#hana a petr ulrychovi

[sullenarchives]

Eastern Bloc Songs

First published in The Wire 418, December 2018. The curator, Wayne Burrows, responded on Twitter shortly after this was published that the exhibition catalogue included much of the contextual information missing in the show. Having perused the accompanying book, which is mostly reproductions of song lyrics, I can say that's absolutely not the case.

Eastern Bloc Songs

Centrala Space, Birmingham, UK

This archival show, curated by Nottingham-based writer Wayne Burrows, of audiovisual recordings, records and magazine facsimiles from the Eastern Bloc pop industry feels at once panoramic and curiously narrow. Burrows, who collected the material over a number of years, covers a huge time span, 1963 to 1988, but only three countries, with most of the material coming from the former Czechoslovakia around 1968. With very little contextual information and haphazard labelling, it forms a vast and sometimes bewildering info-dump, that would tell a very different narrative from that of the Anglophone canon of post-war Eastern European culture, if you could ever extract it from the accumulation of period detail.

A set of rather schematic assumptions still governs the reception of Eastern Bloc music. Dissident and samizdat culture is always somehow aesthetically higher than the products of state-supervised record labels like Czechoslovakia's Supraphon and Poland's Pronit, its creativity spurred by the official limits placed on what Cold Warriors used euphemistically to call “civil society”. The picture that emerges faced with at least some of that product is altogether stranger. A wall of photos of Polish and Czechoslovak stars – Marta Kubišová, Helena Vondráčková, Václav Neckář, Czeław Nieman – shows them in outfits that wouldn't be out of place in a 1964 Top Of The Pops episode. Three vitrines of sleeves show the evolution of records across the period: the early 60s models have the clean but stuffy contemporary design of EMI and Polydor. One of four screens shows Kubišová's 1969 film Proudy odnesou lasku, directed by Jan Nĕmec, whose 1966 satire A Report On The Party And Its Guests was banned in Czechoslovakia. Kubišová, who resembles Rita Tushingham if she'd taken a career in chanson, rides in a jeep through a bomb-site, surrounded by children in army jackets and later slithers around sets decorated with the kind of occult imagery later to turn up in Jaromil Jireš's Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders (1970). On another screen, her contemporaries Hana and Petr Ulrychovi mount a controlled and ever-escalating prog assault with choirs and horn sections between guitar spray; Neckár and Golden Kids stretch The Electric Prunes' garage psych until it almost snaps. With the exception of a brief appearance from Plastic People Of The Universe, hardly anyone here is known in the West, underground or mainstream.

If the structure of feeling of the various artistic New Waves of Eastern Europe – Andrzej Wajda, Miloš Forman, Miklós Jancsó and Věra Chytilová would be the golden names – formed a labyrinth of rage, irony, naivete, plain speaking and soiled glamour, it's no surprise that the pop of that period is racked by the same rich contradictions. But it's hard to tell where all of this fits. Is it just a corrective to the historical emphasis on Communist states' high-minded sponsorship of culture, as in Poland's PRES? Or to the coffee-table fetishisation of underground bands, when 'underground' required a very literal distance from official culture and its attendant police spies? How did the publics of the Eastern Bloc, caught between a socialist culture industry and a dissidence they may have no lived connection to, really feel about this music? The sometimes astounding sounds and visuals here give no answers, only the languid stares of semi-hippie cover girls, looking off to an unguessed future.

[istilldontunderstand]

Coming in with some personal favourites:

Hana a Petr Ulrychovi (Modlitba and Chodci nebo poutníci are my favourites😊)

Karel Plíhal (Akordy, Ráda se miluje, Námořnická and much much moore)

Ondřej Havelka a Melody makers (if you love swing as I do, this is it🤩)

Bratři Ebenovi

Hradišťan

Vojta Dyk

Jaroslav Hutka

Jaromír Nohavica - Těšínská

Aneta Langerová

Marien - Zrcadla

Lenka Filipova

Karel Kryl

Václav Neckář (everything, but Půlnoční is a nice Christmassy song)

Kryštof (Zatančím, Cesta, Ty a já)

hi! im currently learning czech in uni and i wanted to ask if you maybe have any music to recommend that has czech lyrics & that you/your friends like? bc im really lacking in that casual, background-ish material that i always find helpful with a new language, music not being as purposeful as reading a book or watching a movie. and also bc well, id like to learn more obviously :)

HEY EVERYONE, SPAM THIS WITH YOUR CZECH FAVOURITES!!!!

