{"id":30003,"date":"2022-07-23T13:10:02","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T11:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/?p=30003"},"modified":"2022-08-06T12:45:23","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T10:45:23","slug":"riblja-corba-again-in-croatia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/riblja-corba-again-in-croatia","title":{"rendered":"Riblja \u010dorba again in Croatia"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July 8, the record company Croatia Records released a luxurious vinyl reissue of the album \u201cVe\u010deras vas zabavljaju muzi\u010dari koji piju\u201d by the group Riblja \u010dorba, the only such album left from \u201cJugoton\u201d. Thirty-eight years have passed since the original release, and it seems like it was yesterday. Just as Sini\u0161a \u0160karica<\/strong>, the author of the rich accompanying booklet and long-time editor of Croatia Records, remembers every moment from that story, so do I. We all followed Riblja \u010dorba closely. They were a great band. In Yugoslavia, they were perhaps the greatest band after Bijelo dugme.<\/p>\n

The band we needed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Riblja \u010dorba has come a long way in a short time. Their story is pretty much Hollywood-like. They got together in August 1978 \u2013 Bora \u0110or\u0111evi\u0107<\/strong> sang, Rajko Koji\u0107<\/strong> played solo guitar, Mi\u0161a Aleksi\u0107<\/strong> played bass, and Vicko Milatovi\u0107<\/strong> played drums. During the fall, Mom\u010dilo Bajagi\u0107<\/strong> Bajaga<\/strong> joined them as rhythm guitarist. Only a few months after their founding, they already had a Yugoslav hit: \u201cLutka sa naslovne strane\u201d (eng. The Front Page Doll). After the second single \u201cRokenrol za ku\u0107ni savet\u201d (eng. Rock and Roll for Home Council) (1979), it was possible to foresee that their hard rock would move in two directions: one where they would affirm rock and roll means fun, energy and, after all, represents a way of life, and the other where Bora, as the frontman, would play the role of a bitter, deceived and hurt man. With the album \u201cKost u grlu\u201d (eng. Bone in the Throat), \u010corba introduced the urban half-world to rock at the same time as Prljavo kazali\u0161te and at least a year before Johnny <\/strong>did. \u010corba achieved and maintained its status right at the time of the apparent dominance of the new wave, which was an excellent example that the scene was already big enough and no one bothered anyone. After all, if they hadn\u2019t stubbornly insisted on blues, Riblja \u010dorba could have been a new wave. But we were missing just such a band. A band that would not only sing about the happy children of socialism, a band that would be firm, but would include the best elements of pop, a band that would bring new emotion to ballads and elevate them above the pathos of the song \u201cJedina moja\u201d (eng. My Only One), and a band that would move the target group towards those who were still waiting for their chance knowing that they would never get one.<\/p>\n

A raw, honest and catchy sound<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At that time, it was not yet possible to know exactly what a song that would \u201cremain\u201d, defy time and forever be attached to the soul would look like. Today we know that only emotion remains after everything, and that only songs with strong, specific emotion stay with us. What was important for Riblja \u010dorba\u2019s career was that \u201cOstani \u0111ubre do kraja\u201d (eng. Stay Garbage until the End) not only matched \u201cLutka sa naslovne strane\u201d in terms of emotional strength, but also surpassed it. No other song from that record remained in the top ten. The sound was raw, honest and catchy. Rock went out into basements, cafes and further towards the periphery, exactly where Bora liked to hang out. It was obvious that a great poet had arrived. And what else was left for a great poet to do but to fight against injustice. Thus, Bora became a bit of Don Quixote, a bit of Robin Hood, a bit of Calimero. Still, anyone who wanted to could see it: if Riblja \u010dorba maintained the level they set for themselves with their first songs, they could fly high.<\/p>\n

