Without doubt, Vysotskii was the most famous Russian bard of the second half of the 20th century. "His gruff voice and starkly, sometimes slyly, poetic lyrics have inspired two generations of Russians and are working their way into the young hearts of a third. The end of his life was also occupied by his second wife, Marina Vladi, a popular French actress of Russian descent." He
died in 1980 at the time of the Moscow Olympics. "The authorities did their best to constrain his popularity, but eventually erected a monument to him in Moscow, apparently contrary to his wishes. Whether the government did it well or clumsily, the point was made by an entire society as it mourned the death of their Shakespeare-with-a-guitar."
"Various theories trace the origins of bard music to Soviet prison camp songs, soldiers' ballads, prerevolutionary romances and even the songs of the wandering minstrels of centuries ago. Some bard songs even sound like American country music, but by any measure, Russians are much more likely than the average American to pick up a guitar and sing with their friends, all of whom have dozens, sometimes hundreds of songs committed to memory. It's all part of the seemingly infinite national capacity to recite verse."
Various Bards Pesni Nashego Veka [Songs of Our Century]
"Songs of Our Century, a collection of bard classics performed by popular bards in chorus and with instrumentals, has topped Spice Girl knockoffs on the Russian pop charts and inspired knockoffs and pirated editions of its own. Helped by word of mouth, the first recording sold nearly 100,000 cassettes and CD's a month when it was released in early 1999, unheard of in Russia's struggling, payola-plagued pop music industry."
Alla Pugacheva
"Alla Pugacheva is the embodiment of success in the true Russian style. That is, success against all odds. And in that sense, Alla Pugacheva is the true Russian national legend in the full meaning of the word. Her album sales amount to about 200 million (!) copies. Her name has been given to an ocean liner in Finland, a brand of French perfume, a magazine (whose editor in chief is Alla herself) and a line of shoes (also designed by Alla) as well as many little girls all over Russia."
Sergey Kuryekhin Sparrow Oratorio
Sergey Kuryekhin (St. Petersburg) was greatly influenced by minimalist musicians like my favorite composer Philip Glass. Jazz, rock, classical, ambient -- Kuryekhin is comfortable with almost any kind of music. Ironic, gifted and mischievous, Kuryekhin was an immensely popular showman. His sudden, tragically premature death from a rare cause (heart cancer, I believe) elevated Kuryekhin to a cult status among many young art-minded Russians. (He was also a philosopher with interesting geopolitical concepts!) This could be the most cheerful and ingenious music on this list. The best time to listen to it: any time, especially on a sunny, cool and windy Saturday early afternoon, in an empty apartment with all the windows open.
Brat-2 Soundtrack
This soundtrack serves as a good overview of the current pop-rock music scene in Russia, with all its post-Soviet achievements and ideological constraints. Unlike during perestroika, however, the geography of Russian rock-music now is not limited to St. Petersburg, with the biggest stars coming from such distant areas as the Urals, Bashkortostan, the Far East, Ukraine and Moldova.
Messer fur Frau Muller Allo, Superman!
From Pulp Fiction to Pulp Music! Do you like all the trash music of the 60-90s -- Superman theme, TV soap operas music, computer game sounds, and the like? Influenced by Pizzicato Five and other modern pop-postmodernist artists, the two musicians from St. Petersburg have launched this project as an experimental revision of easy listening (lounge? chill-out?) music. Highly valued in Germany, these intelligent and ironic musicians have some following in Moscow and St. Petersburg too. They are quite trendy artists these days.
PPK ResuRection
December 3rd, 2001: One week after released, ResuRection appears in the UK Singles Chart right on the third place, becoming the most famous Russian release in the UK (before the T.A.T.U. revolution).
T.A.T.U. 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
The controversial pop duo made history by becoming the first Russian act to top the British charts in Feb 2003 [and stay on top for 5 weeks]. It's not hard to see where the record company were headed with this - pretty young girls, dressed in school uniforms, kissing and groping each other at every opportunity. Britney Spears wore the same outfit for her debut single; why not spice it up a bit for the newcomers?
Luckily for t.A.T.u. they - along with bespectacled pop producer Trevor Horn - have managed to match the image with an equally attention-grabbing single. Big on the synth and bass and filled with repetitive but addictive hooks, 'All The Things She Said' suggests this Russian teen duo could have some longevity. Currently the biggest selling Eastern European group, t.A.T.u. might be something of a novelty act but, by the looks of it, they've got the record-buying public sussed.
Jodie Morris of http://www.dotmusic.com/reviews/Singles/January2003/reviews28033.asp
Boris Grebenschikov and Aquarium Territory
"There is hardly a Russian in the world that hasn't heard of the legendary underground rock band Aquarium and its leader Boris Grebenshikov. During the 70s and 80s Aquarium created an entirely unique musical and social aesthetic. Influenced by a variety of music styles and cultures, the group's sound nevertheless remained recognizable - whether performing quiet love ballads, light dancing reggae or powerful rock-n-roll anthems. The 45-year-old singer-songwriter has released nearly 70 original albums over the course of his 26-year career." Territory (2000) is a compilation album designed not only for Russian listeners. This disk is eclectic and esoteric, as is usual for Aquarium. I personally prefer the simplicity and energy of Kino, the most popular rock-band of Russian teenagers of last generations.