44 Comments »

1. Ah. now this is actually a community art performance. AFAIK it was a modern art performance originated by Tellervo Kalleinen ja Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen’s Birmingham First Complaints Choir in the UK. This is the Helsinki version, and they are planning to do the same in Hamburg and St.Petersburg. The idea is to ask people their gripes, and then compile a volunteer choir performance out of it. Some of that is quite funny.

   Comment by Hank W. — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 1:50 pm

2. there was one thing wrong with this song, we won the erovision

   Comment by Anonymous — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 3:34 pm

3. This video (and it’s Birmingham version) is shown at Kiasma until tomorrow I think.

   Comment by Pave — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 3:58 pm

4. Funny! I feel much bette now.

   Comment by Fred Fry — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 4:15 pm

5. “old forests are cut down for toilet paper - and all the toilets are always out of paper”

   Comment by Hank W. — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 5:29 pm

6. Here’s the Birmingham Complaints Choir
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w84qzHdEms

   Comment by Hank W. — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 5:37 pm

7. Having lived in London my favourite complaint song is the “London Underground”:
   http://www.backingblair.co.uk/london_underground/

   Comment by Zark — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 5:51 pm

8. Almost like a baptist choir from Alabama.. except for the fact that complaint choir seems to have some touch

   Comment by EU-civil servant — Sat, Aug 26th, 2006 @ 9:07 pm

9. #5 “old forests are cut down for toilet paper - and all the toilets are always out of paper”

   i love this. sums it up nicely. lol.

   Comment by Anonymous — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 12:14 am

10. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece! In fact, it was so much fun to watch I had to do it several times and, of course, analyze it in depth.

    One of the interesting aspects of the piece is that it winds up incorporating rather common criticisms of the welfare state – such as the state TV licensing system, or the 6 month-long wait lines for state-sponsored dental health care – with quite trivial, absurd and pathetic gripes about day-to-day living. As the whole piece is quite amusing, we should suppose that equating these kinds of gripes sounds as if the welfare state is gently poking fun at itself. So it would seem, for the uninitiated in Finland…

    None of these kinds of performances in Finland are privately sponsored or financed. Almost all of the key players, - the composers, producers, organizers of the festivals, etc. – are subsidized by the welfare state, in one form or another. All of them have an interest in keeping those subsidies coming. While the welfare state gives great breadth for freedom of expression, it also has an interest in propagating its own existence. To do this with a fairly well-educated public requires much subtler forms of coercion, incorporating philosophy, moral persuasion, appeals to national patriotism, and, in the end, by providing humor and entertainment in unexpected venues that would speak of the humanist concerns supposedly inherent in a state that would sponsor such things.

    Yet all of this would be too easily understood as such, so a piece like this could not be as successful without a touch of irony. As the equating of silly gripes with rather valid and important socio-political issues is not that hard for foreigners to see, it does seem to work for Finns. Finland has, after all, been governed for hundreds of prior years by a class system consisting mainly of an alliance between the state and the clergy (it persists today, with the clergy being replaced by the moral codes of social democrats). To guarantee that the peasantry was compliant enough to go back to tilling the fields (instead of revolting in countless bloody peasant revolts throughout history), the clergy was used (through the media system of the times: the church pulpit) to instill a sense of ridicule and shame on those who would complain about social issues, equating their points to un-Christian, self-centered gripes about life in general, as if their dissatisfaction was puerile to begin with. This sense of shame is very much a part of Finnish culture today. Finns rarely complain loudly and publicly, as in other western cultures. Finns are much more compliant in accepting the status quo (in this case, the welfare state), after their criticisms are subjected to the kind of ridicule expressed in this chorus.

