By Evan Ross
If you’re like me you’re about 5 foot 10, love Sour Patch kids, and absolutely cannot concentrate when it comes time to study. This is the worst time of year for students; everybody else is preparing for the holidays while we prepare for the seasonal joy that is exams. I myself have spent the past few days freshening up on European politics, so join me on my journey for songs that will prevent me from smashing my head against the wall while I hit the books.
1) “I Love NYE” – Badly Drawn Boy
I find it much easier to study with music that doesn’t have lyrics, and this track is an instrumental gem off the (excellent) movie soundtrack for About A Boy. A sweet, light piece of music, this is the perfect song to trick you into thinking what you’re about to do is enjoyable. It’s ideal for preparing your soon-to-be disorganized study area, and for convincing yourself that you care about the life of Charles de Gaulle
2) “Eg Anda” – Sigur Ros
If you want music that’s calming and surreal, look no further than Sigur Ros. This songs takes a while to get going, but once it does you’ll feel like you’re in a fairy tale dream world (if fairy tales took place in Robarts Library). It’s perfect for calming pre-exam jitters, when you realize you weren’t paying attention in class nearly as well as you thought.
3) “Michicant” – Bon Iver
Staying calm during the exam period is absolutely essential, and to stay calm you NEED Bon Iver. This song sounds like some sort of lullaby and every time I put it on I imagine myself in front of a fireplace in a cabin somewhere (snuggled with the hipster hunk of my choosing). This song is perfect for getting you into the zone of hardcore memory retention. Once you realize you haven’t actually done any readings this semester and have to do all of them within a 12 hour period, this song might cool you down.
4) “With Your Friends (Long Drive)” – Skrillex Read more…
Shia LaBoeuf’s appearance in filmmaker Alma Har’el’s new video “Fjögur Píanó” is kind of like when your semi-close actor friend invites you to a new experimental play he’s in, and the ENTIRE two-hour performance consists of him in a black robe reminiscing about awkward sex fantasies. On one hand you’re like WTF I DON’T GET IT. But on the other hand you’re like, this is wicked cool because it’s so bold and different.
By this point you’re probably thinking, yea I get what you’re saying but why the hell are you still talking about anything other than Shia LaBoeuf being completely NAKED in the video?
Touche.
Let me start again. Shia LaBoeuf and model Denna Thomsen appear sans clothing in the in the 9-minute film, which was commissioned by Sigur Rós for their new album Valtari. The video is uber serious and artsy, and according to Har’el it “is about addiction to drugs, or sex, or anything – and how you get stuck in a cycle,” he said. “For me, it’s about not knowing how to get out of something without causing pain to somebody else.”
We understand you might watch it solely for Shia’s naked body. But at least appreciate the some of the thought-provoking concepts and trippy cinematography.
Watch it here:
Icelandic acts Bjork and Sigur Ros played a free show Saturday to raise awareness about their country’s natural environment.
The open-air Náttúra concert, which also featured other Icelandic artists, was held in the capital city of Reykjavik and drew more than 10,000 people, according to earthtimes.org.
The event, which was also webcast live on Nat Geo Music (the musical offshoot of National Geographic Entertainment), aimed to draw attention to the increase in aluminium smelting and concerns over its impact on Iceland’s environment, as well as to promote “green” living.
“Too often battles being fought for nature turn into something negative and into mudslinging,” Bjork said in a statement before the show.
“We will not go that way, we are not saying that this and that is forbidden, we are rather asking ‘what about all these other possibilities?’”
