American Analogs of Vysotsky

[Josh Wilson]

Part of Vystosky's fame came from the fact that he was he was also an
incredible actor of stage and screen - including giving one of the most
internationally renowned performances of Hamlet of his generation - if not
the 20th century.

 

I often include discussion of Vystosky and the bards anytime we have
students on Arbat - I don't think there is a single analogue and I usually
tell the students to imagine Dylan, Elvis, Jim Morrison, and James Dean in
the same person. and then fill in explanation about what his music meant,
how it was distributed, and the crowds of people that still gather at
Moscow's two monuments to him on his birth and death days to remember him by
singing his songs. 

 

I do think that it is apples and oranges - but if you are trying to describe
an orange to someone who has never seen one, you have be creative. Hopefully
Vystotsky, Spasibo chto zhivoi will come out with subtitles - then you can
just hand a copy of the film to folks. That may help. J

 

 

Josh Wilson
Assistant Director
The School of Russian and Asian Studies
Editor in Chief
Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
SRAS.org 
jwilson at sras.org

 

 

From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Sentinel76 Astrakhan
Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2014 4:50 AM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] American Analogs of Vysotsky

 

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. 

Vysotsky destroys Dylan in terms of sheer impact and popularity:  even
though both can be reasonably called "Voice of Their Generation," Vysotsky
was also one of five most important cultural figures in 20th Century Russia,
while Dylan never really reached that level. As far as I can tell, Dylan
mostly awed American intellectuals, while Vysotsky was adored by everybody,
from President Brezhnev to the last bum in the street.  And, of course,
Dylan was no match for Vysotsky's performing skills:  Vysotsky would blow
him off the stage without breaking a sweat.  Vysotsky also gets a benefit of
not having the "tail end of a career" that many rock musicians fall victim
to.

Naturally, I think it's wise to limit this discussion to their respective
countries to even the playing field (otherwise, Dylan's English language
makes him far more international than Vysotsky).

So is there anybody in American culture who would match Vysotsky's

a.  Songwriting skills
b.  Performing skills
c.  Success
d.  Cultural status

?

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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