We will never know if it would have been better for them had they continued at full speed immediately or if it was good that they went to the army for a year. Because when they swept the audience with the 1981 album \u201cPokvarena ma\u0161ta i prljave strasti\u201d (eng. Corrupt Imagination and Dirty Passions), it seemed that everything was going too fast. From the largest military dormitories to the largest halls in Yugoslavia, overnight. They were all still young people, just scampered out of their parents\u2019 laps (or not even out yet), raised in the socialist middle class, completely unaware of what they were getting themselves into. However, it was nice, who could refuse that. \u201cPokvarena ma\u0161ta i prljave strasti\u201d turned out to be a good album, worthy of all praise. The song \u201cDva dinara, dru\u017ee\u201d (eng. Two Dinars, My Friend) not only reached the popularity of the song \u201cOstani \u0111ubre do kraja\u201d, but surpassed it significantly. \u201cOsta\u0107u slobodan\u201d (eng. I Will Remain Free) proved to be a strong message. \u201cJoke songs\u201d also started to appear; there was also one for the soldiers. Whoever doubted how Bora would harmonize his two sensibilities was wrong: \u201cDva dinara, dru\u017ee\u201d, one of the biggest hits of Yugoslav rock music in general, is pure \u201cacoustics\u201d. This is maybe our first rock song that ended up playing in kafanas (type of local bistro or tavern which primarily serves alcoholic beverages and coffee). That song could be read in any place where something was being played. There are not many such songs in Yugoslav rock music. I don\u2019t know if Bora was aware of the scope of that song; it is hard to see some things right away. But his ambitions had certainly grown. He didn\u2019t want to reach his own levels, he wanted to raise them even further.<\/p>\n

More and more emotion, even bigger halls<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Perhaps, precisely because of his ambitions, he rushed too quickly into \u201cMrtva priroda\u201d (eng. Still Life) in the same year, 1981. But it\u2019s human \u2013 let\u2019s see how far we can reach. We did not get the continuation of \u201cDva dinara, dru\u017ee\u201d, but everything else was better than it was before, listeners could find their songs more easily, the range of emotions expanded. The halls where they played were only getting bigger, but they did not earn more money. Mi\u0161a Aleksi\u0107 was telling the truth when he wrote that his mother-in-law paid for the vacation for him and Jasna<\/strong>, after the triumphant tour of the album \u201cMrtva priroda\u201d. And Bajaga struggled to decide whether to go with them. There was not much use for the vinyl either: first, inflation ate up a third of the money, and then progressive taxes arose. In fact, financially, they fared best where there was not that much money \u2013 in Banat. Managers lied to them that a bigger hall only produced bigger losses. This led to some quiet dissatisfaction, which began to erode the essence of everything, regardless of the fact that they were young and that gigs were still more important to them than money. Moreover, they held the Yugoslav record for most sales of an album, because until then even Bijelo dugme had not sold half a million copies, as many as \u201cMrtva priroda\u201d had.<\/p>\n

However, Riblja \u010dorba was talked about and written about in various contexts, among others, when a girl died at their concert in Zagreb in 1982, and when NOB (People’s Liberation) fighters jumped to protest because of the verse \u201cza ideale ginu budale\u201d (eng. fools die for their ideals<\/em>). There was too much of Riblja \u010dorba, both where it should and where it shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

A vinyl about Belgrade at the time<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Maybe they rushed into \u201cBuvlja pijaca\u201d (eng. Flea Market) (1982) too quickly, but they didn\u2019t have anyone to advise them, or they did, but Bora\u2019s ambitions kept growing. He liked the idea of \u200b\u200bbeing forbidden, he thought it would be good for his resume. That\u2019s why \u201cBuvlja pijaca\u201d turned out to be a real record of Riblja \u010dorba. First of all, there are strong messages against the system: \u201cSlu\u0161aj, sine, obri\u0161i sline\u201d (eng. Listen, Son, Wipe Away Your Snot) and \u201cKako je lepo biti glup\u201d (eng. How Nice It Is to Be Stupid). The fact that Bora\u2019s song against the influence of the NOB fighters was a success proves that the socialism of that time cannot really be said to have been rigid. Both Bora and Johnny set out at the same time to investigate the regime\u2019s tolerance and were successful in doing so. \u201cJa ratujem sam\u201d (eng. I Fight Alone) is another song that is quite effective for \u010corba\u2019s target group. However, the main ballad \u201cDobro jutro\u201d (eng. Good Morning), although beautiful, could not be identified with the<\/em> emotion that the audience was used to. Nevertheless, \u201cBuvlja pijaca\u201d is a genuine Belgrade record of the time, it says a lot about Belgrade. It was sold in nearly three hundred thousand copies. That was \u010corba\u2019s audience. Almost half a million copies of the album \u201cMrtva priroda\u201d were sold due to affairs.<\/p>\n

