[kj] Killingly amazed

Mon Nov 6 07:13:02 EST 2006

Hi Si,
Mam se dobre. Dekuji za optani. [You're guessing right. I'm Czech : )]

I live in Brno (South Moravia, very close to Vienna).
I love my home city. It is as if you took Prague and made it 3x smaller : )))
But actually, Prague and Brno are rivals a little bit. But I love Prague, too. 
I have friends there.
And yes, you're right that Gypsies are as problem for us 
as we are problem for them. Jaz knows it and it is a reason 
why he made the musical school for them in the last year (2005). 
I wonder how he can manage all those things he does...

Jaz is "a very flawed character"? I see, he's very complicated 
and controversial. But I don't share your point of view.

Yes, the KJ music makes sense just if you know 
the whole catalogue. I hope it is not complete yet! : D
Also I couldn't choose the best and the weakest album. 
It makes no sense to do it.

It doesn't matter that you wrote such long story. For me, it was 
very interesting because I still couldn't find time to look 
at KJ history. So I thank you and I'm grateful that you took me 
for this trip. Really!

Now I'm trying to answer you questionaire : )

- Just how well known is Jaz in the Czech Republic?
Everyone who saw Rok dabla has some little anticipating 
that some Jaz Coleman occured there. But they watched 
the movie only "earthboundly" and they are not interested. 
Significant majority (over 80 %, I guess) of Czech people 
has seen this movie without knowing KJ or Jaz.
The movie has for them very different value than for you. 
They watch it from different viewpoint.
- What do people think about him, and his appearance in Rok Dabla?
If I ask the people if they know Jaz Coleman they say 
that they've already heard the name somewhere 
but they don't remember until I ask them if they had seen 
the movie Rok dabla.
But the image of Jaz which is given by the movie is that Jaz 
is very strange, crazy and can make any kind of music. 
Nothing more, nothing less.
- Do many people know Killing Joke?
Not many. Just very few. Many people who have seen 
the movie can hardly catch the fact that the name 
occured in the movie. I don't count in the people 
who knew them before the movie arised.
- Did you hear the album Jaz did with Cechomor?
Yes, I've heard it. The cooperation with Jaz and the fact 
that Cechomor was starring in the movie, all this helped 
Cechomor to become a well-known and successful band. 
They were unknown at the time the movie came into cinemas.
- If so what did you think?
It's quite a long time ago I heard it. Generally, I liked it. 
But it is not the kind of music which I would be returning to.
- What other music are you into?
Isn't it to read from my nickname? (LENNONka)
I started with the Beatles, then I continued with John Lennon solo work, 
then David Bowie a little bit. Then I met the right people and I started 
to be interested in grind core [very fast kind of metal with words of gore - 
extremity, sn't it? : ))] and finally punk. This made me prepared for "The Band".
Through all this time I was returning to the Beatles. 
But when I heard KJ all those music stopped to be enough for me. 
I guess you understand it very well.
Sometimes, when I get depressed with KJ, I listen to Beatles again 
but after a short while I return to KJ again. 
It's impossible to give them up : D
But I also like classics. I used to play piano and I have a friend 
who plays organ which is a marvelous music.
And all of this I found in KJ music. Amazing!

Nothing more to say...

How do you look at the movie Rok dabla? What is your opinion?
Do you know what are the lyrics by Cechomor about?

