Tonight I’m lucky enough to be seeing Sigur Ros in concert, and I can’t wait.
No, seriously, I literally cannot wait. I want to know how it goes RIGHT NOW. To accomplish this, I thought it might be fun to conduct an interview with my very-near-future self about Sigur Ros’ performance tonight.
So it is with great pride that we present the internet’s first (as far as I know) time travelling interview, with questions posed on October 3rd by “Present me,” and answered on October 4th by “Near future me.”
Present me: Hi! How’s your Tuesday going?
Near future me: Pretty good! Well, actually it’s just about over. It feels weird to be doing blog stuff on a Tuesday. It’s like walking around an empty school in the summer.
PM: Cool. So…how was the show? Describe it for me in precisely 7 words.
NFM: A musical representation of Iceland’s rugged landscape.
PM: Very nice. How did the stage look? Any fancy lighting, pyrotechnics, or traditional Icelandic dancing?
NFM: The fanciest lighting I’ve ever seen at a show. In addition to all the usual lighting rig stuff, there was fluorescent lighting, LED lighting, translucent screens onto which things were projected from the sides and back…it was kind of overwhelmingly awesome. And the projections themselves were pretty other-worldly; one moment you’re seeing some kid frolicking in the grass, the next moment it’s a contour map of a human face, then there’s strobe lights in your face, then a screen gets raised higher, effectively doubling the size of the projections, and you’re watching what seems to be a star imploding. It was intense. Oh, and smoke. Plenty of smoke.
PM: I see. How about the audience? What was the mood? Were there any notably weird people in attendance?
NFM: I would say the audience ranged from age 30 to 70. Plus a couple of twenty-somethings who looked a bit confused, and might have been at the wrong venue. But mostly it was an older crowd, kind of thrilled to be out so late on a weekend, and secretly stifling yawns into their stylish shirtsleeves.
PM: Any songs blow you away?
NFM: Yes. The last one. It’s called “Popplagid” and it gave me chills. The band seemed to get into one of those hypnotized states where they forgot that they were in front of an audience, and by the end they were stumbling off the stage, while a bewildered and grateful audience cheered.
PM: Did they perform “Andvari”?
NFM: Sadly, no. I was a bit embarrassed by how few of the songs I knew. Other people would start cheering two seconds into a song, and I’d be like, “didn’t they just play this one?”
PM: Well, that’s all the time we have. I’ve got to go and become you. Any final thoughts?
NFM: Go to more live music. I know it’s a big effort to go out, but it’s worth it.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The bass often plays more than one note at a time. Which doesn’t sound spectacular, but it’s rare for a bassist to play anything more than the root of the chord. The intervals played on the bass give the song a wonderful melodic anchor.
2. Jonsi’s voice makes me want to have a nap during which I dream about time travel and Icelandic dancing.
3. As the track draws to a close, the strings repeat the same two chords for so long that eventually your breathing almost becomes synchronized with the music.
Recommended listening activity:
Making a time capsule.