In defense of Vysotsky

[Sentinel76 Astrakhan]

Dear Yevgeniy

> Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 09:02:28 +0000
> From: Yevgeniy.Slivkin at DU.EDU
> Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] In defense of Vysotsky
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> 
> Dear Vadim,
> 
> “Nothing ages faster than humor”
>  
> It depends on the quality of humor. How about Petronius, Apuleius, Swift, Gogol, Bulgakov, and other grate humorists and satirists?
Wonderful example that prove my point exactly.  Nobody laughs at Greek comedies anymore.  If you don't believe me, here is a quote from the biggest authority on practical humor I can think of:
===== Самое поразительное в юморе - это его способность стареть. А что поделаешь, человечество, таки-да, - развивается. Комедии Аристофана и Менандра, над которыми ухохатывались древние греки, сегодня с точки зрения смешного вызывают легкое недоумение. Да и от героев Сервантеса и Рабле башню вам не снесет. Но это еще «цветочки», если перейти от литературы к зрелищу. Цирки, в которых гладиаторы бились насмерть то и дело оглашались взрывами смеха! Римлянам это казалось смешным! По сравнению с этим развлечением средневековые Арлекины, вызывавшие бурную радость зрителей, колотя Пьеро бычьим пузырем по башке, - большой шаг вперед.  Но все это - “дела давно минувших дней”. А что вы скажете, услышав анекдот, скажем, 50-летней давности? Ничего вы не скажете. Скорее всего, вы скажете, что его уже слышали, но странно, что он про председателя колхоза, а не про директора фирмы. 
Марфин, Чивурин "Что Такое КВН".=====
Characters of Gogol and Bulgakov haven't changed all that much in contemporary Russia.  Many of Vysotsky's characters have changed.  In fact, I don't know a single person born after 1980 who can relate to "Mishka Shifman" or "The Chinese Problem" or "Take the Medal away from Naser."


> If anything in literature ages fast it is social analogies (which underline most of Vysotsky’s “serious” songs).  As far as I can judge from my conversations with children of my friends in Russia, for young people the famous “Okhota na volkov” is not any longer relevant, but the poignant humor of “Dialog pered televizorom” resonates with them well.

You and I know different people.  In fact, being the moderator of Vysotsky Facebook group and a member of several Vysotsky discussion boards, I see enough teenagers who love "Okhota".  In order to appreciate "The Dialog" you need to know what "премия в квартал" and "хоть поутру да на свои" are.

> I believe that publishing Vysotsky’s Polnoe sobranie sochinenii was a disservice to him since quite a few of his texts endure the test of paper. Everyone, of course, is entitled to his/her own opinion what is poetry and what is not.     

Did you mean to say "few"?  Otherwise this doesn't make sense.


> “Catchiness” of Vysotsky’s melodies which you mention in your response to Alexei does not make him a composer. “Chizhik-Pyzhik” and “Tsyplenok zharenyi” are too instantly memorable.

That's exactly what makes for great songs.  In a song music is ALWAYS more important than the lyrics.  A song with great lyrics and crappy music will never be a success, while a song with great music and crappy lyrics usually will.


> For me Vladimir Vysotsky is neither a poetic phenomenon nor musical nor theatrical one, but rather a very interesting socio-psychological phenomenon which became possible due to some particularities of the Russian national consciousness in the late Soviet era.

That's too bad :(


Dear Bernard,

> Over and above his competence as a singer-songwriter, the quality that singles out Vladimir Vysotsky as a figure of cultural significance is that he stood against the political orthodoxy of his time at the risk of his personal well-being, arguably at the risk of his life, and with a total disregard for commercial considerations. 
We must be talking about some other Vladimir Vysotsky.  The one I know never risked his life in a fight against the regime.  In fact, his lifestyle was superior to 99.9% of Soviet people.  He never wrote openly "protest songs."  He never wrote "Get Up Stand Up" and was shot at, like Marley.  He was a very smart and realistic man.
That did not prevent him from being free in the unfree world.
Vadim 		 	   		  
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