Interrogation Machine: Laibach and NSK (Short Circuits)
by Alexei Monroe
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alexei MonroeForeword: Slavoj ?Zi?zek
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-09-15
ISBN: 0262633159
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: The MIT Press
Book Reviews of Interrogation Machine: Laibach and NSK (Short Circuits)
Book Review: Feh.
Summary: 2 Stars
The author seems a fan who covered the band as a dissertation topic, not first and foremost research. a recurring theme in Laibach's/NSKs work and is unrelenting references to European parahistory; references to freemasonry, esoterism, etc. None of this is covered in the book. Here are only a few examples; "How The West Was Won" from "Opus Dei" is verbatim "The Entered Apprentice's Song"; the lyrics can be searched online to read them. "Opus Dei" is riddled with masonic references and allusions to conspiracy theories - the title itself for one (a conservative Catholic religious order), the song "Fiat" includes a recitation of "fortitude, prudence, temperance, justice", a frequent formulation in Masonic Entered Apprentice Degree Work. The references in the recording sleeve for "Nova Akropola" are almost lifted entirely from the last page of "The Occult and the Third Reich" by Jean-Michel Angebert, and the cover is a manipulation of Anselm Keiffer painting of The Reichstag. Again, none of this appears in the book (painting might have been noted, I don't think so though). It was nice someone made coverage of laibach and NSK - but it didn't seem to include actually researching the content - just discussing initial impressions in Postmodern manner.
Summary of Interrogation Machine: Laibach and NSK (Short Circuits)
NSK is considered by many to be the last true avant-garde of the twentieth century and the most consistently challenging artistic force in Eastern Europe today. The acronym refers to Neue Slowenische Kunst, a Slovene collective that emerged in the wake of Tito's death and was shaped by the breakup of Yugoslavia. Its complex and disturbing work-in fields including experimental music and theater, painting, philosophy, writing, performance, and design-has an international following but a powerful and specific cultural context. Within the NSK organization are a number of divisions, the best-known of which is Laibach, an alternative music group known for its blending of popular culture with subversive politics, high art with underground provocation-reflecting the political and cultural chaos of its time.In Interrogation Machine, Alexei Monroe offers the first critical appraisal of the entire NSK phenomenon, from its elaborate organizational structure and its internal logics to its controversial public actions. The result is a fascinating portrait not only of NSK but of the complex political and cultural context within which it operates. Monroe analyzes the paradoxes, perplexities, and traumas of NSK's work at its deepest levels. His investigation of the relationships between conceptual content, stylistic method, and ideological subtext demonstrates the relevance of NSK in general and Laibach in particular to current debates about culture, power, war, politics, globalization, the marketplace, and life itself. As Slavoj Zizek writes in his foreword, "Today, the lesson of Laibach is more pertinent than ever."
Monroe uses a variety of theoretical and historical approaches, as is appropriate to the shifting and elusive nature of his subject. The use of theory reflects NSK's own theoretical engagement; it is also a valuable way to read the issues raised by the work. Neither oversimplifying nor uncritically mystifying, Monroe leaves intact the "gaps, contradictions, and shadows" inherent in his subject, demonstrating that "it should still be possible to appreciate the work as art that moves, confuses, agitates, or fascinates."
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