Russian Pop

One of the most fun and hilarious aspects of living overseas is getting to know the local pop music scene. Korea was (and still is) filling the air waves across Asia with K-Pop, and I kept a few choice samples with me which I still have today. I love how K-pop throws random English words into songs, and doesn't always get them right. Things like "I love you on the bottom of my heart" cracks me up!

Russia also has a toxic pop scene, and although many say the quality isn't as good as Korea's, and it seems a lot more "wannabe" than America's, I find it interesting and, I admit, likeable. I enjoy quite a few Russian pop tunes, more than American trash or K-pop...stuff. One thing that can be said for Russian pop music is a lot of songs contain more traditional Russian tunes. It's not uncommon for an accordion to bust out in the background of a Brittany Spears knockoff, and those haunting minor-chord melodies that make traditional Russian music so unique can be found in many pop songs.

Enjoy some Russian pop!

Firs up is "Na Rayone", which, loosely translated, means "Our town", by Potap and Nastya Kamenski. It's making fun of the rough-and-tumble life in a typical Russian post-Soviet industrial hellhole. I like the part where they say their town smells like fish.

Next up is "Kruzhim" by Serega. I actually like the funky beat in this tune and find the music catchy. No idea what he's rapping about, though.

Here's a Russian pop song that could have come straight from Korea! It's called "Ah Ira", by Para Normalnih (Para-Normal).

I promised you pure pop crap, so here you go! This is "Nu I Pust" (Well and Let), by Infinity. Nice HD video of Moscow, though.

Here it is! The song you have always been waiting for but didn't know it! "Mama Luba" (Mother Love) by Serebro is a New Year's Eve dance party must in Russia! Not to mention how stunningly hot the girls in this video are...

Okay, so this one is freakin' hilarious. It's called "Bolshoi Schlem" or "Big Dick", by Mona Kalina. The words are in English so I don't need to translate anything. By the way, this is also one of my favourite Russian pop songs :) 

One of the best damn bands I've ever heard is Russian. Leningrad has merged pop with traditional Russian music and high-energy gypsy-punk. Either that or they're just really fun ska!

Here's a couple of Leningrad songs. The first is "Manager", one of their more poppy tunes. It's about how managers think they're so fucking cool, and don't you want to work like a slave every day of your life so you can be a cool manager, too?

This is one of my favourites and is the first Leningrad song I heard that got me hooked on the band right away. It's called "Nyet, Y Yeshyo Raz Nyet" (No, and No Again). It's basically ranting against the cops, Russian corruption and the shitty deal most Russians have.

This is "Schweine" (Swine) by Glukoza. I first heard it in Russia and swore that I had heard it before. Then, a few years later, I was playing GTA 4 with a buddy and there it was on the Vladivostok FM station!

To finish off today's list of Russian music, here's "Buila Nye Buila" (Was Not Was) by Django. This is probably the most Russian-sounding tune on this list, thick with accordions, upbeat Cossack-style rhythms and a stereotypical really-bad singer.