Hey there
In the previous post I said I'll be taking on the workshop either Maanam or Republika, two of the most acclaimed new wave Polish bands. But I changed my mind. This one will be about a fellow New Waver nevertheless, though it will be someone far less popular, but also far more sophisticated and eclectic.
The artist in question is:
LECH JANERKA
Lech Janerka, born 1953 in Wrocław (Breslau, if there are any germans among you), over the span of his career (that is still going up to this day), proved himself to be now of the weirdest, most eclectic, self-conscious and important musicians around.
A bit of history
A bass player and vocalist, his first concert and music making experiences were with his wife –
Bożena, a cello player.
He then formed the post-punk band
Klaus Mitffoch in 1979. They went on to release only one studio album, but, oh boy, what an album that is. Even now, Klaus Mitffoch's debut album is considered a masterpiece, and often tops the polls for greatest polish albums of all-time (though to be honest I'm not sure many people actually;;y listened through the entire thing).
The band disbanded soon after and Janerka went back to making music with his wife, and in 1986 the album "
Historia Podwodna" ("An Underwater Story") signed only "Lech Janerka" was released.
He hasn't been since as popular as he was in the 80s, but he still has a cult following, and many of his songs and compositions are ubiquitous in the cultural mentality of polish people (even if they don't know the artist himself – the way that "We Will Rock You" or "House of the Rising Sun" work, you might not know who the performer his, but there ain't no person in the world who don't know the tune).
He was always considered an original artist, unlike any other, some sort of outsider to the pop/rock/blues world, but at the same time someone who surpasses everybody else (at least ccording to musicians).
And it's true – Janerka's style is uncopyable, and his musical prowess and ideas are something to often be jealous of.
He's arguably also one of the best (if not the best) lyricist in the entire polish phonography catalogue.
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By the way, Janerka is one of the three bass players that inspired me to take up the instrument. I always wanted to have the melodic chops of McCartney, the technical chops of Claypool and the style/mood of Janerka.
His vocal tone, style and range reminds me of John Lennon in many ways, and if it won't be clear why based on the examples I'll give first then check out the song that will be nearly at the end (it's a Beatle-impression made by Janerka).
Lech Janerka is so insanely good, I'll shut up from now, and let the music speak for itself. Every here and there I'll translate the lyrics (if they're good, which usually they are). The songs will be divided only by the distinction between
Janerka's band's sole album or
Janerka'as solo career.
Keep in mind Janerka's text are quite untranslatable, so what the English translation will be, is just the word to word transcription, so it will sound quite weird (but it's just. that I don't have the chops to translate this thing in a poetic manner [maybe the will?]).
Klaus Mitffoch
I can guarantee you, that this debut album will be one of thee weirdest things you've ever heard. it's just perfect.
About the Head
The head knows how to join
The skies with the neck
The sky flows into the neck
Through the head
That's why the head usually feels
like Not belonging to anyone
And that's the reason why things are
... what they are
The head says "I like when I talk"
I like to cudgel my brains on stuff
And I like to like
I like to fool myself and fool all the others
About cutting myself of from them, so I won't bore them
A head, when it sees a flag, it says "A Flag"
And the colour of our flag is complicated
The upper colour is the colour white
The bottom colour is the colour red
The upper colour is the colour white
The bottom colour is the colour red
And the colour of our flag is sophisticated
The upper colour is the colour white
The bottom colour is the colour red
Klus Mitroh
We own the days, we own the nights
We've got our dreams, we've got our paths
Just Like You
We wish we knew
The latest version
of the truth
But this lucrative swain
Still follows us
We wish everyone something
Bad
Is in our eyes
Quickly, hide
Here comes the crowd
Unless some of you want to make some fun of them
There's so many hands, and such a handful of brains
It's damn easy, not to say anything about fascism
There's so many hands, and such a handful of brains
don't give me this bull**** about how it's all happening for me
Oh no, please no
Oh, no, no, please no
No, please, just not this
(etc)
And when you finally hit your head on the bottom floor
Everybody awaits the day
When the days will grow bleak and pale
And you'll have to pay in blood
And when the streets will be fool of blood,
don't give me this bull**** about how it's all happening for me
"
Strzeż się Tych Miejsc"
Now, this is one of Janerka's bests, I've just discovered this concert, and I found it surprisingly good (though still, the album version is far superior). Still, I thought it might be better for you (I there are any readers) to actually see Lech Janerka move, sing, play bass (look at his hands in the second half of the song!!), etc, to get a better sense of who, how, where, when and why he was.
