Šaižus gitarų skambesys
LTRokas, užsimezgęs kaip muzikos žanras, labai greitai tapo visa persmelkiančiu kultūros reiškiniu - savita, gaivališka, nuolat atsinaujinančia meno forma. Lietuvoje roko muzika sklido nepamainoma šio žanro kalba - angliškai. Ir nors tuometinė Lietuvos visuomenė angliškai mokėjo menkai, tačiau žodį rock suprato visi - kaip ir į laisvę šaukiantį šaižų gitarų skambesį. Roko muzika yra sinkretinė: lyg iš gausybės rago tekanti, visad gyvybinga ir ilgaamžė, drastiškai interpretuojanti bene visus iki tol puoselėtus muzikos žanrus, taip pat drąsiai įtraukianti teatro, kino, poezijos, sporto elementus. Bėgant dešimtmečiams vis labiau ryškėja šios muzikos ir vaizduojamojo meno ryšys. Tas ryšys užsimezgė vos rokui įsigalėjus JAV ir Didžiojoje Britanijoje - muzikantai ėmė bendradarbiauti su menininkais: jų plokštelių viršelius kūrė žymūs dailininkai, o koncertus paįvairindavo vaizdo instaliacijų ir šviesos efektų kūrėjai. Žinoma, toks pat svarbus roko reiškinio vidus - idėjos, o jas šio stiliaus daina išreiškia kartais aiškiau nei kurio kito žanro kūrinys. Rokas anuomet galėjo idėjas transliuoti netiesiogiai; žodį „transliuoti" vartoju turėdamas mintyje, kad jis nusako ir būdą, kaip roko muzika nuo pat 1960-ųjų sklido po pasaulį. Daugelis - ypač geležinės uždangos atskirtieji - šią gerąją naujieną pirmiausia išgirdo radijo bangomis. Žinoma, verta paminėti, kad ir muzikos įrašai plokštelių pavidalu ėmė patekti į Lietuvą bei visą plačią Sovietų Sąjungą ganėtinai anksti. Plokštelių atsiųsdavo išeiviai giminaičiai, atveždavo jūreiviai; muitinėje jos galėjo būti pažeistos ar net konfiskuotos, visgi dauguma jų vis vien pasiekdavo klausytoją (turint mintyje didžiules plokštelių kainas - iki pusės vidutinio mėnesio atlyginimo - ir paklausą juodojoje rinkoje, vargu ar muitininkai jas naikindavo). [Iš straipsnio, p. 33]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Popartas; Rokas; Muzikantai; Pop art; Rock; Musicians.
ENWhile the rock phenomenon began as a musical genre, it very quickly became an all-pervasive cultural matter, a peculiar and spontaneous art form that constantly reinvented itself. Even though the Lithuanian society of the time was poorly proficient in English, the word rock was widely synonymous with the jarring guitar sound and the call for freedom. Early rock music, from ear-splitting American rock 'n' roll to, later on, British Big beat and psychedelia, reached Lithuania via foreign radio stations. One of the most progressive ones was the legendary Radio Luxembourg, while Voice of America and the BBC Russian Service broadcast specifically rock shows. In Soviet Lithuania, the fact that there could exist TV programmes dealing with the phenomenon of rock music was completely out of the question; even foreign music magazines or photographs of rock stars retaken from similar sources, not to mention original vinyls, were of immense value. Neither strict cultural restrictions, nor ideological constraints, nor poor quality of audio equipment, nor lack of musical instruments stopped the creative breakthrough of rock music in the country. Lithuanian rock bands began to form in the first half of the 1960s, including "Aisčiai" (The Aesti in Lithuanian), "Gėlių Vaikai" (Flower Children), "Rupūs Miltai" (Coarse Flour), "Vienuoliai" (The Monks), "Bočiai" (The Ancestors), "Vyturėliai" (The Skylarks), "Vaizbūnai", "Perkūno Ainiai" (Descendents of God the Thunderer), "Dainiai" (The Bards), "Raganiai" (The Sorcerers), "Saulės Vaikai" (Children of the Sun), "Sartakovo Trio" (Sartakov Trio), "Nuogi ant slenksčio" (Naked on the Doorstep), as well as the first girls band "Bitės" (The Bees). There were unofficial concerts and even spontaneous rock festivals. One of the most famous festivals was called a pop session and took p.Another important event of 1971 was the first (albeit unofficial) production of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in Eastern Europe, initiated by Kęstutis Antanėlis and Olegas Zacharenkovas and performed at the then LSSR State Art Institute. Ever since rock music began taking root, musicians were in collaboration with visual artists, as album covers were created by visual artists and designers, and concerts were complemented by video installations and light effects. This collaboration was so close that visual artists even became part of rock history. The working relationship between the visual arts and rock music in Lithuania is most evident in the area of album covers. Once the forerunner bands such as "Gintarėliai" (Pieces of Amber) and "Kertukai" made their way to the stage as "permissible" Soviet pop musicians and became very successful ensembles, even so-called vocal-instrumental ensembles like "Vilniaus Aidai" (Echoes of Vilnius) began portraying themselves as rock bands on their album covers. An album by the pop orchestra "Oktava" (Octave) was also influenced by the visual language of Western pop music.Eventually, rock-inspired transformations broke out in the professional pop music scene too, as the score by the composer Vyacheslav Ganelin written for the film "Velnio nuotaka" (Devil's Bride, dir. Arūnas Žebriūnas) and released in 1976 was unofficially baptized a rock opera. Bands that performed rock music eventually became somewhat legalized, providing them with a necessary setting to create and the ability to take part in amateur activities, and at the same time creating a regulatory framework aimed at improving the "artistic level" of people's leisure time, meaning efforts to channel youth creativity in an "ideologically correct" direction. Ironically, such formula for governance that was directed against the undesirable rock music has, in part, enabled its evolution. Even though the situation was under strict control for a long time, rock music as a phenomenon embodied the concept of freedom and eventually shattered the restrictions. [From the publication]
