Long time ago, long time - long time ago
Long time ago, long time - long time ago
Long time ago the times when at the end of every tunnel there was always a bright light to be seen, while today, often already brushed by fate, one looks more and more at already mowed meadows. Even the furrows that one still draws oneself are no longer as deep and fertile as they used to be. It is now less about winning new harvests and more about defending the status quo! And more and more often, I am left with a queasy feeling in my stomach, as if I had just torn off the pull tab while unsuccessfully trying to open a can!
Long time ago is the first release of the well-known hit by the group BAB from 1981. Its lyrics are very touching and are almost predestined to deal with the past. While Niedecken was dealing with the death of his father, I reflect here on past times and a bit of a retrospective on that. The song and the perfume to be discussed, Open by Roger & Gallet, are children of the 80s, transformative years in the West and the East, and an important and formative part of my life memories too!
Long time ago the year 1980 when the Greens were founded, 1989 was the end of the GDR. In between were the Falklands War, AIDS, Chernobyl, Challenger explosion, Perestroika, Ramstein air disaster, home computers and CDs, Lindenstraße, Dallas, Neue Deutsche Welle, Hip-Hop, aerobics, mullet hairstyles, carrot pants, leggings, and Schimanski.
Long time ago my beautiful, carefree childhood and the eventful school years when with the beginning of the 80s and the start of military service, the beginning of the "seriousness of life" also knocked on my door. It was the time when many first stakes of one’s own life were driven in, studies, marriage, the birth of children, starting a career, moving, breaks and upheavals.
Long time ago the year 1985 when Open by Roger & Gallet set a very distinctive perfume stake of the 80s. This scent fits like no other into this time and is clearly an adult perfume, rough, bitter, masculine, and dry. At the beginning, you are presented with the full force, lemony soapiness and herb-dominated spiciness with hearty lavender sprinkles. As mentioned, everything is completely dry and without noticeable sweetness. Soon, a strong yet pleasant barbershop atmosphere sets in, which is quickly captured by herbal tobacco. This tobacco develops into the predominantly determining scent element, first rather herbal-green, later increasingly darker, more robust, and earthy-powerful.
Long time ago the year when I lost my heart to a perfume hit of the 80s and it was not Open. But Open by Roger & Gallet has become a good friend to me since I got to know it, long after the reunification. After the rather stormy opening, a more protective impression now spreads. The scent becomes warmer, woody notes break through, the smell becomes softer, gentler, and very pleasant. All steadily accompanied by now dark-spicy and quite bitter tobacco notes, which have not lost all the freshness of the beginning and also remind a bit of mossy, damp earth. This overall conveys a distinctly masculine, old-school feeling, somewhat old-fashioned but very striking!
Long time ago that the word conservative also had a positive connotation. With Open by Roger & Gallet, it has found a fitting scent counterpart from the very beginning. Open does not incite a revolution or changes, but it is a guarantee to remind us in retrospect that while not everything was better in the past, much was also quite good and it is worth preserving.
Long time ago that I thanked you for your tireless reading! So, thank you very much!
"You have to face the truth, the random success of 'Long time ago' is, of course, that everyone interprets their own story into it." (Wolfgang Niedecken)
It's hard for me to grasp that all of this happened so long ago, because the more I delve into the past, the more present it feels. I don't have any shared history with Open; I've never encountered it. It's a pity, as your description makes me think I would have liked it. But if I ever get a whiff of it and enjoy it, it could turn the past into the future...
Evocative comment! I was just a kid in the early 80s, but I followed everything closely; that’s why it brought back memories for me too! With BAP, I didn’t understand the Kölsch and didn’t find the music that innovative.
Yes, there was more movement and more visions for the future in the 80s. But there was also fear of nuclear war, future environmental disasters, etc. The dark side of the coin. But yes, it’s tougher now because it feels like we’re only acting defensively-preserving democracy, etc. But that might also have something to do with getting older...
Oh, and the scent sounds great!
Your personal story with the zeitgeist and fragrance experience is described perfectly, capturing the scent impression so well!
Pokaaal :-)
And I'm still looking for Open...
Thank you for this journey back to the 80s and your past. I really enjoyed reading it. It's a very personal and successful statement that also presents a fragrance in a very intriguing way. Oh, and the early 80s really feels like ages ago...
"Back then, we used to say that **bap** makes you tired... I never liked it, and that goes for the always moralizing singer too... well, it's a matter of taste! I really like **open**, and I like your comment too!"
I'm not familiar with the scent, but I do know BAP and of course Verdamp long ago. I also enjoy reminiscing about earlier times, especially the 80s! I really enjoyed reading your very personal and simply beautiful comment. ;-)
Oh, that brings back memories. It was such a special time. Just finished high school, then backpacking around the world... and this scent. It couldn't be more fitting. - Beautifully described!
Beautiful wordplay supported by broad general knowledge. You have a talent for connecting olfactory impressions with historical context and describing them beautifully. Thank you for that, and here's a trophy for you :-)
Great review from you! And everything you mentioned....."a long time ago" I love, I'll have that in my head all day now ;) And I really enjoyed the good Schimanski with his old Ford - I used to have one like that too. You might also like "When she hears this tango."
You can gauge the quality of your review by the fact that Kölsch (the beer too, but I mean the dialect) and BAP cause me actual physical pain, so I had to wince in agony at every "verdamp" - and I still read the whole text to the end!
A powerful piece of writing - philosophical, personal, authentic. And very touching. Brilliantly intertwined with the wonderful fragrance description. I don't know the perfume, but that doesn't matter to me with such a great comment. Thank you for taking me back to the '80s, as they were and how you experienced them, and for your always worthwhile reviews!
