Il rock ‘n’ roll non nasce come musica “nera”, nel senso tutto cromatico del termine; nessuna accezione a concetti di razza. È variopinta, luminescente, dai colori accesi delle Grandi Palle di Fuoco e di Tutti frutti. A metà degli anni ’50 non ha ancora scoperto quell’estetica del “nero” che nella letteratura prima e nel cinema poi era già assai diffusa. I primi esempi, isolati, a volte inconsapevoli, di questa moda nella musica commerciale furono Johnny Cash e Gene Vincent, due musicisti che amavano in maniera quasi perversa vestirsi solo di nero. Ma sarà dalla metà del decennio successivo che il rock scoprirà e abbraccerà in toto le tinte scure, grazie ad artisti come Lou Reed, Mick Jagger, Jim Morrison.

Da qui in avanti il “nero” diventerà una vera e propria moda, basti pensare ai nomi di tanti gruppi degli ultimi 40 anni: Black Sabbath, Black Widow, Black Mountain, Black Keys, Black Angels, Black Flag… ognuno può continuare la lista con i suoi preferiti. Dal “look”, ai testi, alle copertine degli LP: il nero è un must. Tanto che si diffonde addirittura l’espressione “black album” per indicare quelle pubblicazioni le cui copertine concedono ben poco alla fantasia e sono dei monoliti monocromatici. Al contrario l’unico album bianco di cui ci si ricorda è quello dei Beatles, più per sovrastima del prodotto che per reale unicità, ad essere sinceri. E per continuare ad essere sinceri, il “White Album” aveva contenuti  apparentemente molto scuri, chiedere a Charles Manson.

Perché il nero, allora?

Oltre che un singolo colore, il nero è la somma di tutti gli altri, la risultante dello spettro visibile. Il più denso, il più profondo. La serietà e il rigore. È il colore del buio, della notte. Il colore di un amore che finisce. È il colore dell’altra faccia della luna, quella nascosta. Il nero bene si associa al minimalismo, ai suoni puri, reiterati, ai concetti diretti. Primordiale, indifferenziato, niente forma e solo contenuto. Nero è poi, soprattutto, il colore del lutto, della Morte; dell’umore depresso: malinconia, dal latino melancholia, cioè “bile nera”, uno dei quattro umori da cui derivano, secondo la medicina romana, gli stati d’animo. Il colore della sponda scura del tempo. È il colore che naturalmente si associa al satanismo da fumetto di certo rock duro: i Venom ci hanno costruito sopra una carriera e, come se non bastasse, fondato un intero movimento, il “Black Metal”. È, diametralmente, un colore altrettanto “virginale” che il bianco. È l’assenza di luce, cioè uno spazio invisibile e ancora da scoprire, l’ignoto. È un viaggio al termine della notte. Dipingi di nero e la gente saprà che il tuo lavoro, la tua arte, è pura, densa, primordiale, legata tanto alla vita quanto alla morte ma senza compromessi; è oltre la linea d’ombra, qualcosa che necessita di rivelazione e quindi di iniziazione. I rocker di seconda generazione, dopo il boom del Rock n’ roll degli anni ‘50, attingono a piene mani a questi concetti per cercare di crescere, di traghettare la loro musica verso una maturità artistica più adulta, per trasformarsi da puri “entertainer” ad artisti a tutto tondo, percepiti e riconosciuti come tali, cercando il consenso non solo in schiere di ragazzine isteriche e urlanti, ma anche tra le pieghe dell’adolescenza più turbata.

Kazimir Severinovi? Malevi?  "Cerchio nero" (1913)

 

“Gli show dei Doors a New York quel mese aiutarono a dare Forza e autenticità al nuovo movimento rock. Quella musica si chiamava  rock ma era diversa dal rock and roll. ll rock era adulto virtuosistico, non più infantile e fatuo. Il rock and roll era  apolitico e mirava solo a divertire, mentre il rock aveva un suo   peso e spesso prendeva posizioni politiche, generando correnti di  energia psichica che si spingevano oltre la musica in sé,  verso l'arte e la politica radicale.”

(Stephen Davis - Jim Morrison. Vita, morte, leggenda)

Non si può poi sottovalutare il fatto che, già dai primi anni ’60, il legame tra Rock e Morte appare ineluttabile e inscindibile; la fine prematura, sia pure accidentale, di Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Big Bopper, Eddie Cochran, quella addirittura simbolica del capostipite Hank Williams, le vite tormentate e borderline di Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Johnny Cash e tanti altri: era più che una coincidenza. Suonare musica Rock, ormai era chiaro, significava flirtare con la Morte. Un’idea che a tutti i giovani ribelli piaceva un sacco. Ed allora si risvegliano suggestioni quasi scolastiche: decadentismo, simbolismo, William Blake, l’occultismo di inizio ‘900, quella vena, dark e religiosa insieme, già presente in tanta tradizione blues: musicisti come eroi tardo romantici, menestrelli gotici, filosofi introversi; eroi faustiani.

