The formula “merry and scary” in Yegor Letovʼs conception of time

Abstract

In this article the formula “merry and scary” from Letov’s “Prevoskhodnaya pesnya” (“outstanding Song”) is examined in the context of a song by Vadim Kuz’min, Gennady Shpalikov’s film, and a poem by Oleg Grigor’ev. The analysis concludes that even externally simple formulas can acquire complex meanings when viewed in context and thereby express the precise limits of the author’s sense of the world.