Finnish musicians get “humiliating” treatment at U.S. airport

The ordeal took place on the 13th of September after Karjalainen and fellow musicians Ninni Poijärvi and Mika Kuokkanen had arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for a three week tour through the U.S. states of Minnesota and Michigan, including meetings with Finnish-Americans and performances at Finnish-American cultural events. They were joined by Finnish documentary filmmaker Erkki Määttänen, who was making a TV programme about the visit for Finnish public broadcaster YLE.

“Humiliating” treatment

The four were stopped by customs officials and interrogated for nearly three hours. “The treatment was bad,” Karjalainen told Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat. “’Don’t lie to us’, they yelled at us all the time.”

The Finns were each taken to separate rooms for questioning. Their luggage was checked by sniffer dogs. “First they suspected drugs. Then crime registers were asked for, “, said the singer, who described the actions of the officials as “supremacy“ and “humiliating“.

The questioning focused on whether or not the group came to earn money in the United States, while they were entering the country without work permits.

Threats, accused of lying

"They threatened us with severe punishments if we talk to each other," the Star Tribune quoted from the complaint that was signed by musicians Ninni Poijärvi and Mika Kuokkanen, "Through the walls, I can hear officers yelling, screaming. They ask about the purpose of our trip — except we are only allowed to give yes-or-no answers. I try to talk about our plans to meet with Finnish-American folk musicians. Nobody listens. They interrupt me constantly and they yell, 'You are a liar!"'

Filmmaker Määttänen told of similar experiences in the room he was kept in. "From the beginning, they said I was lying, that these guys were coming here to work. They were shouting at me, and people were going in and out of doors. They tried to put you down mentally, to humiliate you."

No apology

The Finns were released after nearly three hours, without any explanation or apology, according to the complaint.

A press officer for the regional Customs and Border Protection office in Chicago, who had not seen the complaint yet, told in a reaction that if such behaviour had indeed occurred, it would be against the agency’s policy and thoroughly investigated.

J. Karjalainen is one of Finland’s most popular singer-songwriters and a well-known devotee of Finnish-American folk music. Last year he released Lännen Jukka, Amerikansuomalaisia lauluja (Jukka of the West, Finnish-American songs), a collection of Finnish-American blues songs and a tribute to his musical mentor. The album was widely considered one of the best Finnish recordings of 2006.

Minnesota's Finnish guests find a rude airport welcome – Star Tribune

J. Karjalainen – official label site (in Finnish)
Lännen Jukka – official album website (in Finnish)

J. Karjalainen records classic Finnish-American songs – Helsingin Sanomat International Edition
Jukka Karjalainen "Channels" Old Country Blues… – New World Finn

The finest abnormality

{mosimage}With more
than 1,5 million albums sold, Eppu Normaali is one of Finland’s rock
institutions. It is already 30 years since the band, formed by the brothers Syrjä,
took the name of one of the characters in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein: Abby
Normal, translated into Finnish as Eppu Normaali (epänormaali, abnormal). Last
Friday, Eppu Normaali played at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki and they
presented their new album.

Like it
happens with many other Finnish brothers, Eppu Normaali is a band of brothers.
Two brothers and cousin. Martti Syrjä (vocals), Pantse Syrjä (guitar) and their
cousin Aku Syrjä (drums), along with guitarist Juha Torvinen and bassist Mikko
Saarela formed the group in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, very near Tampere. They started
playing a basic punk rock, following the trend of that time marked by Ramones.
But they did it in Finnish!

The first
performance of the band was in 1977 as part of a national rock competition held
in Tampere. Progressive rock was still very popular and Finland was not ready
for Martti’s sarcastic lyrics. Martti’s writing has always been outstanding and
has become one of the most reputed Finnish lyricists, a skill inherited from
his parents, writers Kirsi Kunnas and Jarkko Syrjä.

