We suspect, big daddy Bolshevik that he was, that Vladimir Lenin’s musical tastes ran tow revolutionary anthems with a serious backbeat.
If he were alive today, it’s safe to say that Vlad would probably not be a Grateful Dead fan, being no lover of American beauty and all that. But the true-to-life version of the Russian icon casting that familiar furrowed gaze from a rooftop of a now defunct military antiquities shop on Gerrard East, may be a dead head yet.
Construction cranes are slated to move in to make room for condo development. A seven-storey number is slated for this mostly-forgotten stretch east of Woodbine. We despair of what’s going to become of ole Ilyich, the coolest commie to grace our cityscape. Strong Hearts below has closed up. There’s a sign on the door that asks visitors to knock – the doorbell doesn’t work. But these days there’s no answer. The phone line’s been disconnected, too.
Time to spin some Workingman’s Dead in Lenin’s honour. Perhaps Cumberland Blues.
