There are some songs that I can't even remember at the moment, so when I want to find them, I can now... Also, some photos might have torn, faded, but here, this is how we saved them. A lot of things might have disappeared or gotten lost, but now they're in one place...
Tako Momcilo Bajagic Bajaga In an interview for "Vijesti", he describes the significance of the book "Songs", a kind of compilation of 40 years of creativity.
The collection of poems is actually a ticket to the treasury of memories, because, both then and now, Bajaga is one of the most important authors in the former Yugoslavia. With his music, lyrics and rhythm, he marked the cultural and artistic space, the scene, and society, leaving an indelible mark on the collective memory of numerous generations. His songs, whether performed with the band "Bajaga i Instruktori" or written for other performers, are part of the cultural fabric of this area, and are still easily sung today, regardless of everything - age, circumstances, interests, style...
This is evidenced by the constant interest in his performances, and the Montenegrin audience will have the opportunity to hear him in Nikšić, on Saturday evening at Trg Slobode, where the famous “Bajaga i instruktori” will announce the beginning of the summer festival and concert season in the city under Trebjes with a concert at 21 pm. Previously, at noon, a promotion of the book, which was premiered in Montenegro at the 19th International Podgorica Book and Education Fair, will be held at the City Hall.
"Tamara" in the original, photographs, manuscripts, maps...
The book "Poems" was created with the desire to unify and preserve all of his verses, the author has emphasized several times. However, in the process of collecting poems, photographs, concert tickets, posters, manuscripts from old notebooks, and memories also interfered, so that, in the end, all of it found its place and rounded out a luxurious edition worthy of attention.
"I'm glad I did it. First of all, my wish was to collect in one place all the poems I've written so far, whether for myself or for friends and colleagues, and in addition, there are even some unpublished poems in the book," he reveals.
A unique collection of verses has evolved into a musical-visual chronicle that encompasses a long period of time, but also a geographical space with all its changes, and numerous social transitions. However, the constant in all of this seems to be Bajaga, a consistent artist completely dedicated to music, but also an engaged citizen and public figure whose voice carries influence, when the situation requires it, which he also talks about for “Vijesti”.
"I always support young people. Back when I was young, or younger, and therefore more active, I was with them and among them. Now I'm here like this, to give them my support. And why? Because young people are always right and that's why they should be supported," he says.
And the idea for the book quickly evolved from a collection of texts to a monograph richly equipped with archival materials.
“Looking through the material, we thought it would be nice if it wasn’t just a collection, but a complete monograph, so we added photographs to the poems. So, in the book ‘Poems’, in addition to 160 poems, we also have around 130 excellent photographs taken by the most famous authors from our region, from Goranka Matić, Brajan Rašić, Zvon Krstulović, down to the cover photo he signs Jason Gold, "and there are numerous other photographers. We have also supplemented the monograph with old maps, concert tickets, posters, but also manuscripts from notes, my notebooks, diaries," the popular Bajaga sums up this edition in an interview for "Vijesti".
All of this contributes to the authenticity of each of the numerous pages of the book of life, but also gives a special atmosphere to the luxurious edition, which, in addition to the artistic one, also has a documentary and diary context, thus deepening intimate communication with readers and providing insight into the process of creating poems that are evergreen today.
"That's right, I think that the original manuscripts from the notebooks in which I wrote, erased, crossed out, corrected..." attract special attention, the author indicates, and then reveals to "Vijesti" why they are special.
"Maybe because it's all handwritten, you can see the corrections, you can see the process in the original, the way it developed within me and took on its final form. In those originals, there are some songs with an extra verse, like 'Tamara', which was originally like that, but I didn't record it in its entirety," says Bajaga.
“Lightning flashed in the sky,” and lightning struck.
As he leafs through the monograph, each page awakens a memory, an emotion, a moment... And so he comes across a photograph from a concert in Belgrade, with which he recalls an incredible moment...
"Here, this is an interesting, symbolic photo! We played here at Kalemegdan. It was a special concert, and the photo you see is particularly interesting. Namely, it is an incredible and fortunately immortalized moment... Just when I was singing the song 'Grad', at the moment when I said 'Lightning flashed in the sky', I thought: 'God, is that a good sign?''..., at that very moment lightning really flashed, and the photographer captured it all! Incredible," he says with a smile on his face.
