A creature of some sort exists here again

Käärijä for Apu Magazine 30.10.2024

Photos by Hannes Paananen

fhjsjasjajja ?????

Jere Pöyhönen, the man you are

did you see him close his eyes and mouth a kiss to us in the flashing intro lights to ruoska?

Käärijä in Birmingham 23/10/24

do whatever you want with my pics, but if you remember that I took them, please tag me

After listening to the album for hours I just realized how cleverly the songs are ordered.

The album starts with Ready To Go, a song about pushing forward no matter the obstacles, followed by Cha Cha Cha, the song that got him to where he is now (which "coincidentally" is the second track, matching Jere's final ESC ranking). Right after that is Takavoltti, which talks about how, now that Jere's famous, everyone constantly asks him to do things—Jere do this, Jere do that—and he complies because he wants to make others smile, even though it can hurt him. And this pain transitions smoothly into Ruoska, a song that literally talks about how the pain, both of being controlled by what people expect of him and the hate he receives, excites him in some way.

Then we get into a more intense section. Kot Kot expresses his anxiety, loneliness, and the feeling of no one responding to him. This theme continues in Autiomaa, where he describes feeling empty despite everything he's achieved and struggling to be taken seriously as an artist. This feeling also comes through in the skit with the therapist, who interrupts Jere, downplays his concerns and treats him like he's just a celebrity who should "get a real job" instead of a person.

And maybe the next song marks one of the album's sharpest turns. As a single, Sex = Money could be seen as Jere selling sex out of desperation, not knowing what else to do, but when paired with the meaning behind Autiomaa it also reflects a bit of that hopelessness of being lost but still wanting to keep going, and so he turns to selling sex.

From there, we have some more upbeat tracks. Bananas talks about people going wild (going bananas) for him now that he's resurfaced, and the energy continues with Huhhahhei and It's Crazy, It's Party.

Finally, we have the perfect song to close the album, People's Champion. Here Jere finally acknowledges himself as a winner, a champion, more specifically, the people's champion. He reflects on his growth and evolution as an artist, from that scared kid to this man who isn't afraid of anything and who will keep standing strong no matter what. And of course, the lyrics "Thank you everybody I love you" as the cherry on top, a thanks to all his fans for everything they've given him and for helping him get to where he is today.

I'm so impressed by the story this album tells, and Jere has done an amazing job with it. I love him and everything he's achieved and I hope he can feel our love just as much as we feel his.

puhjennut ilmapallo ja autiomaa

Beautiful boy

i need to go to bed

(these are stickers now!)

Didn't have time yet to analyse Huhhahhei but so far I have this one theory. Mostly a wild guess and I can't wait to see other explanations, especially from Finnish speakers who could point out all the linguistic details. (I don't even speak Finnish, have patience)

The story, as explained in the insta live, is that a lady is boldly flirting with Käärijä, and he is a bit shy about it but generally likes it. They spend the night together, and Käärijä enjoys it a lot, but in the end he is worried if she will still be there in the morning.

The part "huh (huh) hah hah hah huhhahhei" has the same rhythm as "Cha cha cha cha cha cha chaaa" (especially if you ignore the second "huh"), suggesting a connection between HHH and CCC.

My interpretation is that the lady is a metaphor for fame, which came abruptly, surprised Käärijä and swept him off his feet, and he decided to just roll with it, and while he greatly enjoys it, ultimately he's worried it will all be gone without a trace really soon. And since the fame came from CCC, you can hear an echo of that song here as well.

bringing back this smash hit post from my sideblog

As a foreigner, the funniest thing about Käärijä being so unproblematic is that his music doesn't sound unproblematic.

