Danger Mouse creates homage to Italian scores

Danger Mouse is keeping himself busy. With Daniele Luppi he has made an homage to Italian film music. This homage has taken the shape of a fifteen track album that will be released on the 17^th of May by Capitol. The music features some musicians who have actually played for Ennio Morricone (the master of the film score), and further aid will be provided by Jack White and Norah Jones.

One of my personal favourite Italian films is by an underrated director Guiseppi Montonini. His masterpiece is entitled The Violin Cried Tears of Basil. The plot is described as follows: “The young, charming, but down on his luck (and money!) Dino is in love with the beautiful Bella. To woo his muse he wants to serenade her on the most beautiful violin: that of maestro Paolo DiMaria. He steals the violin, switching it with a bag of sand approximately the same weight. DiMaria is at first fooled, but when the bag of sand fails to hit C during the crescendo he cries wolf. A wolf enters the screen and bites DiMaria, who in pain succumbs into an aria of Carmen. The police starts a proper manhunt, but both Dino and the violin seem to have disappeared. Bella is grief stricken.

Ten years later Dino returns. He poses as the violin, and DiMaria is fooled especially when he does succeed in hitting the C duringthe crescendo. However, problems arise when the violin returns posing as Dino. DiMaria takes no notice, but Bella becomes suspicious when the violin is unable to satisfy her sexually. When the violin fails to make a salad Bella is sure. To wallow in her sorrow she goes to a concert, where she sees DiMaria play Dino like a violin. In a particularly moving scene Bella stands up, yells Dino, mi amor! Dino, recognizing her voice, bites DiMaria, runs towards Bella, and both elope to France where he is kidnapped by highwaymen mistaking him for a Stradivarius and sold during auction.