Biting the forbidden fruit

If you are in Finland, you can spend the night in an Omena hotel, you can listen to music in your device built by Apple, or you can also be more adventurous and go to check on live a gig of Manzana. The Tampere based rock band has just released their second album Babies of Revolution, and we had the chance to shoot some questions to their vocalist, Piritta, while they were immersed in a mini-Baltic tour.

Taking advantage of my stay in Estonia, and the band had a gig in the city of Parnu, the meeting with Manzana was planned in Tartu. But transportation does not always work as planned, so we did not have the chance to meet face to face this time. In any case Piritta was very kind to answer the questions of FREE! Magazine a few days later, and talk more about this emerging project called Manzana.

Thanks a lot for your attention Piritta. How were these concerts in the Baltic countries, in Riga and Pärnu? Had you played before here in these countries?

Hello and sorry for not meeting in Tartu as we first meant to! We missed the boat….We have not played in either country before, so it was exciting to play there! All went good, we felt really welcome and there were many people in the audience and lovely folks we met after the shows, also press, so we are really happy!

As a native Spanish I am, I am curious to know about the origins of the name of your band “Manzana”.

I studied Spanish a few years ago , just very little, and I remember writing down the word "Manzana Venenosa" , and  "La Manzana Magica" on my notebook on class. It was just a word I liked, and I thought it would make a good band name! I have to admit, that in the beginning I wasn’t sure what it meant hehe.  I think the meaning is good for pop – metal esthetics:  poisonous apple can be nice and fresh from the top, but after you bite….might kill you

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Now you have a new studio album: Babies or Revolution. If you are so kind, explain to the readers a bit more about it, and the differences between this and the previous one Nothing a Whole as a Broken Heart

The debut is a bit more gothic and poppy, in colors I see more pink, blue and ice in there,  while Babies Of Revolution is more rocky and down to earth; red, gold, sand and blood. Lyrically and emotion wise they are quite the same; loneliness’ of a soul, anger & blind believe in fate and love.

The previous album was made with TRC-Records and now you are signed to Dynamic Art Records. Do you find many differences with this change? How is the relation with DAR?

We released the first album with our own TRC- Records, but we had Playground International to deliver it, so it wasn’t like we had to do all the work, but of course there was really a lot of things we did ourselves then. But that’s what we like, the punk  “Do It Yourself “ thinking. Now, when making this album, we had meetings with DAR , and they knew about things, commented , helped and did work on promotion and so on, so it’s been nice. They are a small label, but the guys do a lot of work and they’re nice people, so we are happy.

You are from Tampere, which is my favorite Finnish city (I have lived 3.5 years there in total). Which venues do you think that are the best ones to play there?

Really!! That’s not very common, it’s a small town after all ! That’s great! Then you know them all :  Klubi, Amadeus, Telakka, Inferno, Doris, Vastavirta, Hellä, Dogs Home….I like a lot a lot of places! For food, Namaskar and Gopal. To play, for a band like Manzana, Klubi is the best sound wise, but Sputnik and Yo- talo are not that bad either. For a party with friends, I rather go to little pubs like Oluthuone or Piika ja Renki.

In previous tours, you have been on the road with old friends of FREE! Magazine, like Apulanta or Lovex, and others like Teräsbetoni. Is there any particular band you have good chemistry with when touring together?

We had much fun with Lovex in Germany & Switzerland, they really are great guys. We feed musically from different sources, but somehow we fit together real well! Good band. We have played with many bands; there are always some good new angles when getting together with someone different. You find new sides in your own music, too. If you play with a punk band, you feel like screaming more yourself, if you are playing with a Goth band, the audience is more into that stuff, and it affects on us too. It’s refreshing.

Lately there is a big “metal” boom in Finland, and it seems that there are new bands behind every corner. For example, there are several metal bands with female singers from Tampere like Moonmadness or Cyan Velven Project, etc. Do you find complicated, being a young band trying to find more space in the music business, to find success with so tight competence in Finland nowadays?