Of course,
Eppu Normaali didn’t win that competition, but they gained the attention of one
of the judges. Rock legend Juice Leskinen recognized the band’s talent. Soon
after that, the legendary Poko Records signed Eppu Normaali. Their first album,
Aknepop, was released in 1978. It wasn’t a great success and at the time only
2,000 copies were sold.

Since then,
the group has released 14 studio albums and 2 live ones and the records sales
have obviously increased much. As a matter of fact, Eppu Normaali must be one
of best selling Finnish bands. A greatest hits collection sold over 200,000
copies in 1996. A great number indeed for a small country.

{mosimage}In spite of
releasing a new album every year, the band’s breakthrough didn’t happened until
1984 with the release of Rupisia riimejä,
karmeita tarinoita, that includes hits like Nyt
reppuni jupiset, riimisi rupiset, Taivaassa
perseet tervataan ja Pimeyden tango. Mikko Nevalainen had replaced Mikko Saarela on bass in 1979 and the
band was getting close to more eighties sounds and AOR, almost like Finland’s
Dire Straits.

Rock fans
will soon recognize the inspiration of some of the Eppu Normaali’s album cover.
Their second album is a tribute to The Who and their Maximum R&B, in this
case translated to Maximum Jee & Jee. Even funnier are the adaptations of
the Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Cosmo’s Factory and Willie and The Poor Boys.
For the Finns, they were Akun tehdas (Aku’s Factory, 1980) and Aku ja köyhät
pöjat (Aku and the Poor Boys, 1983).

{mosimage}A second line
up change happened in 1989. Mikko Nevalainen left the band and Sami Ruusukallio
took the bass and still holds it. However, it wasn’t the happiest times. The
band toured less and less each year and lack of inspiration was present in the
recordings while Martti Syrjä suffered problems with alcohol. It seemed the end
of Eppu Normaali when the band decided to take a break in 1994. That break
lasted 11 years.

In 2004, the
group reunited and recorded Sadan vuoden päästäkin. It was a great success,
achieving platinum on its release. It didn’t take that long to have new album
out. Last September Syvään päähän was released and again, the album has sold
great. It is a good album, a collection of rock tunes with intelligent lyrics.
This time the artwork was done by the duck artist Kaj Stenwall and the trivia
says that Juha Torvinen played a couple of songs with a one of Ron Wood’s picks
and Aku Syrjä played with one of Charlie Watts’ drumsticks.

{mosimage}Thirty
years have gone already, but it is not too late to discover, live or on record,
one of Finland’s finest bands. Don’t let the Finnish lyrics scare you!

Discover Giotto, the first great Italian master painter, in Annantalo

Sculptor and architect Giotto di Bondone
(c.1267-1337) is considered not only as one of the first Italian, but one of
the first European master painters that would have a great impact on future
generations. All around the chapel, you can assist to their images where joys,
pain, betrayal, good or evil are depicted always in a religious environment;
All involved in the painter’s characteristic blue background.

 

Useful Information:

Annantalo Arts Centre

Street address: Annankatu 30 Helsinki

annantalo.info@hel.fi

 

Exhibition: The perfect circle of a master –
Giotto’s fresco cycle in the Arena Chapel in Padua.

18 August – 4 November 2007-10-28

Free admission.

The exhibition is open to the public
Mon.-Fri 1-8 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Open to groups Mon.-Fri 9 a.m.-1 p.m., advance notification requires as of 20 August by phone.

tel. +358 9 310 37168 (weekdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.).

Malummeh – Revival

{mosimage}Here’s another group of frustrated youngsters that vent their anger through aggressive metal music. Malummeh’s sound is highly influenced by Swedish melodic death metal and American metalcore, which certainly isn’t the most unique combination nowadays.

Malummeh may be rightly angered, but they haven’t really found an interesting way to put their anger into music. Everything is done by the book: tightly played thrash riffs, occasional guitar melodies, singer screaming his lungs out – and so on. It’s just hard to figure out why anybody should pick up Revival and not one of the dozens of other similar records.

he band certainly have some strengths, I am not saying that. Unfortunately, song writing is not one of them. No matter how many times you listen to Revival, it is quite difficult to remember anything of it, save the seemingly endless metalcore onslaught everybody into this kind of music has heard a million times before. Malummeh is a band who can name one of their tracks Open Your Eyes and sincerely believe the idea is not already overused.

