Thread: Zemfira
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Old 07-07-2003, 00:09   #9
la aurora la aurora is offline
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convol

Quote:
no need for you to complain about your English. It's fine
I'm ok with my english when I need to say something. I know, I can make ppl understand me even if from the forty eleventh attempt. But when it comes for translation... i just feel sad that I can't make u feel the spirit this girl has in her lyrics... the best thing is words she choses to express herself. And without knowing slang I can just give u a kind of general meanings... most of emotionality is lost in this case... sorry...

Quote:
I liked the lyrics especially for SPID
they are good but not the greatest *feels sad for reasons she gave above*
anyway, may be u'll find it interesting. Zemfira leaved some comments on her songs from the 1st album. I'll tell u what she said about two songs u mentioned in ur last post.

SPID:
I don't think this song is autobiographical. But it's quite important for me. It's about the senses of 2 ppl - a girl and a boy. many say it was kinda impudent of me to write on such a serious topic. I don't know. From the altidude of my young years... i don't think i 'discovered any discovery'. I wrote everything as it is. I'll be very pleased if in the close future medics will argue this scandal line "u have an AIDS and that means we'll die" discovering some medicine that will be able to treat this illness. But don't take it to ur heart... u know, it will never touch us...

Scandal:
Girl-scandal is the only autobiographical song on the album [although later on the same page she named some more like 'arividerchi' and 'zemfira']. I up and sang about everything they were saying about me, everything I feel about myself. Why was it played this way? We just wanted so. We wanted some experiments. Really there are 84 variants of arrangement in this song. And in all of them I play according to my mood. I like a lot listening to it in the mornings, the song about scandal. A kind of alarm-clock. It's very hard to fall asleep again after, if u make the sound really loud.

And now about 'Kukushka'. U are right, it's a cover. A cover of a famous russian band KINO ('Cinema, movie' - it's the same in russian). The band was really popular. They were a kind of forbidden at first but then with the end of USSR and 'glasnost' the were giving stadium concerts. They were the most popular band in Russia at the end of 80ies.The frontman of the band was Victor Tsoy, the guy with kerean orgins. He was writing and singing his not-compromissing songs , demanding changes and freedom. Then... in august of 1990 he died. It was an accident with his motorcycle. He was damn young then and he became a kind of a legend. If u r in Russia one day and go to see our famous Arbat street u'll see 2 famous walls there. One is called 'the wall of peace' with lots of drawings made by little children there. 2nd is the wall of Victor Tsoy with lots of signs leaved by his fans. Every year at his birthday and death dates ppl come there, bring flowers and sing his songs. But even at any other day u can see many street musicians singing the songs of KINO. It's a cultish band. Everybody knows it although the guy died 13 years ago. When I was trying to learn playing guitar his songs were the first I tried. Same with other ppl. His songs contain 4-5 accords mostly, quite simple ones. His voice was a bit weird. It's just hard to imagine how he was able to sing at all. He sang so low. But ppl loved him. He was just taking life as it was, without any retouching. In few words, he is a cult figure and respected musician. So, there were always lots of projects around non-existing band. Like reproduced albums and the most popular one is "KINOprobi" ('screen tests') - tribute concerts and albums with all russian-speaking rock musicians (russian, ukrainian, belorussian and even moldovian)singing his songs. Some of these covers became really popular like 'Malish' by Mummy Troll or Zemfira's "Kukushka". There are some other interesting covers. For example KINOprobi was the first place I heard about Smislovie Gallutsinatsii (popular band now. U'll have at least one of their songs on CDs I made for u). Their "Mama, mi vse t'azhelo bol'ni" ('Mother, we are all seriously ill... Mother, u know, we have all losen our minds...' and so on) I liked a lot. But many critics and average listeners name 'Kukushka' as one of the best [although it's not the most famous song of KINO].

here's the lyrics if u are interested:
How many songs aren't written still,
Tell me, cuckoo, sing!
Will i live in the city or will i be evicted?
Will i lay as a stone or be burning/shinig as a star?
The star?

My sun, look at me!
My palm turned to a fist.
And if there is gun-powder, give me fire as well.
That's it!

Who will follow the lonely footstep?
All the strong and brave leaved their heads in the fields... during the fight.
Few stayed with the light memory,
sober mind and a firm hand
in the formation... in the formation.

My sun, look at me!
My palm turned to a fist.
And if there is gun-powder, give me fire as well.
That's it!

Where are u now, my free freedom?
Who are u meeting the sunrise with?
Tell me!
It's good with u and bad without u
[my] patient head and shoulders
Under the lash... the lash.

My sun, look at me!
My palm turned to a fist.
And if there is gun-powder, give me fire as well.
That's it!

Quite a sad song, u r right. But Zemfira has much more sad ones... u know, like one of her unreleased songs "mom, the name for me is 'suicide'"... there are some songs of this kind in i-net. I'll include them on CD if u want. They are not finished... just demos... only Zemfira and her guitar.

Now answering ur question. Yep, Zemfira is the most popular band here. She dissapeared for a year to have some rest and to work on her 3d album. And she still refuses to give interviews and attend most of the ceremonies [with just few exceptions] but still only one reminding of her name is enough to have a full stadium.
But she's not TATU. She doesn't wear school uniform. She doesn't use make-up even. The only thing u can expect from her is unbelieveble energy and great live-singing on the stage. She doesn't have a genius producer [i'm not even sure if she has one at all now. she seems to be quite independent in everything]. Lyrics are the most important thing about her. So she is popular among russian-speaking ppl [in Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia and traditionaly for russian rock - in Baltic countries like Latvia]. I haven't heard she was popular somewhere else. She was also going to make a noth-american tour... but then this war happened and she refused. Anyway, it would be for russian immigrants mostly, i guess.
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