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.
Ty i ja i wszystko co mamy
Myslovitz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I czuje te drzwi
Czym jest ta ściana
A czym przejście przez drzwi
Mam w głowie od dawna plan
Zmierzenia się z sobą - i tak cały czas
Nie patrząc już w przeszłość by
Wszystko co mam, wszystko co chce
I to co wiem, a czego nie
W tym wszystkim ja
Na nowo odnajduje się
Powoli zaczyna się wszystko układać
Zaczynam rozumiem - to życie jest dla nas
Podróżą w głąb siebie i próba sił
Choć często niepewnie
A czasem tak trudno
Wciąż warto próbować
Nigdy nie jest za późno
Wykrzyczeć do życia, że ciągle widać mnie!
Wszystko co mam, wszystko co chce
I to co wiem, a czego nie
W tym wszystkim ja
Na nowo odnajduje się
Wszystko co mam, wszystko co chce
I to co wiem, a czego nie
Zostawiam to, co trzyma mnie
Zostawiam to, nie boje się
Tylko po to, by być bliżej Ciebie
Wszystko po to, by być jeszcze bliżej siebie
The lyrics of the song Ty i ja i wszystko co mamy by Myslovitz talks about self-discovery and accepting oneself. The first verse describes the feeling of being trapped with one's own thoughts and desires, questioning whether the walls or the doors signify barriers or opportunities. The second verse talks about the realization that life is a continuous journey of self-discovery, and one needs to let go of the past and move forward. The chorus repeats the phrase "Wszystko co mam, wszystko co chce” (Everything I have, everything I want) emphasizing the importance of accepting oneself, including the things one knows and those unknown, to rediscover one's self.
The bridge talks about the process of self-discovery, which can often be uncertain and challenging, but still worth trying. The song concludes with the thought that everything one has and everything one wants should be left behind to be closer to oneself and the people one loves.
Overall, the song encourages one to embrace oneself and push forward on the journey of self-discovery.
Line by Line Meaning
Patrzę na siebie i widzę te ściany
I am reflecting on myself and all the barriers I have constructed around me
I czuje te drzwi
I feel the doors that separate me from what I desire
Czym jest ta ściana
What is this wall I have built, what purpose does it serve?
A czym przejście przez drzwi
And what will it mean to step through those doors?
Mam w głowie od dawna plan
I have been thinking for a long time about facing myself and moving forward
Zmierzenia się z sobą - i tak cały czas
Confronting myself, always trying to better understand who I am
Nie patrząc już w przeszłość by
Without dwelling on the past, I want to look towards the future
Dalej iść
And continue moving forward
Wszystko co mam, wszystko co chce
Everything I have, everything I desire
I to co wiem, a czego nie
And what I know, as well as what I do not
W tym wszystkim ja
In this moment, I am finding myself
Na nowo odnajduje się
Rediscovering who I am, my purpose and my passion
Powoli zaczyna się wszystko układać
Slowly, everything is beginning to fall into place
Zaczynam rozumiem - to życie jest dla nas
I am starting to understand that life is meant for us to live it to the fullest
Podróżą w głąb siebie i próba sił
This journey is an inward one, a test of my strength and determination
Choć często niepewnie
Although at times I feel uncertain
A czasem tak trudno
And at times it's so hard
Wciąż warto próbować
It's still worth trying
Nigdy nie jest za późno
It's never too late
Wykrzyczeć do życia, że ciągle widać mnie!
To shout to life that I am still here, and I am not giving up
Zostawiam to, co trzyma mnie
I am leaving behind what is weighing me down
Zostawiam to, nie boje się
I am letting go, and I am not afraid
Tylko po to, by być bliżej Ciebie
All for the purpose of being closer to you
Wszystko po to, by być jeszcze bliżej siebie
Everything for the purpose of getting even closer to my true self
Contributed by Jasmine M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Symulatorplayer
Ta piosenka dodaje mi siły do remontu domu!
Gregory House
W Myslovitz a w zasadzie ich piosenkach ja odnajduję siebie szkoda że już Artur nie śpiewa z nimi
alfa i omega bog i diabel
DLA MNIE I MAI. PISZAC TO MAM ŁZY W OCZACH.
alfa i omega bog i diabel
Wszystko jest nowe.
Symulatorplayer
Byłem na 3 koncertach myslovitz
Hotalinho
2019 Ktoś ?
Jan Chojnowski
Co tak mało komentarzy????
Joanna Broniszewska
Nie wiem, właśnie przyszłam dodać, bo ta piosenka przyszła dzisiaj do mnie za jedną nutkę :D Świetna piosenka!