Nero. Il colore, la parola, sono dei mezzi, strumenti attraverso cui incanalare questi sentimenti, renderli evidenti e assimilabili dal pubblico; rispondendo ad una impellente necessità di essere veramente “presi sul serio”, di costruirsi come artisti reali, di realizzarsi al di là delle effimere hit di un’estate; possibilmente senza compromessi.

 

Gallery pt.1 - Persistenze di Luce

La piccola galleria che segue non ha pretese di completezza né di ortodossia. È una raccolta di dischi “neri” nella loro apparenza esteriore, che in moltissimi casi corrisponde poi ai contenuti musicali. Molti sono lavori addirittura cult: è impossibile, per esempio, scindere l' essere di Back in Black dal suo monocromo apparire. L’ordine scelto non è cronologico ma essenzialmente cromatico. Esistono certamente molti altri dischi, tetri di contenuti ma sgargianti in superficie. Di seguito si è scelto di riportare quegli esempi che cercano di unificare essenza ed apparenza in un unico colore: nero.

Black Sabbath

Master of Reality (1971)

Mike Stanfod– Copertina (fronte)

 

Killing Joke

Killing Joke (1980)

Copertina (fronte e retro)

Guerriglia urbana, street art o un'oscura profezia del crollo del Muro?

 

 

Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult (1972)

Gawlik – Copertina (fronte)

 

Blue Öyster Cult

Tyranny and Mutation (1972)

Gawlik – Copertina (fronte)

Più che il soggetto o il protagonista dei primi due album dei BOC, il Nero è un sinistro sfondo per le sadiche vicende di paranoia urbana narrate dalla band.

 

Venom

Black Metal (1982)

Copertina (fronte)

 

Burzum

Burzum (1992)

Copertina (fronte)

 

Darkthrone

A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992)

Dave Pybus– Copertina (fronte)

Il capostipite e due illustri successori per un genere cha ha fatto di un Colore il proprio Manifesto

 

Alice Cooper

Love It to Death (1971)

David Griffith (fotografia) Copertina (fronte)

 

 Royal Trux

Twin Infinitives (1990)

Copertina (fronte) (a destra)

 Ovvero il Nero come minimalismo senza compromessi...

 

 Joy Division

Unknown Pleasures (1979)

Copertina (fronte)

 Umore nero nella Madchester dei primi anni '80

 

Gallery pt.2 – Totalitarismi

Una serie di opera che ben poco lascia alla luce; un ritaglio, un nome stampigliato nell’angolo, un simbolo affogato dalla marea nero. In alcuni casi nemmeno questo. Uno spazio per punk irriducibili, band in lutto e sperimentatori intransigenti.

 Radical Art today is synonymous with dark art; its primary colour is black.

Adorno

The Stooges

The Weirdness (2007)

Sean Mosher-Smith– Copertina (fronte)

 

Monks

Black Monk Time (1966)

Copertina (fronte)

 

 Spiritualized

Pure Phase (1995)

Copertina (fronte)

 

AC/DC

Back in Black (1980)

Bob Defrin – Copertina (fronte)

 Un omaggio a Bon Scott

 

Magnetic Fields

The Charm of the Highway Strip (1994)

Copertina (fronte)

 

 Faust

So Far (1972)

Uwe Nettelbeck – Copertina (fronte)

 

 The Roots

Organix (1993)

Copertina (fronte)

 

Cabaret Voltaire

2X45 (1982)

Copertina (fronte)

 

The Velvet Underground

White Light/White Heat (1968)

Acy R. Lehman – Copertina

 

Crass

Christ – The Album (1982)

Copertina (fronte)

 

Fushitsusha

Live I (1989)

Copertina (fronte)

 Keiji Haino è senza dubbio, tra gli avanguardisti più radicali, il più devoto al nero

 

Metallica

Metallica (1991)

Copertina (fronte)

 

The Damned

The Black Album (1972)

Copertina della prima ristampa (fronte)

Una dichiarata rilettura del White Album dei Beatles

 

Prince

The Black Album (1987)

Copertina (fronte)

 

BLACK PLAYLIST

Breve compilation “non ragionata” sul tema del Nero. Una menzione speciale per il sofisticato e forse poco noto avant-jazz di Sarah McLachlan e per la Black Moon dei Killing Joke, band “terrificante” anche nei momenti di scarsa ispirazione.