Oh, the polish phrase "Strzeż się" means in English something between "beware" and "be afraid of" and "stay put about something (I guess), so I'll be using them interchangeably:
Of all the dark passages
And all the hours that seem too late
Of all the nooks, staircases and liifts
O the Filthhy streets, that smell of dark
Beware, all these places
Beware these places
Beware!
It ain't allowed to laugh out loud around here
Or have any of these expensive clothes
Beware!
Beware!
Here all the crooks and thieves
Keep their oceans
Death hwhispers them the future
And every night, oh very night
She makes the fool of them
Beware of such places
"
Jezu, Jak Się Cieszę"
The polish "wake up" and "get up" can be read as the same thing, but their meanings can also differ within certain contexts. So I'll be using just one, but keep in mind, they're both there.
Geez, how happy I am
Of all these little resurrections
When once again my pocket's full
My thinking's kinda more sharp
And I can boldly imagine a new plan
And what a joy/beauty it is!
Oh how immodest it is
But when it fades
(Just like everything else)
This one day euphoria ends and I have to
Wake up
and Work
and Have
But I can't really do all that
I don't really feel like it
Oh geez, how I like
I bet no one in the world can like
as much and in the way I like
Oh I like to hide myself
And I like to overuse/abuse
And I'm constantly looking for chsances
So I've got them all
And it's beautiful again
It's quite immodest to be true
But when it all passes/fades
Just like everything else
You ave to
wake up and work
And have
Ok, enough wit this album,
if someone
isn't convinced yet,
he probably won't,
if someone is, he can
look it up himself
from here,
now, let us pass
to Janerka's solo career:
"All Men of Intelligence want to work for the Intelligence Agency"
This is the beatle-impression
The Intelligence
The intelligence is schooling it's agents
How to take joy in your charms
And that if you'd be to take off someone's bra
Without using your hands, oh what a smart way
It's a mistake!
Oh, what a fault
Yes, such a fault,
It's a fault against everyone
Because to not use your hands
When taking somebody's bra off
Is a crime
"
Constitutions"
This one is from his first solo effort.
There's all these happy constitutions
Theey all have but one goal
It's to abolish the revolution
But. we don't give a damn
Yeah, that's right
We have it up our butts
Oh, yeah, that's right
There's all these groundbreaking resolutions
But they all tell a crooked taie
No one will ever even read that ****
But you know what?
We don't give a damn
"
Without My Supper"
Just listen to that cello.
The hell is she doing on that thing?
And he's bass? Oh, boy, this ain't real!
There on the video's thumbnail, it's Janerka when he's 50 or something, but the song was released about 10 years prior, I think
The day had past, I'm almost asleep
When. just beside me I hear sex
How am I supposed to get up ion the morning
When I'd still eat something before the night
But you're constantly to tie me up
God dammit!
I can't take it anymore!
I refuse to go to sleep without my supper
Without my supper!
"
This game ain't for little girls"
In polish, the words "to be sleeping", "dreaming", "fall asleep", can in certain use of synonyms sound very similar to each other (in conjugaison & decliination). And this song is using all these meanings – (and different ones) – in different parts of the lyrics.
This game ain't for little girls, you know
You should go home, they might be fighting around here
They might br firing arms around here
The war will fade, when the sleep will come back to us
But as for now, just please, go to sleep, sleep, please
Don't think badly/wrongly/falsely of no thing
Don't think badly/wrongly/falsely of no thing
Don't think badly/wrongly/falsely of no thing
And please, just go to sleep
I will buy you
Anything you'd ask
It could even be ice creams
Just please fall asleep
And dream
Just listen to Janerka's bass in all of these songs! How much better does it get?
Here's some other Janerka's solo songs, for a goodnight's sleep:
"
The epidemic of epilepsy"
"
It's not a little waltz"
"Paragway" / "Sleep, sweet angel of mine" / Without my Supper" LIVE
And with this jolly performance, I wish you a good night, my fellow MB readers