Music
You don't know the name, but you probably know the music By KRISTA WILKINSON-MIDGLEY Of The Edge Even if you don’t know who Sigur Rós are, chances are you’ll recognize their music. Their song “Hoppipolla” was used in the final scene of the film “We Bought a Zoo,” the trailer for “Slumdog Millionaire,” the theme music to the BBC/Discovery Channel nature series, “Planet Earth,” and even on an episode of “The Simpsons.” This fall, Sigur Rós will make a stop in St. Louis with a performance at 8 p.m. on Oct. 1 as part of the band’s current world tour. Tickets are on sale now. Sigur Rós are best known for creating ethereal, ambient rock music with hauntingly beautiful vocals. The now three-piece Icelandic rock band includes lead singer and guitarist Jón Þór Birgisson, bassist Georg Holm and drummer Orri Páll Dýrason (although they all play multiple instruments.) Former longtime bandmate Kjartan Sveinsson left the group in January. The U.S. leg of this tour follows the June 18 release of the band’s seventh studio album, “Kveikur.” This album features a harder rock sound compared with its predecessor, “Valtari.” This is Sigur Rós’ first album release on new label, XL Recordings worldwide. Fans can stream “Kveikur” in its entirety via Amazon.com. They gave fans a taste of the new album on the American late-night
circuit, performing on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Sigur Rós formed in 1994 in Reykjavik. The band is named after Birgisson’s little sister, Sigurrós, who was born at the same time the band was formed, according to the band’s website at www.sigur-ros.co.uk. The early line up included drummer Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson, who left the band in 1998. The band released their first album, “Von,” in 1997 and quickly followed that up with a remixed version titled“Von brigði” in 1998. But it was the band’s second fulllength album, “Ágætis byrjun” in 1999 that catapulted them to international fame. Critics and fans alike considered the album a masterpiece and Sigur Rós were soon signed to labels in both the U.K. and U.S. The band embarked on their first U.S. tour in the spring of 2001, with many of the dates selling out straight away. In 2002, fans eagerly anticipated the band’s follow up to “Ágætis byrjun.” This came in the form of the untitled album, ( ). In addition to the title, none of the tracks were named and all of the lyrics were sung in “Hopelandic.” Birgisson has previously explained in the press that Hopelandic or Vonlenska as it is known in Icelandic, is essentially a made up language composed of musical sounds rather than words. The band explains it this way on their website: “…it's rather a form of gibberish vocals that fits
For The Edge
Sigur Rós to the music and acts as another instrument. Jónsi likens it with what singers sometimes do when they've decided on the melody but haven't written the lyrics yet. Many languages were considered to be used on ( ), including English, but they decided on Hopelandic.” The band’s fourth, fifth and sixth studio albums, “Takk,” “Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust,” and “Valtari” were released in 2005, 2008 and 2012 respectively. Sigur Rós count a number of
A-list celebrities among their legions of fans worldwide. This includes Brad Pitt, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Gillian Anderson, Jason Lee, Tommy Lee, Natalie Portman, David Bowie, Björk and Moby. And bands such as Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bush, Foo Fighters, Rage Against the Machine, No Doubt, Metallica and Coldplay have all either attended concerts or gone on record to express their appreciation of the band. Gwyneth Paltrow famously even talked
about listening to Sigur Rós during the birth of her and Chris Martin’s daughter, Apple. For more information about Sigur Rós, visit sigur-ros.co.uk Tickets for Sigur Rós at the Fox Theatre are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit MetroTix.com, call (314) 534-1111 or visit the Fox Theatre Box Office at 531 N. Grand Blvd. Ticket prices are $55, $39.50, and $29.50. Prices are subject to change; refer to FabulousFox.com for current pricing.
Tuning in Drake to appear in St. Louis Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum selling, recording artist Drake today announced his 41-city North American WOULD YOU LIKE A TOUR? arena tour in support of his highly anticipated upcoming album release NOTHING WAS THE SAME, due out later this year. The tour starts Wednesday, September 25th at Portland’s Rose Garden Arena and will feature Grammy Award-winning rising R&B star Miguel, who will support on all dates and feature special guests including rapper Future. Tickets for the Live Nation produced tour go are on sale at LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.com. Drake will appear in St. Louis on Oct. 8 at the Scottrade Center. The tour announcement comes as buzz for Drake’s new album NOTHING WAS THE SAME continues to escalate since the release of the album’s first track “Started From The Bottom.” The hit single burned up the charts landing in the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Drake has since released two more songs, “5AM in Toronto” and “Girls Love Beyonce,” directly to fans online OctobersVeryOwn.net.