I don’t think about it. I’m a bad businesswoman, and I’m too dumb to feel threatened or competed!  I’m just proud and happy for other girls & bands that they are good ! Others success is not away from me, it is always more for everyone when someone makes it big, it pulls others into the same wave. It gets energy up. And all we can do is love music and work on it every day, play all gigs as good as we can, and talk to all people, and the rest is open.

Ville, “Mr Willy”, your old bass player, was replaced in October 2007 by Klasu.  Is it ok if you can tell us what were the reasons behind this?

The problem was that Ville could not play the gigs we had, because he works as a DJ in many places.  So we had to have substitutes all the time, because everyone knows that you get paid better for DJ´n or playing cover songs rather than your own music, so it was a difficult combination for us. We’re still friends, no arguments happened, just impossible equation.  You have to be a little crazy and make sacrifices to play your own stuff; it’s hard to make a living out of it. Our other life suffers from this!

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I read in your MySpace that your cousin Ansku is in the finals of Idols. Have you ever thought you would like to be there too?

I just spoke with Rainer (Diablo) at a party, that it is good that there was no Idols when we started, we would have been thrown out immediately ! There are many good singers, there! I might be too stubborn for that competition. I want to write with the band, have a band of my own, I don’t want people to fuzz around my hair and to tell me what to do. I know there are old men out there (judges & their friends) who write better songs (and get the money), but that’s not the point. I love our songs.  Rock´n Roll is an illusion of freedom, but the freedom is also when you are inside the music, creating it. Ansku dropped out as 5th, good publicity and more freedom as an artist. Best possible combination! I’m proud of her, she did well!

There is also a mention there in the comment of MySpace to her singing Animal Alpha. Did you have the chance to see them playing last summer at Klubi? (We made an interview with them)

No I didn’t see them, but I like the band! I don’t think that Agnete would have won the Idols either!  You cannot scream like that for 29 gigs … Or… Oh yes I can, just did, hehe

Thinking about Animal Alpha, I also remembered how their singer Agnete was so powerful and aggressive on stage and very shy offstage. When you are on stage, you also transmit an image of powerful and confident woman. Are you the same when you jump offstage, or does it happen that you also become more shy when not singing?

I am very kind when not singing, not shy though, but more patient. I hardly ever yell at people, but if they get unfair I get it straight immediately. I have been lied a lot when I was younger, all sorts of slime bags around this jungle when you are young and innocent, that I see quite fast what people try nowadays and just don’t work with them. The problem is how to keep sensitivity that you need for writing, and to be hard so that people don’t fool you. I still haven’t quite solved the problem and I probably won’t in this life, hehe. Heartache is the price…

What are the plans for Manzana in 2009, anything special? Anything you want to add for our readers?

Touring, gigs, interview, meeting new friends, finding new places and fans and friends and writing new songs! Hopefully good festival setting for the summer, and shows in central Europe and Scandinavia too. And plenty of good will and cider =). I can’t wait for summer festivals, swimming in a lake after a gig! Can’t get any better!

Photos by Mia Bergius, Ville Salminen and Balsara

For more information, visit:

www.manzana.fi

Bullfrog Brown – Mother River Delta + Twelve Live Warthogs

{mosimage}The most famous Estonian blues band strikes powerfully back in 2008 with two new and superb albums.

There have been significance changes in the structure of Bullfrog Brown, with the departure of long-time harp player Üllar Kärt at the end of 200, and the band now settled as a duo composed by Alar Kriisa on vocals and Andres Roots on guitar, but the essence remains the same, if not better, leaving the two remaining members more freedom to jam and join forces with other musicians such as British harpist Steve Lury or the Scottish Dave Arcari. 

The young talented Estonian bluesmen feature a new studio album: Mother River Delta. Condensed in less than 20 minutes of total playing time, Alar and Andres go straight to business playing raw Delta Blues. No time here for excessive ornamentation in the sound. The guys know what they want to deliver, and they do it fast: Alar´s broken voice sounds like if he was just born to sing Blues, and Andres pushes firmly mastering the strings of the guitar.  These are not recently composed songs; actually the excellent introductory Nobody the Skull dates back to 1996 and the rest of songs have been composed at different years during the last decade. The follow-up track, Special Rider, has a catchy wiping guitar riff that surely makes you move your feet and this leads to 30, my favourite track of the album, with acid lyrics and a perfect graduation of the musical tempo.

