Today the Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — caught an early flight to Helsinki, where we soaked up the spring sunshine before taking a ferry to Helsinki’s islands. Among other things, we looked at cute animals at Helsinki Zoo on Korkeasaari and ate far too much pickled herring. Then we sat down to review Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät‘s Eurovision 2015 song ‘Aina mun pitää’ (I Always Have To). Did we rock out to their unique take on punk? Read on to find out…
Finland’s Eurovision 2015 song
Reviews: Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät with ‘Aina mun pitää’
Robyn: At last – punk comes to Eurovision! Some crusty old punks singing snarling a 90-second song about the annoyances in their lives as adults with learning disabilities – this is exactly what Eurovision needs. It’s short, it’s angry, and it has more of a message than this year’s earnest songs-with-messages. And the fact that PKN are bothering so many ESC fans is evidence that they’re doing the punk thing exactly right. Oh yeah!
Score: 7/10
Bogdan: Twenty years ago, I would have been all over “Aina mun pitää”. I was going through my alternative phase and I would listen to this kind of music every single day. The song is good, but quite dated and slightly repetitive – thankfully it doesn’t last long. Finland had many strong choices for Vienna — Opera Skaala would have been magnificent — but alas, we’re stuck with a vintage punk song that literally goes nowhere. However, this doesn’t mean that it can’t advance to the final…
Score: 4/10
William: Ahead of Finland’s Eurovision 2015 selection, I described “Aina mun pitää” as “noise with a good backstory”. I still think that, but now find myself looking past the grunts and musical shortcomings and focusing instead on the implicit message: That people with special needs are part of our society and deserve a platform for creative expression just like the rest of us. In certain parts of Europe discussing conditions like Down Syndrome remains taboo and people with special needs are shunned both by the system and in many cases their own families, who lock them away in special homes. I know this is a song contest. But sometimes a song strikes a chord with people for the strength of its message rather than its melody. Rock on!
Score: 6/10
Chris: The more time goes on, the less I think that PKN will actually qualify for the final. Whilst it’s great that there’s a punk song at Eurovision, we shouldn’t have to settle for this. When the likes of Max Jason Mai have tried to bring other genres to Eurovision, they’ve failed spectacularly. PKN are going to need to have a lot of support for reasons other than the song to make it through to the final. I don’t think they’ll get it.
Score: 1.5/10
Angus: I don’t wanna rock, rock DJ. Punk just isn’t my genre and while I respect the story of Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät, ‘Aina mun pitää’ doesn’t do anything for me. The punk rockers of the world might be head-over-heels but I’m just not into it.
Score: 1.5/10
Anthony: First things first: Congratulations to Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät for winning UMK and representing their country. Now we move on to their song itself. The problem with “Aina mun pitää” is that there doesn’t seem to be any melody or hook to draw in viewers. Just one and a half minutes of pure punk noise, that’s all. I wouldn’t be surprised if the juries feel the same way. Then again, don’t go complaining if Finland ends up becoming the “My Slowianie” of 2015.
Score: 1/10
https://youtu.be/JIZzMRISzHM
Deban: Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät aren’t good ambassadors for Finland. To outsiders, they are caught in an ugly time warp. Despite their sob story that music in general and “Aina Mun Pitää” in particular offers solace to the elderly and handicapped, the reality is that they’ll never be the kingpins of social mobility. To enjoy this, you need to zone out on a cocktail of barbiturates.
Score: 1/10
Padraig: I respect PKN and the struggles and prejudice which they’ve overcome in order to make it to Eurovision. But that doesn’t mean I should be obliged to like their song. As far as I’m concerned it’s just noise. On the plus-side, it’s mercifully short.
Score: 1/10
Mikhail: PKN are really cool and very brave. No matter what, they do what they want, they go on stage, they perform and they seem to enjoy what they do. However, their song is just not good enough for me. I really cannot enjoy that growling. Their video is kind of disgusting and I just have to turn it off. I don’t get punk, but one thing I know for sure – I cannot stand this song.
Score: 0/10
Sinan: What the hell was that, what were Finnish people thinking and why is this song less than two minutes long? I listened to this for the first time today and I have more questions than nice things to say.
Score: 1/10
And the winner is… Greece! #PKN #Eurovision60 pic.twitter.com/7dLRC8mv71
— PKN (@PKNimipaivat) April 22, 2015
Our jury consists of 29 people, but we only have room for 10 written reviews. Here are the remaining 19 scores.
