Artist: Slon in sadež
Label: Cela Pametna Založba
Released: 2004
Rating: 3.5/5
After the hugely promising debut Kabare, the youth-relay baton carriers Slon and Sadež were back on the music scene the very next year with the album Komercialne Pizde, which wasn’t just a step forward in terms of commercial success, but also an upgrade on what they did on the previous record. The recipe, of course, stayed more or less the same: making fun of everything and everyone. When it came out, some people might have wondered whether the two jokers would try to make something more personal, something that would reflect their own musical vision. But who knows how that would have turned out. It could have been a total flop, even though both of them are undoubtedly talented. So they stuck with what works, and we’re the lucky ones, because we get to relax and laugh at their humor again, and sometimes even ponder some more poignant thoughts.
Right from the opening, the two guys show there’s more to them than many people think. Incredibly clever lyrics about Slovenian history, combined with humor, rap and a folk backdrop, hint at the kind of music they’d make if they weren’t poking fun at everything and everyone. It’s an intelligent track, both musically and lyrically. Next comes Tanz mit uns, where they also take a jab at Laibach and their supposed non-commerciality. The song title Pot v f(x) is clearly a parody of Pot v X by Siddharta. Here Slon and Sadež use mathematical expressions as metaphors for sex (“she raises my power inside me, so my root grows to an exponent”) and for political scheming. Again, seriously inventive. If they only took the piss out of Siddharta with the title of Pot v f(x), then with Vladimir they go after them across the board. The music is classic Siddharta – mighty, dark riffs that try by any means to create some kind of epic impression. They go after Siddharta’s lyrics in even more detail, and they’ve clearly done their homework. The lyrics are basically a pile of thoughts that try to give an impression of deep profundity and grandeur, even though there’s often no connection between them and they don’t really make sense. Slon and Sadež’s parody of that aspect: “Nonsense in the eyes that a volcano spews, plastic flowers and a wild turkey…” The album continues with Fantastičnih 5, the best-known song here, which sarcastically mocks boy bands. After that the record stagnates for a while, though the two again show a bit more original material (Levi pas). With Medvedi the level goes back up. They present the bear situation in Slovenia from several angles, including the bear’s (in a humorous way, of course): “From Varaždin all the way to Bovec, let it be heard, the bears have totally screwed the hunter…” The track Veška mafija continues the motif of Kavboj iz Ljubljane, while with Mati nas pretepa they parody the typical love ballads to mothers (and the Cankar-style mother complex) of Slovenian folk-pop ensembles. Lipe cvetejo is an a cappella cover of Lipe Cvatu by Bijelo Dugme. Their musical know-how shows in the gorgeous choir arrangements. It’s one of the few more serious tracks on the record, and they only goof around a little during the chorus, where they deliberately overdo the falsetto.
This time around, Slon and Sadež made an album that’s even more varied than its predecessor. They make us laugh with parodies of metal (Lovehalla), Slovenian folk-pop (Mati nas pretepa), rap (Slovanskega naroda sin), blues (Zekobluz)… It might even be a bit unfair to say they’re mocking these genres, since they really take them as inspiration. So if Kabare already hinted at what these two nutcases (in the good sense of the word) can do, Komercialne Pizde takes another step forward and proves that Slon and Sadež haven’t used up all their ideas yet, and that we can maybe look forward to something even better. Here’s wishing you plenty of laughs.
Lineup
Igor Bračič and Jure Karas – all instruments, vocals
except:
Matjaž Ugovšek – bass and backing vocals
Igor Brvar – drums and backing vocals
guests: Gregor Babič (keyboards), Maja and Mojca Kirasič (backing vocals), Vid Žgajnar, Damjan Mošera, Tim Kostrevec (all woodwinds)
Production
Sašo Fajon
Tracklist
1. Slovanskega naroda sin
2. Tanz mit uns
3. Pot v f(x)
4. Vladimir
5. Fantastičnih 5
6. Levi pas
7. Ježek
8. Medvedi
9. Zakon džungle – zekobluz
10. Vaška mafija
11. Mati nas pretepa
12. Lipe cvetejo
13. Nič (petminutni)
14. Komercialne pizde
15. Lovehalla
