Darwin, sexual selection and Putin

Posted on June 27, 2017 | 6 Comments

Credit: RussiaFeed.

Must edge my way back in into blogging after a period of mourning. So here is something provocative.

Perhaps President Putin is “making Russia great again” in a way we haven’t thought of. Via Darwinian sexual selection?

If this song is anything to go by maybe Putin as a role model will lead to improvement in the Russian gene pool if women start preferring men with his moral and lifestyle characteristics.

Or perhaps his influence will operate more quickly by encouraging Russian men to smarten themselves up if they want to find a partner?

Is this yet another positive influence Putin has had on Russian life after the disastrous experiences of the criminal anarchy of the 1990s?

Or is it a sign that Putin has finally decided to run in next March’s Russian Presidential elections and this is his first campaign song?

Whatever – it’s a welcome (and tuneful) change from the usual demonisation of the man we get from our mainstream media. (And I expect to get from commenters here).

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6 responses to “Darwin, sexual selection and Putin”

  1. Richard Christie | June 27, 2017 at 12:58 pm |

    I won’t demonise the lyrics, but the music is drivel.

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  2. Ken | June 27, 2017 at 1:10 pm |

    Probably a bit much to expect good music for something like this.

    I thought it had a popular Russian feel to it but think now that might just be the language.

    Perhaps it’s something to dance to? 🙂

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  3. Richard Christie | June 27, 2017 at 6:19 pm |

    Want real Russian feel? : one of the greatest string quartets ever written;

    Play this loud.

    String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110, written in 1960.
    The string quartet is dedicated: “In memory of the Victims of Fascism and War”.
    I. Largo
    II. Allegro molto
    III. Allegretto
    IV. Largo
    V. Largo

    The String Quartet No. 8 is a complex, melancholy work written while Shostakovich was visiting Dresden, Germany, in 1960, where he was to provide music for the film Five Days-Five Nights. There, amid the rubble still visible from the Allied bombings during World War II, he was inspired to composed this quartet in remembrance of the victims of both Hitler and Stalin. The work is cast in five continuous movements and contains numerous thematic references to other works by Shostakovich.

    – The first movement, marked Largo, opens with the now famous motto theme derived from the composer’s initials, DSCH (given in its German equivalents as D, E flat, C, and B natural). It is treated fugally in this dark and tense movement, and later there are thematic quotations from Shostakovich’s First and Fifth symphonies.
    – The ensuing Scherzo (Allegro molto) rages with a driving, rhythmic treatment of the motto, then suddenly erupts with a frenzied account of the Jewish theme from the composer’s Piano Trio No. 2. The motto returns and the Jewish theme also makes another appearance, before the music settles a bit as the Allegretto third movement begins.
    – The motto theme is heard here in a dark waltz rendition, its relative calm quickly divulging underlying menace. Another waltz theme is heard, hardly breaking from the sinister mood, and soon the main theme from the composer’s Cello Concerto No. 1 makes an appearance.
    – The fourth movement (Largo) is perhaps the most starkly pessimistic: it features a three-note motif that constantly threatens and intimidates in the outer sections, which it shares with the motto theme, while the middle panel is sweetly mournful. This movement also contains thematic references to Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and to the song “Tormented by Grave Bondage.”
    – The finale (Largo) is a condensed version of the opening panel.

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  4. Richard Christie | June 28, 2017 at 4:15 pm |

    Note. The above programme notes were found (unattributed) under another youtube clip of the work. It is fairly standard info in regard to the work. I prefer the Borodin quartet over the other clip so attached them to the clip above. Actually, I recommend the Elder Quartet version (on Naxos) over the Borodin Q. To my taste the Elder Q version is cleaner (i.e. sans any romanticism) and more incisive.

    Given that Russia and USSR has produced giants such as Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Prokofiev, Kachaturian and Shostkovich amonst a multitude of other composers and performers, it’s a bit galling to have computer generated/sampled musical Farex (highly if not totally derivative of western influences in US and rap/ hip hop/ techno ) presented as Russian in flavour.

    Consider yourself “told off” 🙂

    Like

  5. Richard Christie | June 28, 2017 at 4:33 pm |

    Whoops, I meant Eder Quartet on Naxos, not Elder.

    Like

  6. David Fierstien | June 30, 2017 at 1:26 am |

    Yes, the girls do seem to like him, don’t they.

    Like

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