Malummeh is one of those bands that do all the right things. The sad thing for them is, that in rock music that doesn’t really mean that the music would work. Quite the contrary, actually: you can do many wrong things and still make it work, whereas doing everything right often paints a picture of a band unable to come up with anything genuinely new.

2/5 

Samettivallankumous – Täällä mies, kuuleeko nainen?

{mosimage}Samettivallankumous (”velvet revolution” in English) is essentially, as far as the line-up and the style of music go, Ville Härkönen & Velvet with a new name. They make alternative country in Finnish, which – as a concept – is quite refreshing in a way. Too bad the concept doesn’t really work the way it should.


It is quite difficult to point one’s finger why it doesn’t feel so good. The track En voi särkeä sun sydäntä vielä is a case in point: with its audible heartache it sounds like a real alt. country song should sound (minus the out-of-tune-guitar solo), but the emotion it awakens on the listener is lukewarm at best.

Of course, country music is by its nature a very American thing, but I cannot see why a Finnish version of alt. country could not work. Maybe it’s just that it would take a little more to localize a style of music than just use use all of its essential elements without questioning anything.

The album’s lyrics are penned by a variety of writers. Samettivallankumous front man and main composer Ville Härkönen has himself written only one lyric, and the band has had contributions from such people as notable Finnish indie rock musicians Janne Laurila and Ville Leinonen, and even the movie director Markku Pölönen. Therefore it’s understandable that lyrically the album is quite a disjointed, although at times successful affair.

Despite some interesting moments, Täällä mies, kuuleeko nainen? is a mediocre record.

Rating 2/5 

Tales from Denmark

{mosimage}This autumn’s
main exhibition at Ateneum museum travels to Denmark and brings an overview of
Danish 19th-century art. Starting from the Golden Age, it presents 90 works from major Danish artists including C.W.
Eckersberg, Christen Købke, J.Th. Lundbye, P.C. Skovgaard, Vilhelm Hammershøi
and L.A. Ring. This is the most extensive collection of Danish Golden Age art
ever seen in Finland. Also side activities are organized: the
festival of Danish music is this weekend. On the right: M.L. Nathanson's Elder Daughters Bella and Hanna (C.W. Eckersberg, 1820)

In spite of
economic depression and poverty, between 1815 and 1850 Danish art blossomed in
what it is known today as the Golden Age of Danish art. This is the time of
storyteller H.C. Andersen. Artists created skillful portrayals of their surroundings
and friends, creating warm paintings of everyday life. At that time, Danish art
differed from that of the other Nordic countries.

The exhibition
is divided into two major sections: landscapes (nature) and pictures of home
(people). Landscape painting grew in popularity in the 1830s and it made
artists participate in the making of a national identity. Artists like Thomas
Lundbye felt it was their mission to “paint their beloved Denmark with all the
simplicity and modesty so characteristic of it”.

Artists
also found inspiration inside home and soon portrait painting started developing
along with the rise of a middle-class lifestyle. Among others C.W. Eckersberg
and Christen Købke emphasized family relations and the passing on of
traditions.

Tales from
Denmark also extends to the art of the late 19th century, when Nordic artist
communities were created, like Skagen, which included Michael and Anna Ancher
and P.S. Krøyer. Friends at work or evening get togethers were often depicted
by these artists.

This
exhibition is based on Ateneum’s own collection of Danish art. In 1953, Norwegian-born
ship owner Hans Beyer Tobiesen donated 14 high-class paitings of Danish 19th-century
art. For the past years this collection has been deposited at Finland’s Embassy
in Copenhagen. Paintings from the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, the Nationalmuseum
in Stockholm and private collections completed the 90 works on show.

