Njósnavélin (The Nothing Song) (2002) – Sigur Rós

Posted on August 31, 2023 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

I came across ‘The Nothing Song‘ song some years ago when I watched the final scene in the movie Vanilla Sky. Cameron Crowe, the director of Vanilla Sky has such a great taste in music as seen by the song selections in his movies. He wrote and directed a very underappreciated movie called Almost Famous which is semi-autobiographical as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.

Good on Cameron Crowe for selecting this little-known Icelandic music phenomenon – Sigur Rós to bring home his movie. The version used in the movie is from a never-released concert which took place in Denmark in 2000. The last 15 minutes of Vanilla Sky always moves me, mainly because of how effectively The Nothing Song captures the final lucid-dreaming epiphany of the protagonist.
This is music making at its finest. Njósnavélin (Nothing Song) sounds otherworldly and truly transcendental. It’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.

Essil on
Essil on erifet al
Essil on
Essil on eriftel al
Essil on
(I travelled through light)
(I travelled through light; I am not afraid)
(In this lake of souls)
(In this lake of souls, I lose all fear)

Sigur Rós (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsɪːɣʏrous] (listen) is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, frontman Jónsi’s falsetto vocals, and their use of bowed guitar, Sigur Rós incorporate classical and minimal aesthetic elements. Jónsi’s vocals are sung in Icelandic and non-linguistic vocalisations the band terms Vonlenska. They have released eight studio albums, and attracted critical and commercial attention with their second album Ágætis byrjun.

References:
1. Sigur Rós – Wikipedia