Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
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Free Music Notes for Agaetis Byrjun
Free Music Review: Pronunciation (framburður)... you'll be surprised.
Hit: 5 Stars
This is less a review of _Ágætis Byrjun_ (OW-guy-tis bi-r-yun ['u' is like the "eu" in "deux". 'ow' should rhyme with the "ou" from "loud".]) than a handy guide for those of you who want to be especially snobbish (or "enlightened," ahem) when describing your new favorite ambient wunderband. I have for many years said 'See-gur Rohs' when name-dropping the band. I was surprised to learn when visiting their official website I had been wrong. Here is the scoop: "Sigur Rós; si-ur rose (the 'i' is like the i in "hit". "rose" is said very quickly)." So, no "g" at all. Amaze all your horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing friends with this knowledge. There is a full pronunciation page (http://sigur-ros.co.uk/band/pronunci.php) with the guide to all their most popular song titles and even a "general icelandic pronunciation guide" for those awkward times when you have job interviews with all the Jónsis, Birgissons, Kjartans, and Sveinssons of the world. My two cents: The album is amazing... 'Svefn-g-englar' & 'Starálfur' worth the price of admission alone. Guessing by the timing of my 'review,' most of you looking at this are also contemplating the purchase of _Takk..._ as well, and I could not more strongly recommend it without pulling the debit card out of your pocket for you. It is more traditionally structured (translation: it's got more straight-up songs, man!) but still has all the atmospherics and ethereal soundscapes that made you love them to begin with... so just save yourself the trouble and get 'em all (Von, Ágætis Byrjun, ( ), & Takk...). +=!?Free Music Review: Great Mood Music, If You're Feeling Mysterious
Hit: 5 Stars
This very mysterious band from Iceland offers in this album a seamless masterpiece of haunting mood music. The average song length is around seven minutes, and the songs segue into each other so seamlessly that you perceive this album as an integrated whole, and a continuous flow of sounds and feelings. This mood music can be compared to Enya, a very very laid-back Massive Attack (without most of the beats), or even the quieter and more operatic moments of Nine Inch Nails (without the anger). "Vidrar vel til loftarasa" even reminds me a bit of classic Pink Floyd. Critics will automatically try to draw comparisons to that other famous Icelandic person, but there are some similarities, at least at a high cultural level. The flowing ambient dirges on the album are occasionally, and sometimes jarringly, broken up by strange codas. This includes the scratchy, out-of-tune guitar that pops up a few times in "Staralfur," the loud drums that suddenly appear five minutes into "Ny batteri," or the unexpectedly bluesy organ and harmonica in "Hjartad hamast." The infrequent vocals on this album are apparently sung in the band's own language, a hybrid of Icelandic, English, and who knows what else, that they call "Hopelandic." If you're interested in this group, try to dig up info online, because the sparse booklet with this CD contains just a few illustrations of aliens, and just a little info in Icelandic. So I have a feeling these guys want to remain this mysterious, but that's a perfect image for the intriguing music they have created.Free Music Review: My thoughts on this album
Hit: 5 Stars
Sigur Rós are the best new group these days. In my opinion, Rock & Roll as we all love it, is seriously on its last legs. I think the last great rock group was Nirvana. Today's "rock" that fills the charts and airwaves is senseless turned-up pop. In the void that is left open, new groups with new ideas and innovations and styles step in to fill it. This movement is called Post Rock. Get into it. It may never fill up the radio or charts, but its not meant to really, and it doesn't care. Anyway, at the head of this movement are bands like Godspeed, Fly Pan Am, and (my favorite) Sigur Rós. Sigur Rós come from Iceland and strive to bring the beauty of their homeland into their music. They succeed at it, very very well. Svefn-G-Englar is an unquestionable masterpiece. I will never tire of that song, and I listen to it about 3 times a day (it is 9 minutes). Some interesting innovations of Sigur Rós are: They are Icelandic (may not seem like an accomplishment, but how many Icelandic bands do you know of that are big like them? Yeah besides Bjork.), their singer sings in falsetto, he plays his guitar with a bow (as much as it sounds like it, they did not rip this off of Zeppelin), all their songs are at least 6 minutes, and they pointedly do not sing about romantic topics. But that does not describe the beauty of the music. I do not know if that can be done. Sometimes when I listen to Svefn, it makes me want to cry its so beautiful. This may be the best-spent $... of your life if you buy it. So buy it.Free Music Review: perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
Agaetis Byrjun is one of those albums that no word can describe. maybe "wow". With their debut, Von, Sigur Ros set out as an avant garde band with very abient leanings, some songs being quite atonal and without melody. but on their sophmore effort, agaetis, they have set a new standard for beauty in music. the first thing the listener needs to do when listening to this album is forget all preconceptions of what music should be. this will blow all those ideas away. the haunting beauty of svefn-g-englar is a great example. besides being original and progressive, it is quite possibly one of the catchiest songs ever written. it conjures up images of floating through space, swimming in the arctic ocean, standing at a funeral, and looking at a newborn baby all within the blink of an eye. i could give lists for every single song, but the general idea is that this music is amazingly beautiful and emotional. sigur ros has garnered comparisions to my bloody valentine, radiohead, and the cocteau twins, among others. without taking anything away from the aforementioned, amazing bands, sigur ros blows them out of the water. it takes all of the good elements of those bands and takes them up ten notches. it is impossible to articulately describe their music. . . but the one word that comes to mind is perfection. so this cd is highly recomended. their live show too, they give great concerts. if you want to experience music, not just hear it, and feel what it's like when music is done so right it could bring a tear to your eye, listen to sigur rosFree Music Review: perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
Agaetis Byrjun is one of those albums that no word can describe. maybe "wow". With their debut, Von, Sigur Ros set out as an avant garde band with very abient leanings, some songs being quite atonal and without melody. but on their sophmore effort, agaetis, they have set a new standard for beauty in music. the first thing the listener needs to do when listening to this album is forget all preconceptions of what music should be. this will blow all those ideas away. the haunting beauty of svefn-g-englar is a great example. besides being original and progressive, it is quite possibly one of the catchiest songs ever written. it conjures up images of floating through space, swimming in the arctic ocean, standing at a funeral, and looking at a newborn baby all within the blink of an eye. i could give lists for every single song, but the general idea is that this music is amazingly beautiful and emotional. sigur ros has garnered comparisions to my bloody valentine, radiohead, and the cocteau twins, among others. without taking anything away from the aforementioned, amazing bands, sigur ros blows them out of the water. it takes all of the good elements of those bands and takes them up ten notches. it is impossible to articulately describe their music. . . but the one word that comes to mind is perfection. so this cd is highly recomended. their live show too, they give great concerts. if you want to experience music, not just hear it, and feel what it's like when music is done so right it could bring a tear to your eye, listen to sigur ros