Pozdrawiamy, tekstowi dewianci! On this second episode of the fourth season of Texting, Tomek and I were joined by Tomek’s Warsaw-based sister Hania for a chat about Polish hip hop supergroup Kaliber 44’s second studio album, W 63 minuty dookoła świata (Around the World in 63 Minutes). The title of this edition of the pod, which translates roughly as “Maybe So, Maybe No,” is taken from what is probably my favorite song on the album, because it perfectly expresses my ambivalence about pretty much everything these days, but I also recommend “DJ Feel-X,” the infectious “Dziedzina,” and all the “cat” tracks (especially the one that translates as “A Black Fat Cat Crossed Our Path, And Fuck His Ass Even on Friday the 13th”). Press play above to hear the full convo, during which the Bethell siblings share their Kaliber 44 origin stories and Marek Wola, incongruously representin’ the Czech Republic, freestyles an Anglicized version of “Może Tak, Może Nie.” Other topics touched upon include the southern province of Silesia, the grittiness of the Silesian city of Katowice, pyscho vs. psychedelic rap, the chopped and screwed sound of H-Town’s Swisha House, the Wagnerian leitmotiv, the Polish Pushkin Adam Mickiewicz (or should we rather say that Pushkin is the Russian Mickiewicz?), the Polish Kafka Witold Gombrowicz (not a good comparison, actually), the French Stanisław Lem Jules Verne (questionable at best), the origin of the word robot (no, it’s not from Stanisław Lem), the Polish Sam Goody (Empik), the Polish Naomi Watts (or Yoko Ono), the quixotic (yes, I said it!) search for the Polish Kurt Cobain, and the all-important question of whether or not the name Magik is derived from a Sumerian word meaning “big penis.” Daj nam znać, co myślisz!
Show Notes
The Stones play “Suczka”:
Hania says this is one of the samples on the album:
Tomek says this is one of the samples on the album:
That music at the beginning of the pod is from the first “cat” track (censored by YouTube of course):
Or should we rather say that Mickiewicz is the Polish Byron?
Those interested in reading Gombrowicz should start with this:
From the mind of Stanisław Lem (by way of Tarkovsky):
That Magik movie:
JV, stand up!
The melody is different from what I remember, but I’m just happy I could find this song at all:
The Next Text
I’m planning a tribute to the memory of the great man, but should the focus be Lost Highway or Rabbits?
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