What was Vysotsky's central idea about authenticity?
Authenticity? It’s the only currency that matters. This whole circus of rules, of looking the part, of saying the right words – it’s a cage. My songs, they tried to break that cage. Whether I sang about a boxer in the ring, facing his own defeat, or a soldier looking at his dead comrade, it was always about looking the man in the eye, the real man, stripped bare. Да кому оно надо, это ваше 'правильно'? The real strength, the real feeling, that’s what’s true. Life isn’t written down, life is вот она, в крови и в поту.
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