#the big finnish music project for international kääryleet

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 3.

Go to part 1 for all the context. We pick up where part 2 left off, as the list is (more or less) in chronological order.

Turn of the century is upon us in Finnish music.

Nylon Beat

An iconic girl duo who were the it girls of the turn of the century. Two nasal glam girls, who annoyed the living shit out of most men, and empowered most girls. If you are old enough to remember the likes of Spice Girls or Britney, ou know how it was back then. Nylon Beat were our version of all that. This is their biggest hit, Viimeinen, from 1999. The video is hilarious btw.

Tiktak

More girl power! And these were GIRLS, they are like 13-15 years old in the linked video. They were huuuuge especially with young girls. Songs about very relatable things like friendship, girlpower, all that. If i rember correctly, Jere has used Tiktak songs in his instagram stories before. This is their break through hit Lopeta from 1999.

Bomfunk MC's

An iconic Finnish hiphop and breakbeat group. Referenced in Viulunkieli. Freestyler is a song that broke through and topped the charts in many European countries. It was released in Finland in 1999 and in Europe in 2000. An iconic video and a song that is basically every Finnish persons national duty to know.

Darude

Sandstorm. You know Sandstorm. I know you know Sandstorm. From 2000. So here, watch Finnish people partying to Sandstorm on New Years Eve in 2016, as we were counting down the minutes to kick off the year 2017, which was the 100th year of Finnish independence. Sandstorm is the logical way to kick off a special new year.

Fintelligens

You know Elastinen from Toiset samanlaiset. Elastinen and Iso H, aka Fintelligens, were like some of the OG's of Finnish hiphop. Their influence on pretty much all Finnish rappers is kinda undenible. I chose this song, because Jere also references this in his verse on Toiset samanlaiset: listen carefully at the beginning of this song, look out for televisiooo ja radiooo.

HIM

One of the most successful Finnish bands of all time, HIM is just an icon in the world of rock. Their influence on European rock in particular is also undeniable. They used to play Tavastia every New Years eve, it was tradition. Their logo, the heartagram, is still fixed to the ceiling of Tavastia. The singer, Ville Valo, has a well regarded solo career now, also known as VV.

This is their hit Join Me in Death from 1999.

Sidenote: back in the day there was a force in the Finnish music industry known as Dynasty. Dynasty was an association and a record label, and it was made up of the three bands next on this list: The Rasmus, Killer and Kwan. Their aim was to strenghten co-operation between bands within the industry. Dynasty is why you might come across Finnish people (like myself) to whom The Rasmus, Killer and Kwan are sort of a unit if you will.

The Rasmus

You've probably seen the photo of teen Jere with Lauri Ylönen from Rasmus? And you might have heard In the Shadows - probably have if you were alive in 2003. But I chose F-F-F-Falling, because this one was one of their biggest hits in Finland before breaking through internationally. Fun fact: the current guitarist of The Rasmus started her career in Tiktak.

Killer

Sadly no longer active, Killer was a pop-rock group that had a very strong run for about 3 years and produced nothing but bops and bangers. Not the most influential groups, but here because the song is a bop and because they were a visible part of the early 2000's music scene. This is their biggest hit All I Want.

Kwan

One of the most original groups in Finnish hiphop, Kwan were massively popular in the early 2000's. They were also critically acclaimed and well respected for their unique sound and style. They disbanded a long time ago but made a wee reunion tour last summer. This is their massive hit from their first album in 2001, Late.

The Crash

If you've heard pop music in the last decade, you've probably heard something Teemu Brunila has written. You might have even heard his voice, as Cherry from Studio Killers, but i think we're still supposed to pretend it's a secret. It was never a secret to Finnish people though, because we'd recognise that voice anywhere. Because of The Crash. An iconic rock group at their height in the 2000's. Here's one of their biggest hits, Lauren Caught My Eye.

End of part 3. The next part covers mostly metal but some other early 2000's mega hits as well.

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 2.

Go to part 1 for context. We continue where part one left off, and we're in the 1980's right now, as the list is (more or less) in chronological order.

