Poets of the Fall Day
Today is the December 5th and before going on with the matter at hand, I would like to wish Marko Saaresto a Happy Birthday. Have a good one with loads of love, hugs and laughter, sir! How fitting is it then to follow the lead of Poets of the Fall Street Team, and make this day even more special: Poets of the Fall Day? I like the sound of that, but it goes further than that. Indeed, it goes like: World Wide Listen to Poets of the Fall Day! Because, you see, there are still people out there who are not aware that they’re missing something great… so, we gotta tell them. This initiative’s goal – which as I understand it started two years ago – is to bring Poets of the Fall to the USA. My goal is to bring them to Sweden – logic, but mostly to spread their music wherever and whenever I can. |
Play and share Spotify
Alright this is easy, if you don’t have Spotify, just install it and create a free account. You’ll be able to listen to Poets of the Fall… not the best of sound quality though, but it is a start. What is great with this is that it’s free to listen and it is legal, so this is the best way to discover the band’s music (if you have not heard of them before). Since I am a sucker for playlists, here is my contribution to the sharing Spotify part: four playlists, only Poets of the Fall which I am listening to pretty much all the time (and not specifically today). Note, however, that these playlists might be a little repetitive since I have a lot of favourite songs… so listen and share!
My Typical Car Mix | Ballads or Something | When I was waiting for the new album: Clearview | Just Relax (might be similar to Ballads or Something) |
Obsession? I think not…
I am not obsessed, I am just very enthusiastic as my husband mildly puts it. You see, as I was explaining to him the other evening, there is something magical happening every time I listen to Poets of the Fall. My shoulders go down and relax, my tension headaches ease up, my mind goes back to focus mode and my smile shines again in my eyes. That’s what I call the Poets of the Fall Effect.
I have never experienced that with any other band before, not with Europe although they’d stole my heart first, not with Kamelot although they’d blew my mind first, not with Shinedown although they’d woken me up first… Poets of the Fall did that all at once by speaking/singing my language – I know I am repeating myself, but it is true… If they were capable of doing that with me, then they’d probably be able to touch and move so many more people. Marko said something like this (no quote, because I am possibly extrapolating here): When I write lyrics, I am trying to say something meaningful… make a difference.
He definitely succeeds either globally or one person at a time, he makes a difference… he does with me anyway. However, and just to be clear, although Marko is the one touching me the most (I tend to write most about the lyrics…) since he is the words master – and my relation to words is at best a crazy one – he does not have the exclusivity. The musicians, Markus “Captain” Kaarlonen, Jani Snellman, Olli Tukiainen, Jaska Mäkinen and Jari Salminen play an important, nay a crucial part in all this. I caught myself getting chills while guitar and bass riffs are played; a piano melody will always catch my ear and all of this following the somewhat humble beat of the drums and bass. One never pays that much attention to bass and drums… Beyond that, the band always manages to surprise me with other sounds than their original instruments (ie Marko on violin and Jani on string bass and even cello… ) by the way, I love the sound of the cello – gorgeous instrument. So, as I said, Marko has not the exclusivity when it comes to touching my heart and soul, if he had he would only be a poet, not a singer…
What I am saying is that, usually only soundtracks (movie scores) are capable of giving me chills like that. So that is saying something about Poets of the Fall.
Watch and share YouTube
Poets of the Fall are not only about music though, they are also a very visual band (Cinematic Rock). I discovered them in March-April 2016… although they have been around since 2003. Believe me when I say I have caught up in no time. You might have noticed… The first song that hit me like a truck at full speed was Carnival of Rust. My husband had me watch a few videos before playing the albums for me. Below are four of my favourites from that very special evening when I was introduced to Poets of the Fall. Of course, since then, I have watched all videos that are available on Poets of the Fall official YouTube channel, including the recent Genelec live sessions… so watch and share!
Street Teams
Curiosity is a good thing when it does not become an obsession. I was googling Poets of the Fall Street Teams and found out that there is (was) a Street Team Sweden. I thought “Great, I might be able to build a small Swedish network in this particular writing niche.” Yeah, right… I was very disappointed to find out that the website had not been updated since 2011. I have not found a French Street Team either (however, there is a French Poets of the Fall group on Facebook)… So, what does this tell us? We’ve still got a lot of work to do to spread awareness about Poets of the Fall‘s music.
If I were…
If I were a DJ working for a radio station (ie a programmer) and I was told that today is the World Wide Listen to Poets of the Fall Day, I’d probably get fired. Why? Because between the playlists and all the good things I could tell about the band’s music, there would be no place left for any other music in my programming. If I were a journalist specialised in music, my readers would probably get fed up with me, for I have not yet said all that I need and want to say about Poets of the Fall, so they’d be all I write about. Oh, wait… is it not what I am already doing? Hmm… well, I am no journalist so I am almost safe. Again, if I were a journalist, I could actually ask for an interview with the band since I have a lot of questions I’d like to have answers to (haven’t we all?). But I am no DJ and even less a journalist…
I am just me and that is no small feat.
So, listen, watch, share on all your social media… spread the love and take care of yourselves.
PS: Featured Image from Poets of the Fall Street Team (USA, all regions)
