Creator of the Siberian underground rock scene. Quotes by Yegor Letov

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

This article will discuss, perhaps, the most controversial musician of the Soviet and post-Soviet period - Yegor Letov. Few people know that Letov was also a poet, artist and collagist. His vast legacy has left a mark both in music and in other forms of art. In the article, we will analyze the main quotes of Yegor Letov, and find out the thorny path from a simple Siberian teenager to a great musician who is revered even today.

The beginning of a musical career

Old grandfather is crying softly, He really wants to eat.

Rats ate all the food in the house, Not even a bread crust. ("Old age is not joy")

Already at the beginning of the creative path in the lyrics of Yegor Letov there is an image of a hungry old age. You might think that the singer was concerned about acute social problems, but everything is by no means so simple. A destitute grandfather is deprived not of food, but of meaning. Rats - weekdays, philistine, with which you have toto fight a creative person, they left the lyrical hero Letov hungry. Nothing can deeply impress, evoke emotions. The hero craves experiences akin to a physical need: like a crust of bread, in order to, if not satiate, then at least slightly dull the semantic hunger, but there is no strength to seek them. Therefore, the image of feeble old age perfectly reflects the inner state of spiritual poverty of the lyrical hero.

For the first time, Yegor Letov was seen in the "Sowing" group, which he himself created. The group was not successful and the project was closed soon after. After an unsuccessful attempt, Letov tried to create several more local groups in Omsk. The most famous of them are "Anarchy" and "Communism", but they, in fact, were known only in Siberia. The real discovery was a completely new project called "Civil Defense". The group immediately distinguished itself with a non-standard approach: unusual sound, ambiguous lyrics, excessive outrageousness and, as a result, a lot of fans. Yegor Letov's quotes at that time hinted that the group gained fame by accident, and this was by no means the main goal.

Letov released his first album at his own studio "Grob-records". A distinctive feature of all Civil Defense songs was the lo-fi (low quality) sound and philosophical lyrics.

Quote from Egor Letov's songs:

The plastic world won

The layout was stronger. (from the song "My Defense")

A complete feeling of depersonalization - detachment from the world by a lyrical hero. Reality is perceived as a fake,an illusion, a plastic cast from the real inner world of sensations. The Siberian underground scene is empty. Of the musical diversity surrounding Letov - American psychedelic. The intensity between the world of inner experiences, images, colors and meanings set to music, and the outer world: cold, harsh, unprincipled, indifferent, gives rise to the following text:

The clock goes its own way - night shines in the window

Eyes are accustomed to the dark, fly in the dark.

Outside the wind sows pain, outside is not funny.

Inside the candle, inside the fire, inside the fire burns. (from the song "Not funny")

Deep feelings like a shell: protect the hero from the effects of the outside world. From pain, wind, cold and nonsense. Only the inner fire of thoughts, images nourishes the spirit and mind, gives life-giving warmth. And of course, reasoning about the meaning of being takes place at night, like many geniuses and creative people. At a time when thoughts are free from the noise of everyday life, from the blinding sun, when there are no people around who care only about their own survival, their private lives and private meanings. The radiance of the night is different, it is calm, even, eternal. Even the eyes do not need anything but a veil of darkness: in it you can be alone with your thoughts.

Peak of popularity (1987-1990)

The lyrical hero feels like he is losing the last threads that connect him with life. Don't take a breath. The habit of smoking is like a ritual, without which one cannot last a day. In the chains of habit, the hero feels a certain constancy, but also vulnerability. "Snippetsviews", "pieces of paper" - as elements of the mosaic that makes up everyday life. Reality is divided into images and fragments of feelings. The lyrical hero is nostalgic for the past, for dreams (“killed songs, forgotten fairy tales”), and for the springs that have passed.

Totally cut off, I'm all cut off, I'm all collapsed, almost strangled.

Almost shackled: in tobacco ash, In scraps of views, pieces of paper.

Feathers smoke in my palms

Killed songs, forgotten fairy tales.

In the mouth the sediment of yesterday's springs, Alien landings. I am useless. ("Useless")

Letov's hero feels useless, does not find his place in life. However, like many people after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which will happen in a few years. This lyrics as a broadcast of self-feelings will later be picked up by a whole generation of people who have lost their safety and orientation on a national scale.

