Archive for the ‘Music From the Mother Country’ Category
SFRY
I am currently in love with music video clips from the 80s in Former Yugoslavia. Some gems…
Oci boje meda by Ekatarina Velika
Niko kao ja by Sarlo Akrobata
Maljciki by Idoli
Where is my mind?
Some things that have happened since I last updated…
I saw Galija live in concert which was really good. I hadn’t really listened to Galija much before but I knew the music thanks to my sister (who also paid for my ticket because she really wanted me to see them play). It was a really great concert; I’m glad I went. The three musicians are all extremely talented and the frontman especially looks so happy when he is playing. They make incredibly beautiful music. Beforehand and in between there was a really great band playing. They did gypsy-d up covers of various Serbian songs, and a couple of songs were sung by an African man! In Serbian! It was amazing. I was with my sister and her friends and I worried about feeling a little……out of place? But it was actually a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the night.
I hung out with Jasmina & Nikola twice. Now that I am on good terms with Nikola again, I’ve remembered how much I actually enjoy hanging out with them. I’ve known them for a long time and I feel very comfortable around them. Last week we watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which wasn’t too bad (but not too good either – luckily Brad Pitt is pretty much perfect). Then today we had dinner at Black Rose where we also ran into Bodin and Nenad’s brother Milan. The pizza and tiramisu at Black Rose are really fucking delicious. Later we drove around a bit looking for a place to play pool and when we didn’t find any place we wanted to go, we hung around a park/graveyard for a bit before heading home. They have some great music in their car, including System of a Down covering Wu Tang Clan’s “Shame on a Nigga”. Fucking brilliant!
I also hung out with Kylar before he left for Amerikkka. I met up in the city with him, Morgan, Thea and Josh and we hung around Hyde Park, had coffee, etc. That was fun also.
Zig came over from Kempsey for a few days, from the 30th to the 2nd! She stayed at my place and I showed her around suburbia. We got stoned in a park in St Johns Park and walked to the Bonnyrigg McDonald’s to get ice cream when the Plaza was closed on New Year’s Day. We also watched a lot of bad 80s video clips and came up with a dance routine to Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”. When we got stoned in the ‘burbs we came back to my house, still stoned, and hid in my room away from my parents, with only my fairy lights on, lying down on a mattress, listening to Neil Young. It was….so fucking lovely! Neil Young is amazing. We also saw Twilight on the day Zig was leaving, because it’s not out in Kempsey yet. Robert Pattinson’s jawline remains as perfect as ever.
I found out that a kid I knew died. That really shook me up.
I went to a wonderful New Year’s Eve party. It was at Alex’s house and was a night of blazing and crazing…of course! A lot of wonderful people, conversations, music and Mary Jane. It was a lot of fun. We went to see the fireworks in the city and it was the first time I’d seen them live. I may have gotten more excited had I not been so stoned. The night ended with “Ignition” by R Kelly. Oh yes! As soon as R Kelly came on, there were complaints about the music! haha. I don’t really remember much of the night to be honest, except I think reciting the lyrics to White Rabbit with Alex, talking about pole dancing with Lachlan, being the Bong Master (then spilling bong water all over myself), walking to get hot chips because I HAD to have them, attempting to air guitar to November Rain, seeing the sunrise, bucket bong at 6.30 in the morning, waking up my parents at three in the morning because I was worried when they weren’t answering my midnight call….and just generally having a good time. We left around 7 in the morning and the city was COVERED in filth. It was disgusting. Then Oz Turk pizza….nothing better for when feeling seedy. When I got home, I crashed, still in the previous night’s clothing, and slept until 7 in the evening. And I would have continued had my sister not woken me up.
So yeah…it’s been mostly good times around here.
Music from the mother country…
In anticipation of my entry about last night’s Galija concert, and in conjunction with me working on a mixtape of music from Former Yugoslavia for Leesy, here are some songs I think you should all hear…
In year twelve, during periods of Extension 2 English when we were supposed to be researching and writing, I’d sit listening to Prljavo Kazaliste. This song inspired the name of my main character, and the lyrics inspired the name of my major work – Eyes Like Veins. (This is ‘Marina’, live in 1989).
