Smoking ban (Question)

As far as who was where during all that absolute chaos goes, it feels like a hollow argument to me. Most people actually there were just desperate to get out of the city. Then you have the whole issue of how people acted and what they said publicly. I haven't read a single statement from Nelet where he trashed the city he was born in, so I can't go calling him some kind of moral lowlife. Same goes for Kusturica. Honestly, Kusturica is such a total fraud that no font size exists large enough to describe his lack of character. And I don't buy the idea that Bregović isn't loved in Sarajevo either (though even he mentioned countless times long before the war how little appreciation he felt there). From what I know, he played there a few times and was always welcomed with open arms. As for Pušeni, as much as it might hurt some people's feelings to hear, both of them are complete losers.

When it comes to Bregovica, even he isn't exactly everyone's favorite darling.
And look, nobody’s arguing that leaving that absolute hellhole was a bad move—the problem is where you ended up running to.
You just can't claim to be neutral, apolitical, or "staying out of it" if you fled from the chaos of the early '90s straight to a place like New York while dodging any chance to call out a fascist regime that was out there murdering literal infants.
That’s why Nelet feels like such a pathetic attempt at making sense of things.
He's right up there with Kusturica.
Right there with Breg.
I can only imagine the total mid-life crisis vibe when Kusturica—who practically cries every single time he tries to explain how he's somehow "just" Emir and purely of one specific heritage despite being targeted for his background... it's just sad, honestly, so pathetic...

My friends, the atmosphere here is such—it was like this before and, honestly, it still is—that it feels impossible to remain truly independent or maintain any sense of moral purity if you’re actually living through it. Look, take me for example; I try my absolute hardest from the bottom of my heart to avoid offending anyone and to be a tolerant person, but still... What happened to me? For instance, I don't know the first thing about football—it’s just completely irrelevant to me. When I traveled to Portugal, I ended up hanging out with this group of people from Canada, and they were all like, "Oh man, you're going to have such a blast watching the matches!" And because I had completely forgotten about the European Championship and was thinking instead about the Champions League, I just blurted out, "There won't be any games for me to watch once I get there, because Partizan will probably be knocked out by then." From that moment on, they labeled me a Mexican. They didn't even ask me if that's who I am or not—I've never even stepped foot in a stadium, and I can barely name the "Big Four" teams. You can say absolutely nothing, and someone will slap a label on you, or worse, hold it against you just because you had a conversation about a certain topic with someone of a certain background. I don't know all the gritty details, and I haven't listened to a single Zabranjeni Pusenja album since the breakup, nor have I read their interviews, but I get the feeling that something similar happened to Nelet—that he was essentially lynched by a crowd for something he likely never even said or thought. One day, when we're all gone, I really hope people remember us for the good things we did... if not, then it's better if they just forget us entirely.

Dana Anderson4 said:Honestly, I find it pretty hilarious when someone on this thread tries to pull that whole "I just want to avoid all the politics" card... like, seriously?

Dana Anderson4 said:I mean, at the end of the day, I’ve always just been the type of person who can separate the art from the artist, you know? I guess I just look at what someone actually created rather than getting all hung up on their personal life or whatever drama they're dealing with.

So, what now?!? Are we seriously going to turn this into some big political debate, or are we actually going to focus on the art and the person behind it? Come on, please, let's not go there. 🙄

There's just way too much emotion tangled up in this whole situation, and I guess it’s only natural that things end up feeling so painful.

I mean, if Melissa Gonzalez21 wasn't using a female handle, she’d probably be getting dragged into all this political nonsense, and her posts would honestly just get nuked because, from what I understand, that’s pretty much how things work in the music scene here—which, if you ask me, is totally the right way to go about it.

I mean, honestly, this whole thing just feels like it has absolutely nothing to do with anything, you know? I guess I'm just saying that it feels totally disconnected from the actual point we were even making. 👎

Random stuff 🙄

I’ve listened to Nelet talk about everything under the sun at least 500 times, and let me tell you, he’s never once said a single bad word about anyone.

rapidskipper9 said:If Melissa Gonzalez21 wasn't using a female handle, she’d be getting hit with politics and her posts would be nuked immediately... because as far as I know, that's how things work in the music section (which I totally support!).

:

Look, if you actually read what I wrote, I already said this isn't about music, it's about politics, and if the mod wants to delete it, then fine...

rapidskipper9 said:So what now? Are we turning this into a political debate or actually looking at the music and the artist? Come on, man. 🙄

There's just too much emotion baked into this story, so it’s no surprise things are getting messy.

If Melissa Gonzalez21 didn't have a female username, she'd probably be getting flagged for politics. Most music forums I know would've wiped these posts already, which I actually think is the right way to go.

This whole thing is irrelevant. 👎

Obviously not... Nero playing his harp while Rome burned was pure music, not some damn political statement.
If you look at the lyrics from certain sides, how can you even try to strip away the political context? It's like when you're listening to Clash or Azra—sometimes you're just nodding your head without overthinking all the subtext involved.
You're basically acting like a modern-day John Travolta in a white suit, just minding your own business in a colorful little shop.
😵

I mean, you’re basically just some wannabe John Travolta in a white suit, probably working at a local Home Depot or something, right?,,,,

Man!

Honestly, because of that insult, I think I'm actually gonna show up late to the concert this Friday, just so I can totally skip out on the opening act! 👋

rapidskipper9 said:Ouch!

