Saturday, February 16, 2008

Sæglópur :: Sigur Ros

Guest Blogger::Kelsey

For this particular post, I was inspired by the depth to which pieces of
music have resonated with all of the bloggers, and the way these songs are
now integral and representative of phases in their lives. I had a moment today, sitting in a coffee shop, listening to Ani's 'Subdivision' and reading Gitfiddler's response for last Sunday's blog, when this song came on and nostalgia hit me full in the chest.

This song, for me, is representative of a time in my life that is now almost over. A time in my life when I made many discoveries about myself and my relationship to those around me through the practice and creation of dance. This song represents a very specific phrase of movement in a very specific class, during a very specific semester, but what I didn't realize until today was that this song now represents to me something deeper, broader, more profound.

Dancing with a group of people can be a very bonding experience in any case, but this work, in particular, forced a kind of trust very quickly and emotionally ripped you apart simply by it's voluminous and exhausting athleticism. Pushing your body beyond its physical limit, while working in tandem with and manipulating other bodies, is a life altering moment that leaves you emotionally bare and raw and discombobulated. (I know that sounds ridiculously corny, but if you've ever ran a marathon, played in some type of intense championship sports match, you understand.) We always did this particular choreography to this song, whic is now forever linked in my brain to that experience.

I hope y'all enjoy this song for its sheer beauty and fluidity, as well as their crazy Icelandic language. Sigur Ros' still unclassifiable musical stylings have reached a wide international audience and allowed them to work with groups like Radiohead and TV shows like PBS' Planet Earth. You can listen to more of their music by clicking HERE



Sæglópur::Sigur Ros

Á lífi
Kominn heim
Sæglópur
á lífi
Kominn heim
það kemur kafari

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

A Lost Seafarer

Alive
Has returned home
A lost seafarer
Alive
Has returned home
A diver comes

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I resent that crazy language comment. I'm from Iceland and this band's lyrics are well known for making no sense. It's been made fun of and everything. Also our language is the closest you can get to the language that was spoken in Northernmost Europe (Scandinavia, Iceland and, if memory serves, also in the UK). That's why some of the words are similar like "Alive" and "á lífi".

.:m-e-g-g-o:. said...

that's my fault...i wrongly edited keley's blog...and in it she had mentioned that the groups lyrics didn't make sense.

it was my editorial error to leave that out.

sorry (kelsey)!