Pussy Riot, Moscow-based protest punk rock band, famous for their resonant arrests in 2014 (back in February last year and on the New Year’s Eve this year), have released a new video for the song “I Can’t Breathe.” As mentioned by undertheradarmag.com, it is Pussy Riot’s first song in English, and it’s dedicated to Eric Garner, who was strangled and killed by a police officer in July.
“This song is for Eric and for all those from Russia to America and around the globe who suffer from state terror — killed, choked, perished because of war and state sponsored violence of all kinds — for political prisoners and those on the streets fighting for change,” says the band of the clip.
It’s hard to say what has pushed Pussy Riot to change their priorities towards commercial music and to collaborate with Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Nick Zinner, Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt, and Richard Hell on the new song, but we can definitely say there’s no more audible aggression in the band’s tune, just a solid mainstream trip hop sounding. And only the video demonstrates the protest nature of the outfit’s message. Definitely, nothing like the band’s previous song and video for “Putin Will Teach You How To Love Your Homeland.”
The main idea of the clip is burying Pussy Riot members Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina alive, dressed in the uniform of Russian analogue of SWAT. Shuddering with every stroke of the shovel, the girls continue lying in the grave next to each other until they are buried completely. The last picture of the video is six shovels, left at the place of the grave, and the empty pack of cigarettes called “Russian spring” with ironic warning “Smoking kills” at the bottom of the pack, like it took six people to smoke a whole pack until the job was done.
Below, click “Play” to watch a high-quality rebel video from Pussy Riot, and try to find your own sense in the picture.