"I have been mindfucked before, but never with such sweetness" —YouTube

September 17, 2013 5:32 PM

Finnish jazz pianist + beat boxer + guitarist = Iiro Rantala's Shit Catapault. Equal parts hilarious, bouncy, groovy, and unexpectedly moving.
posted by Rory Marinich (18 comments total)

It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that WTF!
posted by thelonius at 5:39 PM on September 17, 2013

nice
posted by philip-random at 5:44 PM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

Man, that was super cool. I love weird music stuff.
posted by Sokka shot first at 5:48 PM on September 17, 2013

there was one of those shred videos about Phish going around the other day IIRC
posted by OHenryPacey at 5:54 PM on September 17, 2013

I don't know what that was, but I liked it a lot.
posted by mhoye at 6:05 PM on September 17, 2013

Such clever, high-bouncing mavericks will surely have their pick of mates!
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 6:13 PM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

Didn't know what to expect, but man... that was so much fun!
posted by avoision at 6:16 PM on September 17, 2013

Niiiiice.

("Finnish jazz... BRRRRRR" is how my husband and I say "Geez, it's cold today".)**
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 6:50 PM on September 17, 2013

This piece repeats everything I love and everything I hate about Frank Zappa's music.
posted by kozad at 7:09 PM on September 17, 2013 [2 favorites]

The first minute or so reminded me of the Instrumental Metal classic "Hocus Pocus" by Focus (play refrain, let soloist go bonkers for a little while, repeat), and while appreciating the intent, I knew they couldn't sustain it for six minutes and was happy they moved on after one.

You know that You Tube is from five years ago, right? Here's a minute of solo piano from Shit Catapult. Most of the "New Trio" performance vids (slightly less WTF but still FTW) are from '08 and '09: "Viking 69", "Greetings from assisi", "La Toalla", "Pekka Pohjola", "Confirmation" (music video made by someone who considers it 'traveling music') ...

Much more recently, Iiro alone did "Rendez-vous" (interview and bits of performance) at the Montreau Jazz Festival two months ago (and speaks well on behalf of Instrumental Music),

AND I WANT HIS HAT.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:25 PM on September 17, 2013 [4 favorites]

You know, with that particular tune, the beatboxer seems more of a neo-scatter.
posted by Samizdata at 7:29 PM on September 17, 2013

What this reminds me of is Naked City in general and, for whatever reason, "Latin Quarter" in particular.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:02 PM on September 17, 2013 [2 favorites]

Why is Benny Hill playing the piano?
posted by readyfreddy at 8:10 PM on September 17, 2013 [4 favorites]

I wrote a little on finnish jazz and included him. A real gem and a gent.
posted by quarsan at 10:04 PM on September 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

a little P.D.Q.Bach-ish...loved it.
posted by eggtooth at 2:49 AM on September 18, 2013

Thank you! I always love Iiro Rantala when I hear him, but for some reason never remember to add him to my music rotation. His music just seems have a sort of driving, happy energy that leaves me exhausted and giddy (being more like a sloth than a cheetah by nature).

He's been around for a while here in Finland, doing all kinds on music stuff on tv and elsewhere. Always excellent and interesting, and always with other interesting people.
posted by severiina at 4:08 AM on September 18, 2013

That's actually made my day better. Cheers Rory!
posted by we are the music makers at 5:58 AM on September 18, 2013

Well. THAT was fun.
posted by NedKoppel at 3:34 PM on September 18, 2013