Popular Soviet Songs and Youth Music
Encyclopedia
Popular Soviet Songs and Youth Music is the sixth album by the British avant-garde
music group :zoviet*france:
, who, when it was recorded, identified themselves as :zoviet-france:. Recorded in 1984 and 1985, it was first released in 1985
by the band's label Singing Ringing
in collaboration with Red Rhino in double cassette format. The packaging was elaborate and very labour-intensive to create; the cassettes sat inside a sculpted, clear-glazed ceramic box with a short length of twine with a hand-painted stick on the end sticking out of the bottom. A seabird feather gathered from the beach at Seascale
(one mile from the Sellafield
nuclear reactor) was stuck through a hole in each side of the box, held in place with sealing wax, which held the cassettes in. The inserts included a parody of the American flag (with mini-hammer and sickle
s in place of the stars) silk-screened on muslin
, a piece of paper with art silk-screened on it, and a professionally printed sheet of paper with the track list and various sets of instructions for use of the package in English, Spanish and French, with most of them obviously being jokes ("Remove feather by melting wax seal. Discard burnt cassettes. Retain box."). Staalplaat
re-released it in triple CD
format in 1994
, with other editions in 1995
and 2004
. These were packaged between two round felt pieces cut from black market Red Army
caps, and held together with a Soviet military pin. The design on the front cover piece is by E. Van Weelden. The first edition was problematic; the intent was to sandwich the music CDs between CDs with tones on the play side and felt glued on the label side, but many copies wound up with the music CDs having the felt glued on them. The second and third editions don't have the tone CDs or the glued-on felt.
Another version of the song "Ram" was released, with an unadorned preacher's voice (discussing his experiences speaking with Jim Jones
' attorney) taped off the radio beginning the track, which segue
s into the original song. This version was originally on the now out-of-print 1985
Ritual: Land's End compilation cassette on Touch
, and is now available on the :zoviet*france:
CD Collusion.
Side 1: CD 1
Side 2: CD 2-1 to CD 2-11
Side 3: CD 2-12 to CD 3-2
Side 4: CD 3-3 to CD 3-9
Other differences in the cassette version:
Stains and Filth in the Convent AOUEI was entitled Stains and Filth in the Convent.
"Charm Aliso" was entitled "Chirm Aliso."
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
music group :zoviet*france:
Zoviet France
Zoviet France is a prolific music group from Newcastle upon Tyne in north east England. While often dissonant and made of industrial textures, their music also falls into the ambient music category...
, who, when it was recorded, identified themselves as :zoviet-france:. Recorded in 1984 and 1985, it was first released in 1985
1985 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV...
by the band's label Singing Ringing
Singing Ringing
Singing Ringing was a British record label based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. It had a brief, one year existence in 1985 during which time its only releases were two albums by the British avant garde music group :zoviet*france: .- Discography :* :$OVIET:FRANCE: GaristaAudio cassette, no catalogue...
in collaboration with Red Rhino in double cassette format. The packaging was elaborate and very labour-intensive to create; the cassettes sat inside a sculpted, clear-glazed ceramic box with a short length of twine with a hand-painted stick on the end sticking out of the bottom. A seabird feather gathered from the beach at Seascale
Seascale
Seascale is a village and civil parish on the Irish Sea coast of Cumbria in north-west England.-History:The place-name indicates that it was inhabited by Norse settlers, probably before 1000 AD. It is derived from skali, meaning in Norse a wooden hut or shelter...
(one mile from the Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
nuclear reactor) was stuck through a hole in each side of the box, held in place with sealing wax, which held the cassettes in. The inserts included a parody of the American flag (with mini-hammer and sickle
Hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle is a part of communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, a Communist party, or a Communist state. It features a hammer and a sickle overlapping each other. The two tools are symbols of the industrial proletariat and the peasantry; placing them...
s in place of the stars) silk-screened on muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
, a piece of paper with art silk-screened on it, and a professionally printed sheet of paper with the track list and various sets of instructions for use of the package in English, Spanish and French, with most of them obviously being jokes ("Remove feather by melting wax seal. Discard burnt cassettes. Retain box."). Staalplaat
Staalplaat
Staalplaat is an independent record label that is located in Amsterdam with a separate store in Berlin. Created in 1982, the company's mission was created as a sound forum for sound artists, who write and perform new and experimental music...
re-released it in triple CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
format in 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
, with other editions in 1995
1995 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
and 2004
2004 in music
See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....
. These were packaged between two round felt pieces cut from black market Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
caps, and held together with a Soviet military pin. The design on the front cover piece is by E. Van Weelden. The first edition was problematic; the intent was to sandwich the music CDs between CDs with tones on the play side and felt glued on the label side, but many copies wound up with the music CDs having the felt glued on them. The second and third editions don't have the tone CDs or the glued-on felt.
Another version of the song "Ram" was released, with an unadorned preacher's voice (discussing his experiences speaking with Jim Jones
Jim Jones
James Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
' attorney) taped off the radio beginning the track, which segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
s into the original song. This version was originally on the now out-of-print 1985
1985 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV...
Ritual: Land's End compilation cassette on Touch
Touch Music
Touch is a British audio-visual organisation, operating the Touch label. It is the main arm of the London-based multimedia publishing company Touch, established in 1982...
, and is now available on the :zoviet*france:
Zoviet France
Zoviet France is a prolific music group from Newcastle upon Tyne in north east England. While often dissonant and made of industrial textures, their music also falls into the ambient music category...
CD Collusion.
Track list
Below is the CD track list. The original cassettes were laid out like this:Side 1: CD 1
Side 2: CD 2-1 to CD 2-11
Side 3: CD 2-12 to CD 3-2
Side 4: CD 3-3 to CD 3-9
Other differences in the cassette version:
Stains and Filth in the Convent AOUEI was entitled Stains and Filth in the Convent.
"Charm Aliso" was entitled "Chirm Aliso."
CD 1
- Tier of Veils (4:55)
- Ram (2:49)
- Stains and Filth in the Convent AOUEI (tracks 3 to 7) - Duir (1:52)
- Zonë (2:41)
- Straif (La Mère Du Bois) Z Estrif (3:59)
- White Track (Fire Frost) (4:57)
- Veil (8:12)
- Pesach (1:49)
- Decoy (6:36)
- Yezidi (5:03)
CD 2
- добрый день ("good day" or "good afternoon") (4:39)
- Yezidi Circle Trap (tracks 2 to 7) - Signal (0:14)
- Sidi (3:36)
- Birch Brake (2:21)
- Sein (3:46)
- Spin (Hellisein) (3:20)
- Tan-Tal (9:37)
- Ma-Ja (6:20)
- Whip (2:33)
- Veil (1:12)
- Fearn (5:45)
- Burning Bush (9:03)
- Beak and Snout (tracks 13 to CD 3 track 2) - Sidhe (Riuben) (3:36)
- Marsh (2:44)
- Swine (1:09)
- Marsh (1:32)
- Signal (Circe) (1:23)
- Migration (6:44)
CD 3
- Burning Bush (4:39)
- Sheol (9:25)
- Veil (Sloe Semen) (6:02)
- Signal (1:39)
- Charm (tracks 5 to 8) - Chirm Ela (8:05)
- Chirm Geis (7:07)
- Charm Aliso (4:52)
- Shewel (5:52)
- Yezidi (Say) (5:55)