“Hair-raising”, indeed

Published: March 19, 2014 at 11:51pm

There’s a promo for Gensa on Facebook: Tema 79, a chorus to celebrate March 1979, when Britain told Mintoff it wouldn’t be renewing its lease on the military base, because it had become redundant, so ta-ta and good luck with that, and Mintoff went into panic mode because now he was left with naval dockyard employing thousands, a workforce heavily geared towards servicing the military base, and beyond that, no rent money.

“Hello, hello, Muammar Gaddafi? It’s Dom Mintoff here. Isma, I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

The person who put up this promo describes it as “hair-raising”. Indeed it is, though s/he clearly meant something else entirely. Oh, the dangers of speaking Manglish.




27 Comments Comment

  1. Dissident says:

    Ray Mahoney… as if his books and poems weren’t enough to bore the sh*t out of our childhood.

  2. The Phoenix says:

    What utter drivel, sung by a choir whose members are quite sartorially challenged. Now that raises some hair on our chests, doesn’t it ?

  3. P Shaw says:

    If Malta was exposed to real news at the time, the Maltese would have learnt that the 70s were crisis years for the UK, they went through various economic restructuring phases, and put in place several austerity measures, including cutting-off redundant military expienditure.

    Mintoff used the wrong period to threaten and bluff with the UK.

  4. edgar says:

    It was meant for the two guys on the left. They are bald.

  5. George Grech says:

    This shouts ‘Mary m’ghandnix x’nambuk’

  6. Natalie says:

    I’m afraid I don’t know what Gensna is all about, since the late eighties were my childhood years.

    I’ve gathered that it has plenty of communist messages, and from this post, that it deals with Jum il-Helsien.

    But was it really about? I’ve tried asking my father a couple of times but he becomes incoherent with anger. So, a quick synopsis would help.

      • Natalie says:

        Right, you still didn’t tell me anything about the actual ‘musical’ or whatever the author prefers to call it.

        Is it history as seen by Mintoffians? Is it fantasy? Is it a love story about two people who lived in 1979? I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking.

        I understand that it passes on plenty of communist messages, and that it apparently takes place in the seventies, but what’s the story?

      • H.P. Baxxter says:

        Then let me educate you, Natalie.

        “Gensna” is a rock opera in the style briefly popular in the 1970s and early 80s, supposedly recounting the 7000 years of Maltese history.

        Only it’s history as written by Mintoffians, namely that the Maltese were poor, ignorant, oppressed masses, imjassrin, eternally colonised by the hated barrani. It skips over the most important phases in Maltese history, the ones that gave us our present-day national identity.

        There are two main musical and lyrical climaxes, which underpin the rest of the musical: one is a ballad stating that the Maltese who died during the Second World War died in vain, because we were only made to fight by the barrani.

        The second is another ballad stating that the expiry of the lease contract for British military installations in Malta is the culminating event of Maltese history, and that after 7000 years of oppression and slavery, the Maltese will henceforth live in a socialist paradise.

        Throughout these 7000 years, the Maltese wore shapeless sackcloth tunics and roughly knotted headbands, as depicted by the infamous Gorg Mallia in the infamous Grajjet Malta. “Gensna” added catsuits, because “Cats” was in.

        If you have any further questions, I’ll be pleased to answer them.

  7. Carmel Said says:

    This “rock opera” should be deleted from the history books, and here we have them re-hashing it again to celebrate a manufactured event. Can we take four more years of this?

  8. Gensna new cast says:

    Yes, whoever is taking care of the page is a bit cuckoo. They’re even giving away who’s singing what and I doubt there will be any surprises left thanks to what they’re doing.

    However, I like the new lineup and am looking forward to listening to the new version. Hopefully, Mary Spiteri won’t be a surprise entry.

    • Manuel says:

      There is nothing “new” in this version, except maybe for the cast.

      It stinks of Malta Socjalista of the 70s, which is hardly “new” – a mentality that is still lurking within the echelons of Dar tal-Hgieg , the cradle of Progressive and Liberal thought.

  9. Manuel says:

    I was actually disgusted by the way the director and founder (or co-founder) of this Gospel Choir was promoting this Gensna farce.

    Should a Gospel Choir get involved in communist-era-style taparsi-musical? I don’t think so; at least, not in 2014.

  10. Dolores says:

    They obviously translated the expression “tqajjimlek gismek sufa sufa”.

    Seriously, who can blame anyone for losing the will to live?

  11. il-Ginger says:

    Another ‘hare’-raising tale about the hairy red monster.

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/77/Gossamer_restored.jpg

  12. Gurnalizmu Fuq Kollox says:

    And why is no one mentioning the fact that Lou Bondi is behind this? Quick to switch ships, apparently.

    I remember him being pro-PN until election eve. Did he leave his values/beliefs at your home, Daphne?

    I wouldn’t rule out seeing him play his guitar on stage at some point.

  13. RoyB says:

    Can’t. Stop. Yawning.

  14. pablo says:

    “Gensna” is not an rock opera but a propaganda tool used by Mintoffians to create the myth that the Labour Party was still a workers’ party rooted in nationalism.

    Muscat’s foreign policy is based on the Gensna sentiment. He was and is still anti-EU, the only difference being that today, he has found a way (so he thinks) of exploiting the EU from inside the EU.

    And it is so ironic that if we were not in the EU, China would not have given Muscat the time to drop his pants. And I say this although I am heterosexual, Mrs Mizzi.

  15. just me says:

    “Din l-art taghna, tal-Maltin”… u tal-barranin kollha li jixtru passaport Malti..

    https://www.facebook.com/GensnaOfficial/photos/a.1450405095190798.1073741828.1450061641891810/1459674294263878/?type=1&theater

  16. Sister Ray says:

    The tune for first-time Viagra users.

  17. Jozef says:

    Does Matthew Vella have to look for the story ‘behind’ every tragedy?

    And how is it he anticipates police investigations?

  18. bob-a-job says:

    Even more hair-raising.

    Turkey: Is Law Being Rigged to Help Azerbaijan’s SOCAR?

    http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68167

    Socar is one of the companies that forms part of Electrogas Malta along with Gasol, GEM Holdings Ltd and Siemens Projects Ventures.

  19. M. Cassar says:

    “hair-raising”
    synonyms: terrifying, frightening, petrifying, alarming, chilling, horrifying, shocking, scaring, spine-chilling, blood-curdling, appalling, dreadful, fearsome, nightmarish

  20. gens maqsum says:

    Dan kollu qed issir ghax ghadhom ma jistux inizlu l-Indipendenza. Hamsin sena mit twelid ta nazzjon u biex ixejnuha qeghdin joholqu anniversarji ta avvenimenti ohra li ma jaghmlux sens peress li huma anniversarju komuni.
    Partit Laburista ma jinbidel QATT! Kif jghid il proverbju Malti, hanzir taqtalu denbu hanzir jibqa.

  21. Joe Fenech says:

    So is that why Muscat listens to this in loop?

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