Editorial

Mediterranean, Our Own: (Post-)Yugoslav Pop Music

Abstract

In one episode of the popular British Tv series Midsomer Murders, Inspector Barnaby and his assistant Troy are puzzled by the murder of a woman and her lover. When Troy expresses his opinion that the woman’s husband must be the murderer, the inspetor surprisingly asks him what could be the motive. When Troy answers, “Jealousy. A crime of passion. He kills his wife, then he kills her lover,” Inspector Barnaby doubtfully concludes: “sounds very Mediterranean, Troy.”

According to this stereotype, “Mediterranean” means passion, excitement, the expression of intense feelings and, as against British reticence and understatement, a “southern mentality” as depicted in verismo operas. However, any attempt to define the Mediterranean in a precise way remains incomplete, or even leads to the conclusion that it does not exist at all.