{"id":1402,"date":"2021-02-11T00:14:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T00:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/?p=1402"},"modified":"2021-02-12T22:34:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T22:34:37","slug":"music-poles-10-albums-5-decades-popular-polish-music-part2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/music-poles-10-albums-5-decades-popular-polish-music-part2\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Poles: 10 Albums &#038; 5 Decades of Popular Polish Music (part 2 of 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Rebellious or Obedient (Non-rebellious), Popular or Unpopular:<br \/>\n10 Polish Albums from Fogg to The Dumplings via Vader<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][nk_text]In the first instalment of this two-part article, I proposed a new way of assessing popular musical productions while avoiding the obsession for the ranking system. The outcome was a <b>musical coordinate system<\/b> that would help us see how people map their understanding of musical artists, albums, songs and performances following according to opposing variables.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>To test the experiment I asked my students (divided into two groups) to take part in the following exercise. Classify 10 Polish albums released over the last five decades according to &#8216;level of popularity&#8217; and &#8216;level of rebelliousness.'[\/nk_text][nk_text]Of course, the notion of what is rebellious and what is not is open for discussion. The meaning of concepts like &#8220;socio-political obedience&#8221; and &#8220;rebelliousness&#8221; could resonate differently to various audiences. The level of rebelliousness of a given musical project could be measured through indicators in the form of logical conditions as such:<\/p>\n<p><strong>IF<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>political authorities would prefer that you listen to something else;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>your grandmother would ban you Sunday lunch after you purchased the picture disc vinyl of the band; and<\/li>\n<li>you are the only one among your classmates to listen to it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>THEN<\/strong>, this is probably an album to position inside the rebellious quadrant of the graphs.[\/nk_text][nk_text]The notion of popularity is also a good topic for debate. My students, for instance, found some challenges while trying to evaluate some artists from the PRL period. One of my students wrote: \u201c<i>The most difficult to put <\/i>[on the graph]<i> were the old albums, those recorded in the 1950s or 1960s because it&#8217;s hard for us born in the 90s to know if they were popular. Some of the songs on these albums have made our work easier because they are famous even now<\/i>.\u201d[\/nk_text][nk_text]It&#8217;s important to note that even if the selection of albums appears relatively random, I have tried to choose recordings somewhat dissimilar from each other. I also tried to select albums that can be identified as a first full-length record of a musical act under specific name\/alias among artists with a certain career length or have at least three albums. Here are the results of my students\u2019 deliberations. I&#8217;ll let you guess which of the graphs corresponds to the girls group and which to the boys. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>[\/nk_text][nk_text vc_css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1612998482697{background-color: #b13022 !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"nk-title text-center\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/music-poles-10-albums-5-decades-popular-polish-music-part1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Part 1 and check out the music timeline\u279e<\/a><\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<em><a href=\"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/music-poles-10-albums-5-decades-popular-polish-music-part1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Music Poles: 10 Albums &amp; 5 Decades of Popular Polish Music<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n<p>[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;985&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][nk_block_quote author=&#8221;&#8221; icon_color=&#8221;#b13022&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h5><em>While the ranking or advice-giving lists constitute powerful, efficient traps you must admit that you can\u2019t not read them. You might wonder if the aim of these standing lists isn\u2019t just to start another musical world war. The result is almost always the same: someone in the comment section will start roaring \u2018where is Jane Do\u2019 album?\u2019 or \u2018this is rubbish\u2026 no Clara Schumann, no Radiohead! no Captain Beefheart, no The Plastic People of the Universe and no Lech Janerka!\u201d or \u2018what kind of idiot would forget to put and Arvo P\u00e4rt\u2019s Te Deum?