Glossary

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anti-Boris, The Speculation abounds about the existence and identity of "The anti-Boris", the one who stands in opposition to all that we Bodhisattvi love about Akvarium. Millennialist Akvariumites fear the "Rise of the Anti-Boris," which will be marked by uninspired music, painful antics, and a clear imbalance in the Borisian equivalent of chi.

Aroks & Shtyor n. 1) "Stoli on the rocks" in the Pyan language. 2) A popular magic act at the Casino of the Spilled Blood, Las Vegas' newest tourist destination. 3) Fun with tape, as analysed by Dzhrewdji Labs in their well-known study Mirrors for the Soul.

Babylon n. 1) A state of mind. 2) A former cradle of civilization that now has the misfortune of being a speed-bump on the road to An Najaf.

BoB abbr. 1) The Bodhisattvas of Babylon. 2) The Best of the Best. 3) A tie fighter with butterfly wings (strictly used in an instant messenger context).

Bob n. 1) A nickname of BG. 2) A Russian word meaning “bean.” (Coincidence? You be the judge.) [Recommendation for further study: Listen to Blue Album and then to Highway 61 Revisited.]

Bodhisattva n. An enlightened being that knows far more than you can ever hope to about BG and Akvarium.

Chucho n. 1) An obscure musician connected with the Eurhythmics, Chucho Merchan, who helped BG record the demos that became Radio London. 2) An Avatar of Clueless Incompetence. (How did that Chucho ever get elected president?)

Dzhoanna n. (also Joanna, Joanna Stingray, J.S.) 1) The Pat Benetar of Russia. 2) A meddler. 3) According to the sacred Book of Dji : “Aside from being a presumably still living and breathing (and hopefully still video-filming) person, she exists as a concept, an archetype, a cosmic force which simultaneously describes, denies and reinforces the possibilities that can be brought into being when Russian and American cultural elements collide. Dzhoanna is the Bodhisattva of Russo-American MutoGenoCultural Psychocrosspollination and we are her avatars.”

Gakkel' n. 1) Vsevolod Gakkel', noted cellist, one of the original members of Akvarium. 2) A person given to shrewish observations that happen to be correct. Gakkel, -ed, -ing v.i. 1) To complain irascibly from a position of moral authority. (If you'd stop your incessant gakkeling, you'd see that I've already done as you asked.)

Hoy n. See "Prock". (Protect your hoy.—B.G.)

Ivan-Chai n. 1) The Rosebay Willowherb, Epilobium angustifolium, a type of fireweed 2) The most popular beverage at Starbucks Russia. 3) Tea, you know, made by Vanya. 4) Something of fleeting magnificence.

Jah n. Not, as has been speculated in certain quarters, a synonym for ganja; rather, the Rastafarians name for the One God.

Lhar-a-hlar adv. 1) Lhar-a-hlar. 2) See Bardo. 3) A comment on the Unbearable Silliness of Being. 4) Lhar-a-hlar.

Lingham n. A gender-specific measure of Bodhisattvahood and karmic merit.

Mochalka n. 1) A piece of bast 2) A (female) cheap-date; a hoochie-mama .

Munchkin n. 1) An inhabitant of Munchkinland, one of the four geographic subdivisions of the Land of Oz (cf. Winkie, Quadling, Gillikin) 2) An inhabitant of the Land of Aquarium; a participant in the Munchkin Chorus on "To Friends," "Sing, Sing Lyre" and elsewhere.

Olle n. 1) Olle Romo, keyboardist for the Eurhythmics, destroyer of Radio Silence. 2) An Avatar of Entropy. (Things were going along fine, and then suddenly everything went Olle.) See synonyms at FUBAR. Oil of Olle n. A caustic substance.

Prock n. See "Hoy". (Protect your prock.—B.G.)

Rubekin n. 1) Boris Rubekin (a.k.a. Boris.ru), current second-banana of Akvarium. 2) An Avatar of Artificiality. (Aerosol Cheese? No thanks! It's so Rubekin!.)

Sinsemilla n. Potent marijuana from unfertilized female plants. This conundrum of an intoxicating weed enhances the lingham because it has not itself partaken of the lingham. aum. (Sinsemilla is to common marijuana what Absolut is to Smirnoff, what MacCallan is to Black Velvet, what Sam Adams is to Schlitz. It is tasty, smooth, highly pleasurable and uncommonly effective.—Maik)

Tbilisi n. The capital of Georgia (the one featuring endless toasts, not the one toasted by W. T. Sherman); site of a notorious Akvarium performance in 1980. Tbilisi Moment An incidence of transgression that succeeds beyond one's wildest expectations; a succès de scandale. (Mrs. Dji had her Tbilisi Moment when she somehow bullied the ticket-hag into letting us into the Hermitage at the Russian rate.)

Tchoo n. 1) A sound, not unlike the toot of Thomas the Tank Engine, created S. Kuryokhin on a cheap-ass early-80's synthesizer, used to notable effect on Radio Africa and other early Akvarium opera. 2) By extension, any random noise that pops up in an Akvarium song, appropriately or inappropriately, to surprising effect. (I still haven't made up my mind about the "ambient" production touches. Call them the millennial equivalent of Tchooo...—Mimoza) tchoo adj. Unexpectedly appealing. (It's very tchoo, don't you think?)

Tsoi n. 1) Viktor Tsoi, Boris' only serious competition in the "Russian Rock God" sweepstakes; enjoys the moral advantage of having croaked near the height of his powers. 2) A tsauce tserved with tshrimp.

Wack Factor Consider the tchoo. Consider the tweet tweet, the wilbur, the Lhar and the Aum. Consider chant songs, wild collisions of genre, mad artistic overreachings and senseless fascinations with Tuvan throat singing. Consider, once again, the tchoo. We present for your consideration the much-esteemed "Wack Factor". If you love it, welcome home. If you don't, well, you're not going to like it here.

Washing machine n. In Russia, a musical instrument.

Wilburizer n. 1) A device used by Boris Grebenschikov to achieve a sudden, otherwise inexplicable, pronounced vocal vibrato. This device first came into prominence in the late 80's and became increasingly prevalent in the early-to-mid 90's before virtually disappearing from the annals of Akvarium. (On "Maksim the Forester" BG has the ol' Wilburizer turned to up to 10, the Julia Child setting—Dzhon) Wilburize, -d, -ing v. 1) to add a pronounced vibrato to something for no good reason. 2) Obs. An apparent vibrato on some older Akvarium bootleg cassettes caused by flaws in the dubbing process and/or tape-quality. (The tape sounds wilburized.) [Origin Uncertain: thought to derive from the way the Mr. Ed, “the talking horse” or TV's golden age, would neigh out the name of his best friend, Wilbur]

Yoni n. A gender-specific measure of Bodhisattvahood and karmic merit.