The album decreases a bit in intensity during its second part, but the ending Rain definitely puts the cherry on top of the cake creating a relaxed musical atmosphere that transports your instantly to the Mississippi delta. The message transmitted by the album seems clear; while with their previous Snakes and Devils, details aimed at trying to delight bigger audiences, this time the guys just want to show that they do not give a damn about playing other thing that what they really love to, Delta Blues with roots (and with guts). Mother River Delta was released last April while the band hit the stages of London, but if you do not have it yet, do not waste your time waiting for 2009 to get one copy! 

Added to the previous one, and just released in the market, you also have the chance to listen to the new official live bootleg of the Bullfrog: Twelve Live Warthogs. It combines 6 tracks recorded on June 26th 2008 at Tampere Maja (Tartu) with 6 more recorded during their show on December 13th 2007 at Trehv (Tartu). The record compiles a great collection of songs that give you a good idea of how they sound live, with that tiny shy guy that Alar is totally transformed when holding the micro, like if he would be the Dr Jekyll/Mr Hide of the Estonian blues scene. Great anthems of the band like Build me a Statue, Phantom Menace or Snakes Were Gettin’ are compulsorily included there, sounding better than ever, and as a special surprise the final track includes the improvised song: Papa Wolf. 

Who said blues is dead? Bullfrog Brown’s music just leads you to hold a good bottle of whisky and think about an old lost love. In the end it is all about the Blues.    

Rating 4/5

 

The Grand

{mosimage}Films about poker and gambling are hot in Hollywood lately. If you enjoy the fascinating world of professional poker tournaments, you will have fun watching this.

It seems that the fever of online poker has also had a deep impact in Hollywood projects. During last year we had the luck of watching very entertaining movies like Lucky You or 21, recreating graciously the atmosphere of Las Vegas casinos. Giving a new twist to the genre, here you have a very entertaining movie to watch starring the reborn Woody Harrelson, matching perfectly his role of crazy-headed gambler addicted to all possible drugs and excesses you can imagine, and with an almost never ending list of ex-wives.  Together with him, a solid cast of secondary roles, with the highlighted presence of German director and actor Werner Herzog and his unmistakable voice.

Shot as a kind of documentary with lots of improvisation by the actors, that parodies the poker tournaments that are achieving so much success lately in mainstream Sport TV channels, the film is funny and intelligent, exploding the freaky side of being a professional poker player, but not going over the top. Hidden in the background, more serious topics like family relations or the change in the lifestyle of Las Vegas are also treated with sarcasm.

Although The Grand is not the best comedy of the last 20 years as it announces in the back of the DVD plastic box, it is certainly entertaining, being a pleasure to watch as Woody Harrelson is able to impulse his career again with a good choice of role. Pay also special attention to the cameo by one of the most legendary poker players alive: Doyle Brunson.

Rating 4/5. 

Dirty Fingernails – Greetings from Finsbury Park, N4

{mosimage}Sending greetings from their new local neighborhood, this brother/sister duo from Kajaani is focused on conquering the Finnish indie pop market! 

 

 

 

Well, it is true that when you cannot beat the system, you have to change the strategy. Disappointed by the lack of recognition in their native country, Sami and Päivi packed their stuff and headed to London one year ago. And certainly, the experience of playing and surviving in the English capital must have enriched their talent, because their first full length is simply superb. It has everything you can expect from an indie pop band: great lyrics, some mischief and overall the transmitted feeling of having a great fun! 

The first song A European Scream is basically blowing, I just instantly loved it, and although I would have chosen some other more charismatic tracks than Bruno for being the first single, (maybe it could have worked better as second one), the album just improves and improves the more you listen to it. Marianne Faithfull is a great wink to an alive music legend and the fun goes on and on with catchy tracks like Chop Suey or the ending cherry on top of the cake, the sweet The World Comes for a Visit. 

There is of course space for some traditional Finnish melancholia here in the album, but poured into your ears in a way that feels like grabbing a beer and exclaiming “what the fuck, let’s forget and enjoy the present”.  