\u2019<br \/>\n<\/em><\/h5>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u2014 Luc Ampleman<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/music-poles-10-albums-5-decades-popular-polish-music-part1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Music Poles Part 1 \u279e<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[\/nk_block_quote][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][nk_text]<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Student Group 1<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>[\/nk_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZGVzbW9zLmNvbSUyRmNhbGN1bGF0b3IlMkZ0bXp2YXV0MnVuJTNGZW1iZWQlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjUwMHB4JTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNTAwcHglMjIlMjBzdHlsZSUzRCUyMmJvcmRlciUzQSUyMDFweCUyMHNvbGlkJTIwJTIzY2NjJTIyJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QwJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][nk_text]<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Student Group 2<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>[\/nk_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZGVzbW9zLmNvbSUyRmNhbGN1bGF0b3IlMkZ1a3BrNjUxdW5nJTNGZW1iZWQlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjUwMHB4JTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNTAwcHglMjIlMjBzdHlsZSUzRCUyMmJvcmRlciUzQSUyMDFweCUyMHNvbGlkJTIwJTIzY2NjJTIyJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QwJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<strong>4 observations on a sample of 10 albums spanning 5 decades of Polish Music<\/strong>[\/nk_title][nk_text]As any serious intellectual would say: Yep! Ok, this is perhaps not rock-solid, but here\u2019s a light and uninhibited essay with my interpretations and observations of the students&#8217; graphs.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1612990923438{background-color: #b13022 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][nk_text]<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><b>Observation 1:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Albums where the students agreed<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Who would think that Papa Dance, Vader and Liroy would share one day the same sentence? Well, it is now done. There are at least four albums on which both groups of students agreed when it came to pinning them down on the rebelliousness\/popularity coordinate graph. These are the Papa Dance eponym album, Ich Troje\u2019s <i>Intro<\/i>, Liroy\u2019s <i>Alb\u00f3\u00f3m<\/i> and Vader\u2019s classic\u2019 <i>Morbid Reich<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span>[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Papa dance \u2013 \u201cPapa Dance\u201d (1985, Polmark\/ Savitor)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;916&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]For some, the eponym album of this Polish band would definitely have to be considered as the quintessence of cheesiness. Others will contemplate it as a quite innovative, joyful synthpop emerging from the turbulent 80\u2019s period. Although you could find a subliminal message behind the efficiently managed and quickly constructed production, it is easy to guess that the soft-electro album from 1986 did not aim to mobilise the masses against the authorities and therefore a perfect candidate for the centre of the top-right quadrant of the graph.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vgYSeNi7Vd0&#8243;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Ich Troje \u2013 \u201cIntro\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>(1996, Koch International)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;921&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]Certainly not less subservient than the previous album, this introductory album from the famous <em>lodzian<\/em> trio accurately entitled \u201cintro\u201d undoubtedly captures the soul of a certain post PRL solace and comfort. Well, this is already 1996, and Ich Troje will have the chance to represent Poland twice at the Eurovision contest in the decade to come (2003 and 2006). When it comes to obedience, let&#8217;s say that even the semiotic of the album does not seem to engage in shaking the esthetical convention of the time. My students\u2019 first thought, hum\u2026 a perfect album for the obedient\/ popular section and I won\u2019t disagree.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0UXLCJSJfbU&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Liroy \u2013 \u201cAlb\u00f3\u00f3m\u201d (1995, BMG Poland)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;923&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]25 years ago this album of an artist now turned politician was a hit, to use a euphemism. It was his first album under this alias, but the second in his career as an artist. Hip Hop was then conquering Poland step by step, and <em>Alb\u00f3\u00f3m<\/em> had this enraged vibe from reality rap that would seize the country by becoming the fastest-selling album in Polish history. As a result, 1995 was the year when Kielce became a f*****&#8217; active volcano (<i>\u017be to miasto (hu!), to miasto (ha!) Jest jak czynny, k****, wulkan<\/i>) and the year that <em>Alb\u00f3\u00f3m<\/em> would triumph by taking two <a href=\"https:\/\/fryderyki.pl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Fryderyki<\/em><\/a>, in dance music [<i>muzyka taneczna<\/i>] and alternative music [<i>muzyka alternatywna<\/i>]. Appropriately, one may always argue that Liroy did not get his hands on the <em>Fryderyk<\/em> for the year best male singer (awarded that year to Grzegorz Turnau), but the legend was already in the making, and <em>Alb\u00f3\u00f3m<\/em> is still shining today amongst the best albums sold in the country, so\u2026\u201c<i>Who&#8217;s tha boss?!<\/i>\u201d. No discussion about both the popularity level and the rebellious character of this one. <em>Alb\u00f3\u00f3m<\/em> is clearly the choice for the bottom-right quadrant front-runner.