Blood Type
This is the wall of Viktor Tsoi in central Moscow, on Arbat Street (Old Arbat), where fans are always leaving new graffiti inscriptions in his honor — many of them taken from his lyrics. At the very bottom, in blue, you can see a paraphrase from today’s song: “Я не останусь в этой траве” (I won’t remain in this grass).
Even as beginners, students are often drawn to the music of Viktor Tsoi and his band KINO, arguably the biggest band in the history of Russian rock music. Tsoi's lyrics are quite approachable in terms of grammar, so we'll be seeing a lot of them. Before long you'll actually be able to understand a good deal of the lyrics in the original. It's quite an honor to have Tsoi as your Russian tutor.
Viktor Tsoi (whose father was Korean, and mother Russian) was a key figure in the underground rock scene in St. Petersburg in the 80's; in fact, he quite literally spent much of his time underground, working in a boiler room in the basement of his apartment building. Such menial jobs were often taken by artists of various sorts whose work was not officially sanctioned; in those days, a rock musician like Tsoi could not sell his music through the state-run recording monopoly, nor could he hold concerts at official venues; so, he could not support himself through his music, and so might be inclined to take a job that, while low-paying, would give him enough to get by, while leaving him the free time to write songs. He'd shovel some coal into the furnace, then sit around writing songs (and monitoring the furnace). He even gave small, informal concerts in the boiler room; today, it's a small club, and mini-museum, dedicated to Tsoi, called Камчатка — a real site of pilgrimage for any fan of Russian music.
Gradually, during the age of Gorbachev (Горбачёв), Russian rock emerged from the underground. Cassette decks made it possible to distribute songs more easily, and bands could perform at certain public venues, such as the famous Leningrad Rock Club (Ленинградский рок-клуб) on ulitsa Rubinshteina, in the very middle of Petersburg (then Leningrad!). Today's song, and the album of the same name, catapulted Tsoi's group KINO to massive stardom (so-called "KINO-mania," киномания) in 1988. Just two years later, in June of 1990, the band played to a huge crowd in Moscow's Olympic Stadium at Luzhniki; the Olympic flame was even lit in his honor. Clerly, rock had now entered the mainstream. Unfortunately, this was to be Tsoi's last concert; his death that August in an automobile accident shocked his fans. He remains a very popular and in many ways authoritative figure to this day, and certainly the biggest name in the history of Russian rock. People widely regard him as an authentic and uncompromising person.
If you know anything of Western 80's music, much of Tsoi's work will sound familiar musically; he was influenced by New Wave and Post-Punk music, by acts ranging from Joy Division to The Smiths. But his lyrics articulate a distinctive worldview, marked by fatalistic resignation and a sense of honor and duty (he's sometimes called the "last Romantic"). He paints himself as a disaffected slacker one moment, and as a idealistic soldier the next — in today's song, we see references to soldiers and cosmonauts, and a desire for fortune in battle despite a rejection of violence. The "star" in the closing line is a good example of the ambiguous ways in which Soviet imagery was often invoked in rock music; but, where the red Soviet star may once have inspired real soldiers, the soldier here is of a different stripe, and the star that guides him seems to speak to some private ideal well beyond the realm of the political. To even speak of such a private world ran counter to Soviet ideology, and the fact that Russian rockers like Tsoi began to speak of it, articulating their disaffection and search for meaning, made their lyrics extremely fresh and appealing to young people.
Blood Type
A warm place,
but the streets await
the prints
of our feet.
Stardust -
on our boots.
A soft easy chair,
a plaid blanket,
A not-pulled-in-time
trigger.
A sunny day -
in blinding dreams.
(My) blood type -
on my sleeve,
My ID number -
on my sleeve.
Wish me fortune in battle,
wish for me:
Not to remain
in this grass,
Not to remain
in this grass.
Wish me fortune,
wish me fortune!
There is something to pay with,
but I don't want
victory
at any price.
I don't want
to put my foot on anyone's chest.
I would like
to stay with you,
Simply
stay with you,
But a star, high in the sky,
calls me on my way.
Группа крови
Тëплое место,
но улицы ждут
Отпечатков
наших ног.
Звëздная пыль —
на сапогах.
Мягкое кресло,
клетчатый плед,
Не нажатый вовремя
курок.
Солнечный день —
в ослепительных снах.
Группа крови —
на рукаве,
Мой порядковый номер —
на рукаве,
Пожелай мне удачи в бою,
пожелай мне:
Не остаться
в этой траве,
Не остаться
в этой траве.
Пожелай мне удачи,
пожелай мне удачи!
И есть чем платить,
но я не хочу
Победы
любой ценой.
Я никому не хочу
ставить ногу на грудь.
Я хотел бы
остаться с тобой,
Просто
остаться с тобой,
Но высокая в небе звезда
зовëт меня в путь.
Vocab notes:
тёплый: warm • место: place, spot • ждать n/sA: to wait • отпечаток: print, impression • нога: foot; leg • звёздный: adj. from звезда: star • пыль, и: dust • сапог, а: boot • мягкий: soft • кресло: easy chair • клетчатый: checkered (from клетка: small square; cage) • плед: plaid blanket • нажимать АЙ / нажать /Мend: to press • вовремя: in time • курок: trigger of a gun (more accurately, the hammer) • солнечный: adj. from солнце: sun • день, дня: day • ослепительный: blinding, dazzling • сон: dream; sleep • группа: group • кровь, и: blood • группа крови: blood type • рукав, a: sleeve • порядковый: adj. from порядок: order • номер: number • желать АЙ / пожелать АЙ кому чего: to wish someone something • удача: success, luck • бой: battle • оставаться АВАЙ / остаться Нstem: to remain, be left (behind) • трава: grass • платить Иshift / заплатить И: to pay • победа: victory • любой: any • цена: price • ставить И / поставить И: to put, to “place in a standing position” • нога: foot; leg • грудь, и: chest, breast • просто: simply, from простой: simple • высокий: high • небо: sky • звезда, pl. звёзды: starr • звать n/sA: to call • путь, и (m!): path
Don’t miss this stirring tribute to Tsoi by everyone’s favorite band… Leningrad.
Blood Type
by Leningrad (Sergey Shnurov)
"Kino" is playing on the tape deck,
You tell me: turn that shit off.
You're sick of that old-fashioned stuff.
Shut up, this is my favorite song!
О, blood type
On my sleeve
О, blood type
On my sleeve
Could you keep quiet for five minutes,
Or wish me fortune in battle?
"Blood Type" is my favorite song,
And when I feel bad, I sing it.
О, blood type
On my sleeve
О, blood type
On my sleeve
Группа крови
группа Ленинград (Сергей Шнуров)
В магнитофоне играет группа "Кино"
Ты говоришь мне: выключи это говно
Тебя ломает от всякого старья
Заткнись, это любимая песня моя
О, группа крови
На рукаве
О, группа крови
На рукаве
Ты можешь помолчать хотябы пять минут
Или пожелай мне удачи в бою?
Группа крови - любимая песня
И когда мне плохо, её я пою
О, группа крови
На рукаве
О, группа крови
На рукаве