Hanoi Rocks

One of the most successful Finnish acts internationally, especially in the 1980's, and they were a significant influence on the entire genre of glam rock. The likes of Foo Fighters, Manic Street Preachers and Pearl Jam have all mentioned Hanoi Rocks as a favourite or an influence, and Axl Rose has said there would be no Guns N' Roses if it wasn't for Hanoi Rocks. This is one of their earliest hits, Tragedy.

Dingo

Hysteria is the only word to describe the popularity of Dingo in the 1980's. They had a couple of huge hits but they broke up quite soon after reaching their peak. They've made comebacks since, but never reached the same popularity as what they had for a couple of Dingo hysteria years in the mid 80's. This is one of their big hits, Autiotalo. 

Popeda

Considered to be the fathers of "äijärock". I don't know how to translate äijä, but if you look at them and their vibe, you'll get the idea. They're also part of the Manserock scene of Tampere. They are hands down one of the oldest still active rock bands in Finland, a band that just simply everyone knows. This is their song Pitkä kuuma kesä, originally from 1985. This live performance is from 2002.

Leevi and the Leavings

Iconic. The moment. The voice of the nation. A poprock band that never performed live (only one exception) but were insanely popular, especially in the 1980's. The frontman of the band, Gösta Sundqvist (passed away in 2003), is considered one of the best songwriters in Finland, and is definitely one of the most beloved. Leevi and the Leavings had their own recognisable sound while also being quite experimental. Their lyrics are often exactly the sort of thing that i've mentioned in multiple Käärijä analysis posts as being incredibly Finnish: songs about difficult and hard subjects with actually kind of hilarious lyrics at times. I could have chosen soooo many different songs from them, but decided to go with Teuvo, maanteiden kuningas, simply because I felt like it and because it slaps.

Kaija Koo

Kääryleet might know Kaija Koo as the artist who was the main act of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium gig. She rose to fame in the 90's and has had quite a steady career ever since, slowly growing to her iconic status. This is one of her huge hits, Tinakenkätyttö.

Aikakone

As 90's as it gets. Aikakone basically defines the 90's dance vibe in Finland, and this song is etched into every millennials brain. Very much just a Finnish version of the same style of music, that was globally massive in the 90's. The song is Odota, from 1995.

Apulanta

One of the biggest names in Finnish rock. They started in the 90's and have been a significant influence in the scene ever since. This is one of their early cult classics, Anna mulle piiskaa, from 1996, which i chose because i figured kääryleet appriciate whipping references.

Ultra Bra

Icons of the 90's, the favourite of all liberal millennial hipsters. Known for their distinctive sound produced by four (originally five) lead singers, and having quite a large band set up where brass and horns play a big part. And also for their yellow raincoats. Their song lyrics are often very poetic and kind of.. odd, thematically speaking, like they have a whole song about pike, the fish. Most of the song lyrics are written by Anni Sinnemäki, who has since become a politician. Their composer and pianist is Kerkko Koskinen, a very influential and highly regarded musician and composer. Ultra Bra is doing a comeback at the moment.

This is one of their biggest hits, Sinä lähdit pois, from 1997.

End of part 2. We've reached the 90's, and the next part is reaching the turn of the century, so exciting times ahead musically speaking.

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 1.

When I was writing this analysis about Menestynyt yksilö, I started thinking a lot about Finnish music, about the influences in Käärijä's music, and about the music he would have grown up hearing and being aware of. He references music and artists a lot, and Finnish music has its own peculiarities that I think influence and affect us all, whether we realise it or not. 

So, I made a list of noteworthy Finnish artists and songs. And I put it under a read more because it's long as fuck and I don't want to force people to scroll through it lol.

NOTE: Because of the Tumblr limit on the amount of videos in one post, this project has 6 parts + a bonus part, so 7 parts in total. I will always put the part number in every post title.

I know there's a list somewhere, Finnish fans recommending other Finnish artists to international kääryleet, but I tried my best to make this not so much based on my own taste and recommendations, and more based on which artists and songs have had a significant impact in the world of music in Finland, and have thus had a lot of influence on Finnish music and people in general. With that being said, not all of these artists are like generally agreed upon as "significant" beyond a hit or two, but I do think all of these artists are great reflections of what was going on in the world of Finnish music at any specific time, and that’s what I also wanted to highlight.

