Sigur Ros

It's been a lazy day off, which means I've been trying to not be as fired up and opinionated, as that isn't always relaxing. However, being such a lazy day, I have plenty of time to write and blog. I sat down a little while ago to work on some writing, and what better to go with some cathartic writing than Sigur Ros playing in the background. That is when I thought I can be opinionated about relaxing music.

Just as I started this sentence my favorite Sigur Ros song came on, "Inni mer syngur vitleysingur." I have no idea what this means but if I had to guess I would say it means "In my....something." That's all I've got. This is my favorite song becasue anytime I'm feelinng anxious I just listen to this song and it melts everything away, or at least while the song is playing.

I know there is science behind why music can relieve stress and affect our physiology as well as our mental states; I don't know what it is, but I know it works. Sigur Ros has that quality behind them that makes me drift into a dream world. With that said I don't necessarily like to listen to them when doing things like driving. They also aren't the music that I can just listen to with other people around as I dissapear to far into myself. I can listen to them with someone, if and only if we have agreed to just listen to the music, and not try to interact with one another. It's not always easy to find this person, however, as Sigur Ros most definitely can be an acquired taste.

For me it wasn't so much I loved it right away. My first experience with the band was when I was 17 and I was on a Missions Trip with my church in Ensenada Mexico. The boy, whom I had a huge crush on, brought several CD's he had burned for the trip and Saeglopur was on one of them. It came on after a day playing with kids all day at one of the local churches. While driving over the bumpiest roads I've ever been on, the sun was starting to turn the sky pink and the dusty hills orange, and while everyone else talked with the person next to them, I stayed quiet and listened to the music. The song is over five minutes long, and by the time we got back to our campsite, I realized I didn't feel any bumps in the road.

The next morning I asked the boy about the song, which was a rarity for me to talk to a boy whom I liked. He told the whole van about Sigur Ros, whether or not they cared. When I came back from the trip I downloaded the song and a few others. Between the music libraries of my friends Meliss and Joel I was able to collect the rest of their music.

I continue to love Sigur Ros, but that may also be because I save it for a special treat. There are certain moments when they are best to listen to, and I try to keep it that way. It's sort of like Christmas music, it would lose it's novelty to listen to it all year long. I feel the same about Sigur Ros, they are a gem of the dream, electro, psych –– whatever their genre is referred to, and music that I like to keep tucked away for special occasions.