One shining example of such an artist,who are largely misunderstood,in fact I don't think I understand them(?); are the hugely crushingly heavy Laibach,from the Former-Yugoslav republik of Solvenia.The only country from which I have been deported!.....a funny story involving me hiding my smack-head girlfriend's methadone pills,accidentally i may add, in my Passport(I know!).Which i unfortunately proceeded to present to a clued-up border guard.I said they were Headache pills,which usually worked, but he knew what they were. Gallantly, I blamed my Girlfriend,and she got grilled by the gestapo while i waited. Sent back into Croatia,the Cops there were more like the Nazi type's one imagines in the world of Laibach.....ironically,a lot more frightening than the reasonable chaps in Laibach's fatherland,Slovenia.Bare in mind that this was 1998 and the war had only just finished,so everyone were very twitchy,and looked as if they had something to hide. So, I never got to visit Ljubljana (aka Laibach in German),but managed to avoid jail. Many other bizarre incidents happened on that trip too numerous to mention,the best was being mistaken for UN peace keepers in a deserted Bosnian Hotel(where we were the only guests),as we were wearing military uniforms as a fashion item(really stupid in a war zone i know!); the staff panicked when they saw us, and laid on five star service.....then the real army arrived.Very funny,and a very cheap holiday in other peoples misery,as it says in the song,well....at least on the sleeve of "Holidays in the Sun", by the comparatively, very lame and inoffensive, Sex Pistols.
The 'Pistols' never got any complaints , their music never matched their image; just rock'n'roll.
Now Laibach had a huge frightening sound to match their huge frightening image ,with even more confusing politics than our loveable spikey-tops. Forget electric guitars, whip out yer Flugel Horns and Opera singers, then shit your pants!
I'm not alone, when I sense a underlying 'Humour' in Laibach's music,subtly threading through the Wagnerian Horror of this brutal music. Early Laibach,is especially wonderful and brutal, as showcased on this self-released Live cassette from post-Tito yogoslavia in 1985. They seemed to like Tito a lot,who, as a communist, contradicts their Fascistic imagery.'Are they Communists, or Nazi's(?)', was a common question. I prefer to think they are neither,but a representation of the Horror of mass political movements. Although,that said, both of these political dogma's do have some positive aspects, namely in their common "Socialist" roots. Its these aspects that are frequently promoted in Laibach's propaganda, amidst the humour and the horror. A very complex pop group indeed; just how we like it.
This cassette is a fine document,and shows the group at their very best;noisy, brutal, aggressive,and frightening. Guaranteed to draw complaints from the 'Normals' in your life,confronting them with uncomfortable feelings; as if dropped into the crowd of a Torch-lit Nuremberg Rally and they find themselves screaming 'sieg heil' enthusiastically.......Beware the 'Hive Mind'!
(the track listing on the insert didn't match the music,so i've tried my best at identifying the tunes,if i'm wrong .....keep it to yourself please).
Track Listing:
01 Vier Personen
02 Vade Retro
03 Nova Akropola
04 Die Liebe
05 Ti, Ki Izzivas
06 Sredi Bojev
07 Vojna Poema
08 Drzava
DOWNLOAD this fine bunch of kunst HERE!
