The 50s was a horrendous period for rights of free speech. In America, HUAC( House Committee on Un-American Activities Committee) enforced the kinds of censorship on arts that Hitler would be proud of. From films to music, political messages were subtle if completely non-existent.
But as 60s and 70s approached, things became better. People began to see through the government red scare propaganda and the televised Vietnam War helped the citizens to wake from their stupor. The youth became politically active and brought about a wave of counterculture.
But in Soviet Union, it was completely different. There was no space for pansy American style democracy here. This was a land, besieged by the hawkish capitalist nations, protecting a ideology that has been stamped out in most of the world. You could say whatever you wanted to, but the government could not guarantee that your head be on your neck after you said it. It was certainly not happy years for the political activists of Soviet Union. Amidst this political chaos rose a band- a Soviet equivalent of Sex Pistols- Kino. Instead of the Queen, the Kino protested the Soviet government and wars. And instead of resorting to saying "dirty old fucker" on a live television, Kino performed anti-government songs under the Soviet Union's direct watch.
Headed by Viktor Tsoi, this band is considered to be a pioneer in the Russian rock. At the time, rock was severely limited to few cafes and were mostly underground- and even these were heavily monitored by government agents. To the mainstream conservative force of the Soviet society, rock was a corruptor of the youth. And if that was not enough, Kino even had the balls to put anti-communist and anti-war messages within their songs. The music and the lyrics appealed to the disaffected youths of the Soviet. At its heyday, Tsoi performed at the national stadium of Soviet Union with 62,000 screaming fans singing anti-government songs.
The Ultimate Badass
Kino's music was incredibly fresh at the time. Not only was it melodic and stirring, but the short concise poem-like lyrics was something else altogether. Kino is one of my favourite rock bands of this era and definitely noteworthy. Here are some of my favourite Kino songs. (Pachka Sigaret is a must listen)
You may have heard at least once bout Red Hot Chili Peppers, or RHCP. Being one of the few US mainstream rock bands that I can at least listen to without dying, I RHCP tops my list of favourite musicians as of now. Not only that, they are also one of the most musically diverse group I have ever had the chance of listening to. The band is constantly changing and developing their style- partially due to their frequent change in members. If I had to choose a band to listen to for my entire life, I would choose RHCP.
RHCP's career spans for almost 30 years during which they would produce era defining sounds. It began with the Anthony Kiedis's inclusion into a band of three: Jack Irons (drummer), Hillel Slovak(guitarist), and Michael Balanzy(Flea, bass)- who was a trumpet prodigy. Their band was called "What is This?" apparently because that was the questions many of the audience had when they first heard them perform. They first began performing in clubs around LA in which they received a mostly positive receptions due to their energetic performance. It was during this era that Slovak took most of the control over the style of the band. Initially, RCHP began as a sort of side project . Slovak and Irons did not join the band because they considered What is This? But his funk and hard rock derived sounds helped to create RHCP's one of the first demo tape Out In L.A.. Initially, as heard in this tape, Anthony Kiedis would rap his vocals out- strengthening the rhythmic sounds of the Flea's slap bass. Their first album, Red Hot Chili Peppers, would include these demo tapes. This album did not see positive critical review or high sales. However, MTV(when it used to be good) and RHCP's live performances helped them to gather a fan base.
Friction built up between Anthony and Sherman(guitarist in RHCP) and he was soon fired. Slovak was hired in 1985, and his arrival kickstarted the second RHCP album Freaky Styley. This album is notably funk derived, more than the Red Hot Chili Peppers, because Freaky Styley was produced by George Clinton of P-Funk. Hip Hop fans might recongnize this name from George Clinton's collaborative work with Ice Cube such as Bop Gun, in which Ice Cube sampled One Nation Under A Groove, or Paint the White House Black( RHCP makes a cameo appearance in this video). Even without his hip hop friends, in the 70s and 80s, George Clinton and his band, was defining the funk genre and reached out to millions of audiences. And it was the album Freaky Styley that George Clinton would produce. His influence is clearly audible when compared with RHCP's previous album. Several of his songs, such as Hollywood or The Brothers Cup sound borderline straight funk. In this album, Kiedis's vocals would still consist mostly of rapping.
Throughout the recording, Kiedis and his band members along with George Clinton experimented heavily with cocaine and heroine, increasing the addiction and a negative vibe within the band. When they neared the end of the tour, Anthony was so dependent upon the drugs that most of his days were spent in drugged stupor. The band briefly fired Anthony to force him to undergo rehabilitation. By the time he was nearing his rehabilitation, he has become visibly healthier. His love for music also rebounded, and on his plane ride to home, he wrote Fight Like a Brave.
Their next album was much more successful commercially and reached Gold. Named The Uplift Mofo Plan, it was also more critically acclaimed than before and contained more melody-based songs such as Behind the Sun. The album also includes RHCP's interpretation of Bob Dylan's famous Subterranean Homesick Blues. Although the band enjoyed recording this album, they struggled behind the stage. Anthony returned to addiction and Hillel Slovak also followed. Both used cocaine heavily and spent much of their time looking for drugs. Kiedis would later recall this period as full of shame and pain as he could feel his bandmates disapproval. For Slovak, his withdrawal symptoms would be so bad that he had to cancel an appearance once. At the end of the tour, Slovak was found dead in his Hollywood apartment. The band lamented and Anthony fled the city, thinking that the situation was unreal. The shock of losing Hillel shook the band to the core and Jack Irons, the drummer, left the band. He did not want to be in a band where his friends were dying. As a result, RHCP hired Chad Smith and John Frusciante as the new drummer and guitarist.