Looking up lyrics of Yhtä vailla, I was bracing myself for 5 slurs and being told to go make him a sandwich. Meanwhile Yhtä vailla:

Yeah!! Also, Yhtä vailla is first and foremost about his relationship with gambling that apparently got a little out of hand when he was younger. To me the aggressive tone of the song perfectly embodies the kind of manic frustration you feel when you're left one (number/hit/strike etc) short from the jackpot, the kind that drowns the disappointment under the overwhelming urge to play one more round. It's such a unique approach from someone who got his artist name from one day's lucky streak with slot machines - it plays straight the ecstatic side of gambling whilst reminding the listener that after the highs and lows you'll just be left with an empty wallet. He problematizes the issue without being the slightest bit judgmental.

Aight since I got started on Käärijä's lyrical talent, let me use this excise to list and summarize some of my other favorites from his discography that also have surprising layers of depth, relatability, or straight up hilarity:

Z: The beginning fools you into thinking that the song is Käärijä's apology to his life partner waiting for him to come home after a long workday, but as the song progresses it's revealed through a dramatized dialogue that the real reason he's late is because he was fucking around on the commuter train with his friends and got busted trying to travel with a kid's ticket. Insanely fun song, made me howl with laughter in public the first time I heard it.

Kiertävä sirkus: Title translates as 'traveling circus', makes fun of the smoke and mirrors of the music industry (and Käärijä himself as a cog in that machine, because what's a Käärijä song where he doesn't make fun of himself) as well as the flexing culture of the rap scene. It's also a lovely homage to the working class, which Käärijä humbly puts above his own career in show business. Fun and introspective song.

Mic Mac: a love song to a wild and unruly but overall safe childhood spent in the nineties (as well as the rap scene that was huge among kids at the time). An absolutely heartwarming song for anyone of this generation, and the lyrics and the beat are tons of fun by themselves.

Viulunkieli: Title translates as 'violin string'. Another relatable af story about trying to have a fun night at the pub with your friends but the general mood is kind of eh and people are tired and tense and awkward. I feel like everyone with even a bit of history in nightlife has had that experience at least once.

Paidaton riehuja: Translates as 'shirtless maniac' or 'shirtless rampager', tho both of those are a bit off as the word riehuja refers to someone who behaves in an unruly manner but is typically harmless. A weird and fun body positivity song that can be summarized like this:

Käärijä: *takes his shirt off in public*

Disapproving bystander: umm can you put your shirt back on please

Käärijä: NO!!!! >:(

(The frowny face isn't included in the lyrics but it sure as hell comes through.)

Klo23: Translates as 11 PM, this is another fun one. It's about throwing an apocalypse-level house rave in your stamp-sized apartment (the same one Käärijä STILL lives in btw) that has to end precisely at 11 PM because you'd promised your neighbors it would be quiet by then. The contrast between wanting to live like a rock star and getting hit by low income realities is amazingly hilarious and sympathetic. Classic Käärijä vibes.

Hirttää kiinni: Hard to translate in a satisfying way but it's a slang term derived from car mechanics referring to that short circuit thing that you feel in your brain when your patience is being tested. It's about getting increasingly pissed over the most miniscule things on a bad day. This one is prolly my favorite (if we don't count Cha Cha Cha).

Uhhh anyway Käärijä's music good, sorry for hijacking this post etc etc 😅 Got a bit carried off there haha but I needed to get this out of my system

Oof okay so people seem to enjoy my pocket-sized lyric summaries/analyses and, well, there's more of where that came from! Here's a few more additions, starting from the one requested by anon in my inbox:

Välikuolema: literally translates as 'half-time death', a term that refers to a temporary mid-party burnout when your mood and energy levels crash and you just want to lie down and rest for a moment. (I've also heard this being referred to as a 'pre-hangover'.) This song actually reads as something of a flipside to Viulunkieli where Käärijä is the one spending his paycheck on buying everyone drinks in an effort to get them to loosen up, whereas in Välikuolema he's the one being offered free drinks, all worn out amidst a bar crawl, and feels guilty for flattening the atmosphere. (See, I'm doing intertextual reading on Käärijä's lyrics now. Fully hyperfixated.)(Also, I kinda want the part where he screams "HERÄÄ!" ("WAKE UP!") as my alarm sound now hehe)

