Sigur Rós A to Z

For the past seven months or so, I have been obsessed with the Icelandic group Sigur Rós. So to educate myself more with this amazing band, I have decided to do a Sigur Rós A to Z. Enjoy!

A is for August 1994, the year Sigur Rós was formed.
A is also for Arni & Kinski, who are responsible for breathtaking Sigur Rós videos such as "Hoppípolla" and "Glósóli".

B is for blindness. Jónsi (Sigur Rós’ lead singer) is blind in one eye since birth.

C is for The Calculation Car (Reiknibíllinn). Sigur Rós did the voices for this Icelandic children’s mathematics video game.

D is for "Dauðlagið" aka Untitled 7 from ( ), which translates to "The Death Song".
[download: Dauðlagið]

E is for Englar Alheimsins, an Icelandic film which featured two songs by Sigur Rós: "Bíum Bíum Bambaló" and "Dánarfregnir Og Jarðarfarir".
[download: Bíum Bíum Bambaló]
[download: Dánarfregnir Og Jarðarfarir]

F is for "Fljúgðu", Sigur Rós’ first recorded song.
F is also for Frakkur, the name of Jónsi’s solo act.

G is for Grammy nominations. Sigur Rós received two Grammy nominations for ( ), best alternative music album and best recording package.

H is for Hopelandic. It is a language invented by Jónsi. All the vocals on ( ) as well as track 7-9 on Takk... are sung in Hopelandic.

I is for Iceland, where the members of Sigur Rós are from.

J is for Jón Þór Birgisson, aka Jónsi, the lead singer of Sigur Rós.

K is for Kjartan Sveinsson, aka Kjarri, who is the only member of Sigur Rós that studied music.

L is for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, a Wes Anderson’s film that featured the song "Starálfur".
[download: Starálfur]

M is for Mosfellsbžr, where Sigur Rós’ converted swimming pool studio is located.

N is for "Njósnavélin" aka "The Spy Machine" aka "Untitled #4". This song is from ( ) and it also appeared in Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky.
[download: Njósnavélin]

O is for "Over The Pond". A song by The Album Leaf in which Jónsi led his vocal on.
[download: Over The Pond]

P is for Natalie Portman, who is a fan of Sigur Rós.

Q is for queer... Jónsi is gay.

R is for Geoff Rickly, lead singer of Thursday, who recorded an amazing cover of "Ný Batterí".
[download: Ný Batterí (Thursday cover)]

S is for Sigurrós, the name of Jónsi’s little sister and where the band’s name came from.

T is for Takk… their forth studio album released in 2005.

U is for unique... Sigur Rós is one of the most unique bands ever!

V is for 'victory rose', the English translation of Sigur Rós.
V is also for Sigur Rós’ first album, Von.

W is for We Are Scientists, who performed a pretty good acoustic cover of "Hoppípolla" live on BBC Radio 1.
[download: Hoppípolla (We Are Scientists cover)]

X is for John X, Sigur Rós’s manager.

Y is for... ummm... y sounds same as icelandic "i" or "í". This is taken straight from the Sigur Rós website, so it is Sigur Rós related.

Z is for "Zephyr", the English translated title for "Andvari" from Takk...
[download: Andvari]

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buy all things Sigur Rós here

Conor Oberst A to Z

I am seeing Bright Eyes at the Massey Hall in in less than 24 hours. It will be my first time seeing a concert there... I can’t wait as I’ve heard many great things about that venue! So anyways, this is just another excuse for me to create another A to Z list, so enjoy.

A is for Amos House Volume II, a compilation disc released by Wishing Tree Records which features the track "Entry Way Song" by Bright Eyes.
A is also for "Amy in the White Coat", a track from the 12" version of There is No Beginning to the Story EP.
[download: Entry Way Song]
[download: Amy in the White Coat]

B is for Bright Eyes, Oberst’s current project.
B is also "Burn Rubber", a b-side from the Take it Easy (Love Nothing) single.
[download: Burn Rubber]

C is for Commander Venus, a band Oberst was in from 1995-1997. Members consisted of Tim Kasher (Cursive/Good Life), Todd Baechle (The Faint), and Robb Nansel (co-founder of Saddle Creek Records).
[download: Commander Venus: Do You Feel At Home?] (full album, rar. file)

D is for Desaparecidos, Oberst's side-project. They released Read Music/Speak Spanish on Saddle Creek Records in 2002.

