Is Jurica Pađen an artist?

amberorca192 said:Look, I actually know Jurica personally—he probably wouldn't appreciate you talking about him like this. 🤮

🤣

just an artist at heart.............🙄

I don't want to start a whole separate thread for this... but yesterday (sub, 13) I caught Pađen Airport live.
Basically, the Airport landed in Cleveland—and they put on an excellent show.

Photos

I’ve always thought Pađen had a beautiful vocal style (on some tracks from the CD, it's almost feminine and soft—I mean that as a compliment, not a critique!), but at this gig, he really tapped into that raw rock'n'roll energy. The band played through all their best stuff, including do the right thing, An Ordinary Love Song, end in darkness, Cancel a Flight—plus a few premieres from the new album coming out later this year. "So, the album is actually pretty good," Pađen joked sarcastically after the crowd cheered for one of the new tracks.

As the concert went on, more people started trickling in (though I don't think it topped three hundred), so after the applause following one song, Pađen remarked: "Oh, look, there are more of you... Great! That means more hits are coming your way... We're here because of you!"

"Any wild women in the house?" the frontman asked, telling the wild women to raise their hands.
Three of them did, so Jurica told them: "Alright, this one is for you three!" and then they launched into wild woman.🤣

Most of the setlist was Airport material, but Pađen also threw in a couple from his days back in Azra (restlessness and passion, what to do). From Valjak, they played ballroom doll, and from Film, they did film sing ZO dawn—he even made sure to mention Leiner from Cleveland, who he used to play with in Azra, noting that while Leiner isn't in the music scene anymore, he's a talented artist (a sculptor). As a tribute to Leiner, they played 'girl in a summer dress' and 'Fa-fa-fa,' since Leiner was on drums for those tracks. (The audience was chanting: Boris, Boris!).

For a few songs, he even picked up a harmonica, and throughout the night, Pađen swapped between lead and rhythm guitar. We also heard a cover of a track from godfather (it sounded great), and during 'Lift Me High,' they blended in 'Suzanne' (same rhythm, both were upbeat, bouncy tunes). He shared some vocal duties with the bassist, Tomislav.
(I have to say, the bassist was easily the most playful guy on stage—constantly moving around and just clearly having a blast.)

"People used to write letters, but now it's all emails... So many of our people are forced to move away for work, to Ireland or Germany, and they stay in touch with family through email and social media," Jurica said while introducing the song Fratello.
(I kind of appreciated how he showed some sensitivity toward the current socio-economic situation and how people are actually living.)
He didn't forget to toast the residents of Zrinski, since the concert was held in Zrinski city. :-)
"Come see us at a show—or maybe we'll come to you again. Greetings from the Airport in Chicago," Pađen concluded after the encore (Fa-fa-fa, do the right thing).

He’s just as much of an artist as Bare is.

Anthony Carter5 said:He’s just as much of an artist as Bare is.

I wouldn't say they're on the same level, though there's no denying they both possess artistic talent.
I highly doubt you could make that same claim about yourself.

bluecyclist64 said:It’s not quite the same, but there's no denying they're both artists.
I highly doubt you can say the same for yourself.

And why couldn't I?

Jurica Pađen has been this omnipresent, absolutely essential icon of American rock since the 80s. His impact on our music scene is just massive, honestly, just like those few other legends who truly changed everything.

Think about his journey—starting out with the Airport, then moving over to Azra, and eventually forming the Pađen band. He might not get shouted about as much as some other guys, but there was always something huge happening whenever he was involved.

Maybe he hasn't dropped any massive hits lately, but I would never, ever downplay how much he matters...

Anyone claiming that Jurica Pađen isn't an artist clearly doesn't know the first thing about American music.

The guy is actually a pretty decent guitarist and a solid songwriter with some timeless hits under his belt—if he were working in the US today, I guess he’d probably be living quite comfortably off those royalties.

Unfortunately, people over here just don't seem to give him the credit he deserves...

