Nationalteatern - "Livet är en fest" (1974)

The Swedish political 70s band Nationalteatern's (The National Theater) second album and their big breakthrough. Already in my youth / early adulthood, when the band's music was played in various party contexts, it was music from the past. Today even more so. The political and / or socially realistic music tends to age a faster than the standard rock n'roll about love and lust. At the same time, the songs become quite fun and interesting time documents, and today's young listeners can get a little insight into the political engagement of the 1970s in Sweden (which leaned heavily to the left).

On the album several of the band's classics are found, of course the title song Livet är en fest (Life's a party), but also others such as Hanna from Arlöv (Hanna from Arlöv), Bängen trålar (slang for the police are searching/watching), Speedy Gonzales and several other more or less known songs for the public. When I listened to this in my younger years, the political message was secondary. Instead, me and my friends heard songs about alcohol and drugs that in our ears were more like tributes to these substances. Somewhere in my mind, I knew there was probably some kind of societal criticism in the texts, but I chose to ignore that. Just like most others who listened to Nationalteatern a few decades after the creation of songs, in a new and different society with other issues and political ideologies.

A good example of selective listening was Bängen trålar. In the first verses it is sung about where to find weed in Gothenburg, and how you chill in the September sun smoking this. Cool. When later on they begin to sing about the societal system and how those who have money are protected and never convicted of crimes, well, then it became less interesting. Skip to the next song. Every time I visited Gothenburg in my younger years, I was very curious about Näckrosdammen, Vasaparken and Femman's square, where you would find weed, according to the song. Speedy Gonzales was another song, where every form of criticism of someone or something was completely missed, and the song's message instead was about turning on and smoking weed.

In the Swedish 70s political music scene I have always thought Nationalteatern were one of the better bands. They wrote good songs, and could play on their instruments. So I think this album is fairly good. A lot of groovy songs, where Plast's sång is one of the favorites today, although the lyrics in general are quite outdated. It's somewhat difficult to identify with much of what the songs explore. In the 1970s, the class struggle, the communist ideology and the anger against the bourgeoisie were a larger part of the debate than today, it seems. At the same time, it makes the music quite fun to listen to, a time capsule. It is with different ears I hear this today than when I was 20 years old. Both perspectives have their charm. The album is part of Swedish music history, and has its place in the collection.


Tracklist

Side A
1. "Jack the Ripper" 4:48
2. "Plast's sång" 3:44
3. "Stena Olssons Compagnie" 3:07
4. "Mr. John Carlos" 6:43
5. "Innerst Inne" 3:16

Side B
1. "Livet är en fest" 4:16
2. "Speedy Gonzales" 4: 9
3. "Paradisets berg" 2:01
4. "Lägg av!" 2:28
5. "Hanna från Arlöv" 3:41
6. "Bängen trålar" 4:15