With wishes of good times

Lennonka

______________________________________________________________
> Od: acroastic at hotmail.com
> Komu: gathering at misera.net
> Datum: 02.11.2006 16:57
> Předmět: RE: [kj] Killingly amazed
>
>Hi Lennonka!
>
>Right, so now I'm guessing you're Czech. Dobry den! Jak se maj?
>
>No, I can't really speak Czech, but I've been to your (?) country many
times - to Prague, to Ostrava, to Kutna Hora, Karlstein, to the mountains
in the east (forgotten their name) and to the very old village in those
parts near where I saw a wonderful night time open air concert featuring
ambient music by Czech artists including Satori. Yours is a beautiful
country with friendly people (well, unless you happen to be a gypsy!).
Whereabouts do you live?
>
>About my discovery of Killing Joke: Wardance came at me out of the radio
in 1980. It was a moment of revelation. It sounded like fire in sound
form. I'd never heard anything like it, and went and bought it the next
day, so then I heard Pssyche (the other side of the single). Then it was a
while before I took my interest further. I did not fully realize at that
time how different they were to the various punk groups I was getting into
at the time - many of whom I didn't think too much of really.
>
>Eventually I bought the first album, and again it was like nothing I'd
ever heard before. I began to see an integral feature of all that has been
best in Killing Joke music over the years which is this capacity to contain
so many emotions simultaneously. So you have anger, melancholy, joy and
exultation all at once. I am still at a loss to name other music that can
do the same. Some of the best classical music can move from one mood to
another in the course of a symphony, and express one at a time profoundly,
but Killing Joke music is a paradox. It is a complete experience, and
although I have wide and varied musical tastes, and many albums, when I
play Killing Joke there is nothing else that can come after, so nothing
does.
>
>I first saw Killing Joke in June 1981 (I was very young!). After the gig
people were coming out just stunned by the brilliance and intensity of the
experience. I was compelled to simply run and run and run. This first gig
was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Needless to say I have
been back for more. I lost count after fifty gigs.
>
>Most contemporary music - if it is any good - can be classed as
entertainment, but entertainment has never seemed an appropriate term for
Killing Joke. It is an intense experience.
>
>Killing Joke live has never been quite the same since Jaz went off to
Iceland and returned in 1982. Before then there was something
extraordinary in their performance, which has never really been captured
properly on film. The nearest I've seen is footage from the Hammersmith
Palais London show in February 1982 a couple of days before Jaz
disappeared. I know French TV were there (I was there) and it looked as
though they were filming the whole show, but I've only seen six songs in
black and white poor quality, but still you can see something very real is
going on. Since then Jaz has striven to make contact with whatever force
coursed through his veins before Iceland. From time to time, a little of
it returns. A lot of the time it seems he's trying to 'fake it to make it'
- and sometimes gets there. That said, there is still nothing to match a
Killing Joke gig.
>
>And it's not all about Jaz either! Many of us love this music while
recognizing that Jaz is a very flawed character - but which of us isn't?
We don't do hero worship round here.
>
>It's great to hear that people are still discovering this music. It's
amazing to me that even within the last couple of years something like
Gratitude could have been recorded.
>
>It's true, there are a few weaker areas of the catalogue, and one or two
rare embarassments. No one album ever seemed to be the ultimate work - and
no one track either.
>
>One thing that you will see from the views expressed here is that there
is very little concensus over Killing Joke's best work, but I think that's
all part of the fascination. Most groups have a small number of tracks that
the fan base generally agree to be their best, but that doesn't seem to be
the case round here. Most agree that the album Outside the Gate (1988) is
the low point, but even that is worth having.
>
>I imagine Requiem (1980) might be the most universally liked track, while
not being many people's actual favourite. The album Brighter Than a
Thousand Suns (1986) polarises opinion most. Many people don't get it. On
the surface it can seem tamer than much of their output, but I absolutely
adore it.
>
>Wow! I didn't mean to write that much! Sorry, I got a bit carried away! I
think I'll go and have a lie down.
>
>I'm interested to know: just how well known is Jaz in the Czech Republic?
What do people think about him, and his appearance in Rok Dabla? Do many
people know Killing Joke? Did you hear the album Jaz did with Cechomor? If
so what did you think? I think it's quite beautiful in parts. What other
music are you into?
>
>Best wishes
>
>Si
>
>
>
>>From: "Lennonka" <svoje.ja at centrum.cz>
>
>>Hey,
>>you really see my point.
>>And good question. I've been listening to KJ for the last 7 months and I
>discovered it in the last week.
>>What about you?
>>And the others?
>>
>>I'm curious.
>>
>>Lennonka
>>______________________________________________________________
>> > Od: acroastic at hotmail.com
>> > Komu: gathering at misera.net
>> > Datum: 01.11.2006 17:01
>> > Předmět: RE: [kj] Killingly amazed
>> >
>> >Hi Lennonka
>> >
>> >That's a good summing up. I know exactly what you mean. I was
initially
>>stunned by Wardance when it first came out, but after that as I got to
>>hear more songs, part of me looked down on the apparent simplicity of
the
>>music as I had been into much more complex music before, but another
part
>>of me thrilled to the music and I kept coming back for more, had a
>>revelation when I saw them live and became somewhat obsessed. I still
am.
>> >
>> >There is indeed nothing like Killing Joke.
>> >
>> >How long ago did you make your discovery?
>> >
>> >Si
>> >
>>
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