Rock music in
\nRomania in the 1970s and the 1980s was a way of challenging mainstream music.
\nSome rock artists went even further, trying to challenge the very state of
\naffairs. A carry-over from Western culture in the mid-1960s, Romanian beat
\nmusic was shy in its early days, later on giving rise to rock. The official
\nmusic norm, subscribed to the regime’s cultural policy, was the so-called muzic\u0103
\nu\u015foar\u0103, which word for word means light music, a rough equivalent of the pop
\nof the time and which held pride of place in song contests such as The Golden
\nStag or Mamaia. Bands like Pheonix, Sfinx, Timpuri Noi and artists like Dorin
\nLiviu Zaharia, Alexandru Andries, Mircea Florian and others tried to challenge official
\nmusic, which stifled freedom of expression and any contact with the music in
\nthe West.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We talked to
\nEmil Ionescu, a Professor at the Faculty of Letters with the University of
\nBucharest, about rock and subversion in the 1970-1980 period:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I was impressed by the
\nsubversive topics and undertones of those who dabbled with this type of music
\nin order to stand out, to assert a separate identity opposed to the musicians
\nwho dictated what the norm was. From this point of view, to me Romanian rock sent
\nout a strong liberal message, including at political level, embedded in a will
\nto subvert and challenge the establishment at the time. These things made a
\ndifference, because, unlike poetry, which has a lower public appeal, music,
\nrock in particular, is capable of stimulating and influencing young people in
\nideological terms. I believe music has a greater impact in that sense. I’m
\ntalking about some of the works of the band Sfinx, such as ‘I am not afraid’
\nand ‘The Boys’ Circle Dance’. And then take a look at the band’s less
\nsubversive songs, and ‘Cranes Flying in a Row’ inevitably springs to mind. To
\nme, the greatest symbol of subversive rock in the 1980s was the band Iris,
\nespecially their song ‘The train without conductor’. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Subversion had
\nlittle possibilities, however, as artists were aware they were living under
\ncommunism, the crux of which were repression and genocide. They knew there were
\nlimits they couldn’t cross. Emil Ionescu with more details:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
It’s hard to ascertain what
\nthese limits were, how the regime envisaged them. Obviously, the authorities
\nknew well the music that was being produced and performed. To me, that is
\nbeyond a shadow of a doubt. What is very important is that the boys from Sfinx
\nand Iris, and Phoenix before them, were actually standing up against the regime
\nin their music. Sometimes their stand took on subversive tones, other times
\ntheir opposition was expressed overtly for everyone to hear. Phoenix opted for
\nthe out-in-the-open approach, and their song ‘Mother, mother’ is evidence of
\nthat. Everyone knew who the conductor in ‘The train without conductor’ was. ‘The boys’ circle dance’ is a camouflaged
\nmeans of challenging authority, disguised in Arghezi’s poem. Another one of
\nSfinx’s songs, ‘We are not afraid’ is equally subtle and eloquent in this
\nrespect. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Overall, to be
\nsuccessful, a song had to have appealing music and lyrics. But to be able to
\nchallenge communist reality, the lyrics had to above average. Emil Ionescu. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
It was more important that
\nthese subversive texts were turned into music. The moment you perform songs
\nlike ‘Mother, mother’, ‘I’m still one of you’ and ‘The boys’ circle dance’ in a
\nclub, the lyrics and the music create a bond between the artists and the
\npublic. It is a personal bond with a set of values. The band Phoenix did not
\nreach the pinnacle of their artistic expression when their opposition was
\nstrongest, on the contrary. This came later, when the band reinvented itself,
\nbecause they were no longer able to hold any concerts, they were banned
\neverywhere, on the radio and in community centers as well. They had to
\nreorganize themselves, and Serban Foarta’s genius lyrics breathed new life into
\nthe band.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Phoenix was
\nconsidered one of the rebel rock bands, its members fleeing Romania in 1977.
\nThey left behind ‘Cantafabule’, one of the best Romanian rock albums of all
\ntimes. There was a time, however, when the band stopped challenging mainstream
\nmusic, the years right before its departure. Emile Ionescu also referred to the
\n1980s, the gloomiest period of communist dictatorship:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nmasterpiece of Romanian rock music is not particularly one of my concerns.
\nSubversion appears with the opposition of well-established norms, the
\nideological and music standards. Phoenix asserted a new identity. It was the
\nbirth of Romanian ethno-rock, which would fashion an identity which the party
\ncouldn’t challenge. The party could no longer ban them from performing their
\nsongs. The songs spoke of the Middle Ages and fantastic beasts, and their music
\nwhich was both interesting and sophisticated, was a new genre altogether. The
\nworld is terribly bleak in the 1980s, and this added to the subversive tones of
\nsongs such as ‘Train without conductor’. This type of music in those years of
\nhardship was even more valuable. Doing what these boys did, at a time of
\ndesolation when the prospect of a better life was nowhere in sight, was
\nsomething very special. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Rock and
\nsubversion went hand in hand under communism in Romania, each with its
\nlimitations, imposed or otherwise.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rock music in Romania in the 1970s and the 1980s was a way of challenging mainstream music<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41141],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-130664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-history-show"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n