Some of these artists or songs have a direct connection to Käärijä, I've marked them with red, if you want to focus on finding them. With some of the others, I’ve deliberately tried to find connections to things I've talked about in previous Käärijä analysis posts as being something culturally very Finnish, to further highlight what I mean by that and how Käärijä relates to the broader scene of Finnish music.

DISCLAIMER: This list is quite heavy on the early 2000's compared to other eras. The reasons for that are: personally I think that the early 2000's are the most relevant time for a kääryle, as his music has the most influence from that time in my opinion. Which makes sense, he (and the other guys involved in making Käärijä music) would have been at that age where you begin to discover your personal favourites etc. The late 90's and early 2000's were also just a significant time in Finnish music - you'll find multiple artists from that era on this list referred to as "one of the most successful of all time", both domestically and internationally.

Also I'm sorry I know very little about popular Finnish music right now, like 2020's Finnish music, but guys… I get the feeling he doesn't know much either, so does it matter too much lmao.

Also the list is by no means exhaustive, so any other Finns feel free to add stuff in notes or reblogs!

Okay, let’s get to the list! In (mostly) chronological order, going all the way back to the late 60’s.

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Kirka 

Started his career in music in the late 1960's. Passed away in 2007. One of the most significant names in Finnish iskelmä and rock music, did a metal phase in the late 1980’s as one of the first in Finland to do so. Definitely a household name and still active in the 2000’s before his death as well, so someone any millennial grew up being aware of for sure. Represented Finland in Eurovision in 1984 with the song Hengaillaan. 

This is his first huge hit, Hetki lyö, originally from 1967. This live performance is from 2001.

Hector

A huge name in Finnish rock music, Hector is also known for a folk music vibe. Started his career in the 60’s and is just one of those household names and he is still active. I’ve linked the song Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen, which is an all time classic that I know at least millennials and every generation before them of course knows and can sing. A melancholic song about very depressing subjects, like depression (both mental and economical), suicide, family issues etc. Life in Finland was not rosy in the 70’s, there was still a big wave of Finnish people leaving for Sweden and America in search of jobs and a better life, and this song touches on a lot of the reasons why.

The song is originally from 1973, but here’s a video of Hector performing the song to 36 000 people at the Olympic Stadium as part of the Mestarit tour in 1999. Mestarit was made up of Hector, Kirka, Pave Maijanen and Pepe Willberg, all huge names in Finnish music and their tour and album together were huge cultural moments in Finland.

Danny

Mentioned in Sex = Money. Danny also started in the 60's and was a massive, massive star all through the 70's. He is still active. He was considered as the "Finnish Elvis", not because of similarities in music necessarily but the popularity. He also started wearing a very Elvis looking jumpsuit at some point in the 70's. Danny has also been in the spotlight for his personal relationships a lot. This is his hit, Kesäkatu, also referenced in Sex = Money.

Katri Helena

Queen of iskelmä. Started her career in the 70's, still going strong. She's about the least controversial artist you can find, just so loved all across the country. She's also considered to be a very "Finnish voice". This is one of her biggest hits, Katson sineen taivaan, and this is her representing Finland in Eurovision in 1979.

Vesa-Matti Loiri

Jere's idol. A legendary stage and film actor, comedy performer and a singer. Passed away in 2022. Started his career in the 70's. He is one of those names everyone knows, and almost every generation has something nostalgic they connect to him. This song, Naurava kulkuri, is loosely referenced in Menestynyt yksilö. It's a comedy song that he performs as a character, Jean-Pierre Kusela.

Hyvää puuta is by Vesa-Matti Loiri that became a meme for whatever reason. Referenced by Joost Klein and Jere at Ruisrock.

Juice Leskinen

Considered the father of suomirock. Started his career in music in the 70's, but his influence carries on to this day. I can't think of a more influential name in the world of Finnish pop and rock music. He is considered one of the best lyricists in Finnish music. He wrote both quite dark and quite humourous songs - something I’ve mentioned before as being quite a Finnish thing. One of his most famous songs is Sika, a Christmas song about a pig being slaughtered for Christmas dinner.

I decided to link what I think is probably his most famous song, Syksyn sävel, from 1976.

Quite the example of melancholic Finnish music, as the second line in the song goes “elämä on kuolemista” meaning “(living) life is (about) dying”.

