Laibach are best known for their cover versions of pop songs which have been rerendered in such a way as to reveal formerly hidden or unnoticed messages, often commenting on political totalitarianism or rock stardom’s own forms of dictatorship. This was done most successfully on Opus Dei, especially on their cover of One Vision. Named Geburt Einer Nation after D. W. Griffith’s classic film The Birth of a Nation, Queen’s lyrics are sung in German to a strident military beat. All of a sudden lines like “one flesh, one blood, one true religion” start sounding suspiciously familiar...
However the bulk of Laibach’s output is their own work. Their own early experiments with totalitarian ambiguity led to their being outlawed in then-Communist Yugoslavia; their name was made illegal so the band resorted to using their black-cross emblem on posters instead. To this day their work deals with similar ideas but frequently Laibach reference their own legendary status and tongue-in-cheekily play with the kinds of in-jokes a band accrues in over 25 years of work.
Laibach’s musical style has varied a lot over the years. They began as avant-garde industrial musicians, producing what could best be described as ambient noise but soon discovered the joys of the martial rhythm. Having produced a couple of albums of heavy martial industrial music, they began to expand sonically. Following the collapse of Yugoslavia their difficult but rewarding album Kapital included hip-hop influences among many others and NATO borrowed from techno while keeping the bombastic atmosphere. The next offering Jesus Christ Superstars came after quite a hiatus and it may have shocked a lot of people with its balls-out metal guitar riffs. The 2003 album WAT returns to a more electronic sound; working with techno producer umek has produced a slightly odd album of electro beats.
Volk was released on October 20, 2006, preceded by the single Anglia. The album contains 14 songs composed and produced together with Silence, inspired by national anthems.
2008 Laibach released new album, titled Kunst der Fuge. This album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st at Bachfest festival in Leipzig.
VOLKSWAGNER is the title of a musical project which was realized in collaboration between Laibach and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra (2009). Laibach also cooperated with the composer and conductor Izidor Leitinger on this project, and it was decided that together they would compose a work which will in a specific manner interpret some of Wagner's better known musical motifs and combine them into a unified symphonic electronic suite.
From a formal point of view, the collaborating artists have decided to seek in Wagner the rudiments of modernism, which first through Mahler, Bruckner, and Debussy, and subsequently through Schöenberg, Berg, and Webern, developed into the core of the jazz music of the sonic experimentalists, such as Miles Davis and Sun Ra, and to upgrade them with the ambient electronic spectrum that has been developing over the last three decades. In addition, the suite will address the history of the 20th century – modernism crossbred with pop art.
4.4. 2012 a movie titeled Iron Sky was released. Laibach in collaboration with Ben Watkins as a co-writer and producer of the score provided soundtrack for Moon Nazi Invasion in Iron Sky.
Official Laibach website: www.laibach.org
Francia
Laibach Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's go, children of the Fatherland
Our day of glory has arrived
(Allons enfants de la Patrie)
Against us, tyranny
Has raised its bloody flag
(Le jour de gloire est arrivé)
The howling of this savage force?
(Contre nous de la tyrannie)
They come right into our house
(L'étendard sanglant est levé)
To cut the throats of our mother
France
Traitors, criminals, delinquents, slaves
(Amour sacré de la Patrie)
What do they want, these foreign hordes ?
(Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs)
Why do they carry chains, Molotovs,
Iron stakes and all their weapons?
(Liberté, Liberté chérie)
Is it really us they dare to touch
Do they want to be us so much?
(Combats avec tes défenseurs!)
Listen to the sound on the streets and in the ghettos
Listen to these mercenaries, stone throwers, pyromaniacs
Listen to the unnamed barbarians, traitors, the rebel
Listen to the roaring of this fearsome force
Under their flag of victory and freedom
It's never too late, it's never too late
Let's go! Listen, listen it's never too late (repeat)
The opening lines of Laibach's song Francia evoke the French Revolution and the national anthem of France, "La Marseillaise." However, the lyrics are infused with a dystopian and apocalyptic atmosphere, as the traditional revolutionary symbols of liberty, equality, and fraternity are subverted and replaced with violent and aggressive rhetoric. The lyrics are directed at an enemy, who is described as a "bloody flag" raised by "tyranny" that comes to "cut the throats of our mother [France]."