Tales from
Denmark is not only an art exhibition. Lectures, workshops, dance and music for
children and adults complete until the end of January four months of events.
This weekend the festival of Danish music features wind quintet Carion.

Front page painting – Evening at Skagen (Peder Severin Krøyer, 1893)
 

Until 27 January
Ateneum, Kaivokatu 2,
Helsinki
Opening
hours: Tue, Fri 9-18, Thu 9-20, Sat, Sun 11-17, Mon closed
Admission
8/6,50 euro. Free for visitors under 18.
More information: www.ateneum.fi

Serj Tankian – Elect the Dead

{mosimage}Singer Serj Tankian launches his solo debut album, free of System of a Down's guitarist's Daron Malakian's influences. He is also touring and promoting the album with a new backing band that he calls the FCC: Flying Cunt of Chaos.

Many fans of System of a Down were not much happy with Malakian´s late attitude of taking a bigger role in the vocals parts of System of a Down. Now they can feel happy with Tankian's first solo album, introducing again in plenitude the unique Serj's vocal talents. Do not expect in any case bigger changes from SOAD´s style. The album is similar in many aspects to works like Mesmerize, but obviously with a more personal touch by Tankian. Furious, politically involved and combative and with Tankian´s elastic and expressive vocals flooding the album in every song.

The album enjoys some glorious moments like in Saving us or the final track Elect the Dead, but part of the magic that you could find in SOAD is lost here. It seems that Tankian wanted to satisfy the old fans while trying to create something a bit different, but at the end got disoriented in the middle of the crossroad and the result gets overcooked; his shouts can turn from dynamic into annoying. Not a bad effort though, since the songwriting is brilliant and the rebellious attitude continues at its top.

Tankian shows why he has more balls than most of the people in the American  musical industry, with a praising  balance of quality and dignity. While SOAD takes a break, Elect the Dead is a good choice to await until Malakian and Tankian will rejoin forces.

Rating 3/5

Pooma – Persuader

{mosimage}Pooma are definitely an interesting band, quite unlike any other band in Finland at the moment. Their lush, atmospheric and ethereal pop music could be compared to such bands as Sigur Rós, Portishead or Radiohead, with also influences from all the quintessential shoegazing bands (Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine and so on).


Persuader is a record that demands serious attention from its listener. There are no catchy choruses or other pop elements to be found, and the band’s sound is somehow very unassuming. However, in the right mindset it sounds actually quite fabulous. The mood of the record is almost like of a fairytale – a somewhat twisted fairytale – or a dream. It really sounds like a carefully constructed piece of work.

Persuader’s appeal is still a bit limited. It would be hard to pick favourite tracks, since none of them really stand out. Nothing really grabs the listener’s attention. Vocalist Tuire Lukka has a seductive voice and the musicians are experienced. They really can create an interesting atmosphere, but too often it feels like that’s all they can do.

Anyway, Persuader is a promising debut. They still have some way to go before they’ll be able to reach the worldwide top of their genre – whatever that genre may be – but they are quite a welcome addition to the Finnish musical climate nevertheless.

3/5 

H.O.G. is in the game

{mosimage}There is heavy metal at the other side of
the Baltic Sea! House of Games has many
bonds with Finland:
they have toured with The Rasmus, recorded with famous producer Hiili
Hiilesmaa and are visiting Helsinki
to unload their music for 2 consecutive gigs.

Erik Meremaa,
the singer and main composer of the Estonian band, kindly attended the
questions of FREE! Magazine about their first steps, the new album
recently released and the incoming concerts that will include touring again
with WASP in United
Kingdom.

For some of our readers you can be quite
an unknown band. Can you explain a bit the origins and roots of the band?

The roots of HOG go back to the year 1993,
when young musicians hoped to make the band that enables them to satisfy the
hunger to make music. Of course we all wanted to make it right and in “very
special way”. Thinking now back to these years and to the skills we had at that
time – well, it makes me smile. Now we know how to analyze better the music we
did. But every brave start is positive, a developing experience.

