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...
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