When I saw Sigur Rós at Airwaves this year, I was surprised by the dark imagery that came to mind. I always thought of Sigur Rós as very positive. They are named “Victory Rose” after the singer’s baby sister; even their creepiest-sounding album, Von, means “Hope;” the song “Starálfur” was the sound of wonder reborn in Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; and when I first discovered the band, the lyrics were all in “Hopelandic.” But most of all there is the sound. How can music be dark when it sounds like sunlight shining through ice? Read More
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Discovering the Dark in Sigur Rós’ Valtari Videos
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Sigur Rós’ Challenging Video for Fjögur Píanó
A lot of great art is divisive, but it is the rare piece of art that is divisive within the same person, at least if that person is me. I can only think of a couple of examples in my own life where I came away from a book or film thinking, “That was amazing. I never want to see it again.” Amores Perros is the first example that comes to mind. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is another. The Red Pony is a third. Read More