Scissorman

Well, they say that it is soul. Both of their albums were produced in the USA, Aleksandra Kovač even won an MTV award. In my opinion their music really, really sucks, which is sad, because I have met them both and they are really nice persons...

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dankrsta

Mali covek (Little Man) is one of my favorites from Sarlo Akrobata, but if I have to choose from those bands, I kinda lean more toward Elektricni Orgazam and their synth driven melodies. I actually like their second album better, but unfortunately couldn't find anything on You Tube.

As for the lyrics, a somewhat free translation would be:
Little man wants to cross the line,
He wants to, but he can't,
The prescribed norms are suffocating him,
(But) his place is across the line.
And that's it. The lyrics from all those bands, but especially Sarlo Akrobata, are pretty minimal and repetitive.

This Belgrade new wave scene had a fairly uniform sound, but since I listened to it for so long, I can hear a lot of varieties. But I understand how it can all sound very similar to someone who's hearing it for the first time, especially since it's so influenced by western new wave and post-punk.
This scene (and its counterparts in Croatia and Slovenia) had a major influence in shaping the rock'n'roll sound in the 80's and 90's, and it still has a cult place in ex-Yu rock history. A certain compilation "Paket Aranzman" (1980) played a great part in it. It compiled songs from three bands Elektricni Orgazam, Sarlo Akrobata and Idoli

I totally forgot to present something from IDOLI, so I'll do it now. They were probably the most popular band from that scene.

"Maljciki" - a satirical song on communist ideals which were in the early 80's, when Tito died, slowly becoming a thing of the past.


I actually found a translation in English in the comment section on You Tube, so that will spare me some time:
Flaming dawns wake me up from my sleep.
Factory mornings - smoke from chimneys
The song echoes on - young workers!
Steely mornings - I'm rushing to my factory.
My comrades, laborous, happy!
They ride bicycles, full of pride!
My comrades, laborous, happy!
New victories we'll achieve!
Sun is shining - the wind whispers.
The morning dew - smell of the land!
Sun is shining - aaaaaaah!
Rich crops - happy I am!

Petula07

I love soundtrack and movie Black cat white cat - I think I can really recommend if somebody doesn't know it Crazy, funny, full of energy.

Movie by Emir Kusturica and music by Goran Bregovič.
It's from ex-Jugoslavia, probably from Serbia.

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VEGANGELICA

Ha ha! I *thought* the word sucks, but didn't have the guts to say it! When I hear those two songs (which sound like love song pap to me), I want to grab a stack of paper, rip it viciously into shreds, and throw it into the air. But that's just ol' chipper, happy me! Now I'll have to go visit the soul section to see if this is my universal reaction to all soul songs, or just some.

I think there are probably many musicians whom I'd like as people, even if I dislike their music...and I hope they wouldn't take it personally, just like I hope those two nice sisters would understand and not be offended that you like them but not their music, Scissorman.

Thank you, dankrsta! Simple but meaningful lyrics. I'll listen to the song again with those in mind. And thanks for the info about the Belgrade new wave scene and its influence on songs in the 80's and 90's.

HA HA HA HA HA!!! God, I love satire. Thanks for sharing that song and the lyrics about those "happy" workers, so "full of pride," riding their bikes to their smoky factories. I think I have found my new favorite song and video!

I especially like the part at 2:08 when the man in his nerdy suit starts playing the maracas more and more wildly. I laughed and laughed until I started to cry!

Part of what I like about this song is that I spent some time in East Germany before the Wall came down, and so I got to find out from my friends what life was like there, plus see some of it firsthand. All the propaganda! The limitations on freedoms and enterprise! The rules! And of course, all the soldiers with guns, and the barbed-wire fences and no-man's land to keep you from escaping.

It is sad what people who want to maintain power and control will do to other people paternalistically. I like when songs like this use satirical humor to jab at the ruling order. Satire is the greatest political weapon, I think (well, after machine guns, that is)!

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Zaqarbal

I like Siddharta. And I've found some lyrics translations here, although Domine isn't there.

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Petula07

Thanks for these interesting videos!

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dankrsta

In my last post I mentioned a compilation "Paket Aranzman" and its cult place in ex-Yu rock history, but it wasn't the only one. Croatia and Slovenia had a pretty developed punk and new wave scene as well, as is represented through another compilation Novi Punk Val (New Punk Wave). It compiled songs from Pankrti, Paraf, Prljavo Kazaliste, Termiti, Berlinski zid, etc.

I will link a post from another thread on this forum 'Interenational music (in general)'. A poster Swink presented a few punk bands from Slovenia. I would like if he/she could come back and continue with it in this thread.Slovenian punk

Anyway, I will continue with Croatian bands.
PARAF was formed in 1976 and lasted till the middle of the 80's. They were at first a proper punk, punk-rock band, as is evident on their first album A dan je tako lijepo počeo... (translated: "But The Day Started So Good...") from 1980. Later they started using keyboards and went for a more challenging and artistic sound, post-punk actually (album Izleti 1982). The third album Zastave from 1984 incorporated a somewhat gothic/dark wave sound. This album did not have any success and went almost unnoticed, but has gained a cult status since then.

First single Moj zivot je novi val 1979

PRLJAVO KAZALISTE is a long lived band (I don't know if they still exist), very popular in ex-Yu. I think that only their second album can be considered new wave - Crno bijeli svijet (Black and White World) 1980. Later they made some pretty conventional, mainstream rock.



HAUSTOR (formed in 1979) was probably one of my favorite Croatian bands from that period led by great Darko Rundek. Their music was coloured with tropical and reggae sounds, sunny feelings, which made them unique in the Yugoslav new wave scene. (First album S/T from 1981). They had about 5 albums and Darko Rundek is now doing some interesting solo work (from what I've heard).

Moja prva ljubav (My first love)1981


FILM or Jura Stublic & Film was another Croatian band very popular in ex-Yu with lots of hits. I will post a video that shows best their new wave side, their first hit 'Neprilagodjen' (Unadjusted) from the first album Još jučer samo na filmu a sada i u vašoj glavi 1981.



I found this pretty informative Wikipedia article on New Wave music in Yugoslavia with a list of bands (some of them even I'm not familiar with), so if anyone is interested, it's a good read.
New Wave music in Yugoslavia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I read on some blog that there were "statements by the editors of British NME Magazine that Yugoslavian new wave scene was the second strongest in Europe (right after England)". I don't know if that's true as I can't find the actual quotes from the British NME Magazine, but if it is, that's pretty cool. EDIT: Still, I seriously doubt it. There was some tough competition in Europe like German dark wave and industrial or French cold wave. Hmmm...

NumberNineDream

I have Paket Aranzman, a very enjoyable comp, I shall check out Novi Punk Val then... and of course the bands you just mentioned.

Great posts btw

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dankrsta

Thank you NumberNineDream for showing interest. In my next post I'll jump to Slovenia and write about the two most interesting bands and imo probably the best that came out of ex-Yu from that early to mid 80's period - Laibach and Borghesia. Some of you (industrial fans especially) probably know them, particularly Laibach.

Anyway, I was listening to the clips you were posting in your Lebanese Music thread and I'll continue to follow it, as I have a soft spot for middle eastern melodies, although I practically know nothing about the music from that part of the world.

NumberNineDream

Well thank you for showing interest too. I got a soft spot for Ex-Yougoslavian music (and I also don't know a thing about it)... seems like we're complementary in these subjects.

Btw, I'll try to update the "Arabic Music" thread too, a lot of unmentioned names on there... and looking forward to reading about the Slovenian 80s period.

Cheers.

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