I'd go with:

Bert and Friends (alternative pop, but he makes up a lot of new words)

J.A.R. (fun funk rap)

Roman Holý (idk what this is, probably pop? "asi si pořídím pejska" is my fave)

Vlasta Redl (pseudofolk, folk rock)

Chinaski (pop/rock, but only albums from 95 to 2002)

Chaozz (if you want some very oldschool rap)

if you feel like listening ti some old retro but very beloved czech songa, go to this playlist:

[musicmakesyousmart]

Hana A Petr Ulrychovi - Nikola Šuhaj Loupežník

Panton

1974

[caramelcat]

Playlist: Neon Sunset fill, Triple R, Oct 23 2021

Gábor Szabó - Some Velvet Morning

Deux Filles - Zazinthos

Lena Platonos - Bloody Shadows from Afar

Nailah Hunter - Guinevere

Donovan - Jennifer Juniper

Hana a Petr Ulrychovi, Atlantis - Dlouhý Stín

Phi-Psonics - First Step

Geoffrey O’Connor, Sui Zhen - What A Scene

Art Feynman - I’m Gonna Miss Your World

Cults Percussion Ensemble - Baia

Francis Bebey - Bissau

The Scorpions, Saif Abu Bakr - Azzah Music

Matata - Wanna Do My Thing

Dinosaur L - #5 Go Bang

Pharoah Sanders - Astral Traveling

BADBADNOTGOOD, Arthur Verocai - Talk Meaning

Arthur Verocai - Na boca do sol

David Axelrod - The Mental Traveller

Dr Lonnie Smith - Spirits Free

Ennio Morricone - Come Maddalena (Disco 78 12" version)

Gloria Ann Taylor - Love Is A Hurtin' Thing (12" version)

Minnie Ripperton - Les Fleurs

Soul Invaders - Give Me Your Love Today

Giorgio Moroder - Tears

Coral de Joab - Love's Whistle

Bush Tetras - Das Ah Riot

[ilwinsgarden]

Tagged by @unwillingadventurer Thank you! :)

Nickname: Any real one. In my teenage years with my friend we called themselves with names of the characters of TV show or book we liked at the time few times but never had any real nickname.

Zodiac: Leo (but you would never guessed that if you knew me in real life)

Height: umm... something about 170 cm I think?

Last movie I saw: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them on TV (first movie. Well it was rewatch for me, but watched it with my parents.)

Last thing I googled: How to get old sweat stains out of the clothes. (yeah, really. That boring)

Favorite Musician: Eh, that would be too many, but to name at least few randomly... Beatles, ABBA, Claude Francois, Enya, Blackmore’s Night, Loreena McKennit, Hana a Petr Ulrychovi, Spirituál Kvintet, Klíč, Zuzana Navarová, Jiří Pavlica a Hradišťan, Tomáš Kočko,...

Song stuck in my head: For some weird reason it’s now the main theme from “Godfather” as sang as a song in czech by Eva Pilarová. I have no idea where did it come from, I even never saw the movie.

Other blogs: I have a sideblog for crochet Doctor Who characters I make, a sideblog for a scene like pictures with crochet Doctor Who dolls, sideblog for my Miraculous Ladybug fanart

Followers: 605

Following: 295

Amount of sleep: It depends, but about 7 perhaps?

Lucky numbers: Don’t think I would consider some number as my lucky, but I like better even than odd numbers (don’t know why)

Dream job: Don’t know unfortunately.

What I’m wearing: green T-shirt and a home-wear set of trousers and jacket in sort of a dark pink or pruple or whatever is the actual colour. (and of course I have underwear and socks too! ;) )

Favorite food: I don’t have any particular food that would be my absolute favourite but I like chicken meat and I really love cheese.

Language: my mother language is czech, then I can - more or less - speak english. I also studied French and German (and Latin actually) in the past but too little is left from those at the time. I’d like to refresh the skills a bit though (but that would have to be someone more organized and disciplined than me heh)

Can I play an Instrument: No.

Favorite song: I can’t say just one, I couldn’t even say like top 10 or something. Just pick some song from the musicians named above and it would be most likely one of my favourite songs (obviously). (plus hundred other songs *shrugs*)

Random Fact: I still use MC cassettes and VHS, I don’t have a smartphone nor a tablet and it really drives me mad how everyone everyone expects that everyone has a smartphone and facebook and instagram, etc.

Describe yourself in aesthetic things: green hills, stones, cup of tea, beads, yarn, paper and colour pencils, digital camera, trees, dragons, books

Tagging @gentianablue @smudgethistle @whatthefoucault @cookiepianos @stitching-in-time @forestagain @llywela13 @doctorloki40, @north-wyrm, @dayoldhakarl, @upslapmeal @bowser14456 (as usual, do only if you want to do it and if someone who wasn’t tagged would like to do it consider yourself tagged of course)

[extracafe]

Modlitba: Hana a Petr Ulrychovi

Modlitba: Hana a Petr Ulrychovi

[falsestuff]

Petr Ulrych & Ivo Křižan - You Don't Love Me Any More (1969)

[jgthirlwell]

playlist 4/25/15

John Luther Adams Become Ocean (Canteloupe) Kambar Kalandarov & Kutman Sultanbekov Jaw (Canteloupe) Hana a Petr Ulrychovi  Odyssea  (Bonton) Gloria Coates Symphony No 15  (Naxos) Julia Wolfe Steel Hammer  (Canteloupe) Neptune Gong Lake Thinking Plague Early Plague Years  (Cuneiform) Kenneth Higney Attic Demonstration (Kebrutney) Sparks '69 demos (Unknown) Ichi The Killer OST (YouTube) Magma Riah Sahiltaahk  (Seventh Records)

[naquelescaminhos]

hana a petr ulrychovi - dlouhy stin

[ilwinsgarden]

current music obsession!