Denise: 1/10
Francheska: 6/10
Kristin: 7/10
Josh: 1/10
Judit: 0/10
Liam: 0/10
Luis: 7/10
Marek: 1/10
Mario: 2/10
Max: 0.5/10
Mike: 1/10
Patrick: 0/10
Ramadan: 0/10
Renske: 4/10
Rezo: 2/10
Sami: 0/10
Sopon: 7/10
William C: 0/10
Zach: 1/10
To reduce potential bias, we drop the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. We removed a low of 0 and a high of 7.
Is it Lordi without the masks and outfits !?
I am in shock
No real song
No real tune
No hook
No chance!
i agree with jordan
Let’s all be honest. This won’t win.
For all you out there thinking that this will pull a Conchita, the juries will probably destroy them. Just look at Romania 2013, The televoters put them 4th in the final, but the jury put them 20-something and they didn’t even come close.
i have not anything against the group members .. but the song!
Everyone given this crap song more than 0 points have no music ear at all
this is so horrible
A big big shame for Finland and Eurovision! Shame shame shame
“Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät aren’t good ambassadors for Finland.” Odd comment… why wouldn’t they be good ambassadors? In a music-sense, or what? Even if that was the point… personally I wouldn’t mind seeing alternative stuff… new ideas and approaches and fewer ESC archetypes. PKN is punk, bare bones. At least for me they’re stuff is catchy. Mind you, they’ve even played at SXSW. Why were PKN then voted through? IMO William gets what PKN is seemingly about (having fun/enjoying making music as well as being/becoming one sort of a voice for disabled people (at least in Finland from what I’ve read… Read more »
I’m loving all the talk about “talented musicians” losing out to the icky punk guys. Let’s see now … how many of these “talented musicians” wrote, arranged, played ALL the instruments and did ALL the vocals on their song? NOT A SINGLE DAMN ONE. PKN is the only self-contained act in the entire contest. I am SO looking forward to all the butthurt comments about how some factory-manufactured ballad-by-numbers (probably Greece) was “unfairly” denied its “opportunity” to come in 25th place in the final because PKN qualified. Since when is getting more points an unfair way to win? If you… Read more »
@Wiwi: Exactly my thoughts ever since this band has been announced to represent Finland this year.
This is a weird one for me, because while I generally am a fan of this genre of music, I’m not a fan of this song at all. I first heard it when the UMK CD was put on Spotify without knowing anything about PKN other than their name, and I hated it. But on the flip side, I 100% respect what they’re doing, and I really do enjoy the idea of Eurovision becoming more than just a euro-pop fest. I would certainly be disappointed to lose one of the better entries in that semi to this, but I wouldn’t… Read more »
That score is 2.13 points too high tbh.
This song should be ranked last. Still i’ve got a feeling that San Marino, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro and Portugal are lower ranked than Finland’s crap. No, no, no… in my eyes PKN are no winners! When i play a game i wanna win fair. They didn’t cheated or anything, but hey >>> Heart of Light? Crossroads? Hold your colors? Mustelmat? and 13 other UMK songs are much better than this one and you can’t deny that fact. The reason why i hate Eurovision and alot of people do is that crap like this advances to the final and a song… Read more »
Angus, why aren’t pink triangles compatible with punk ? What about The Tom Robinson band ?
i hate this song with burning passion but i think i’ve bought into their sob story. go go buronovskiye babushki 2.0!
I agree with Angus and Denise in the video. This suuuuuuuuuuuuucksssssssssss, period. Here’s the thing, if you’ll represent a minority do it with grace and style (ala Diva International and Conchita Wurst) = good song + good message. This just suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckssssssssssssss. I don’t get a message in a song in full in just 90 seconds, NO! Though it’s punk music, it’s not my style NO! For me, it’s not the nicest or best way to represent a group of people that CAN DO more than what many of us think they’re capable of, and I’ve seen that myself. Finland, you… Read more »
Whoever gave this entry more than 3 is definitively in need of music classes. Punk it’s ok but this entry it’s very poor, it doesn’t have appeal and apart from the fact the 3 guys are trying to succeed at the end of the day the perception people will get it’s not about the song, but about their condition, almost like if this would be a freakshow. In conclusion, whoever gave this song more than 3 points, votes for the freaks not for the music, I know it sounds harsh but that’s the way it is, sorry. And just to… Read more »
Assuming both Finland and Iceland make the final,
If the EBU wants Finland to win, put them right after Iceland. If the EBU wants Iceland to win, put them right after Finland.
