I managed to make my first trip to Slovakia in January of 2003, in the few-weeks span when this song, by a Slovak pop-punk band, was blowing up the local charts. The experience, my first night in town, seeing a hundred young Slovaks packed in a bar, singing along to this, coupled with my newfound celebrity as "the American," was surreal. You'll never guess what the L.A.G. stands for (OK, probably you will). And, truly, the video is worse than I imagined.
This song became something of an anthem for my times in Slovakia; I post it today to mark my next trip. My friend, Jan (as in John), is getting married. I'll be gone from Aug. 7-24, starting in Bratislava for the wedding, then wandering south into Hungary, to Budapest, then back north into Vienna. I'll try to schedule a couple of posts for while I'm away; if I don't, please don't kick me out of the blog.
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So I might be the only one who thinks this has all kinds of awesome written all over it. Reminds me of when The Darkness hit it big back in 2003 with their 80s throwback. What the music lacked in substance definitely made up for in the band's style and presentation- who can't appreciate the Porky's homage? Seriously?
Babelfish is sadly lacking a "Slovakian to English" option.
But the awesomest (funniest) part of the song is in Engrish.
Well I speak Slovak, and all the FOR-nee parts reach a degree of tragedy and wit that rivals Hemingway. It is in fact a devastating anti-war epic describing a father and son's service in, alternately, the Charge of the Light Brigade and the opening of the Somme Offensive, as told by a Tommy who, we learn in the final stanza, has had his limbs shot away on the eve of Armistice Day.
Really, the bit about the curry is in poor taste.
This is much better than that Blur song.
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