Guitarist and vocalist Artur Rojek (born 1972) started the band in 1992 as "The Freshmen", taking the initial name from the movie The Freshman starring Marlon Brando - which indicates a fascination with cinema that would become a characteristic feature throughout the band's career. The early phase was characterised by a somewhat debonair punk attitude, as Rojek admits: "I started Myslovitz in 1992. I was twenty then and I had no idea how to make good music. Surely, I was a big fan of a few British groups (Ride, The Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine, The Housemartins) but I couldn't play the guitar at all. After several months of rehearsals [...] I decided that I should cover the holes in my musical education by [...] chaos (the bigger the better)." [1].
Even so, they soon caught the media's attention, winning several important competitions for young musicians; this enabled them to make their first professional recordings in the studio of Radio Lodz. In 1994, Myslovitz were signed by MJM Music Polska and recorded their self-titled debut album with British producer Ian Harris, who had previously worked for, amongst others, Joy Division, New Order, and The Exploited. Upon its release in 1995, the album received euphoric reviews and was declared "Debut of the Year" by several music magazines. Some critics compared it to Oasis, who were at the peak of their popularity at that time.
In 1996, Myslovitz were joined by a third guitarist and keyboarder, Przemek Myszor, and released the second album Sun Machine on Sony Music Polska. The album spawned two somewhat beatlesque airplay hits - Z twarzą Marilyn Monroe ("With the Face of Marilyn Monroe") and Peggy Brown, the latter being a cover version of a fellow Mysłowice rock band, with lyrics originally by the Irish "national bard" Turlough O'Carolan (in a translation by the Polish lyricist and translator Ernest Bryll).
The following year, the third album Z rozmyślań przy śniadaniu ("From meditiations over breakfast") was released, displaying a tendency towards a more "polished" sound and more introspective lyrics. Also, Myslovitz's now typical fascination with cinema began to take centre stage with numerous allusions and hints in the lyrics and track titles, and a certain "cinematic" atmosphere in the music itself.
The band's interest in cinema also showed in their contributions to soundtracks. In 1998, they recorded the unconventional track To nie był film ("That was no film") for the Polish movie Młode wilki ½ ("Young Wolves ½"). The lyrics referred to a wave of violent crimes committed by juvenile delinquents, which was controversially discussed in Polish mass media in the mid-1990's. The explicit depiction of violence in the lyrics and the accompanying video clip (which later won a Fryderyk award as "Video of the Year") caused further controversy and led Polish broadcasting networks to boycott both the song and the clip.
Also in 1998, Myslovitz had their first appearances abroad with gigs in Sweden, Germany, and the United States.
The final breakthrough for the band came in 1999 with their fourth album entitled Miłość w czasach popkultury ("Love in The Time of Pop Culture"), which went platinum (i.e. 150,000 copies sold) soon and has by now achieved "double platinum" status in Poland. The single Długość dzwięku samotności ("The Length of the Solitude Sound") became the biggest hit for the band so far.
In 2000 Myslovitz again contributed to soundtracks, writing and recording the song Polowanie na wielblada ("Camel Hunting") for the movie Duże zwierzę ("The Big Animal") by the legendary Polish actor and director Jerzy Stuhr, and the single plus another two (previosly unreleased) tracks to director Waldemar Szarek's movie "That's Us" (To my). In 2003 Myslovitz continued their cooperation with Stuhr, creating not only the title song for his movie "Tomorrow's Weather", but also appearing in walk-on roles - as neophyte monks.
In 2002, the follow-up to Miłość..., entitled Korova Milky Bar appeared; the title being an allusion to Stanley Kubrick's classic screen version of Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange. Strikingly, the melancholic elements took over almost completely, with both music and (sometimes sarcastic) lyrics creating an almost depressive overall mood. Nonethelss, the album sold even more copies than its predecessor had in the same time, with the singles Acidland and Sprzedawcy marzeń ("Dreamsellers") repeating the success of Długość... three years earlier.
