Analogs of Vysotsky

Sat Feb 8 18:14:37 UTC 2014

-Waits doesn't really belong here, he has never been the voice of a generation, he's a California jazz musician turned experimental rocker and folky who writes songs about the down-and-outs and the weirdos. Waits songs are theatrical, they belong on the stage (and have made their way there once or twice) although they often do have recourse to old folk habits.
-If you're looking at sheer impact Marley needs to go a lot higher on that list, he has very disjointed followings but the number of people who listen to his music and the impact it has had on grassroots politics, etc. is surprisingly enormous from a man who died so young.
-As a poet Cohen matches but the music isn't comparable and Cohen was always poet first, musician second.
-I find Springsteen and Elvis difficult just because of their rock and roll, but perhaps in a culturally relative view this is a better match. 

For my money, Marley, Dylan and Lennon really strike me as probably the best choices.

Dorian Jurić, MA
McMaster Univeristy

Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2014 13:52:47 +0000
From: thysentinel at HOTMAIL.COM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Analogs of Vysotsky
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU

I'd love to hear the arguments for Marley.  I know next to nothing about him.

  So let's look at the following list:  

Dylan, Lennon, Morrison, Cash, Waits, Cohen, Marley, Springsteen

Elvis, with the biggest popularity and impact of them all, IMO 
was never really considered a "serious artist / poet" AFAIK (feel free to 
correct me), which excludes him from this conversation (same as, say Michael Jackson).

If I were to rank them IN TERMS OF POPULARITY AND IMPACT, would the ranking be:

1. Lennon.  Universal appeal.  I admit knowing very little about his solo career (I know his Beatles catalog very well).  

2. Dylan.  Much more limited appeal, but his subject matters seem to be closer to Vysotsky's.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2mabTnMHe8

3. Morrison.  Cumulatively (from the beginning and until today) he probably trumps Dylan, but he was never a solo artist, owning at least some of his success to his band, so I have to place him below.  Universal appeal, has the same "dark vibe" as Vysotsky, but was definitely more on the rock side.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSsnugCi_NQ 

4. Cash.  More limited appeal, but seems similar in subject matters.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bwfm7-uNS4

5. Springsteen.  Universal appeal, but more on a rock side.  Was he "deep" enough to be considered a serious poet?

6. Cohen.  Know nothing about him.  From what I've heard, the energy and "power" is not there.  Please fill me in.

7. Marley.  Know nothing about him.

8. Waits.  See "Cohen."  Plus the popularity & impact aren't there.  But his voice surely matches.
???

I'd love to hear ALL reasoning (and some examples too).

Yours truly,
Vadim Astrakhan
www.vvinenglish.com

Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2014 17:03:48 -0800
From: sbishop at WILLAMETTE.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] American Analogs of Vysotsky
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU

He's not American, but I've used Bob Marley as an analogue to Vysotsky.

On Fri, Feb 7, 2014 at 4:50 PM, Sentinel76 Astrakhan <thysentinel at hotmail.com> wrote:

Dear All, I have a question for discussion

In the process of explaining my "Vysotsky in English" project to Americans, I frequently have to explain who Vysotsky is and what is his place in the Russian culture.  Many times I have heard the term "Russian Dylan" thrown around.  In my opinion, there are more differences than similarities.  

Both Vladimir Vysotsky and Bob Dylan were 
exceptional singer-songwriters, who rose to fame in the 60s, played guitar, and brought on social change with their tremendous body of work.   Both wrote highly
 intelligent and politically charged 
poetry.  But in my opinion this is where the similarities end.  
Would
 it be correct to rank the podium of *relevant* American music as 
(1) 
Elvis 
(2) Dylan 
(3) Cash?  
 Or would Springsteen and Morrison crawl in 
there somewhere?

 What do you think?

Vadim Astrakhan
www.vvinenglish.com

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-- 
Sarah Clovis BishopAssistant Professor of RussianWillamette University
sbishop at willamette.edu
503 370 6889

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