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"Look at their clothes -- girls are almost naked! Listen to that dissolute music: all the songs are about sex and drugs! In my times, when I was young, we were modest, decent and high-principled."
That's true, in those times skirts were longer and the songs were all about patriotic love to our Soviet country. And those times were not very long ago; when I was a Pioneer (yes, all the Soviet children at the age of 7 - 8 had to join the Pioneer's organization, ) I sang patriotic songs at the official meetings, and the war veterans were barely keeping back the tears:
"Lenin will always live,
"Lenin will always give,
"Help in the moments when life is hard.
"Lenin -- the hope we see in spring so bright and free,
"Lenin's in you and in me."
Today it sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
Thank you, perestroika and glasnost -- I am smiling at my Soviet past, too.
Today songs are different, people are different, and Lenin's name is mentioned in just one song -- in the Belorussian state hymn. I'm serious -- we still have the hymn of Soviet Belarus, which started with the words: "We, Belorussians, with brotherhood to Russia -- " and then: "Lenin's name has united us". But enough about Lenin. Let's take a look at Belorussian modern pop-culture.
First of all, there is no "pop-culture" in Belarus. Or, perhaps it is better to say -- there is no Belorussian pop-culture. "Pop-culture" is a big market of mass-production, which assumes the presence of a number of local independent professional producers, a competition between different recording companies (in the music market, for example ) and, finally , a constant consumer demand for that mass-production.
What else? Free money, of course.
Today Belarus has only one component of a pop-culture market -- the consumers. Talking about the music, the Belorussian market of music production can be divided onto two unequal parts: the so called "estrada" and the all others.
"Estrada" is a Soviet term similar to "pop-music," but more official and non-commercial. In Russia, for example, where the free market of music production is almost formed, the term "estrada" is used only at Parliament debates and official concerts.
As for Belarus, the market of estrada is a state property. That does not mean that commercial projects are prohibited; that means, that there are no independent music producers to create a competition to the State and to meet market needs. So, the Belorussian official estrada is traditional, conservative and not popular among the young generation of Belorussians. The same names, the same faces and the same rhythms for many years:
- "Sjabry",
- "Verasy",
- "Pesnjary",
- Poplavskaya & Tikhanovich, etc.
The numerous official festivals and concourses of estrada songs for young singers can not change the situation -- the same faces appear in the jury.
But there is another part of the Belorussian music market: rock, folk, punk, alternative. There is no place for them in state philharmonics, so they have to survive by finding money somewhere abroad -- first of all, in Russia.The popularity at home is pleasant, but brings no money. The Belorussian group "Ljapis- Trubetskoj," for example, became very popular only after appearing on Russian radio and TV; before that they were almost in the underground, having no possibility to be shown on Belorussian TV. Most of the Belorussian rock groups are not oppositional, but rock is not "estrada" -- and it is suspicious.
"Ljapis- Trubetskoj" sings in Russian; as for the Belorussian-speaking groups -- they are twice more suspicious for the regime. Concerts of "N.R.M." for example, are always a social event and the militia watchfully looks after each of their concerts.
Belorussian estrada is popular mostly among middle-aged people, Belorussian rock is listened to by the youth, but both parents and teenagers prefer foreign music -- Russian, European and American.
Here I need to mention about two phenomenons in Russian music: bard songs and the so-called "criminal" songs.
Both genres became incredibly popular in the Soviet Union -- bard songs in 1960- 70s; "criminal" songs since 1920s. And today, in the post-Soviet environment, bards festivals and concerts always collect hundreds of thousands of true admirers. As for the "criminal" music, or "Russian chanson", as it's called today, it is still one of the best-sellers on the post-Soviet music market.
It is hard to explain the reasons for the great popularity of the "criminal"songs (one more name is -- "prison's lyrics"). It started with "Murka" -- the absolute hit of the 1920s (just order "Murka" in a Russian restaurant -- and you will understand, why).
Later, in 1930s, with the beginning of Stalin's repressions, "prison's lyrics" became very actual for millions of Soviet people; "criminal" songs got more tragic, some were kinds of social protest. And later, after Stalin's death, "criminal" songs transformed into social and political statements in the bard's works.