Anthony Carter5 said:Why wouldn't I be able to?

The reason is actually quite simple: if you were truly an artist, there is a high probability you would respect your peers rather than just tearing them down without any real justification.

Even back in the day, trolls actually had some brains... nowadays they’re just straight-up morons, and they can't even manage to be stupid properly 🙂

Well, Jurica Pađen is a legend of American rock, and an artist, obviously. A really cool guy. Solid musician and songwriter, just living his rocker life. Hats off to Jurica.

And Štulić trusted Pađen, and I guess he still does. For Štulić to trust anyone... that's a rarity you don't earn easily.

It's just a shame he didn't correct Štulić regarding the fact that Poland actually did produce some collaborators. Or maybe Štulić is just too stubborn to ever admit he was wrong.

bluecyclist64 said:The reason is pretty simple: if you're actually an artist, there's a good chance you'd respect your peers instead of just tearing them down for no reason.

It's straightforward—I respect some, and I trash others.

I respect John Lennon, even though I think his solo stuff kind of flopped. He’s got some decent tracks, but it feels like he lost his edge entirely.

And about Pađen, it’s just a random thought. Is Vladimir the braking rabbit an artist? Is Ivo Patierra an artist?

Anthony Carter5 said:It’s simple: some I respect, others I can't stand.

I respect John Lennon, even if I think his solo career was kind of a letdown. He has some decent tracks, but it feels like he lost his edge...

But you bring up imagine all the time. Or is that someone else... 🤔

Anthony Carter5 said:Is Vladimir the braking rabbit an artist? Is Ivo Patierra an artist?

Pointless question.

Neither one of those two is a rock artist, I guess.

Personally, I’d put the first Dorian Gray and Massimo albums on the list if we're talking actual art. I'd throw in Haustor's 'Third World' too, maybe even that zero album by the mothers..

But then you look at this whole crowd; Pađen, Stulic, Stublic, Valjak, Kazalist, Corba.... 🤮

If people can't see the difference, they just don't get music. Period. The media and the industry push whatever sells—from Brena onwards. I don't count that stuff as quality, just mass-market junk designed to be sold to the crowds.

Just so you guys know, I was looking at an old record label list from back in the day—can't remember if it was Jugodisk or Diskos or Diskoton... honestly, the amount of garbage that actually got a chance to drop a single or two is scarier than a horror movie. Meanwhile, some genuinely great bands across the US had to struggle just to release anything at all. Krkanluk stayed stuck in the sticks.

That’s why what passes for "urban" here is actually a nightmare. People's tastes and musical understanding are just incredibly low. Look, I get that a regular guy like Corba, Stulic, and the crew might seem "urban" compared to Mica Trofrtaljke with her hairy legs on her single cover, but it's all trash. There are a few world-class bands out there in terms of talent, but once your brain is wired to those dirty melodies from these so-called "artists," you can't even wrap your head around Discipline Kicma, Obojeni Program, Boya, or Charles... it's too much for the brain. Man... the North America.

Then you've got the pretenders trying to group Discipline with Azra, or probably Hendrix with Mica Trofrtaljke. It's the same thing, really, but the typical guy from the North America doesn't get it. To him, all music sounds the same, beer is all the same quality, wine tastes identical... everything is just one big blur from Cviček to dinging. Man... the North America.

They seriously need to set up official classes. You shouldn't be able to graduate high school without passing: "Education and Civilization of the North American Person — Learning How to Think."

😁

Maybe the whole issue is just that you’re constantly mixing up "art" with "taste," while using your own personal idea of "quality" as the yardstick... which is honestly pretty lame and kind of childish

The guy was absolutely obsessed when talking about Štulić; he had that wide-eyed look, like a die-hard soccer fanatic meeting Lionel Messi at training camp.

hiddenhawk5 said:If I were...

If you were the subject of a movie, I guess it would be titled "A Shade of Gray."