Кино (Kino, Russian for "cinema" or "movie") was a Soviet rock band formed… Read Full Bio ↴Кино (Kino, Russian for "cinema" or "movie") was a Soviet rock band formed by Виктор Цой (Viktor Tsoi) in Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg). They were one of the most famous Soviet new wave bands of the 1980s.

The band was formed by Tsoi, Aleksei Rybin, and Oleg Valinskiy in the summer of 1981 in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg) as a punk rock band Garin i giperboloidy (Гарин и гиперболоиды) (after a novel by Aleksey Tolstoy, Giperboloid inzhenera Garina, The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin). A year later the name of the band was changed to Кино (often stylized in uppercase: "КИНО"), as Tsoi wanted their name to be able to be pronounced by people all over the world easily.

In the summer 1982, Кино's first album 45 (according to its length in minutes) was recorded together with the musicians of the band Аквариум. The album was slowly distributed and brought them fame in the Leningrad rock scene.

Their first real hit was the album Ночь (Noch, or Russian for "night") released in 1986, originally released on audio reels and cassette tapes via their producer at the time, Andrei Tropillo. However, Melodiya asked Tropillo to help release it on their label, which he did without the band's consent. It ended up selling two million copies around the Soviet Union, but the band, especially Tsoi himself was furious as Tropillo did not ask him or his band to release it. It is also the album they dislike the most.

Their first tour outside of the Russian SFSR was in the Estonian SSR (Soviet-era Estonia) in 1987.

Their 1988 album Группа крови (Gruppa krovi, Russian for "blood type"). together with the movie The Needle in which Tsoi starred, brought the band to the pinnacle of its populatity.

During the next two years the band released another album and did shows in the USSR, attracting enormous audiences, until August 15, 1990, when Tsoi died tragically in a car accident near Riga. Found in his car was a cassette tape demo for a new album they had been producing, even though it's front was destroyed. However, that tape was a copy of another demo tape, which Kasparyan had brought back to Leningrad before the crash. The album was completed by the rest of the band with the help of producer Yuri Aizenshpis and released on 12 January 1991 after a preview in December 1990, without a title, though it is always referred as Chornyy albom (Russian for "Black Album") since it had a completely black cover with the band's logo, as well as a reference to the Beatles' White Album from 1967. The demo version of the album was released in 2002 under the name Последние записи (The Last Recordings).

The band's popularity in the Soviet Union was so extraordinarily high that after Tsoi's death many fences, rocks and walls in the whole country were covered with the words "Цой жив!" ("Tsoi is alive!") and "КИНО". Writing these words became a kind of a memorial ritual among the fans of the band and even now new writings appear from time to time.

Кино's musical style is reminiscent of Joy Division, The Smiths, with a heavy guitar sound and drony, dark vocals. Other popular musician from the USSR with a similar style was ,Янка Дягилева (Yanka Dyaigleva), a late musician from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, who was a frequent collaborator with Egor Letov

Группа крови
Кино Lyrics

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Теплое место, но улицы ждут
Отпечатков наших ног.
Звездная пыль - на сапогах.
Мягкое кресло, клетчатый плед,
Не нажатый вовремя курок.
Солнечный день - в ослепительных снах.

Группа крови - на рукаве,

Мой порядковый номер - на рукаве,
Пожелай мне удачи в бою, пожелай мне:
Не остаться в этой траве,
Не остаться в этой траве.
Пожелай мне удачи, пожелай мне удачи!

И есть чем платить, но я не хочу
Победы любой ценой.
Я никому не хочу ставить ногу на грудь.
Я хотел бы остаться с тобой,
Просто остаться с тобой,
Но высокая в небе звезда зовет меня в путь.

Группа крови - на рукаве,
Мой порядковый номер - на рукаве,
Пожелай мне удачи в бою, пожелай мне:
Не остаться в этой траве,

Не остаться в этой траве.
Пожелай мне удачи, пожелай мне удачи!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Кино's song Группа крови (Blood Type) describe a sense of conflict between personal desires and a sense of duty or responsibility. The opening lines contrast a warm, comfortable indoor space with the waiting streets outside, which bear the marks of the singer's previous journeys. The references to star dust on his boots and a missed opportunity (a gun not fired at the right time) suggest that the singer has experienced danger and perhaps violence. Despite this, he dreams of a sunny day, implying a desire for peace and normalcy.

The chorus of the song repeats the singer's blood type and military identification number, invoking a sense of obligation to his country and fellow soldiers. However, the refrain of "wish me luck in battle, wish me luck" also implies a sense of fear and uncertainty about the singer's fate. He asks not to stay in the grass, which could be interpreted as a literal battlefield or as a metaphorical danger zone. The singer seems to feel conflicted between his personal desires (to stay with someone he loves) and his duty to fight.

The last verse reinforces this conflict, as the singer explains that he has something to offer (presumably money or resources) but doesn't want to win at any cost. He doesn't want to "put his foot on someone's chest" and assert power over others. Despite this, he feels compelled to answer the call of the "high star in the sky". The song ends with another repetition of the refrain, emphasizing the uncertainty and danger inherent in the singer's situation.

Line by Line Meaning

Теплое место, но улицы ждут
Although it's a warm place, the streets are waiting for us.

Отпечатков наших ног.
Our footprints are left behind on the streets.

Звездная пыль - на сапогах.
There's stardust on our boots.

Мягкое кресло, клетчатый плед,
A soft armchair and a checkered blanket.

Не нажатый вовремя курок.
A trigger not pulled in time.

Солнечный день - в ослепительных снах.
On a sunny day, in blinding dreams.

Группа крови - на рукаве,
Blood type is on the sleeve.

Мой порядковый номер - на рукаве,
My conscription number is on the sleeve.

Пожелай мне удачи в бою, пожелай мне:
Wish me luck in battle, wish me:

Не остаться в этой траве,
Not to be left in this grass.

Не остаться в этой траве.
Not to be left in this grass.