The reason for the new material's popularity, as some critics surmised, was that its atmosphere closely conformed to a presumed resignative-recessive mood within Polish society at large - which guitarist Przemek Myszor seemed to confirm in an interview for the Montreal Mirror: "For us, the Korova Milky Bar [from Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange'] is a place where something different may happen to your mind. It's a place like today’s Poland. You know, Poland is a place where very strange things happen to your mind. It's a country full of crisis and everything around you is very sad, very dark, very fucked. There is an economic crisis here. People don't have money, politics are fucked. The lyrics on our record are sad because of this. We sing a lot about being in a strange state of mind" [2].
With Korova Milky Bar, Myslovitz appeared at several festivals throughout Europe, including the big, traditional German festival for Alternative acts (Bizarre) and the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival. Also, they supported Iggy Pop and the Simple Minds on their European tours that year. Also, they received an MTV Europe Music Awards in Barcelona for Best Polish Act, having been nominated twice in previous years.
In November 2002 Myslovitz signed a new contract with EMI's Polish outlet Pomaton. The first album to be released on the new label was an English-language re-recording of Korova Milky Bar, which war released in 27 countries (including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Spain, Russia, Turkey and South Africa). In addition to the Korova... material, this version also included English versions of older tracks. Długość dzwięku samotności now became a single as The Sound of Solitude (an earlier English version had somewhat awkwardly but more correctly entitled The Length of The Solitude Sound had been a Polish b-side). A video clip for this song was directed Janusz Kaminski, the Polish Hollywood cinematographer who had won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography with Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, and had declined an offer from Martin Scorsese in order to work with Myslovitz. Kaminski declares himself a "fan" of Myslovitz, saying "I only work for Spielberg and Myslovitz [...] Money is not a factor in this. What one doesn't do for one's idols!" [3] The clip got frequent plays on MTV Europe and the album received positive reviews in the European music press, particularly in Germany. However, radio airplay was sporadic and largely limited to Alternative programmes (such as John Peel in the UK), as a consequence, Myslovitz so far failed to enter the upper reaches of the charts outside Poland.
Also in 2003, Myslovitz performed with Travis and Skin (of Skunk Anansie fame) on The Road to Edinburgh, where they received another MTV Europe Music Award for Best Polish Act.
The same year, Sony Music domestically released an obligatory end-of-contract compilation album, entitled The Best of. The lead single Kraków was an older song re-recorded with 1970s Polish folk rock stars Marek Grechuta and Anawa.
In the summer of 2004 Myslovitz were touring Europe again, starting with a concert for the German public radio and television broadcaster WDR on the eve of EU enlargement. Apart from headlining smaller venues and playing festival slots (including the largest Swiss open air event in St. Gallen, they again opened for Iggy Pop & The Stooges on their European dates, as well as for The Corrs in the UK and mainland Europe.
In December 2004, EMI released Myslovitz's most recent album entitled Skalary, mieczyki, neonki ("Angelfish, swordtails, neon tetras") - an out-of-schedule release with outtakes from the Korova Milky Bar recording sessions; longish, psychedelic-experimental and mostly instrumental soundscapes with an utterly melancholic mood to them. On Skalary..., Myslovitz appear about as close to the Radiohead reference as they are likely to get; there are also some tangible similarities with Pink Floyd.
At the time, the band had finished recording of their new album "Happiness is easy", which is planned to appear on 12 May 2006. The album will include 13 new songs and the first single promoting it is "Mieć czy być" ("To have or to be"), inspired by the book of the same title by Erich Fromm.
Myslovitz's success arguably contributed to a revitalisation of the Polish alternative rock scene in the late 1990's and early 2000's, which spawned bands such as eM, Kombajn do zbierania kur po wioskach, and Lili Marlene.
Gadające głowy 80-06
Myslovitz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A ja trochę inny niż ten świat
Chciałbym chyba nie chcę nic
Ja malować konie i
Samochodem białym być
Marzycielem wolnym nie mam wad
Ja właściwie nikim to będzie trwać
Być człowiekiem znaleźć chcę
Tylko dziś i mocno stać
Ja jak wszyscy jestem taki sam
Wszystko mam i chciałbym
Zmienić coś lecz nie wiem co
I co byś chciał?
Kim jesteś teraz powiedz mi?
I co byś chciał?
A co tu najważniejsze jest?
Dwie powieści dzieci to co mam
Ja chemikiem piję parę lat
I właściwie jest ok
Wiem na pewno nie chcę nic
Sprawiedliwy świecie przyjdź
Są wspomnienia na marzeniach kurz
Mam sto lat i chciałbym
Tylko trochę dłużej żyć
I co byś chciał?