Finland is living a golden era in rock and heavy metal bands with
international projection. Why in Estonia things are so different,
being geographically so near? Do you think that Estonian bands will begin to
break out in the international rock scene in the near future?

First of all there are 4 to 5 times more
inhabitants in Finland
as there are in Estonia
(we have only around 1, 4 million).

Secondly, Estonia regained independence on
1991 – up to that time we were occupied by Russians and the life was more (very
much) complicated. The borders were closed, there was an iron curtain hanging
over us. Now, as we have been only 16 years free and we live in very (!!)
liberal society, the situation is different. Finland declared its independence in 1917 – so
there is a huge difference.

About the very
strong  metal and rock bands in Finland – well,
the soil seems to be very fertile for this genre. This suits them very well.
And when comparing them to the rest of the music scene around, Finland seems to
be the most powerful rock and metal empires in the world. I am sure that there
will be internationally very strong Estonian rock and metal bands. It is only
very hard to predict when it all will happen.

How would you define the musical style of your band?

In general it is possible to classify House
of Games as melodic rock band, but we don’t like this classification, the
“framing” system. And we definitely don’t know what will look like and sound of
our next album. Music means us the movement of sound – without boundaries and
limits.

The lineup of the band changed last
spring, and you added a new bass player and a drummer. Why those changes?

Evidently sometimes somebody ‘s strength
will end and the everyday life generates some kind of void – that happened to
our ex-bass player and ex- drummer. It is very sad, as it all happened just
before the more positive and progressive changes we faced in our career (the
European release etc). We grew up and tight together creatively,
as we played music together for 7 last years.Yes, it is all sad, but that ´s life and
there is nothing we can do about it. For sure we remained friends.

How
was the experience of recording some songs in USA with Kevin (Caveman) Shirley?
How did you get in contact with him?

All these experiences are very tutorial and
instructive when you have possibility to work with the producer from such a
league as Kevin is from.

But in general it is very hard business to
find the producer – the “outsider”, who is able to adjust to the band and to
take and change etc ones “child” – as music is very delicate matter and the
concerned parties’ views can be very different. 
Sometimes band can ´t accept the changes the producer makes.

Fortunately that was not the case with us
and Kevin. The co-operation with Mr. Caveman 
 was positive and we hoped to
mould and form HOG songs with him some day in future.

We get acquainted with Kevin in classical
way – HOG wanted to work with him, Kevin listened to our songs, he liked them,
we agreed the timelines – he had just ended the album producing for John Petrucci
(Suspended Animation), the guitarist from Dream Theater and there
was the possible recording period for us before he went to UK to produce Iron
Maiden.

What the listeners can expect from your
recently released album, Rise and Shine?

I hope – we all do – that people get
positive load from our songs. They are ALL made from the deep of our hearts. It
is worth mentioning, that there are actually tracks from the period of 6-7
years time. There are plenty of different musical and creative movements.

As Spanish, I could not be less than curious
when I listened the song Spanish man, about Cortés, the conqueror. Is it
a trend you want to continue, similar to other bands like Iron Maiden, where
historical events have always a strong role in the songwriting?

Probably it is interesting for you to
observe the song like Spanish Man, as it speaks about Spaniards. I
really hope that we didn’t insult anybody’s feelings. Spanish Man is the
song that dates back some years ago and doesn’t have any contact and connection
with other songs. The message of this song is somehow important for me – as the
history itself. Thos particular track is one of a kind on our album Rise and
Shine. This is no trend for us.

You seem to have quite many links with Finland. You
have recorded the album at Suomenlinna with the famous producer Hiili
Hiilesmaa. How this collaboration came out?

As you definitely know, Estonia and Finland are
very close to each other. Connections arise very easily and smoothly. And it is
the same story with Seawolf Studio. We have recorded there many times
and we are always very satisfied with the results and as well with the
atmosphere there. With Hiili Hiilesmaa we met years ago in Finland and we
spoke about the co-operation. But at that time nothing specific. Then later
when we started to record Rise and Shine, we wanted to see and hear his
hand on our songs.  Unfortunately he was
very busy (he is always) and booked with many projects ahead. Luckily he
contacted us later and he managed to make the arrangements in his working
schedule and it suited with our schedule ideally. We are very and very
satisfied with his work – and definitely we’ll work together in future.

