Artist: Let 3
Label: Dallas Records
Released: 2009
Rating: 2.5/5
Over the years, Let 3 have grown into one of the most important bands on the Croatian scene. Even this time around, there’s no way to talk about the new Let 3 DVD without commenting on the unavoidable “artistic” impression its making left behind.
A band many have said is more of a circus than a group of musicians, and to a certain extent that circus is exactly what they are. From innocently running around the stage, sticking an assorted range of objects into various openings of the human body, flirting with “folk” elements, hanging out with Severina, and many other factors of their creative output, the guys from Let 3 are anything but boring. No matter how much of it is just a marketing trick, Let 3 always leave the impression of tireless individuals who are up for anything.
That’s how the guys come across on this DVD too, and we can’t get around it without mentioning its predecessor. That is, the predecessor of “Pička”. And that, of course, is “Živi kurac”. The latter was a double live album (and one of the best Croatian ones, at that) with 31 songs in total. The repertoire of “Pička” is basically a cross-section of Let 3’s career, which in a certain past period made sense as a caricature in the case of “Kurac”.
This DVD packs in 23 tracks plus 13 music videos, all the way from “Izgubljeni” to “Riječke pičke”. The main, live part was shot in five cities across four countries, with the biggest chunk (of the live part of the DVD) captured from the band’s set at Hartera festival in Rijeka on June 14, 2009. Considering Let 3 are from Rijeka, that move is more than understandable. Of the cities outside Croatia, the Dutch Amsterdam turns up in the frame most often. Among other things, the footage shows the band outside their usual “working atmosphere”, like riding in the van, backstage, and you get to listen to their “wise” comments, the constant piss-taking, dialogues with ordinary mortals who got the chance to see the naked deities of modern Croatian music,…
On the DVD you can spot all the elements mentioned in the second paragraph of this review, with the exception of Severina. So you can enjoy gorgeous Croatian peasant costumes, the sight of fine girls yelling “Pička” with gusto, the band simulating masturbation, gluing on mustaches, flashing bare butts, footage from the bus and the crew’s disgust at the power of Mrle’s fart, the members busting out some “breakdance” in front of a circle of girls, and musical numbers mixed with all sorts of melodies, from Cuban (mamne baneta) to folk (alam iđazi, zurle treštat), plus enthusiastic fans and other more ordinary stuff. And of course there are also 13 music videos, which offer a one-of-a-kind glimpse into a historical cross-section of the Let 3 catalog!
Technology has moved on, and so have Let 3. They’ve embraced the Western principle of pop culture, a simple axiom: if you run out of ideas for good music, put something else front and center, something that makes you stand out and get recognized in the crowd. Let 3 stubbornly hold on to that this time too. Far from saying Let 3 are a bad band. They’re not bad, but they don’t play music in line with the potential they have. This DVD is therefore a perfect proof of the Let 3 philosophy. Infantile behavior and shoving a flower up your backside is by no means provocative, but a sorry attempt at gaining and buying media attention (media exposure). With this DVD, you get the feeling that there really is no such thing as bad publicity. Even though Let 3 have started milking folk elements, actually changed their sound and started charging admission for their gigs that’s higher than Let 3’s music, and the band itself, are really worth, their popularity isn’t dropping. The moms of the Let 3 guys can sleep soundly, knowing their sons are making a perfectly good living off their nakedness and that the teasing of their backsides (anal openings) isn’t in vain and doesn’t cause painful inflammations.
Oh, right! What about the DVD’s rating? Well, um,… they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I have worse eyesight but excellent hearing. When musicians put together a DVD, they forget that alongside the beauty of the video, the beauty and quality of the music they make matter too, and that not even “Star Wars” effects can help them there.
In the spirit of folk music, of this once sharp and good band, I’m closing this piece with the verse: “uzalud vam trud svirači” (“your efforts are in vain, fiddlers!”)…
Translated and edited by: Aleš Podbrežnik
Over the years Let 3 have established themselves as one of the most important bands on our scene, but talking about them is unthinkable without commenting on their ”artistic” expression, which was unavoidable in the making of this DVD.
