Apparently it was still 1980 in 1990 Belgium. ;) Jokes aside, I actually quite liked that. Thanks for sharing more interesting, enjoyable and obscure international music, @ainar-g.
Apparently it was still 1980 in 1990 Belgium. ;) Jokes aside, I actually quite liked that. Thanks for sharing more interesting, enjoyable and obscure international music, @ainar-g.
You're welcome :-) I've been learning Dutch recently, and I've met a person on Discord, who's sharing a lot of 70s–90s Belgian, Dutch, and French music. I will probably post another couple of...
You're welcome :-) I've been learning Dutch recently, and I've met a person on Discord, who's sharing a lot of 70s–90s Belgian, Dutch, and French music. I will probably post another couple of track in the following days.
💖 - If you're ever looking for chanson / nouvelle chanson recommendations, let me know. E.g. Charles Aznavour et Mireille Mathieu - Une vie d'amour (1981) ;)
Charles Aznavour, Mireille Mathieu, Joe Dassin, et al. were so popular in the USSR, that I could fill a whole Tildes group with links to French music, nostalgic to anyone born in the Soviet Union...
Charles Aznavour, Mireille Mathieu, Joe Dassin, et al. were so popular in the USSR, that I could fill a whole Tildes group with links to French music, nostalgic to anyone born in the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1991.
Huh, TIL. Do you happen to know why that was/is the case? Romantic French music being so popular seems to contradict my, admittedly stereotypical, expectations of Soviet era Russia.
Huh, TIL. Do you happen to know why that was/is the case? Romantic French music being so popular seems to contradict my, admittedly stereotypical, expectations of Soviet era Russia.
It's not uncommon among Westerners to think that the USSR was something like the DPRK today, but, unless we're talking about the times of Stalin's rule, that is not entirely the case. Soviet...
Exemplary
It's not uncommon among Westerners to think that the USSR was something like the DPRK today, but, unless we're talking about the times of Stalin's rule, that is not entirely the case. Soviet citizens could still see Western films and listen to the Western music, the condition being that the films and the music were approved (and sometimes cut) by the Party. That is why Soviet women were all over Jean Marais (not knowing about the fact that he's gay) and Adriano Celentano.
The Soviet Central Television would air a programme, not very imaginatively called “Melodies And Rhythms Of Foreign Estrada”, where the comrades could get acquainted with some cherry-picked compositions. Among them: ABBA, Boney M, Joe Dassin, Gloria Gaynor, etc. Needless to say, the show was always a hit. And don't even get me started on the black market.
In fact, the Party sometimes used foreign entertainment to achieve political goals. For example, they could allow airing a concert of a popular Western band right when the Orthodox Christian tradition required believers to attend the church, so the younger generations had to choose to either fulfil their religious duty, or listen to some good music. (VCRs weren't really a thing, unless you were “rich”. I'm putting “rich” in quotes because the wealth disparity was way less severe in the USSR for obvious reasons.)
The music the Party approved would mostly be something romantic, but not tasteless. A little bit experimental, but nothing too brave. Occasionally, they would allow something with a bit more bite, as long as the bite is in the right direction (that is, something close to Socialist Realism). Oh, and there was a lot of music from the Eastern Bloc, as well as Yugoslavia.
(I'm not entirely healthy at the moment, so this comment may be a little bit all over the place. If that's the case, let me know, and I'll try to re-edit it when I feel better.)
Apparently it was still 1980 in 1990 Belgium. ;) Jokes aside, I actually quite liked that. Thanks for sharing more interesting, enjoyable and obscure international music, @ainar-g.
You're welcome :-) I've been learning Dutch recently, and I've met a person on Discord, who's sharing a lot of 70s–90s Belgian, Dutch, and French music. I will probably post another couple of track in the following days.
💖 - If you're ever looking for chanson / nouvelle chanson recommendations, let me know. E.g. Charles Aznavour et Mireille Mathieu - Une vie d'amour (1981) ;)
Charles Aznavour, Mireille Mathieu, Joe Dassin, et al. were so popular in the USSR, that I could fill a whole Tildes group with links to French music, nostalgic to anyone born in the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1991.
Huh, TIL. Do you happen to know why that was/is the case? Romantic French music being so popular seems to contradict my, admittedly stereotypical, expectations of Soviet era Russia.
It's not uncommon among Westerners to think that the USSR was something like the DPRK today, but, unless we're talking about the times of Stalin's rule, that is not entirely the case. Soviet citizens could still see Western films and listen to the Western music, the condition being that the films and the music were approved (and sometimes cut) by the Party. That is why Soviet women were all over Jean Marais (not knowing about the fact that he's gay) and Adriano Celentano.
The Soviet Central Television would air a programme, not very imaginatively called “Melodies And Rhythms Of Foreign Estrada”, where the comrades could get acquainted with some cherry-picked compositions. Among them: ABBA, Boney M, Joe Dassin, Gloria Gaynor, etc. Needless to say, the show was always a hit. And don't even get me started on the black market.
In fact, the Party sometimes used foreign entertainment to achieve political goals. For example, they could allow airing a concert of a popular Western band right when the Orthodox Christian tradition required believers to attend the church, so the younger generations had to choose to either fulfil their religious duty, or listen to some good music. (VCRs weren't really a thing, unless you were “rich”. I'm putting “rich” in quotes because the wealth disparity was way less severe in the USSR for obvious reasons.)
The music the Party approved would mostly be something romantic, but not tasteless. A little bit experimental, but nothing too brave. Occasionally, they would allow something with a bit more bite, as long as the bite is in the right direction (that is, something close to Socialist Realism). Oh, and there was a lot of music from the Eastern Bloc, as well as Yugoslavia.
(I'm not entirely healthy at the moment, so this comment may be a little bit all over the place. If that's the case, let me know, and I'll try to re-edit it when I feel better.)