each video . And as a side note : While most music videos tend to be performance ( and nowadays , dance ) centric , European bands tend to have film directors make mini-movies to go along with big releases ; the videos I ’ m discussing here definitely reflect that school of production , enabling bands to develop narrative layers to their songs in ways that the audio tracks alone would lack .
First up is Finnish Goth-rock band The 69 Eyes . Last year they released their eleventh album , Universal Monsters ; “ Jet Fighter Plane ” was the first single from the album . This is unusual fare for this particular band – it is their only political song , in an oeuvre otherwise fairly narrow and personal . The lyrics are openly critical of the destructive policies of the Cold War era . While we in the West tend to relegate memories of the Cold War and the bomb shelter drills of our youth to “ the distant past ,” international tensions are again at the forefront of Eastern European countries . Yet the decline of the Cold War in the West has been mirrored by a military resurgence of Russian Federation forces all over Eastern Europe , particularly in the last decade . Nordic and Baltic states keep a wary eye on Russian military exercises and games , and on Russia ’ s support of separatist movements ( i . e ., Crimea , Ukraine ).
Finland just celebrated its 100 th anniversary as an independent nation – governed by Sweden from the 13 th century , it became a Grand Duchy in the Russia Empire following the Finnish War ( Feb . 1808 – Sept . 1809 ); in Nov . 1917 , when the Bolsheviks declared the right of self-determination for the peoples of Russia , the Finnish Parliament immediately issued a declaration of independence , voted on and approved by parliament less than a month later . In recent years , the anxiety over Russia ’ s frequently aggressive foreign policy has encouraged the Baltics and Finland to ramp up their defenses ; in January 2017 , 4,500 U . S . soldiers arrived in Poland as part of a NATO operation to reassure its Eastern European allies . In March 2017 , the Swedish government decided to reintroduce military conscription — 4,000 men and women will be called up for service starting January first , 2018 ( BBC ). Citing “[ t ] he Russian illegal annexation of Crimea [ in 2014 ], the conflict in Ukraine and the increased military activity in our neighborhood ” as some of the reasons for the return to conscription , a Swedish government report on defense priorities notes the need to boost Swedish military capabilities , including “ the deteriorating security situation in Europe , particularly in light of the Russian aggression against Ukraine .” Sweden and Finland are not in NATO , but cooperate closely with the alliance ( Nordic neighbors Norway and Denmark are in NATO ). 4 The U . K . sent the first of 800 troops to
4 Most of the 28 EU member states abolished military conscription ; France and the UK have made their armed forces fully professional . Germany suspended conscription in 2011 , but a constitutional provision remains ; there is a current debate taking place about reintroducing some form of national service there . Finland requires all men from the age
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