Kao Da Je Bilo Nekad: Best albums of Ex-Yugoslavia by 19loveless91

October 2017 note:
It's been years since I made this. Some things should probably be updated by now, I just wanted to make this note, because I feel bad about me commenting on how "vital" certain lyrics are in these albums - to native speakers it will seem ridiculous (and it IS ridiculous) that I brand albums by Haustor or EKV or Azra as having "unimportant lyrics". What I probably meant was my opinion on whether you can still get some enjoyment out of their music regardless of whether you can understand the words.

********

Right. I believe that ex-Yugoslavia, for all its faults, managed to keep up with the world in several "areas". Well.. sports and music at least. Particularly the "new wave" era of the end of the 1970s and the early 1980s (which disrupted the somewhat monotone and overly "prog" music scene of the majority of 1970s) produced several classics.

I was brought up listening to much of this music, and a lot of the 1980s yugo music is still popular among youth here (in Slovenia; although you probably won't see too much of that stuff in this chart). And I wanted to share some of my favourites with y'all.

I guess this is still in progress, as there are quite a few prominent artists that I have yet to get into - most notably Laibach (only heard one album so far), but also stuff like: Paraf, Lačni Franz, maybe some more Leb i Sol (should give them a proper chance); I also still plan to get more into the folk music of this area (sevdalinka and whatnot)). Anyway I have now heard enough albums to make a decently sized chart of albums that I feel are at least very good. Some of these albums are kinda hard to get, and I had to help myself with some streaming sites.. Big thanks to hikonline, blogger/youtube account, where I managed to discover a lot of new music...

I decided to only include albums, that were made before 1991, i.e. before the country broke apart - even though a country called "Yugoslavia" technically existed after that as well...

I also tried to add some helpful info for each of the album here. The info, in order of which it appears, is:
-the nationality of the artist/band (what country is that nowadays)
-translation of the album title
-genre (very loose definitions)
-importance of the lyrics (some of the music here is very "lyrics-oriented".. I don't want to discourage you from listening to those albums.. but I think it's something that I should mention)
-track picks


IMPORTANT NOTE!!
I took into account that my taste is quite different to most of people who'll potentially be browsing the chart, so I structured the chart like this: top 50 are my favourite albums made in ex-Yugoslavia (of those I heard), the rest (51-60) are:
- two EPs (that I love, and would be, just according to rating, a lot higher) and:
- 8 more acclaimed and/or popular (or cult favourite) albums, that I don't personally dig that much, but that I see others liking...



Um... anyway, I hope you find something for yourself... If you have any questions or need any translations, you can ask me below in the comment section, and I'll try to help you... Also, I know people usually respond on other people's charts, but if the question will be related to this chart or yugo artists/albums, I'll answer it here...
Oh, one more thing.. The title of this chart, is a title of a song by Ekatarina Velika (you'll be seeing this band a lot here), and means something along the lines of: "As it once was"

There are 10 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Kao Da Je Bilo Nekad: Best albums of Ex-Yugoslavia has an average rating of 93 out of 100 (from 14 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from Slovenia. (Remove this filter)

