Đorđe Balašević (1953 - 2021)

 

It looks as this blog is slowly turning into perpetual list of obituaries. People who had marked my life in one way or the other are dying like flies left and right - not unusual, as I am middle aged now myself and perhaps it is expected that my idols will eventually pack it up and go beyond the rainbow. Everyone I listened, watched and followed in my youth is now fragile and slowly fading - reminder of my own mortality.

What makes a great artist? I would say that it matters how many lives this person has touched, but this is all so relative - Vivaldi was forgotten for centuries and than posthumously he became known and celebrated across the continents. Still, I believe there is not a person who lived in Ex Yu and who was not familiar with at least one song by Đole - he was a widely known, popular and much loved singer/songwriter who somehow inspired passionate following and managed to continue performing in sold-out concerts even as the aftermath of war divided artists and audiences - he was that rare phenomenon, a true star of the former Yu, who still had public eating from his hand whenever he went. 

Đorđe Balašević had a long and distinguished career so he was many things to different people. To my ears he was kind of continuation of what Arsen Dedić started, namely a chansonier with his own unique voice - where Arsen got Adriatic sea in his veins, Đole was all about the rural countryside of Vojvodina; he was unabashedly and proudly inspired by stories about small towns, horse farms, loves and sorrows of ordinary "small people" caught in a wheel of life. From the very start, when he was still a member of the band (later he went solo) Đole had instantly recognisable musical signature, a special way with poetic lyrics that separated him from the rest of the crowd - just like with Arsen, with this guy you heard much more than ordinary, craftsmen text. He was a gentle, sentimental poet with a soft spot for underdogs and forgotten people but he also had a wicked sense of humour - on top of this all, he was also a enthusiastic and grateful raconteur who often entertained audiences for hours in his live concerts. 

It is a true testament to his personality that he continued to be much loved across the whole territory of Ex Yu even as the country itself fell apart amidst bitter acrimony - in a poisonous atmosphere where being this  or that, belonging to one or the other tribe could basically block the doors, Balašević basically had absolutely no obstacles and he travelled and performed everywhere. His oeuvre  is quite large and almost intimidating in a sheer quantity, there is a lot to chose from but for me somehow its always about the very beginnings - those first few years are carved in my memory, they were the soundtrack of my life when I was still so young that I was going to school and listened the radio. (Later in life, I was actually working on the radio) He was a good man and we are all very sorry that he passed away, it feels almost as a member of the family. 

I still remember how I cried when hearing that Arsen had died - alone in some pizzeria in Napoli. Last night the news of Đole's death caught me off guard in the middle of the walk and I cried trough deserted streets of Amsterdam. We are such stuff as dreams are made on.