolo consumato
da una giovane ragazza (Non mi gettare).
Bastoncino di ghiacciolo ti ho trovato
e adesso sei la mia salvezza (Che poi mi riutilizzerai).
Ti ho guardato, mi hai guardato.
Ti ho raccolto, mi hai pulito.
Ti ho gettato e poi, pentito,
ti ho ripreso per tenerti sempre qui.
E allora pulisci. Pulisci. Pulisci!
E pensare, bastoncino,
che risolvi quel problema lì.
(sì, risolvo quel problema lì.
risolvo quel problema lì!)
E forse questa è la missione, bastoncino:
dentro ad un calcetto o fra le righe di una suola
per liberarti dal tuo gelido destino;
il tuo modo di gridare al mondo:
"Sono vivos. Sono vivos!"
Bastoncino, tu mi insegni che da un pino
si ricava un bastoncino.
Tutto il resto, bastoncino, sono trucioli,
bastoni e segatura (o al limite Pinocchio).
The Elio e le Storie Tese's song "Cani e padroni di cani" is a satirical commentary on the relationship between dogs and their owners, particularly in urban settings. The song starts with the singer stepping on dog poop and expressing frustration towards both the dog and its owner. The opening lines question if he could harm them for the pain they caused. He then speaks to the stick he uses to remove the poop from his shoe, questioning if it ever imagined being used for such a purpose when it was first created. The stick becomes a metaphor for how things can change and serve different purposes over time.
The song then takes a surreal turn as the stick is personified and speaks, reflecting on its own past as a popsicle stick and questioning the dreams and hopes that have been frozen and lost in the ice. The stick is then used to clean the singer's shoes, and he expresses anger towards the owners for not taking better care of their dogs or compensating him for the inconvenience they caused. The stick is then personified again and becomes a symbol of redemption and liberation, representing the idea that even the smallest things can serve a greater purpose and bring meaning to life.
The song ultimately uses humor, absurdity, and surrealism to comment on the trivialities of daily life and the complexities of human relationships. It highlights the idea that even small things can have important symbolic and practical significance in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Cani e padroni di cani, posso stringervi le mani molto forte in uno strumento di tortura e di morte?
Addressing dog owners, can I shake your hand with a grip so tight that it would feel like torture and death?
Perché ho appena pestato una merda di cane che ora è un tutt'uno con le righine delle suole delle mie scarpe sportive nuove.
The singer just stepped on dog poop, and now it has merged with the tread lines on their new sports shoes.
Bastoncino di ghiacciolo consumato da una giovane ragazza (Non mi gettare).
The singer found a used ice lolly stick and intends to use it to scrape the poop off their shoe.
Bastoncino che utilizzo per rimuovere la merda dalla scarpa (Che poi mi riutilizzerai).
The artist uses the ice lolly stick to clean the poop from their shoe and intends to keep the stick to reuse it.
Bastoncino, bastoncino, avresti mai pensato di finir così, quando fosti ricavato da quel pino lì?
The artist questions the ice lolly stick about how it could have ever imagined ending up being used to clean dog poop when it was made from a tree.
Bastoncino, dimmi tu cos'hai pensato mentre la menta ti si gelava intorno.
The singer wants to know what the ice lolly stick was thinking when it was surrounded by frozen mint.
Quanti sogni finiti dentro il ghiaccio, quante speranze finite nella merda.
The singer reflects on how many dreams have melted away in the ice and how many hopes have ended up in dog poop.
Le mie scarpe sportive sono tutte smerdate e adesso voi me le ricomprate.
The artist blames dog owners for their dirty sports shoes and demands that they buy a new pair.
"Guardi che porta fortuna, a tutti è capitato di pestarne una!"
The artist quotes a phrase often used to make the situation less awkward, that stepping in dog poop is a sign of good luck.
Sì, ma non con le scarpe sportive alla moda che mi sono costate grandi sacrifizi e ora sono - come dire? - sporche.
The artist acknowledges the good luck phrase but insists that stepping in poop ruined their expensive stylish shoes.
Ti ho guardato, mi hai guardato. Ti ho raccolto, mi hai pulito. Ti ho gettato e poi, pentito, ti ho ripreso per tenerti sempre qui. E allora pulisci. Pulisci. Pulisci!
The singer addresses the ice lolly stick, thanking it for cleaning their shoe and then throwing it away only to retrieve it and reuse it again. They command the stick to clean until it's spotless.
E pensare, bastoncino, che risolvi quel problema lì. (sì, risolvo quel problema lì. risolvo quel problema lì!)
The artist is amazed that an ice lolly stick can solve such a problem and proudly claims that it indeed does resolve the issue of cleaning poop from their shoe.
E forse questa è la missione, bastoncino: dentro ad un calcetto o fra le righe di una suola per liberarti dal tuo gelido destino; il tuo modo di gridare al mondo: "Sono vivos. Sono vivos!"
The singer reflects that perhaps the ice lolly stick's mission was to end up cleaning dog poop from their shoe, and now it's a way for the stick to announce to the world that it is alive.
Bastoncino, tu mi insegni che da un pino si ricava un bastoncino. Tutto il resto, bastoncino, sono trucioli, bastoni e segatura (o al limite Pinocchio).
The singer acknowledges that the ice lolly stick's life began as a piece of wood from a pine tree and everything else made from wood is just debris, sticks, sawdust, or, at most, Pinocchio the wooden puppet.
Contributed by Claire K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.