    Lastly, there is another aspect that comes to the fore: the piece sounds very much like a mother mocking a child who keeps complaining about trivial details. We’re all familiar with the phenomenon: the petulant child self-centeredly whines about not getting his or her way, and the mother finally begins trivializing the child’s whining through mockery. This becomes all the more significant if we remember that the welfare state is often characterized as a nanny. In fact, the Helsinki Complaint Choir would not be as effective if the choir was composed mostly of men. It had to be women, in order to tie in the allusion to the nanny state.

    So what is the Finnish listener going to make of all this? Well, the public will most likely go home after encountering this piece on the city streets, satisfied with the clever piece of wisdom imparted by the piece, and perhaps more pliant in accepting his or her ordained role in a state that does seem to be witty enough in understanding what it’s like to be… in such a role.

    A very clever piece of propaganda, made all the more so in that it’s so enjoyable to hear.

    Comment by Finnpundit — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 1:55 am

11. And to just add a couple of more interesting things to Finnpundit’s marvelous analysis; Blah blanh blah blah and also blah blah blah.

    Comment by Matti — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 3:53 am

12. Matti’s reaction points to just how effectively the piece works as propaganda. For Finns, the critical eye becomes suspended. Outsiders looking in, though, will see the things Finns cannot see.

    Comment by Finnpundit — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 4:08 am

13. This kind of reminds me of the famous “protest song” parody by Simo Salminen (one of the Spede gang) in the 1960s.

    Comment by Kimmo W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 10:19 am

14. It is just that way
    in this country
    there is a lot of crap things
    you don’t need to ask much from your mates
    you just look around yourself
    all kinds of eejits think they’re whatever
    but they’re nothing but tards
    there has been a lot of wars with bats in this country before
    and there would be a job for bats now
    and the missus a job as well
    don’t care for much myself, yeah

    in this country the salaries are so bad
    that hunger is always with us
    but thirst hasn’t been able to surprise
    there has one or the other seen something,
    and one day maybe we’ll travel abroad
    so no need to come on my case

    or something like that

    Comment by Hank W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 10:34 am

15. The whole Ultra Bra discography could be fit into this

    Comment by EU Civil Servant — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 10:44 am

16. I still can’t figure out Finnpundit’s analysis, except it is thorough. Quite a few points in there actually are on the mark, but then again some of these require some absinthe to be analized. Hm.m.m.m.m…

    Comment by Hank W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 12:23 pm

17. “When others get tired, the Finns go on complaining. Even 4 times longer than the other nations”, or how that Alivaltiosihteeri version of the Duracell bunny was.

    This “hunger is always with us” part of Simo’s protest song is quoted from the Finnish version of the International workers march (or what’s the ‘Kansainvälinen’ in english.) It was pretty funny, when the fat, cognac nosed union bosses came to that part of the song at time when it was still sung in left-wing happenings, way back in Kekkoslovakia.

    As we are in the mood, maybe few lines of “La Marseillaise” in Savo dialect for the finnish connoisseurs are in order:

    …Työ meinoottako sitä kauvan kahtova,
    kun pontsarisakki tuo
    taksvärkkiä teiltä ronkuu.

    Nyt iespäin, iespäin vuan.
    Iespäin, iespäin ja vaikka nirri pois
    Pois valta riähkijäin.

    Comment by Antti (the redneck one) — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 12:52 pm

18. Music in a very similar style has been produced by the band Punatähdet, who put new satirically political lyrics in heavy dialect to familiar rock tunes. Here’s their website:
    http://www.punatahdet.com/eindex.html

    For instance, here’s a song about Che Guevara, sung to the tune of “Macarena”

    Kalasnikovi piän yli nosta
    Jottei pyssyn piippu kastu allikosta
    Kalasnikovi piän yli nosta

    See-e Kue-vara!

    Molotovin koktael tankin piälle heitä
    Jottei Patistan joukot motita meitä
    Molotovin koktael tankin piälle heitä

    See-e Kue-vara!

    Comment by Kimmo W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 3:58 pm

19. “When others get tired, the Finns go on complaining. Even 4 times longer than the other nations”

    It’s my experience that many Finns really like to complain long and hard about Finns who complain all the time.

