"Art is not a mirror with which to reflect the world; it is a hammer with which to shape it"

Tuesday 19 February 2008

War! What Is It Good For?

From Slovenian group Laibach’s concert film, as part of their response to the ongoing Balkan Wars ravaging their country, shot on the 26th October 1995 in Ljubljana in the month before the signing of the Dayton Protocol…



“If there is ever another war in Europe, it will come out of some damned silly thing in the Balkans.”
-Bismarck




“Fuck Dayton, Laibach has a concert.”

-Graffiti in Sarajevo, 21 November 1995, the day the peace agreement in Dayton was signed.

(Quotes taken from the band's own sleeve-note.)

5 comments:

Chip Smith said...

I love Laibach - I saw them supporting Michael Clark a few years back in Brighton and to say they were 'immense' would be understatement...

Jon said...

That must have been a fair few years ago (Lucy will be calling you old soon!): the last few years they've only been playing one-off London gigs. They certainly look immense from all the footage I've seen. Wasn't so sure about the last album though. I wonder what their response will be to the potential new catastrophe in the Balkans will be?

Robin Kelly said...

All the videos are unavailable, they can't all have been removed, can they?

Jon said...

That's peculiar... I've just checked and they're all still coming up on my system. However the originals are to be found here and here. Hope that helps!:)

Chip Smith said...

I was about eighteen at the time, Jon (I'm still an old git tho'!)

The only problem with getting to see Laibach was having to sit through a Michael Clark ballet - that said, Leigh Bowery was there dressed as a teapot, so it wasn't a complete disaster.