“A Soviet Mistake” feels like anything but a mistake. It tells the story of Marina Butina, a Russian spy who, in 2018, infiltrated the National Rifle Association, a group of people who allege to push legislation and lobby for the continued right to bear arms. This act of espionage, done to directly benefit Russia, landed her in the United States prison system for 15 months, resulting in her deportation afterward. The song is a glaring piece of biting satire, poking fun at this story and all of its political absurdity.
According to The Tracys’ singer, Dave Klym, “A Soviet Mistake” is “roughly based on recent true events. It tells a story of a Russian foreign agent (Maria Butina) that actually infiltrated the NRA.”
Klym goes on to say, “I thought well, she’s pretty and a gun nut so it probably wouldn’t have been too hard to do. It makes for perfect fodder for a Ramones-style love song from the point of view of the loser who fell for her and let her in and would stupidly do anything for her. I picture a sad dude in his mother’s dark basement on his computer. Anyway, she was caught, jailed and kicked out of the country… no more Chipotle for her! Suka!”
While the beat of the song is steady and the lyrics are frank and funny, the only thing we were left wanting more of was a slightly higher tempo to this song. (To be honest, messing a bit with YouTube’s playback speed settings and putting this song at 1.25x speed did a lot to alleviate that, but by no means is it 100% necessary for enjoying this single. – Josh Nelson