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JRtvKwyZqbg&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Vader \u2013 \u201cMorbid Reich\u201d (1990, Carnage Records)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;925&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]This one is a tricky choice. Not entirely a conventional album by the name of it, preferably a demo produced on a cassette at the time when Poland was moving towards something new. We are here far from the 850,000 sales achieved by Liroy\u2019s <em>Alb\u00f3\u00f3m<\/em>. Nevertheless, with more than 10,000 tapes sold and passed all over the world, the short production of 22 minutes is still remembered as the \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metal-archives.com\/albums\/Vader\/Morbid_Reich\/5147\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">best-selling death metal demos of all time<\/a>\u2019. Let&#8217;s be frank, Vader is, without doubt, one of the most exported cultural products from Poland. Thus, for the Polish audience, Vader does not still make the A-list. It would be, however, an understatement to say that the band led by Piotr Wiwczarek\u00a0that emerged from Olsztyn in 1983 has gone a long way since then. Morbid Reich was released in 1990, the same year which saw the establishment RMF FM and of the first commercial radio in Poland and one year before the creation of Radio Maryja. We can easily bet that the classic demo did not manage to make the top-40 chart on these two stations. Well! Let me recheck this&#8230; Otherwise, it sounds like an album for the bottom-left corner of the chart.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cF041TXb_UQ&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_section][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1612997262442{background-color: #282752 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][nk_text]<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><b>Observation 2: Popular or not\u2026 Probably just a matter of age and time perspective\u2026<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"> Mieczys\u0142aw Fogg, Karin Stanek and Dezerter have something in common. They are challenging part of the millennial who is still trying to gauge if the musical production of these artists should be considered as popular or not. On the other side, the rebelliousness level of these artists did not look like being the object of any disagreement.<\/span>[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Dezerter \u2013 \u201cJeszcze \u017bywy Cz\u0142owiek\u201d (1984, Tank Records)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;927&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]Perhaps not the most popular one from the band, but this debut album from 1984 has some good reasons to be remembered on the PRL rebellious side of the graph. With seventeen titles recorded during the epic performance at the Jarocin festival on August 1984, it was released under the then illegal band\u2019s label <i>Tank Records<\/i>. So, definitely on the rebellious part of the graph (and it even contains the song <em>Rebeliant<\/em> \u2013 we rest our case). Now the question is where should Dezerter be placed on the popularity level axis? On this, the two groups of students had divided opinions. You can undoubtedly be larger-than-life without being a blockbuster in Poland. Nevertheless, on this very year of 1984, Dezerter seemed to have already enjoyed some sort of notoriety on the other side of the ocean, that is to say, enough to receive a letter (which can be consulted in <a href=\"http:\/\/ha.art.pl\/wydawnictwo\/zapowiedzi\/1031-michal-wasaznik-robert-jarosz-generacja-premiera-16-lipca-2010.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Micha\u0142 Was\u0105\u017cnik and Robert Jarosz\u2019s book<\/a>) from an enthusiast follower, a certain <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jello_Biafra\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jello Biafra<\/a>.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0e50JZjSJFs&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Karin Stanek \u2013 \u201cMalowana Lala\u201d (1966) Syrena Record Cie U.S.A<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;929&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]Can Karin Stanek be placed on the obedient part of the graph? That seems to be the first reflex of the respondents. I would perhaps have been more hesitant. After all, who can\u2019t see anything rebellious in the presence of a young female artist with a guitar emerging from a modest Silesian family in the mid-1960s and then conquering the Polish audience, before struggling with travel restrictions and a series of unfortunate acts of censorship from the music and tv broadcasters? Although Karin Stanek has been quite active musically, the \u2018<i>Malowana lala<\/i>\u2019 LP which was released on the American Syrena Record in 1966 remains perhaps the most recognisable of her recordings. Definitely, this album should position Karin Stanek on the popular quadrant of the diagram in 1966. Still, one of the student groups was hesitating and considered that perhaps on the long-term, the work should be on the upper-left side. The discussion remains open to all musical auto-stop lovers.