Maarit Hurmerinta

Before we had Käärijä, King of Vantaa, we had Maarit, the Queen of Vantaa. She's an iconic singer some of you might also recognise from the Finnish Beatles Tribute t-shirt Bojan keeps wearing lmao. Her daughter Janna is also a well known and popular singer, you might have seen her in the photos posted when Mikke and Jere went to see Adele. Anyway, this is Maarit’s massive hit Jäätelökesä, originally from 1978, but this live performance must be sometime in the 90's, I think.

Eppu Normaali

Eppu Normaali started out as a punk band in the 70's but mellowed out into a more poprock type direction as time went on. They are also considered part of the Manserock scene of Tampere. They are quite an influential, popular and significant band in the world of Finnish rock, one of those bands everyone knows. This song, Murheellisten laulujen maa, is basically about the generational trauma of being raised a man in a country as emotionally constipated as Finland, and how it drives people to alcohol and violence. This song is originally from 1982, the live performance is from 2010.

Kikka

The foremother of the soft porn vibe later mastered by the likes of Käärijä, Antti Tuisku and Erika Vikman. Her songs were quite naughty and her career in music revolved around entertainment and playfully sexual vibes. She was a huge star in the 1980's but badly mistreated by the media, and unfortunately had a very difficult personal life. She passed away in 2005.

End of part one! We've only reached the 80's, but as you can see, there are already several artists on the list that have a direct connection or are a direct influence on Käärijä/Jere. Everyone on this list so far is a household name, and honestly artists that could be referenced in a Käärijä song any given day.

Part 2 introduces lots of 80's rock from Finland.

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 7 BONUS PART.

Go to part 1 for all the context. This part does not fall in the chronological order of the other parts but dives into one very special genre of Finnish music 👀

🏒🏒HOCKEY SONGS🏒🏒

We are a hockey nation and have multiple hockey songs to remember victories by. And Jere is a hockey lad, so kääryleet should know these.

Ihanaa Leijonat from 1995 

A song made up of clips of the legendary commentator Antero Mertaranta reacting to Finland playing (and winning) in the 1995 World Championships. Our first victory. Obviously no YouTube in 1995, so this video was posted in 2011 when Finland won again.

Den glider in from 1995

This song is in Swedish. Why? Well, because it was written for Sweden’s team. That’s how sure they were that they were going to win, that they wrote a victory song and booked a studio to record it before the final game. Which they then lost. To Finland. And well, thanks to Swedish rule back in the day, Swedish is an official language in Finland too, so the Finnish team took the song, got the legend Kirka involved and recorded the song. So it’s ours now. (Btw they made the same mistake in 2011. Booked a whole concert and everything to celebrate their championship victory against Finland. Lost again.)

Here is Den Glider In, with footage from the 1995 celebrations after the team had returned to Finland

Taivas varjele from 2011

This song is made with the same technique as Ihanaa Leijonat, from Antero Mertaranta’s commentary. This one is about one specific goal Mikael Granlund scored in a game against Russia in the 2011 Championships that Finland ultimately won. The goal is known as the “ilmaveivi”, and we also call the vice coach tumbling down the steps of a plane and falling on his face when they came back to Finland “ilmaveivi”. Jere recreated that ilmaveivi that one time on Instagram when he had just flown to Estonia and got off the mini plane that had flown him from Turku to Estonia.

Poika saunoo from 2011

A song about The Boy (the championship trophy) coming home and going to sauna and partying, when Finland won the Championships in 2011.

Löikö Mörkö sisään from 2019

Again, clips of Antero Mertaranta edited into a song. Mörkö is the nickname of Marko Anttila, who was the captain of the team nobody believed could win, but they did.

As far as I know, there are no songs to celebrate our latest victory from 2022. But I dare you to find a Finn who doesn't know these. Like all of these.

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 4.

Go to part 1 for all the context. We pick up where we left off in part 3, as the list is (more or less) in chronological order.

2000's here we come.

Anssi Kela

Within Finland, in the domestic market, one of the most successful artists of all time. His debut album was the most sold music album of the 2000's, only dethroned in 2012. A singer/songwriter popular among people of all ages, all over the country. Less of a massive star today, but still a well respected artist. Käärijä references and quotes his song 1972 in Menestynyt yksilö, but I wanted to link possibly his biggest hit, Puistossa, from 2001. A massive, massive hit and most people who were alive in 2001 can still sing this chorus, if nothing else.