One of the brightest examples of this is Vladimir Vysotsky. He was a serious dramatic actor, but mostly he was well-known for his songs, including "criminal" songs. He called himself the "singing poet". His songs are the real history of the Soviet epoch, of creating a new generation of free-minded and thinking people. He'd never been in a prison - he'd never been repressed by the Soviet regime in that sense, but the pressure of Soviet power was too hard -- and in 1980, at the age of 42, he died from cardiac arrest. Twenty years later, his songs are still listened to by millions of people and are still considered actual and modern.
Bard music has always been the music for the intelligentsia, in opposition of pop-music which is considered the product for mass-consumption. Songs of such bards of 60s - 70s as Okudzava, Galich, Kim, Visbor today are classics, and showing a love for this classic music is considered a sign of good taste, a symbol of belonging to intelligentsia. Bard's music gave rise to one more phenomenon in Russian music -- Russian rock.
Too many phenomenons? That's right, but not for Russia. Everything is exclusive there: art, science, literature, music. Every talented person, in all the times in Russia must be a fighter, a hero (a dissident, at minimum ). And every bright event in any sphere is, first of all, a social event...and a phenomenon, because inner conflicts, moral discoveries and revolutions are understandable only for Russians.
You know, sometimes it seems to me that the mentality of a middle European has more in common with the mentality of a chieftain in an African tribe than with the way of thinking of your middle-Russian. But -- what am I talking about?! Let's go back to Russian rock.
There is no need to say that Russian rock is, first of all, a social event. Melodies and rhythms take their origin in classic rock-'n' - roll: The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, but the bard's legacy has made Russian rock more intellectual and social-pointed. Most of the Russian rock groups became well-known in 1980s, when the process of perestroika began: Boris Grebenschikov & "Aquarium"; Andrei Makarevich & "Mashina Vremeni"; Jury Shevchuk & "DDT"; Constantine Kinchev & "Alisa"; "Nautilus Pompilius"; "Chaif"; etc.
Victor Tsoy and his group "Kino" must be mentioned separately. Victor Tsoy became a spiritual leader of Soviet, later Russian, youth in a short time. He was (and still is) incredibly popular among Russian, and also Belorussian, young people. He died in a car accident in 1990, and since that time one of the annual rock festivals in Russia is called "In memory of Victor Tsoy", and his song "Peremen! ( Changes!)" became a kind of hymn of Russian youth.
But, of course, Belorussian young people do not live only in old memories of dead heroes, and their life is not an eternal social protest. They are having fun at dance clubs (we call it "discoteka"), night clubs; we like dance music and DJ`s are the idols of a new generation.
Some of the teenagers prefer the so called "sweet" music -- boy's- and girl's-groups, such as "Spice Girls", "Destiny's Child", "Backstreet Boys", "Westlife"; some of them like qualitative rock: "Aerosmith", "Guns`n Roses", "The Offspring"; we listen rap and folk, Michael Jackson and Madonna (by the way, Madonna is mostly popular among Belorussian gays, I don't know, why); "Blur" and "Eminem", Britney Spears and Whitney Houston. There is a big army of "metallists" -- those, who like metal; I was one of them, and I still love "Slayer", "Pestilence" and "Sepulture" (sounds frightful, ah?, but I find some of their songs very nice and gentle ).
So, everything is like everywhere - the same tastes and the same problems: drugs, teenage criminality, AIDS, teenage abortions and -- the overthrow of moral ideals. Oh, those moral ideals! Remember? - " -- skirts were longer, we were modest and honest".
One old man said: "In my times, a young man had to walk around his girl's house for months, hoping just to look at her. And when young people were alone, they talked about their love for hours, complaining of love's suffering and reading sentimental poems. But today -- It is enough for a young man just to wink at a girl -- and she goes with him."
Sounds very modern, doesn't it? But I read these words in a book written by the Arabian scientist and poet Ibn Abd Rabbikhi, who lived in the ninth century, that means, that the old Moslem said those words more than 12 centuries ago. And that means that the new generation is not so immoral and irresponsible - but the previous generation always thinks they were better. So rap and metal are not worse than rock -n - roll, jazz, waltz and minuet. Who knows? maybe, twenty years from now I'll say: "Ah, old good metal! What a terrible music that teenagers are listening to now! We were better -- "
COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? You can e-mail Natalia here.
NATALIA ABAKANOVITCH is a 25 year old television journalist in Belarus. This is her third article for The World's Magazine.