Popular Music in Lithuania in the 1990s:
a Reflection of Wider Problems
and Systemic Shifts
Popular Music in Lithuania in the 1990s:
a Reflection of Wider Problems
and Systemic Shifts
Author(s): Paulina NalivaikaitėSubject(s): Music, Sociology of Art, History of Art
Published by: Akademia Muzyczna w Krakowie im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego
Keywords: 1990s; post-Soviet period; identity shift; Lithuania; popular music; social problems;
Summary/Abstract: The object of the research is Lithuanian popular music in the 1990s. This was a decade ofhardship for Lithuania: the state was greatly impacted by unfulfilled hopes and painfuleconomic, social and political problems: unemployment, poverty, crime, corruption, etc.Based on the notion of popular music as a medium of society and sociological researchdata, the research reveals how Lithuanian popular music artists adressed many of theproblems facing the country in the 1990s and also reflected the shift towards Westernculture during this period. The study focused on songs from three popular music genres(hip-hop/rap, punk rock, and dance music). Depending on the genre, the lyrics of thesesongs covered a broad spectrum of issues in Lithuania at that time: various types of crime(murder, violence, corruption, prostitution, drug distribution), economic and spirituallimitations, the degradation of moral values, dissillusion with power, and distrust in thestate, as well as an identity shift towards the West, to which musicians bore testimonythrough open and bold lyrics on uncomfortable, controversial, and topical issues.
Journal: Teoria Muzyki. Studia, Interpretacje, Dokumentacje
- Issue Year: X/2021
- Issue No: 18/19
- Page Range: 71-96
- Page Count: 26
- Language: English