Song of the Day 3/23: Пикник, “Королевство кривых” [Piknik, “Kingdom of Crooks”]

Once again, terrorists have attacked a live music event, this time a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow. Gunmen associated with the Islamic State opened fire before the start of a performance by Piknik, one of Russia’s longest-running rock bands; the death toll stood at 133 as this was written.

Piknik, aka Picnic, recorded its first album in 1982, the year after guitarist and vocalist Edmund Shklyarsky joined the group. They’ve since recorded 23 albums and gone through an equal number of personnel changes as their style evolved, moving from prog rock with Russian roots and folk instruments to a more techno style and entertaining fans with elaborate stage shows featuring instruments Shklyarsky invented, like the “living cello” – a woman with a string with a pickup stretched along her body.

This song, recorded in 2005, is their most popular on YouTube with 32 million views. Translators render it as “Kingdom of Curves” or “Kingdom of Crooked,” which seems to be a literal translation of an idiom. They say a guy like Donald Trump is curved, where we say he’s crooked.

Tass, the Russian news agency, reported that the band members were safe and uninjured in the attack.