The Sugarcubes (Sykurmolarnir in Icelandic) were an Icelandic alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992. They received critical and popular acclaim internationally.
They first came to notice in the UK when radio DJ John Peel played “Birthday”, later voted by his listeners as a single of the year. The band’s music was characterized by a psychedelic post-punk sound sometimes reminiscent of The B-52′s, whimsical yet heartfelt lyrics, and the imploring, girlish voice of vocalist Björk Guðmundsdóttir, who later went on to great success as a solo artist. While not as successful as Björk’s solo career would be, the band is still very highly regarded and was the most influential Icelandic group until the rise of Sigur Rós.
The Sugarcubes dissolved in 1992 as different members of the band had realized they all had different ambitions; instead of risking their friendship, the band went on an indefinite hiatus. They remain friends to this day and are all still involved in the management of record label Smekkleysa (Bad Taste Ltd).
Today’s artist of the day is Metric. As detailed in a previous Artist of the Day, Metric is a new age/indie/new wave rock band. Originally formed in 1998 in New York City, they are currently based in Toronto, Ontario and Oakland, California. Their latest album was released last week, entitled Fantasies. The album received a 6.4 on Pitchfork, saying in the new album “there is a dreamy quality here that eschews the vague, easy rhymes and lyrical polemics of past Metric records in favor of romance and sex.”
In the video for his song “Heartless”, he and director Hype Williams take the art of Israeli-American animator Ralph Bakshi and reinvent it entirely for one of the best music videos you’ll see this year.
Director Hype Williams presented the concept to Ye, and they decided to use rotoscoping technology (as in films like Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly)
SOUTH PARK MURDERED ME LAST NIGHT AND IT’S PRETTY FUNNY. IT HURTS MY FEELINGS BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SOUTH PARK! I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON MY EGO THOUGH. HAVING THE CRAZY EGO IS PLAYED OUT AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE AND CAREER. I USE TO USE IT TO BUILD UP MY ESTEEM WHEN NOBODY BELIEVED IN ME. NOW THAT PEOPLE DO BELIEVE AND SUPPORT MY MUSIC AND PRODUCTS THE BEST RESPONSE IS THANK YOU INSTEAD OF “I TOLD YOU SO!!!” IT’S COOL TO TALK SHIT WHEN YOU’RE RAPPING BUT NOT IN REAL LIFE. WHEN YOU MEET LITTLE WAYNE IN PERSON HE’S THE NICEST GUY FOR EXAMPLE. I JUST WANNA BE A DOPER PERSON WHICH STARTS WITH ME NOT ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE HOW DOPE I THINK I AM. I NEED TO JUST GET PAST MYSELF. DROP THE BRAVADO AND JUST MAKE DOPE PRODUCT. EVERYTHING IS NOT THAT SERIOUS. AS LONG AS PEOPLE THINK I ACT LIKE A BITCH THIS TYPE OF SHIT WILL HAPPEN TO ME. I GOT A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF ME TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE I’M NOT ACTUALLY A HUGE DOUCHE BUT I’M UP FOR THE CHALLENGE. I’M SURE THE WRITERS AT SOUTH PARK ARE REALLY NICE PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE. THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DRAW MY CREW. THAT WAS PRETTY FUNNY ALSO!! I’M SURE THERE’S GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THIS… THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW IT’S ME!
The artist of the day is Brooklyn-based Here We Go Magic [ myspace ]. I just picked up their self-titled album off of emusic and I can’t stop listening. The vocals remind me a lot of Paul Simon, but it’s a nice mix of electronic and 70s folksy sounds. Here’s a youtube:
They is playin at Le Poisson Rouge in my new-hometown of NYC on Mar. 3rd, and in my old-home hometown of Bloomington, IN on Mar. 11th at the Cinemat. They are also doing two of the best midwestern music blogs around, Daytrotter and My Old KY Blog. Word.
NB: My friend Mia went a Michel Gondry party once, she is very lucky. I would probably give him a jo if he could teach me the ways of film directing …and of love. Here are some Bjork videos to help set the Michel Gondry love-fest mood:
Is it un-heteronormative of me to be excited by this? I mean, for real, this could be the best bubblegum band ever.
Additionally, I just finished the Watchmen in preparation for the new movie, and I have to say it is an amazing book. Tons of good stuff on destiny vs. free-will, good of the many vs good of the one, and all the political and humanitarian implications of both. All told by interweaving so many good story lines like a gorgeous philosophical fruit basket, and what a brilliant play off of the superhero genre. So much emotional depth too in the relationships and private lives of the heros. Anyways, I highly recommend checking it out.
Bonus: They’ve made a lot of faux tv clips from the alternate universe of the Watchmen. Pretty funny, I love new media advertising!!
The artist of the day is Timothy Lim [ deviant art ]. Though young, Mr. Lim has roared onto the geek-art scene with a rousing series of film noir style movie posters. Here are some favorites:
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