Music Ruined My Life: Sigur Rós : Ára bátur

I’m going to attempt to be somewhat serious and make a couple of confessions:

I may exaggerate a wee bit in my SYFFAL columns and reviews. I don’t care if this diminishes my credibility because probably only two people will read these words. One of those two people will be either Joel or Tim; and they’ll only read it to check my grammar. So for that one person who is reading right now, I love you; even though you know I’m a phony.

For example, Justin Timberlake did not cause me to wear a fedora. I’d look like a complete douche bag in one of those hats. And when I say that a certain song caused me to wet my pants or cry, I never actually shed tears or needed to change my undies. (okay maybe once… I was intoxicated) 

BUT I MUST CONFESS that my eyes welled when I heard Sigur Rós’ Ára bátur, the 7th song off of their outstanding album Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.

Fer realz!

It was the very first time music has done this to me and hopefully not the last. The moment happened almost 8 minutes into the song. Up until this point a slow build complimented by a children's choir was gaining momentum. I could feel the suspense of an overpowering moment about to be unleashed, when all of the sudden, an explosion of horns and strings eruptted. It literally made my heart jump. I could almost hear the shuttering in Jonsi’s voice, but because the song is in Icelandic I had absolutely no idea what he was singing about. Was I feeling his joy? Was I feeling his pain? I didn't know, but it didn’t stop every part of my epidermis from tingling.

This experience reminds of the part in Shawshank Redemption when Andy Dufresne blasts opera music over the prison’s PA system. Morgan Freeman narrates:

I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it.

AND NOW FOR MY GREATEST CONFESSION: I skipped Ára bátur the first 20 times I listened to this album.

I almost missed one of the best songs of my generation because of my inability to be patient. Ironically this is why music ruined my life. I now am patient to a fault, torturing my ears to a shitty album that I should have deleted after track 2. Transversely, it now infuriates me more when people dismiss a certain album, artist, songs, etc. before they even hear a note. Keep listening to FM radio you Ritalin deprived shit heads.

My goal for 2012 is to find a nice balance in my listening habits, and hopefully, my next Ára bátur. In the meantime watch this video for Ára bátur. DON’T fast forward you prick or I’ll kick you in the baby maker with my steel toed boot.