Laibach : S/D/C/D?

I want to know more about their pre-history, before they became the lineup we know today. The Allmusic profile suggests they were more noise/punk beforehand... and while "Die Liebe" from 1985 is probably not too far removed from that, the bio suggests something quite different from the earliest material.

Laibach maybe wants to keep this history as hidden as Kraftwerk wants to hide their "hippie-ish" first three albums? Or not?

Early stuff has been reissued on Rekapitulacija 1980-84. There're short sound clips on that amg page.

I also prefer earlier Laibach to the later stuff, though the later albums are definitely funnier. However, I did write this review to the rather late "Let it Be."

Probably the cutest album in the Laibach discography, Let it Be is the best joke ever released as a full-length album, comparable only to the spectacular (and nearly unlistenable) A.C. baladeering of Picnic Love. Ever wanted to hear mediocre Beatles material transformed into statist industrial music? Well, now’s your chance.

Released rather surprisingly in 1988, before Laibach made the transition to post-communism satire, Let it Be covered the Beatles album of the same name to a tee, minus the title track. Of course these covers are delightfully revisionist, re-imagined in a totalitarian context, complete with Laibach’s militaristic percussive bombast, apocalyptic choral arrangements, thumping bass drum, and blaring trumpet samples. Even the layout of the original album was refinished with a tilt towards glowering Slovenian nationalism, flirting with fascism and Euro-communism, creating stadium rock for the twilight of the gods. Rock concerts or Nuremberg rallies? Laibach doesn’t see the difference, and with this masterstroke of industrial strength satire, the laughter hides a few painful truths. Let it Be is a Stalinist makeover of the rock cult called the Beatles, and with the addition of some Bavarian pub stomping, ascends to absurd levels of ironic humor, while only slightly unsettling the listener. The album is bound to confuse both industrial fans and Beatles fanciers, and this confounding quality only makes the joker funnier and sicker. Is it a good album? Probably not. Is it an entertaining stab at vicious satire? Oh yeah. In the future when people are executed by the state with knife wielding women in public swimming pools, this is the album that will play in the background.

BUMP due to my digging "Let It Be" out of the stacks. "Across The Universe" - best beatles cover ever?

"Opus Dei" rocks. It is truly awesome, one of the greatest albums ever released by anyone. It is the definitive early Laibach album, though I suppose for true fans of the NSK funsters it probably counts as mid period.

"Wat" is also great. One of the things with later period Laibach was the way they went kind of ravey but had difficulty integrating this with their militaristic stomp. here they manage it very well indeed.

They totally rock live. The Laibach singer guy comes across like a total mentalist, which is obviously what you want. The drummer girls are incredibly impressive. Leaving aside their whole ladies in uniform schtick, they are drilled to such perfection that they superlatively embody the whole quasi-militarist Laibach thing.

I saw them on the same 1992 tour as Ned, but in New York (at the Limelight). They sold Laibach teacups at the merch stand. And in place of an opening act, they had fifteen or twenty minutes of thundering parade kettledrums. One of the greatest shows I've ever seen.

I suppose for true fans of the NSK funsters it probably counts as mid period.

(raises hand)

I have it on tape, hardly listened to it. I'll keep an eye out in the used bins, though. I liked 'em when they were just trying to be scary instead of scaling new heights of ironic.

The "Anthems" retrospective package is a very fine thing, if anyone out there is looking for an introduction. Bonus disc of remixes, the whole thing being packaged as a hardback book with lots of colour reproductions of NSK paintings. Their videos are uniformly (hah!) excellent and well represented on youtube.

I've always wondered where they got the audio for Norman Mailer's Playboy interview (which is where a lot of the spoken bits from "Sympathy For The Devil" come from). Is this something that's easy to find in Yugoslavia or something?

And in place of an opening act, they had fifteen or twenty minutes of thundering parade kettledrums.

there is some legendary gig where they had a topless man come out and chop up logs with an axe onstage as a support act.

I wonder does Vladimir Putin like Laibach.

Did anyone go see the Seattle or Portland shows? I'm thinking about the LA show assuming that it hasn't sold out yet. From: http://nskstate.com/laibach/concerts/volk-tour.php

-----
30.09.2008 New York Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza USA
28.09.2008 Tijuana B.C. CANCELLED MEX
27.09.2008 Mexico City VDMAS Concert Hall MEX
26.09.2008 Hollywood Key Club USA
25.09.2008 San Francisco Independent USA
23.09.2008 Portland Crystal Ballroom USA
22.09.2008 Seattle Showbox at the Market USA
-----

Somebody was saying they were going to the LA show, damned if I can remember who...

I didn't go, but the Seattle show apparently was really really good. First half: Volk. Second half: classic material.

Do it! They're incredible live, and it's not like they tour all that often. Saw them in Glasgow, and was charmed to see that much of the back projection was still on real film - which made the precise synchronisation with the onstage performance all the more impressive.