(Cliccate sul titolo per ascoltare il brano)

 

Johnny Cash "Man In Black" (1971)

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,

Why you never see bright colors on my back,

And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.

Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,

Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,

I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,

But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,

Or listened to the words that Jesus said,

About the road to happiness through love and charity,

Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,

In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,

But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,

Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,

For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,

I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,

Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,

Believen' that the Lord was on their side,

I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,

Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,

And things need changin' everywhere you go,

But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,

You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,

And tell the world that everything's OK,

But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,

'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

 

The Rolling Stones "Paint It Black" (1966)

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colors anymore I want them to turn black

I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black

With flowers and my love both never to come back

I see people turn their heads and quickly look away

Like a new born baby it just happens every day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black

I see my red door and must have it painted black

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts

It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue

I could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the settin' sun

My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No colors anymore I want them to turn black

I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I wanna see it tainted, tainted black

Black as night, black as coal

I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky

I wanna see it tainted, tainted, tainted, tainted black

Yeah!

 

Neil Young "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) (1979)

My my, hey hey

Rock and roll is here to stay

It's better to burn out

Than to fade away

My my, hey hey.

Out of the blue and into the black

They give you this, but you pay for that

And once you're gone, you can never come back

When you're out of the blue and into the black.

The king is gone but he's not forgotten

This is the story of a johnny rotten

It's better to burn out than it is to rust

The king is gone but he's not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my

Rock and roll can never die

There's more to the picture

Than meets the eye.

Hey hey, my my.

 

AC/DC "Back in Black" (1980)

Back in black
I hit the sack
I've been too long I'm glad to be back
Yes I'm, let loose
From the noose
That's kept me hanging about
I keep looking at the sky
'Cause it's gettin' me high
Forget the herse 'cause I'll never die
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes
Usin' every one of them and running wild
'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
(Well) I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black
Back in the back
Of a Cadillac
Number one with a bullet, I'm a power pack
Yes, I'm in a bang
With a gang
They've got to catch me if they want me to hang
Cause I'm back on the track
And I'm leadin' the pack
Nobody's gonna get me on another rap
So look at me now
I'm just makin' my play
Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way
'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
(Well) I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black
Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back
Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
Well I'm back in black
Yes I'm back in black
Hooo yeah
Ohh yeah
Yes I am
Oooh yeah, yeah Oh yeah
Back in now
Well I'm back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back
Back in black
Yes I'm back in black

 

Venom "Black Metal" (1982)

Black is the night, metal we fight

Power amps set to explode

Energy screams, magic and dreams

Satan records the first note.

We chime the bell, chaos and hell

Metal for maniacs pure.

Fast melting steel, fortune on wheels

Brain hemorrhage is the cure

For BLACK METAL

lay down your soul to the gods rock `n' roll

Freaking so wild, nobody's mild

Giving it all that you've got.

Wild is so right, metal tonight

Faster than over the top.

Open the door, enter hells core

Black is the code for tonight

Atomic force, feel no remorse

Crank up the amps now it's night

BLACK METAL

lay down your soul to the gods rock `n' roll

metal ten fold through the deadly black hole

riding hells stallions bareback and free

faking our chances with raw energy

Come ride the night with us

Rock hard and fight

United my legions we stand

Freak hard and wild for us

Give up your souls

Live for the guest Satan's band

Against the odds, black metal gods

Fight to achieve our goal

Casting a spell, leather and hell

Black metal gods rock `n' roll

Building up steam, nuclear screams

War-heads are ready to fight

Black leather hounds, faster than sound

Metal our purpose in life.

BLACK METAL

lay down your soul to the gods rock `n' roll

black metal

 

Dead Can Dance "Black Sun" (1990)

Murderer!

Man of fire.

Murderer!

I've seen the eyes of living dead.

It's the same game - survival.

The great mass play a waiting game.

Embalmed, crippled, dying in fear of pain.

All sense of freedom gone.

Black sun in a white world.

Like having a black sun in a white world.

I have a son,

His name is Eden.

It's his birthright,

Beyond estranged time.

Give me 69 years,

Another season in this hell.

It's all sex and death as far as I can tell.

Like Prometheus we are bound,

Chained to this rock of a brave new world,

Our godforsaken lot.

And I feel that's all we've ever needed to know,

'Til worlds end and the seas run cold.

Give me 69 years,

Another season in this hell.

There is sex and death

In mother nature's plans.

Like Prometheus we are bound,

Chained to this rock of a brave new world,

Our godforsaken lot.

 

Pearl Jam "Black" (1991)

Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay

Were laid spread out before me as her body once did.

