One more analog of Vysotsky

[John Dunn]

I must admit I am struggling to see the points of contact between the various people mentioned so far (especially John Lennon) and Vladimir Vysotskij, but that may be more a reflection of my ignorance than anything else.  I could name one or two Italians who might come closer to fitting the bill, but since they are little known outside Italy, there isn't much point.  But it does raise the question why Russia (and Italy and, I suspect, France) produce Vysotskij-like figures, but anglophone cultures, it would seem, generally speaking do not.

On a different topic, at the end of last week  The Guardian published two articles on Russia and how it is perceived in the West.  One is serious, the other rather less so, but both in the different ways may be of interest to members of this list.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/07/russia-putin-sochi-olympic-games
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/07/putin-iron-grip-cant-stop-sochiproblems-going-viral

John Dunn.

_________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Sibelan Forrester [sforres1 at SWARTHMORE.EDU]
Sent: 10 February 2014 14:17
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] One more analog of Vysotsky

This has been a very interesting discussion - as much for the commentary about North American singers as for the information and comments on Vysotsky.

I want to suggest one more analog: Janis Joplin. She died too early, and for all the reasons people have mentioned she isn't adequately comparable with Vysotsky. (Among other things, I doubt most college-age students today have heard of her.) But she has the voice quality right down - makes one's throat hurt just to listen.

Best regards,

Sibelan


--
Sibelan Forrester
Professor of Russian
Modern Languages and Literatures
Swarthmore College

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