Capovilla's outburst on the May Day Concertone: “Functional illiterates and servants of record labels”

Pierpaolo Capovilla is once again taking aim at the Italian music system. This time his target is the May Day Concertone. In a statement posted on social media, the frontman of Teatro degli Orrori hits back at comments made by the event's hosts — including BigMama, Arisa and Pierpaolo Spollon — who had championed a softer, more inclusive approach to engaging with the audience. The controversy was sparked by remarks made during the event's press presentation. Spollon stated: The spirit we'll try to bring is lightness, to quote Italo Calvino, who says 'we are light, but with depth of soul'. Arisa added: If we thought of doing the Primo Maggio concert by boring the kids with mind-numbing rants, we'd immediately lose half the crowd in the square. Instead, I think the music will speak for itself, and we should really just be a bit like the jesters of this court. BigMama, meanwhile, stressed: I've learned over the years that there's no better way to teach something than with gentleness. I've seen it with the most stubborn people in the world: the only way to make them understand something or change their mind was to explain it in a kind, nurturing way.

Capovilla rejects this stance without mincing words, firing back harshly: “Gentleness... how stupid is this reasoning? How stupid is popular music nowadays? And why should we pay any attention to it? The unions should be ashamed of inviting these functional illiterates to the Concertone... You're not ridiculous, you're intolerable, miserable servants of the record labels... There's an entire country that's had enough of you, and of all the musical garbage we're being fed nowadays... Just go to the dump, all of you...”

The target of his criticism thus extends beyond the individual statements, also taking aim at the organizers, accused of legitimizing a model that, according to the musician, lowers the level of debate and musical output.

This isn't the first time the Veneto-born musician has directly attacked the Italian music industry. In the past, Capovilla had already stated: “Life is too short to listen to bad music,” adding: “I don't listen to the nonsense coming out of Sanremo or Italy's entertainment distribution channels. I'm completely detached from that, I don't have time for those things.”

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