 

And you have also shared tour with The
Rasmus a couple of years ago. Was it a nice experience?

We all remember the tour as very pleasant
one. The guys and their team are all very friendly and pleasant people. As well
their manager, Seppo Vesterinen. We definitely look forward to meet with
them on the road again. 

Last year you toured with the legendary
band WASP, and it seems that they must be very happy with the experience, since
you are going to repeat tour with them in the following months during Crimson
Idol tour. What are your feelings about it?

 It seems yes, that our co-operation was good and smooth. And now in October – November we tour
together on the stages of UK.
We wait for this trip, as UK
is very good place to go be around. Very pleasant country with warm people. We
hope that audience and we all will get positive emotions from that tour.

What can the Finnish audience expect for
your incoming gigs in Helsinki?

What we always wish they’ll get: good music
and good emotions.
 

23.10 – London Pub, Helsinki – 10pm
24.10 – Semifinal, Helsinki – 10pm

www.houseofgames.org

Viikate – Marraskuun Lauluja

{mosimage}If Marraskuun lauluja I was released on last January, it was normal that the second part would not find any other better month to hit the market than November.

Viikate's fans have not had to wait very long for getting the second studio album of the band during 2007. Arvo, Ervo, Simeoni and  Kaarle  deliver more of the same formula that have made the band achieve a personal and idiosyncratic style in the Finnish music system: melancholic lyrics and poetry turned into music with constant references to the past and the loneliness. Great instrumentation work in the songs and the always particular voice of Kaarle turns this into another album 100% Viikate.

An excellent album if you want to go deeper into the melancholic spirit in Finnish music and Finnish society in general when November comes and the light turns to be a precious luxury to enjoy for only few hours a day. Understanding Finnish language can be a great help for capturing the essence of the band, although not essential, nevertheless music and feelings are universal. Hallamaat or Ensimmäinen runo (a great cover from Amorphis) are some of the highlighted songs of an album not made for those used just to easy listening music.

If winter makes you feel depressed, maybe wait for a better occasion to discover Viikate's work; but if on the other hand, coldness provides you with an exceptional occasion to work harder at home, enjoy a good glass of wine and listen some good Finnish music in the background, do not think it twice and get both volumes of Marraskuun lauluja.

Rating: 3/5

Mika Kaurismäki opens Brazilian restaurant

The restaurant will have a capacity of about 300 people and will offer Brazilian food, wine, beer and other drinks.

There will also be live music on offer at Bossa, starting with Brazilian music about once a week. Later on, Kaurismäki would also like to programme a wider range of music performances.

Mika Kaurismäki is the elder brother of director Aki Kaurismäki. Unlike Aki, he is especially known for his international co-productions.  During the past five years, Mika, who has lived in Rio de Janeiro since the early nineties, has delivered several films that focused on music and Brazil, such as Moro no Brasil (2002) and Brasileirinho (2005). His latest documentary, Sonic Mirror, explores different cultures through music and is centred around legendary jazz fusion drummer Billy Cobham.

Mika Kaurismäki earlier co-founded the well-known Moskova and Corono bars in the centre of Helsinki. Between 1999 and 2001, he also used to run a music club in Rio de Janeiro: Mika's Bar.

Bossa will likely officially open around the 15th of November, although the bar side of the restaurant will be taken into use already some time earlier.

Related:

Watching the sound – FREE!'s interview with Mika Kaurismäki 

Mika Kaurismäki – Official website

A helluva life

{mosimage}For the last couple of weeks I have
been hooked with the autobiography of the American writer and filmmaker
Samuel Fuller. It reads like a novel. A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Filmmaking
was written just a couple of years before his death in 1997 and is an
exciting tale of a very exciting life – or it would be better to say of
four or five different lives in one.

