sigur rós - valtari videos

In September Icelandic Sigur Rós invited a dozen fans, film makers and directors to produce videos for the songs of their latest album Valtari. They all got the same modest budget and were asked to create what ever came into their mind when hearing the music. Click here to see them all.

Here's my favorite.



Sigur Rós - Valtari from Sigur Rós Valtari Mystery Films on Vimeo.


thanks to sophie for the tip.

Friday Feature: Santigold

Santigold, formerly known as Santogold is an artist with an ability to mix different genres. making the music sound unexpected and ,well, genreless. She double-majored in Music and African-American studies and was a singer of a punk group, during which she was offered a solo contract by the same dude, who discovered The Killers. 

With her music Santigold tries to keep it traditional, yet futuristic. It's been well-received by critics, the public and acts such as Björk, Coldplay and Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose shows Santigold has been the opening act for. In addition, she's collaborated with artists like Kanye West, Lykke Li, and co-wrote one of my favorite Lily Allen songs- Littlest Things with Mark Ronson.

There's no doubt that Santigold's uniqueness and diverse talent can be heard on her two albums, of which the  latest was released this spring. Master of My Make-Believe, according to the artist herself, is about creating your own reality. Santigold's music videos do that quite well.

Top 10 Albums of 2012

I knew it wouldn't be easy to find full albums for you to stream. Legal ones so to speak. But thanks to Bandcamp and musicians' better awareness of music streaming, I'm glad to be able to let you hear these great albums. Though, there are a couple, which you need to stream from fan-made playlists. That's not bad. Bad is when a band uploads all the songs, but don't put them in order.

For me a best album is something, which works as an entity. Not all songs have to be out of this world, but they're linked to each other to comprise a masterpiece. The albums chosen below do just that.


10. Chairlift - Something




9. Crystal Castles - III




8. fun. - Some Nights




7. Team Me - To The Treetops!




6. Reptar - Body Faucet




5. Oberhofer - Time Capsules II

Click here to listen.


4. Grimes - Visions




3. Polica - Give You The Ghost




2. Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra - Theatre Is Evil





1. Baroness - Yellow & Green




What were your favorite albums of 2012?

Top 10 Videos of 2012

Normally, I don't have the patience to watch too many music videos, so it was a bit hard to come up with this list. Even harder than my top albums, which is coming tomorrow. However, I was stunned by these videos, which are great in many different ways. Have a look and let me know your favorite 2012 clips! Enjoy.

10. Crystal Castles - Plague

This is made by a fan, which the band liked so much they decided to make it their official video. The footage is from 1981 movie Possession and it's quite distressing.

9. Willis Earl Beal - Evening's Kiss

It's not uncommon for musicians to direct their own videos, but to draw one?

8. Polica - Amongster

Close up footage of animals always does the trick.




7. P!nk - Blow Me (One Last Kiss)

The red used within the black and white is just intriguing.




6. Chairlift - Met Before

This is an interactive video, in which you can choose the path with your arrow keys. There are many twists and endings. In my story the singer died from bee stings. Click here to try yourself.

5. M.I.A. - Bad Girls

This can easily provoke many, but what if this time we'd all just admire the bad-assness of it.




4. The Shins - Simple Song

Never has a story been told this well in a music video. It's highly entertaining and the twist will shock you.




3. Dominant Legs - Make Time For The Boy

I finally had watched Twin Peaks about half a year earlier before this video premiered.


Dominant Legs - "Make Time For The Boy" from stereogum on Vimeo.

2. Grimes - Oblivion

A tight budget results into a tight schedule results into this.




1. Explosions In The Sky - Postcard From 1952

Last year Anna Calvi's Suzanne and I became my all time favorite video. Never ever would I have thought that another video could beat it, let along in the following year. Despite this being 7 minutes long, I had it on repeat for many days. No doubt that this time the video will remain as my all time favorite.



Postcard From 1952 from Explosions in the Sky on Vimeo.


Tomorrow the top albums are up! Remember to let me know your favorite 2012 videos!

Top 10 Songs of 2012

I can't believe it's this time of the year again. 2012 was (is) a great year of music. Many new discoveries, many comebacks and gems from both indie and mainstream acts. It wasn't easy to narrow the best songs into the top 10 and I'm sure you will disagree with some of the choices. Acts such as Crystal Castles, Amanda Palmer, Baroness and Sleigh Bells were close in being on the list. But taste in music is something that is hard to argue on and I hope to see what your favorite songs of this year were! Let me know in the comments below or on the Facebook page. Enjoy.

10. No Doubt - Settle Down

The most anticipated comeback and they do it with style.

9. Paul Banks - The Base

I seem to never get enough of Banks' voice and The Base is truly one of his best songs.




8. Bloc Party - Kettling

How great is it to have this quartet back? Kettling is my favorite tune of their latest album and the energy level in it is amazing.




7. Willis Earl Beal - Evening's Kiss

Evening's Kiss is something that every Elliott Smith fan is able to feel in their bones.




6. Friends - Mind Control

Today's liberals' anthem.




5. Ellie Goulding - Anything Could Happen

It was either this or Goulding's second single Figure 8. Both are catchy, this is just catchier.




