Letov died in front of you
He killed a state ended up in the hospital and became a hero.
10 years without Yegor Letov. And still goes according to plan, and plastic world and wins over the Russian field of experiments all the same sky… Thanks for every line and emotion. #Letovice #10ЛетТишины
February 19, 2008 in his home in Omsk died Egor Letov. Detailed stories about the death of the leader of “Civil defense”, was released, then news programs, almost all Federal TV channels. Three weeks after the funeral, Letov respectable Symphony orchestra in thousands capital sport complex “Olympic” has already played snippets of his songs at the ceremony the rock award of the country “chart dozen”, where Egor was posthumously awarded in the nomination “Legend”.
Taking place looked like a funeral party for Him in the famous film by Mark Zakharov. Consistent marginal, “killed in your own state” which has passed through repressive treatment in a mental hospital, attacked virtually any official mode, does not appear on the big rock festivals, not to cooperate with record labels, virtually absent with my music on TV and radio stations, followed almost universally recognized as the Herald of the era.
“I’m crying from your words. I want to become a flock of rooks. I want to die young…” — he sang in the perestroika of the 80s, and the lines of one of his old manifestos poured now renewed vigor.
What it is — dark, light, destructive, life — saving- here is the mist. In Russian rock not to find figures more ambivalent than Egor.
He said, did, sang on a few lives. “Demolished tower”, “did poke a soul,” scared, embittered, inspired, supported, fall in love with many, mainly young contemporaries. But it’s hard to understand how many actually got through and did that. A decade has passed since the date of his withdrawal and the value this musician in our history and his “inner portrait” is still blurred.
Often it seems to me that business all his life led a conversation only with himself. Experienced own consciousness, experimented with it. The audience was only a practical element of his projects. Where and why is the Siberian punk “defense”, mixed with a good letowski erudition, knowledge of the world of rock music, literature, and cinema passed into brutal postmodernism? In what place the heart-rending poetry of falling into schizoid ecstasy? When he had ceased to believe in what he declared before, and his personal beliefs supplanted fanaticism? These questions, in my opinion, there are no answers. Rather, anyone “in the know”, will propose its own version and, of course, consider them only true. For litovskoe “word and deed” — akin to religion. Accept and believe, or deny it and move away.
In 1990 for the never published issue of “the Counterculture” Letov agreed to write the article (a photo of this manuscript was included in the two volumes of “the Autographs”, published after the death of Egor). Any good quote from it to his followers as a commandment. Moderate fans — intellectual-artistic game (remember here that Letov especially appreciated futurists and oberiutov). But psychologists and psychiatrists as a reason for a detailed conversation with a patient. Consider this snippet:
There is another aspect — and very important — my actions and my work. I heroically think of yourself as a representative (“Deputy”) of the universal party freaks, disgruntled, crazy, funny and sick slaves, those who fell over being humiliated and insulted by nature. All I do is call for a total and monstrous rebellion against Universal Law and Order against all the forces of the gods…
Then a couple pages of fine print, the essence of which is doomed to defeat, death, what in fact is victory in this fight.
In the poetic contemplation of death, feeling of heaviness of the world Egor echoes the poet of the first wave of Russian emigration by Boris Poplavsky, who committed suicide in Paris at 32 years of age. Just energy-they are different — aircraft is in this sense closer to Mayakovsky, who passed away at 36. “Sparrow, pitch, grinning, predatory, violent flock voice in me…” — growled Yegor in its “Eternal spring in solitary confinement,” and there was no aggression and tenderness and despair of a man whose intonation, vocabulary, and appearance did not promise anything good to others.
In its deceptive appearance (from student of the people to something Rasputin), straightforward and sometimes swearing in the songs, intentionally “garage” sound, an extremist sectarian drifts in communism, national-Bolshevism for many escaped romantic poet, if you want a delicate business. One that saw “the funeral Bunny a ridiculous world” and asked: “Who needs a slice of July sky?” to “My defense”. The one that sang for the Yankees Dyagilevo “About the Children” and could record acoustics, where every second song was a kind of confession-lullabies.
In the early 1990s, when he first dismissed the ‘GO’, he had possibly the highest creative ascent. Building the project with non-print media name (“Egor and****newsie”), he recorded several important albums, including “Pryg-Skok” (Egor himself has stressed that this is one of the best things in life) and “one Hundred years of solitude”. It got there and “Eternal spring” and “the gospel” with a final groaning with laughter after the phrase “Choke the obedient hands of his disobedient Christ.” And software “Freedom” with the words: “As I got a flying Bashlachev — it knows my freedom that knows my defeat, it knows my joy.” But, arguing about this sacred knowledge and impressing the piercing of his works, Letov was simultaneously alarmed and aroused doubts.
Alexander Bashlachev, a pivotal poet of Russian rock, committed suicide in a St. Petersburg high-rise building exactly 30 years ago — 17 Feb 1988. He was 27. A 24-year-old rock poet Yanka Dyagileva, Egor held considerable joint way, in a sense, “entered” Letov, drowned in the river in may 1991. She was 24. In fact, they became the “flocks of rooks”, which sang Letov in his “Die young”. And now he says he knows “as found” Sashbash. And refers to the burnt and other early poets and musicians. Himself Egor, reaching the border States, declaring in his early works a certain contempt for death and a willingness to suicide, such still escaped. How would have used someone else’s experience, or what? In Bashlachev, Yanka felt a certain sacrifice. And their fate is almost inseparable from their poetry. With Letov otherwise.
It is rare for the poet’s property: to mesmerize, to enter into a trance, but not give their own energy, but rather pulling it out of those who come in contact with his work.
Unlike the colleagues from the “club 27”, from many of the punk musicians, passionate poet, he lived to be 43 years and managed to step from extremism to the next facets of life.
Albums zero — “Long happy life”, “Why have dreams?” — there was another Egor, not hurrying to leave or something to call. Rather, he just wants to continue his drug trip, and not only with known substances, and because life itself is sometimes “sticks” as LSD. Hence the nostalgic cover album “free fall” of favorite songs and melodies of their own youth. Well, who would say in the period of “Necrophilia”, “Totalitarianism” and “Nausea” that Letov will sing Okudzhava, Matveyev, or Christmas? But it was enough for such contrasts.
And the next round of discussions on Leave, I believe, is still ahead. And while I remember the “Christmas song” from the famous “baranovskogo” album of thirty years ago “Russian field of experiments”: “will we see tomorrow lower than today / Could we be meaner than they are now?” As it is written today. A premonition — a sign of a great poet. Now this song is more relevant than the landmark “Everything is going according to plan.”