All five horizons revolved around her soul

As the earth to the sun

Now the air I tasted and breathed has taken a turn

Ooh, and all I taught her was everything

Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore

And now my bitter hands chafe beneath the clouds

Of what was everything.

Oh, the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

I take a walk outside

I'm surrounded by some kids at play

I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear?

Oh, and twisted thoughts that spin round my head

I'm spinning, oh, I'm spinning

How quick the sun can drop away

And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass

Of what was everything?

All the pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything...

All the love gone bad turned my world to black

Tattooed all I see, all that I am, all I'll be... yeah...

Uh huh... uh huh... ooh...

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life,

I know you'll be a sun in somebody else's sky, but why

Why, why can't it be, can't it be mine

 

Sarah McLachlan "Black" (1991)

As the walls are closing in

And the colors fade to black

And my eyes are falling fast and deep into me

And I follow the tracks that lead me down

And I never follow what's right

And they wonder sometimes when they see all the

Sadness and pain the truth brings to light

'Cause I can't see no reason

What is blind cannot see

'Cause I want what is pleasin'

All I take should be free

What I rob from the innocent ones

What I'd steal from the womb

If I cried me a river of all my confessions

Would I drown in my shallow regret

As the walls are closing in

And the colors fade to black

And the night is falling fast and deep into the sea

And in darkness all that I can see

The frightened and the weak

Are forced to cling to mistakes they know nothing of

At mercy are the meek

'Cause I can't see no reason

What is blind cannot see

'Cause I want what is pleasin'

All I take should be free

What I rob from the innocent ones

What I'd steal from the womb

 

Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun" (1994)

In my eyes

Indisposed

In disguise

As no one knows

Hides the face

Lies the snake

The sun

In my disgrace

Boiling heat

Summer stanch

'Neath the black

The sky looks dead

Call my name

Through the cream

And I'll hear you

Scream again

Black hole sun

Won't you come

And wash away the rain

Black hole sun

Won't you come

Won't you come

Stuttering

Cold and damp

Steal the warm wind

Tired friend

Times are gone

For honest men

And sometimes Far too long

For snakes

In my shoes

A walking sleep

And my youth

I pray to keep

Heaven send

Hell away

No one sings

Like you

Anymore

Black hole sun

Won't you come

And wash away the rain

Black hole sun

Won't you come

Won't you come

Black hole sun

Won't you come

And wash away the rain

Black hole sun

Won't you come

Won't you come

Won't you come

Won't you come

Won't you come

Hang my head

Drown my fear

Till you all just

Disappear

Black hole sun

Won't you come

And wash away the rain

Black hole sun

Won't you come

Won't you come

Black hole sun

Won't you come

And wash away the rain

Black hole sun

Won't you come

 

Killink Joke "Black Moon" (1994)

Here in this vortex my true self begins to show

where phantoms pass me by what secrets do they hold?

flesh torn upon the wheels of human frailty

part of me was fascinated by the cruelty

running from the madness running from this mirror of how i feel

a dream is just a shadow of something that i found real

black moon bad sleep - another side of me

black moon bad dreams - another side of me

in the temples i am kneeling fearing god

in the cinemas they are baying for some blood

horror began to dawn as fear played its part

the fear that cancels out the love that's in our heart

all the hurt we felt repeated down the line

the pain inflicted was the pain that we designed

i try escaping from the person that i am

here is the endless cycle break it if you can

black moon bad dreams - another side of me

black moon bad sleep - another side of me

 

Ozzy Osbourne "Black Rain" (2007)

The black rain is falling

Contaminating the ground

The human race is dying

The dead are scattered around

What is the price of a bullet?

Another hole in the head

A flag draped over a coffin

Another soldier is dead

How many victims have fallen

How many more have to die

People dying in masses

Angel of death standing by

We've got our marching orders

Defenders of our home and our pride

We've crossed too many borders

Military suicide

War killing sons and daughters

Another failed attack

There is no turning back

Blood running down like water

You'll think you got away

Until the judgment day comes

Politicians confuse me

I watch the body count rise

Why are the children all marching

Into the desert to die?

The human psyche is twisted

The madness rising again

Another empire falling

I watch them dying in vain

We've got our marching orders

Defenders of our home and our pride

We've crossed too many borders

Military suicide

war sends our sons to slaughter

Another failed attack

There is no turning back

Blood running down like water

You'll think you got away

Until the judgment day comes

Are you ready?

Black rain, black rain

Black rain, black rain

War killing sons and daughters

Another failed attack

There is no turning back

Blood running down like water

You'll think you got away

Until the judgment day

You'll think you got away

Until your judgment day comes