    Comment by Kimmo W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 4:13 pm

20. gently poking fun at itself?? when you have these fundamental problems?

    “Old people are fed Tranquilizers so they will not complain?”

    and you call yourselves a compasonate country? This welfare state, screw the old folks medical system, you have, really does suck.

    Comment by winter — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 5:10 pm

21. Where’s your sense of humor, Winter?
    They’ve got studio apts in the welfare-static nursing homes.

    Comment by EU Civil Servant — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 5:34 pm

22. ““Old people are fed Tranquilizers so they will not complain?”

    and you call yourselves a compasonate country? This welfare state, screw the old folks medical system, you have, really does suck.”

    And of course nothing like that EVER happens in private-sector profit-driven medical care!

    Comment by Kimmo W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 6:14 pm

23. It’s my experience that many Finns really like to complain long and hard about Finns who complain all the time.

    Exactly. This piece is about making fun of people who complain all the time. It is exactly the kind of a message a welfare state would put out.

    It’s a piece which ensures the public that, yes, we know what it’s like to live in a nanny-state, but no, there’s nothing much that anybody can do about it.

    Comment by Finnpundit — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 6:37 pm

24. Finnpundit, its only a bit of fun why do you have to analyze everything, do you also analyze tom and jerry or is it just all things finnish that you hate. Jeeez man get a grip!

    Comment by sppuuddy — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 7:26 pm

25. Actually, I do analyze Tom & Jerry cartoons. They’re pretty sick.

    It’s important to understand all forms of cultural production, as most authors of such work tend not to be aware of what they are producing.

    Yet that should not stand in the way of enjoying such works. The Helsinki Complaints Choir is a lot of fun, as I’ve said before. Understanding its significance, however, can lead to a better appreciation of the work. In this case, the Choir should be admired not only for its humor, but because it is a clever piece of propaganda, and gives us an understanding of how well the Finnish people are brainwashed.

    Comment by Finnpundit — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 7:40 pm

26. “It’s important to understand all forms of cultural production, as most authors of such work tend not to be aware of what they are producing.”

    Well, thank God people like you are around to enlighten them and everyone else about the true meaning of what they do!

    I wonder if Finnpundit is 100% aware about what is REALLY behind the stuff he puts out.

    Comment by Kimmo W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 8:05 pm

27. I wonder if Finnpundit is 100% aware about what is REALLY behind the stuff he puts out.

    The Alien Anal Probe?

    Comment by Hank W. — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 11:14 pm

28. Interesting analysis, Finnpundit. I also noticed how valid complaints were being paired with silly and absurd ones. Of course, it takes an obsessive-compulsive welfare-state basher like you or Phil to only notice the parts that apply to a particular social model. For instance, the original Birmingham version had a valid complaint about the (privately operated) trains never being on time. Also, the Helsinki version had a point about bullshitters getting on too well in life. Successful bullshitters are predominantly a private sector phenomenon - I work for one.

    Comment by Freeridin' Franklin — Sun, Aug 27th, 2006 @ 11:36 pm

29. Okay, ‘Walters’. Why does ‘everything’ [notice quotes] on here (comments) have to be such a f*#!ing travesty? Sheesh!

    Comment by Anonymous — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 12:00 am

30. I admit didn’t fully grasp the point in the last post. Did Puntti run out of Haldol again?

    Comment by Freeridin' Franklin — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 12:54 am

31. #28 Franklin - last time I checked Helsinki’s public transport was privatized as well. The last bastion of “county employees” was dismantled quite recently. Its been all up for grabs for a while, theres Concordia Bus and Connex competing. Well, yes, it might be somewhat communist that the county owns the shares of the bus company, but it is a company vs. county department.

    Comment by Hank W. — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 9:21 am

32. Finnpundit, have you tried to analyze the Hollywood-Washington connection ever? They had some nice lectures on this connection few years back in the University of Jyväskylä (given by American professor, whose name I cannot remember..)

