Johanna Kiiski

[ WWW.FINPOP.NET ]

THE FINNISH POP CULTURE PORTAL

Television : MoonTv
Interview : Johanna Kiiski / show "667 seconds"

How did you end up doing "667 Sekuntia" on Moontv?
I don´t quite understand it myself. Some mutual friends of mine and MoonTV´s told me about the program.
They wanted to make a metal music show hosted by a girl. I refused at first, but then one day I found myself working here, first as a freelancer, nowadays as a producer. It´s been over three years now, huh.

Did you bring your little touch to the program? If so, what is this touch?
I try to make the program with positive attitude. People often think that metal music is for uneducated, unhappy and angry people who worship satan and sacrifice animals and beat people on the steets. For me, rock and metal music is more having fun and I hope it shows. This is not so dead serious. At least, it shouldn´t be.

Some musicians complain that there is almost nothing on tv dedicated to music for youngsters. Do you agree?
From my point of view, MoonTV has nine music programs at the moment, so everyone will find something for themselves. And there´s more to come.

What kind of music to you normally listen? Is it the kind of music you present in "667 Sekuntia"?
I pretty much listen to everything. Why eat only vanilla ice cream, when you have 20 or more flavors to choose? Mainly I like rock and metal music, but I´ve got no problem with pop or hip hop or anything else.
Sure, I like the music that is shown in 667 Sekuntia, but there are also bands that I can´t stand. Not every single band playing metal is good, no way! Lately I´ve been listening to new Nick Cave and Pearl Jam cds, Daredevil soundtrack, good old Suicidal Tendencies and Public Enemy. And I can´t wait to see Type O Negative playing live at Tuska Festival in Helsinki next summer.

How, in the first place, did you decide to become a "tv personality"?
Ruben Stiller or Joonas Hytönen may be tv personalities. I am not, and I refuse to be one.

What are the positive and negative aspects of television and the world of television in Finland?
Finland is the America of Scandinavia, or even whole Europe. That shows in tv, also. It´s full of stupid American programs and American tv show formats. Well, if that is what people want, that´s what they are going to get. But I´m glad that we have Yle 1 and 2, if you really want to see some serious documents instead of The Bold And The Beautiful or educate yourself and use your brains with television, at least they offer you the possibility for that.

Was television important in your childhood?
Not really. Fortunately, I had better things to do in my childhood than watching tv. Hey, there really were only those two channels at that time! But of course there were some cartoons that one couldn´t live without. Anyway, I pity kids, who are raised by tv or Playstation. Best way to kill one´s imagination. Go out and play.

Do you have a cult tv program?
I loved the 80´s alien tv serie V (Visitors.) Our parents never let us watch it when I was kid, so my friend videotaped it and we used to watch it next day when they were at work. It was scary as hell!

How could present "Moontv" to our readers who don't know it?
It´s fresh, fast and unpredictable 24 hours cable tv channel full of action, like extreme sports, lifestyle, fashion, movies, culture, computer games and of course shitloads of music; rock, pop, punk, metal, hip hop, rap, techno, what ever you desire.

Do you still watch tv? What programs do you watch?
I really don´t watch tv at all (except at work). There´s nothing going on that I like. Some news every now and then or movies.

What kind of program would you really love to make / present?
A really good (live) music program, but I won´t describe it any further here, because if I do, someone will steal the idea, and we´ll see that show on SubTV next year.

What kind of program would you, without any doubts, refuse to make / present?
Any kind of "reality tv program" or "I´m a stupid blonde big-breasted single woman in New York and it´s fun to be a single but yet I desperately seek for a man to be married with"-shows, like Survivor, Bachelor or Temptation Island. I don´t get it. Why you wanna spend your time with 30 other girls, fighting for the same guy that you don´t even know and who´s asshole anyway? Or why take your dearly loved partner to the other side of an island and then cheat each other and afterwards get back together? And why on earth you want millions of people to see that? Well, of course it´s amusing and entertaining (from viewer´s point of view), but I don´t want to have anything to do with that kind of crap.

What are your projects for the future?
Try to make MoonTV´s music programs better, there is a lot of things happening, but you´ll just have to wait and see them for yourselves. And summer is coming, which means festivals...

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2003