Pussy Riot's mixture of punk rock and activism has struck a cord with Americans, and now the band is releasing their very first song in English to protest police violence. Titled "I Can't Breathe," the song is about the controversial death of Eric Garner at the hands of a New York City police officer last year. The officer ultimately faced no charges despite putting Garner in a chokehold, which is prohibited, and ignoring Garner's cries that he was unable to breathe. The band's song is an appropriately dark response to his death, but it also puts forward some semblance of hope for the future. The song ends: "some fairness might be found / from ashes of his death." Some New York artists, including Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, worked with Pussy Riot on the song.
Pussy Riot release harrowing music video tribute for Eric Garner
is The Verge’s executive editor. He has covered tech, policy, and online creators for over a decade.
The song is being released with an equally haunting music video on YouTube. It shows two members of the band, Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina, being buried alive while wearing Russian riot police uniforms. “This song is for Eric and for all those from Russia to America and around the globe who suffer from state terror — killed, choked, perished because of war and state sponsored violence of all kinds — for political prisoners and those on the streets fighting for change,” the video’s YouTube description reads. “We stand in solidarity.”
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