The birth of a nation

Laibach is a bizarre parody band from Slovenia (of all places). Well, at least we all hope it's parody!

"Laibach" is actually the German name for Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. The band's lyrics, clips and general appearance often give a Nazi-like impression, and unless I'm mistaken, they were actually banned in Russia at one point. Laibach is part of a broader modern art collective, the NSK or Neue Slowenische Kunst.

For all I know, the band are actually "liberals", but their postmodern antics are easily misunderstood and, perhaps, counterproductive. After all, what do you do if the real thing (post-1989 fascism) looks very much like a parody of the parody? LOL.

"Opus Dei" is perhaps Laibach's most well known album, and includes a genial cover version of Queen's "One Vision". The original song is "liberal" and inspired by Martin Luther King, but by simply translating the lyrics to German and shout "Jawohl" here and there, Laibach transforms it into a Nazi propaganda tune! And, incidentally, exposes our most deep-seated prejudices about Germans. I mean, why should the language of Goethe and Schiller be considered Nazi? ;-)

Another classic is Laibach's absolute slaughter of Opus' "Live is life", which they also manage to transform into some kind of fascist agit-prop, despite the original song being more innocuous than puppy love. (The album title "Opus Dei" is presumably also a reference to poor Opus.)

OK, I admit that my younger and more frivolous side somehow likes this. But is it good music? Naaaaah. I doubt it. Unless you're a modern art student, you'll probably won't get this...