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{{infobox | {{infobox | ||
| nameofpractice =Roentgenizdat | |||
| flagemoji = | |||
| definition =Cheaply producing records on discarded X-rays | |||
| location =USSR | |||
| imagemap =USSR map.png | |||
| clusters = | |||
}} | [[:Category:Solidarity|Solidarity]] – [[:Category: Normative ambivalence| Normative ambivalence]] – [[:Category: Non-conformity| Non-conformity]] – [[:Category: Resistance| Resistance]] | ||
| categories = | |||
[[:Category:Russia|Russia]] – [[:Category: FSU| FSU]] – [[:Category: USSR| USSR]] – [[:Category: Art| Art]] – [[:Category: Youth| Youth]] – [[:Category: Music| Music]] | |||
| authorofpiece =James Taylor | |||
| authorinstitution =Department of Music, University of Bristol, UK | |||
| authorwebsite = }} | |||
<big>'''By James Taylor, Department of Music, University of Bristol, UK'''</big> | |||
[[Category:Solidarity]] | |||
[[Category: Normative ambivalence]] | |||
[[Category: Non-conformity]] | |||
[[Category: Resistance]] | |||
[[Category:Russia]] | |||
[[Category: FSU]] | |||
[[Category: USSR]] | |||
[[Category: Art]] | |||
[[Category: Youth]] | |||
[[Category: Music]] | |||
[[Category:Entry]] | |||
[[Category: Volume 1]] | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
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|style="font-size:1.1em;"| ''Roentgenizdat'' (also known as ‘music on ribs’ or ‘music on bones’) was the unofficial practice of cheaply reproducing and disseminating discarded and reprogrammed x-ray photographs as music records in the Soviet Union. The term ''roentgenizdat'' is etymologically composed of two words – roentgen (the Russian word for x-ray, named after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the German physicist who discovered electromagnetic radiation in wavelengths), and ''izdat'' (from Russian meaning to ''publish''). ''Roentgenizdat'' was the first self-made mechanism for reproducing music recordings in the Soviet era, a time of prohibition of musical styles and material shortage. The practice thus became the metaphorical ersatz-bread, satisfying the post-war musical hunger of the masses. | |||
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[[File:Roentgenizdat.jpg|275px|thumb|left|Roentgenizdat or "Rock on bones" Gramophone records.]] | |||
''Roentgenizdat'' originated in Leningrad in 1946, in a studio situated at house no. 75 on Nevskii Prospect, named Audio Message (''Zvukovoe pis’mo''). Its founder, Stanislav Filon, used a redesigned German Telefunken music re-writer to replicate music recordings from the original vinyl to cheaply reinvented, imitation x-ray material. The price of one x-ray copy was between 5 to 15 roubles; however, individual orders would be more expensive <ref>Bogdanova, Katerina, ‘Boogie-Woogie ‘On Bones’ – Is It So Strange? From The Life of Audiophiles in 1940-50s’ (2009), Accessed Online: http://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-27775/ (21/02/2013).</ref>. The studio would typically remain open throughout the night, recording unofficial performances onto x-ray material where opaque x-ray images of skulls and ribs were still clearly visible. | |||
''Roentgenizdat'' ( | |||
The process became so successful that another underground studio, named Golden Dog (''Zolotaia sobaka''), was established the following year. Boris Pavlinov, one of the founders of Golden Dog, recalled that the most popular recordings were of jazz music from the West and songs in the style of the tango, foxtrot and romances – all non-sanctioned styles within the Soviet Union <ref>Kitaev, Aleksandr, ‘Shadow X-ray Recording’ (St.Petersburg: unpublished version, 2009).Pikington, Hilary, Russia’s Youth and its Culture: A Nation’s Constructors and Constructed (London: Routledge, 1994).</ref>. From these underground studios, thousands of x-ray copies were being sold on the black market and, by the late 1950s, millions of these x-ray records were in circulation, becoming ‘the common currency of the Soviet-bloc’<ref>Ryback, Timothy W., Rock Around the Block: A History of Rock Music in Eastern Europe and The Soviet Union (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990).</ref>. | |||
The support and agency of the ''stiliagi'' (commonly referred to as the ‘hipsters’ in western literature) was primarily responsible for the increasing demand of ''roentgenizdat''. Part of a subculture in the Soviet Union from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, the ''stiliagi'' represented a rejection of official Soviet musical styles, fashion and behaviour, and became the advocates of a new westernised model. They sported suits with striped silk shirts, multi-coloured and patterned ties, complemented with waxed quiffs and comb-over hairstyles comparable to John Travolta in the film ''Grease'' <ref>Dotsenko, Artem, ‘Chuvaki Na Khatakh’ in Rodina, No.7, (2005), Accessed Online: http://www.istrodina.com/rodina_articul.php3?id=1618&n=86 (24/01/2013).</ref>. Dance also became a key mode of their expression, rejecting the ‘approved’ dances (waltz, polka and quadrille) for the frowned upon alternatives (the tango, foxtrot, boogie-woogie and jitterbug) <ref>Troitsky, Artemy, Back in the USSR: The True Story of Rock in Russia (London: Faber and Faber, 1987).