This guy is so gifted, I'll probably name a son after him

No, I'm not talking about Sufjan. Although I still stick to the fact that my first born will probably be named "Sufjan." Don't deny it, it's a cool name.

I'm talking about another extremely gifted musician. In early February of this year, while I was busy trying to catch up on all of the critically acclaimed movies of 2007 so that I could have my top films list ready in time for the Oscars, I received This Is England in my Netflix queue.

This Is England is a great film about skinheads in 1980s England. You might remember seeing it in my "The Best Movies of 2007" list. There are a lot of excellent things about the movie, but the greatest is most definitely the score. There was a lot of rock music used throughout the film, but there were a few key score selections that were just breathtaking. I had to know what they were. I did a little research and discovered the name Ludovico Einaudi.

I came to find out that he has scored a few movies... mostly Italian films or TV movies. But a few films, including This Is England, have used his pre-existing music as their score. The filmmakers heard his music and decided that they didn't need anyone to write anything special for the film because his work is already so perfect. Simple and beautiful.

I would label him as "minimalistic," which I have seen others call him as well. He is a pianist as a performer but composes everything in his music. Some of his music is just piano and some of it is piano and strings. All of it is exceptional. I've been in love for almost four months now.

First, I've posted "Fuori Dal Mondo" which is the song that first got me hooked. This means "outside of the world."

Next, "Dietro Casa," is a very simplistic piano solo. Amazing!



Last, but certainly not least, "Primavera" is from his most recent album. It is intense. The strings are magnificent.



These are just three songs and he has several albums worth. Every song I've ever heard is incredible. Check him out. American iTunes has a lot of his stuff. He is well-known throughout the world and monumental in Italy, but America hasn't seen very much of him yet.

The name "Ludovico" is the Italian equivalent of "Ludwig" which you may recall belongs to another slightly renowned composer. I think I'll name a kid "Ludovico." It will go well with my other kid, "Ennio." Maybe I'll have twins and they can both be named after genius Italian composers.