Samuel
Fuller, born in 1912, is better known by his movies, but before going
behind the camera he was a screenwriter, a pulp novel author, a
volunteer in the 1st Infantry Division during World War II, a teenage
crime reporter and a copyboy for Hearst’s New York Journal American. Yes, in his eighties, by the time he started writing his autobiography, he had some good stories to tell.

The
first chapters are dedicated to Fuller’s devotion to journalism in the
1920s and 1930s. He was just a kid when he began working as a paperboy
and a copyboy, running up and down the legendary Park Row of New York,
delivering messages to Mr. Hearst’s kitchen. The author was in love
with newspapers and writing. It was the golden age of journalism and
the reader can easily recall the smell of the ink and the linotype
machine. Many years later in 1952, Fuller recreated and paid tribute to
the era in his movie Park Row, one of his most popular films.

In
his teenage years, Fuller dreamt of becoming a reporter and so he did
when he turned 17. He became a crime reporter, no less, going from
school to the morgue and the most dangerous suburbs. Samuel even had a
little encounter with Al Capone.

Like
Kerouac in the 1930s, the young journalist left New York and travelled
across America with his typewriter portraying the country and the
economic crisis. He started drawing cartoons, writing books and even
being a ghostwriter for a popular author, whose name Fuller promised
never to disclose in his life.

Despite
being a published author much earlier than a filmmaker, Samuel Fuller
is known for his movies. Just like many other filmmakers, he arrived in
Hollywood as a screenwriter. He wrote many unaccredited stories, but
soon he started thinking about filming too, but his plans were
interrupted by the war. The United States entered World War II and
Fuller decided to enlist in the infantry. He admits that he did it
because he wanted to cover the war from the front line, even when he
was offered a less risky position in the news department.

As
a soldier, Fuller had an outstanding role in the campaigns in North
Africa and Sicily, and he also participated in the Normandy invasion.
His wartime memories are vivid, realistic and raw, like his movies.
There is no room for useless metaphors or distractions. In his
recollection, war is not a time for heroes and soldiers had only two
options: being killed or going nuts. A blood taste prevails in his
writing.

The Big Red One
is probably Fuller’s most ambitious film. It was his lifetime project.
Made in 1980, it is an epic tale about his experiences during the war.
It features Lee Marvin, Mark “Luke Skywalker” Hamill and a group of
unknown young actors. It reconstructs the fears and the camaraderie of
the soldiers and the stories, and it is far more realistic than other
spectacular films, such as Saving Private Ryan.

Unfortunately,
producers cut the movie by 40 minutes, so at the time of its release it
didn’t have the impact it deserved and Fuller was unhappy with the
result. His first cut of the movie ran to four and a half hours. In
2004 the film was re-edited and reconstructed to be more faithful to
Fuller’s original vision. The new cut clocks in at 160-minutes and it’s
the version currently released on DVD.

Almost
ten years after his death, Samuel Fuller remains a cult filmmaker. His
films were never blockbusters, they didn’t receive many awards or have
a high budget – he didn’t need them. Nowadays his work is praised by
contemporary directors like Martin Scorsese (who wrote the foreword of
the autobiography), Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino and, Finland’s
finest, Aki and Mika Kaurismäki, who, incidentally, counted upon the
participation of Fuller in a little role on a couple of his films.

Other
trivia for the Finnish reader is that Samuel Fuller was a guest at the
first edition of Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankylä in 1986. In
the center of the town, a street was renamed in his honour: Samuel
Fullerin katu (Samuel Fuller’s street).

Do
yourself a favour and watch Samuel Fuller’s films and, if you have the
time, read his autobiography. It is the tale of a genuine storyteller.

McQueen – Break the Silence

{mosimage}The female rockers from Brighton release their debut studio; a good dose of punk/grunge/rock.

