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Menomena - Under an Hour
"Did you mean: phenomena under an hour" - Google
No I didn't, Mr. Google, not intentionally at least. But if I was lazier than usual, "phenomena under an hour" might suffice as a one sentence summary of this album. Under an Hour, an almost 60-minute instrumental, is a marvelous anomaly. Given its concept and the potential for dullness or artifice, it is unexpectedly enjoyable and surprisingly captivating.
When I first learned that Menomena was going to follow I Am The Fun Blame Monster with an orchestral, three movement soundtrack to a modern dance work, I was quite skeptical. The clips offered on the band's MySpace site were interesting, but they did not allay my fears that the album would be an unlistenable pretension. At best, it might be nice, but boring, worth one listen and then forgotten.
Oh to be so wrong! Sweeping aside my misconceptions on the first play, then growing in beauty with each repeat, Under an Hour is a rare thing: it's a soundtrack that surpasses its role as an accompaniment. It demonstrates that the quirky, experimental I Am The Fun Blame Monster wasn't a fluke and establishes Menomena as a font for all sorts of creative intrigue.
This is not a story from The Onion. Bjork is planning to sail the oceans blue with a laptop to make "muuuzek", boyfriend Matthew Barney and daughter Isadora. She is in the midst of a 10-week training course that will teach her to pilot a 30-ton boat.
Bjork spoke to Contactmusic about her reasons for circumnavigation:
It has always been my ambition. I have homes all over the place at the moment - Iceland, England and France - but I'd love for my home to be a boat so that I can take it wherever I go. The course I'm taking tests whether I have the balls to do this. So I'm having to work hard and behave myself. My life's always changing - I'm constantly looking for new things. I'm never still. My theory is that life on a boat could be great."
With a successful journey, Bjork will join the long list of famous circumnavigators, including Ferdinand Magellan, Joshua Slocum (first solo), and Naomi James (first woman). Good luck and God speed!
Watch Full Sigur Ros Concert
Sigur Ros is currently streaming a full, 132-minute video of their homecoming concert in Reykjavik, Iceland on November 27. The feed is available in Windows media (high/low) or Real Media (high/low). I was very tempted to snag one of those Icelandic Air deals and fly to Reykjavik to see this show. The thought of spending Thanksgiving weekend by myself in Iceland sounded a little lonely so I decided to wait until February to catch SR at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Seeing this video, I wish I would have gone. Oh well.