So Ian and Will are intensely fired up about Sigur Rós. So is Lou, of Heather and Lou. Quoth Ian: “it's sort of impossible to describe; kind of like hearing the universe sing to you in icelandic. it's sad and joyful and fantastic.“ Quoth Lou: “Heather and I saw Sigur Ros tonight at the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor, and they were Fuh-uh-huking amazing. Up until now, I always considered U2 the best show I've ever seen, but I'm not sure if that's true anymore.“ Some Butt Pirate on Amazon says: “If you could see their music... you would see heaven“ So fired up are they, that my wife decided to purchase the CD.
I have now officially listened to Sigur Rós, and all I can say is this: Just Like Heaven. I don't mean that the music sounds just like heaven, as Amazon Butt Pirate suggests. I mean it sounds like the movie, Just Like Heaven. That is, Sigur Rós sounds like Mark Ruffalo, walking down a beach, lost in thought. He's wearing linen pants, rolled up at the cuff, maybe a loose button down shirt, and he's walking along the surf, lost in thought. Sometimes he might break into a run, driven by his passionate, but unfulfilled love for Reese Witherspoon, other times he might slow, stop, and look out at the setting sun, catch a glimpse of her face in its rays, and smile to himself.
Basically what I'm saying, is that is not “impossible to describe.” Nor is it true, as Amazon Butt Pirate suggests “Words will never suffice to adequately describe the music of Sigur Ros.” It sounds exactly like the music that would be produced if you told a class of college music students to imagine what they think angels sound like. It's just a lot of swelling notes, girl voice wailing, and strange background noise. It's not bad, it's not good, it's thoroughly mundane background music. It's like Enya, but not nearly as good. Were it not for the passionante (like Mark Ruffalo) endorsements, I wouldn't have even noticed it coming out of Munk's stereo. It's just completely unremarkable background music that's so repetitive, it often sounds like the CD might be skipping. But, thanks to the passionate endorsements, it does create a fairly unique experience, something like watching a close friend, who you thought you knew, just really getting into, feeling, some elevator muzak. “Damn, man, Kenny G really lights my soul afire.“ “Really? We're really into this?” I try to listen harder, and that just makes it even more background music.
So, while I can't really say that Sigur Rós is good music, I do have to thank Ian, Will and Lou, and I suppose Amazon Butt Pirate, for providing the setup for my laughing uncontrollably for about 15 minutes.