svētdiena, 2015. gada 6. decembris

Good TV show and music videos

Hi everyone,

thanks for visiting my blog! :-)

I wrote this article in the autumn of 2015 but since then, I've discovered that it isn't 100% true. We DO produce good music, books and films :-) only I didn't know about them. And we stage theatre comedies well :-)

But otherwise, the article is good. So I decided not to delete it. Here goes:

I just wanted to share my joy because we (well, Czechs) have finally created something worth presenting abroad!
The last couple of years, it had looked like our taste and creativity is almost gone, and I was unhappy that I'm not a composer or a film director.
But this autumn, there was a brand new series on TV that I think is quite good - it's called Labyrint (no need to translate, I think :-)
It's directed by the brilliant Jiří Strach. His name translates as "George Fear" but he's said to be very kind-hearted, actors love working with him. The series is a mystery / thriller and takes place in the city I now live in - Brno!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno
 
I've watched quite a lot of mysteries and whodunnits - Czech, British, French, Austrian, German, American and Canadian - and still can say this one is interesting and unusual. And yesterday I found out that several other countries are buying the show. I was so proud!
If anyone who speaks Czech was interested, it's accessible online:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCme8fh8iREvK1W11A_MNqeQ/videos

And today, the band called Divokej Bill ("Wild Bill", from the town of Úvaly, not far from Prague) posted their new music video on Facebook. It's called Koně ("Horses").
I used to know two of the members personally - one of them sang in the same children's choir as me and another had the same violin teacher as me. So I'm always happy to see them alive and well and producing good music.
I'm guessing some scenes were filmed in Romania. I like their lyrics because their vocabulary is rich. They play with old sayings and proverbs and know how to combine them with expressions common people use today.

Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't allow me to insert the video, so here's just the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th7BM84Z5HY&feature=youtu.be

Lyrics translation:

The horses shied
They're galloping like mad
We're only fall asleep at the dawn
I told you so
The horses shied
They're galloping like mad
So don't act like it's beneath you
Start getting used to it

In the motor of my machine
Goblins are dancing
In short, they shied
I told you so
As they're ranting
They're whispering in my ear
"Hold on to us, don't fall
Or you'll soon find out..."

Ref.:
There's mist crawling towards the village like a snake
Your eyes are slowly closing
They want to go to sleep

My black horses
Never get exhausted
When we ride together
Everyone wakes up and starts to have fun
Up and down
Go pistons in the rhythm of rock-n-roll
I grab the handlebars
And you, horses, giddy-up!

Ref.:
There's mist crawling towards the village like a snake
Your eyes are slowly closing
They want to go to sleep
The eleventh of January
Or November
We're not stopping, we're going on
Mr. Psychopath!

But nowhere it's written
That we're written off
If the road is full of potholes
We'll just use another trick
And get lost in the labyrinth
Don't give up!
(literally, "don't throw your rifle in the rye field" - that's one of the sayings I mentioned)

Note: January 11th and November 11th are no special dates in the Czech Republic. I'd say they chose them because they consist of numerals 1.

Speaking of Divokej Bill, I can't forget to mention their most famous song Znamení ("Signal", "Sign"). It's a symbolistic song meant to remind us of Jan Palach, the student that set himself on fire and died, as a protest against the arrival of Soviet tanks in 1968.
We never belonged to the Soviet Union, but in the 1960's, the Communist party in Czechoslovakia got quite free-spirited and introduced some reforms that made life much more bearable. The leadership of the USSR didn't like that so it sent tanks and soldiers as a "friendly" reminder from the USSR not to get too carried away with the reforms. They didn't shoot anyone, but were here "just in case".
The regime got much more oppressive after that. Also for the people in the USSR itself. The 1970's were a pretty depressing period of time. Everything was grey or dark brown. I wasn't born yet but you could still feel the remnants of that atmosphere in the 1980's.

Palach's protest took place in 1969 on Václavské náměstí, a huge square in the centre of Prague, that's now usually packed with tourists, as you can see in the video. Towards the end, if you look closely, you'll see that the young man has a can of petrol / gasoline.


The lyrics consist almost entirely of old sayings and phrases.
They play on the fact that there's a children's game where one child searches for something and the others direct him by saying samá voda ("all water", meaning "you're nowhere near the hiding place"), přihořívá ("starting to burn", meaning "you're getting close") and hoří! ("burning!")