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lW_XYk-Xc94&#8243;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Mieczys\u0142aw Fogg \u2013 \u201cPiosenki\u201d (1955, Polskie Nagrania Muza)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;931&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]This one is a serious matter. Mieczys\u0142aw Fogg is a monument of Polish culture and let&#8217;s be honest if there were a price for the biggest stage beast in Polish history, Nergal would finish second, straight after Pan Fogg. I mean, the dude (please, read \u2018gentleman\u2019) toured the world and even put gigs in Brazil, Ceylon and Greenland.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>All in all, he is credited for more than 16,000 concerts during his lifetime. I did the maths and was thinking about what it would look like if I compare one concert to one teaching session a day. Hum\u2026 it is like teaching non-stop every day from Monday to Friday for almost 61 years. Anyone can object that there was surely more than one concert a day\u2026. Yeah, that\u2019s not the point. This is still 16,000 performances. Both groups of respondents have agreed to add the Fogg\u2019s album Piosenki on the obedient side judging perhaps that songs like \u2018<i>Siwy W\u0142os<\/i>\u2019, \u2018<i>Pierwsze Bzy<\/i>\u2019 and \u2018<i>B\u0142\u0119kitne Oczy<\/i>\u2019 have nothing to bring down any government in 1955. Sure! Perhaps fair about the album when it comes to the rebellious level. But then why would my informants disagree on the popularity level. If one considers the long-term, Fogg\u2019s Piosenki would unquestionably lean on the popular side of the chart, right?[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=B_5L1ZkaSjg&amp;list=OLAK5uy_kFqmGAVXHAf_KldAr5SFQXzeawmZvJ_1c&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_section][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1612998674182{background-color: #2c7463 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][nk_text]<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><b>Observation 3:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>To rebel or not to rebel\u2026 Some of us have still to choose our side.<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Unlike the last three previous albums, the three next ones found an absolute consensus about their popularity level between both teams of informants. More unclear thus, was it one should consider these musical acts\u2019 productions at the time on the renegade or docile side.<\/span>[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Budka Suflera \u200e\u2013 \u201cCie\u0144 Wielkiej G\u00f3ry\u201d (1975, Polskie Nagrania Muza)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;933&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]<i>Cie\u0144 Wielkiej G\u00f3ry<\/i> from the Budka Suflera is a compelling case. While both student groups would consider the album as a popular one, they seem to disagree partially on the level of rebelliousness, although, both groups put the opus very close from the rebelliousness abscissa. Isn\u2019t it a safe way to disagree after all? The album itself is a thought-provoking 5-title project with songs varying from 2:58 (<i>Samotny Noc\u0105<\/i>) and 19:23 (<i>Szalony Ko\u0144 <\/i>which occupies all the B-side of the album). Czeslaw Niemen was invited to play the Moog on this album which also contains the tragic title song that gave its name to the album.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=vMpG_ZA4nrw&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>The Dumplings \u200e\u2013 \u201cNo Bad Days\u201d (2014, Warner Music Poland, Pomaton)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;935&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]Curiously enough, the group of students who pinned down the Budka Suflera\u2019s first opus as an obedient part of the graph have also considered \u2018no Bad Days Warner\u2019 from the Dumplings (which was released almost 40 years later) on the rebellious side while the other group did the opposite. While both groups of students were labelling Budka Suflera\u2019s first album on the popular side, the Dumpling first LP, however, went on the unpopular section of the diagram. So, rebel or not? Perhaps the two prodigious youngsters who weren&#8217;t old enough to vote at the time of the album release could be seen as defiant. Or is it the song <em>\u2018Man Pregnant\u2019<\/em> which was deemed too controversial?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>So for one group of students the album found a spot on the lower part of the diagram. This has not convinced the other group which pinned it down on the highest part of the obedient (non-rebellious) axis. This one is open for debate.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDD3lnJYqCU&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_section][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1612999277573{background-color: #dba331 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][nk_text]<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><b>Observation 4:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The last album left.<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<b>Vavamuffin<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u200e\u2013 \u201cVabang!\u201d (2005, Karrot Kommando)<\/b>[\/nk_title][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;937&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_text]Only one team assessed the 2005 first LP album of Vavamuffin in the bottom-left quadrant of the diagram, that is on the unpopular\/rebellious portion of the graph. Released in April 2005, <em>Vabang!