Comments on: "People are so mean on the internet." - Complaints Choir of Chicago

"People are so mean on the internet." - Complaints Choir of Chicago

Kattullus — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:47:37 -0800

The Complaints Choir phenomenon, started by the Finnish artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, has spread all over the world since last we paid it any attention, from Birmingham to Helsinki, Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Poikkilaakso, Bodø, Penn State, Canada, Juneau, Gabriola Island, Sointula, Jerusalem, Melbourne, Budapest, Malmö, Chicago, Florence, Copenhagen, Vancouver (2), Philadelphia, Sundbyberg, Milano, Åland, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Rotterdam, Basel, Umeå, Ljubljana, Gdansk, Arizona State University, Washington, DC, Horace Mann School, Durham-Chapel Hill, Auckland, Toronto theatre students, Kortrijk, Cairo (2), St. Pölten, Maribor, Port Coquitlam, Ústí nad Labem, Columbus & Kauhajoki (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). For more information, including a 9 step guide to forming your own complaints choir, go to the Complaints Choir website. Finally, here's the Singapore Complaints Choir, whose performance was banned by the Singapore government.

By: Avenger50

Avenger50 — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:02:16 -0800

Metafilter needs one of these. Or maybe we can put Metatalk to music.

By: Halloween Jack

Halloween Jack — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:04:49 -0800

Nine steps is too damn many to form a choir to sing a simple song. When am I supposed to find the time to listen to all of those videos? Birmingham's was tedious. I bet that Chicago's is already taken over by choir queens who have had lessons since they were fetal. how'm I doin'?

By: Dee Xtrovert

Dee Xtrovert — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:38:30 -0800

Budapest's one is very funny and accurate, too.

By: Namlit

Namlit — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:45:44 -0800

I knew there was something wrong in Malmö (apart from the accent): the elevators are out of tune! (If I hadn't spent my entire youth listening to the gears and motors of the buses and trams of my hometown...)

By: severiina

severiina — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:47:54 -0800

I was very confused with the Sointula one at first. Why the heck are they singing in English, was my first thought. But fortunately my good friend Wikipedia could help me with that. Apparently they are in Canada, not in Finland like I first thought. It's so rare to see Finnish place names elsewhere in the world. A very interesting place. Started as one of the many Finnish utopian colonies of the early 20th century And the complaints choir is adorable, full of local jokes. They even say a few words in Finnish and the pronounciation is not horrible!

By: stonepharisee

stonepharisee — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:48:15 -0800

This is absolutely fucking brilliant. I had no idea. Merci, Kattullus!

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:48:30 -0800

There goes my weekend - it will take me forever to get through all these videos. Carpal tunnel here I come. Why aren't these mammoth multi-link posts ever made during the work day instead of taking up all my personal time? And how come that %$#@#$ Katullus always makes better posts than me? (Taking my cue from Halloween Jack...) I notice that "not enough sex" or something on that order seems to be a universal complaint.

By: cybercoitus interruptus

cybercoitus interruptus — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:50:35 -0800

I'm loving Singapore's. Thanks for the post. I hope this catches on. Maybe it would encourage more people to try singing!

By: Namlit

Namlit — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:58:53 -0800

I had stumbled across Helsinki before, but I had no idea that this was so popular. Jerusalem is good, and Rotterdam is better than the subtitles make you guess. Hamburg a bit meh. Why do Germans always complain.

By: milquetoast

milquetoast — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:03:20 -0800

The Hong Kong one is chock full good stuff. And there's even a bonus reference to Bus Uncle near then end.

By: milquetoast

milquetoast — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:03:55 -0800

...No edit window? This website is stupid.

By: mai

mai — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:12:04 -0800

Wow, Chicago's is amazing. "Only tourists like deep dish pizza." "All of America looks like the same strip mall." "Why is war our only export?" "I hate drunk cubs fans." "My roommate is chewing outrageously loud." "My boss prints his spam and hands it to me." "My dead grandmother keeps voting for the wrong candidate."

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:36:39 -0800

Dee Xtrovert: Budapest's one is very funny and accurate, too. That's one of my favorites. It's jovial and funny and I can sort of singalong with the chorus then they mention that Vonnegut is dead and suddenly I've got something in my eye. Very touching (does Kurt Vonnegut have any particular cultural significance in Hungary beyond mainland Europe's general reverence for Vonnegut?)

By: bboyberlin

bboyberlin — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:37:24 -0800

I've spent a lot of time in Italy the past year and the Florence choir really moved me; the Florentines are well-known as the most miserable Italians in Northern Italy, their city overrun by wealthy foreigners and the Italians who profit from them. On the one hand, one may say "So What? they make all their money off tourism". True, they make money off tourism, but it is still the capital of the state of Tuscany and has existed for many centuries and needs to exist nonetheless. There is much more to Italy than tourist destinations.

By: colfax

colfax — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:38:58 -0800

My favorites: "We the people of the city whose name no Englishman can read/Are standing in front of Chroby's monument, and asking, 'Why does the King ride a little pony?'" - Wroclaw "Why did you, Peter, miraculous builder/ build our city in such a pestilent climate amidst mosquitoes?" - St. Petersburg

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:49:36 -0800

Why has it been so long since you last paid attention? Sheesh.

By: strixus

strixus — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:56:43 -0800

I am so grateful I have been unable to find one for my city. It would be an hour long.

