Is Finland the greatest country ever?

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I've been thinking: I've never heard a band from Finland I don't like. Not all the Finnish music I've listened to has been great but it's all been good. Like Circle, Nightwish (who are brutally awesome), the mighty Finntroll, the Bad Vugum stuff, Mieskuoro Huutajat (sp?)--etc.

What's the deal with Finland?

Is it just like the Monty Python song--so close to Russia yet so far from Vietnam? Is that what gives Finland its awesomeness? Should I move there? It's gotta be nicer than where I am now.

― adam (adam), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:20 (twenty-two years ago)

All my linguistics books say Finnish is a ferociously fucked up language. Also I think they have like beaucoup reindeer.

― adam (adam), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Should I fear the Finnish googlers?

― adam (adam), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

finland is responsible for a lot of folk that is rather meh.

that's pretty much all i have to say about this subject.

― brad koski, Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

they ski well

― Felcher (Felcher), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:39 (twenty-two years ago)

22-Pistepirkko

― willem (willem), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:43 (twenty-two years ago)

then there's the folk that isn't meh at all - kemialliset ystavat and related/connected bands like avarus, anaksimandros, pylon, etc. and skepticism, thergothon, echo is your love, etc.

― your null fame (yournullfame), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:55 (twenty-two years ago)

does anyone have that bizzare flash animation of cats w/ laser beams that uses finish folkish music?

― Jon Williams (ex machina), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 17:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Finland is the only country to beat the Russians twice in battle. Other than that, I dunno.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 18 June 2003 18:06 (twenty-two years ago)

The men there are very odd and will try to chat you up or be sick on you.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 18:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Classic for Beherit and Impaled Nazarene alone.

― Siegbran (eofor), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I like Varttina, and great 90s band Hoyry-Kone, who morphed into Alamaailman Vasarat.

― dleone (dleone), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, listening to Pharaoh Overlord, a spinoff from Circle: pass the bong.

― dleone (dleone), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Skepticism are Finnish? It just gets better and better.

― adam (adam), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Kimmo Pohjonen fkn rrrrules

(to name just one of those who haven't been mentioned on this thread yet)

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Don't forget Liimanarina!

― Sam J. (samjeff), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Two finnish men go on vacation in a remote cabin. They bring very little other than several large bottles of vodka. As soon as they arrive they go straight to the sauna and begin drinking. After sitting there for around 2 hours one man turns to the next and asks, "how's everything with the family?"
A half hour later, the second man replies, "did we come here to talk or drink?"

― Magic City (ano ano), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I didn't mention that before they try to chat you up or be sick on you, they have usually been sitting drinking in silence for several hours.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Beats & Styles: Alimo & Control!

― Paul (scifisoul), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks! My slsk download queue is now 100% Finn-tastic!

― adam (adam), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 20:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Dont Forget Luomo/Vladislav Delay, Pan Sonic and Dum and Sahko records.

― Mike Taylor (mjt), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 21:01 (twenty-two years ago)

boomfunk mcs are finish. like a freestyler. erm...

― gallantseagull, Wednesday, 18 June 2003 21:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Three Finnish men walking down a country lane. A couple of hours pass and one says "Nice day today". An hour later the second guy says "Looks like it might rain". Another hour or so passes and the third guys exclaims "Stop fighting you two!!"

― GetARoomFinnBoy, Wednesday, 18 June 2003 22:56 (twenty-two years ago)

the meet the scene compilation from finland is awful. the moti maneuver is classic though.

― keith (keithmcl), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 22:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i heard finntroll the other day and i loved them! And yes, Nightwish are awesome!

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 23:30 (twenty-two years ago)

i don't own any finnish records whatsoever.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 18 June 2003 23:31 (twenty-two years ago)

not sure about the music, but the girls there enjoy breaking hearts.

― dyson (dyson), Thursday, 19 June 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Also: let us not forget Electric Blue Peggy Sue And The Revolutionions From Mars!

Seriously. They were pretty good.

― Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 19 June 2003 03:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Plus, there's Phinnweb, one of the best electronic music sites around. I love Finns. They're insane, it's the long nights.

http://www.sci.fi/~phinnweb/enter.html

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Thursday, 19 June 2003 04:38 (twenty-two years ago)

What about Jimi Tenor?

― tigerclawskank, Thursday, 19 June 2003 08:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Also home of the Moomins, I love Finland.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 19 June 2003 09:10 (twenty-two years ago)

You guys know more about Finnish music than I do, and I live here!

Finland is the only country to beat the Russians twice in battle. Other than that, I dunno.

I've never heard of this, and I should know, I've studied political history. If you're talking about WWII, Finns actually lost both of the wars they fought against the Russians in 1939-1944. But I guess you could call it a victory in the sense that we never got occupied, and never became a Soviet satellite like the Eastern European countries.

Moomins are the best thing to come out of this country, in my opinion. Have any of you read the Moomin comic strips by Lars Jansson, Tove Jansson's brother? They're great, as good as the books even.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 19 June 2003 09:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I was tempted to buy some when I visited Tuomas but funds were limited so I went for the plush Moominmamma and Moominpappa instead, and the picture books you couldn't (then) get in the UK.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 19 June 2003 09:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Can you read Finnish? I believe the comics ran in some British newspapers in the sixties and seventies, but I'm not sure if there's ever been an English-language collection of them.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 19 June 2003 09:43 (twenty-two years ago)

No I can't. I'm bad at languages anyway and Finnish is a notoriously gnarly one.

They ran in the Evening Standard - I *think* there weren't any collections, just as well as I'd pay big ebay sums for any. A friend sent me a copy of the "Books From Finland" journal once which had an article on them, they look great!

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 19 June 2003 09:45 (twenty-two years ago)

The Moomin comics more adult-oriented and anarchic than the books. Because they were made in the late sixties and seventies, they're full of light-hearted social commentary and feature hippies, communists, vegetarians etc. There are two notorious drug-related episodes, one where the Moomins visit an opium den, and one where they take LSD! (The name of the drug was changed to LJS or something, but the implications are quite clear.) These were later removed from the collected editions.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 19 June 2003 09:52 (twenty-two years ago)

!!!!!!!!!

Above our mantelpiece is a huge Tove Jansson poster for a Moomin art exhibition in which Moominmanna is stirring a mysterious brew from which are flying all sorts of curious creatures including Little My flying on a bat!

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 19 June 2003 10:04 (twenty-two years ago)

i like moomin!
but my dad always told me watch out for finns, they fight with knives.

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Friday, 20 June 2003 05:17 (twenty-two years ago)

it's a matter of pride with the fins that in ww2 they had a 3:1 kill ratio against the russians. read into that however you like.

― dyson (dyson), Friday, 20 June 2003 05:30 (twenty-two years ago)

That didn't help the Germans either though...

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 20 June 2003 07:17 (twenty-two years ago)

They had a pretty nasty prison camp for Russians.

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 20 June 2003 10:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I went out with a Fin for a while - handsome race.

Musically? Deeply dud.

― russ t, Friday, 20 June 2003 10:39 (twenty-two years ago)

i've lived with innumerable finns, i can't help but find them all across london. impaled nazarene are great, and soundtracked the iraq war due to one of the above flatmates:

"do you want! total war?!
YES WE WANT! TOTAL WARR!
do you want!
fucking war?!
YES WE WANT! FUCKING WAR
SUOMI FINLAND PERKELE!"

musically, i'm not sure - i think there's one magnificent bit of keyboard prog i've lost the name of, it was used in blue jam once... and some folkie i was once played doing a version of 'too drunk to fuck'.

and enormous discredit to you wall for not mentioning hanoi rocks.

― matthew james (matthew james), Friday, 20 June 2003 13:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
It's the country for me.
You're so near to Russia,
So far from Japan,
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

You're so sadly neglected
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

Finland has it all.

― nick.K (nick.K), Friday, 20 June 2003 14:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I regret that I seem to have given the impression on this thread that I don't like Finland. It's a great place.

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 20 June 2003 14:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Where is j0hn Darn1elle?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Friday, 20 June 2003 15:11 (twenty-two years ago)

two weeks pass...