    Comment by EU Civil Servant — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 10:04 am

33. I would just like to point out that Birmingham is clearly culturally ahead of Helsinki, as nicking other people’s ideas is the sincerest form of flattery. As a Helsinki-resident, quasi-Brummie this makes me absurdly proud.

    Comment by Toby — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 1:06 pm

34. # 13, 14, 17

    Did you know this:
    In addition to always so current lyrics, the “protest song” has also undeniable artistitic merits. It’s the only song I know whitch was sung first and the band added on afterwards. There is the secret of adaptation which no one dares to copy. Hopefully.
    Thought some rap artists aren’t too far from that.

    Comment by issi — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 1:50 pm

35. And of course nothing like that EVER happens in private-sector profit-driven medical care!

    Sure it does, but not on such a routine every day, technocrats driven occurrence as in the welfare states. My Grandmother at age 80 needed a new hip in the UK. She was in a wheelchair, but was to old said the welfare state technocrat. She went private, paid, was walking for the next 8 years.

    A lot better than the druggs offered by the welfare state technocrat.

    Comment by winter — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 4:12 pm

36. yes, we know what it’s like to live in a nanny-state, but no, there’s nothing much that anybody can do about it.

    Sure there is. Walk away with your feet to the USA. We need the workers. No nanny;s over here. We will even, sob, let you fail….

    Comment by winter — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 4:16 pm

37. Then a Sweedish study comes along.

    “In the USA the poor get 39% of the US median income and in Finland (and Sweden) the poor get 38% of the US median income. It’s not worth quibbling over 1% so let’s take it as read that the poor in America have exactly the same standard of living as the poor in Finland (and Sweden). Which is really a rather revealing number don’t you think? All those punitive tax rates, all that redistribution, that blessed egalitarianism, the flatter distribution of income, leads to a change in the living standards of the poor of precisely … nothing.

    link here: America: More Like Sweden Than You Thought

    Comment by winter — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 5:21 pm

38. Winter, thanks for pointing out that interesting article. The best quote is probably this:

    The standard of living of the poor in a redistributionist paradise like Finland (or Sweden) seems a fair enough number to use and the USA provides exactly that. Good, the problem’s solved. We’ve provided — both through the structure of the economy and the various forms of taxation and benefits precisely what we should be — an acceptable baseline income for the poor. No further redistribution is necessary and we can carry on with the current tax rates and policies which seem, as this report shows, to be increasing US incomes faster than those in other countries and boosting productivity faster as well.

    Comment by Finnpundit — Mon, Aug 28th, 2006 @ 5:53 pm

39. Finn

    Its a quibble, but our poor equal your poor. And best news is we are getting richer, richer, richer.

    Its like buying or selling real estate. Location, location, location

    Comment by winter — Tue, Aug 29th, 2006 @ 7:07 am

40. And best news is we are getting richer, richer, richer.

    So are we and faster than you …

    Comment by Anonymous — Tue, Aug 29th, 2006 @ 7:10 am

41. Read this too:
    http://www.tcsdaily.com/discussionForum.aspx?fldIdTopic=8518&fldIdMsg=38547

    Comment by Anonymous — Tue, Aug 29th, 2006 @ 11:39 am

42. And this:
    http://www.tcsdaily.com/discussionForum.aspx?fldIdTopic=8518&fldIdMsg=38585

    Comment by Finnpundit — Tue, Aug 29th, 2006 @ 3:23 pm

43. wood picnic table

    Comment by diller — Thu, Oct 18th, 2007 @ 11:33 pm

44. detector metal minelab
    [URL=http://dmminelab.eamped.com]detector metal minelab[/URL]
    detector metal minelab - http://dmminelab.eamped.com

    Comment by ss — Fri, Oct 26th, 2007 @ 11:37 am

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

Mini Phillip

Get your own WidSets Pet