Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Brian, i'll try to give you a translation of sorts for the first one:
---------------
Now, sit down and lis'n:
He never meant to hurt her.
He never meant to sink deep into her mind
So that she wouldn't sleep at night,
He brought her candies on weekends,
He was reading the lines on the palm of her hand,
And he didn't know another joy
Than spelling her name.
She was about 36
When he passed away very quietly,
She didn't even have a chance to dial
His very simple phone number for the last time.
But it was the first time she brought him flowers,
Two bright white lilies
As a sign that nobody else did
Spell her name that way.
And she was 76
When she passed away.
No, she wasn't afraid of death,
She was rather dreaming of it.
Sometimes, you know, she was seating by the window
And looking, looking, looking up at blue sky -
Like, 'when I die, I'll met him there, and then again
He'll spell my name.
How funny life is, in fact,
But what could be more beautiful
Than sitting on a cloud, dangling hands,
Spelling each other's name.
-----
That's about it... glad you've liked it, it's one of my favourites.

Now that is interesting. I just knew that there was a message in that song even though I could not understand it.

Very reflective and passionate lyrics.

Now, the second one, "Subway", a translation of sorts (sorry for my Ruglish):
Hers and mine main aim
Is not to be caught:
Turnouts, passwords, alien houses
And to be home at 10 [p.m.]
She hides her smiles and tears
She rarely looks me in the eye
We're in a hurry, going different ways
To the same station.
A great secret is hidden
In the dead drop of an ice heart:
How one and only short meeting
Kept us together for several years
Among hundreds of common familiars
And a dozen false friends
She pretends to be laughing
I pretend I'm not thinking of her.

Refrain:
And we could have worked for intelligence,
We could have played in movies.
Like birds, we take different branches
And fall asleep in the subway.

We're the ones who invented 'Windows',
We're the ones who announced default*
Live Beatles and ever-youthful Adrian Paul play for us.
Our mothers, in armor,
Bang [their heads?] against the iron anility,
Our children swear,
There's not so much left of us.
Refrain.
It is a long way from Altuf'evo to Prazhskaya**
But only at first sight.
We bring Moscow secrets
In subway secret lines
Not having found the right word
And not knowing other chords,
We lose each other again
In the eternity of underpasses.
Refrain.
* Ilya Kalinnikov is speaking about infamous default of 1998
** Stations of Moscow subway, on different ends of the line

Sheena - Thanks a LOT for those intense lyrics. The best songs ever tell a story that can be understood and felt in any language, right?

Question: What was the name of the Russian band that played on TV during the early morning hours (here in the US) of the 1985 "Live Aid" concerts?

Just asking because I've got that whole concert on video tape in a box somewhere here, but it's all unlabeled and I haven't watched it since recording it all. I know I liked seeing the Russian band(s?) participating, but know nothing about them at all.

Short story about that time - my parents had a VCR and I'd asked them if it'd be cool if I came over to their house and record the whole day of concerts. They said it'd be fine for me to do that, so I got a bunch of blank tapes and scheduled it all with them - even the very early morning (here in the US) sessions.

Well, my Dad was sick and he passed away the morning of July 11, 1985. I still got to make those video tapes in the midst of making arrangements, a million phone calls, etc. and I'd go over to my parent's house to put in a new tape every couple hours. I ended up with tapes of the entire Live Aid concert(s), but I'm not sure if I've ever watched the whole thing.

I do remember seeing an interesting Russian band though, so that's why I'm asking here.

Here is a very famous Leonard Cohen Song.

Do you see the similarities in the feel?

First We Take Manhattan

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby
I love your body and your spirit and your clothes
But you see that line there moving through the station?
I told you, I told you, told you, I was one of those

Ah you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win
You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline
How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I don't like your fashion business mister
And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin
I don't like what happened to my sister
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby ...

And I thank you for those items that you sent me
The monkey and the plywood violin
I practiced every night, now I'm ready
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I am guided

Ah remember me, I used to live for music
Remember me, I brought your groceries in
Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

Steve: according to the information i've managed to find, it was Avtograf (Autograph), not a big fan of them but they are sort of legends here.
Brian: that's thrilling, learning HOW MUCH we all have in common (bear in mind the Regime tried to teach us kids we had nothing in common with our contemporaries "from abroad" - not a complaint, just a surprise). Music knows no frontiers indeed.

Thanks Sheena - Yes, the name Autograph does sound familiar to me now. No idea what they sounded like at the time, but I did think it was cool to hear a Russian band back then - especially considering it was before "the wall" fell, and all that came after...

And yes, music knows no frontiers. Often it's the door that opens first, and what comes naturally is what follows.

I still cannot figure out why they decided to choose Autograph for this one Steve - clearly there were bands who meant more in musical terms here. Tons of pathos and pretension, probably that was the reason.
(actually, before you mentioned that, i didn't know that a Russian band played at Live Aid 1985, a real surprise for me, thanks for mentioning the fact)

One more - a "heavier" type o'stuff now - http://s55.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3DKD43S3B51PM3JCBRYJKHCFAU

Sheena,

It sort of reminds me of Iron Maiden. Great sound.

Sheena - Just so you know, Autograph didn't actually play *AT* either of the Live Aid venues (in London or Philadelphia). Rather, they were playing in some club somewhere in Russia, and it was broadcast here in the US, supposedly live. It was a part of the global Live Aid event though.

Now it's too hard for me to figure out the time zone or dateline differences at the moment, but I do recall my local TV channel starting their broadcast at some early morning hour like 5 or 6 a.m. and the early hours were filled with performances by Autograph (somewhere in Russia) and Men At Work playing somewhere in Austrailia. Probably other bands too, but I don't remember now. Obviously this was long before the show started in Philadelphia (same time zone as me).

So anyway, the broadcast just switched between various cities around the world according to what was happening at any given time, and it went on like that for a real long time.

All I know is that I got up real early to go to my parents' house to put in a video tape, start it up, and then kept going back every couple hours to put in a new blank tape. Between being there for a few minutes and what I'd catch at my house I got to see some of it as it happened. But I was real busy doing other stuff like making funeral arrangements too, so it was a while before I got a chance to watch the tapes.

To further complicate it, my parents had a Sony Beta VCR and I didn't have one at all at the time. I later bought a VHS machine and had to copy all those tapes for myself. I've moved twice since then and those tapes are in a box here somewhere - never got unpacked or watched since. And we're talking about 20 years ago too.

Of course, they've got the DVD version of Live Aid out now. But it's been edited down and I'm sure that neither Autograph nor Men At Work are on those DVD's. They just used the highlights from the big London and Philly "real" concerts, which is kind of a shame in some ways. It would've been cooler if it ALL was included just to show it really was a worldwide event.

Steve: yes i got it, bet it was like Live 8 this year, everybody played somewhere at their countries, and video recordings were shown?
(BTW, my daughter spent the whole night staring at TV screen when Live 8 was being broadcasted, waiting to see GreenDay - but Russian TV didn't show their performance! she was very disappointed)
So, here's a bit of 'punk a la russe':
http://s52.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2W4K03PTXME4M1MFP3Z72G6CPF