The Finnish onslaught continues!

― adam (adam), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 05:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh finland
The land of thousand lakes and of course Mumin

I want to get hold of The Silver´s 2 7" Do You Wanna Dance & No More Grease from 1979. email me if you are willing to part with them

― Jens (brighter), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 18:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I have a single by a Finnish band called the Boozers. Decent punk.

Circle, etc., etc. are great!!! 'Ptolemaic Terrascope' sez it; I believe it; that settles it. Well, not really, but close.

― John Bullabaugh (John Bullabaugh), Tuesday, 8 July 2003 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm still impressed that ILMers know more about the music here than I do. For some reason, Finland seems to have bred numerous amounts of weird cult bands/artists, but not any internationally succesful ones (if you don't count Bomfunk MC's and Darude - yucch).

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 07:00 (twenty-two years ago)

SIBELIUS. That is all.

― Sam (chirombo), Wednesday, 9 July 2003 12:19 (twenty-two years ago)

nine months pass...

yeah, anyone heard Antarktis Utopia? good melodic death metal.
go check it out @ http://antarktisutopia.tk/ ! rock on.

― Miikka, Sunday, 18 April 2004 13:34 (twenty-one years ago)

And to answer the question.

Yes, it is. ^__^

― Miikka, Sunday, 18 April 2004 13:36 (twenty-one years ago)

These are the best half-Finnish PSB-soundalikes i've heard all year: http://www.rogerpeople.com/

― Affectian (Affectian), Sunday, 18 April 2004 14:33 (twenty-one years ago)

i bought 2 cds by sarcofagus - finnish heavy metal from 1980, absolutely excellent, though not as outwardly heavy as the NWOBHM bands. still, great keyboards and lapses into occultic hoo-haa somewhere between black widow and mercyful fate.

and the first one, "envoy of death," i swear to god circle must've listened to it a lot before recording "sunrise."

― el sabor de gene (yournullfame), Sunday, 18 April 2004 14:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I really like those finnish jokes! anyone have more?

― Elliot (Elliot), Sunday, 18 April 2004 18:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes finland rulez well. search for i like finland very much etc. using google and you will see something cool. And ps. i like finn girls ;D

― Es, Tuesday, 20 April 2004 17:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I also want "Do You Wanna Dance" by The Silver. If anyone has a copy and wants to part with it, please get in touch.
PS: Pertti Karppinen was my favourite Finn

― Simon Bullivant, Wednesday, 21 April 2004 17:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Rammer Oy.

Little is known about this Punk unit. They borrowed their name from a (i think) hydraulic tool manufacturing firm.
They didn't play booked gigs.
They just showed up at a venue when someone else was playing, waited for a sign and then stormed the stage, took the other band's instruments and kicked them away as the Rammers delivered a short, intense storm of pure noise. And then - they disappeared.

Only in Finland, kids, only in Finland...

(I've never seen them, but since I read about Rammer Oy in a booklet called "International hopeless tunes support organisation" I've been very intrigued)

― Kaiser of Köln (Kaiser of Köln), Wednesday, 21 April 2004 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

seven months pass...

Should I move there?

Yes! Come to Helsinki. You'll love it.

― Pekka, Tuesday, 30 November 2004 10:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Rautavaara is one of my favourite contemporary composers.

― Jonathan Z. (Joanthan Z.), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 10:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Finland isn't even the best country in Scandinavia, though it still has plenty of the most epically, eye-smakingly wonderful vistas you're ever likely to see. And I preferred Turku to Helsinki to be honest. Helsinki was disappointing and half of it was under (re-)construction, though there was some interesting funny business going on around the Sibelius monument when I visited. I've no interest in Moomins.

― David Merryweather (DavidM), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

It's not even in Scandinavia

― We Buy a Hammer For Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 15:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Ultra Bra is great finnish band (Or was, actually...)

― carlozz, Tuesday, 30 November 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I really like those finnish jokes! anyone have more?

these Finnish ravers head out to a rave. They take a load of ecstasy pills. After a while one of them says "Great pills". A couple of hours later the other says "Yeah. Really chatty".

