The octogenarian superstar of the Soviet stage Eduard Khil has final received due recognition in the West, albeit anonymously. The YouTube clip were he sings the wordless song “I’m very glad, because I’m finally returning home” is known outside of Russia as simply Trololo Man. However, the song has become a hit: the recording from the 1960s that was recently placed on YouTube has been viewed over 3 million times and received nearly 20,000 comments, and largely from an English-speaking audience. Another 15,000 have signed a petition requesting that “Mister Trololo” go on a worldwide tour. And Khil has even come out saying that he’s not against the idea.
The success of Trololo of course is not an indication of a belated triumph of Soviet culture or a reemergence of retro interest in tunes of the 1960s. Mister Trololo isn’t even a musical phenomenon. It’s an Internet meme of the likes of Susan Boyle (the half-crazed housewife with an angelic voice) the Lolcat site and “Tadjik Jimmy”. Of the millions of interesting and puzzling links on the Internet, certain ones suddenly become hits throughout the web for reasons that sociologists are trying to uncover. Usually there is no logic to it. And the video of Khil is such a case.
There is national element behind the Trololo-mania. The song makes an impression not because it is Soviet – Khil isn’t that much different than American singers of that period or even the Japanese Enka singers. “I’m glad...” creates the impression it does because of this historic curiosity is born of a different esthetic built of unfamiliar conditions, the artificiality of which is clear. As a result, what was once a musical number is now perceived as an Internet joke.
While Mister Trololo has no relation to Russian or Soviet soft power, this story has a moral of its own. This meme with Khil, as odd as it is, shows what is in public demand in this new millennium. Soft power has always been associated with mass culture, of which Internet memes are a part, and right now the highest value is placed on irony. And it is the lack of irony that makes Khil so funny. It is impossible to watch him perform without smiling.
But irony has never been valued very highly in Russia. As Dovlatov wrote, a Russian drives nails and does so adamantly. And this irony is missing today in many areas, and perhaps most visibly in mass culture. Of course a little irony in songs for teenagers is permissible (they are young, after all), but our mainstream pop stars, directors and other cultural figures, as well as the public, regardless of age continue to see entertainment as a very important affair.
However, it is pop culture that above all else could use a healthy dose of irony, as this is after all only entertainment, and it requires a certain lightness of spirit, not reverence. And this light entertainment should not be frowned upon or ignored, as everything has its place in life and the world would go crazy with the possibility of relaxing.
The whirlwind success of Mister Trololo is a valuable lesson, as it confirms that the shift toward irony is both real and unavoidable. The less pathos we have in mass culture, the more we will be able to enjoy it and the greater the chances that it will be of interest to the rest of the world. And vice versa. As long as we continue to hold the line of pseudo-sincerity, which has a similar effect as Khil’s song, our achievements in entertainment will seem like nothing more than an Internet joke to the outsider observer. The choice is clear: we either learn to laugh at ourselves, or others will laugh at us. And we won’t have anything to say in our defense, as Khil’s Trololo really is funny and absurd.
