The Books of Knjige
Encyclopedia
The Books of Knjige is the name of the Montenegrin
alternative rock band and comedy troupe from Cetinje
, also known as TBOK, Booksovci or Buksovci. It consists 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
. Their name, "The Books of Knjige" is an absurd for itself, since knjige means books in Montenegrin language
. They are also registered as an NGO in Montenegro
.
, Montenegro
. 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 Radio Cetinje.
for its allegedly controversial content. Their genre is alternative rock
, 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
in 2007, titled "Ja suludan neću biti" ("I Won't Be Crazy").
In 1998, they have signed a contract with Radio Antena M
, 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
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.
and IN TV. Their shows are a mix of satire
and paradox
, often compared to the works of Bosnian troop Top Lista Nadrealista
and widely popular Monty Python
.
List of TV shows:
. They used to be supporters of former LSCG
and independence of Montenegro. They are also harsh critics of the Serbian Orthodox Church
, especially Metropolitan Amfilohije
, who is a frequent target of their sarcasm. Besides SOC, regular targets of criticism are all political parties, including the Montenegrin Government
, privatization process in Montenegro, turbo folk singers, and many other public persons and current controversies in Montenegrin society. Their political views are decisive and publicly expressed continuously, although mostly in a humoristic fashion.
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
alternative rock band and comedy troupe from Cetinje
Cetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
, also known as TBOK, Booksovci or Buksovci. It consists 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
Radio Antena M
Antena M is a radio station in Montenegro, one of the most popular in the country. The president and owner of the station is Darko Šuković, a prominent Montenegrin journalist...
. Their name, "The Books of Knjige" is an absurd for itself, since knjige means books in Montenegrin language
Montenegrin language
Montenegrin is a name used for the Serbo-Croatian language as spoken by Montenegrins; it also refers to an incipient standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian used as the official language of Montenegro...
. They are also registered as an NGO in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
.
Early life
Members of this troupe grew up as close friends in CetinjeCetinje
Cetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. 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 Radio Cetinje.
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 RTCGRTCG
Radio Television of Montenegro is the public broadcasting organization of Montenegro...
for its allegedly controversial content. Their genre is alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, 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
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
Government's anti-drug campaign. They also recorded a duet with Edo Maajka
Edo Maajka
Edin Osmić , better known by his stage name Edo Maajka, is a Bosnian rapper. His stage name literally means "Edo the Mother".-Early life:...
in 2007, titled "Ja suludan neću biti" ("I Won't Be Crazy").
Moja Domovina
- "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 Radio Antena M
Radio Antena M
Antena M is a radio station in Montenegro, one of the most popular in the country. The president and owner of the station is Darko Šuković, a prominent Montenegrin journalist...
, 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
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
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.
Fictional Characters
Some of the recurring fictional characters from the TBOK radio serial:- Gardaš, a brutal police officer from CetinjeCetinjeCetinje , Цетиње / Cetinje , Italian: Cettigne, Greek: Κετίγνη, Ketígni) is a town and Old Royal Capital of Montenegro. It is also a historical and the secondary capital of Montenegro , with the official residence of the President of Montenegro...
. - Miško Ajkula, a MontenegrinMontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
gastarbeiterGastarbeiterGastarbeiter is German for "guest worker." It refers to migrant workers who had moved to West Germany mainly in the 1960s and 70s, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker programme...
living and working in NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. - Śako Pejaković
- Bruca Supar, a talk show host.
- Ljušto Strušar , a gastarbeiter and famous musician
- Šljušto Strušar, personal driver of Mr.Ljušto
- Struhar and Lokner, noisy handymen
Television
The Books of Knjige have recorded multiple TV comedy shows, broadcast on Montenegrin TV channels, RTCGRTCG
Radio Television of Montenegro is the public broadcasting organization of Montenegro...
and IN TV. Their shows are a mix of satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
and paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
, often compared to the works of Bosnian troop Top Lista Nadrealista
Top lista nadrealista
Top lista nadrealista also known as Nadrealisti was a comedy radio broadcast on Radio Sarajevo during early 1980s and later a sketch comedy and variety show on TV Sarajevo in three separate installments from 1984 until 1991.'Top lista nadrealista' started as a segment on Boro Kontić's programme...
and widely popular Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
.
List of TV shows:
- TBOK Top Volley (parody on a popular TV lottery)
- Agrosaznanje 1 (parody on an RTCGRTCGRadio Television of Montenegro is the public broadcasting organization of Montenegro...
agriculture show, part 1) - Agrosaznanje 2 (parody on an RTCGRTCGRadio Television of Montenegro is the public broadcasting organization of Montenegro...
agriculture show, part 2) - "O Porijeklu Crnogoraca" ("About the Montenegrins' Ancestry")
- "Emisija Koja Ide na Televiziju Poneđeljkom oko 9 uvečeEmisija Koja Ide na Televiziju Poneđeljkom oko 9 uvečeEmisija Koja Ide na Televiziju Poneđeljkom oko 9 uveče also known as Booksovci was a sketch comedy that was broadcast on RTCG during 2004....
"("Show That Goes on Television on Mondays Around 9 p.m.") - Novogodišnji Kalendar ("New Year Calendar")
- Novogodisnji Program (parody on several IN TV shows)
Political Views and Beliefs
The troupe members declare themselves as Montenegrins by nationality, and also consider themselves speakers of the Montenegrin languageMontenegrin language
Montenegrin is a name used for the Serbo-Croatian language as spoken by Montenegrins; it also refers to an incipient standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian used as the official language of Montenegro...
. They used to be supporters of former LSCG
Liberal Alliance of Montenegro
The Liberal Alliance of Montenegro was a liberal political party in Montenegro. The party used to be a member of Liberal International....
and independence of Montenegro. They are also harsh critics of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
, especially Metropolitan Amfilohije
Amfilohije Radovic
Amfilohije Radović is the current Metropolitan of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, Archbishop of Cetinje.His role in the Yugoslav Wars is considered controversial.- Biography :...
, who is a frequent target of their sarcasm. Besides SOC, regular targets of criticism are all political parties, including the Montenegrin Government
Government of Montenegro
The Government of Montenegro is the executive branch of state authority in Montenegro. It is headed by the prime minister. It comprises the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers as well as ministers....
, privatization process in Montenegro, turbo folk singers, and many other public persons and current controversies in Montenegrin society. Their political views are decisive and publicly expressed continuously, although mostly in a humoristic fashion.
See also
- Monty PythonMonty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
- Top Lista NadrealistaTop lista nadrealistaTop lista nadrealista also known as Nadrealisti was a comedy radio broadcast on Radio Sarajevo during early 1980s and later a sketch comedy and variety show on TV Sarajevo in three separate installments from 1984 until 1991.'Top lista nadrealista' started as a segment on Boro Kontić's programme...
- Radio Antena MRadio Antena MAntena M is a radio station in Montenegro, one of the most popular in the country. The president and owner of the station is Darko Šuković, a prominent Montenegrin journalist...