Neo-Pagan Heavy Folk

Man, I've been at this blogging thing a year and three-quarters and I've only mentioned Hedningarna in three posts. I'm not much given to absolutist statements, but one that I will make is that Hedningarna's Tra is the best album released in the nineties (Nirvana and Oasis fans, please send me your home addresses, so I can personally administer beatings to you if you disagree). The beauty of Tra is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts- as great as the individual songs are, listening to the entire album (from haunting opener Täss'on Nainen to sweet closer Tina Vieri, with such tracks as the rage-flecked howl of Min Skog and the joik-inspired Tuuli along the way) packs a punch that the individual songs just can't match.

Here are some videos of Hedningarna performing live on Spanish television while at the height of their powers, when the band was fronted by two unearthly Finnish vocalists. I'm going to post all four parts, and you'd best watch them all, if'n you know what's good for you. Turn the speakers up to eleven, my dears! Part one features the songs Vettoi and Joupolle. Check out the groovy instruments, including a small bagpipe and a bizarre hurdy-gurdy type thing:





Part two of the performance comprises one song, Suet Ulvoo- check out that weird fiddly thing featured in this performance, have you ever seen the like? It looks like something Dr Suess would have cooked up:





Part three opens with Ukkonen, a "spell" to raise thunder (Ukko being the Finnish equivalent of Zeus), and continues with Pornopolka (don't drive while listening to this song- it "enheavies" the foot), a different sort of "spell" entirely:





The performance closes with the song Gorrlaus, a sultry number which, ostensibly, is about a nighttime horse-ride:





So, you watched the videos, now go out and purchase Tra- if there's one album which has the BBBB Top Quality Guarantee, this is it. I'm going to close this post with a shout out to my great and good friend J-Co, who first heard Hedningarna when he purchased a sampler CD from Northside Records which had a large sticker on the front reading "CHEAPER THAN FOOD". The sampler CD included the track Räven on it, which inspired J-Co to buy the album. Within six months, everybody in our circle of friends had purchased it as well.

Twenty Years of Trä

Tonight, it hit me- the best album of the 90's Trä, by Hedningarna was released twenty years ago. The music, which features both traditional Scandinavian instruments and electronics, simultaneously sounds progressive and prehistoric. The album is an "all killer, no filler" affair- the sort of album which is even better than the sum of its amazing parts. Seriously, folks, seek this one out- you'll never believe that you've lived your life without it.

Here's the official video for Vargtimmen





Wildly different, but obviously from the same band is the sultry Gorrlaus:





You don't need to know any Finnish to understand exactly what that song is about!

The entire album is spine-tingling. From the enigmatic opening Tass'on nainen to the rage-filled Min Skog through to the (literally) magical Tuuli and the heartstring-tugging final track Tina Vieri, the album is an emotional roller coaster ride... and it manages to pull this off even for listeners who can't understand a lick of the lyrics!

I've blogged about Hedningarna before, and I sure hope I've inspired some of my readers to buy some of the band's material. While even the "alternative" radio stations were playing crap bands like Oasis, there was some really amazing music which largely flew under the pop culture radar.

All Saints' Day

The dawn of All Saints' Day finds me on the tail end of one of my trademark yerba mate fueled all nighters. What better way to celebrate this solemn Catholic feast day than to post a video of some great pagan music by Scandinavian heathen supergroup Hedningarna? Here is Hedningarna performing "thunder raising spell" Ukkonen and, a personal favorite, the "seduction spell" Pornopolka (you read that right):





C'mon, everybody sing along: Raastan rauhan rinnastansa Jag skall riva frid ur bringan.

Got a Bit of Writer's Block? Post a Video!

It's been a busy week- what with S.S.C., and the start of the next Census phase. I spent most of my online time last night checking my e-mail and catching up on the news. This morning, I had to do a couple of hours of work for the Commerce Department, and finished before the heat of midday kicked it. I've got a few hours before I have to show up at the other job, and I'm just not very inspired. I think I'll use the "Post a Video" gambit, like I did in the last post.

I always get a little chuckle when people try to make "Top N Best Songs" lists. I would never say that a particular song is my favorite (although I would, without hesitation, tell anyone that the best album of the 90s was Tra by Swedish (with help from a pair of Finnish vocalists and a Sami joik singer) "heavy folk" group Hedningarna. This is one of those rare albums which is best listened to in its entirety... the cumulative effect of the music, and provides a contrast between different moods- opening track Tass'on Nainen is slightly ominous-sounding and anticipatory, Min Skog opens with a chainsaw (the Plasmatics would be proud) and is as pure an expression of rage as I have ever heard, Gorrlaus is a sultry dance number, Pornopolka (you read that right) is a hilarious, hyper hymn, a spell to inflame lust. I could go on about the album, but you'd be better served just listening to it.

Once again, Warner Music Group demonstrates its sheer suckitude (especially since the album was originally released by wonderful indy label NorthSide Records) by pulling the video from Youtube. Once again, I defer to my great and good friend Jim Keyes to express the proper (and hilarious) contempt that WMG deserves. Because there are no Hedningarna videos to post, here's a nice interpretation (don't let the fact that it seems to be from Sweden's iteration of ____ Idol prejudice you) of Varg Timmen, one of my favorite Hedningara songs, named after the Ingmar Bergman film:





For a heavier take on it, there's a version by Finntroll, but the growled vocals lack the emotional intensity of the original.