</ref>. X-ray discs would be obtained via the ‘second economy’ (underground studios or ''blat'' networks) and disseminated at the ''stiliagi’s'' main ‘hang out’ meeting points (known as Broadway or “Brod” for short) – Gorky Street (Moscow) and Nevskii Prospect (St. Petersburg), and private dance hall parties <ref>Fürst, Juliane, Stalin’s Last Generation: Soviet Post-War Youth and the Emergence of Mature Socialism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).</ref>. According to Juliane Fürst, the stiliagi culturally confronted the system on a ‘new, unfamiliar and ''non-textual''’ level which left the Communist Party struggling to deal with the phenomenon <ref>Fürst, Juliane, Stalin’s Last Generation: Soviet Post-War Youth and the Emergence of Mature Socialism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).</ref>. These artistic and non-verbal forms of dance, westernised clothing and jazz music ‘on bones’ all played an exceptional role in the ''stiliagi'' subculture. | The support and agency of the ''stiliagi'' (commonly referred to as the ‘hipsters’ in western literature) was primarily responsible for the increasing demand of ''roentgenizdat''. Part of a subculture in the Soviet Union from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, the ''stiliagi'' represented a rejection of official Soviet musical styles, fashion and behaviour, and became the advocates of a new westernised model. They sported suits with striped silk shirts, multi-coloured and patterned ties, complemented with waxed quiffs and comb-over hairstyles comparable to John Travolta in the film ''Grease'' <ref>Dotsenko, Artem, ‘Chuvaki Na Khatakh’ in Rodina, No.7, (2005), Accessed Online: http://www.istrodina.com/rodina_articul.php3?id=1618&n=86 (24/01/2013).</ref>. Dance also became a key mode of their expression, rejecting the ‘approved’ dances (waltz, polka and quadrille) for the frowned upon alternatives (the tango, foxtrot, boogie-woogie and jitterbug) <ref>Troitsky, Artemy, Back in the USSR: The True Story of Rock in Russia (London: Faber and Faber, 1987).</ref>. X-ray discs would be obtained via the ‘second economy’ (underground studios or ''[[blat]]'' networks) and disseminated at the ''stiliagi’s'' main ‘hang out’ meeting points (known as Broadway or “Brod” for short) – Gorky Street (Moscow) and Nevskii Prospect (St. Petersburg), and private dance hall parties <ref>Fürst, Juliane, Stalin’s Last Generation: Soviet Post-War Youth and the Emergence of Mature Socialism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).</ref>. According to Juliane Fürst, the stiliagi culturally confronted the system on a ‘new, unfamiliar and ''non-textual''’ level which left the Communist Party struggling to deal with the phenomenon <ref>Fürst, Juliane, Stalin’s Last Generation: Soviet Post-War Youth and the Emergence of Mature Socialism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).</ref>. These artistic and non-verbal forms of dance, westernised clothing and jazz music ‘on bones’ all played an exceptional role in the ''stiliagi'' subculture. | ||
[[File:Andrei Zhdanov.jpg|275px|thumb|right|Soviet state and party figure Andrei Zhdanov.]] | [[File:Andrei Zhdanov.jpg|275px|thumb|right|Soviet state and party figure Andrei Zhdanov.]] | ||
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Finally, the emergence of ''roentgenizdat'' can be seen as a consequence of the growing consumerist culture forming within the post-war Soviet Union. The hegemony of American mass consumption culture was rapidly being transmitted through the Iron Curtain, which proved surprisingly porous with respect to socio-cultural trends. The production of radios, cameras and sewing machines tripled between the years 1953-63, and production of domestic appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and vacuum cleaners increased at similar rates<ref>Reid, Susan, ‘Happy Housewarming: Moving into Khrushchev-Era Apartments’ in Balina, Marina and Dobrenko, Evgeny (eds.), Petrified Utopia: Happiness, Soviet Style (London: Anthem Press, July 2009).</ref>. Cultural products such as trophy films (e.g. ''Stagecoach'' (1939), ''Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941), ''The Girl of My Dreams'' (1934), American radio (Radio Liberty, Voice of America – the jazz programme Music USA hosted by Willis Conover was first broadcast in January 1955) and American magazines (e.g. Amerika) were also available in the Soviet Union, all of which were designed to impress the Soviet consumer (Avramov 2012: 127-207). This is evident in the case of the ''stiliagi'' (many of whom self-defined as ''shtatniki'' – worshippers of American culture), who closely observed the clothes and styles of Western foreigners. This was a ‘well-known practice,’ even down to imitating the language with Americanised jargon such as ''trauzera'' (trousers), ''khetok'' (hat), and ''shuzina'' (shoes)</ref>Fürst, Juliane, Stalin’s Last Generation: Soviet Post-War Youth and the Emergence of Mature Socialism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).</ref>. Obtaining westernised music was therefore just another part of developing a westernised identity. However, the American influence is often overstated, as Hilary Pilkington argued, the new Soviet teenager was a product of the new domestic society, which was characterised by fewer working hours (the working day reduced from eight to six hours for 16-18 year olds in July 1956), increased leisure time and expanding leisure industry, higher disposable income, and the extension of adolescence through more opportunities in higher education<ref>Pilkington, Hilary, Russia’s Youth and its Culture: A Nation’s Constructors and Constructed (London: Routledge, 1994).