English are lucky counting with Dirty Fingernails there, so we just hope that soon they will invade back their native country to make us share that good vibe. A great debut album! 

Rating 4/5.

Related articles:

Interview with Sami

http://www.freemagazine.fi/content/view/850/152/

Those bastards rock!!!

If you like raw and pure rock & roll with guts, and you still do not know Los Bastardos Finlandeses, you are missing one of the hottest Finnish bands of the moment. Though counting with only 2 studio albums (they have just recently released the kicking Return of El Diablo), their members have a long career as musicians and overall, they have tones of attitude! We had the pleasure to make an interesting and funny interview with Olli “Don Osmo”, alma mater of the band, who explains everything about their philosophy of life or how is to play together with legendary American bands like Aerosmith or Motörhead.

For those readers who do not know much about the band yet, can you explain a bit the origins and how you all started to play together?

Well, we all have known each other for a long time, and played together a lot. One day, a few years ago after one studio session I suggested the guys “what if we play all my new stuff?” It worked fine and we started to do more stuff. And then suddenly our first album was ready! Kind of easy!

Why the option of choosing a Spanish name for the band?

Oh, we all love Spanish and Mexican things: music, sun, food, women- everything! We are true Bastardos…That is why we started to call us with our real name, and by the way, it is not only a name, it is a state of mind!

How is the response of the audience nowadays with the snow and the coldness, do they get numb with this winter cold or are you able to warm them up like if you give them some good shots of tequila?

We do our best. Songs like Houseful of Hooligans or White Knuckles don’t let the audience cold!

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This second album, Return of El Diablo seems to continue the path started with the previous one My Name is El Muerte. Is there any significant change between both of them in the style or conception of the music?

No not really. We love our first album a lot, but I think that this second one shows up that we have been busy on the road. After playing live, the band feels much more compact. I think we have a good “swing” in our second album.

By the way, you keep with the tradition of naming every album after a member of the band. What would it happen when you release more albums than the number of members in Los Bastardos? Should you recruit more musicians to keep up with the tradition?

Hehehe, maybe, or we can name the sixth album simply “My name is el Muerte vol 2

You have been around in music business for many years. Have many things change in Finnish music industry, or basically does all remain the same?

Everything has changed a lot, but the essence is still that business men get rich and guitar men get only famous…. In Finland it’s really difficult to live with r&r, that’s why we are going to Mexico too

Any particular occasion you really behaved like a “bastardo” on or off the stage?

…both on and off the stage… You should jump in our bus some day and spent some time with us! Don’t take your camera with you!

{mosimage}There are quite many venues and summer festivals in Finland for rock or metal bands, but is it difficult to break the boundaries of playing just for Finnish audience and get to be known internationally?

Yes, we work hard to go out of Finland. I’m sure you will be able to see us up in some European festivals soon.

In the last years you have opened concerts for legendary bands like Aerosmith or Motörhead. How was the experience? Did you get to know them personally?

Yes, we did tours with those guys. It was really great! Yeah, we got to know them and maybe we can meet again in the future. Those bands are truly great and we were lucky to get a chance to tour with them.

I know you are nowadays playing quite intensively around Finland, but what are the plans for the incoming 2009? Any special surprise?

Yes, actually we are working on some nice surprises, but I cannot say more for the moment.

Anything you want to add for the readers of FREE! Magazine?

Hell yeah, come to see our show and get our latest album Return of el Diablo! You will not be disappointed!

For more information visit:

http://www.losbastardosfinlandeses.fi

Chaos Theory

{mosimage}Follow the adventures of Ryan Reynolds when he discovers that life can offer much more than just what you plan beforehand.

Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds must be one of the most envied guy in the world during the last months after it was announced his wedding with Scarlett Johansson. I find him perfectly suitable for comedies, and he was certainly hilarious in previous films like Waiting or Van Wilder. It is a bit strange watching him in a role of a more mature person, married, and obsessed with planning all little aspects of his life, but just because of that, he is again the right actor for the role when the life of his character, Frank, starts to be messy. There is a good chemistry among him and the other two main roles of the movie, his wife, incarnated by Emily Mortimer, and his friend Stuart Townsend.

