Vopli Vidopliassova's Tantsi

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Rock 'n' roll may not have toppled the USSR, but it definitely reverberated through its foundations. Unlike the saccharine pop sanctioned by the state, rock musicians adapted ideologies of Anglo-American rock to Soviet life and created music communities that existed partially outside of state control.In the 1980s, underground recordings, traded by fans at listening parties and through tape-dubbing collectives, activated networks of late Soviet citizens who imagined other worlds. This book tells the story of Tantsi (Dances) a 1989 unofficial cassette release by the now-legendary Ukrainian punk band “Ve-Ve,” whose disruptive musical sounds, often ironic lyrics, and propulsive performances toyed with the distinctions between official and unofficial Soviet culture. Tantsi exemplifies how Soviet musical cultures existed within an ecosystem of contradictions as entrenched state infrastructures collided with emergent youth subcultures. Today, Tantsi continues to invite us to dance while we laugh (or cry) at the absurdities of everyday life.