When I was growing up in Minsk in the 90s, the top three Russian bands in my parents' collection were Алиса, Аквариум, and Kino. In 98 we came to Vancouver, fell out of touch with the old country, and doubled down on Canadianizing ourselves. The music came with us though, and it's always held a special place in my heart. I sometimes find myself wondering how it would have unfolded for Цой and Kino. Кинчев has become the very thing he used to rebel against, an embarrassing has-been that hasn't made a good record since Чёрная Метка. БГ seems to have run out of steam too. Would it have been the same for Цой? Listening to the music as I got older, he does seem to have been on a different plane from the rest. However derivative his music may have been (and whose isn't in some way), he had something to say and a unique way with the words used to say it.
Mainly though, due to immigrating, aside from my parents, I've never come across another person who was aware, let alone appreciative of, Цой and Kino. One day though, I was riding my bike on a quiet street and saw "Цой Жив!" written in chalk on the asphalt. It was a shock; I nearly crashed, stopped, and took a picture. I guess that means there are st least three of us now... Дальше действовать будем мы. Thanks for the read.
Thanks for reading! It's hard to say how Tsoi would have ended up. I'd like to believe he'd not have become horribly embarrassing like Butusov of Nautilus. I often go through phases with music, but after two decades Tsoi still impresses me just as much now as he did when I first listened.
Thank you for reading! Honestly, my biggest hopes are that even if people didn't particularly like the story itself, they came away curious about Tsoi and his music.
When I was growing up in Minsk in the 90s, the top three Russian bands in my parents' collection were Алиса, Аквариум, and Kino. In 98 we came to Vancouver, fell out of touch with the old country, and doubled down on Canadianizing ourselves. The music came with us though, and it's always held a special place in my heart. I sometimes find myself wondering how it would have unfolded for Цой and Kino. Кинчев has become the very thing he used to rebel against, an embarrassing has-been that hasn't made a good record since Чёрная Метка. БГ seems to have run out of steam too. Would it have been the same for Цой? Listening to the music as I got older, he does seem to have been on a different plane from the rest. However derivative his music may have been (and whose isn't in some way), he had something to say and a unique way with the words used to say it.
Mainly though, due to immigrating, aside from my parents, I've never come across another person who was aware, let alone appreciative of, Цой and Kino. One day though, I was riding my bike on a quiet street and saw "Цой Жив!" written in chalk on the asphalt. It was a shock; I nearly crashed, stopped, and took a picture. I guess that means there are st least three of us now... Дальше действовать будем мы. Thanks for the read.
Thanks for reading! It's hard to say how Tsoi would have ended up. I'd like to believe he'd not have become horribly embarrassing like Butusov of Nautilus. I often go through phases with music, but after two decades Tsoi still impresses me just as much now as he did when I first listened.
excellent to read this thanks
Thank you for reading! Honestly, my biggest hopes are that even if people didn't particularly like the story itself, they came away curious about Tsoi and his music.