Certainly is not a movie that will make your jaw hurt with laugh after laugh, but it is entertaining to watch, and there are a couple of memorable moments like Frank riding his brand new acquired motorbike or when he is running naked along the ice hockey field. As usually happens with those holidays where you get involved without planning much and turn to be the best of your life, life is also funnier when unpredictable. Not the best comedy of the year, but surely worthy to watch.

Rating 3/5.

Myrsky

{mosimage}With more than 100.000 spectators at Finnish cinema, now arrives in DVD one of the strongest Finnish releases of the year. 

I must admit that I enjoy watching movies for children. I love cartoons, I am a fan of animation movies from Disney or Pixar, and I want to believe that it is good to conserve a naïve attitude towards the world, and never completely grow up (the “stay golden” advice that so wisely Coppola gave us in Rebels”. So I started watching this Myrsky with very open minded attitude. The disappointment was huge, saving the first 10 minutes of the film, the best ones due to the presence of those adorable cute puppies. Director Kaisa Rastimo achieved one thing that does not happen often to me, to feel anger for the time wasted watching the movie. There are films that I like and films I do not like, but not every director can be “proud” of making me feel real anger because of the final product.

 The point is that Myrsky is not a film for adults, neither a film for children. The parents (Laura Malmivaara and Janne Virtanen) are portrayed like clowns with no authority whatsoever over their children; the children are annoying in their attitudes, and nobody can ever feel identified with a dog with violent tendencies every 10 seconds. I don´t know if Kaisa was trying to achieve a Finnish copy for Beethoven, but certainly this movie is just a negative example of what to do with a pet at home, not showing any discipline and even getting dangerous when the “boss” is a girl of 7 with too many birds in her head. Apart from that, the plot is ridiculous, how a girl of 7 can still believe that she receives letters written by dogs? How can the parents be so permissive with the intolerable behavior of the dog? How can a dog become so aggressive when growing up surrounded by a friendly and healthy family environment? This is the first time since FREE! Magazine was created that I give the lowest rate to a movie, but believe me, Myrsky got it totally deserved. If you are thinking about buying a nice movie for your children this Christmas, skip this one. 

Rating 1/5

El monstruo magnético

This is the review of a concert that happened two a half years late. In the spring of 2006, Monster Magnet was scheduled to play at Tavastia. The concert was sold out, but it got cancelled. Band leader Dave Wyndorf suffered an overdose of sleeping pills and the whole tour was cancelled. Monster Magnet enters into a short hiatus that ends with the release of the album 4-Way Diablo in 2007. This autumn the band is back on the road.

There is a certain feeling that Monster Magnet needs to reconnect with the audience. And the best way to do it is to offer a setlist full of the hardest kick-ass songs in the repertoire. Therefore the show starts with a the terrific triple punch: Dopes to Infinity, Crop Circle and Powertrip. The band sounds strong, delivering all the ingredients of its charismatic drug rock: dense guitars, heavy rhythm section, a touch of psychedelia and excellent melodies. They channel the classic hard rock of Hawkwind, Grand Funk Railroad and Cream into the 21st century.

Wyndorf has put on a few kilos, but still he is an excellent frontman. His voce is in good shape and he looks healthy, although during the solos he often abandons himself to the back of the stage, next to the drum kit.

The show continues in the same terms. The band shows its most hard rocking side. There is not much time for the smooth acid sounds. Perhaps that is the reason why the setlist does not include any songs from 4-Way Diablo. Indeed, it is an odd choice to ignore the latest release. The encore, of course, is for the unsettling craziness of Spine of God.

Despite the band’s efforts, the night is a bit cold. Sunday might not be the best day for the Monster Manget service and the venue is half empty. It was even more empty during the opening acts. It is a shame that the audience did not enjoy the good sets by Nebula and Pligrim Fathers. The first, formed by ex Fu Manchu Eddie Glass, is an excellent power trio, while the second is an interesting young band from UK of heavy and loud psych rock.

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Photos by Eduardo Alonso

Lauri Tähkä & Elonkerjuu – Kirkkahimmat 2000-2008

{mosimage}The charismatic singer from Ostrobothnia and his band offer a good compilation of their hits with some nice extras in this double CD-DVD.

