October 22, 2022: Music and Youth Politics in Former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union
- Music and Youth Politics in Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union: Selected Songs (curated by Dr. Matthew Boyd, Ohio State University, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures)
- Shake, Rattle and Roll: Yugoslav Rock Music and Poetics of Social Critique by Dalibor Misina
- Chapter 5: “New Primitives”
- New_Primitives_Misina (PDF)
- Youth and Rock in the Soviet Bloc: Youth Cultures, Music, and the State in Russia and Eastern Europe edited by William Jay Risch
- “A Room Sized Ocean” by Polly McMichael
- Room_Sized_Ocean_McMichael (PDF)
Additional Materials
Below are additional songs and lyrics from both contemporary and past musical acts that Dr. Boyd brought up during the Q&A portion of his talk.
This is one group that I mentioned in regards to current bands and the sort of disillusioned messaging contained in them.
https://moonleerecords.bandcamp.com/track/zakaj
Lyrics
Zakaj “Why”
Zakaj ako nemam para Why if I don’ t have money
se osjećam ko da manje vrijedim? Do I feel like I am worth less?
Zakaj nikad nemam para? Why do I never have money?
Zakaj sve kaj radim tolko malo vrijedi? Why is everything I do valued so little?
Ceca from Serbia
The quintessential Turbo Folk star is Ceca. She became very tied up in the Milosevic era, having married one of the infamous figures in his regime. She came out of the war owning a great deal of media, such as television stations and record catalogs. This is the type of music that Rambo Amadeus parodied and gave the name “Turbo Folk”.
- “Volim te” music video
I feel remiss in not having mentioned some current groups in Russia who are both popular and dissident. One is Ic3Peak, on tour in America now. They play with Russian peasant / vampire imagery during their performances and their music is known for having political undertones that criticize the Russian government.
- Ice3Peak YouTube Channel
Hip Hop in Russia
This is a handout about newer Russian Hip Hop I sent out to my Russian Culture class in 2021, in case anyone might find it useful.