E is for the Every Day and Every Night EP, released in 2000 between Letting Off The Happiness and Fevers and Mirrors.

F is for February 15, 1980, Oberst’s birthday.
F is also for Fevers and Mirrors, Bright Eyes second full-length which give both the band and their label (Saddle Creek) national as well as world-wide attentions. Oberst dropped out of school shortly after the release of Fevers and Mirrors to go on tours.
[download: Feb. 15th]

G is for "Going for the Gold" from Oh Holy Fools split with Son, Ambulance. A live version of the song was also featured on a compilation entitled Future Soundtrack for America released in 2004 by Barsuk Records.
[download: Going for the Gold]
[download: Going for the Gold (live)]

H is for Home Volume IV, a split with Spoon’s Britt Daniel. The two songs by Bright Eyes were "Spent On Rainy Days" and "Southern State".
[download: Spent On Rainy Days]
[download: Southern State]

I is for I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, one of two albums released by Bright Eyes in January 2006.

J is for "Jetsabel Removes the Undesireables", a track from the Japanese import of Fevers and Mirrors.
[download: Jetsabel Removes the Undesireables]

K is for Tim Kasher, who was in Commander Venus with Oberst.
K is also for "Kathy with a K's Song", a song from Oh Holy Fools split with Son, Ambulance.
[download: Kathy with a K's Song]

L is for Lumberjack Records (1993-1995) (not to be confused with Lumberjack Distribution), the label was founded by a group of friends in Nebraska including Justin Oberst, Robb Nansel, and Mike Mogis which would eventually become Saddle Creek Records in 1996.
L is also for Letting Off The Happiness (1998), the first Bright Eyes record.
L is also for Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground (2002), Oberst’s and Saddle Creek’s first 100K records sales.

M is for Mike Mogis, a co-founder of Saddle Creek Records. He also engineered/produced many Saddle Creek releases including albums by Bright Eyes, The Faint, Jenny Lewis, etc. He is currently a member of Bright Eyes.

N is for Nebraska (Omaha), Oberst’s birthplace.

O is for Oh Holy Fools, a split with Son, Ambulance released in 2001.

P is for Park Ave. Oberst played drums for them from 1996-1998. Their only full-length, When Jamie Went to London, We Broke Up, was released on Urinine Records in 1999. It was repressed by Team Love last year. Park Ave. also featured current members of Tilly and The Wall.
P is also for "Padraic My Prince", my favorite Bright Eyes song.
[download: Padraic My Prince]

Q is for nothing.

R is for "Road to Joy". A song from Bright Eyes' I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. Oberst borrowed the melodies from the forth movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
[download: Road to Joy]
[download: Sym. no. 9 by Beethoven (Ode to Joy)]

S is for Saddle Creek Records.
S is also for Spend An Evening With Saddle Creek, an excellent documentary on the label.

T is for Team Love, Oberst’s record label, an imprint of Saddle Creek.

U is for an "Untitled" track from the Insound Tour Support EP released in 2000.
[download: Untitled]

V is for Vote For Change Tour. Bright Eyes were involved in this tour, which took place in October of 2004 and its aim was to encourage people to vote against George W. Bush in the 2004 Presidential Election.

W is for Water, Oberst’s first cassette (1993) recorded by Ted Stevens (Cursive) on a 4-track in Oberst’s parents’ house. It is also Lumberjack Records’ first release.
[download: Conor Oberst: Water] (full album, rar. file)

X is for nothing.

Y is for "You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will." from Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground.

Z is for... I can never think of anything for Z... damnit!

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buy Bright Eyes releases here
visit Saddle Creek here and Team Love here

Björk A to Z

I hope you all liked my Patrick Wolf A to Z post. If not, here’s another attempt at the A to Z thing, the artist this time is Björk, enjoy!