Lauri Tähkä has climbed step by step in the Finnish charts until becoming one of the most beloved local artists by the Finnish audience. Their peculiar style, pop-rock that flirts with folk and traditional Finnish music has brought some fresh air and danceable rhythms to the music scene. What you will find here is a collection of their greatest hits for the past 8 years, with already contemporary Finnish classics like Maailma on renki, Reikäinen taivas or Pauhaava sydän. Also as a special gift, 2 new unreleased songs: Kaisa and Kuriittamma rakastamma and a second DVD disc with a live concert recorded in the recent Ruisrock festival and a documentary; excellent to check the powerful live shows of Lauri and his friends.  

I personally saw their gig at Provinssirock last summer, and certainly this guy is charismatic, much warmer on stage than most of the Finnish singers you can see around, skilled in creating a connection with the audience.

Framed in the invasion of compilation albums released now that Christmas time gets closer, this Kirkkahinnat is still a pretty recommendable compilation for both fans or people who want to discover a bit more about Finnish pop-rock.  

 

Rating 4/5.

 

Related articles:

 

Interview with Lauri Tähkä

 

http://www.freemagazine.fi/content/view/366/117/

Apulanta – Kuutio (Kuinka aurinko voitettiin)

{mosimage}Beloved by the Finnish audience and a compulsory band to have in whatever Finnish summer festival, the guys from Heinola are back!

 

I must admit that it is difficult for me to be objective when rating an Apulanta´s album. They are basically my favorite Finnish band (singing in Finnish) and the one I started to listen to systematically when I arrived to Finland years ago. Apart from that, when we have met the guys for interviews or at gigs in the past they have always been very friendly and nice with me.

What we have here is the tenth album of a band young but very experienced, that was able to overcome some big problems last year with the distribution and promotion of their previous album by basically pulling the strings themselves and releasing this new one with under their own record company.

The guys are not anymore those crazy punks showing discomfort with everything around, which in a way is good and bad. Kuutio lacks maybe of spontaneity and rage, but it also shows as a more mature album with carefully built lyrics and good production. Kaikki sun pelkosi is an excellent choice fire up the first shot in the album, and although Vauriot decreases the rhythm a bit, the illusion comes back with catchy songs like Ravistettava ennen käyttöä, that sounds like it would perfectly be included in their live set lists, or the excellent Pakkomielle. The artwork of the CD, modern and stylish is also a strong point for the Finnish guys.

Maybe if you prefer the more powerful punk sound and attitude of Apulanta´s first years, this album could disappoint you, but otherwise it will provide you with some classic good rock from musicians who totally feel confident with what they are doing.  

Rating 4/5.

Books for everybody

{mosimage}Christmas is around the corner, and choosing presents for relatives, friends or your couple can give sometimes more than one headache. If you are Finnish speaker, if you want to give something nice to a Finnish speaker, or if you just simply want to improve your Finnish skills reading something interesting, FREE! Magazine gives you some tips about what Finnish books to buy. Because you are worthy to experience the pleasure of turning pages instead of sitting in front of your computer like a robot!

 

{mosimage}Vesala, Paula – Luoti, Mira – Kostiainen, Pasi – Ylönen, Hanna
PMMP

An excellent book with quality cover, a bunch of great pics and many anecdotes that go through the career of the famous couple of female Finnish singers: PMMP. If you have never heard their catchy version of “Pikku Veli” at a pub or a bar, probably you are dead or your social life is equal to the amoebas. If your girlfriend is a fan of the band, go for it. If you are a heavy metal die-hard…maybe you can skip it.

 

http://www.like.fi/kirja.php?detail_id=6872 

 

{mosimage} Heusala, Kari

Naisen Orgasmi

Top 2 in the most popular books list of Like. I wonder why…  Sexologist Kari Heusala writes a complete manual about how to lead your woman to the maximum pleasure. If you think that your girl fakes her orgasms, if she openly confessed you that she never had any, if you still get lost trying to find the g-point, this book is for you… and the other thousands of readers who will soon make it reach number 1 in the top sales list.