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 1 December 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

pretty sure Jori Holkonnen is from Finland. definitely deserves a mention.

― biznotic, Thursday, 2 December 2004 01:30 (twenty-one years ago)

FAMOUS FOR G4Y P0RN CARTOONISTS!

― fauxhemian (fauxhemian), Thursday, 2 December 2004 02:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I heard Finns only talk when they're drunk. Is that true?

― Sara L., Thursday, 2 December 2004 02:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes. And they're all really sexy.

― adam... (nordicskilla), Thursday, 2 December 2004 03:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes. And they're all really sexy.

This is true.

― Pekka, Thursday, 2 December 2004 03:38 (twenty-one years ago)

No it isn't. (It's just the ladeez...)

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 2 December 2004 14:11 (twenty-one years ago)

i lived there for 14 months.

it was pretty fucking great once i realised that silence is golden.

no small talk.

my wife (one of the success stories of my visit there) after 14 years of marriage in uk still doesn't do small talk.
or single glazed windows.
or carpets in bathrooms.
or seperate hot and cold taps.

wonderful place.

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:14 (twenty-one years ago)

My friend told me that the biggest culture shock she had in America was realizing that people wear shoes inside the house.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:32 (twenty-one years ago)

oh yeah. forgot that one.

thats top of the list.

my parents hate coming to our house.

they just dont understand why we dont allow shoes inside .. and complain each time.

then again i would prefer if the never came at all .. but thats another story ..

― mark e (mark e), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

no mention of disco in this thread = dud

― randy mamola, Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

You mean "Disco" the synth pop duo?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:38 (twenty-one years ago)

(Like last year, I still find it funny that folks here probably know more about Finnish [alternative] music than I do. Except for Finnish rap, obviously.)

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:39 (twenty-one years ago)

(Or did whoever it was who promised to play the Pikku G tracks actually do so?)

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Removing shoes before walking around in the house is more common in the northern states in America, and in Canada. Anywhere it snows, basically.

There's lots of great Finnish design: Marimekko, Eero Saarinen, Alvar Aalto, etc.

― Nemo (JND), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

YES! sibelius, saariaho, lindberg, salonen, rautavaara

can't mess with 20th century finnish classical

― you will be shot (you will be shot), Thursday, 2 December 2004 15:50 (twenty-one years ago)

There were some good Discharge/Chaos UK style hardcore punk bands from Finland in the 80s - Terveert Kadet, Tampere SS etc. That's about all I know musically!

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 2 December 2004 16:30 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

I wasn't sure which thread to post this in, but:

My order of Alamaailman Vasarat's Käärmelautakunta arrived today and destroyed me. I am in awe.

― aaron d.g. (aaron d.g.), Thursday, 3 August 2006 06:57 (nineteen years ago)

To Tuomas: please stop posting about shit Finnish rap acts like Kapasiteettiksikkö. A lot of the rap here is shit, but there is some decent stuff, like murmur's output.

― mikko (mikko), Thursday, 3 August 2006 08:03 (nineteen years ago)

Since chancing upon them on a WFMU archive show, I've been quite taken with : a slightly goth/new wave/synth pop band. Their records appear to be more scarce than I would have hoped - were they very popular in Finland? I've been attempting to find out more about them, which has drawn me towards very sketchy details regarding a supposedly legendary figure named Miettinen; their 'backing band': Tyhjat Patterit; and a movie named Klaani - tarina Sammakoitten suvusta (Clan - tale of the Frogs), which stars a member of the group.

Those little speckles of biography, along with the songs, screams to me that they must have been superstars; I expect the reality is not quite so exciting as what I'm imagining, but I'm interested nonetheless.

― AJ (o1000ir), Thursday, 3 August 2006 09:53 (nineteen years ago)

Whoa. That post was about the band Belaboris.

― AJ (o1000ir), Thursday, 3 August 2006 09:57 (nineteen years ago)

How about some old-school Finnish rock - Tasavallan Presidentti and their guitarist Jukka Tolonen? I played the TP LP after I returned from Turku a couple years ago, and it held up pretty well. I remembered a lot of the melodies and riffs from when I used to play it back in the 70s.

