“Back in the USSR”
Ever since I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a Beatle.
You’re probably thinking this fab line had been a part of some baby-boom fad, but you’re mistaken. It is as much a product of “Gen-Y” and Millennial love as it is of someone born in 1950s. In one case, a love that was always denied for so many years after Beatlemania peaked and subsided in Western Europe and America.
This Soviet story starts with pirated and smuggled records – items coveted as much as a pair of American jeans, or Yugoslavian shoes. My father’s generation, left in the dark in regards to the lyrics’ meaning, nevertheless, managed to fall in love with banned Beatle tunes to the extent of even adopting their fashion sense (not so much the acid trips) – all in face of the wrath wielded by their uncool peers, and plebeian Communist rulers.
For generations, the music of The Beatles represented a magical audio tour abroad for Soviets caged in a closed empire; as it was an aesthetic escape from the banal, unintellectual, and forgettable music promoted by the state media machine. Of course, there is also a psychological element to this story – the more you forbid something, the more we crave it. This common wisdom, coupled with the immeasurable musical genius of the fab four, produced an army of underground fans. The soldiers of rock who would spend a month’s salary on vinyl. These were the “sleeper cell” double-agents of the insane social system and of the invisible auditory front. Fans who survived the Cold War by ducking into friends’ basements for listening parties that covered their minds with momentary sanity and salvation. Slowly, Beatlemania was becoming the anthem of a quiet, yet powerful musical rebellion in an authoritarian state.
It is out of this historical context, those born in the 1980s inherited their fathers’ records and tapes. I was one of those lucky ones. My father never told me to listen to anything. As any curious kid, I liked to play with everything technology-related, which included tape decks, boom boxes, and, logically, the tapes themselves (let’s not forget the rewinding pencils, too). In a fast-paced era of computer games, cable TV, and personal computers, I stayed true to the lads from Liverpool. I remember watching every single Beatles documentary what would come on TV, and even when swayed by heavy metal and later techno/house of the 1990s, I never liked any other band or performer more.
I like saying that The Beatles taught me English, but doing so equates to a big slap in the face of my English teachers. However, where teachers stopped, the Beatles not only picked up, but also blew my mind. From something as rudimentary as “Altogether Now” or “Yellow Submarine,” I soon learnt (and, unlike my predecessors, understood) the lyrics of the first four albums. Some were cheesy, some bizarre, but all equally captivating and mind-altering. Ever since “Girl” my “leisure” rhymes with “pleasure.” Tuscon, Arizona will never mean anything else to me but Jo-jo’s home. I dig all ponies, rooftops make me want to start a tribute band, a raccoon I’ve never met before will always be called Rocky, and I will never like Tuesdays or corporation t-shirts.
Aside from the linguistic effect, John, Paul, George, and Ringo shaped my inner romantic. After all, one of the reasons their music remains hugely popular till this day is because it covers universal themes centered around love: unrequited love, jealous love, superficial love, ideal love, dirty love, and even lesbian love. Working-class heroes behaving and singing in a classy way about something every human on this planet can relate to – faith, gender, race, and culture notwithstanding – if anything, that’s certainly a recipe for success. This may partly explain why someone like the Rolling Stones never gained similar popularity in some countries – their “bad boy” attitude conflicted with the local cultural norms. Yet, it is difficult to find and run the right metrics on music, especially retroactively and in a totalitarian land. It may or may not be true that it was more the music of The Beatles and not their “nice boys” image that can be credited for propelling their careers.
Yet, years after the evil empire fell – for reasons still debated by Sovietologists, some of whom include small factors like western pop-culture cravings (Beatlemania, blue jeans, or McDonalds) as agents of subliminal political change – I was pretty sure that this was it…that we were the last of the Mohicans. The expectation was that by my adulthood, the lads would just become another “Oldies” radio station band, clumsily labeled under “Classic Rock” and played in the afternoon somewhere between The Monkees and Sonny & Cher. Thankfully, I was proven wrong. Quality not only survives, but grows and goes viral.
Several years ago, I attended John Lennon’s candle light vigil and was pleasantly surprised to see a boy as young as me when I first heard this great band. It weren’t Apple or the “Rock Band” computer game sales that motivated this youngster to come with his dad to sing “A Day in the Life” with strangers. His peers are probably as (or perhaps even more) perplexed than mine were about how someone can possibly like “the Oldies” (hearing this noun makes me shudder to this day). You could tell – he was there because he was a true fan.
John was right after all, The Beatles have not become less popular since 1960s, but Christianity actually has. Nowadays, a third of the world is Christian, with only a small portion of those actually attending church and not just wearing the cultural emblem of Christianity. Let’s not forget that The Beatles are known and loved by Hindus, Muslims, Atheists and all others, and, unlike following institutional religion, listening to this band will not lead to wars, rapes, or hatred.
In closing, the gentleman at 00:33 in this video perfectly encapsulates the Soviet Beatle fan – nostalgic for both a band and country that no longer exist and elated when the former echoes in the heart of the latter:
The Beatles will transcend many more decades, as they are still touching many lives in their signature distinct, genuine ways. A couple of young Iranians or North Koreans may be secretly listening to “Revolution” before bed, for all we know. By recognizing and reflecting on the lasting impact of The Beatles, we remind ourselves of the better angels of our nature, affirm the best parts of our past, and remember that in the end the love we take is equal to the love we make.
- Sasha
Check out his blog - http://www.sashgeist.com/