Ezio Guaitamacchi: “Stories and curiosities about the relationship between music and animals in Crocodile Rock”

There are songs that tell stories of animals and texts that mention our ‘colleagues’ living beings on planet Earth; but also the artists and musical groups who have taken their stage name or popular nickname from animals or the soundtracks born or inspired by their verse. Ezio Guaitamacchi and Antonio Bacciocchi in ‘Crocodile Rock’, a book published by Hoepli for his musical series, is a sort of encyclopedia, almost a census but made legible and enjoyable for reading by the very particular graphic design. “This idea that we could define as ‘bestial’ came to us by observing our dogs and joking about it – reports Guaitamacchi to AdnKronos – Bacciocchi had collected and stored a lot of information on the relationship between music and animals and his proposal immediately thrilled me and brought me back to the years when I was on the board of directors of Greenpeace Italy and I organized a review entitled ‘Music and Nature’ in Milan, integrating the curiosities that he had already collected: and this book was born which, without wanting to make a sin of presumption, it is truly the only one in the world to be so complete “. At this point, it will be updated annually …” In fact, one might think about it – Guaitamacchi nods – Of course, it is a titanic undertaking, because the relationship between music and animals is truly international, a very strong bond in the States as in Europe and in our Italy and which crosses all eras, indeed it is lost in the dawn of civilization, given that even many st musical instruments originate from the sounds of animals. Of course, pop-rock is the genre that has suffered the most from the ‘bestial’ charm of our animal friends “. (By Enzo Bonaiuto)