Lordi

You might have seen Mr. Lordi in the DNA Christmas Kääryle ads last year, and if you're european and were alive in 2006, you probably know Lordi. But they became popular in Finland a few years prior to their Eurovision victory, with this song, Would You Love a Monsterman.

Pikku G

Okay but why did Nace mention Pikku G as a favourite finnish artist in their discord album party. Pikku G was a massively popular teen rapper in the early 2000's and made some sort of a comeback in 2017, i think. This song, Me ollaan nuoriso, was impossible to escape in 2003. He was 15 at the time.

PMMP

Iconic pop-rock duo, who made a comeback tour this year. This was their first single, Rusketusraidat, in 2003. It was a bit of a shock to a lot of people, two girls being so unruly and wild, and as such of course Paula and Mira of PMMP were quite the idols to especially a lot of young girls. They went on to have a really strong, popular and critically acclaimed career, and have since also done solo work. Paula Vesala in particular has been very successful solo as well.

Zen Café

Listen, Jere is a millennial. Which means chances are, he was traumatised by this video just like the rest of us, at the tender age of 10. Zen Café were a very significant band in the Finnish rock scene in the 2000's. They broke up in 2007. This song, Piha ilman sadettajaa, is from 2003, when they were at the height of their career.

METAL CORNER

I meantioned Lordi earlier as well, but Lordi could also count as hard rock, rather than metal. The early 2000's were a massively important time for Finnish metal, and it was when metal became almost mainstream in Finland. In the early 2000's, metal was everywhere, and as metal is very clearly an important influence in Käärijä's music, let's take a look at the metal scene in Finland back then. Again, not a complete list, but the two most internationally massive bands out of Finland, and the holy trinity of metal in the Finnish language.

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Nightwish

Hands down the most internationally successful Finnish band of all time, Nightwish has sold well over 10 million albums globally. The linked song was their global breakthrough Nemo, in 2004. Nemo features their first singer, Tarja Turunen, who was very publicly fired in 2005 in a feud that resulted in a media scandal unlike anything before or since in the world of Finnish music. I'm not kidding, the literal prime minister was asked to comment on the situation. Still active, Nightwish is still to this day one of the biggest names in Finnish music and their influence in the world of symphonic metal globally is undeniable. They hold the record for most Emma Awards (Finnish Grammy) with 16 awards.

Children of Bodom

A metal band that is hard to pin down to a single genre, but melodic death metal gets mentioned the most. Named after a lake known by all Finnish people as the scene of a still unsolved triple murder, Children of Bodom is one of the most internationally successful Finnish bands of all time. The frontman Alexi Laiho, was voted to be the best metal guitarist in the world multiple times in international metal media. Alexi Laiho passed away in 2020. This song is one of their bigger hits, In Your Face.

Kotiteollisuus

They are like the suomirock band of the metal scene. They started in the 90’s, but had their breakthrough with their 2003 album Helvetistä itään. The linked song is Minä olen, the biggest hit off that album, and probably their biggest hit ever. If you watch the video, notice the logo in the upper right corner? Yeah, that’s the logo of a tv channel, because this was back in the day when they actually showed music videos on television, and in Finland that meant a lot of metal videos too.

Mokoma

Mokoma rose to fame in the early 2003 and they also started their own record company Sakara Records then. Sakara has become a significant company in the metal scene in Finland, so Mokoma and its members are quite influential and important players in the field. Mokoma itself is known for having quite a raw sound with very poetic and beautiful lyrics. I’m linking their song Takatalvi from 2003, mostly because the comment section is a hilarious living shared journal of Finnish people recordning the takatalvi phenomenon through the years (takatalvi = lit. “back winter”, meaning when winter conditions suddenly return in the middle of spring and everyone wants to collectively find a way to actually murder snow somehow)

Stam1na

There’s a photo of them with Käärijä crew somewhere, and if i remember correctly, Jukka likes them a lot. One of the Sakara Record bands, Stam1na (pronounced stamina) also rose to fame in the early 2000’s, and have become one of the most critically acclaimed metal bands in Finland. Their style is quite experimental yet distinctive, with quite clever and sort of intellectual lyrics. 

