Video from Olympics opening
Josh Wilson
jwilson at SRAS.ORG
Mon Feb 10 13:49:12 UTC 2014
http://tinyurl.com/o473xeo
Hopefully it works outside of Russia, but Telekanal Rossiya has all 2.5
hours available in a single block on its site.
(I've "tinyed" the url so that email programs won't break it...
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
-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Vladimir Orlov
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 4:58 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Video from Olympics opening
Dear Linda,
you may try this: http://rutube.ru/video/fb473dbe60a6cb13024daea753bfc8b4/
You will have to search for the other parts;
if this does not open outside Russia, try using hidemyass.com . Sorry for
the foul word, but this resourse have always been reliable so far.
Of course, this video is in some details different from what was shown for
the outsiders; but all omissions are easily found on the same rutube channel
as well..
Sincerely,
On 10 February 2014 16:48, Linda Scatton <linda.scatton at gmail.com> wrote:
> I missed the opening ceremony for the Sochi Olympics. Does anyone know
> of a site where I can view the whole sequence? I've found only snippets so
far.
>
> Linda Scatton
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Feb 9, 2014, at 11:41 PM, "Carr, Christopher"
> <christopher_carr at BROWN.EDU> wrote:
>
> I would like to echo how interesting this discussion has been. Thanks,
> everyone! Enjoying all of the suggestions/comments in this thread. A
> couple more points:
>
> 1. As has been noted, it probably isn't possible to come up with an
> exact parallel to Vysotsky. If pressed, I would vote for Dylan. One of
> the original criticisms against this was that Dylan only spoke to the
> American intelligentsia while Vysotsky's influence was more universal in
the USSR.
> That may be true (although others in this list have written about
> Dylan's broad influence, with which I agree), but it could be argued
> that they were both speaking to the same audience. This depends on the
> definition of "intelligentsia," but if that term is defined broadly as
> those who are socially and politically conscious, then Vysotsky spoke to
the same people.
> The only difference is that there were many more Soviet citizens into
> that category than Americans. In any case, I think it's wrong to
> compare the influence and talent levels of Vysotsky and Dylan et al. I
> don't think anyone could possibly have had the same influence in
> America that Vysotsky did in the USSR. Attention is pulled in too many
> different directions over here (but it's fun to hear everyone argue
> for their favorites!). I don't mean this as an insult, but there's a
> reason why there are 8-10 American/British artists on that list and only
one Soviet.
>
> 2. In terms of more contemporary comparisons, several have mentioned
> Cobain as the best parallel to Vysotsky. Cobain and Nirvana were great
> and hugely influential; there is no denying that. And it is impossible
> to say what they might have done post-1994 (although I don't think
> very much). But the most appropriate comparison is actually Eddie
> Vedder and Pearl Jam. Some might balk at this, as Pearl Jam was
> grossly miscategorized as the sellout, commercial version of
> Nirvana/grunge. But this is simply not true. In terms of the criteria
> identified by the original posting (poetics, voice, performance,
> influence, etc...Sorry, I don't remember them exactly.), then Vedder
> completely blows Cobain out of the water. (Chris Cornell was better
> than Cobain, too.) Nirvana was great. But Pearl Jam was always better.
> They had better lyrics/poetics and better music/musicians. Vedder's
> voice is light years better (better than most, not just Cobain's). Pearl
Jam was more popular (then and now) and they were more socially and
politically active.
> Cobain didn't even seem like he liked his own fans. And in terms of
> performance, Pearl Jam killed it every night with their philosophy of
> not having a set list -- there is no better band out there, even
> today. I would invite you to watch the excellent documentary "Pearl
> Jam Twenty," (streaming on Netflix and also on YouTube) released in
> 2011 to mark the band's twenty-year anniversary, which tells the story
> of the band's origins, influences, spiritual/political/social conscience,
and global popularity.
> They came onto the scene as the best band in the early 90s, and they
> have evolved and matured into the best band out there today.
>
> This brings up a contentious point regarding the scope of all of these
> singers'/bands' influences. It was mentioned earlier that we should
> only consider influence in the band's home country. But the
> technological/information explosion of the last decade should not be
> ignored, not to mention the insane number of entertainment choices
> that there are today, along with the general erosion of attention
> spans. In terms of influence, I'm not sure that there will ever be
> another purely American or Russian or (insert nationality) act in the
> same way as those in previous generations, for the above reasons and
> because the focus is so overly global today. Now, artists can
> skyrocket to fame, but the masses will most likely turn their
> attention away just as quickly. Again, there is no telling what
> Nirvana might have done, but Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam are still
> massively popular all over the world. And their stuff is just better.
Always was, still is. Take a listen.
>
> Best, Chris
>
>
> On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 10:46 PM, Sentinel76 Astrakhan
> <thysentinel at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> 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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--
Dr. Vladimir Orlov
PhD in Musicology (Cantab)
Associate Professor, Smolny-Bard College Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences,
St. Petersburg State University http://spbu.academia.edu/VladimirOrlov
Trustee for Cultural and Artistic Affairs, Russian Cambridge Foundation
www.russiancambridge.org
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