<\/em> was just in time to become a summer hit album with excellent vibes and an intelligent spirit. The first production of the these Wawa ragamuffin masters was highly praised and perhaps also served later as an excellent trampoline for Pawe\u0142 So\u0142tys (alias Pablopavo). So, what about this album? Unpopular? Hum! Certainly not! Specially in regards of the Polish reggae scene, and very well beyond this musical niche. Rebel? Obviously, something to discuss, but not finding in it any touch of delinquency, provocation or appeal against conformism would perhaps be a sign of bad faith.[\/nk_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][nk_plain_video video=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tiiJc00ITc8&#8243;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_section css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1613001690359{padding-top: 35px !important;}&#8221;][vc_row][vc_column][nk_title like=&#8221;&#8221; style=&#8221;&#8221;]<strong>It&#8217;s all about negotiating meaning<\/strong>[\/nk_title][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][nk_text]It&#8217;s not rocket science. The virtues of the four-quadrants coordinate system lay in exposing how each of us usually negotiates meanings when listening to music. When it comes to the political geography of popular music the Polish scene offers a rich heritage to explore.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>What would be the readers\u2019 choice on the rebelliousness\/popularity graph? Which Polish album could be an excellent contender for the most rebellious? Which one could be considered as the quintessence of obedience (non-rebelliousness) during and after the PRL period? And what would be the most difficult album to classify on this matrix? Namely, what would be album \u201c0,0\u201d, the one which would fit exactly in the centre of the graph and puzzle every single Polish music lovers?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Any proposal for future musical coordinate systems or musical Poles\u2019position. Let me know.[\/nk_text][nk_text vc_css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1612998482697{background-color: #b13022 !important;}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"nk-title text-center\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #ffffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/music-poles-10-albums-5-decades-popular-polish-music-part1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Part 1 and check out the music timeline\u279e<\/a><\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<em><a href=\"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/music-poles-10-albums-5-decades-popular-polish-music-part1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Music Poles: 10 Albums &amp; 5 Decades of Popular Polish Music<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n<p>[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;1421&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1613000132538{background-color: #c1c1c1 !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243;][nk_text]<\/p>\n<h5><i>I would like to sincerely thank my students (Adrianna, Dariusz, Dominika, Ignacy, Jakub, Kamila, Karolina, Magda, Miko\u0142aj and Natalia) first, for attending my classes (e-learning activities)<\/i><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\" style=\"font-style: italic;\">\u00a0<\/span><i>even during these difficult times, but also for lending their time to partake in this interesting extra-curricular exercise and, therefore, helping me decode further how we approach popular music. During the last few weeks of the pandemic and lockdown, I really miss meeting with them.<\/i><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\" style=\"font-style: italic;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>[\/nk_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/6&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Follow up on Luc&#8217;s socio-cultural experiment involving university students and a sample of 10 albums spanning 5 decades of Polish popular music. It&#8217;s not about the ranking, it&#8217;s about negotiating meaning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Music Poles: 10 Albums &amp; 5 Decades of Popular Polish Music (part 2 of 2) - Krak\u00f3w Music Blog","_seopress_titles_desc":"Follow up on Luc&#039;s socio-cultural experiment involving university students and a sample of 10 albums spanning 5 decades of Polish popular music. It&#039;s not about the ranking, it&#039;s about negotiating meaning.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[10,81],"tags":[163,160,157,161,158,162,18,108,156,105,107,111,109,110,155,159,164],"class_list":["post-1402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music-more","category-opinion","tag-budka-suflera","tag-dezerter","tag-ich-troje","tag-karin-stanek","tag-liroy","tag-mieczyslaw-fogg","tag-music-albums","tag-music-ranks","tag-papa-dance","tag-poland","tag-polish-music","tag-politics-in-music","tag-popularity","tag-rebelliousness","tag-the-dumplings","tag-vader","tag-vavamuffin"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-30 21:35:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1402"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1431,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402\/revisions\/1431"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krakowmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}