A is for Army of Me: Remixes and Covers. Released in May of 2005, it is an album which features 20 covers and remixes of Björk’s "Army of Me". Bands and artists from all around the world contributed to this album, including this blog’s favorite: Patrick Wolf!
[download: Army of Me (Army of Klaus Remix by Patrick Wolf)]


B is for Björk, the title for her first solo album. She recorded the album when she was only 11 years old. It includes covers by Stevie Wonder and The Beatles.

C is for "Cvalda", a track from Dancer In The Dark.
[download: Cvalda]

D is for Dancer In The Dark. A film in which Björk won for best actress at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. D is for "Domestica", a b-side on the Pagan Poetry single.
[download: Domestica]

E is for Eiko Ishioka, the director for "Cocoon" video.

F is for Fluke Magimix, the remixed version of "Big Time Sensuality" used in the music video directed by Stéphane Sednaoui. F is also for Foot Soldier, which was released as a b-side on the Hidden Place single.
[download: Big Time Sensuality (The Fluke Magimix)]
[download: Foot Soldier]

G is for Gling-Gló. Released in 1990, it was an album Björk recorded with the Icelandic jazz group Gudmundar Ingólfssonar Trio.

H is for Homogenic, my favorite album by Björk. H is also for "Human Behaviour", the first single from Debut, released in June 1993.

I is for Iceland, where Björk’s from.

J is for The Juniper Tree, Björk’s first acting role. J is also for "Jóga", one of my favorite songs by Björk.
[download: Jòga (String & Vocal Mix)]

K is for Kelis. The r & b artist did a duet with Björk on an alternate version of "Oceania". K is also for "Komið", a bonus on the Japanese version of Medúlla.
[download: Oceania (with Kelis)]
[download: Komið]

L is for is for Björk’s laptop, which influenced Vespertine. Björk explained in the June 2001 issue of Fader: "Vespertine was very influenced by my laptop, and about people being obsessed with Napster and saying it compromised sound and me thinking that was rubbish. Alot of the beats were influenced by me thinking someone could download it and it would sound great."

M is for Madonna’s "Bedtime Stories", a track Björk co-wrote. M is also for "Mother Heroic", a b-side from the Hidden Place single.
[download: Mother Heroic]

N is for November 21, 1965 – Björk’s birthday!

O is for "Oceania", a song off Medulla. Björk performed "Oceania" during the opening ceremony at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

P is for "Play Dead". A non-album track used in the film The Young Americans (1993).

Q is for Q Awards. Björk received the Inspiration Award at the Annual Q Magazine Awards in October 2005.

R is for Rahzel, a beatboxer from the rap group The Roots. Rahzel provides beats for five songs on Medúlla.

S is for Sugercubes. Björk was the lead singer of Sugercubes in the late 80s/early 90s. S is also for Selmasongs, the film soundtrack to Dancer In The Dark.

T is for Thom Yorke. Thom recorded a duet with Björk for the song "I’ve Seen it All", which appeared in the film Dancer In The Dark.
[download: I've Seen It All (with Thom Yorke)]

U is for "Úm Akkeri", the Icelandic version of "The Anchor Song".
[download: Úm Akkeri]

V is for Vespertine, released in 2001. V is also for the beautiful track, "Venus As A Boy".

W is for Paul White, the director of Hunter. W is also for the rap supergroup, Wu-Tang Clan... Wu-Tang’s RZA remixed "Bachelorette".
[download: Bachelorett (RZA Remix)]

X is for X-Files. Björk’s "Hunter" was featured in the X-Files movie soundtrack.

Y is for "You Only Live Twice". A never released song originally intented for a compilation which features covers of various James Bond songs; however, the track was withdrawn by Björk in the end.
[download: You Only Live Twice]

Z is for nothing... again, I can’t think of anything for Z... help!

BONUS b-sides:
Sod Off
So Broken
My Snare
Scary

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buy Björk releases here

z is only reached once by one man in a generation

I stumbled upon two great and innovative lists today:

Sufjan Stevens A to Z and Daryl Palumbo A to Z

Cool eh? Well, I will probably be working on my own A to Z lists to a few artists/bands that I enjoy tremendously. Right now, I am thinking of doing one for Patrick Wolf, Björk, BrandNew, Bright Eyes, Death Cab, Alkaline Trio, and Jawbreaker... suggestions?