My students on Sigur Ros

It looks like I got out of the music-review business at just the right time, because my students (oh yeah, in case I didn't mention it, I'm a teacher now, in China) are better music writers than I am. Here are some reactions to the first track from Sigur Ros' album "( )" written by one of my sophomore writing classes. I wasn't sure how they'd react to weird wordless Icelandic post-rock, but their responses were better than I could ever have imagine...

"The music is quiet, it makes me feel comfortable. I close my eyes, and feel my body become light. I can fly in the sky. I see many clouds. Many little birds are flying freely in the sky. When they see me, they feel excited and come to me. They ask me that if I'd like to go to a beautiful place. I say yes. We start our journey. It's really a long way. Everything on the way are so beautiful that I feel so happy and begin to sing."


"Give me a comfortable feeling, although I don't understand the meaning of the song. It's a sad song. Heart mind and soul. I feel them from this music."


"The low sound of the piano makes me feel calm and feel the paradise of the church, as if I was getting much closer to the Christ and understood the great suffering of his death and the great sanity of his coming back life."


"Nothing can bother me
There are many angels flying in the sky
They are laughing, playing, singing, dancing
I'm the lucky person
Step into the world
My heart is taking a shower
under the sun.
What is the feeling?
Dying in the sun
All thing in my eyes is beautiful."