By: doubtfulpalace

doubtfulpalace — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:07:07 -0800

The first Vancouver one is by Veda Hille, who rules.

By: Xere

Xere — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:29:31 -0800

I was hoping for my city (Los Angeles), and then I realized that I've heard enough about the shitty public transit, cars everywhere, traffic, smog, fake produce at farmers market, and the mayor's bike.

By: sonika

sonika — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:39:16 -0800

Oh man, I still sing the Birmingham one (the only one I'd heard in English and while I've heard Helsinki enough to "sing along" I'm sure I'm doin it rong) to myself at opportune times. I love these. If I ever find one near me, I am so joining. AND I'M THIRSTY!

By: sonika

sonika — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:55:53 -0800

(Oh man, the Hamburg one. So, so, so bringing back repressed memories of living in Germany and watching "folk music" on TV with my host grandmother. THE CLAPPING. OH MAN THE GERMANS AND THEIR LOVE OF CLAPPING. I may have to bleach my brain.)

By: shii

shii — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:57:09 -0800

First World Problems: The Musical

By: chrisp18938

chrisp18938 — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:00:26 -0800

Wow. complaining is popular.

By: ErWenn

ErWenn — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:07:43 -0800

This may be the first time I've ever seen someone not in my family¹ mention Åland. Also, great idea. ¹That's where my grandfather is from.

By: ErWenn

ErWenn — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:18:47 -0800

The Tokyo one has really good production quality, but I appreciate that all the singers looked like ordinary people.

By: Dumsnill

Dumsnill — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:40:59 -0800

"The cat that lives near my house ignores me." Fantastic stuff!

By: not_on_display

not_on_display — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:21:40 -0800

Fuck Their Lives!

By: motty

motty — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:01:22 -0800

Ok, so on a scale where Helsinki and Tokyo get a 9.5 each, Birmingham a 2, and Jerusalem a 6, where do the others... wait. I need to make a post in another section (if no-one else already has). brb

By: motty

motty — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:35:34 -0800

Ok, so while posting this it occurred to me that maybe I have missed the point and this needs to be a local thing involving group meetings, so wouldn't work here, but, feh. Throwing it out anyway. FWIW and all that.

By: Dee Xtrovert

Dee Xtrovert — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:52:28 -0800

That's one of my favorites. It's jovial and funny and I can sort of singalong with the chorus then they mention that Vonnegut is dead and suddenly I've got something in my eye. Very touching (does Kurt Vonnegut have any particular cultural significance in Hungary beyond mainland Europe's general reverence for Vonnegut?) I can't answer that, I can only say that in every bookstore I go in, his books are centrally displayed, and many of them are available in Hungarian / English bilingual editions. The only other English-speaking writer who receives similar treatment is Agatha Christie, and it's common to see people on trams and the metro reading both writers. Why them in particular, I don't know.

By: Devonian

Devonian — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 02:48:47 -0800

Not much from the UK, then. Birmingham, yes, but they do whine up there. Are we too contented for our own good? What would be wonderful would be the use of complaint choirs as consumerist weaponry. There are classes of company - utilities, mostly - too far gone to be embarrassed by the normal means and who treat their customers like krill. Forty well-voiced singers turning up to hymn the corporate sins in public outside the HQ, with the usual back-up, would be a good start. And if that doesn't work, the viking raiders.

By: Namlit

Namlit — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 03:58:11 -0800

Tokyo: "Musicians can't make a living."

By: LarryC

LarryC — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 09:14:32 -0800

Holy shit, this is wonderful. I am loving the Singapore song, the most whimsical musical political protest ever.

By: ErWenn

ErWenn — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 10:40:57 -0800

Tokyo: "Musicians can't make a living." I speak only a very small amount of Japanese, but when I encountered that line, I was pretty sure that the original was something more like "Musicians can't eat". It's always interesting to see how things get altered in translation.

By: Ahab

Ahab — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 11:16:52 -0800

Yup, the Singapore one is sweet and funny and powerful. But I fear that ^♪♪I can't access playboy.com^♪♪ might now become - ^♪♪I can no longer access metafilter.com ^♪♪

By: jenfullmoon

jenfullmoon — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 15:40:47 -0800

I wish I could sing so I could join one of those choirs. Today's complaints: "Sunny California, my ass." "So fucking tired of the windy day." "I'm not in the mood to write NaNoWriMo." Alas, I sing like Edith Bunker.

By: Twang

Twang — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:25:00 -0800

INCREDIBLE! (Time short, I started with the Singapore group.) I've been waiting for this moment all of my life! Well, OK, since high school choir. THANKS

By: Namlit

Namlit — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 17:59:09 -0800

It's always interesting to see how things get altered in translation. Point in case: Rotterdam. Apparently they had no English speaker in town, so they just made something up (not quite, but still). (And I still haven't seen half of them. Kattullus, how did you even do that?)

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:10:39 -0800

Namlit: And I still haven't seen half of them. Kattullus, how did you even do that? Insomnia.

By: Namlit

Namlit — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:45:27 -0800

Is that how Iceland copes with the winter? Hah, another complaint choir subject. On topic: Holland has had a weekend of shrieking for culture, to protest against the announced budget cuts. Youtube is full of it. There was even some Beethoven with a new protest-text to be heard (no subtitles, though, and a rather too cold-fingered music-school gang. Just for information)