RULES: List the top 10 songs you’re listening to nowadays and tag 10 mutuals!

tagged by @stitching-in-time Thank you!¨

(well right now I don’t have some bunch of single songs that i would listen the most, most likely whole albums, but let’s randomly choose some of those that I never skip when they come on shuffle mode...)

Asonance -  Čarodějnice z Amesbury

Hradišťan - Nechvátej osude

Na Santově kopec (wallachian folk song)

Spirituál Kvintet - Mlýny

Zuzana Navarová - Čert ví proč

Svěrák & Uhlíř - Ani k stáru

Klíč - Quijote

Hana a Petr Ulrychovi - Modlitba

Claude Francois - Danse Ma Vie

Charles Trenet - Boum

(oops ended up being mostly czech songs, so it will say nothing to most of you. Well what can I do *shrugs*)

I won’t tag anyone, too lazy to think about it, but consider yourself tagged if you want to do it as usual :)

[ilwinsgarden]

know-better tag-game

Tagged by @dayoldhakarl Thanks! (hey! I’m pretty sure I tagged you at least twice for some meme, so don’t say you’re never tagged... well I might be wrong but I’m still pretty sure of it I tagged you at least twice. P.S. You were on LiveJournal too? *high fives* :D)

NAME: Hanka (that’s actually one of diminutives of my name, the basic form is Hana (well I know I confused few people here with this so I’ve thought I could add a note here as well :) ))

SIGN: Leo (aka living proof that horoscope is not just matter of the sun sign but there’s lots more)

HEIGHT: about 170 cm but don’t know exact number

MIDDLE NAME: Procrastinator none 

PUT YOUR ITUNES ON SHUFFLE, WHAT ARE THE FIRST SIX SONGS THAT POPPED UP?

I’m not even sure what is iTunes to be honest, but I guess it means “play all the music on shuffle and what comes out right?” Actually I can’t do that either, because if I would like to play really ALL my music I would have to play my audio-cassettes and they don’t have shuffle mode. (oh, the good old days without shuffle and skipping the songs lol) (and yes I still listen to them). (thinking of it I don’t even have all my CDs in notebook so... *shrugs*) (but it says about me something too and that’s what memes are for right? :) ).

Ok, so if I play all the music I currently have in my notebook on shuffle these are songs that popped up:

1. Nino Rota - main theme from Romeo and Juliet movie

2. Elvis Presley - She’s not You

3. Klíč - Quijote

4. OST Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride - Victoria’s Wedding

5. Hana a Petr Ulrychovi - Z Hory Do Hory

GRAB THE BOOK NEAREST TO YOU AND TURN TO PAGE 23. WHAT’S LINE 17? “trnitým houštím a padlými větvemi divokého pralesa. “Mluv” (The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, but obviously czech translation, so I guess that means nothing to you. Except of the fact that I finally got to read the book lol)

EVER HAD A POEM OR SONG WRITTEN ABOUT YOU? Haha, you’re funny.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED AIR GUITAR? To be honest, I’m not completely sure I ever done it. But sometimes I use imaginary microphone to sing into it.

WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH? Does Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug) counts? Ok, I don’t know if I could say celebrity crush as it’s usually understood. I could list some names that I - let’s say - would like to meet or something or that I like very much, but I don’t think it would qualify as actual celebrity crush. 

WHAT’S A SOUND YOU HATE? Most of eating sounds especially when it’s in person (is that the right expression?), strangely enough I don’t mind it so much in ASMR videos, which is real mystery to me. And there are probably some other sounds but I can’t think of them now.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS? HOW ABOUT ALIENS? I think it’s probable that we’re not alone in the whole universe. As for the ghosts - well surely not in the way as presented in some funny movies or things like that, but as some print of previous life energy or some sort of a memory of a place or something, then yes.

DO YOU DRIVE? IF SO HAVE YOU EVER CRASHED? I have a driving license but haven’t driven since I got it (at fourth try), (well we don’e have a car), I hated every moment of the course and I hope I would never actually need to start driving. 

WHAT’S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I’m reading The Long Earth as you probably guessed from one answer above and last that I finished reading of was Stardust by Neil Gaiman that I reread after very long time and was surprise of some things that I totally didn’t remember to be in the book lol. 

DO YOU LIKE THE SMELL OF PETROL? Not in particular 

WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW? Earth: An Amazing Day in cinema. At home rewatched Zootopia :)

WHAT’S THE WORST INJURY YOU’VE EVER HAD? Broken arm in about five years old or so. 

DO YOU HAVE ANY OBSESSIONS RIGHT NOW? Miraculous Ladybug

DO YOU TEND TO HOLD GRUDGES AGAINST ANYONE WHOSE DONE YOU WRONG? Yup, sometimes way too much and too long. Though I often don’t quite let it show outside. (but I’m working on it really)

IN A RELATIONSHIP? Nope. And never had been in any either. *shrugs*

I don’t know, if you see it and want to do it, consider yourself tagged maybe?