Tag: music

Covers of “April” by Kino

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Recently, completely by accident, I came across a cover of “April” by Kino. It hit me so hard that I put it right up there with the original. I decided to share it with my wife—and that’s when I found out she doesn’t even know the song at all. Which, honestly, stabbed me straight in the heart. I genuinely have no idea how we managed to live together for 23 years if she knows Kino’s music that poorly.

As for me, I’ve been a longtime fan of the band. I remember laughing back in fourth grade during music class at a classmate who asked me whether I listened to “movie.” (In Russian, ‘Kino’ means ‘movie’). Yes, that’s exactly how I heard it. I even thought it was a funny idea—listening to movies. And I actually followed through: I bought a couple of reels and recorded all three episodes of my favorite film at the time, D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers, off the TV—because I could listen to the songs from it over and over.

But back then I forgot about the band Kino. I discovered it and fell in love with it a few years later—right after I stopped being a diehard fan of another legendary group, Laskovyi Mai (or groups, really, since there were like ten different lineups touring the USSR). Yes—straight from Laskovyi Mai to rock. And like with a lot of things I did, I went all in.

And “April” is one of those songs I loved then, and still love to this day.

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Films with Different Dubbings — Part 2

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It seems the first post about films with different dubbings was received quite well — and even back then I promised there would be a second part.

Although by now I’ve realized that calling it just “different dubbings” wasn’t quite accurate. It would have been more precise to call it “different versions.”

3. Rock’n Roll Wolf (1976)

Ever since childhood, I remember those TV “film concerts” — long compilations of songs from various animated films and movies. And almost always, one beautiful song would appear in those programs: “Mama” from the 1976 film of the same name (because in Russian the film was released under the title “Mama”, not “Rock’n Roll Wolf.”). Curiously, the film itself was shown on television quite rarely.

And yet it’s simply a costumed musical (we didn’t even use that word back then), loosely based on the fairy tale The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats (in English it is usually translated as The Wolf and Seven Kids.) At the same time, there was another wonderful Soviet musical, Wolf and Seven Kids in a New Way, which was released both as a vinyl record and as an animated film.

The movie Rock’n Roll Wolf was directed by the Romanian filmmaker Elisabeta Bostan and was a co-production between three countries: the USSR, Romania, and France. The main roles were played by well-known Soviet actors — Lyudmila Gurchenko, Mikhail Boyarskiy, Saveliy Kramarov, Natalya Krachkovskaya, and even the clown Oleg Popov as the Bear — alongside Romanian actors (how famous they were at the time, I honestly don’t know). The screenplay was a Soviet–Romanian collaboration, while the music was written by French and Romanian composers.

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Films with Different Dubbings — Part 1

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Many people enjoy watching films — some prefer the original audio, others like the dubbing tradition that has existed in the Russian-speaking world for nearly a century. But few people realize that some films were released with multiple different dubbings. The reasons varied, but the fact remains. And today I decided to talk about a few such films — all of them made in the Soviet Union.

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Book: Pavel Volotovich, Alexey Kovalyov ‘From Panikovka to the Puck’

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Photo albums about my hometown, Minsk, are my weakness. I try to buy almost every one that comes into my sight. So when the book From Panikovka to the Puck came out in December, I managed to order it through friends.

The book was “written” by the same authors who previously produced the biography of the Belarusian band Neuro Dubel. This time, they set out to show where and why the city’s youth hung out in the 1990s — what those places with names like “Panikovka” and “Puck” were, and what actually went on there. I put the word “written” in quotation marks because there’s hardly any real authorial text here. It’s mostly a collection of photographs and quotes — memories from various “scene” regulars of the time — with only very brief introductions by the authors here and there.

Unfortunately, the selection of respondents is very limited. Some are well known to many Belarusians, but most belong to a very narrow circle of people few have ever heard of — mostly the so-called bohemia: musicians, journalists, DJs, artists.

The book gives a certain snapshot of that era. After reading it, you’re left with the aftertaste of those years. At the same time, there are several issues that kept the book from meeting my expectations. Roughly speaking, they fall into two categories: the “places” described and the people chosen to comment on them.

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Musical “Les Misérables”

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When I wrote my review of Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, I admitted that what pushed me to read it was the Hollywood adaptation of the musical based on the same book. Before the musical, I only knew the broad strokes about the novel. The musical interpretation, though a bit on the superficial side, turned out to be very engaging. I rewatch it from time to time, and many of the songs have made their way into my playlist.

At some point I got interested in the history of the musical itself. And it turned out not to be some little-known production. So I’ll try to give a brief overview.

The first staging of a musical based on the famous book was in France, in 1980—and of course in French. But that production ran on stage for only three months. And perhaps no one would have heard of it if, in 1983, a recording hadn’t been passed to Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Broadway version of the great musical Cats, with a proposal to create an English-language version. The text was rewritten for an English audience; a prologue and several new numbers were added; and most importantly, all the non-musical spoken dialogue was removed. This version premiered in London in 1985.

