LET'S LOVE EACH OTHER, AGAIN

AIM Zagreb, December 29, 1995

After the ruling Croat Democratic Community (HDZ) faced defeat at local elections in Zagreb, jokes about the "unconquered city" and "heroic city" started circling. The wisecracks alluded to the pompous return of the until recently detested Racan's SDP just a much as to the wreckage of the omni-potent HDZ, and Zagreb once again turned out to be an indicator of the forthcoming developments in the whole country. Metropolitan developments in pop-music in the course of the last month of last year also enabled anticipation of future trends, quite close to political ones.

After signing of the Dayton (dis)agreements - whatever one may think about them - a certain loosening of valves in people occurred after all. In just five years of awkward ruling, nationalism succeeded to "strangle" the people as much as communism did in fifty years. People are returning to the past again realizing that it was not as bad as the propagandist Croat short-sighted monster from the Sava river bank claims.

In the beginning of the month, almost like an apparition, tickets for another Ljubljana concert of Djordje Balasevic from Novi Sad appeared in the stores of Croatia Records (ex-Jugoton). Obviously disturbed by reproaches for having allowed it, Director Miroslav Lilic lucidly lamented: "So what, don't you know his mother is a Croat!". Then, pop group "Leb i sol" from Skopje came and had two "circus" performances in "Lisinski" music-hall, one at 18.30 and the other at 23.00 hours which were intelligently announced by Drazen Vrdoljak. A big portion of the audience consisted of those who had come out of purely nostalgic sentiments and, indeed, it was not difficult to throw them in a state of delirium. That same evening, Elvis J. Kurtovic and Sejo Sexon filled the reconstructed discotheque "Lapidarij" in Zagreb in another of their triumphant Croat concerts in a series, whose popularity was increased by the sale of video-casettes of Sarajevo humorists, "Top List of Nadrealists".

And yet, the greatest turmoil of all, almost comparable with the elections or Dayton, was not caused by a concert, but by an ordinary newspaper feuilleton. Namely, a well-known investigative feuilletonist Darko Hudelist published in "Globus" (not just any journal, but "Globus") two instalments claiming that Croat dancers were in fact masked Serb national dancers, that the Croat Army listened to nothing but Serb folk music, and that it was just a matter of days when Brena and Dragana (popular folk-singers from Serbia) would "come marching in" to Zagreb. Hudelist also stated the exact figures used to bribe music journalists and radio and TV editors whose corruptibleness was just rumoured about until now. Of course, all that caused proverbially rude reactions of Croato-purists who had forgotten that the forbidden fruit were the sweetest, and that even people who had never liked folk music, after five years of brain-washing by solely Croat tamburitza, hit-songs and dances, nowadays like to reach out for "cyrillic" music seasoned with borrowed plum brandy from the until recently occupied territories.

The greatest outbreak of nostalgy among the young rock-'n'-roll population occurred at the third concert of Fiju-briju in overcrowded big Palace of Sports. Until recently bearing the prefix "alter", Fiju-briju transformed into a "tribute to oldies but goldies" and in this way reflected the nostalgic point of view of the majority of local journalists, musicians and promoters. Nevertheless, however politically intriguing longing for the past may be, for the forthcoming youngsters it can easily prove to be dangerous. Young people who should be "avant-garde" know absolutely nothing about the world trends and progress, so for years now we have groups which sound as surrogates of disbanded pop music groups such as "Party-breakers", EKV and "Bijelo dugme", or generally speaking, bands which sound as Soviet groups from a celabration of the Happy New 1970.

It would be very difficult to compare the situation with that in Great Britain, for instance, but while over there brilliant young performers who are 19 years old appear every year, here there is hardly a popular group below thirty! The merit for that belongs less to the kids than those who teach them that the climax of "modern rock" is the new album of the withering "Rolling Stones" or that punk died with the (finally) retired Ramones.

Among the "old men" who have satisfied at Fiju-briju are certainly the reactivated "Buldozeri" (Buldozers), although they appeared as if they were not quite sure why they have been reactivated, just as the kids who knew nothing about them, and Rundek and friends certainly distinguished themselves since they even managed to write certain interesting new pieces. The "Parafi" (Paragraphs) proved that their music is not just ephemeral since they keep appearing in public with songs from their absolutely legendary album called "The day has began so well", just as Elvis and Sejo have revealed again the well-known truth: there is no concert without the Bosnians. The greatest euphoria was aroused by their joking cover song of Goran Bregovic's "The Bosnian", while Boris Leiner presented himself with something which should be called Azra, like the adult Oriented Pero Lovsin with the so-called Pankrt's (in fact, the "Knights").

Joking groups such as Pips, Chips & Videoclips (with their songs like "It is Dinamo I love") and "Hladno pivo" (Cold Beer) manifested their mediocrity again and just occasional wittiness, while "Psychomodo Pop" manifested its quite natural not very exceptional intelligence, cheapness and unbelievably perfected capability to ruin rock classics. "Let 3" (Flight 3) and "Laufer" (Bishop) are also far from anything that could be called "new" and inspiring, but they can at least carry the label of those who are in one way or the other contributing to the Croat mainstream. Another punk Methuselahs

• Termiti (Termites) - were the dot on this five-hour long performance in which certain new kids simply had to show up, even if they had been completely worthless (in the manner of Reading and Lollapalooza festivals).

As concerning cultural reconnections of the until yesterday - and maybe until tomorrow or the day after - warring nations and ethnic minorities, two things are important. First, if those who have been selling us national-socialistic giberish (read: journalists) for the past few years will be conducting the new rock encounters, we will be in a lot of trouble again! Second, if those who will break the ice will be just elderly musicians who reached their prime in the eighties, it will again all be just a big shit.

It is not true that there are no young creators. They are just bound by rusty media/record-editing policy of drooping nostalgists who are concerned only about money. From healthy capitalist, market aspect this would not have been so bad, if real capitalism were not still a very distant (American) dream for us.

Just as there will be no real peace between the newly-established ex-Yu countries until completely new politicians come out on the stage, there will be no cultural communications either until completely new artists and journalists appear. Regardless of the high officials, because politicians are always lower beings, remember that. If any apartheid should exist in the world at all, let it be the one against politicians.

This was just a joke. But maybe not.

PETAR GLODIC