Monika Načeva - Udržuj svou ledničku plnou (Keep Your Fridge Full)

 Another represantation of the colourful post-socialist musical scene of the 1990's, this song is arguably one of the best punk offerings Czech music has to give. In her debut album Možnosti tu jsou (There Are Options, 1994), Monika Načeva combines Jáchym Topol's harsh, yet intimate poetry with straightforward punk energy and a cheeky black and white videoclip inspired by Patti Smith.

Jáchym Topol (brother of the late Filip Topol from Psí vojáci, which I covered on this blog) was not allowed to publish officially until 1989, but his poems were spread in samizdat. Udržuj svou ledničku plnou (Keep Your Fridge Full) is part of his first collection of poetry, Miluju tě k zbláznění (I Love You Madly, 1990, samizdat 1988). Since then, he has published a number of novels that were translated into several languages, and two of them were adapted to films.

Monika Načeva is a Czech actress and singer who often works with notable poets and musicians. Her work is astonishingly diverse, ranging from punk and rock to chanson or trip-hop. This is definitely not the last time you see her on this blog, because I find her one of the most interesting Czech musicians, and I highly recommend you go and find more of her work.

Buty - František (Francis)

For the first post-1989 Czech music post on this site, I decided to go with the band Buty, which definitely is among my top favourites. A band from Ostrava (the name "buty" means "boty" - shoes, boots - in the Lachian dialect) that started a few years before the fall of the communist regime, it came to prominency around the mid 1990's. Their style "can be described as an eclectic mixture of rock, folk music, ethnic music, country music, jazz, reggae and other genres, with witty, dadaist lyrics." (Wikipedia) I personally very much enjoy their sense of humour - both in texts and in music - and refined instrumental approach, which combine in a diversive and pleasurable body of work.

The song František comes from their third album, Dřevo ("Wood", 1995) and is one of my favourite modern Czech songs. With its jokingly plain text and somewhat naïve storyline, this song is both funny and it breathes an air of nostalgia, as it shows how with a simple deed, you can leave the world a bit better place.

Psí vojáci - Žiletky (Razor Blades)

Psí vojáci (Dog Soldiers) was a legendary underground band from Prague. It was founded by Filip Topol in 1979, together with Topol's elementary school classmates David Skála and Jan Hazuka. Topol first performed at Václav Havel's cottage in Hrádeček as a support for The Plastic People of the Universe when he was only 13.

Because of the band members' association with underground figures and the controversial lyrics of their songs, they quickly draw the attention of the secret police. They didn't even have identity cards yet when they were interrogated for the first time.

They took their name from the Dog Soldiers, a Cheyenne military society that appeared in Thomas Berger’s novel Little Big Man. Their music style is somewhat difficult to pigeon-hole. Topol was a singer and a clasically trained pianist, Skála was the drummer and Hazuka played the bass-guitar. They were influenced by punk rock, avant-garde and classical music. Their style is often described as art-rock, alternative rock or experimental rock.

"There have always been some elements of punk in Psí vojáci. Our music speaks to punks in a different way than the music of truly punk bands, but I believe we share a lot of what they feel." (Filip Topol in an interview for Rock & Pop 11/99)

The band continued to perform after 1989 until Filip Topol's death in 2013.