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Buy album United States
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-Slovenia
- ...
-BLUES ROCK, and I guess JAZZ ROCK? There are some jazzy arrangements here and he's accompanied by an orchestra for most of this record.
-I never paid attention to the lyrics... who knows, maybe i'm missing out, but i managed to enjoy the album without that...
-Alojz Valcek, Casopis, Škandal v Rdecem baru (it seems that the letter "?" is not recognized here... ?!)
[First added to this chart: 12/12/2012]
Year of Release:
1974
Appears in:
Rank in 1974:
None
Rank in 1970s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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-Slovenia
-... I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO TRANSLATE THIS (Traveling away??)
-A MAN + GUITAR (singer/songwriter)
-it's weird for a singer/songwriter album, but I actually think you're better off without understanding the lyrics here.. While I didn't listen to this enough to say for sure, I felt like it was some empty pretentious wankery. His voice sounds boring too. The magic however is in guitar playing and sound. It's a 12-stringer and it's awesome.
-Matala, Danaja
[First added to this chart: 12/29/2012]
Year of Release:
1973
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3
Rank in 1973:
Rank in 1970s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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-Slovenia
-...
-SYNTH POP, ELECTRO POP
-not vital
-Kako bih volio da si tu, Ana
(I'm just listening to their second album now.. That one might make it too (maybe it'll replace this one)
[First added to this chart: 01/05/2013]
Year of Release:
1984
Appears in:
Rank in 1984:
None
Rank in 1980s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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-Slovenia
-"Spit the Truth Into Eyes"
-PROG
-Satirical lyrics, so yeah, you would be missing some... But whatever, you can dig it still...
-Yes, My Baby, No
[First added to this chart: 12/30/2012]
Year of Release:
1975
Appears in:
Rank in 1975:
None
Rank in 1970s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
53. (=)
Buy album United States
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-well regarded, not totally to my taste #1:
-Slovenia; INDUSTRIAL;
-This is the one I heard so far by Laibach. They're probably the most known band to come from this area, and the most influental. I'm not totally sold though.. I mean I *get* them.. I know their point. I respect what they were doing. But musically I'm not that interested.
[First added to this chart: 01/05/2013]
Year of Release:
1987
Appears in:
Rank Score:
117
Rank in 1987:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
54. (=)
Buy album United States
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-WR,NTTMT #2:
-Slovenia; "Boredom"; PUNK ROCK;
Apparently the first punk band in Yugoslavia.. Took them a while to make an album though... Considering it was done under socialist regime, I guess you can tell why.. Musically they were better than I expected, but I still didn't exactly love them. They could be of interest to some of those who hold punk in higher regard than I do. But I like stuff here, like "Ljubica", and some other good tracks. Other PUNK recommendation from me: Pekinška Patka - Plitka Poezija (Shallow Poetry)
[First added to this chart: 01/05/2013]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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#7:
-Slovenia; "Second Act"; FOLK.. Some.. freak folk or prog folk I guess...
I need to listen to this again. It's got some interesting ideas, but the one time I listened to this it kinda dragged... I liked "Ciganka" though, and I can see myself liking the album with another try or two... You should hear it too.
[First added to this chart: 01/05/2013]
Year of Release:
1982
Appears in:
Rank in 1982:
None
Rank in 1980s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 7. Page 1 of 1

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Kao Da Je Bilo Nekad: Best albums of Ex-Yugoslavia composition

Decade Albums %


1930s 0 0%
1940s 0 0%
1950s 0 0%
1960s 1 2%
1970s 14 23%
1980s 44 73%
1990s 1 2%
2000s 0 0%
2010s 0 0%
2020s 0 0%
Country Albums %


Serbia 28 47%
Croatia (Hrvatska) 16 27%
Slovenia 7 12%
Bosnia and Herzegovina 7 12%
Macedonia 1 2%
Mixed Nationality 1 2%
Compilation? Albums %
No 59 98%
Yes 1 2%

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Kao Da Je Bilo Nekad: Best albums of Ex-Yugoslavia ratings

Average Rating: 
93/100 (from 14 votes)
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This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 92.9/100, a mean average of 97.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 97.9/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 3.1.

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Kao Da Je Bilo Nekad: Best albums of Ex-Yugoslavia favourites

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Kao Da Je Bilo Nekad: Best albums of Ex-Yugoslavia comments

