Crucial Track for 20 January 2026

"Eppu Normaali" by Vuonna '85

Think back to your childhood: What is your earliest music memory? Share that song and your story!

My mom really loved music back when I was a kid. She was especially a fan of Eppu Normaali, Popeda and other Finnish rock bands. We had a few cassettes and later CD's as well so those were basically the artists I grew up on.

Surprisingly, it's pretty hard to get Finnish music in Denmark in the 90's, so choices were pretty limited.

I chose Vuonna '85 from Eppu Normaali for this prompt as it's the song I remember most clearly and it's one of the bands from my childhood I still occasionally listen to. Eppu Normaali has had a long career here in Finland, they started out as a punk band and later softened their sound. Their music (and this song specifically) is a staple in bar karaokes even today, 41 years after its' release.

Their music is not super typical when it comes to lyrics and they're not "trying too hard", so it's a pretty easy and ejoyable listen, at least to me :)

I did later get my own CD player and some albums like Bomfunk MC's (Freestyler!), Eiffel 65 and the soundtrack to the first Pokémon movie. But, I clearly remember listening to Eppu Normaali years before this happened.