I’ve been listening to this band for years and until today had no idea what they looked like…and now that I do, I’m more in love than ever! I’m pretty sure the singer is my soulmate. The clothes! The hair! The dance moves! This is ‘Kesten’ by Alisa.
It’s a surprise to many that this man is still alive and kicking but I’m fucking glad because it means I’ve been able to see this band play twice now. There really isn’t any way to explain how important and special Riblja Corba are. I still don’t comprehend it completely. Once Nikola gave me their entire back catalog to listen to and I was overwhelmed by it. They are just pure genius. The first song is ‘Dva Dinara Druze’ and the second ‘Kad Sam Bio Mlad’, two of my favourite Corba songs.
To Be Continued…
Gypsy Magic
Goran Bregovic’s song Mesecina in Emir Kusturica’s film Underground.
Listening to Gogol Bordello has made me reconnect with my inner filthy Eastern European. I listen to music from Former Yugoslavia all the time, but this has made me remember the gypsy side of it all…the stuff you can consume a lot of rakija or vodka to and dance even if you don’t understand a word. Here are a few of my favourite songs of that variety…
Zabranjeno Pusenje – Zeni Nam Se Vukota
This song is in Serbian. From Wikipedia: “Zabranjeno Pušenje (meaning “No Smoking”) was a Yugoslavian garage rock band from Sarajevo. They were one of the most popular musical acts of the 1980s in Yugoslavia, selling hundreds of thousands of records. The band was formed in 1981 in Sarajevo by a group of friends who worked on the early radio version of Top Lista Nadrealista (TV satire show). Contrary to the then-prevalent punk rock and new wave, Zabranjeno Pušenje created a distinctive garage rock sound with folk influences, often featuring innovative production and complex story-telling, sometimes even dark premonitions of war. They went on to record four albums and tour the country extensively, occasionally sparking controversy and even getting into trouble with authorities for their (usually mild and sympathetic) criticism of the socialist system. After the band’s popularity reached new heights in late 1980s, spurred on by the televised version of Top Lista Nadrealista, the Bosnian War which followed saw the breakup of the band, with one offshoot continuing work in Belgrade initially as Zabranjeno Pušenje, later under the name The No Smoking Orchestra, and the other in Zagreb, using the original name. Nevertheless, many of the songs of Zabranjeno Pušenje have attained an anthemic status and their music remains popular across Former Yugoslavia.”
This song is in some sort of gypsy language and I highly recommend everyone download it. Bregovic was in Sydney recently, playing at the Opera House, and I’m really sad I didn’t attend the concert. From Wikipedia: “Goran Bregovic is a Serbian musician and one of the most recognizable modern composers of the Balkans. He has been a household name in the Balkans for over three decades. Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesaria Evora. He rose to fame playing guitar with his rock band Bijelo Dugme, a group that set the groundwork for the Yugoslav rock scene. Known internationally for his scores for Emir Kusturica’s films, Bregović performs with a large ensemble of musicians. A brass band, bagpipes, a string ensemble, a tuxedo-clad all-male choir from Belgrade, and traditional Bulgarian and Roma singers make up his 40-piece band and orchestra. Bregović’s compositions, extending Balkan musical inspirations to innovative extremes, draw upon European classicism and Balkan rhythms.”
Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra – Pitbull Terrier
Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra – Djindji Rindji Bubamara
All Gogol fans must download these songs. When Annie sent me the link to listen to Gogol Bordello’s music, the first thought I had was how similar it was to what The No Smoking Orchestra is doing. They were also in Sydney recently, and I also missed that concert! Ugh. The first song is in English, and the second in some sort of gypsy language, I think. From Wikipedia: “Emir Kusturica is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician. He won the Palme d’Or at Cannes twice (for When Father Was Away on Business and Underground). He is also a recipient of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.” The No Smoking Orchestra, as previously mentioned, is made up of some members of Zabranjeno Pusenje, including the frontman Dr Nele Karajlic, without whom the band is not the same thing, and try hard as they may, what the others are doing now has nothing to do with Zabranjeno Pusenje and they should stop using and abusing the name. They have some good songs of their own, but without Dr Nele, they are not even close to the genius that Zabranjeno Pusenje once was.