Now, the link is to their video for Likainen parketti but WARNING this video has graphic violence and blood. The reason why i’m linking this video from them is to further highlight what the music scene was like in the early 2000’s. You can see the graphics of the tv show Musiikki-TV in the linked video, which was a music show that ran on Yle TV2 from 2006 to 2009. They showed music videos on television, on the national broadcasting company’s channel, five days a week, and this sort of video was actually shown. So this is the sort of thing a 13 year old Jere might have come across on television in 2006.

Again, the video is graphic (four men get beaten up badly, one graphic shot of a bad wound, lots of blood), proceed only if you are okay with that.

End of part 4. Next part is back into the world of poprock and the rise of rap and humour music in the 2000's.

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 6.

Go to part 1 for all the context. We pick up where part 5 left off, as the list is more or less in chronological order.

This is the last part before the bonus part, and this part takes us from 2015 to 2024.

Paleface

Could be called the godfather of Finnish hiphop. Paleface is like the OG of all OG's, but he was relatively underground for a long time. He made music in english at first, and was known but not massive. His first album in Finnish came out in 2015 and it was a massive success. It was also openly political and heavily critisising capitalism and the way the country was ran. This song is Talonomistaja, from that very album.

Antti Tuisku

Antti Tuisku rose to fame 2003 through Idols singing competition, but the reason he is in the 2010's section of the list is because the linked song, Peto on irti, really started a whole new era, arguably the most iconic era, in his career in 2015. Antti Tuisku got a lot of shit in the early 2000's for being the girls favourite and for "looking gay" and having "a gay vibe". He got so much hate, it was insane. But Peto on irti/En kommentoi album started his fuck you i'm doing me -era, that really exploded into a phenomenon in Finland, and is arguably also the era that Jere looks up to - the icnonic entertainer era of Antti Tuisku. Also the era of Auto jää, so, on this list, Antti Tuisku is a 2010's artist. So here is the song that kicked off this new gear, Peto on irti. Ironically enough, when Ville-Galle from JVG made a version of this song on a popular tv show, it quickly becme the goal song of the men's ice hockey team, so in a way, Antti Tuisku really got back at the toxic masculinity culture that always shit on him.

Teflon Brothers

A rap and dance trio, who made hit after hit after hit especially 2012-2019. Their hits are usually about drinking and partying or sex, so they definitely fall in the entertainment category with comedic elements that was at its peak in the 2010’s, but they’re not as obviously crass or wacky as the likes of Petri Nygård, and the members do more serious projects as well. The linked song is their 2015 hit Pämppää, which has definitely become a party classic.

Behm

Jere never shuts up about Behm, he drags Behm by the hand to Emma Awards stage with him, just Behm this Behm that, so if you guys haven't looked up her music by now, here is her first single, Hei rakas from 2019, just one click away. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and well regarded singer songwriters in Finland at the moment.

Portion Boys

Many of you know them, they pop up from time to time in the Käärijä world, and competed against him in UMK. They broke through in 2021 with their song Vauhti kiihtyy, which features Matti ja Teppo, an iconic iskelmä duo of brothers, who have been singing together for decades. Portion Boys are part of the scene that is making old iskelmä (Finnish schlager) music popular with the kids by adding a dance beat to it and their own lyrics to verses. Portion Boys songs are also often about partying, and they’re often full of innuendos as well. Their vibe is like entertainment and fun above all else. This is them performing Vauhti kiihtyy together with Matti ja Teppo in the Emma awards in 2022.

KUUMAA

I almost want to just tag every mutual i have who i know is into KUUMAA and just let them do this part, to really highlight the KUUMAA fever in Finland right now. They've risen to massive popularity and fame in quite a short amount of time, and many of you will also know them from UMK23. And also from the Käärijä boyfriend Pokedex and as one of his fave bands. Consult your nearest kuumblr member for more information on the actual music, you'll find them by shouting into the Käärijä tag. This is one of their bigger hits, Tulipalo from 2023, which as far as i know, has been on the Spotify top 50 list in Finland for some ridiculous amount of time, like a year straight or something.

Mirella

I put Mirella here because I know she is like the hottest name in Finnish pop music right now, but that is all i know about her, and i'm gonna keep it super real and leave it at that lmao. This is Timanttei from 2024.

