Rock 'n' roll may not have toppled the USSR, but it definitely rumbled
through its foundations. Unlike the often-saccharine pop music
sanctioned by the Soviet state, Ukrainian punk musicians of the 1980s
Kyiv underground adapted ideologies of rock to roast the absurdities of
late Soviet life, to articulate new ways of being Ukrainian, and to
celebrate the cathartic pleasures of collective gatherings organized
around musical performances.
This book tells the story of Tantsi (Dances) a 1989 semi-official
cassette release by the now-legendary Ukrainian punk band Vopli
Vidopliassova, known to fans simply as VV (pronounced "Ve-Ve"). Their
disruptive musical sounds, ironic lyrics, use of language, and
propulsive performances toyed with the distinctions between official and
unofficial Soviet culture. VV's Tantsi exemplifies how Soviet musical
cultures existed within an ecosystem of contradictions as entrenched
state infrastructures collided with emergent youth subcultures on the
quicksand of late Soviet life. Today, Tantsi continues to invite us to
dance while we laugh (or cry) at the absurdities of everyday life.