che cossè l'amor

I discovered the fabulous Vinicio Capossela via Putumayo's collection, Italian Café, and in Che Cosè L'Amor - the album pamphlet saying that he "has been compared to Tom Waits because of his quirky creativity, use of unusual instruments, lyrics that describe complex and bizarre characters and nostalgic melodies that conjure up bygone eras."  Mr. Capossela is also a novelist, wiki reporting his lyrics "highly original" and "often inspired by literary sources such as John Fante, Geoffrey Chaucer, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and others."  From Putumayo:  "Che Cosè L'Amor (What Is Love?) deals with the meaning of love.  The impressionistic lyrics describe various unusual objects and characters, asking them their definition of love.  He asks the wind, he asks a frozen hammock blown from its gazebo, he asked a disinterested coatroom attendant and a dancing Peruvian, who tells him, 'What is love? It's like a pebble in your shoe that stings with each lazy step of the bolero.'"