new tegan and sara video, “call it off”

this song is off their latest album “the con.” if you haven’t heard it yet, it’s phenomenal. it has guest performances from kaki king, jason mcgerr and chris walla of death cab for cutie, matt sharp of weezer and the rentals, and hunter burgan of afi.

i love the little expressions that tegan makes when she sings.

directed by angela kendall

i don’t know if it was intentional, but my first thought while watching “call it off” was “this looks like an homage to bjork’s ‘cocoon’ video.” tegan and sara’s video is different and beautiful in it’s own even simpler way. i love that a lot of things that are being created lately are done in a very minimalistic way. that’s including all mediums. people are realizing that less is more. i’m in no way saying that “call it off” is a forgery, hence the word homage, as in, in honor or a tribute. it could also just be a coincidence. both videos have their similarities and differences. i love both artists in different ways as well.

bjork’s cocoon

tegan and sara’s myspace where you can hear more songs from “the con.” they’re all great songs, but i’d recommend at least listening to “the con,” “back in your head,” and “nineteen.”

currently listening to…

medulla by bjork.

this is a very under appreciated album. bjork is a very unorthodox and eccentric artist, and this being her most unorthodox album makes it hard for some people to grasp. the album is predominately a cappella. most of the music is made by either bjork herself vocalizing or other vocalists beatboxing, making noises, and vocalizing. one of those guest vocalists is the great mike patton. mike appears on the song, “pleasure is all mine.” it’s just vocalizing, but those who know him, know it’s him.

for those who are existing fans of bjork this album may not have appealed to you the first time, but give it another chance, let it grow on you. for those of you who aren’t bjork fans, good luck. i wouldn’t wager too much that this album would grab you in the way “post” did for most people getting into bjork. who knows though, give it a shot. my advice would be to ease into this album by way of listening to it last.

if you are not a bjork fan, but are interesting in becoming one, or are just bored with the music you have and are looking for something different. here is the order that i would recommend:

1. post
2. debut
3. homogenic
4. vespertine
5. volta
6. medulla

but like i said, i feel medulla a very under appreciated album. so if you’re feeling brave, knock youself out. otherwise, follow the list. enjoy.

bjork’s myspace

björk and sigur rós náttúra concert footage part 1

here are a few videos that have surfaced so far. they aren’t the national geographic webcast, they’re audience filmed so they’re kind of shaky at times, but this will have to suffice till the real one pops up. i absolutely love to watch björk bang on that drum. she looks so genuinely happy. there’s a real innocence to it like a child that plays with the box instead of the toy that came in it. she’s just wonderful.

update: i received an email from sigur rós saying,

“if you miss the live webcast, there will be an on-demand stream available from National Geographic’s web site next week.”

national geographic

nattura website

national geographic to webcast björk and sigur rós náttúra concert

björk and sigur rós are joining icelandic forces to perform a free concert in their hometown of reykjavik to raise awareness of the destruction of iceland’s natural landscapes.

the concert will be webcast live on saturday june 28th from 7pm-10pm gmt (3pm-6pm est) on national geographic music.

in a recent press statement, the queen of the oddity, björk herself said:

“Too often battles being fought for nature turn into something negative and into mudslinging,” “We will not go that way, we are not saying that this and that is forbidden, we are rather asking ‘what about all these other possibilities?’ The 21st century is not going to be another oil century but rather a century where we need to recycle, think green and design both power plants and our surroundings in harmony with nature.”

both björk and sigur rós have new albums out. björk released “volta” last year, and sigur rós released “Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust” just last tuesday.

visit náttúra’s website for more information.

if you miss the live feed i’ll hunt down the video and post it here if it comes available.

update: i received an email from sigur rós saying,

“if you miss the live webcast, there will be an on-demand stream available from National Geographic’s web site next week.”

björk’s myspace

sigur rós’ myspace

new bjork video… wanderlust

she’s at it again. if you’ve never seen any of her videos this is a pretty good insight into the profoundly eccentric labyrinth that is bjorks mind.

enjoy.