By the end of the 80s, Civil Defense released several albums. These included the group's most popular songs: "My defense" and "Everything is going according to plan." In Yegor Letov's quotes, the influence of anarchist culture is increasingly noticeable, and soon GrOb became the most influential anti-Soviet project in the world of music. Bad guys listen to bad guys, while Letov, meanwhile, is working on new albums, and so rapidly that in three years he has released as many as 15 albums.

Another quote from Yegor Letov:

I don't think there will be any more albums. (E. Letov)

And indeed, after the release of such a hugeamount of material "Civil Defense" performed live for some time without releasing new albums. At the same time, the notorious Yanka Diaghileva joined the group. With her, Letov played several acoustic apartment gigs in different cities, further popularizing the group. Yanka Dyagileva is also the most important figure in the Siberian underground. Many fans of the Civil Defense group assumed that Yegor Letov had an affair with her. However, the musician himself has always denied personal ties with her, despite close cooperation and the release of joint songs.

The sunset of creativity

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Civil Defense group became less relevant because of the meaning of the songs: they were all somehow related to the dictatorial regime and the meaning of being in communist Russia. Despite this, Yegor Letov continued to release new albums and perform. Also, other members of the group spoke about the extreme ambiguity of the group's frontman: Yegor Letov rarely left the house, read a lot and more and more retreated into himself. Yegor Letov's quotes about life hinted that the musician had gone into philosophy.

2000s period

A new era has begun. Letov's lyrical hero deduces for himself the axiom that everyone has the right to their own path, because no one will judge: "an eternal draw" and "no one has lost." There are no losers or winners in the fight for life. There is one distance that everyone passes, based on their worldview and desires.

Stop fun, stop grieving.

You can disagree, you can forget.

Whoever does what, whoever becomes, No one lost.

Loyal belongings in their places, Bad smiles smolder on the lips, Eternal draw with a heavy rocker.

No one lost. ("Autumn")

The name "Autumn" suits the song perfectly, because autumn is the time of harvest, the cut of the seasons and the boundary at which all the results and fruits of the labors of spring and the remnants of a blooming summer are visible. Thus, the lyrical hero of Letov sums up the intermediate result of the life of each person, gives everyone an indulgence for the way of life that a person considers righteous and right for himself.

However, at the beginning of the new millennium, "Civil Defense" again enters the big stage. The group changed its image: from anarchist punks to ordinary musicians. However, the music remained the same aggressive and truthful in relation to the past time. The band's fans rejoiced at the return of the legends, and quotes from Yegor Letov's songs rose again from the ashes. In 2005, GrOb performed in the USA and in the countries of the former USSR. Letov himself said that he was preparing to revive the group in full and release new material, but did not want the group to perform at big concerts along with other rock bands. He believed that Russian rock bands, which formed the basis of rock music of that time, had not yet reached the level of foreign competitors. He always cited the songs of the psychedelic group Love as an example in response to the question: "Which group do you considerbenchmark?"

Last years of activity and death

In 2008, Yegor dies of cardiac arrest, without realizing all his plans, which he spoke about in an interview. And although Yegor Letov's quotes have always been ambiguous, their enormous cultural significance cannot be disputed. Before his death, Letov often drank and rarely appeared in society, ignoring many invitations to speak. Immediately after the death of the founder, Civil Defense also ended its existence. Three volumes of poems and quotes by Yegor Letov were released, as well as several unpublished songs during the life of the author. Fans released several amateur films and dedicate songs to their rock idol to this day.

Conclusion

Yegor Letov is a very influential figure in Russian rock culture even today. One-day bands try to copy his unique style, and punks of the new time use manners and outrageousness. The anarchist subculture reveres "Civil Defense", and even now you can hear live performances of his songs by fans.

My fate is just an episode. (Egor Letov)

Letov is not forgotten even by influential bands, for example, the singer Louna covered the song "My Defense", and the band Massive Attack in 2013, right during a live performance, suddenly covered one of the songs of the GrOb band. Their best songs will forever remain in the memory of the listeners of that era.