Analogs of Vysotsky - III

[Sentinel76 Astrakhan]

Some more replies.
I wanted to add a few points to my comparison of Vysotsky to Kurt Cobain. Although they may not have too many "items on the checklist" in common, I think that Cobain is uniquely suited to explain the concept of "nadryv" to current American students. Dylan and Cash don't quite accomplish the same level of vocal angst or self-abnegation, in my opinion. The voices of Marley, Simon and others sound much too sweet.  (Masha Kisel)
I will try to do my best to keep my personal preferences out of this.  IMO mentioning Cobain in the same sentence as Vysotsky is a grave insult to the latter.  Scream alone is not enough:  this has been preferred way of vocalizing since the 1960s, thoroughly perfected by heavy metal.  Poetically they are not in the same galaxy.  Intellectually, philosophically, artistically, theatrically... there is just no comparison.  As far as "self-abnegation":  I don't know what you're talking about, as Vysotsky displayed none.  He knew his worth perfectly.

This is all subjective of course (did Vysotsky ever write anything as cool as "Atlantic City," "Tower of Song" or "Heart-Shaped Box"? etc.).  As for cultural impact, the various subgenres of American music rarely ever reach out to everybody--in a sense that's part of their power. Kurt Cobain, who in concert could destroy pretty much everything and everybody on a good night, arguably spoke to just about every disaffected white kid in America under the age of 25 back in the 1990s; (Matt Walker)
FWIW "Heart-Shaped Box" was single-handedly my most hated song of the early 90s, and to ask if "Vysotsky ever write anything as cool as "Heart-Shaped Box"? adds salt to the wound, because I know Vysotsky never wrote anything as hideous.  Plus, I don't think a hundred Cobains could possibly destroy Vysotsky in concert.  All Vysotsky had to do was sing his "Wolfhunt," and Kurt would have been begging for his autograph.

I would add that the lack of longevity you associate with some of the artists above is actually testament to the vibrancy of the American tradition--someone new always comes along who does it differently, if not better. In the late 1980s you used to hear Led Zeppelin on the radio constantly in America, people were still buying their albums like they had just come out yesterday a full ten years after they broke up, but that had less to do with their greatness than with the fact that mainstream rock music here was more or less in a creative rut. Kurt Cobain is probably most important in rock history for dragging all of that above the floorboards, so to speak. (Matt Walker)
What you call "vibrancy," I would call "fickleness," but luckily, it's not true.  Beatles, Doors, LZ, PF, and GnR are still very frequently played on the radio, and people still dig them very much.  Nirvana -- not really.  America still loves its past heroes.  Again, the longevity of Cobain's impact was extremely short-lived:  it barely outlived grunge as a genre, and white angry kids soon got another idol of similar intellectual prowess, Eminem.  In fact, it is pretty obvious to me that even Bob Marley's longevity is far superior to Cobain's.


if George Bush Sr. had been able to respond to Nirvana like you say Brezhnev responded to Vysotsky, then Cobain would have been doing something wrong.  (Matt Walker)
So at least we are clear on Cobain's limited appeal?


Would someone explain to me why "Brezhnev responded to Vysotsky" is saying something good about Vysotsky?   It reminds me of those pins showing Nixon and Elvis together.  I was there at the time (i.e., alive and conscious then) and I never thought it was saying anything positive about either one.
By the way, apropo of nothing, Hitler liked dogs. (Jules Levin)

I am not sure what is to be "explained" here.  When an artist's work appeals to everybody (and, in Vysotsky's and Elvis's case, I mean "EVERYBODY"), it has greater cultural impact than an artist's work that appeals to a select group of cockney misfits, Greenwich Village intellectuals, or inner city kids.  If Brezhnev adored the man who, with every word he screamed, defied his regime, it clearly adds to the merits of that man's work.  It truly takes great art to overcome political and societal conflicts and hostilities and unify people of all lifestyles and beliefs, even momentarily.
What does Hitler's love for dogs have to do with anything?
Have a great week!
Vadim
 		 	   		  
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