''Devedesete'' (trans. ''The Nineties'') is the tenth studio album released by Serbian and

former Yugoslav , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p1 = State Flag of Serbia (1882-1918).svg , p2 ...

singer-songwriter

Đorđe Balašević Đorđe Balašević ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Балашевић; 11 May 1953 – 19 February 2021) was a Serbian singer and songwriter, writer, poet and director. He began his career in the late 1970s as a member of the band Rani Mraz, transitionin ...

. Inspired with the events in Serbia at the end of 1990s, ''Devedesete'' was Balašević's most politically involved album (for this reason the album was partially self-released). Balašević openly made fun of

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

with the song "Legenda o Gedi Gluperdi", criticized police officers who defended the corrupt system by confronting demonstrating youth in "Plava balada", looked back to the 1990s with disgust in the title song "Devedesete", supplied young demonstrators with an

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

"Živeti slobodno" (dedicated to civic youth movement

Otpor! Otpor ( sr-Cyrl, Отпор!, , stylized as Otpor!) was a political organization in Serbia (then part of FR Yugoslavia) from 1998 until 2004. In its initial period from 1998 to 2000, Otpor began as a civic protest group, eventually turning into ...

). He reached out, not without shame, to his lost friends in

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

-torn

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

with "Sevdalinka", and showed sincere resentment, but little to no regret, at the 1999

NATO bombing of Novi Sad During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, aerial bombings were carried out against the second largest Yugoslav city of Novi Sad. According to NATO press releases, the bombing targeted oil refineries, roads, bridges, and telecommunications relay ...

in "Dok gori nebo nad Novim Sadom".

Background

During winter 1996/97, he held traditionally concerts in Sava Center in Belgrade. At some of concerts in January 1997, he said that Belgrade is coming back to the maps. In February 1998, he held concerts in Sarajevo for the first time after war in Bosnia. Later that year, he became UNHCR ambassador. In January 1999, his second daughter Jelena had injured in car crash. She persuaded Balašević to cut his hair bald and do a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

. During

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

in spring 1999, he performed in front of National Theatre in Belgrade. His wife and children were in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

during bombing.

Album

Song "Živeti slobodno" is actually inspired by song "Živjeti slobodno" of Croatian group Time and it's about

Dado Topić Adolf "Dado" Topić is a Croatian rock musician. He was the lead singer and founder of Time, a 1970s progressive rock band from the former Yugoslavia. From 1970 to late 1971, he was also the lead singer of the popular prog-rock band Korni Grupa ( ...

's prison days for refusing

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. Song "Plava balada" has an early version from 1997. Album has videos for title track, "Sevdalinka" and "Dok gori nebo nad Novim Sadom".

Tour

Album was followed by concerts in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Zrenjanin Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

etc.

Concert in Pula

The concert in Pula was originally supposed to take place in 2000 alongside

Atomsko sklonište Atomsko Sklonište (transl. ''Fallout shelter, Atomic Shelter'') is a Croatian and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslav hard rock band, formed in Pula in 1977. Known for their early anti-war concept, as well as their later hit songs, Atomsko Sklonište were o ...

, but it was postponed to June 2001. It is also the first concert in Croatia after the war there. In honor of that concert, a documentary film Na stanici u Puli (At the station in Pula) was also shot. The proceeds of this concert went to the Pula Clinical Center.

Track listing

All the songs written by

. #"Devedesete" (''The Nineties'') – 5:51 #"Živeti slobodno" (''Living Freely'') – 5:23 #"Balkanski tango" (''

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

'') – 6:28 #"Plava balada" (''The Blue Ballad'') – 5:38 #"Stih na asfaltu" (''A Verse on the Asphalt'') – 4:00 #"Gedo Gluperdo" (''Gedo The Stupid'') – 6:54 #"Sevdalinka" (''

Sevdalinka Sevdalinka (), also known as Sevdah music, is a traditional genre of folk music originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sevdalinka is an integral part of the Bosniak culture, but is also spread across the ex- Yugoslav region, including Croatia, Mo ...

'') – 6:01 #"Kao talas" (''Like A Wave'') – 4:48 #"Nedostaje mi naša ljubav..." (''I Miss Our Love...'') – 3:49 #"Naopaka bajka" (''An Inverse Fairy Tale'') – 7:04 #"Dok gori nebo nad Novim Sadom" (''While The Sky Burns Over

'') – 6:08 #"Mrtvi" (''The Dead'') – 5:02 #"Psovka na temu Devedesete" (''Cursing on a Theme of the Nineties'') – 2:05

References

* ''EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960–2006'', Janjatović Petar; * {{Authority control 2000 albums Đorđe Balašević albums