Named after their idol, actor Steve McQueen, the British McQueen can feel proud of having toured, since their formation in 2003, with bands such as Foo Fighters, Juliette & the Licks, (my particularly beloved) Aerosmith, WASP or The Almighty. Do not expect to find much place for softness here, because these four young girls really mean the title of their album: Break the Silence. Songs that go from grunge in the introductory Neurotic, to garage rock in Dirt or more classic hard rock guitar riffs in Numb. Leah Duorsin, the vocalist, shows that she can explode many vocal registers, for some moments tender and melodic while reaching at same other points in the album really hardcore levels that could remind you of an enraged Phil Anselmo, in tracks like Break the Silence or Bitch.

Maybe the first time you listen to the album you can feel surprised by the rawness of their rock, but give you some time to appreciate that there is a real big musical spirit rocking behind this debut album. Aggressive vocals, aggressive riffs and aggressive lyrics for a band that is not afraid to carry the torch previously lighted by Vixen or The Donnas. I cannot wait to see them on live, since I have the impression that the songs will work even better with the four girls on stage.

Rating: 4/5

Next Bond theme by Ville Valo?

According to Daily Star columnist Kim Dawson, long-time Bond soundtrack writers Don Black and David Arnold have dumped British singer Amy Winehouse as their favourite to record the next 007 theme and now want Valo instead.

The Finnish rock singer was approached by the Bond team during a dinner at the BMI Awards in London on Tuesday (16.10), the tabloid’s columnist claimed. Valo attended the ceremony to collect an award for HIM’s hit song Wings of a Butterfly.

“David Arnold and Don Black were in deep conversation with Ville on the night,” Dawnson quoted a source she referred to only as ‘a slightly shaken but not stirred BMI spy’. “They love the song that won him an award. They think he has just the right ear to write a classic Bond hit with them.”

HIM manager Seppo Vesterinen only heard of the claims when he was asked for his comments by a Finnish journalist. “If the matter would have been under discussion, I would presume that I would know about it,” Vesterinen told STT from the United States.

HIM is currently on tour in North America. Earlier this year, Valo recorded Summer Wine, the soundtrack of German film Das Wilde Leben (2007), with Polish-born German actress Natalia Avelon.

The spy who shoved me – the column by Daily Star columnist Kim Dawson

HIM – official website
HIM – MySpace

Summer Wine – by Ville Valo & Natalia Avelon (YouTube)

José González – In Our Nature

{mosimage}For all those who still don’t know, José González is not from Spain or South America and he’s music is nothing similar to the typical Latin pop star. As a matter of fact, José Gonzalez is an intimate singer and songwriter from Sweden.

Born in Gothenburg to Argentine parents, González has slowly built international popularity with his first album, Veneer, released in 2003 in Sweden, but which didn’t make it to the UK and US markets until 2005. Since then, his career has been a success with his songs reaching the top of the charts and even getting into the popular television series The O.C.

This success can be considered quite unexpected for a collection of acoustic folk songs. But José González seems to ride on the same wave that is taking to popularity to other singer songwriters like Devendra Banhart. Hippie folk is hype again.

After this success, it could be expected that the follow up to Veneer could compromise the songwriting of the young Swedish singer and force him to be more commercial. But little has changed and In Our Nature shows the same characteristics: a minimalistic intimate sound built around the acoustic guitar and vocal melody, with the occasional addition of mild percussion and synthesizer.

The sound will remember classic folk singers like Crosby, Still and Nash, Tim Buckley or Leonard Cohen while the lyrics tend to refer to nature, love and certain doctrine that seems to denounce the selfish nature of human being “How long are you willing to go before you reach all your selfish goals”, the singer asks in the first verse of the album.

Surprisingly, José González decided to include in this album a cover of Massive Attack’s hit Teardrop. That seems to be a wise choice because the song really fits in the context of the album.

With In Our Nature, José González will overcome the always-difficult second album. But it will not be groundbreaking because of its many similarities to the first album. In the future, he will need to expand to sounds to avoid repeating himself. Before that happens, In Our Nature is a very enjoyable album and people will love it as it shows the already sold out show at Tavastia next December.

Rating 3/5