Final thoughts at the end of part six:

Notice how so much of the full six part list is rock? How prevalent rock music and even metal music was in Finland 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 or even 50 years ago? Notice how all of the most globally successful Finnish artists are either rock or metal, with the occasional electronic music artist? Notice the gradual rise of rap music in the last 30 years? How many of the domestically big names are rap/hip hop? Well, throw all of that into a big pot, sprinkle in some of that humorous and comedic side of Finnish music, and what you get is basically Käärijä. It makes sense that what he does works so well, that he is so good at it, and that it grabbed Finnish people immediately, as soon as he made it on to a national platform. He is something new and different, something we haven’t quite seen before, yet still quintessentially Finnish.

And I'm almost tempted to start a similar list of all the Finnish comedy shows and memes he has ever referenced but it could actually end me if I attempted it because the list is endless, but we shall see. The man simply lives and breathes Finnish culture.

Any Finnish kääryleet, feel free to add anything I missed! And don't forget the BONUS PART 👀

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 5.

Go to part 1 for all the context. We pick up where we left off in part 4, as the list is (more or less) in chronological order.

Martti Vainaa ja sallitut aineet

I'm linking this song not because of the artist but because of the song. It feels that these guys dropped this song and dipped. This song represents the sort of.. humour music genre, that started emerging in the 2000's and hit a peak in the 2010's. This song is called Pelimies, it's from 2005, and i remember this being played in my school disco when i was 12. It reminds me of exactly the sort of schoolboys as Mic Mac describes, and that’s why i wanted it on the list.

Sunrise Avenue

Apparently, if you're Slovenian, you know them..? Says Bojan. They were very popular in Finland, but I don't think their fame beyond Finland is fully like grasped by Finnish people. As far as i know, there are European countries where they were huge. This is their first hit, Fairytale Gone Bad, from 2006. They broke up a while ago, and the frontman Samu Haber is solo now. You might have seen him, if you watched UMK24 which he hosted.

Poets of the Fall

Rose to fame in the 2000's and had a few real hits, but as of today they actually have a massive cult following. One of the more influential rock bands in Finland. This video, Carnival of Rust, is also massively popular and quite a famous music video. This is from 2006 and i remember seeing this on tv a lot back then.

JUMPING INTO THE 2010'S

The 2010's saw the rise of rap and hiphop into the mainstream in a massive way. Not that they were ever marginal, but there was definitely a culture shift in the 2010's.

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JVG

Possibly the most popular in the genre of rap currently, for the last 10 years or so, JVG are a rap duo who rose to fame in 2011 with the linked song, Häissä. They are also known for being hockey boys and weaving a lot of hockey and sports references into their music.

Petri Nygård

So this is what i meant about humour music rising to popularity in the 2010's. But y'all remember the 2010's right? It was a bit like that everywhere for a while, wasn't it. LMFAO, Gagnam Style, Duck Sauce etc etc. everyone was just being wacky for a few years, right? Well Petri Nygård was wacky and crass and stupid, on purpose. This is Selvä päivä from 2011.

Cheek

One of the most domestically successful artists in Finland. One of the rappers to bring American style hiphop culture to Finland, with the bling and the girls and the cars and the mannerisms and such, which all was becoming increasingly more popular in the 2010's. Cheek quit music in 2018. I chose this song, Syypää sun hymyyn from 2012, because Käärijä references the title line in Takavoltti.

Robin Packalen

I know some of you know him from the Käärijä boyfriend Pokedex, and from competing against him in UMK. But Finnish people knew Robin originally from making a song about a girl pulling a sick frontside ollie on a skateboard when he was 14 years old in 2012. The Robin phenomenon among teen girls in particular was nuclear in size. He's like the Finnish Justin Bieber.

Haloo Helsinki!

Domestically speaking a massively successful rock band, Haloo Helsinki! broke through in 2008 when the members were barely out of high school. They've been a constantly strong presence in rock ever since, even though they took a bit of a break a few years ago. They have their own recongnisable style and are just generally well loved in Finland. This song is one of their biggest hits Beibi, from 2014.

End of part 5. The next part takes us from 2015 to 2024, and then there is one extra bonus part for some deeply Finnish musical moments...