Fenomén Underground

Sometimes in 1985, I discovered Kryl, who fascinated me with his political and critical lyrics, and subsequently, I started listening to other singer-songwriters who opposed the regime. Even then, I was aware of the existence of dissent, but I was not familiar with the term "underground" in practice. My first encounter with the underground, or rather with what identified with it, had a tangible dimension for me. In 1988, I participated in a nationwide round of a high school competition, which, as was customary at the time, took place under the patronage of the so-called Socialist Union of Youth and required certain rituals that appear ridiculous from today's perspective, such as wearing the uniform of the Union. Before entering the local pub, I wisely took off my provocative red tie, but my blue shirt still shocked the present comrades and unmistakably classified me somewhere in the despised regime's riffraff. Subsequently, they vividly demonstrated to me what gliding at low altitudes looks like without an engine. Regardless of this painful experience, I would not have found my way to the underground anyway. It was too noisy, dirty, and smoky from cheap cigarettes in my eyes. Sometimes, from my perspective, it seemed unnecessarily poseurish. Paradoxically, the 90s did the most harm to it in my eyes when the nature-rebelling unofficial underground cultural scene merged with the polished official world of media celebrities and political top figures. It happened through Václav Havel and some individuals from the former dissent. The band The Plastic People of the Universe experienced a strange comeback, even though it was clearly evident that musically, they were stuck somewhere in the 70s and were not progressing. In certain circles, it was fashionable at the time to identify with their heritage, and it was considered good form to attend their concerts and boast about reading Ivan Martin Jirous's books, which usually ended up somewhere in a corner of the library. The first episodes of FU rely on sentiment and reference to the classic underground of the 70s and 80s, paradoxically reminding me more of the atmosphere of the 90s. The series has confirmed to me that I am out of sync with the world of the classic underground in terms of feeling, and its holiest symbols are rather repulsive to me. Moreover, the nearly 40-episode series is a project that is too ambitious for my taste, its scope scares me, not to mention the content, which invokes indifference in me and at times even repels me. Overall impression: 45%. (30.09.2014)