I absolutely loved traveling back in time with you and reminiscing about the charm, simplicity, and ease of the 80s. Such a great era, a surely amazing fragrance to go with it, and a fantastic review!!
A great trip down memory lane, unfortunately I don't know the scent. I think back to it fondly. Final exams, driver's license, my own apartment. Celebrating until the doctor comes. It was amazing.
What a beautiful journey through time you invite us on, bringing back so many memories. For me, a men's fragrance from that era will always be the classic Lagerfeld. I don't consciously know Open - but maybe I would recognize it. A wonderful quote that comes to mind is from our amazing Jochen Malmsheimer: “Not everything was better in the past - but a lot was good.” Thank you for the review!
A friend and the biggest BAB fan of all time took me to a concert and backstage once, and your review just catapulted me back to my youth. You did an excellent job of embedding the scent description of this fine fragrance in a historical and personal context. Thank you!
I really like the biographical connection to the scent. I'm a child of the 80s and have my own milestones from that time. BAP was never really my thing, but I associate their music with a few wild teenage parties. Those were good times - thanks for the reminder!
What a great recap, woven into a successful review of a fragrance I'm not familiar with, but can now easily imagine. Very nicely described again, I really enjoyed reading it :)
Wow, thank you so much for this beautiful journey through time! It was all before my time, but I listened intently and felt every bit of it. It's always nice to have a companion that reminds us of our roots and the past. Great review!
And again, a very nice, thoughtful review from you. It's a pleasure to read this from you. And the scent could be one that I want to have again. But, I already have sooo many, sigh.
The 80s were "my decade" - so much happened, both good and not so good, but the overall vibe in society was change, not stagnation, which I often feel today. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Back then, I wasn't a fan of BAP, but I am now! I'd love to catch a whiff of the scent you described so beautifully; your wonderful comment has already given me a great idea of it!
Beautiful retro perspective. An interesting vintage, the first boyfriend and all… I don’t know the scent at all, thanks for bringing it closer and for the memories!
The song always had a special place on our playlist, even though we were kids of the 90s, whenever we met in the basement just to chat, etc. Great comment and a good suggestion for tomorrow's work playlist.
Wow, I think it's great how you connect topics! And it's fitting for the current date. Long live time travel! (But I'm really annoyed because of this earworm now ;-)
It's been a long time... thank you for this trip down memory lane... the '80s had so many fragrances. Perfume wasn't really a part of my life back then :)
Great comment! The scent sounds very beautiful and classic. BAP is really not my thing, but the fragrance - I'm sure of it - is definitely more my style :-)
It's nice that you remind us that not everything in the 80s was bad; our memories can sometimes be a bit distorted. And yes, not everything was better back then, but some things were good!
I really enjoyed accompanying you on this journey .. 1984: Between pretzels and beer .. station cinema, Jojo, Alexandra .. I could recite them by heart and didn’t understand half of it .. the following year, Lecture Hall 1 at the university smelled like Poison and all-nighters .. thanks for this lovely review!
What a great comment! It brings back memories! And as someone with a very sensitive nose, I can even sniff out the scent you describe so well. Wow... I’ll just leave a trophy here!
It's been a long time... since I thought about BAP. But they were really something. The perfumes back then were amazing too. Your reflection is beautiful, a bit nostalgic, but not at all cloying. Just like the scent you describe.
Thank you for this lovely trip down memory lane to the shoulder pad decade (those that always slipped)! Unfortunately, I never got to know this fragrance (at least not consciously), as I was struggling with my many teenage issues ;) But 1989 was a great year for me too (not just for East Germany :D) Your reviews are always exciting, insightful, and a joy to read!
I was a kindergarten and elementary school kid in the eighties. Thanks for this lovely trip down your memory lane. I never liked BAP, but I had so many other heroes from that time. Unfortunately, I don't know the scent.
Yes, the 80s, a vibrant time, full of history and strong scents. I don't know Open and won't get to know it since it's been discontinued. You've given the fragrance a lovely tribute here.
The 80s were really packed with fateful events. And the fragrances had a boldness that was unmatched. On one hand, it feels like a long time ago, but it's still present.
I can't remember the scent anymore. I never really connected with the song, but that's beside the point. Your time travel experience really resonated with me.
I started school in the early '80s... really a long time ago! ;-) The scent seems to be a classic, robust men's fragrance through and through... Great, thought-provoking text with an exciting fragrance description.
Thank you for this lovely post about this perfume, which I've had my eye on for a long time as a blind buy. After your detailed and appealing description, I'm sure I would like the scent as well.
I don't know the scent yet, but it seems to have that beautiful and classic vibe.
Yes, there was more movement and more visions for the future in the 80s. But there was also fear of nuclear war, future environmental disasters, etc. The dark side of the coin. But yes, it’s tougher now because it feels like we’re only acting defensively-preserving democracy, etc. But that might also have something to do with getting older...
Oh, and the scent sounds great!
Pokaaal :-)
And I'm still looking for Open...
Thank you for that 💓
I won't say more about it.
My absolute favorite also comes from 1985. Just a fantastic year!
(But I'm really annoyed because of this earworm now ;-)
And the best part is: sometimes, though rather rarely, you can still find it online, right? :-)
I can't remember the scent anymore. I never really connected with the song, but that's beside the point. Your time travel experience really resonated with me.
The scent seems to be a classic, robust men's fragrance through and through...
Great, thought-provoking text with an exciting fragrance description.