Kim jesteś teraz powiedz mi?
I co byś chciał?
A co tu najważniejsze jest?
Dobrze, że spotkałem tylu ich
Wyjątkowych zwykłych tak jak ja
I powiedzieli mi
Że bez marzeń pragnień tych
Życie wtedy traci sens
The lyrics of Myslovitz's Gadające głowy 80-06 explore the themes of identity and desire for change. The singer begins by acknowledging that they don't really know who they are and feel different than the world around them. They express a desire to paint horses and drive a white car, hinting at a longing for freedom and creativity. Despite this, they feel they have no faults and consider themselves nobody important. However, they then express a desire to become someone and save a life, stressing the importance of living in the present moment.
The second verse sees the singer reflecting on their life, describing themselves as a child with two stories and a chemist who has been drinking for years. Despite this, they feel that everything is okay and that they don't really want anything, except maybe for a just world. They express a longing for memories and to simply live a little longer. The chorus repeats the questions of who they are, what they want, and what is most important in life before finally acknowledging the importance of dreams and desires.
Overall, the lyrics of Gadające głowy 80-06 are introspective and contemplative, exploring the complex themes of identity, desire, and the search for meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
Ja nie bardzo wiem kim jestem sam
I am unsure of my own identity
A ja trochę inny niż ten świat
I feel like I do not fit in with the world
Chciałbym chyba nie chcę nic
I am not sure what I want
Ja malować konie i
I have an interest in painting horses
Samochodem białym być
I dream of driving a white car
Marzycielem wolnym nie mam wad
I see myself as a free-spirited dreamer without faults
Ja właściwie nikim to będzie trwać
I feel like I will amount to nothing
Być człowiekiem znaleźć chcę
I want to find my humanity
Uratować życie raz
I want to save a life once
Tylko dziś i mocno stać
I need to stand strongly in the present moment
Ja jak wszyscy jestem taki sam
I realize that I am just like everyone else
Wszystko mam i chciałbym
I have everything, but I still wish
Zmienić coś lecz nie wiem co
I want to change something, but I am not sure what
I co byś chciał?
And what do you want?
Kim jesteś teraz powiedz mi?
Tell me, who are you now?
A co tu najważniejsze jest?
And what is most important here?
Dwie powieści dzieci to co mam
I have two young children's stories with me
Ja chemikiem piję parę lat
I have been drinking as a chemist for a few years
I właściwie jest ok
And honestly, it's okay
Wiem na pewno nie chcę nic
I know for sure that I do not want anything
Sprawiedliwy świecie przyjdź
Come, just and fair world
Są wspomnienia na marzeniach kurz
Memories of dreams remain only as dust
Mam sto lat i chciałbym
If I lived to be a hundred, I would still
Tylko trochę dłużej żyć
Just want to live a little longer
Dobrze, że spotkałem tylu ich
It's good that I met so many of them
Wyjątkowych zwykłych tak jak ja
Extraordinary but ordinary people just like myself
I powiedzieli mi
And they told me
Że bez marzeń pragnień tych
That without dreams and desires
Życie wtedy traci sens
Life loses its meaning
Contributed by Max T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
A bunny that will chew on your cables
One of the most beautiful songs to ever exist. I am just mindblown every time I listen to it.
Agata Halinowska
Najistotniejsze -być pięknym człowiekiem.
On jest.
Unfortunate
Dobrze, że spotkałem tylu ich
Wyjątkowych zwykłych tak jak ja
I powiedzieli mi
Że bez marzeń pragnienień tych
Życie wtedy traci sens
Shit head
Szacun za TØP na profilowym
Błażej Kubacki
Człowiek jest jak płynąca rzeka przemian, bez ustalonej stałej formy.
Marzena Słowik
Piękno ludzkiej twarzy w muzycznej odsłonie wrażliwych dusz.
iron cris
Genialne
Ray Stankiewicz
Gadające głowy - Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClUBYsA3vws
Czesław Słomka
fucking epic legend
maciek sklanu
Skąd tytułowe "80-06" 80 jest to od filmu "Gadające głowy" który był inspiracją dla tej piosenki ale skąd "06"?