There’s nothing funny about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s deadly invasion of Ukraine, which at press time had reportedly resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and a global effort to isolate and financially punish the former KGB boss. But, of course, late night shows are tasked with finding the funny in the horrific and on Monday night (Feb. 28) Stephen Colbert nailed that pop culture triple Lindy with a pitch-perfect Taylor Swift spoof.
The subject was the move to remove certain Russian banks from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), a special messaging service that connects global financial institutions and helps to coordinate money transfers as a means of punishing Putin for invading neighboring Ukraine. Instead of a boring explainer, Colbert “acquired” a special message from Swift that broke down the geopolitical financial smackdown.
“Economic pain for invading Ukraine/ That’s how Vlad will pay, hmm mm, Here’s his Wordle today,” the stand-in Swift sang over images of the Russian Ruble’s value collapsing on world markets and a world puzzle that spelled out “Broke” in instantly recognizable green letters. “Financially he’ll grieve, for sending troops to Kyiv/ Nipples please just leave, you’re not Keanu Reeves.”
The 90-second bit, which interspersed pics of a shirtless Putin with shots from the original “Shake It Off” video boldly announced that it’s time for sanctions, excommunication and a hard break from interbank telecommunication.”Cuz I’m cutting off his banks, banks banks, banks, banks/ Til he turns around his tanks, tanks, tanks, tanks, tanks/ Vladdy I’m not gonna take, take, take, take take sanctions off, sanctions off!”
The world has condemned Russia’s aggressive action, with dozens of artists from Green Day to Louis Tomlinson, Yungblud, Health, Frank Ferdinand, Miley Cyrus, The Weeknd and Barbra Streisand either canceling planned shows in Russia or expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Watch the video below.
<iframe width="879" height="493" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q8ZUbN5eHcQ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
