Title: Hoppipola Artist: Sigur Ros Director: Arni and Kinski
One of the greatest opening scenes of The Office involves Jim testing the "Pavlovian Dog Theory" out on Dwight. In short, every time Jim restarts his computer, he offers Dwight an Altoid. Of course, in the end... Jim wins out. Dwight is left high and dry the very moment the "shutting down" sound is heard.
Throughout the past year, I have had trouble sleeping. It could be a new child. It could be various job frustrations. It could be the endless things to "wonder" about. (ha) In anticipating a trip to Germany last fall (that would inevitably further my sleep deprivation), I decided to train myself (Pavlovian style) to fall asleep to a particular song. I mean, wouldn't it be cool to be able to sleep on cue?
Well, as I set forth on this little endeavor it became rather obvious that the song come from the Sigur Rós library. (These guys had already earned a reputation for people falling asleep during their concerts.) The real question was... which song? What song would I be willing to listen to (on repeat) for three straight weeks as I fell asleep? After a quick listen again through Takk..., the answer was obvious...
Hoppipolla.
This was not to diss on the myriad of possibilities (i.e. Glosoli), but a decision to welcome fresh reflection. Hoppipolla. A name and a song that immediately begs a few questions... What does "Hoppipola" mean? What is the inspiration? What are the lyrics about?
Although an inquiry into these questions would prove intriguing, the bottom line is... "Who cares?" It's beautiful. It's mesmerizing. It's "sleepy".
Being that our Icelandic friends have just released their latest album Hvarf Heim, we can expect a few visuals to soon follow. In the meantime, we invite you to enjoy the ironic innocence of the music video Hoppipolla, which we'll let speak for itself.
Enjoy.
-----
Check back soon... as more to come on both Sigur Rós' latest album (Hvarf Heim) and film (Heima).
The following music video (as is true for most of Sigur Rós' videos) is directed by fellow Icelanders' Arni & Kinski. More on this duo here.
After listening, if you have felt you've already seen visuals to this song... you've seen this.
Interestingly Enough... written by Bob Davidson , December 11, 2007
As I was writing the post the other night (and after watching the video again)... I told myself - "you know I can just finish this in the morning... I'm going to bed". I walked towards my bedroom and thought... "I wonder if I really did train myself to sleep to it?"... I laughed at myself because I did not put together that I was too tired to finish the post... so, I don't know... I guess so.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
