Sigur Rós - Sæglópur

(Some Icelandic gibberish)

Warning: if you don't like listening to long songs (7 minutes) or songs that aren't in English--this may not be for you. If you don't care or are a music explorer, then you might just love "Sæglópur" by Sigur Rós ("Victory Rose"). I highly recommend you at least give it until around 1:53 when the music just explodes only to break down 3 minutes later. It's amazing. Although you can't understand what lead singer Jon Thor Birgisson is singing (unless you're from Iceland), you can still appreciate the vocals. His just takes you out of this world because, well, they sound like they're from out of this world.

Formed in 1994, the band stayed local for a while. In 1999, they decided to breakout and released their first single--"Ný Battery." It was their 3rd album, Ágætis Byrjun that brought about the acclaim they deserved. The album was declared Iceland's Best Album of the Century (take that Björk!). Following that was their fourth album, titled, or rather untitled: ( ). This is one of my favorite albums. It's truly one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard and I could care less that I don't know what Birgisson is saying because he doesn't even know what he's saying. The vocals are recorded in "Hopelandic," which is comprised of meaningless syllables.

I admit Sigur Rós isn't for everyone. It even took me a while to really get used to them and appreciate them. But they are worth appreciating ... even if you can't pronounce any of their titles.