{"id":12080,"date":"2019-12-09T07:25:14","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T07:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=12080"},"modified":"2019-12-10T22:17:20","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T22:17:20","slug":"3-best-russian-language-songs-of-the-2010s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/3-best-russian-language-songs-of-the-2010s\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Best Russian-Language Songs of the 2010s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picking the top songs of the decade is tricky\u2014how do you even determine what makes a “top” track? Is it its popularity, impact, or commercial success? In putting together this list, I’ve selected tracks that I thought were representative of Russian-language music of the “teens” in some way. Naturally, my choices are subjective and by no means universal. I’d love to hear from you! What would you include in your list of the top 5 or 10 Russian-language songs of the last decade? These do not need to be from Russia per se, as long as they come out between 2009 and 2019.<\/p>\n

\"headphones\"

Photo by Malte Wingen<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u041c\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0301\u0442\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430 \u2014 90 (“\u0414\u0435\u0432\u044f\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0441\u0442\u044b\u0435”)<\/h2>\n

I have mentioned Monetochka<\/a> (\u041c\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0301\u0442\u043e\u0447\u043a\u0430, “little coin”) on this blog before. This young woman got her first fans while still in high school by posting her tracks on social media. In this way, Monetochka is representative of this new generation of artists who got their breakthrough thanks to the Internet and social media. The artist’s lyrics and image are ironic to be point of being post-modern and often make light of societal idiosyncrasies.<\/p>\n

This track, “\u0414\u0435\u0432\u044f\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0441\u0442\u044b\u0435” (“the nineties”), lampoons myths and stereotypes about the 90s in Russia. That decade is supposed to have been brutal in its violence, lawlessness, and corruption, which is now often used by the Russian authorities to justify the crackdown on civil liberties. Warning: the song has a couple of instances of explicit language.<\/p>\n

\"bullets\"

Photo by Ryan<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

To give you a better idea of the message, here is the chorus:<\/p>\n

\u0412 \u0434\u0435\u0432\u044f\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0441\u0442\u044b\u0435 \u0443\u0431\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0301\u043b\u0438 \u043b\u044e\u0434\u0435\u0301\u0439
\n\u0418 \u0432\u0441\u0435 \u0431\u0435\u0301\u0433\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u0430\u0431\u0441\u043e\u043b\u044e\u0301\u0442\u043d\u043e \u0433\u043e\u0301\u043b\u044b\u0435.
\n\u042d\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0301\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430 \u043d\u0435\u0301 \u0431\u044b\u043b\u043e \u043d\u0438\u0433\u0434\u0435\u0301,
\n\u0422\u043e\u0301\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0434\u0440\u0430\u0301\u043a\u0438 \u0437\u0430 \u0434\u0436\u0438\u0301\u043d\u0441\u044b \u0441 \u043a\u043e\u043a\u0430-\u043a\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043e\u044e.
\n\u041f\u043e\u043d\u0430\u0432\u0435\u0441\u0438\u043b\u0438 \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0301\u0432 \u043d\u0430 \u043a\u043e\u0440\u0435\u0448\u0435\u0439,
\n\u041f\u0438\u0434\u0436\u0430\u043a\u0438\u0301 \u0437\u0435\u043c\u043b\u044f\u043d\u0438\u0301\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u043d\u0430\u0433\u043b\u0430\u0301\u0434\u0438\u043b\u0438.
\n\u0418 \u043d\u0430 \u0442\u0430\u0301\u043d\u0446\u044b \u2014 \u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u044c \u0443 \u0432\u0441\u0435\u0445 \u0438\u0437 \u0443\u0448\u0435\u0301\u0439,
\n\u0412\u0435\u0434\u044c \u0442\u043e\u0301\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u00ab\u041b\u0430\u0301\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u041c\u0430\u0439\u00bb \u043f\u0435\u043b \u043f\u043e \u0440\u0430\u0301\u0434\u0438\u043e.<\/p>\n

[Loose translation:
\nThey used to kill people in the 90s,
\nAnd everyone was running around buck naked.
\nThere was no electricity anywhere,
\nOnly fights for jeans and Coca-Cola.
\nThe goons were wearing a ton of crosses
\nAnd ironed crimson jackets.
\nEveryone’s ears were bleeding at the dances
\nBecause they would only play Laskovy May<\/em> on the radio.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some cultural notes: Monetochka is describing the “new Russian” (\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u0440\u0443\u0301\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/strong>), a person, usually a man, who got rich quickly through questionable or criminal means after the collapse of the USSR. A stereotypical “new Russian” wore a purple or red jacket and a large cross. “\u041a\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0435\u0448<\/strong>” is a slang word for “friend.”<\/p>\n

Blue jeans and Coca-Cola are examples of goods that were unavailable in the USSR and became available\u2014and coveted\u2014after its demise.<\/p>\n

Laskovy May<\/em> (“\u041b\u0430\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u043c\u0430\u0439<\/a>,” “gentle May”) was a boys band of the late 80s or early 90s.<\/p>\n