LAIBACH

Aug. 31st, 2009 08:25 pm
prof_pangaea: the master (Default)
[personal profile] prof_pangaea
so yesterday i came across a video by a slovenian music/art group called Laibach (which is the german name for the capital of slovenia, ljubljana). this somehow involved [livejournal.com profile] jigglykat and the song "the final countdown" by europe). then i looked up more of their stuff and read about them a bit. they're industrial, and they use art and symbols from artists like malevich and heartfield, but i'm really interested in the way they reappropriate work by other musicians. they take songs (or entire albums) and make covers of them, sometimes changing the lyrics, sometimes leaving the lyrics completely alone but letting their own sound (industrial, militaristic) change the tone and intent of the original.

i was struck by how much rammstein has lifted from their work and aesthetic, while remaining commercial and popular (they have the malevich cross, which is laibach's symbol, in their name -- replacing the "t" in "rammstein"). i saw this quote from them on wikipedia: "Laibach does not believe in originality... Therefore, Rammstein could not 'steal' much from us. They simply let themselves get inspired by our work, which is absolutely a legitimate process. We are glad that they made it. In a way, they have proven once again that a good 'copy' can make more money on the market than the 'original.'" they did a cover of rammstein's song "ohne dich", and changed the lyrics "without you i cannot exist" to "without me you cannot exist".

anyway, i have been listening to them while i've been writing since yesterday, and want to post a couple of the videos i especially liked. so here we go:














they started in 1980 and are still working today. by the way, a lot of these videos are a bit weird and there is some militaristic/fascist imagery, which the uneducated could mistake for support of fascism. they have said, "We are fascists as much as Hitler was a painter", which is a more ambiguous statement than some of their leftist supporters have ackowledged, but looking at as much of their work as i've seen, at least, it's quite impossible to conclude that they themselves are fascists, as much as using the imagery to turn the notions upside-down a bit and explore the territory of symbolism and politics.

anyway, just enjoying myself a little as i write.

Date: 2009-09-01 02:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elliptic-eye.livejournal.com
Ooh, this looks interesting. Rammstein's melodic gifts interest me, so I'm very curious to compare. Thanks for this.

Date: 2009-09-01 07:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prof-pangaea.livejournal.com
yay, musical fun. let me know what you think.

Date: 2009-09-01 02:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jigglykat.livejournal.com
I'll be sure to inform my former director he's converted someone into a fan!

Date: 2009-09-01 07:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prof-pangaea.livejournal.com
their cover of "the final countdown" was rpetty dire, but a lot of their stuff is intriguing. plus i love industrial. :D

Date: 2009-09-01 03:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] britgeekgrrl.livejournal.com
Laibach is rilly awesome, imho.

BTW, what's your Chicago TARDIS sitch?

I'm not sure if I can afford even 1/4 of a room (I'm scrambling, myself, as you might guess) but, if things come together, the no-cost floorspace is yours again.

Date: 2009-09-01 07:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prof-pangaea.livejournal.com
my chicago TARDIS sitch is... er, not good. but i'm determined to figure out a way to afford it, somehow. thanks for the floor offer, hopefully i'll be able to take you up on it (because that will mean you'll be there). *hearts*

Date: 2009-09-01 03:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elyssadc.livejournal.com
I'll watch these when I get home, but I needed to say I'VE BEEN TO SLOVENIA! BY MYSELF! For a week I didn't speak outloud to anyone but myself because no one speaks English. I also got lost outside of Bled and tried to do charades with a lady at a little store to try and figure out a way back into town.

AWESOME!

Anyway, that's my story.

Date: 2009-09-01 07:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prof-pangaea.livejournal.com
i should go to more places. i haven't been anywhere for a long time. er, well i was in california last week but that doesn't count in the same way.

Date: 2009-09-01 11:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elyssadc.livejournal.com
I think you've probably got more important things to be spending money on at the moment. But someday, handsome. ;-)

Date: 2009-09-01 04:38 pm (UTC)
ext_3685: Stylized electric-blue teapot, with blue text caption "Brewster North" (enjoy your ood)
From: [identity profile] brewsternorth.livejournal.com
Funny, I knew about "Tanz mit Laibach" but only because someone made a video of it using uniformed kittens.

....Yeah.

Date: 2009-09-04 12:20 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prof-pangaea.livejournal.com
i am confused by the soviet uniforms...

Profile

prof_pangaea: the master (Default)
prof_pangaea

January 2019

S M T W T F S
  12345
6 789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

  • Style: Sindë for Ciel by nornoriel

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated May. 22nd, 2025 03:31 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios