Jonsi & Alex - Boy 1904
Tired facts about this song from the blogosphere I’ve chosen not to include:
50% of Jonsi & Alex is Sigur Ros’ frontman.
50% of Jonsi & Alex is his BF.
The track features the only known recording of a costrato.
Released a week today is Riceboy Sleeps, debut album from Jonsi & Alex, formerly and confusingly known as Riceboy Sleeps (You may recognise the name if you picked up/piratebay’d the Dark Was The Night compliation, on which they donated an ealier track called ‘Happiness’).
Here’s the PR video promoting the album:
If you found yourself thinking the super8 video of birds and washed out photographs of beaches all a little cliched, you’re not alone. Since THAT Planet Earth ad on the BBC, Sigur Ros were propelled onto the radio and to relative success.
And then everyone had a go, even Sky News; Slow-mo + ambient music = something profound… and a cliche was born. What Boy 1904 shows is that there’s not much wiggle room for innovation in the world of ambient-scenescapey-reverby tweeness. That’s because that’s pretty much all it is; ambience.
The reason this track probably envokes a dreamy landscape in your minds eye is because you’re looking for something else to compliment it, and, just like the video above, that something is the rest of the multi-media cliche you’re used to.
Is it hard to listen to? No. Is it devoid of any musical integrity? No. Is there an hours worth of originality to be had? We’ll see/ almost certainly not.
Alistair