4. Haim- Better Off

Quite a sensation these sisters from LA. I'm betting that their debut will be one of my favorite albums of 2013, maybe even the best.




3. Purity Ring - Fineshrine

I dream to see a Justin Timberlake- liked black and white hip hop choreography video for this song.




2. fun. - We Are Young

Trying to figure out what to say about this song. It's fun to sing along to?




1. Grimes - Oblivion

My favorite song of 2012 was decided an hour ago, when I was compiling this list. I could have chosen any other song from the Visions' album or actually a song from any other artist, who makes more sense. But making sense doesn't matter, when you have a well-crafted electro pop tune. See, even that previous sentence doesn't make sense.




Don't forget to let me know your favorite songs of 2012! Tomorrow the best videos are up!

November's Music Box

November has been exceptionally good. Many female musicians and mainstream pop. Aiming for the Christmas market perhaps?

Haim - Don't Save Me

The second video from the LA sisters. Their debut albums is the one I can't wait to have next year.



Haim - Send Me Down

B-side to Don't Save Me.



Ellie Goulding - Figure 8

Second single from the sophomore. That's 2 out of 2 great pop tunes.



Lana Del Rey - Bel Air

Just as I was thinking what happened to LDR, this video came out. Such a beautiful tune, which I can imagine in Edward Scissorhands.



Ke$ha - Die Young

My friend started to freak out when I told her I really liked this song. It's catchy.



Florence and the Machine - Lover to Lover

This is the second video to the song, which really highlights Florence's amazing voice.


Florence and the Machine: Lover to Lover on Nowness.com.

Zola Jesus - Diamonds

Here's the unique Zola Jesus covering Rihanna.



CSS - I've Seen You Drunk Girl

Brazilian electro rockers poppers bringing it.



Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra - Do It With A Rock Star

Not suitable for children and conservatives.



fiN - Lucky You

Britain's Incubus. I think.



Purity Ring - Lofticries

Not their best song, but worth putting here. Can you figure out the video?



fun. - Sleigh Ride

Ending the list with a Christmas song. I dislike people who dislike Christmas songs. Here's fun.'s version of Sleigh Ride.

Friday Feature: White Arrows

It feels surreal to realize when you've seen a band play to a small audience somewhere unexpectedly and the next thing they're supporting some huge indie acts. This happened with LA-based quintet White Arrows. I saw them perform right after our company's band in London. Pretty soon after that they were opening for The Naked and Famous and this December for Santigold.

Usually, the music they play is way more popular in Europe than on the other side, but with them it seems to be the opposite. They can easily be called the American Miike Snow. Their music is full of great electronic pop hooks, and front man Mickey has a voice you can distinguish anywhere. I remember him being a nice guy too, after all he did say my Doors shirt was cool and had Lykke Li on his playlist.

It's interesting to watch the whole band play, they're literally colorful in a psychedelic way. One thing, which stands out though, is the fact that Mickey was born blind, but gained sight when he was 11. His world came alive in a burst of Technicolor light. Perhaps, that works as the base for the band's music.

A £2 million show

Having perhaps one of the most boring New Year's fireworks here in Finland, I was gutted to have missed out on this one in London. The buildings and trees were too high, but at least we heard the music.

When you watch the video below, you'll see why it took so much money to put it up. Or was it just the royalties, which took the most funding? The enormous spending has been questioned by sum due to England's high poverty rate. Perhaps, one day in a year this could be left out of the discussion, or even more by politicians.




Let's see what will happen this year in Manila. I'm guessing a war zone.

Touristic London Pt.3: Fun Fun Fun

If you plan to visit London around Christmas time, head to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. I recommend to do it in the evening, even though it's more crowded then, but the lights are beautiful. Have to warn you though that the place is more Bavarian than English, and for some reason it also has a "Halloween" area in it. See more pictures of the place here.

The M & Ms' world consists of four floors of fun and joy. And delicious expensiveness.

Those who prefer shopping, should check out Westfield. There are two of these huge shopping malls, of which the other is just located next to the Olympic park.

then you lose many customers

a mixture of the eiffel tower and a roller coaster

The equally crowded, but way more intriguing and unique, Camden Market is the place of bohemians and hipsters. And drug addicts, at least some time back. There you can find exciting clothing, pubs and most importantly exotic cuisines. This time though we chose home food, which I recommend to all of you.

tasty food, extremely friendly owner. if you go there, say hi from me!

Touristic London Pt. 2: Museums

The great thing about London is that almost every museum has free entrance. Almost every museum in London is huge and informative. They really differ from each other, and are simply one of the best places to spend your day off.

The Science Museum consists of 4-5 floors. You can find everything from space food to old cars and information on human and animal genetics.

guess how many pics were taken of this guy

little boys mesmerized by the ball too

didn't know how handsome gagarin was

looks like my american friend's food...

a piece of the moon

finnish formula legend's car

The Natural History Museum has loads of old farts, I mean fossils. Those interested in animals and dinosaurs, head here!

reminds me of alien

Visiting Greenwich is like entering a village far away from London. It's so green! There you have the Maritime Museum, which I didn't visit though. But the prime meridian at the Royal Observatory, now that's a must.

like in central europe

walk the line to test how drunk you are

the o2 arena

see the green line? that's the laser version of the meridian