What do people complain about in Finland? Well, the Helsinki Complaints Choir will sing it to you: download quicktime video, 24 megs.
Finnish artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen collected the pet peeves and angst-ridden pleas of people in Helsinki and then composed this choral work around the list of complaints. While many of the complaints are universal to western urban life ("Tramline three smells of pee," "Bullshitters get on too well in life," "Christmas season starts earlier every year"), many of the complaints dive deep to the heart of the Finnish soul ("Our ancestors could have picked a sunnier place to be," "In the public sauna they never ask if its ok to throw water on the stove," "Old forests are cut down and turned into toilet paper, and still all the toilets are always out of paper," and most importantly, "We always lose to Sweden in Hockey and Eurovision"). But all the complaints end with the timeless refrain of all humanity, It's Not Fair.
The Helsinki Complaints Choir premiered in March, 2006 at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, part of the Finnish National Gallery. via del.icio.us
Hmm, interesting -- Finland also has a men's "shouting choir": http://www.huutajat.org/
Posted by: David | December 12, 2006 at 04:57 PM