Thirst (Жажда): Boris Grebenshikov, Aquarium (Аквариум)

Another rare D.I.Y. video from the legendary, once-underground Russian/Soviet rock band Aquarium (Аквариум), featuring vocalist Boris Grebenshikov (BG)/ Борис Гребенщиков (БГ) -- the perestroika-era song is "Thirst" (Жажда), from their self-recorded 1985 album, December's Children (Дети Декабря).

One caveat: It's one of their more experimental songs, but arguably not a very successful experiment. I post it more for its historical significance than its musical merits! As well-stated in this English language review of the Дети Декабря album:

"The production is so murky it sounds like it was recorded, so to speak, at the bottom of a fish tank, and yes, it leads off with 'Thirst,' which is — I opine, after years of careful consideration — far and away the worst thing that the Original Akvaium ever came up with, but these blemishes only serve highlight the essential brilliance of the rest of the album.

"Let's start with the 'Thirst' issue, if only to dismiss it out of hand. It's terrible. It's not even original and terrible but highly derivative and terrible. The lyrics rip off David Byrne and the music, so called, is a Casio and trash can symphony of industrial banality, like Einsturzende Neubauten playing Space Invaders. Don't know what they were smokin' when they decided that not only would it make a good first track on DD, but that it merited being released as a vinyl EP — one of only a handful of Akvarium vinyl releases from the 80's — but I could use some of it right now. This would be like the Beatles releasing 'Revolution #9' as the obvious single from the White Album. Worse, in one of the great marketing blunders of all time, they allowed it to get onto Red Wave (I'm presuming here that it's not all J. Stingray's fault, though it may very well be). 'Thirst' was supposed to convert the masses to Русский Рок? Right. And perhaps McDonald's will start serving a МакХолодец which will become the new rage of American fast food emporia.

"Fuhgeddaboudit ... 'Thirst' is the reason they have "skip" buttons on CD players."

http://www.dharmafish.org/s1018/stuff_show.htm?content_id=3439

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Akvarium
• Aquarium
• Аквариум
• boris
• grebenshikov
• БГ
• Борис
• Гребенщиков
• Russia
• russian
• rock
• gorbachev

[JBK0628]

Very much like Peter Gabriel! But it is still good! But as BG said himself:" I take mine were I find mine"

[MrCrane2012]

Кто сказал, что мы не можем стать чище?

Хочется матом выругаться...

КТО СКАЗАЛ, ЧТО МЫ НЕ МОЖЕМ СТАТЬ ЧИЩЕ?

Is anybody out there?

[SchneeRasse]

Эту песню надо слушать, когда совсем-совсем плохо. И тогда...хуже уже не будет: найдутся силы пройти еще один виток лабиринта.

[prostuda]

How Sergey Kourekhin once said to me about critics. When I argued that we played "that" like "this" cause some critic told us "that" bla bla bla... He said: "they should've try to play it themselves". This is great track. You simply can not treat this music just like "music". Cause it is not just music. Cause it WAS recorded on the bottom of a fish tank (or similar for that mater) And cause you could go to jail just cause you actually wrote those words... Isn't THAT true rock?

[latinamega17]

I like gibraltar/labrador from him. Its nice.

Hugs from Peru =)

[aaatombo]

Презамечательное слово - СтатЪ

 Чище чище надо надо и прямее и выше .

[aaatombo]

Да чище СТАТЪ. Это презамечательное слово - СтатЪ Чище и чище надо надо .

[didencool]

ИМО одна из самых лучших песен БГ музыкального периода творчества

[mousedriverRussia]

I wake up and I'm afraid

To open my eyes

I ask, "who's there? who's there?"

The answer, incoherent

All clocks are running sideways

It's a new time.

Trumpets, here come the trumpets

Who calls us?

I moved to a new house

But still there's no place for me there.

[mousedriverRussia]

I say "no" but it's just reflex

Looks like it's too late, too late.

You can ask yourself

"Where is my beautiful house?"

You can quote David Byrne and Brian Eno,

But every communal apartment

Has its own circus

And the sound of boots in empty corridors.