A Weird New Italian Musical Tribute to James Dean

Get a load of the press release to promote YTAM's new single, "James Dean."

On April 29, an Italian musician named YTAM released a new song titled “James Dean.” It is the latest entry in a list of music inspired by Dean dating back seven decades. He is one of, if not the most-named person in all of popular music.

The song is no great shakes, and I have never heard of YTAM, who has little social media following, but he releases music on the Columbia label. I mention the song here only because of the press release that accompanied its release. It made me laugh, and I wanted to share it with you in my translation from the original Italian:

After VAMPIRO, YTAM returns with JAMES DEAN, the new single to be released on April 29 by Columbia Records / Nigiri. James Dean, the “beautiful and damned” of world cinema, is the protagonist of the new single from YTAM. The singer-songwriter from Brescia identifies with the actor, a generational icon and universal symbol of living to the fullest without worrying about danger.

“Feeling invincible is a characteristic of your twenties, and the iconic figure of James Dean returns to life as the very emblem of being young by living to the fullest, completely unaware of the dangers of our daily life,” explains YTAM.

A flow of images and emotions follow one after the other, providing the backdrop for the need to feel free by traveling at high speed in a Ford Gran Torino, unaware that everything can end in an instant with a crash, whatever meaning and parable are hidden behind a life as fascinating as it is short. YTAM’s tendency to refer to cinema and pop culture returns in JAMES DEAN after the singles GBYE, in which Michael Jackson is the key figure, and VAMPIRO, a track that opens with a “bloodthirsty” Tarantino scene.

Don’t ask me what a Ford Gran Torino has to do with anything.