I think I shared with you some groups that I like and I consider as good music. It might be a clear sign I'm getting old, I only like those that no longer play.
Now I have to share some that are pretty bad. By my standards, so it might not mean much, I guess. Except to me. I digress. That is soooo unusual…
Back to the topic. There’s an expression in Romanian highly used since the last… 25 years (Jeez, it’s been that long!). It’s “since the Revolution…”. Almost any conversation can start with this. And it’s all the Revolution’s fault – or the governments. You guessed: governments “since the Revolution”.
Anyway, there is a point to this, I think. Because I was about to write that “since the Revolution” there’s been a surge of really really stupidly horribly bad music in Romania. Might have been a general (natural?!) evolution, but all I saw was my simply surprising Romania.
And this is when the category of “manele” has been born. It’s really quite indescribable. What follows is my view on it. It is (or supposed to be) a mix of popular music and one “no-way-this-is-a-man” singing something after he drank tons of unidentified alcohol. This is one famous guy who was (is??) one of the ‘leaders’ of this type of music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHNI6FXXbIA
Ok, the music is what it is and I won’t comment on it further. The lyrics are worse. They speak about love, women, heartaches, money, how cool & powerful a person is if he has the right car/money/clothes, whatever. A total mess all in all.
And now for the antidote I promised in the title.
Also ‘since the Revolution’ we have finally seen emerging some rap/hip-hop Romanian music. I’m not a big fan, but it was pretty good for the style, I would guess.
There’s one group though who I really like, called Parazitii (yes, it means parasites…) – and of course it’s mainly because of the lyrics. This kind of music relies on them heavily. And they have a terrific song that I listen regularly just to reassure myself that there are still normal people in Romania. The song is this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qATTFDPLgaQ
And this is just an extract of why I love this song:
[…]
Imi place sa ma vad pe TV in cadru,
Mulumesc lu' mama ca mi-a pus televizor prin cablu.
Am 113 centimetri,
Sunt inalt in ochii tai,
Cu pantofii mei de lac las urme 53, ma vrei?
Femeile si banii sunt doar in capul tau, ba!
Bate, bate-bate inima, ti-e rau?
Toata lumea stie ca esti doar un lingau, ba!
Bate, bate-bate inima, ti-e rau?
[…]
In orice club ma duc, ma-ncurca
Pantalonii domnisoarelor pe juma' de buca.
Dedic aceasta piesa acelui tip de Casanova
Care-nvrte volanul de Renault pe Dacie Nova.
With my translation:
[…]
I
like to see myself on TV
Thanks
mom for getting me cable
With
my 113 cm
I
am tall in your eyes
With
my cheap shoes I leave a size 53 trace
Do
you want me?
Chorus:
Women
and money are just in your head,
Your
heart beats, beats, beats – are you sick, man?
Everybody
knows you’re just a boot licker
Your
heart beats, beats, beats – are you sick, man?
[…]
In
any club I go I’m bothered
By
the ladies’ pants that hardly cover half their ass
I
dedicate this song
To
that type of Casanova
That
steers a Renault’s wheel
On
a Dacia Nova.
[…]Disclaimer: I realize my translation is crappy. It is way funnier in Romanian, probably also because it refers to some common stereotypes over there.
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