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Rating:  
100/100
From 08/18/2017 02:42
Definitely need to check some of these albums out
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Rating:  
100/100
From 03/29/2017 12:46
Super stvar, planirao sam i ja tak nesto napraviti (tipa Balkan muzika 70'-10') ali cini se da fali dosta zanimljivih albuma, pogotovo novijih. Jedino se baš ne slažem da tekstovi nisu bitni, haustor je imao odlicne tekstove, EKV isto ima zanimljivu liriku. Šteta kaj nemaš puno više Zabranjenog pušenja, ali 100 za veliki trud i promoviranje naše balkanske muzike :)
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Rating:  
95/100
From 01/22/2017 14:59
This is such a great list. My knowledge of our music album-wise is pretty poor and your chart looks like a perfect place to start.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 11/09/2014 02:02
this chart will be a brilliant starting point for those delving into yugoslavian music and even further into music under communism. thank you for putting seemingly a lot of effort into this
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 03/20/2013 06:15
This is one of the most interesting and well put together charts on BEA and I feel like a moron for not sinking my teeth into this yet.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/23/2013 12:37
Kao prvo, ne mogu da ne budem subjektivan kada je ova lista u pitanju, ne zato što u svom nazivu ima "ex-YU", već zato što su ovo neki od albuma uz koje sam odrastao, zavoleo muziku i sve u vezi nje, i imam osećaj kao da je "moja". Iako možda neki albumi nedostaju, kao Filigranski pločnici ili Kost u grlu, lista ne gubi na celovitosti i kompletnosti.
Drugo, tačno je a se nakon raspada SFRJ raspala i muzička inustrija i tržište, ali su i dalje nastajali dobri bendovi koji su izdavali sjajne albume. Možda ne bi bilo loše da napraviš listu koja obuhvata period od početka 90-ih do danas. Ne znam da li i koliko poznaješ muziku iz ovog perioda? Mogu da ti dam nekoliko predloga...
Block Out - San koji srećan sanjaš sam (1998): Remek delo ovog benda. Izuzetno mračan i težak za slušanje. Jedan od onih albuma nakon čijeg slušanja poželiš da izvršiš samoubistvo. Zanrovski je između doom metal i art rock zvuka. Tekstovi me podsećaju na Joy Division, samo što su još direktniji, bez toliko metafora i simbolike.
Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša - Prekidi stvarnosti (2005): I album i bend malo poznati na teritoriji bivših republika, ali u Beogradu odavno imaju status kultnog. Zvuk je u svom korenu reggae, ali predstavlja kombinaciju više žanrova. Tekstovi jako apstraktni i efektni, osećaš marihuanu u vazduhu dok ih slušaš. Najbolje je kad odes na njihov nastup i slušaš uživo, totalno neprevaziđen osećaj!
Obojeni Program - Ako nisam dobra, šta ćemo onda? (2002): Muzika je mešavina alternativnog roka i elektronike, sa prilično grubom produkcijom (distorzirane gitare i sl.). Iako većina voli Obojeni Program zbog njihovih ranijih albuma, za mene je ovo trenutak kada su počeli zaista da privlače pažnju.
Goribor - Goribor (2007): Objektivno gledano, možda i najbolji album sa ovih prostora u poslednjih 10 godina, ako ne i duže. Muzika je kombinacija trip-hop i blues zvuka (ritam mašine i poneke gitarske deonice, ništa spektakularno). Tamo gde dolazi do izražaja su tekstovi, jezivo surovi i iskreni, beskompromisna ispovest čoveka koji nudi svoju dušu na "izvolite...". Album na kakvom bi pozavideo i Milan Mladenović.
Ne znam da li su ovi albumi dostupni u Sloveniji, ali mislim da ih ima preko torenta, a i tu je uvek You Tube. Ako ti se dopadnu, javi se za još sugestija, imam ih na tone.
I na kraju, ne znam koliko ovakva lista i slične njoj imaju smisla na sajtu kao što je ovaj. Jer osim tebe i mene nisam primetio nijednog "ex-YU" registrovanog korisnika, a ovi stranci teško da će moći da razumeju ovu muziku na način na koji ona treba da bude shvaćena. Isto kao sto i ne vidim svrhu da bilo ko treba da razume ovaj tekst osim tebe, zato i ne pišem na engleskom (izvini što ne znam slovenački, ali valjda je i ovako OK). Svejedno, moza je i dobro što postoji i makar jedna ovakva lista ovde, čisto da se zna da je nekad postojala zemlja i da je imala muziku koja je fantastična, pa makar i ovi "stranci" ne budu razumeli ništa od toga.
Pozdrav iz Beograda :)

P. S. S’ vetrom uz lice = With face against the wind; Bistriji ili tuplji čovek biva kad... = Brighter or dumber a man gets when...; Smak = The end of world (ne može da se prevede kao jedna reč); Boa je vrsta zmije, prevodi se isto; Haustor je glavni ulaz u zgradu koji je uvučen, ne izlazi direktno na glavni put (verovatno su hteli da se distanciraju od mainstream pravca pa su zato odabrali ovaj naziv za ime benda i prvog albuma), ne moze direktno da se prevede na engleski.
P. P. S. Rambo Amadeus je iz Crne Gore. Zana Nimani (prva pevačica grupe Zana) je sa Kosova.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/26/2013 22:12
You're right, I don't think I even listened to anything from Montenegro or Kosovo... Maybe when I start with some of the folk music....
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/25/2013 01:58
This list is fascinating and intimidating at the same time...

Nothing from Montenegro or Kosovo?
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/12/2013 21:45
I'm not sure.. They are my favourite two albums on this chart, but I can't say that others will think the same. It's probably best to take into account your genre preferences, maybe check a track pick or two, then decide on an album.
And who knows, maybe some of these albums are impossible to get, might eliminate some of your first choices.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/09/2013 22:38
Thank you :)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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