</ref>. The new teenage consumer, rebelling against the styles and modes of the previous generations, therefore sought out an original way of expressing their self-identity through consumption – a need that was in part met through ''roentgenizdat''. | Finally, the emergence of ''roentgenizdat'' can be seen as a consequence of the growing consumerist culture forming within the post-war Soviet Union. The hegemony of American mass consumption culture was rapidly being transmitted through the Iron Curtain, which proved surprisingly porous with respect to socio-cultural trends. The production of radios, cameras and sewing machines tripled between the years 1953-63, and production of domestic appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and vacuum cleaners increased at similar rates<ref>Reid, Susan, ‘Happy Housewarming: Moving into Khrushchev-Era Apartments’ in Balina, Marina and Dobrenko, Evgeny (eds.), Petrified Utopia: Happiness, Soviet Style (London: Anthem Press, July 2009).</ref>. Cultural products such as trophy films (e.g. ''Stagecoach'' (1939), ''Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941), ''The Girl of My Dreams'' (1934), American radio (Radio Liberty, Voice of America – the jazz programme Music USA hosted by Willis Conover was first broadcast in January 1955) and American magazines (e.g. Amerika) were also available in the Soviet Union, all of which were designed to impress the Soviet consumer (Avramov 2012: 127-207). This is evident in the case of the ''stiliagi'' (many of whom self-defined as ''shtatniki'' – worshippers of American culture), who closely observed the clothes and styles of Western foreigners. This was a ‘well-known practice,’ even down to imitating the language with Americanised jargon such as ''trauzera'' (trousers), ''khetok'' (hat), and ''shuzina'' (shoes)</ref>Fürst, Juliane, Stalin’s Last Generation: Soviet Post-War Youth and the Emergence of Mature Socialism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).</ref>. Obtaining westernised music was therefore just another part of developing a westernised identity. However, the American influence is often overstated, as Hilary Pilkington argued, the new Soviet teenager was a product of the new domestic society, which was characterised by fewer working hours (the working day reduced from eight to six hours for 16-18 year olds in July 1956), increased leisure time and expanding leisure industry, higher disposable income, and the extension of adolescence through more opportunities in higher education<ref>Pilkington, Hilary, Russia’s Youth and its Culture: A Nation’s Constructors and Constructed (London: Routledge, 1994).</ref>. The new teenage consumer, rebelling against the styles and modes of the previous generations, therefore sought out an original way of expressing their self-identity through consumption – a need that was in part met through ''roentgenizdat''. | ||
To conclude, while it was the activity of the underground recording studio networks and the ''stiliagi'' which enabled the production and circulation of x-ray discs, there were a number of structural developments which increased demand for this underground product. These included the jazz ban, satirising of the ''stiliagi'' in the official press, and the emerging Soviet consumerist culture. Nevertheless, ''roentgenizdat'' was borne out of a desire, not specifically to subvert the official institutions and censors of artistic expression, but to help obtain an individual style in the new era of Soviet consumerism. By the 1960s, just as rock music replaced jazz music and the ''stiliagi'' became ‘clichéd and outmoded’<ref>Johnson, Timothy, Being Soviet: Identity, Rumour, and Everyday Life under Stalin 1939-1953 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).</ref>, ''roentgenizdat'' was replaced by a more technologically advanced phenomenon – ''magnitizdat'', the unofficial practice of (re-)recording uncensored music or speech onto cassette tapes. | To conclude, while it was the activity of the underground recording studio networks and the ''stiliagi'' which enabled the production and circulation of x-ray discs, there were a number of structural developments which increased demand for this underground product. These included the jazz ban, satirising of the ''stiliagi'' in the official press, and the emerging Soviet consumerist culture. Nevertheless, ''roentgenizdat'' was borne out of a desire, not specifically to subvert the official institutions and censors of artistic expression, but to help obtain an individual style in the new era of Soviet consumerism. By the 1960s, just as rock music replaced jazz music and the ''stiliagi'' became ‘clichéd and outmoded’<ref>Johnson, Timothy, Being Soviet: Identity, Rumour, and Everyday Life under Stalin 1939-1953 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).</ref>, ''roentgenizdat'' was replaced by a more technologically advanced phenomenon – ''[[magnitizdat]]'', the unofficial practice of (re-)recording uncensored music or speech onto cassette tapes. | ||
== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||