A Little Light Music (Open Thread)

I love this video!

Eduard Khil (From Wikipedia):

Khil’s manner of execution of songs is unique and easily recognizable in Russia, characterized by charm, always having a great sounding bright, sonorous voice and the flight of lyrical baritone, with the powerful charge of optimism and humour[5]. On the stage Gil kept very confident, smart, accompanying singing light dance moves and spectacular gestures. By never changing his academic style of singing, Khil enjoyed enviable career longevity.

. . .

In 2009, a 1976 video of Khil singing a non-lexical vocable version of the song I Am Glad, Cause I’m Finally Returning Back Home . . . The name “Trololo” is an onomatopoeia of the distinctive way Khil vocalizes throughout the song.

Meaning and the original text of the song

It may be a bit surprising, but the Trololo song originally had words and was an ordinary song. The song itself was a narrative about a cowboy riding a horse to his farm.

But the Soviet Artistic Council censored almost all of the song text due to its unsoviet nature. Cowboy and farm were especially criticized. The word cowboy brought to mind associations with saloons and showdowns, and the word farm was controversial because all private, incollective forms of agriculture were prohibited in the Soviet Union. The Commission’s verdict was to rewrite the entire song. This created several problems. First, it would take a significant amount of time to rewrite the text and have it approved. There was another problem: other singers were pretending to be the first performers of the song. With no time to spare, Khil suggested singing the song without words, instead vocalizing tro-lo-lo and tra-la-la. This seemed like a good idea as there was nothing controversial or punishable for such a performance.

What Lambert said

Democrats in Congress worry that Obama will cave to GOP

The liberals are watching three big tests over the next month to see whether the president is firmly in their corner: extending Bush-era tax cuts that are set to expire Dec. 31, ratifying a new nuclear-arms treaty with Russia and repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military.

Seriously — THIS is what “liberal” Democrats are worried about?  Well, I can’t say it better than Lambert:

Nothing on jobs at all, or foreclosures, or the banks. Quelle surprise. If you didn’t know that the Ds threw the working class under the bus in 2008, now you really know it, eh?

(emphasis mine)

Nearly a year ago Glenn Greenwald wrote a post that changed my relationship to the Democratic Party, “The Democratic Party’s deceitful game”

This is what the Democratic Party does; it’s who they are. They’re willing to feign support for anything their voters want just as long as there’s no chance that they can pass it.

…

The primary tactic in this game is Villain Rotation. They always have a handful of Democratic Senators announce that they will be the ones to deviate this time from the ostensible party position and impede success, but the designated Villain constantly shifts, so the Party itself can claim it supports these measures while an always-changing handful of their members invariably prevent it. One minute, it’s Jay Rockefeller as the Prime Villain leading the way in protecting Bush surveillance programs and demanding telecom immunity; the next minute, it’s Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer joining hands and “breaking with their party” to ensure Michael Mukasey’s confirmation as Attorney General; then it’s Big Bad Joe Lieberman single-handedly blocking Medicare expansion; then it’s Blanche Lincoln and Jim Webb joining with Lindsey Graham to support the de-funding of civilian trials for Terrorists; and now that they can’t blame Lieberman or Ben Nelson any longer on health care (since they don’t need 60 votes), Jay Rockefeller voluntarily returns to the Villain Role, stepping up to put an end to the pretend-movement among Senate Democrats to enact the public option via reconciliation.

But that was last year. THIS year, I guess it’s asking too much that they even just pretend to be on our side.