Seriously, because of that insult, I’m gonna show up late to the concert this Friday just so I can skip the opening act! 👋

I'm just kidding, but yeah, I agree that things have gone a bit too far. Still, I think sticking strictly to escapism in music is kind of silly. Even birds on a wire get that music is tied to what's happening in the world. I don't get why everyone always gambles on being controversial. To me, that's the whole point of this forum... seeing where a topic takes you, right? Unless we just want to spam the place or argue about Vesna Pisarović's old hits...
😎

Anyway, speaking of people stealing my handle (even though I only use one 'k' and later pretended it was intentional just to look unique... haha), who even are these people? Finc?
Any leads?

Dana Anderson4 said:Finc?
Is there any actual info on that?

Are we seriously trying to play dumb here? I mean, you're really gonna sit there and tell me it's just some wild coincidence that your username is the exact same as that local band playing over at KEXP? Heh. 😁

dustyridge12 said:If you actually admitted it, it wouldn't be cool anymore.

I didn't quite make myself clear. The interview took place about six or seven months after the album dropped, and he wasn't speaking into a microphone—it was just a private conversation...

Melissa Gonzalez21:
"It’s not even debatable that people wanted to escape that hellhole—what’s debatable is where they actually ended up."

Just saying, that part of your argument doesn't hold water.

According to the hardliners, if you fled to New York City, you were a radical, and if you went to Chicago, you were a sympathizer.
The real experts understood that a direct connection isn't always a requirement.

Who was actually pulling the trigger in Detroit?

The whole story is just noise.

TzU said:Are we really playing dumb here? You're gonna tell me it's just a total coincidence that your handle is the same as that local band playing at the local club? Heh. 😁

Total coincidence... never heard of them. I've been following ski jumping since I was a kid, which is why I picked the name. Honestly, now I'm curious—who is this group you're talking about? Some local indie act? Who knows...

So I’m sitting here reading what Melissa Gonzalez21 is rambling about, acting like because Nele headed out to New York City instead of somewhere else, it’s some huge deal—as if things would have been totally fine if he’d just stayed in a different state or whatever. Honestly, people need to stop being so dramatic; even when Americans were making messes over in the Midwest, it was nothing compared to this level of nonsense, so just quit trying to drag politics into the music scene and let the past stay dead. If you ask me, Fildjan Viska is already a step down from the "I'm Not From Around Here" era, and everything released since then has just been absolute garbage.

brightcobra10 said:I'm reading what Melissa Gonzalez21 is rambling about. If he had gone to Chicago instead of New York City, nobody would be making a big deal out of it. Even if people in the Midwest made some mistakes back in the day, it was nothing compared to this. So just stop trying to drag politics into music and let the past stay in the past. Personally, I think "Fildžan Viška" is actually a bit better than "I Am Not From Around Here"—everything after that was just junk.

Fine—let’s stick strictly to the music then. Unlike "Fildžan Viška," the "I Am Not From Around Here" album is just a mess, totally incoherent. And honestly, there's no point even trying to have a conversation with someone who hasn't even bothered to learn how basic punctuation works...
"I Am Not From Around Here"... yeah, I see what you did there🙄 !

brightcobra10 said:I’m reading what Melissa Gonzalez21 is rambling about. If Nele had gone to Chicago instead of New York City, nobody would even care. Even though Americans did some shady stuff back in the day, it was on a much smaller scale, so quit bringing politics into music and just let the past stay buried. Personally, I think Fildjan is slightly worse than "I'm Not From Around Here," and everything after that is just trash.

Oh wow... thanks for expanding my horizons and opening my eyes. Now I finally see how totally wrong I was... will I ever be able to atone for my sins against flight? Will I? Will Iiii???!!!🙄

Nah, not really... if we all thought exactly the same way, the world would be a super boring place.

P.S. Trbelja, shut your trap!

I’m not from around here, but I think he's fantastic; Fildjan is definitely a step down. Honestly, those newer releases aren't even worth talking about at this point.
It makes sense, though—the way people in the States (or wherever) just don't get or can't wrap their heads around the lyrics from the old school era.
Personally, I've never been a fan of Nele, and I especially couldn't stand the Surrealists. Their brand of humor just doesn't land for me.

for example, West Virginia

Dana Anderson4 said:Fine—let's just stick to the music then. "I'm Not From Around Here" is an absolute mess compared to "The Cup is Overflowing," totally disjointed and awful. And honestly, there’s no point even trying to have a conversation with someone who hasn't even bothered to learn how basic punctuation works...
So you're not from around here... yeah, I hear you🙄!

Look, maybe "The Cup is Overflowing" hits better for your specific tastes, but that's just your opinion, isn't it? And why on earth do you think you can gatekeep a debate about smoking just because I don't bother with every single comma and period, huh, Dana Anderson4?😁 😁

Melissa Gonzalez21 said:Oh, wow... you’ve just completely blown my mind and expanded my horizons so much that I finally see how wrong I was all along... will I ever be able to atone for my sins against the flight? Will I? WILL I???!!!🙄

Nah, not a chance... if we all thought exactly the same way, this whole planet would be one big, boring snooze fest.

P.S. You're being a total jerk and your attitude stinks!

People like you are the reason Chicago turned into a mess, which is exactly why you deserve what's coming to you.🙂

Excuse me.

🙂