Pussy Riot Drop New Single 'Putin Lights Up the Fires'

Russian punks go hard at president just hours after they're convicted of 'hooliganism'

Pussy Riot

Sergey Ponomarev/AP/dapd

August 17, 2012 12:05 PM ET

Though three members of Pussy Riot were convicted earlier today for "hooliganism" in connection with a March "punk prayer" protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin, the rockers have dropped a new single, "Putin Lights Up The Fires," reports The Guardian. The track strikes hard, showcasing the same boldness that led to their conviction.

Pussy Riot have been sentenced to two years in prison for their protest inside a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow. The band has received support from Paul McCartney, Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and maintained their protest was a political display, not a religious one. Their trial and conviction have been criticized as a politically motived show trial to scare off Putin dissenters.

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“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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Pussy Riot Drop New Single 'Putin Lights Up the Fires'