Portland show was sadly under attended (about 200 people in a 1000 capacity ballroom). However, the show was excellent. If you can see them, and you have an open mind, you should see them.

http://nskstate.com/images/laibach/von_bach/Superheroes_von-bach_250.jpg

i've said it before and i'll say it again: if i ever get married i want this band to play my wedding

"Opus Dei" rocks. It is truly awesome, one of the greatest albums ever released by anyone

^

"Opus Dei" rocks. It is truly awesome, one of the greatest albums ever released by anyone.

Major major truth.

I know I always do this on Laibach threads, but I need to do it again:

Ein Schauspieler! WHOOOMPH!

Someone needs to start a Laibach goth campaign.

I guess ILM never cared much about Laibach but their new album seems markedly different and is getting quite a bit of press.

Funny, I just decided last night to put some of their albums back in my iPod (Kapital, Jesus Christ Superstars and WAT) and that was before finding out there's a new one. Might have to track a copy down.

Good: They are playing Philly and I adore them.
Bad: They are supporting Ministry whom I used to also adore but who hasn't done anything relevant in some time.
Ugly: $55 per ticket! And that's without fees. Ugh.

I'll probably still go. Seeing this video projected on the screen between bands at a Ministry concert (yes, I know) was a defining moment for me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC73Os9NmZE

Jesus, a Ministry/Laibach co-headlining tour would have been the greatest thing ever any time between 1988 and 1992.

Agreed. But we're all older now.

Pretty sure I would still go and see a 1988 era Laibach/Ministry tour (if I could find a babysitter)

how is this not a bigger deal in the press? i haven't heard much at all about this. it seems kind of like a big deal.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/11/laibach-announce-shows-in-north-korea-pyongyang

wonder who will be at the show

Yeah this is pretty insane

Would be amazing for this to be your first ever experience of western popular music.

I feel like the approval process for this had to involve someone in the NoKo government saying "well... they sound communist."

http://i.imgur.com/LV42Y5U.png

'Peculiar singing' otm.

Also 'rich voice' and 'skilled rendition' tbf.

I would so much like this to be released on DVD, but I seriously doubt it will.

omg they did "Arirang"

"The concerts will be filmed for a documentary to be released in 2016."

great pictures on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Laibach?pnref=story

Saw them last night perform with an orchestra - I went dragging my feet thinking I was over their schtick - but man I havent laughed (in a good genuine way) at a concert like this in a long time (ever?).
The North Korea 'Sound of Music' stuff was pretty boring tbh but having an orchestra behind them is how they were always meant to be.

New video for "Sound of Music" - album of the same name coming in November:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oD0W6SSBUA

This might be the most...fun thing they've ever released. The moment when Milan takes over on vocals is really something.

Huh.

outstanding video.

A live album containing a performance from 1987 has just been released. Apparently it was broadcast on German radio at the time, so it's been bootlegged a bunch, but they've remastered it to be LOUD AS FUCK and it's absolutely head-crushing, somewhere between Foetus's Rife and Swans' Public Castration Is A Good Idea. There are audible instruments (guitar, bass, horns!) and the performance is absolutely on fire. Essential if you're a fan.

Loving how they enforce thee genre continuum on this here new thing while playing me fun music

https://open.spotify.com/album/5ppGhLjssYxZeLjKbJFjcl?si=FQhaTuHFQC2pIFQ6-sXcEw

Opus Dei is being reissued as a 2CD set in May, but frankly the bonus content is a little disappointing:

Disc 1
Leben heisst Leben (Opus Dei)
Geburt einer Nation (One Vision)
Leben – Tod
F.I.A.T. (Let It Be)
Transnational
How the West Was Won
Opus Dei (Life is Life)
The Great Seal

Bonus tracks:

Geburt einer Nation (Eine Richtung und ein Volk Version)
Leben heisst Leben (Marche Funèbre Version)
Geburt einer Nation (3. Oktober – Kraftbach – Version)

Disc 2
Leben heisst Leben (London, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 1987)
Geburt einer Nation (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
Leben-Tod (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
F.I.A.T. (Paris, Espace Ornano, 1992)
Transnational (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
How the West Was Won (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
Opus Dei (Somewhere in Europe/US, 1987-1989)
Leben heisst Leben (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
Geburt einer Nation (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
Leben – Tod (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
How the West Was Won (Berlin, Quartier Latin, 1987)
Geburt einer Nation (Vienna, Messepalast, Kaiser Franz Josef Reitschule, 1988)
Leben – Tod (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
Transnational (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
How the West Was Won (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)
Opus Dei (San Francisco, The I Beam, 1989)

Two and even three live versions of the same songs? Who needs that?

Especially as most of the music seemed to be coming from backing tracks when I saw them during that era.

Right? It's not like their shows were jammed with wild improvisational tangents.

I recently unearthed my Through The Occupied Netherlands tape which still sounds SO good. I really wish I'd seen them live in this era, touring with Last Few Days.

Oh, I see they reissued it!

https://staalplaatlabel.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-occupied-netherlands