Transfer to Jugoton<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bora, however, was not satisfied. He was sure that PGP Records could have done better, that\u2019s why he went to Jugoton. Bora is intuitive and knew that \u010corba needed some change. In fact, at that moment \u010corba needed a break. Firstly, they needed to sort out the relations among themselves. Everyone needed to make up their minds, because they were all stars individually; everyone on the tour had posters with only their image. Vices multiplied in the band. Vicko<\/strong>, who was one of the pillars of the band as far as stability is concerned, was in the army. Rajko brought in Vlada Golubovi\u0107<\/strong> to replace Vicko. Vlada was probably the best drummer in Belgrade, but also a man who interfered both when it was necessary and when it was not. Bora did not like him because they were together in the band Suncokret when Vlaja<\/strong> refused to play \u201cLutka sa naslovne strane\u201d. Rajko, on the other hand, did not like the fact that Bora\u2019s wife Gaga<\/strong> travelled with them on tours. His controversial maxi-single \u201cNe budi me bez razloga\u201d (eng. Don’t Wake Me up without Reason) (1983) was a kind of protest against the parent band, although these were songs that \u010corba could also play at concerts. Bajaga\u2019s album \u201cPozitivna geografija\u201d (eng. Positive Geography), released in early 1984, was, however, clearly different. At the festival in Opatija, at the beginning of March, when Jugoton promoted \u201cMuzi\u010dari\u201d (eng. Musicians), Bajaga was constantly photographed with his record.<\/p>\n

At that time, Riblja \u010dorba was entering its sixth year of existence. The generational cycle of an audience lasts four to five years. Then a new audience comes, and the old one gradually thins out. New audience wants new bands. If an old band wants to get a new audience, they have to win them over with a new album, and the old ones count for something only after that. It was necessary for them to sit down and seriously think about new songs \u2013 to carefully locate and arrange the emotion in which the new audience would find itself easier. In such moments, Bijelo dugme and Parni valjak adapted through the new wave. Riblja \u010dorba didn\u2019t think about it. Maybe they had no one to advise them. Even \u0160karica, who was the editor, did not notice it when they first presented him with the songs. Maybe they got a little cocky. It happens when you believe that the audience will swallow anything you publish.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cBlack\u201d instead of new wave<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If Riblja \u010dorba did not want to go into the new wave, it entered the \u201cblack wave\u201d with the album \u201cVe\u010deras vas zabavljaju muzi\u010dari koji piju\u201d. The album turned out to be unusually dark. Bora was in a bad phase. Those of us who knew him personally got the impression that in the songs \u201cD\u017eukele \u0107e me dokusuriti\u201d (eng. Mutts Will Finish Me Off), \u201cMinut \u0107utanja\u201d (eng. A Minute of Silence) and \u201cRavnodu\u0161an prema pla\u010du\u201d (eng. Indifferent towards Crying) he dealt with his environment \u2013 which may have included the band to some extent. The audience found it hard to connect with \u201cjoke songs\u201d: \u201cMuzi\u010dari koji piju\u201d, \u201cPri\u010da o \u017diki \u017divcu\u201d (eng. The Story of \u017dika “the Nerve), \u201cKazablanka\u201d (eng. Casablanca). At the time, no one cared about the film from 1943. Criminals were not as popular as they are today. The song \u201cMangupi vam kvare dete\u201d (eng. Rascals Spoil Your Kids) should have gone all the way regarding the message it sends, because drugs have largely replaced alcohol miniatures. The song \u201cBesni psi\u201d (eng. Raging Dogs) did not reveal anything. In the end, Bora admitted defeat in the song \u201cGluposti\u201d (eng. Nonsense). You can\u2019t tell a Riblja \u010dorba fan that you\u2019ve given up.<\/p>\n

