Got to get over the Humppa!

February 10, 2003 4:08 PM

An enduring fad in Finland. For a few years now, musicians in Finland have coopted Humppa, traditional polka-style music, and given it a punk sensibility. Eläkeläiset, the focus of the above link, are the most popular Humppa band. The most fun for folks who don't speak Finnish (like me) are covers of songs with which we're familiar like "Viva Las Vegas" ("Humppaleka") and "London Calling" ("Vanhamiljonäärihumppa"). Even after the novelty wears off, Finnish is oddly beautiful even when it's shouted over an accordion. There are plenty of samples for download on the site.
posted by Mayor Curley (13 comments total)

Awesome. Reminds me of the Pogues, but with a hard core Vikeing edge. Great drinking songs! Where does one find the full recordings? The "Shop" link is in Finnish.
posted by stbalbach at 4:39 PM on February 10, 2003

Reminds me of my days following Polkacide around San Francisco. Thanks Mayor Curley. Also, if you can catch them, another American find, The Polkaholics.
posted by G_Ask at 6:03 PM on February 10, 2003

I don't know where you can find Humppa for sale in North America. A friend in Finland sent me a copy of Eläkeläiset's "HUMPPAMARATOONI " for my birthday and I've been oddly addicted for the past month.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:54 PM on February 10, 2003

Boy, that stuff sounds right up my alley. I love punk-damaged folk music, particularly if it's got accordeon in it. There are some great bands from Germany and Austria that do/did something similar, like Attwenger and Hundsbuam Miserablige. Unfortunately, my favorite source of Nordic folk music, Digelius, doesn't seem to carry it....
posted by geneablogy at 7:44 PM on February 10, 2003

you know, everytime i go back to finland, i'm further scared by the music scene there. you either get composers, conductors, deranged country, ultracold techno, delicate folk, sloppy metal ...and now mutant polka. i can barely tolerate the polka my dad played incessantly in the long car rides of ontario, so i don't think i can put up with this.

to purchase, look under levyt. i'll see if i can dig up any more finnish links for more humppamusikki, although my reading comprehension keeps receding as time goes by.
posted by myopicman at 9:30 PM on February 10, 2003

The track I listened to sounds very ska to me. The Helsinki Specials?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 9:40 PM on February 10, 2003

Not as punk as you might want but Northside is an american label which specializes in distributing modern folk music from various scandinavian countries. I have one of their highly diverse samplers and there is some rockin' stuff on it.

See also the The Dropkick Murphys (for something a little more celtic).
posted by wobh at 9:41 PM on February 10, 2003

Eläkeläiset means "pensioners". Lot of the music can be found on P2P networks. Their live-show are strangely energetic, based on the bands high blood alcohol level.
posted by lazy-ville at 10:27 PM on February 10, 2003

I am quite fond of their version of Motorhead's Ace of Spades.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:48 PM on February 10, 2003

The band hides booze and tobacco during their European Tours. The roadmaps (tiekartta) and treasuremaps (aarrekartta) can be found here.

If you take the bottles, remember to put something back for the next desperate vodkatourist...

This is truly art.
posted by hoskala at 1:48 AM on February 11, 2003

The Leningrad Cowboys don't do full justice to Sweet Home Alabama.
posted by liam at 5:59 AM on February 11, 2003

You just have to like music known as humppa.
posted by monkeyman at 7:13 AM on February 11, 2003

what a day! first an oscar nomination for the notorious finnish auteur aki kaurismäki, and now humppalinks in mf! I am proud to announce I´m from the same town as those damned geezers. btw, check the band'shumppastore under "pukineet" and you shall find the legendary "parental advisory -explicit idiots" t- shirt . stupido shop is also a great source for all things humppa, especially records.
posted by inkeri at 12:26 PM on February 11, 2003