Eat the phikis

Infobox Album | Name = Eat the phikis
Type = Album
Artist = Elio e le Storie Tese


Released = 1996
Recorded = | Genre = Rock
Length = 69:45
Label = Aspirine/BMG
Producer = Otar Bolivecic

Last album = ""
(1993)
This album = "Eat the phikis"
(1996)
Next album = "Del meglio del nostro meglio Vol. 1"
(1997)

"Eat the phikis" is the breakthrough album by Italian rock band Elio e le storie tese. They became famous after their second place finish at the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La terra dei cachi", a humorous take on Italian lifestyle. This record shows the band at their creative peak.

Track listing

# "Vincitori o campioni?" - 1:59
# "La terra dei cachi live in Sanremo" - 4:21
# "Burattino senza fichi" - 4:52
# "T.V.U.M.D.B." - 5:26
# "Lo stato A, lo stato B" - 4:31
# "El Pube" - 5:03
# "Omosessualità" - 3:34
# "Mio cuggino" - 5:36
# "First Me, Second Me" - 3:32
# "Milza" - 4:34
# "Li immortacci" - 4:40
# "Tapparella" - 6:31
# "Neanche un minuto di non caco" - 14:59

Trivia

*The cover is inspired by the cover of "Time to Move" by H-Blockx.
*At the beginning of "Vincitori o campioni?" voices by judges of Jeux Sans Frontieres are heard. Voices from Teatro Ariston (in which Sanremo festival is host) are coming next.
*"La terra dei cachi" is the version sung disguised as Rockets at the Sanremo festival. There are many citations of Italian and international music like "Papaveri e papere" by Nilla Pizzi, "Una lacrima sul viso" by Bobby Solo, "La donna cannone" by Francesco De Gregori, "BWV 1068 - Orchestral Suite No. 3" by Johann Sebastian Bach and In the Flesh? by Pink Floyd.
*"Burattino senza fichi" it's a parody of Collodi's Pinocchio. The title resembles the title of the album "Burattino senza fili" by Edoardo Bennato. Citations: "Più ci penso" by Gianni Bella, Get Back by the Beatles, the soundtrack of an Italian Pinocchio film and It's a Long Way to Tipperary, a song of World War I sung many times by Snoopy.
*"T.V.U.M.D.B." is inspired by Earth, Wind & Fire works. A snippet of the soundtrack of the film Jaws is heard in the song.
*"Lo stato A, lo stato B" is a remake of the tune of a TV program in which the band partecipated.
*The title of "El Pube" comes from the nickname of Maradona, " El pibe de oro". "El pueblo unido jamás será vencido" by the Inti Illimani is cited.
*"Mio cuggino" is a joke about many urban legends; there are citations of Autobahn by Kraftwerk, the voice of Ike Willis in "Sy Borg" by Frank Zappa, and Tullio De Piscopo's voice.
*"First Me, Second Me" it's a remake of "The Peak of the Mountain"; the second part is sung by James Taylor.
*"Li immortacci" is sung with Italian singers Giorgia and Edoardo Vianello (who sings on the notes of his own past hit "I Watussi") and talks about famous dead rock stars living secretly in a quasi-immortal state ("mortacci" is a mild-to-folkloric roman swear roughly meaning "your damned dead"). "Li immortacci" are Jimi Hendrix (er Chitara), Freddie Mercury (er Mafrodito), Bob Marley (er Rastamanno), Federico Monti Arduini (er Guardiano der Faro), Elvis Presley (er Pelvicaro), Michael Jackson (er Thrilleraro), Jim Morrison (er Lucertolaro), John Lennon (er Quattrocchi immaginaro), Luigi Tenco (er Vedraro), Ian Curtis (l'Impiccato), Kurt Cobain (er Fucilense), Brian Jones (er Piscina); the identity of er Tromba (the Horn, translated from roman dialect) is uncertain (probable names are Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis or Chet Baker). There are also citations of Lisa Marie Presley and Haile Selassie. MMusically, there is a sampling of We Are the Champions by Queen (and of Mercury's voice) and in the part dedicated to Jim Morrison, some of the lyrics resembles the lyrics of The End by the Doors.
*In "Tapparella" are cited: Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix, "Gente per bene, gente per male" by Lucio Battisti and Impressioni di settembre by PFM.
*"Neanche un minuto di non caco" is "La terra dei cachi" played in just 55 seconds, at the Sanremo festival; in one of the festival's nights they had to play just a part of the song (due to broadcast timings), but they chose to play the whole song in a much faster tempo instead. The title of the song resembles the title of the song "Neanche un minuto di non amore" by Lucio Battisti.
*At the end of the record there's another version of "T.V.U.M.D.B." with less echo and nine ghost tracks with various studio rehearsals.