Also I was told there that the Russians took a lot of their land in the North part of the country and still hold it today. Kind of a sore spot.

― nickn (nickn), Thursday, 3 August 2006 20:29 (nineteen years ago)

TIVOL!!!

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Thursday, 3 August 2006 20:33 (nineteen years ago)

To Tuomas: please stop posting about shit Finnish rap acts like Kapasiteettiksikkö. A lot of the rap here is shit, but there is some decent stuff, like murmur's output.

Knowing the people here, I'd say they're more interested in good mainstream rap than boring undie like Murmur. Though I didn't think much of Kapasiteettiyksikkö either, until I heard their latest LP, which is really dope.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Friday, 4 August 2006 05:42 (nineteen years ago)

I saw some girl walking on a broken glass on the sidewalk and my friend said: "What are you DOING?"

"I'm from fucking FINLAND."

only finnish person i've ever "met."

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Friday, 4 August 2006 17:59 (nineteen years ago)

I asked this Swede once what he thought of the Finns. "Ya, all they do is get trunk and stab each udder vid de leeddle knives."

― Fetchin Bones (Fetchin Bones), Friday, 4 August 2006 21:20 (nineteen years ago)

http://users.tkk.fi/~kkinnune/bedford/saunassa.jpg

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 4 August 2006 23:59 (nineteen years ago)

Geir Hongro - Finland's finest male sauna house photog!

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Sunday, 6 August 2006 04:52 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

Is it true that in Finland, the owl is considered a foolish animal? NO WAI

― roc u like a § (ex machina), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 23:09 (nineteen years ago)

its true though, they aren't the most intelligent bird species, despite their superior vision.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 23:42 (nineteen years ago)

but they sure know how to have a good time! HOOT HOOT!

http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/aqkorhon/tuulipukujuhla11.jpg

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 3 October 2006 23:45 (nineteen years ago)

eight years pass...

It has to be, it hosts dog game shows like this and the golden retriever is a hero:

http://jezebel.com/we-are-all-this-glden-retriever-spectacularly-bombing-a-1660886189/

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 20 November 2014 16:20 (eleven years ago)

answer = yes.

that said, bh used to get so embarrassed by gubbins like this.

the wife throwing competition that used to get media attention every year, and other such things, used to make the country look so very different to her homeland that she missed.

whereas from my 13 months of living there, these selected insights are often pretty spot on.

i firmly believe that no other country could produce a band/act quite like leningrad cowboys.

― mark e, Thursday, 20 November 2014 18:57 (eleven years ago)

are Demilich from Finland? they're great.......

also, Aransi Pazuzu (sp?)... they're pretty good too......

― m0stlyClean, Thursday, 20 November 2014 19:03 (eleven years ago)

the helsinki airport is so dope yall. there's a reading room and book exchange that is totally empty where u can just post up for say 7 or 8 hours and chill out.

― adam, Thursday, 20 November 2014 19:35 (eleven years ago)

last time we were in helstinki airport, was just as they re-opened it had been closed for a week after the big icelandic volcano chaos a few years back.

me and my gang were amongst the first people in hoping to catch a plane back to england having had many flights cancelled etc.

an empty airport is a weird thing.

― mark e, Thursday, 20 November 2014 21:04 (eleven years ago)

six months pass...

explain yourself, tuomas

http://gawker.com/helsinki-cathedral-under-siege-by-1-000-life-size-cutou-1710357891

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 10 June 2015 17:34 (ten years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYNmGHhIJ8k

― how's life, Wednesday, 10 June 2015 17:36 (ten years ago)

one year passes...

https://brightside.me/wonder-curiosities/finland-will-become-the-first-country-in-the-world-to-get-rid-of-all-school-subjects-259910/

Instead of individual subjects, students will study events and phenomena in an interdisciplinary format. For example, the Second World War will be examined from the perspective of history, geography, and math. And by taking the course ”Working in a Cafe," students will absorb a whole body of knowledge about the English language, economics, and communication skills.

― F♯ A♯ (∞), Thursday, 16 February 2017 20:04 (nine years ago)

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