Not the Heroes We Looked for, but the Heroes We Needed

I’m pretty much a Smash Mouth agnostic- while their music was okay, I kinda dismissed it as a soundtrack for bros with regrettable hairdos and children who liked ‘Shrek’ movies. I wouldn’t switch the radio station if one of their songs came on, but I didn’t rush out to buy their albums. To me, the cool kids, by which I mean the nerds, were listening to Hedningarna in the 90s.

Earlier this year, though, Smash Mouth proved themselves to be a far cry from the bro-culture... uh... bros I always thought them to be. When a neo-Nazi front group announced that they planned to hold a straight pride March, the members of Smash Mouth put out a public expression of disdain. These bros, who I had dismissed as... uh... bros, had struck a blow for equality- Smash Mouth had... uh... smashed toxic masculinity in the... uh... mouth.

Checking the rest of the band’s twitter feed, I found posts amplifying fundraisers for sick people, extolling the virtues of bookmobiles, and invitations for ill children to attend their concerts as VIPs. It suddenly hit me, these bros are actually all about brotherhood, they are the goofy big brothers who will stand up for their less fortunate siblings. I immediately thought, “Hey, now, they are all stars!”. I’m not the only one who had a Smash Mouth Epiphany.

So why did I post this today? Smash Mouth is playing a free concert in nearby White Plains, NY. I’m not planning on going, because it’s bar trivia night, but I wouldn’t mind if the local DJ plays some Smash Mouth.

And in a coda to this post, I also have to note that another sartorially regrettable bro has proven to be a hero, proving that Flavortown is every bit as caring as Mr Roger’s Neighborhood. There are heroes, herbros if you will, that come, unbidden, in our hours of need, unexpectedly herbroic bros who prove that bros DO let bros bro, bro.

Been at It a Year

Wow, it's the one year anniversary of my little blogging experiment. I'd like to thank Jesus, my family, and the Academy... wait, this ain't the Oscars. Besides Jesus, my family, and the Academy, I really want to thank all the fine people listed on the blogroll to the right, I love you all and want to have your babies. I also want to extend a special thanks to my good friend Frenchy, the guy who took the picture of that glabrous, scowling ruffian on the masthead- he had been on my case, telling me for years that I should be blogging... he also gets on my case telling me that I need to do sit-ups, proving that peer pressure need not be a pernicious influence. I also need to give special thanks to Tintin, Gavin, D. Aristophanes, HTML Mencken, and Brad of the Sadly, No! editorial board and the hilarious denizens of the comment threads (I think it was M.Bouffant or Spengler who likened the comments threads at S,N! to a writers' room for smart snarkmeisters- please correct me if I'm wrong). The blogroll is populated mainly by Sadlynaughts. I also have to confess that I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to AK and Smut who gave me the final push over the border into Blogistan- it's no coincidence that I started my blog shortly after the debut of Riddled... how could I possibly let those mad antipodean geniuses have all the fun? Thunder, ZRM, Von, Johnny Pez, Aunt Snow, Jack C, SMcG, Ned, AG, JNeoM, VS, M.B., A212, Jenn of Ark, Spengler, and any others I may have forgotten- thanks all. If you ever get to the NY metro area, first round's on me. Special thanks also to SSC goddesses Margaret and Dorian, who have done a lot to encourage my writing endeavors. Also, a special shout-out to the lurkers (I know that I have some family and friends who read this on a regular basis), and the drive-by posters (I had one anonymous comment on a "local interest" post, and for the life of me couldn't figure out who it could have been). The window must be open a crack, people, 'cos a little rain seems to have gotten into my eye.

So, how would I measure my blog-performance over the past year? Well, have you read anything by Jack Vance? Did you give a listen to "friends of the Bastard" Jim Keyes or Mary Courtney? Did you purchase any music by Hedningarna? Did you click on any links to summaries of the work of any of the lecturers who spoke at the monthly "Drinking and Learning" series? Did you laugh? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then I can feel pretty damn smug.

It's been a hell of a year, thanks for sharing it with me.

Current Fuzzy Earworm

If you were to ask me what the best album released in the 1990s was, I would unhesitatingly say Hedningarna's Trä... I just didn't really care for the 'grunge' scene, it was just slow, sludgy riffs on a style perfected by the Pixies, a band I have always loved, but devoid of the Pixies' humor. I did, however, love the slew of guitar-heavy bands fronted by female singers, such as Velocity Girl and Belly.

Another similar band was Boston's Fuzzy, who put out some great music, but didn't achieve monster hitmaker status. I listen to a lot of college radio, and Fuzzy's 1994 single Flashlight came up on a recent WFDU 'New Music Smorgasbord' playlist:





Sweet vocals and crunchy guitars... what's not to love? The band recently played a benefit for NARAL Pro-Choice America:





Resistance sure has a great sound.