Viktor Tsoi at 50

I saw this poster the other day in Vilnius:

And it was only seeing this memorial show advertised that I realized that today, June 21, Viktor Tsoi would have turned 50.

I just did a YouTube search to choose a video to embed here, and I want to embed them all. Here's one, "Группа крови", or "Blood Type," but go look for more yourself. [Pro tip: If you don't speak Russian, there are loose translations here.]

There are a number of sides to Tsoi's music and image, some run toward too young, too brash, and too cool, others toward a political voice in a time that called out for them. Romantic, sad, rarely joyous. And, to top it off, a talent for lyrics matched by only a select few in the substantial history of Russian verse.

I was first exposed to Tsoi in, if I recall correctly, my second semester of Russian, or nearly ten years ago. Since then, I've spent a lot of time listening and learning the words, and have not a few words, phrases, and grammar constructions that I learned to use properly from a particular line of his.