Guardians of the Galaxy

Just watched this overwhelmingly well received film and I want to say what I think makes it as likable as it is. I got the feeling at times I was watching Star Wars just with different characters and much much more humor. It is essentially a comedy that also has plenty of gorgeous CGI-powered action scenes. But probably the success of the movie lies in it's clever knack of delivering the goods for both adults and kids which is sort of what made Star Wars such a success in the 70's and 80's. The kids will love Rocket and Groot and adults will relate to the 70's and 80's music. All can then

Marvel has again set the standard high for other blockbusters and I wonder if J.J. Abrams is sweating on his upper lip.

My top 10 Bjork songs

10. Mutual Core

09. Unison

08. Crystalline

07. Bachelorette

06. Venus as a Boy

05. Aurora

04. Thunderbolt

03. Hyberballad

02. Isobel

01. Jóga

Why Bjork is one of the most important artist of our time

I recently re-discovered the magic of Björk after having introduced her to my class of Chinese students (who none have ever heard of her). As a person growing up in Iceland and being a teenager in the 90's when Bjork broke out to international stardom, it was hard not to be exposed to her music. I didn't get hooked however until I received the album Homogenic as a Christmas present. I played that album to bits and Bjork became one of my favorite musicians. From her other stuff, I really like Vespertine, where she effortlessly blends organic and electronic sounds. I didn't get so much into Medúlla and Volta however. But with Biophilia and her wide-reaching Biophilia project, it has dawned upon me how brilliant and important she is as an artist.

Her influence on world music has been huge and she has been credited as the first musician to bring electronic music to pop. Her unique style, voice and her desire for challenging conventions all makes her an inspiring figure for people who want to or are making music. Thom Yorke has been quoted saying that her song "Unravel" is the most beautiful song he has heard. And not only is her music ground-breaking, she has also made an art form of visualizing her music in highly imaginative and unique music videos.

Like she has herself described in interviews she is greedy for life. She is very passionate about life and that passion can readily be grasped from her music which incorporates various themes, from Love to The Big Bang.

Pushing the boundaries between music and the natural world has been a long-standing theme for Björk. Never before has she taken that theme to such great heights as on her most recent album which is the ultimate ode to nature. In it, she takes us for a ride through much of the wonders of the natural world, from shifting tectonic plates, to crystals forming in the earth, to lightning, to the phases of the moon and of course how the universe formed. See, Bjork is not just an artist. She is an explorer. A scientist. An inventor.

I love how scientific she is in her approach on Biophilia. It seems she has never lost the child-like curiosity of wanting to understand the world. It's interesting to see this scientific way clash with her big passions expressed through her wide-range voice. And I guess that is where Bjork's attractiveness partly lies. She brings together the natural world and human emotions in her music.


I highly recommend the album Biophilia. For me, it has become one of the most inspiring piece of music that I have had the good luck to encounter. And also watch this great documentary called "When Bjork met Attenborough".

Duglega girtur

Nú er mál að girða sig í brók enda búinn að vera með allt niður um mig síðan fyrir jól. Lífið er áskorun sagði einhver og það er um að gera að gefa sjálfum sér krefjandi áskoranir. 10 plötur sem hafa haft áhrif á mig er of létt og því kynni ég hér:

10 LÖG FRÁ 2014 SEM ÉG MUNDI TAKA MEÐ Í LEIKFIMI.

og ballið byrjar..

Sia - Fire meet Gasoline

Manic Street Preachers - Walk me to the bridge

Talib Kweli - Violations

Royksopp & Robyn - Do it again

Royal Blood - Figure it out

My Brightest Diamond - Pressure

Spoon - Do you

Architecture in Helsinki - I might survive

Broken Bells - Perfect world

Michael Jackson - Slave to the rhythm

Söngdívur

Hér eru tvær söngdívur sem hafa heillað mig upp úr skónum með ljúfum tónum. Fyrst er það hin ameríska Annie Erin Clark, betur þekkt sem St. Vincent með lag sem heitir I Prefer your Love.

Svo er það Lana Del Rey hér í fyrsta laginu af nýju plötu hennar sem heitir Ultraviolence. Þetta vinnur á.

Veep

Ég hef örlítið verið að kynna mér þessa sjónvarpsþætti og horft á nokkra þætti í fyrstu seríu. Mér finnst þeir fyndnir og aldrei að vita nema maður haldi áfram að horfa á ævintýri varaforsetans.

The Fisher King

Ég hafði aldrei gerst svo frægur að stúdera þessa kvikmynd að alvöru. En eftir að hafa horft á hana þá verð ég að koma fram í dagsljósið og mæla með ræmunni. Jeff Bridges og Robin Williams báðir flottir og mynda eitthvert eftirminnilegasta tvíeyki í kvikmyndasögunni. Myndin blandar skemmtilega bráðfyndnum samtölum, karakterstúdíu og hádramatík og útkoman eftirminnileg og áhrifarík.