He continues to talk about the poems and photographs with ease, searching deeper into his own treasure trove of life, which speaks to the multitude of memories and emotions that are housed within those covers. He calls the publication a kind of “compilation,” and it seems that “Poems” is exactly that - a compilation of memories and feelings, views, verses, voices, a compilation of the lives of many generations.
"I like to remember, mostly people, socializing, events and situations, and this book encourages me to do so. I return to it often, even though I was engaged in the preparation the whole time, but I regularly reread the reviews, the texts that famous people wrote for the book." Peca Popović and another guy from Zagreb, Bojan Muscet. "They completed it beautifully, so there's a little bit of everything here, really," the singer concludes.
When asked if the next book could be in diary form, he says it's a good idea, and doesn't rule out the possibility that it might happen and be published one day...
The spirit of Yugoslavia lives in music, it is passed on from the elderly to the young.
His music, just like his career and name, knows no boundaries, neither geographical nor cultural, political, or generational, as proven by his recent tour of the United States. When it comes to impressions, he conveys them modestly...
"Thanks to music, I've been lucky enough to have been to every continent except South America, and I'm grateful for that. As for South America, I might go there as a tourist. But, I'm saying, thanks to music, we've been to Australia, the United States several times, we've been all over Europe, Kazakhstan, Botswana, South Africa, and who knows where else. So I can say that I've really seen the world, again thanks to music," Bajaga points out.
Yugoslavia was also an unavoidable topic of conversation. Although he hails from Belgrade, Bajaga has long been an artist of all the languages and republics of the former SFRY, whose spirit, it seems, still lives on today.
"Yes, I believe that the spirit of Yugoslavia, at least in this cultural and artistic area, but also among individuals, is still alive... I would say that my generation and the slightly older ones retain the most of that spirit and its essence, and I hope that it is somehow passed on to the younger ones. 'Bajaga i instruktori' still plays in all the republics of the former Yugoslavia. Whenever we are on tour or promote a new record, or album, we are invited everywhere to present it. It means a lot to me. I am glad that we are welcome everywhere and we try to respect that hospitality," emphasizes the frontman of the band.
He is glad that unity and exchange have been maintained in music, to some extent, despite all the developments within political circles.
"This cooperation is very important. As far as we are concerned, but also other musicians in general that I follow, what I am particularly pleased about is that I see that bands from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, continue to follow each other, call and visit each other. That's how it should be," he says.
Young people are always right and that's why they should be supported.
In addition to his lyrics, for which he is recognized and which, perhaps unconsciously, are probably known by everyone throughout our region, Bajaga also stands out as one of the rare artists who is not afraid to always and without hesitation express his position, and is thus among the first public figures to support student protests in Serbia, demanding responsibility for the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station.
"Of course I support the students and all their justified demands. I hope that these demands will be fulfilled as soon as possible, which would be good for all of us," Bajaga emphasized at the beginning of the year, and then in mid-April he co-authored and co-performed the song "Mladost hrabrost pravda" (Youth Courage Justice), in which the frontman of "Partibrejkers" thanks the students. Zoran Kostic Cane, Aleksandar Lokner and Bajaga themselves, who recorded the song as a trio.
"I always support young people. Back in the day, when I was young myself, or younger, and therefore more active, I was with them and among them. Now I'm here like this, to give them my support. And why? Because young people are always right and that's why they should be supported," says Bajaga.
Takac's approach, however, has been known since before. Commenting on his support for the youth and the masses who are still persistently and courageously gathering today regardless of the consequences, Bajaga points out to "Vijesti" that this is the responsibility of every person, not just artists, public figures and those whose voice may have a greater reach.
"How can I tell you, the responsibility is both greater and not greater if you are a public figure. It's actually a question of personality. For me, this is the fourth student demonstration that I have followed. I played in 1991 at Terazije Fountain, then in 1996 when there were protests, and then in 2000 when it was October 5th, and here I am now. Considering that, I can say that I already have some experience with all of this," he says with a smile.
DON'T MISS IT
He unconditionally supports young people in their struggle, for their own good and the common good. However, he does not want to advise them, send messages, make comments, and explain why - it is time for them to ask themselves.
"What would I have to say or recommend to them? Here, tell me... Let them just introduce things, let them fight, let them change, let them do their own thing, and I can only support them in all of that. Therefore, let them decide," concludes Bajaga.
Bonus video:
