After Hours

t.a.T.u. Ya soshla s uma (I went crazy)

Happy trashy Russian pop Monday. This is about the trashiest that Russia has to offer - now or ever. The group t.a.T.u was formed up in 1998 by these two rich guys, Shapovolov and Voitinski, who wanted a girl group. They ended up hiring teenagers Katina and Volkova and hoping for the best. Unfortunately, aside from a few mindless dance singles, they had little to show for their efforts. Finally in 2003, somebody had the brilliant idea of making them phony lesbians. For a while, the world was intrigued, but the scheme ended up completely backfiring. t.a.T.u. is still together these days, but nobody really cares. OK, here you get to see the girls getting rained on, singing behind bars and fake-making out. The song itself is an overwrought affair that failed to take the English-speaking world by storm as "All the Things She Said." Seeing this today reminds me that 2003 was such a horrible year. This tune helped make it so, although it only played a small part in 2003's awfulness.