Dávám ti znamení, ať zase víš, kam jít - I'm giving you a signal so that you know again where to go

A ty dáváš mi znamení, ať vím, kam jít - And you are giving me a signal so that I know where to go

...

Piju to tvoje zlý víno - Drinking that evil wine of yours
Samá voda, je to samá voda! - It's all water!
(trošku přihořívá) - (starting to burn a bit)


Ale kosa na kámen narazí - But the scythe will hit the stone (something will get stopped suddenly)
Kosa na kámen, to tě zamrazí - Scythe to the stone, that sends shivers down your spine
Kosa na kámen je tvý svědomí černý - Like scythe to the stone is your black conscience
...

Jako kosa na kámen je znamení - Like scythe to the stone is the signal
Ať víš, kam jít, že křídla máš poraněný - So that you know where to go, and that your wings are injured

...

Piju to tvoje zlý víno - Drinking that evil wine of yours

Samá voda, je to samá voda! - It's all water!

A to se může stát - And it can happen

To víš, že se to může stát - Of course it can happen

Že i ty se začneš kácet - That even you will start falling


Máš tisíc důvodů skočit - You have a thousand reasons to jump

A to se může stát - And it can happen

To víš, že se to může stát - Of course it can happen

Že i ty se začneš kácet - That even you will start falling


Dál piju to tvoje zlý víno - I keep drinking that evil wine of yours

Samá voda, je to samá voda! - It's all water!

A tu nezapálíš - And you can't set fire in water

A to se může stát - And it can happen

Že i ty se začneš kácet - That even you will start falling down


A protože máš tisíc důvodů skočit - And because you have a thousand reasons to jump

A to se může stát - And it can happen

...

A protože máš tisíc důvodů skočit - And because you have a thousand reasons to jump

A to se může stát - And it can happen

Ty vole, to se může stát - Dude, it can happen

Že i ty se začneš kácet - That even you will start falling down


A máš tisíc důvodů skočit - And you have a thousand reasons to jump

A všechno votočit - And turn everything around

Napořád - Forever

If you want an all-time favourite, both for many Czechs and also music enthusiasts abroad, I recommend this spine-chilling folkrock ballad by band Čechomor.
It's in a dialect similar to Slovak, because it comes from the eastern parts of the CzR. The music there has been influenced by Hungary. That means, it's emotional, wild and the plot ends tragically:


(Some of the mountains in the video aren't Czech)

Mezi horami   -   Among mountains
Lipka zelená   -   There's a little green linden-tree growing
Zabili Janka, Janíčka, Janka   -   John, our Johnny's been killed
Miesto jeleňa   -   By mistake, instead of a deer

Keď ho zabili   -   When they killed him
Zamordovali   -   When they murdered him
Na jeho hrobě, na jeho hrobě kříž postavili   -   They built a cross on his grave

Ej, křížu, křížu ukřižovaný   -   Oy, you cross, you crucified
Zde leží Janík, Janíček, Janík   -   Here's where John, Johnny's lying
Zamordovaný   -   Murdered

Tu šla Anička   -   Here's where Annie went
Plakat Janíčka   -   To weep for her Johnny
Hneď na hrob padla   -   She fell on his grave
A viac nevstala   -   And never got up
Dobrá Anička   -   Good girl

Optimistic, isn't it? :-)

If you were wondering what mountains have to do with Johnny and Annie - well, nothing. That's how Czech folk songs often begin: first, nature; then, people.

On another note: recently, a friend recommended a great soundtrack by Czech composer Jan Jirásek. If you like Yann Tiersen, you might enjoy it:


Me and my family, we are fans of the Hungarian band Misztrál. (pronounced as "Miss - trah - l")

The language is different but the music sounds like it might also be Czech. Partly, because it's composed for a language with the stress on the first syllable, just like Czech; partly, as I said, because Czech music has been influenced by Hungarian.

There's a Czech saying "Every Czech is a musician." That's no longer true but we still love music. People define themselves by what kind of music they listen to. I've heard Hungarians are very proud of their music, too. If you listen to Misztrál, you'll understand why :-)

These are some of Misztrál's songs. Don't be misled by the calm beginnings - the endings are pretty hot-blooded :-)