The Books of Knjige is the Montenegrin comedy troupe and alternative rock band from

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

, also known as ''TBOK, Booksovci'' or ''Buksovci''. It consists of four members: Popaj (Aleksandar Radunović), Goran (Goran Vujović), Gajo (Veselin Gajović) and Zonjo (Zoran Marković). They have made numerous TV comedy shows, an alternative rock album and host a weekly radio show on

Radio Antena M Antena M is an independent radio station and website in Montenegro. History Founded in the early 1990s by university professor and businessman Miodrag Perović, the station was organizationally under the umbrella of his Montenegropublic compan ...

. Their name, "The Books of Knjige" is an absurd for itself, since ''knjige'' means ''books'' in

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

. They are also registered as an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Early life

Members of this troupe grew up as close friends in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. They have been known in the city for their frequent practical jokes and amateur comedy shows, which started their popularity. They have also hosted series of humorous shows on local Radio Cetinje.

Film

In 2016, The Books of Knjige recorded their first feature

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

film titled "Cases of Justice" (''Slučajevi pravde''), which was aired in August 2017. The project was initially conceived as a TV series, but the change of plans took place after

Prva TV Prva (; sr-Cyrl, Прва, lit=First) or Prva Srpska Televizija ( sr-Cyrl, Прва српска телевизија, lit=First Serbian Television), is a Serbian commercial television network with national coverage. It was launched on 31 Dece ...

withdrew the funding after the pilot episode aired in 2012.

Music

The Books of Knjige have published only one official album, "Moja Domovina" ("My Homeland") in 2000. It was released by "Balkan Productions". Its first single, "Moja Domovina", was temporarily blocked on

RTCG Radio and Television of Montenegro ( cnr-Cyrl-Latn, Радио и Телевизија Црне Горе, Radio i Televizija Crne Gore; abbr. /) is the public service broadcaster of Montenegro. A state-owned company with its headquarters in Podgor ...

for its allegedly controversial content. Their genre is

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, with predominantly humorous lyrics. Also, in 2006 they have recorded a single "Bjež'te drogaši" ("Go Away, You Druggies") as a part of the Montenegrin Government's anti-drug campaign. They also recorded a duet with

Edo Maajka Edin Osmić (born 22 December 1978), better known by his stage name Edo Maajka, is a Bosnian rapper, record producer and songwriter. His popularity brought his group Disciplinska Komisija to the mainstream. He lives in Zagreb, Croatia, with his ...

in 2007, titled "Ja suludan neću biti" ("I Won't Be Crazy").

''Moja Domovina'' (2000)

#"Intro (skit)" #"Đaoli me znali" #"Kao da cvijeće umije da pleše" #"Moja domovina" #"Smoki" #"Da je šćelo bit da bude moglo je bit" #"Džuli" #"Neka si pošla" #"Sanjam da te znam" #"Smoki II" #"Gumena pjesma" #"Džeko" #"Still Got the Blues (Kako mi je...)" * Before each song there is a short comical skit as its intro, recorded as a separate track.

Radio

The Books of Knige have hosted a radio show for a while on local ''Radio Cetinje'', mostly consisting of previously prepared skits on current topics. In 1998, they have signed a contract with

, and are doing a weekly Friday night show on that radio station. The show is simply called "The Books of Knjige" and is on air live every Friday night, at midnight. It lasts for two hours. Popaj, Gajo and Goran are the show hosts, while fourth member, Zonjo, is a producer and DJ. The show is usually composed from three parts. The first one is a humorous talk about current events, with a satirical retrospect to last week's current events. The second part usually consists of talking with two guests, and making fun of them mercilessly. The guests are either popular singers, film directors and other famous people from

Balkans 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 ...

or people with very bizarre occupations, hobbies or sexual preferences. The third, last part of the show is usually a series of skits, or simply a free talk about topics the hosts feel like talking about.

Television

The Books of Knjige have recorded multiple TV comedy shows, broadcast on Montenegrin TV channels,

and IN TV. Their shows are a mix of

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

and

paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...

, often compared to the works of

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

and

Top Lista Nadrealista ''Top lista nadrealista'' ("The Top List of the Surrealists", sometimes "The Surrealists' Chart Toppers")—also known as ''TLN'' or ''Nadrealisti'' ("Surrealists")—is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav sketch comedy and vari ...

. List of TV shows: *TBOK Top Volley (parody on a popular TV lottery) *Agrosaznanje 1 (parody on an

agriculture show, part 1) *Agrosaznanje 2 (parody on an

agriculture show, part 2) *"O Porijeklu Crnogoraca" (''"About the

Montenegrins Montenegrins (, or ) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians; however, the population also includes ...

' Ancestry"'') *" Emisija Koja Ide na Televiziju Poneđeljkom oko 9 uveče" (''"Show That Goes on Television on Mondays Around 9 p.m."'') *Novogodišnji Kalendar (''"New Year Calendar"'') *Novogodisnji Program (parody on several TV shows)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:The Books Of Knjige Comedy rock musical groups Montenegrin musical groups Satirical musicians Parody musicians