The Russian vocalist of Korean origin
Victor Tsoi, from St. Petersburg, is known as possibly the greatest rock musician ever in Russia.
He became incredibly popular during Gorbachev's Perestroika, his songs becoming a voice for change and young people taking things into their own hands. Tsoi wrote about ordinary people's lives and troubles and while some of his songs were revolutionary, other were very melancholic, about the limits of man, suffering, and the cruelty of fate. This made his songs emotional and easy to relate to.
Ironically enough, the melancholia in his songs was quite prophetic: he was killed in an accident at the very hight of his career, in 1990, aged 28.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_TsoiThis is one of my favorite songs by him, "A Star Called Sun". With lyrics translated to English.
White snow and black ice
On the cracked earth.
As a patchwork blanket lays on it -
And this city is in the road loop.
Floating clouds over the city,
Closing the heavenly light.
Over the town - yellow smoke
And the city two thousand years old,
Lived under the light of a star named the Sun
And for two thousand years there is war,
War without special reasons.
War is a matter of the young,
İt's a medicine against wrinkles.
The red, red blood -
In an hour is simply earth,
And after two on it is flowers and grass,
And after three it is alive again
And warmed by the rays of star called the Sun
And we know that it has always been,
That the fate would like special ones,
Those who lives by the other rules and laws ,
And who were born to die young.
He did not know the words "yes" and "no"
He did not know the orders and ranks,
And he was able to reach the stars,
He did not think it was a dream.
And he fell scorched by a star called Sun....
Виктор Цой - Звезда по имени солнце