 

http://www.like.fi/kirja.php?detail_id=6851

 

{mosimage}Finnish Design Yearbook 08-09

Edited by Anne Veinola

This one is in English language, so easier to target at a wider audience. If you are crazy about design and about Finland, then this is compulsory for you to pursue; great design by Top Dog Design and also great price.  The book is maybe not affordable for every pocket, but worthy if you want to own/give as present something classy and stylish.

 

http://www.designforum.fi/yearbook

 

{mosimage}Tamminen, Petri

Mitä onni on

Tamminen has written one of the hottest titles nowadays.  What is your definition of luck? This book has everything: philosophy, travelling, sensuality…  Sounds like a good plan to read on a snowy Sunday evening!

 

http://www.otava.fi/kirjat/kotimainen/2008/fi_FI/mita_onni_on/ 

 

{mosimage}Schatz, Roman

Pravda. Totuus Leningrad Cowboysista

When the most famous foreign writer in Finland writes about one of the most epic rock Finnish bands, the Leningrad Cowboys, combination can be explosive. You can love him or hate him, but usually Roman Schatz does not leave anybody indifferent.

 

http://www.johnnykniga.fi/kniga/index.jsp?c=/product&isbn=951-0-34595-4    

The Canadian wolf howls in Suomi

{mosimage}The first wintery evening in Helsinki might have stopped the meeting of the indie-kids tonight at Tavastia but the call of Wolf Parade is too strong to resist. The Canadian band has never hidden its love for the Finnish capital being the third time in four years they play over here and the fans have repaid them with a sold-out show. 

 

The opening act is Joensuu 1685, an intriguing local band which plays psychedelic rock with shoegaze shades. With a debut album just released and the blessing of Wolf Parade (during the concert the Canadian quartet expresses the appreciation for them) the future looks bright. After a small break the North American group comes on stage without the sound manipulator Hadji Bakara busy pursuing his doctoral studies home. His absence is reflected in the live sound that looses a bit its noisy cut, one of the trademarks of the band.

After a slow start (despite the always splendid You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son) the four-piece finally fires all its potential with a handful of tracks from the previous album Apologies To The Queen Mary for the joy of an ecstatic audience. The voices of Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug are alternated in a highly synchronized fashion while the bass of DeCaro and the drumming of Thompson are playing a very important role in building the sonic plots. {mosimage}The energetic potential released by Dan is devastating: during the set his possessed moves are going hand in hand with the accumulation of positive tension. In such an entertaining atmosphere the less immediate but otherwise fascinating tracks extracted from the recent At Mount Zoomer are making a very good impact.

After more than an hour of conversations with the audience, fulfilled requests and instrumental digressions it’s time for the encore that stirs the stalls around the stage. Outside the cold air is waiting but this time our hearts and legs have been warmed up by a sumptuous show. After three years from the previous excellent gig the Wolves have crafted another outstanding concert.

 

Photos by Alessandro Bonetti and Wold Parade`s MySpace official site.

Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

{mosimage}The so long-awaited 4th long-feature of the popular saga is finally in DVD for the delight of millions of Indy’s fans around the world! 

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fter many years waiting for it and with a hesitant Steven Spielberg finally getting embarked as director of the project, the action cinema lovers had in front of their eyes the new Indiana Jones film. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a little masterpiece in the genre, and according to Harrison Ford, he was waiting for the right script to come back to incarnate to the intrepid professor and archeologist. Funnily, we could say that it is precisely the script the weakest part of the film. The introductory sequence in the military base already tells that this is going to be the weakest Indiana Jones movie so far, and the continuation does not improve much the first impression.

The movie has some good moments and features, like the plausible appearance of Harrison Ford who makes fun of his own age, or the good choice of Shia Labeouf as Mutt. But Cate Blanchett´s role is certainly a parody of what a good “evil” character must look like in the saga and some action sequences like the attack of the giant ants, the atomic explosion or Mutt jumping like a monkey from tree to tree are too far ridiculous. 

It looks like this time the tandem Spielberg/Lucas did not find the inspiration to achieve what fans were so long expecting. Let’s see if there is finally a fifth last chapter of the saga to leave a better taste in the mouth of Indy’s followers.  

Rating 3/5