The biggest hit from this album was the ballad \u201cKad hoda\u0161\u201d (eng. When You\u2019re Walking), timelessly beautiful, the only bright song on the album and Bajaga\u2019s \u201cpi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance\u201d, with an unusual guitar solo by Rajko Koji\u0107, which \u0110or\u0111e Mati\u0107<\/strong> rightly calls \u201ca hymn to life\u201d. It is very likely that this song contributed the most to the album eventually reaching a hundred thousand sold records and cassettes. But it was not the<\/em> emotion expected by Riblja \u010dorba fans. It was not the identity of Riblja \u010dorba, but a song for the fans of the future band Bajaga i instruktori. Bora became a disappointed man, and the song \u201cKad hoda\u0161\u201d was sung by a man in love. The emotion of Riblja \u010dorba moved into the unknown. This was the album of a band having an identity crisis. The Rolling Stones also had such crises, so what.<\/p>\n

An epitaph to his own band<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The whole album \u201cVe\u010deras vas zabavljaju muzi\u010dari koji piju\u201d turned out to be some kind of epitaph to the original line-up. The tour was not well-prepared and started too early. There was not enough audience and, therefore, some concerts were cancelled. After the cancellation of the tour, the band went on vacation, so the resolution of this drama had to wait for another month. It ended the way it was best, with the dismissal of Bajaga and Rajko Koji\u0107<\/strong>. Bora got the opportunity to make a new, \u201cspicy\u201d Riblja \u010dorba for new generations. Of course, he used that opportunity with the next album \u201cIstina\u201d (eng. Truth), once again by PGP-RTB Records, but the real, triumphant return will only happen with the album \u201cUjed za du\u0161u\u201d (eng. Soul Bite). It\u2019s not hard to guess why: that\u2019s where \u201cKada pade no\u0107 (upomo\u0107)\u201d (eng. When Night Falls) happened, one of those<\/em> Riblja \u010dorba songs by which the band is most often remembered. There is something in the attitude, the message, the image, the language, and even the arrangement, but without the song, all that is worth nothing.<\/p>\n

On the Riblja \u010dorba album \u201cVe\u010deras vas zabavljaju muzi\u010dari koji piju\u201d there are three great songs of Yugoslav rock and roll: \u201cRavnodu\u0161an prema pla\u010du\u201d, \u201cGluposti\u201d and \u201cKad hoda\u0161\u201d. That is the greatest value of this album. I hear that \u201cKad hoda\u0161\u201d is playing on the radio in Croatia once again. That\u2019s great news.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Translation from Croatian: Ivana Bojki\u0107<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Croatia Records announced the reissue of the album \u201cVe\u010deras vas zabavljaju muzi\u010dari koji piju\u201d (eng. Tonight You Will Be Entertained by Musicians Who Drink) by the group Riblja \u010dorba<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":29636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"224","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[320,330],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kultura-en","category-upoznajmo-se-en","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/PXL_200316_12754934-e1658574368625.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/PXL_200316_12754934-e1658574368625.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Du\u0161an Vesi\u0107","author_link":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/author\/dusan-vesic"},"rbea_author_info":{"display_name":"Du\u0161an Vesi\u0107","author_link":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/author\/dusan-vesic"},"rbea_excerpt_info":"Croatia Records announced the reissue of the album \u201cVe\u010deras vas zabavljaju muzi\u010dari koji piju\u201d (eng. Tonight You Will Be Entertained by Musicians Who Drink) by the group Riblja \u010dorba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30003"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30004,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30003\/revisions\/30004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p-portal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}