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Song: Tor Band “Go Away”

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Until 2020, I knew nothing at all about the band Tor Band from Rogachev, Belarus. The guys had found their niche and started releasing protest songs back in 2017, but they were still known to very few. In 2020, though, they became almost the anthem of the protests alongside many others. Their “We’re Not a ‘Little Nation’!” quickly gained popularity among protesters. After that, they began releasing similar songs one after another. You can’t say all of them are of the highest level of performance or use non-trivial musical approaches. But could you say that about Vysotsky, for example? And yet Tor Band’s work spoke to the soul.

But our “most humane state in the world” got to them as well. All the musicians—and even their wives—were arrested; the band itself was declared an extremist formation. I can’t even imagine what’s being done to them now in the regime’s jails. And the sentences they face are anything but humane.

I don’t consider the expression of an honest opinion to be extremism. They’re merely saying what those in power don’t want to hear. And that’s why I think it must be repeated and repeated until, someday, it’s heard. If only because, for now, I can still do it.

There’s no official music video for the song “Go Away,” but there is an unofficial one—that’s the one I’ll share.

Tor Band — Уходи

Song: Nogu Svelo! “Ukraine. A Year of War”

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This time I won’t write anything of my own. I’ll just quote the text for this video from Nogu Svelo! themselves:

Today is a terrible date for each of us—the anniversary of the start of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. It is still hard to believe; it is very hard to accept. We see daily reports of new destruction and new victims. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or wounded; millions have lost their homes and were forced to leave their native country without knowing when they will be able to return. It is a grief that cannot be measured in numbers. On this day we want to say: “We stand with you—in spirit and in deed.” We have already held more than one charity concert, supporting and helping to raise funds for Ukrainian hospitals and refugees. And we will continue to help for as long as it takes. Until the missiles stop flying, until people return to their homes, until peace comes.

Our new release is dedicated not only to every Ukrainian, but to everyone who stands against the darkness closing in around us. Maksim doesn’t speak Ukrainian, but he specifically learned and performed a few lines at the end. You’ve already heard this song—it’s “Ukraine.” But on this day we perform it in a new way—in a church, with an organ. Many thanks to director Alexey Musin, who filmed the original music video and has now taken on this new work. Thanks to the whole team. Thank you for your support and sincerity.

Vse bude Ukraina! (Ukraine will prevail!)

Ногу Свело! — Украина. Год войны

Song: Geoff Castelucci “Sixteen Tons”

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Last time, when I showed a couple of unusual covers, one of them was an a cappella version by the group VoicePlay. This group is worthy of attention in its own right, because they release genuinely interesting takes on well-known hits. Still, what captivated me most in that cover was the performer with the astonishing bass—Geoff Castelucci. He’s not just one of the members of VoicePlay; he also selects and arranges songs for the team.

Besides that, Geoff has his own channel where he gives lessons on singing in a low register (while noting that the lessons can help anyone, you’ll only be able to sing low if you naturally have the right kind of voice). As I said, his voice simply mesmerizes me. It gives me goosebumps. And he also puts together excellent staging for his performances.

Today I want to show one of the very best, in my opinion—his four-part rendition of the famous “Sixteen Tons”:

SIXSTEEN TONS | Low Bass Singer Cover

Song: Unusual Covers of “Nothing Else Matters”

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I think when talking about the song “Nothing Else Matters,” you don’t even need to name the performer. It’s hard to imagine anyone not knowing this — one of Metallica’s most famous and awesome songs. So this time I’m not even going to put a link to it here.

However! While roaming the internet, I came across two very interesting covers that differ strikingly from the original. And I found them so unusual that I decided to share them with you.

The first is a multi-voice performance by the Polish women’s group Tulia. It is both unmistakably Nothing Else Matters and at the same time has clear notes of Polish folk. I’m not sure I’d want to listen to this version every day, but the first time it definitely grabs your attention:

Tulia – Nothing Else Matters

And the second cover is a fully a cappella version by VoicePlay. I’ve always loved a cappella renditions of any songs. But this one is done really well. The guys have gone far from the original, yet they’ve managed to preserve all of its beauty. And oh, what the bass does here! Be sure to listen until the moment he comes in (around 2:30). I literally got goosebumps. I don’t know how women react to men like this, but for a voice like that I’d give a lot!

Nothing Else Matters – Metallica (acapella) VoicePlay Ft J.NONE

Viking Song: My mother told me

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It’s been a long time since I last wrote about good songs. Now it’s time to talk about one that my younger children have come to love — and which we’ve already listened to dozens of times.

The song was made very popular by the TV series Vikings, although in fact it is more than a thousand years old. In English it is known by its opening words, “My mother told me”, while in Old Norse (Common Scandinavian) it sounded as “Þat mælti mín móðir.”

In the series, the song is performed by two brothers who, upon hearing each other’s voices, realize that both are still alive after the battle. But, as I said, after the series the song began to be heard in many places; it was even added to various videos on Viking themes (for example, over the trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla video game). In many versions, performers limit themselves to just about a single verse, which is repeated several times:

My mother told me

Someday I would buy

Galleys with good oars

Sail to distant shores

The song is dated to around the 9th century AD. And in this text, historians say, is reflected the time when the Vikings no longer had enough land of their own and resolved not only to go on distant raids but even began to contemplate settling in other lands — in particular, England and Ireland. On the subject of the full text of the song, there is an interesting article by archaeologist Martine Kaspersen: http://www.scandinavianarchaeology.com/my_mother_told_me/.

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