As much as messages in music are important, one has to remember that this is a music contest. If songs like this continue to qualify than every year, more and more “message” songs will be entered. Unfortunately, I do think there is something cynical about the amount of these songs a year after the Conchita win. Every time a song like this qualifies, a talented musician with a better song does not make the final. With that little “message” aside, there is not a lot of good things to say about this song. I can tolerate it more than the… Read more »
They might not qualify, but they will NOT finish last in my 3rd and final observation. There might be one or two behind them on my list; and Moldova is definitely one of them, maybe the worst.
Yikes! 🙁
0/10
1/10 The forty in my Top 40. They get 0.5 from me because they sing it in their native language, which we do not have a lot of this year or in recent years. The other 0.5 comes from the message in the song that relates to their situation. Those two elements being the only small positives, this song is nothing but nope! Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope!!!! This is one of three songs in the first semi-final that I absolutely do not want to see in the final, but their place in the final is quite likely I’m afraid.… Read more »
As a song, it’s the worst in the competition. However, as people and what they represent, I kinda want them to do well. At they end of the day, it’s a song contest, and I don’t want them to qualify, but I don’t want to see them come last in the semi. Their song certainly deserves to, but they do not.
.5/10
I used to share most people’s opinion on the song and the band, but with time I’ve come to appreciate what they stand for, that they’re not a gimmik and that they have every right to stand on that stage just like everybody else. Of course people would be more supportive of them if they were singing a ballad about overcoming the difficulties of life (ala Poland), but since the way they have decided to express themselves puts them out of their comfort zone, they say it’s absolute crap. Don’t get me wrong, I dislike their song (it’s my #40)… Read more »
Occasional reader here. William, just want to say thank you for getting it. I wish your peers take the points you mentioned in the video to heart. There’s room in the finals for one group with disabilities to get on the stage and let Europe know that people with disabilities should get to do fun stuff too. I really appreciate that even though you dislike the song probably nearly as much as the other people in the jury, you see that it’s not a gimmick, that we didn’t vote it through to manipulate others or to win Eurovision. We voted… Read more »
This song provides the caffeine we so desperately need this year. Nuff said.
I really dont like it. Its good that they try although they arr disabled BUT the song is too bad. I hope that finland will not qualify to the final this year because it will be unfair for an another country that has a nice song.
sorry finland!
1/10
As they have said in interviews, they are noit going there to “compete”, but having fun. As was the plan, when they started the band in 2009.
Gotta say, I hate punk, but you should always rate the songs the way they are made, not the way YOU like it.
You see, if you’re in Top Chef or something like that, it doesn’t matter do you like meat or not. You rate it as it should be rated. This is a great example how to rate this song.
7/10
It’s not the worst song, but it’s still not a good song. But I’d rather listen to this than San Marino or Armenia.
I don’t like songs with anger and rage inside of them. I don’t like songs, that make me angry. I don’t like the lead singer’s voice or the words. I don’t get the message of this song? But i respect them and i think they are brave. Still I hope Finland will send a better song next year.
This contest is not about the stories behind the songs. It’s about songs. And this song is the worst song I have ever listened to.
10/10 best song of this ESC. And I love, how gays hate it. And how they will be angry, when they will qualify. Because punk is very popular and PKN are really great. We don’t wanny 40 female singers with same songs, we want diversity. Finland made a best choice for Eurovision in Vienna. GO PKN!!! Helsinki 2016
The reason I like this, is that they put their anger into it and therefore the song has true meaning. Plus I am a fan of anything random. 6.5/10.
Mind telling me why one of my comments is awaiting mod approval.
