The blue-white singer

Lamp, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Night, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Tree, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Car, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

We are getting more snow, 10-20 cm during the next 24 hours. Because of the wind, the -10 °C temperature outside feels the same as -19 °C. The snow flakes are rather small and thus not so visible in these photographs, except in the last one, in the headlights of a car.

There has been plenty of time to listen to music, for example concerts recorded from the digital tv. (An excellent invention in that it allows you to be really selective in what you view and when.)

A Christmas concert by Sting at the Durham cathedral was excellent, but of course a show of this kind requires a big machinery to happen. Nonetheless, authentic musicians there. However, Fenee Fleming who performed here in Finland in the Finlandia house (another concert from tv) didn't manage as well with the popular music pieces she included into her program. It is seldom that an opera star can really work with popular music.

Two positive surprises were the new album "Shake, Shake, Shake" by the Finnish band Lemonator, and "High Violet" by The National. Excellent, both, but of course this is a matter of taste, as with all music.

I have been listening a lot to Kari Tapio, a Finnish singer who died suddenly a few weeks ago. He has been called the "blue-white singer", referring to the colors of the Finnish flag. He is one of the singers who the so-called common people identify strongly with. And indeed, what a voice he had!