In defense of Vysotsky

Tue Feb 11 06:54:03 UTC 2014

Dear Yevgeniy:

I suspect you haven't heard enough of Vysotsky to make generalizations like this.

> From my point of view Vysotsky is a first rate author of 
comical songs. Such masterpieces as "Mishka Shifman", "Razgovor pered 
televizorom, "Tatuirovka", "Lektsiia o mezhdunarodnom polozhenii v 
vytrezvitele", and some others  will stay in Russian culture. His war 
and "criminal" songs are of less importance.  

For one:  says who?  I believe exactly the opposite.  His humor was definitely superb, but it's his "serious" songs that make him still relevant.  In fact, nothing ages faster than humor.  Also, you know he had songs that were NOT "comical," "war," or "criminal," right?

Over the years, I have come across a curious phenomenon.  Many Russian people, even those calling themselves "fans of Vysotsky," have rather limited knowledge of the scope of his work.  They have heard his early "blatnye" songs, some humorous songs, songs from "The Vertical," maybe "Alice in Wonderland," plus the omni-present "Wolfhunt" and "Horses."  Songs that truly constitute his philosophical legacy and put him in the realm of world-class poetry have escaped them for several reasons.  They were written later, with fewer performances and fewer recordings remaining.  Vysotsky did not perform them as much as his "hits," because they were too heavy, too antagonistic and he couldn't risk playing them in concerts before the unfamiliar audience.  And so on.  "Someone Spotted a Fruit," "Life Flew By," "A Grand Mistake," "History of Illness," "The Herbarium," "My Destiny," "The Highwayman's Song" (Razboinichia), and so on.

As for his acting:  do you seriously not see the difference between Bengalsky from "Opasnye Gastroli," Moor Ibrahim, Zheglov, and Don Juan?  Sure, he was type-cast, but come on!

Alexei:  fortunately, you are in the minority.  Vysotsky's melodies were second to none in the catchiness department.  In fact, with all their poetic genius, they would not have been nearly as successful, if they weren't instantly memorable.

Matthew:  why would I ask Chuck D ANYTHING? :)  Your treatment of Elvis sounds a little revisionist, but then again:  it has been over 60 years since his prime, it's hard to stay relevant for that long.  I did hear my coworker listen to Elvis two days ago, and she is not even forty.

Cheers,
Vadim

> Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 03:58:53 +0000
> From: Yevgeniy.Slivkin at DU.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Analogs of Vysotsky - IV
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> 
> Dear Alexei,
> 
> 
> As for his acting, he is a typical "star" who remains almost the same in each role he plays.  Galileo, Hamlet, Zhiglov are still Vladimir Vysotsky with his powerful stage presence and machismo. That is to say that he is not at all a great actor.  He was an actor of a rather narrow scope, although very charming one.  
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Yevgeny Slivkin
> University of Denver
>    
> ________________________________________
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] on behalf of Alexei Bogdanov [alexei.bogdanov at COLORADO.EDU]
> Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 6:57 PM
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Analogs of Vysotsky - IV
> 
> This is a very interesting discussion.  I grew up in Moscow in the late 70s where, I’m happy to admit, lots of people listened to Vysotsky’s songs.  I did not and I still don’t, regardless of the improved sound quality.  I could see his macho charm but I just didn’t find in his songs what I needed – MUSIC.  To me, all of his songs sounded the same.  A storyteller, yes.  Composer… sorry, folks.  This was not just me but all of my friends.  I can’t remember anyone close to me listening to Vysotsky.  Jethro Tull, Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant – and our own Aquarium, of course.  Vysotsky somehow made himself a cult figure among the Russian people that I thought I belonged to but apparently I didn’t.
> 
> Most importantly for this discussion, I don’t think there is even a possibility for an analogous American figure because it was the Soviet Union of the 1960s and 1970s that created Vysotsky.
> 
> Alexei Bogdanov
> University of Colorado at Boulder
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Matthew Walker
> Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 4:55 PM
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Analogs of Vysotsky - IV
> 
> One more comment... I won't argue about the cultural significance of Kurt Cobain and his relation to "grunge," as this obviously isn't the forum for it, nor did I necessarily want to compare him directly to Vysotsky: the question of who wrote better songs or was more impressive in concert is, as I said, always going to be a subjective one. You might loathe him, which I understand, but when I was at MGU as an exchange student in the nineties I also met Russian kids who thought "Heart-Shaped Box" was genius; in short, de gustibus non est disputandum, everybody has their hobby-horse, etc. Who knows, maybe those kids just hadn't listened to enough Vysotsky yet! The point I was trying to make was rather about the difficulty of identifying anyone in US music culture who has this "unlimited" appeal you're looking for. I doubt even Elvis really satisfies this, and any claim he might have to "longevity" has to come with serious qualifications. After Elvis died -- and I think most people are pretty convinced he's dead ;) -- someone asked John Lennon about it, and he chuckled and said something like, "What are you talking about, Elvis died when he joined the army," i.e. long before he got to the White House to pose with Nixon or keeled over from all the prescription drugs at Graceland. More importantly though, I think it wouldn't be an exaggeration to state that most Americans these days respond to Elvis more as the kitsch object of the '68 Comeback special than as an actual musician, and that there are actually significant parts of US music culture that feel absolutely no attachment to Elvis at all--just ask Chuck D.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Matt Walker

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