The second verse continues the aggressive tone, using derogatory language to describe the enemy as "traitors, criminals, delinquents, slaves." The lyrics then question the motivations of the enemy, asking why they carry weapons and incendiary devices. The chorus interjects with a call for "liberty" and for France to fight with its "defenders" against the unnamed enemy, who is described as a "fearsome force" and an amalgam of various groups, including "mercenaries, stone throwers, pyromaniacs, unnamed barbarians, traitors, [and] the rebel."
Overall, Laibach's Francia portrays a chaotic and violent society facing threats from within and without, creating a dark vision of the future. The lyrics use historical references to evoke a sense of urgency and a need to resist the encroaching forces.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's go, children of the Fatherland
The call for the people to march forward and fight for their country
Our day of glory has arrived (Allons enfants de la Patrie)
The people have waited for too long for this glorious moment to be free
Against us, tyranny
An evil, oppressive government seeks to control the people
Has raised its bloody flag (Le jour de gloire est arrivé)
The tyranny has declared war against the people with blood spilled everywhere
Do you hear it's in the fields and on the streets
The people are aware of the tyranny and their oppression in every corner
The howling of this savage force? (Contre nous de la tyrannie)
The people are scared and horrified by the brutality of the tyrannical force
They come right into our house (L'étendard sanglant est levé)
The tyranny is at the doorstep and poses a direct threat to the people's livelihood
To cut the throats of our mother
The tyranny seeks to destroy the very essence of the country and its people, their pride and honor
Traitors, criminals, delinquents, slaves
Describing the tyranny as evil and unjust, with people that willingly serve them or commit crimes to do so
What do they want, these foreign hordes? (Amour sacré de la Patrie)
The people question the motives of the foreigners joining the tyranny, and stay true to their country's values
Why do they carry chains, Molotovs,
Questioning the reason for the tyranny's use of violent force to keep the people in check
Iron stakes and all their weapons? (Liberté, Liberté chérie)
The people continue to desire freedom and power over their own lives, and reject the tyranny's ways
Is it really us they dare to touch
The people are outraged that the tyranny would dare to attack and hurt them
Do they want to be us so much? (Combats avec tes défenseurs!)
The people continue to fight with others on their side to take their freedom back
Listen to the sound on the streets and in the ghettos
The people are always alert and wary of the tyranny's presence and movements
Listen to these mercenaries, stone throwers, pyromaniacs
Referring to the tyranny's people who are unafraid to cause destruction and pain to others
Listen to the unnamed barbarians, traitors, the rebel
Describing the tyranny's people as barbaric and treacherous, and those who oppose them as heroes
Listen to the roaring of this fearsome force
The people are all too aware of the tyranny's might, and how it threatens their freedoms
Under their flag of victory and freedom
The tyranny seeks to paint their violent ways as justified and good
It's never too late, it's never too late
Though the situation looks dire, the people never lose hope that they can take back their freedom and rights
Let's go! Listen, listen it's never too late (repeat)
The people rally and urge each other to never give up in their fight for freedom
Contributed by Isaac N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Benjamin Adrian
Antoons Stranger Things: Ash Ketchum's Death Bed Theme (Feat. Tai and Agumon)
Transcript
Narrator: What a gloomy day for a- (Tai Kamiya and Agumon walk right over to the entrance of the Pokémon Center.) huh, Tai? Agumon? (Tai Kamiya opens up the door for Agumon and they walk right in to the receptionist to sign in to visit Ash Ketchum.) What are you guys doing here?
(Transitions to a patient room with Tai Kamiya opening the door to see Ash Ketchum, in a hospital bed, surrounded by his teammates.)
Narrator: Oh, Ash, and the whole gang. Just what is going on here?
(Then Tai Kamiya closes the door silently right after Agumon walks in while some Pokémon DVDs, video games and trading cards are on the table side.)
Tai: "Hey,"
Agumon: "what's going on here?"
(The sound of a heart monitor's heard just as Tai Kamiya and Agumon walk right over to the comatose Ash Ketchum.)
Narrator: Ash, what happened to you?
(Dawn and Serena hold Ash Ketchum's right hand with a depressed look on their faces, Dawn uses her poké ball to revive Ash Ketchum, but Misty denies it.)
