This article will talk about 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 collage artist. His huge heritage 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
The old grandfather is crying quietly
He really wants to eat.
The rats ate all the food in the house,
There is not even a crust of bread. ("Old age is not joy")
Already at the beginning of the creative path in the lyrics of Yegor Letov there is an image of hungry old age. You might think that the singer was worried about acute social problems, but everything is far from simple. The destitute grandfather is deprived not of food, but of meaning. Rats - weekdays, philistines, with which a creative person has to fight, they left the lyrical hero Letov hungry. Nothing can deeply impress, evoke emotions. The hero craves for experiences akin to physical need: like a crust of bread, so that if you do not saturate, then at least slightly dull the semantic hunger, but there is no strength to look for them. Therefore, the image of weak old age reflects the best possible way in the internal state of spiritual poverty of the lyrical hero.
For the first time, Yegor Letov was spotted in the Sowing group, which he himself created. The group was not successful, and soon the project was closed. 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 texts, excessive shocking and as a result - a lot of fans. Quotes of Yegor Letov at that time hinted that the group received fame quite by accident, and this was by no means the main goal.
Letov’s first album was released at his own studio, “GrOb-Records”. A distinctive feature of all Civil Defense songs was the low-fidelity sound and philosophical texts.
Quote from the songs of Yegor Letov:
The plastic world won
The layout turned out to be stronger. (from the song "My Defense")
A complete sense of depersonalization - detachment from the world as a lyrical hero. Reality is perceived as a fake, an illusion, a plastic mold from the real inner world of sensations. Siberian underground scene is empty. Of the musical diversity surrounding Letov is American psychedelicism. The intensity between the world of inner experiences, images, colors and meanings laid on music, and the external 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 experiences, like a shell: protect the hero from the influence 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, discussions about the meaning of being occur at night, as in 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 nearby 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 remain alone with your thoughts.
Peak of popularity (1987-1990)
The lyrical hero feels himself losing the last strings connecting him with life. Do not take a breath. The habit of smoking is like a ritual, without which it will not last a day. In the shackles of habit, the hero feels a certain constancy, but also vulnerability. “Scraps of glances”, “pieces of paper” - as elements of the mosaic of which everyday life consists. Reality is divided into images and fragments of feelings. The lyrical hero is nostalgic for the past, for dreams ("dead songs, forgotten tales"), and for the springs that have passed.
Totally torn off, I'm torn off
I’m all collapsed, almost strangled.
Almost chained to tobacco ash
In scraps of glances, pieces of paper.
Feathers are smoking in my palms
Killed songs, forgotten tales.
In the mouth the sediment of yesterday's springs,
Alien landings. I am useless. ("Useless")
The hero of Letov 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 national security and landmarks.
Towards the end of the 1980s, Civil Defense released several albums. These included the band’s most popular songs: “My Defense” and “Everything Is Going As Planned”. In quotes by Yegor Letov, the influence of anarchist culture is becoming more and more visible, and soon “GrOb” became the most influential anti-Soviet project in the world of music. The bad guys listen to the bad guys, and Letov, meanwhile, is working on new albums, so fast that he releases 15 albums in three years.
Another quote from Yegor Letov:
I generally think that more albums will not be released. (E. Letov)
Indeed, after the release of such an enormous amount of material, “Civil Defense” performed for some time live, not releasing new albums. At the same time, the notorious Yanka Diaghilev joined the group. With her Letov played several acoustic apartment blocks in different cities, further popularizing the group. Yanka Diaghilev is also an important figure in the Siberian underground. Many fans of the Civil Defense group suggested that Yegor Letov had an affair with her. However, the musician himself always denied personal ties with her, despite close cooperation and the release of joint songs.
Sunset 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 in some way attributed to the dictatorial regime and the meaning of life in communist Russia. Despite this, Yegor Letov continued to release new albums and perform. Other members of the group also spoke about the extreme ambiguity of the frontman of the group: Yegor Letov rarely left the house, read a lot and more and more went into himself. Yegor Letov’s quotes about life hinted that the musician went into philosophy.
2000s period
A new era has come. The lyrical hero of Letov deduces for himself the axiom that everyone has the right to their own path, because no one will judge: "eternal draw" and "no one lost." There are no losers or winners in the struggle for life. There is one distance that everyone goes on the basis of their worldview and desires.
Stop having fun, stop grieving.
You can diverge, you can forget.
Whoever does what, whoever becomes
No one lost.
Faithful belongings in their places,
Bad smiles smolder on lips
A heavy rocker eternal draw.
No one lost. ("Autumn")
The name "Autumn" fits the song as well as possible, because autumn is the harvest time, the cut of the seasons and the border where all the results and fruits of the labors of spring and the remnants of the 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 in the way of life that a person considers to be righteous and right.
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 as aggressive and truthful in relation to the past. Fans of the group exulted in the return of legends, and quotes from the songs of Yegor Letov 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 large 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 example of the song of the psychedelic group Love in response to the question: "Which group do you consider to be the standard?"
Recent years of activity and death
In 2008, Yegor dies of cardiac arrest, never realizing all his plans that he spoke about in an interview. And although Yegor Letov’s quotes have always been mixed, one cannot dispute their enormous cultural significance. 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. Three volumes of poems and quotes by Yegor Letov, as well as several unpublished during the life of the author of the songs, were released. Fans have released several amateur films and to this day devote songs to their rock idol.
Output
Egor Letov is a very influential figure in Russian rock culture even today. One-day groups try to copy his unique style, and punks of modern times apply manners and outrageous. A subculture of anarchists worships Civil Defense, and even now you can hear live performance of his songs by fans.
My fate is just an episode. (Egor Letov)
Even influential groups have not forgotten the summers, for example, singer Louna sang the song "My Defense", and the Massive Atack group in 2013, right during a live performance, suddenly made a cover for one of the songs of the Grob group. Their best songs will forever remain in the memory of listeners of that era.