Menestynyt yksilö: Translates as 'successful individual'. This is another interesting one because on the surface, the tone is somewhat darker and it basically comes off as a vent song covering Käärijä's (very real) personal experiences with unemployment, poverty, shame, betrayed expectations and just overall being an outcast and a failure in society's eyes. What gives it an extra layer of depth is how Käärijä draws the audience in by asking them to holler if they recognize themselves in his story, making it a shared experience instead of just one man's bitter rant about how shitty his life is. I think this is intentional, too, with the word 'individual' in the title and the narrative gradually shifting from 'me' to 'us' towards the end of the song. Honestly this is hella profound stuff and really shows what makes Käärijä so unique as a rapper.

Aikuinen: translates as 'adult', so nothing too complicated there. This song deals with similar themes as Menestynyt yksilö, but with a much more positive and rebellious outlook: it tells the social and societal expectations to fuck off forever and encourages everyone to grow up in their own unique style. Catchy, cheery, proud, and the puns in thus one are absolutely out there gosh I wish there was a way to translate them as is.

Mentioning here as well that if there are any Käärijä songs you'd like to see fully translated and no one else has done it yet, hit me up! It'd be an honor to try my hand at translating a whole ass song, hehe 😁

Ei sun tarvii päätä paijaa,

kunhan kuuntelet <3

Laukaa, 1.11.2024

Photo by me

Fascinated by the presentation of Jere as having a lack of autonomy in People's Champion. This is a theme that appears in the album and the narrative told throughout it, both through lyrics and media.

Takavoltti is literally a song about people demanding things from him, essentially a song about people asking him to jump and him responding by asking how high. His actual opinions (and in the case of the song, his physical safety) are not considered, but he is expected to jeopardize himself for the entertainment of others. This is shown especially in the beginning conversation where one of the speakers essentially says "oh he's not hurt, he's just playing it up". It's a fun song, upbeat and one that encourages the listener to engage with the "hey! hey! hey!" gang vocals, but the lyrics and vocalizations (notably. the screams) contrast with the music. I think that the gang vocals are used to make the audience participate in the song, making them participants in encouraging Jere to endanger himself.

Autiomaa also presents this idea, especially through the music video, but also through the lyrics.

There's a repeating theme of wanting to just be listened to, which is shown through the MV with the therapist segments. His autonomy as a person separate from Käärijä is continuously disrespected, as the therapist completely disregards his concerns at every turn. He's shown to be "speaking" in these segments, especially at the first pre-chorus, showing him as engaging with the therapist-character as someone genuinely trying to be a patient.

This is when the therapist brushes him off completely, shown taking photos of him (as a therapist, taking photos of his patient, taking advantage of a vulnerable position where Jere is expecting to be listened to seriously, without being seen as Holy Fuck It's The CCC Guy), taking useless notes calling him "hupiukko" and just doodling (demonstrating how he hasn't been genuinely listening to the things Jere is saying), and walking away while Jere is left lost in an empty warehouse, with no support system to listen to him. I wonder also if the difference in musical sound in comparison to the rest of his works and the rest of the album shows that this is more of a personal song coming from Jere, rather than a Fun Fictional Käärijä Song.

The therapist character also appears in Skit, the track leading up to Autiomaa, shown as harshly criticizing him, while also preventing him from getting a word in edgewise, constantly cutting him off and preventing him from saying an full sentence the entire time. He criticizes Jere for having a job that isn't Real, but also takes a photo of him during the session in Autiomaa showing a rejection of him as a person, but a sort of fascination with his star-power.

uhhh yeah i have more to say about this but i don't have the spoons rn

Something something Autiomaa live performance has Jere on a chair and no Daltons on stage and the spotlight sometimes shines on him and him only something something

also the chair is always so tall that he can't reach the ground with his feet, staying detached from the world and just kinda hanging in the air

aww 💛 it's okay to outgrow who you used to be jere <3

Cute baby!