Wildey to host Verdi's "Falstaff" SpectiCast is bringing Verdi’s comedic masterpiece, "Falstaff," to American cinemas for the first time with this production from the Opéra National de Paris. Directed by Dominique Pitoiset and conducted by Daniel Oren, this production features Ambrogio Maestri in the titular role of Sir John Falstaff with Artur Rucinski and Paolo Fanale. "Falstaff" will be presented at Edwardsville's Wildey Theatre at 3 p.m. on July 7. For ticket information visit www.wildeytheatre.com. Verdi waited forty years to compose a comic opera, "Falstaff," and by 1890 had retired from the stage twice – after Aida and then again after Otello. Fifty years earlier, his first opera buffa, Un giorno de regno, was a complete a flop, and his wife died
during its composition. The failure left him highly embittered. Some think that it was his desire to ward off the ill fortune that appeared in so many of his operas that made him take up his pen again, while others thought it may have been the looming shadow of Shakespeare. However, most believe that it was the libretto written by the talented Boito, inspired by Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor that helped the composer overcome his reluctance at composing a comic opera. Verdi was heard repeating, ““I am having fun…” while composing Falstaff. The eighty year-old composer worked leisurely and felt liberated from the rules. Arias, duets and ensembles merge together in the same musical movement, continuous and boisterous, making Falstaff an unsurpassed operatic comedy that, a century later, resonates with audiences around the world.
Bramblett to appear at the Wildey A jewel of Southern music, Randall Bramblett shines on his latest release, The Bright Spots, due out May 14 on New West Records. Fresh off the inclusion of one of his songs on Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-winning album Slipstream, he has put together a masterful recording soaked with the soulful feel that has defined his music and that of his Southern contemporaries like Gregg Allman and Warren Haynes. From Howlin’ Wolf to Ray Charles and “dark Motown” influences, sitar samples, gospel strains and even a snippet of water-splashing pygmies, The Bright Spots mixes diverse elements that dovetail into Randall’s finest album yet. Bramblett will appear at the Wildey Theatre in downtown Edwardsville at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 12. Tickets are $15 each. For more information, visit http:// www.wildeytheatre.com. Although sometimes associated with the Southern rock scene built around the ’70s-’80s Capricorn label’s core, Randall has never identified with that sound. “Black music is what I grew up loving and the folk scene really hit me too,” he says. “So it’s a combination of Dylan and Ray Charles.”
Elements of pop, soul, blues, and the sounds of the church combine with Randall’s often wistful, beautifully conceived lyrics on these dozen ruminative, roots-based tunes. “Some of the words come from dreams. I do meditations in the morning and write in a journal,” he says. His lyrical strength is mixing unusual thematic concepts with dry humor. That helps explain the album’s upbeat title. “In almost every song there is darkness, yet some thread of humor. The irony of the bright spots is that there is a lot of hurt in these songs and there are the bright spots too. It’s pain and joy simultaneously. There are gifts of desperation.” That takes the form of the lowdown “Whatever That Is,” his most overtly blues composition, and the sing-along gospel of “Shine,” which sports an anthemic chorus different from anything Bramblett has previously written. “I’ve tried to push the boundaries, but we always follow the song and see what it needs. If the song doesn’t like something, it will tell you.” With five songs recorded in Nashville and seven more tracked with his longtime touring band on his home turf in Athens, GA, the multi-instrumentalist (guitar, keyboards, woodwinds) says his ninth studio release was the easiest and most organic to record. “It felt good and went quickly,” he explains. “It just fell together easily compared to my other records. We did not obsess about this one. A lot of it is live in the studio; we didn’t do a lot of takes or overdubs either.” Perhaps that’s because the songs come from the experiences accumulated during his extensive career, starting in the ’70s as a member of the jazzy Southern band Sea Level. Add to that a far-reaching resume of work with artists such as Steve Winwood (for 16 years), Gregg Allman, Chuck Leavell, Levon Helm, Widespread Panic, and Gov’t Mule, and the touchstones of Randall’s music emerge. “All these songs came from my life, just feeling that I’m getting a little older and trying to squeeze out a little more time or creativity before it’s too late.” Having a surfeit of original material to choose from, and highly creative, imaginative musicians in both Nashville and Athens to flesh out the tracks and mold them into bold, soulful statements also helped.
June 27, 2013
On the Edge of the Weekend
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