@wozzeck, I believe “The Conchita effect” won’t happen with PKN. Actually, I even believe Finland won’t pass the semi-final, but for me doesn’t change the fact I kinda like what the Finns are trying to do this year in the ESC. Also, to be honest, I like to see how easily annoyed Eurovisions fans can become when somebody says “All songs are sh…” (that’s what the guy from PKN said about other songs.) At the same time most Eurovision fans think the same way and then they found it insulting when somebody else said the exact same thing. Doesn’t make… Read more »
I will be really surprised if this qualifies on the night as it would mean that it came high in the televoting as I can’t imagine the juries ranking this highly. I think it’s great that new genres are entering Eurovision but I don’t think it’s the right song to send. Maybe that’s just my opinion but I don’t think that this deserves to qualify in the final compared to the other standard of songs/voices this year. I fully respect them and I don’t think they are a gimmick I just worry that people listening to their song for the… Read more »
@Allen
I agree Conchita was a gimmick too, but it was something more. She had to win for many reason that only came together when she appeared on that stage. And of course, the gimmick was one of those reasons. Could it happen again with PKN? I’m sceptical, but open to the wonder.
@William Adams Lee Adams Of course they don’t consider themselves a gimmick and they have all the right to stand up there, represent their country and have a blast. I don’t forget either they were chosen democratically. But the concept itself is a gimmick because it appeals to the attention of the voter with an extramusical bait. And it is manipulative since there’s a lot of people (some of them betting their money) thinking it may win because they are, well, old and mentally disabled. I don’t know if Finland wants to host the show again or they are trying… Read more »
“Deban: Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät aren’t good ambassadors for Finland.” So so terribly wrong. They are the best ambassadors for Finland. You can’t find anywhere band with dissabilities even close to Eurovision. Very brave step by Finns whatever happens in Eurovision. Saying that Finns manipulate public doesn’t make any sense, either. If they do that – they do it in exact same way as Conchita for example: they both have a message for public and they want to be heard. But I don’t think neither Conhita or PKN manipulates public. It’s ok even if they do that and you all know… Read more »
I hope that it doesn’t qualify :S
Not the worst song this year in my opinion (I like it more than Moldova, Denmark, Austria, Montenegro and Romania) but it still is rubbish to be honest… 2/10
I personally prefer my punk poppy. (and yes, I was a fan of Andorra’s pop-punk entry back in 2007) but even then, this song just doesn’t stand up. That being said, I do like how out of left field it feels compared to the rest of the pack. The fact that it is so different will definitely score it many points.
It looks unattractive, sounds unnattractive, and it may have a message but since it’s done in a language only spoken in Finland, no one gets besides Finnish people can connect to it. To me it sounds like a bunch of sore-throat growls over a rather repetitive garage band tune.
I have NEVER liked punk so I would have NEVER liked the song anyway. That being said, the band stay true to themselves and their genre. The song has a serious message. However, I don’t want them to qualify as other more deserving countries who dont necesarilly do well such as The Netherlands would miss a the final
4/10 (based purely on message)
Just no. Maybe 0.5/10 for the effort, but this is just rubbish called “song”.
I would have liked to be able to appreciate this song because of its message. Down Syndrome is a serious thing, and there’s still a long way to go to integrate these people into society and treat them well in a lot of European countries. But… I just can’t. This song is really painful to my ears. I still wish them good luck and hope the message goes through.
1/10
Even though it is not totally horrible (I headbang sometimes), I still strongly dislike it.
The song is crap, the band isn’t nice and live vocals are not great either.
This is an odd one. It isn’t my last place (dishonor goes to Malta. THAT is a bore) On one side they got the genre right for me and it’s cool they got the chance (Was a fan of others though and I kind of felt it was a bit conditioned for them) Now the song itself. I know punk is filth, growl, coarse and in-your-face and generally simplistic and repetitive. But the thing is, I shouldn’t FEEL it’s that way. I should want to headbang and party with these guys, but this song falls flat on that principle. I’m… Read more »
Lets say they win… What would esc look like next year i expect that like half of the countries would withdraw
Its better than Australia, Slovenia,Georgia, Albania and Russia
Well not only i could claim that its my 40th least liked song from the Diamond Vision but its actually the worst song… But possibly it must be the worst song of all times in our Vision.. Of course the worst Finnish entry of Finland in EuroVision.. The only song that gets zero 0 from me…{The 2nd last gets 2/10 4 the record} I have listened to this ”song” 2 times & i don’t plan to hear it 4 a third time though.. But i propose to give the prize trophy 4 the most beautiful act in Vienna’s Vision to… Read more »
There is a traditional proverb back in the old country which says “Lo bueno, si breve, dos veces bueno” (a good thing, if short, it is twice as good). This song is not good, but it is short, thank god for that