Misty: "Dawn, stop that! Ash, my poor prince."
(Misty rubs Ash Ketchum's right hand with a depressed look on her face.)
(Then, Ash Ketchum slowly opens his eyes, seeing everybody cheerful and overjoyed that he's alright.)
(Then, a tweet message is heard, Officer Jenny goes to check her smart phone, revealing that Nintendo announces a new Pokémon game, which causes Ash Ketchum to pass away instantly from the message with the sound of flatlining.)
Misty: (Gasps in Shock) "Ash? Ash? No... no... ASH!"
(Misty, Dawn and Serena shake Ash Ketchum's motionless body just as they begin sobbing wildly.)
(Tai Kamiya and Agumon begin looking depressed 'til Tai Kamiya realizes that he can revive Ash Ketchum with his magic rainbow rock, but right before he does anything to do so, Officer Jenny grabs his right shoulder and shakes her head left and right to tell him not to use his magic to revive Ash Ketchum.)
(Misty, Dawn and Serena finally stop shaking Ash Ketchum, but they were still sobbing wildly.)
(Pikachu is crying wildly while banging on the floor.)
(May was snuggled tightly by Max and they're both sobbing heavily.)
(Iris was standing right next to Cilan, but she was also sobbing heavily.)
(Bonnie was also sobbing heavily just as Clemont supports her for consoling.)
(Officer Jenny is looking depressed just as Nurse Joy was tearing up slightly.)
(Gary Oak, Brock and Tracey Sketchit are depressed.)
(Tai Kamiya and Agumon are feeling depressed.)
(The look on Ash Ketchum's face is deadpan and still just as the right side of his death bed was seen with his poké ball dropping right onto the ground, breaks into pieces and finally disappearing.)
R.I.P Pokémon
Characters
Ash Ketchum (don't speak)
Pikachu
Gary Oak (don't speak)
Misty
Brock
Tracey Sketchit
Nurse Joy (don't speak)
Officer Jenny
May
Max
Dawn
Iris
Cilan
Serena
Clemont (don't speak)
Bonnie
Tai Kamiya (Digimon)
Agumon (Digimon)
Voice Cast
Ninti Chance - Pikachu/Misty/May/Max/Dawn/Iris/Serena/Bonnie
Julie Park - Officer Jenny
Samuel Meza - Brock/Tracey Sketchit/Tai Kamiya/Agumon
Cougar MacDowall - Cilan
Stephen J. Pena - Narrator
Ophioserpens
@Grégoire Ca
"Travail, famille, patrie" was the slogan of the Pétain's regime, The France of Vichy... i.e. the part of France NOT under Nazi Regime. Collaborationist yes, totalitarist probably, but under nazi regime no.
Nazis controlled basically the north half of France, including Paris, and the Vichy Regime the south Half.
It doesn't mean it was all good, the Vichy Regime was quite horrible itself, but it was NOT under nazis.
This regime itself was quite ambivalent with its relationship to nazis. Some heads of the regime were openly pro-nazis, but others, like Charles Maurras (one of the most famous members of the Action Française : nationalist, royalists, extremely to the right then), were actually germanophobes and considered that the nazis were a plight.
It is really not as simple as :
"Travail, Famille, Patrie" was the slogan of the nazi part of France,
Cause that is completely false.
Gerold Grimel
I'm glad that I've seen the lyrics now. I own this album, and for 15 years I've been hearing "What do they want? This foreign horse..."
Marc D.
God, such a fitting cover for the age. Laibach was so prescient in their WAT and Volk albums
Bradley Mathias
@Zane Roy No problem :D
Zane Roy
@Bradley Mathias it did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy:D
Thank you so much, you saved my ass :D
Zane Roy
@Bradley Mathias I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site on google and im in the hacking process now.
I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Bradley Mathias
@Zane Roy Instablaster =)
Zane Roy
Sorry to be offtopic but does anybody know of a way to log back into an instagram account..?
I was dumb forgot the account password. I love any tricks you can offer me!
angelica laflame
LISTEN to the sound of the streets and in the ghettos
it's never too late
Jacobs Xavier
it's never too late until it doesn't matter anymore
Ser Arthur Dayne
Love from France Laibach 🇨🇵