It remains to be seen how Russian and Olympic authorities would react should the Kleintje Pils band play a song widely considered to be a gay anthem. A ban on information about "nontraditional sexual relations" signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin has provoked widespread international outrage from critics who believe it discriminates against gays.
Band leader Ruud Bakker told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Kleintje Pils could mix the Village People's "Y.M.C.A." in its sing-along repertoire as "a signal." But he added that the band didn't want to antagonize organizers or turn its performances into a "political game."
"We will see if we can get one or two songs into the selection, knowing that in the Netherlands it will be seen as a signal we are thinking of them (gays)," Bakker said...
This idiocy knows no bounds.
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Key quote: "in the Netherlands it will be seen as a signal we are thinking of them (gays)"
ReplyDeleteSo, the bright idea is to protest a Russian policy with a shout-out to Dutch gays -- which is certain to flatter the sensibilities of gays in Holland, but whether it even gets aired on Russian TV to be by Russian viewers is apparently of no relevance.
I have no idea whether the Village People even ping on the average Russian's pop-cultural radar, but on checking ru.wikipedia, I find that the Russian-language article for "Freddi Merkyuri" (not Queen, mind you, just Freddy Mercury alone!) is -- roughly speaking -- about 25 times longer than the article for the Village People. And I can assure you that Mercury's "non-traditional sexual orientation" has never been a secret in the post-Soviet media of Russia.
So I'd suggest that if they actually want to send a SEKRIT MSG to show solidarity for actual Russian gays in actual Russia, something from Mercury's discography would make a lot more sense than some camp/novelty number about having sex in gym saunas.