The book explores the relationship between the fastest of the arts and the surrounding time and space, and how Russian-language music has changed during various periods of the Putin era. Featured artists include Boris Grebenshchikov, Yuri Shevchuk, Zemfira, SBPCh, Noize MC, Monetochka, Shortparis, and dozens of other musicians whose songs shaped the first quarter of this century. Gorbachev writes not only about the interaction of culture and society but also about his encounters with musicians, and how external circumstances influenced his personal perception of music, and how music influenced his life.

Alexander Gorbachev is the author of a biography of the leader of the Civil Defense movement, "He Saw the Sun: Yegor Letov and His Time" (2025), the author and editor of "No Need to Be Shy: The History of Post-Soviet Pop Music in 169 Songs" (2021), and the co-author of "Songs into the Void: The Lost Generation of Russian Rock of the 1990s."