Punk Tyröl

“Strano come il rombo degli aerei da caccia un tempo
Stonasse con il ritmo delle piante al sole sui balconi
E poi silenzio e poi, lontano
Il tuono dei cannoni a freddo
E dalle radio dei segnali in codice
Un giorno in cielo, fuochi di Bengala
La pace ritornò
Ma il re del mondo
Ci tiene prigioniero il cuore
Nei vestiti bianchi a ruota echi delle danze sufi
Nelle metro giapponesi oggi macchine d'ossigeno
Più diventa tutto inutile più credi che sia vero
E il giorno della fine non ti servirà l'inglese
E sulle biciclette verso casa
La vita ci sfiorò
Ma il re del mondo
Ci tiene prigioniero il cuore”
© Il Re Del Mondo, Franco Battiato

Amanita presents Punk Tyröl opening March 3rd in S-chanf, a group show including works by Eva Beresin, Lula Broglio, Angela Jimenez, Leonardo Meoni, Ilona Rich, Marco Scarpi, Adrian Schachter and Sage Schachter. The show will take place at theStable, Bügl Suot 104, 7525 S-chanf.

Franco Battiato in his masterful song Il Re del Mondo (The King of the World) – titled after the French intellectual Rene Guenon’s book – once said: “E il giorno della fine non ti servirà l’inglese.” This loosely translates to, “the day of the end you won’t need English.” The song is a sardonic commentary on the state of humanity in a tragicomic world. Battiato describes warfare, destruction and human egocentricity, mocking our obtusity, yet celebrating our abundance of culture and its sacredness. When catastrophic events take place, they seem to dwarf all other hardships one has faced, to the point that all past troubles appear meaningless. As we come into this world we are encouraged to learn English if we wish to live broadly ambitious lives. English is an instrument we use for life exploration – networking, socializing and learning – all columnal components for a complete journey. Battiato claims, the day of the end we won’t need the English we have learnt as we have spent our whole lives in blind pursuit, disregarding primordial instincts and in consequence ignoring our own spirit. The day of the end, we’ll have English, but it still fails to prepare us for the ultimatum. In a punk world, which is unwilling to learn and entirely driven by emancipation, we cast language aside and embrace the absurdity of what is to come.

“What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.” Terence McKenna

Download list of works