A band many would say is more like a circus than musicians, and to a certain extent it is. Starting from running around the stage naked, putting various objects into various body openings, performing assorted acrobatics at their shows, flirting with ”folk” elements, hanging out with Severina and many other factors of their creative output, the guys from Let 3 are anything but boring. No matter how much of it is used as a marketing trick, they leave the impression of tireless individuals who are up for anything.
That’s how they’re portrayed on this DVD too, which you can’t talk about without mentioning its predecessor ”Pička”, that is, ”Živi kurac”. That was a double live album ( one of the best domestic ones) , which contained 31 songs. The repertoire of ”Pička” is basically a cross-section of their career, which was also the case with ”Kurac” back in the day.
This DVD includes 23 songs as well as 13 music videos from ”Izgubljeni” to ”Riječke pičke”. The main, live part was recorded in five cities and four countries, and the biggest portion is from Hartera ( the Rijeka festival ) held on June 14, 2007. Given that the band is from Rijeka, that’s more than understandable. Of the foreign cities, Amsterdam is in the frame the most. You can also see the band outside their ”working” atmosphere, in the van, backstage, their wise remarks, the mutual joking around, communicating with ordinary mortals who got the chance to see the naked deities of modern Croatian music.
On the DVD you can see all the elements I mentioned earlier, except Severina. So you can enjoy gorgeous Croatian peasant costumes, fine girls yelling with gusto ” PIČKA”, Let 3 simulating masturbation, gluing on mustaches, flashing bare butts, footage from the bus and the rest of the crew’s disgust at the power of Mrle’s fart, the guys doing breakdance in front of a circle of girls, music mixed up with all sorts of melodies, from Cuban ( mamne baneta ) to folk ( alam iđazi, zurle treštat ), enthusiastic fans and other usual stuff. Of course, there are also 13 music videos, which offer a unique cross-section of the band’s history.
Technology has moved on, and so have Let 3. They’ve embraced the Western approach to pop culture – when you run out of ideas for good music, do something that will make you stand out in the crowd. And they stubbornly keep doing it. Far from saying Let 3 are a bad band. They’re not bad, but they don’t play in line with their potential. This DVD is proof. Infantile behavior and shoving a rose up your backside isn’t provocative, it’s a pathetic way of getting yourself into the papers. It seems there really is no such thing as bad publicity. Even though they’ve started using folk elements, and changed their sound quite a bit, and started charging for tickets to their shows more than they’re currently worth, their popularity isn’t falling. Their moms can sleep soundly knowing their sons are living well off their nakedness and that their anal teasing isn’t in vain.
Oh yes! And the DVD’s rating? Well, um, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I have worse eyesight and excellent hearing. When making a DVD, musicians forget that alongside the beauty of the video, the beauty and quality of the music they produce matter too, and that not even ”Star Wars” effects can help them there.
In the spirit of folk music, of this once fierce and good band, I’m wrapping up with the verses : ” uzalud vam trud svirači ” …
Lineup
Zoran Prodanovič “Prlja” – vocals
Dražen Baljak “Baljak” – guitar
Matej Zec “Knki” – guitar
Ivan Šarar “Faf” – keyboards, samples
Damir Martinović “Mrle” – bass
Branko Kovačić “Husta” – drums
Track list
01. Rado ide Srbin u vojnike (pička)
02. Riječke pičke
03. Ne trebam te /el desperado/fuck famiglia
04. 999
05. Kontinentio
06. Alam iđazi
07. Mamne baneta
08. Ha ha ha
09. Profesor jakov
10. Dijete u vremenu
11. Nafta
12. Zurle treštat
13. Sokol
14. Ero s onoga svijeta
15. Drama
16. Kurcem u čelo
17. Splet
18. Droga
19. Ženu varam
20. Izgubljeni
21. Vjeran pas
22. Sam u vodi
23. Artemida
+
Bonus DVD with 13 music videos
