Latest news with #SigurRos
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Bernard O'Shea: Five things I've learned to pretend about in my 40s
1. I pretend I know how to fix things around the house In your 40s, you're expected to have this mystical ability to fix things. Dripping tap? No problem. Wobbly table? I'll just wedge something under it and call it 'stabilising'. Truth is, I have a toolbox that exists purely to intimidate daddy long leg spiders who I'm fairly sure have opened a gym under the stairs. Culturally, Irish dads are supposed to be part-man, part-shed. But I missed that apprenticeship. We all had fathers who could take apart a lawnmower blindfolded using only two spoons and some spit. I once tried to change a light fitting and we ended up in darkness for a few hours. I also once put up a shelf in the bathroom — of which I was massively proud — but my wife keep telling me anyone within earshot: 'He actually said it will be fine — just don't put anything on it!' A recent study (done by someone handier than me) says that self-perceived competence in DIY peaks at age 38 and then plummets sharply — probably around the time you realise there's a very fine line between 'tightening' and 'stripping the screw entirely'. 2. I pretend I still know what music is cool Spotify recently informed me I had streamed Sigur Ros 483 times in one month. That wasn't even a sad month. That was just... a Tuesday. There comes a point in your 40s where all new music sounds like someone trying to sell you protein bars while shouting over a tumble dryer. You nod along when someone mentions Doja Cat, but deep down you're thinking 'Wasn't she in The Animals of Farthing Wood?' In my 20s, I prided myself on my music taste. I had opinions about B-sides. Now I just want something I can hum while I unload the dishwasher. Historically, every generation reaches a musical cutoff. For me, it's somewhere between Arctic Monkeys and whatever the hell hyperpop is. Psychologists refer to this as 'reminiscence bump' — we emotionally bond most with the music from our teens and early 20s. Which is why I nearly wept the last time Teenage Dirtbag came on in a petrol station. 3. I pretend my back is fine There's a specific moment in a man's life — usually just after he's bent down to tie his shoe or retrieve a rogue Lego — when his entire body goes 'No'. I threw my back out recently reaching for a grape. Not a box of grapes. One. Single. Grape. I made a noise like a fax machine being punched (I'm complete aware that anyone under the age of 35 won't know what a 'fax' is) But when asked 'Are you okay?' the only acceptable answer (as a man in his 40s) is: 'Ah yeah, just a bit stiff. Grand though.' Bernard O'Shea: "Culturally, Irish dads are supposed to be part-man, part-shed. But I missed that apprenticeship. We all had fathers who could take apart a lawnmower blindfolded using only two spoons and some spit. I once tried to change a light fitting and we ended up in darkness for a few hours." We lie through gritted teeth while walking like John Wayne in wet corduroy. Historically, men haven't been great at acknowledging pain. Our ancestors fought wolves and famine. I got winded bringing the shopping in. Medically, back pain becomes increasingly common after 40 due to something called 'disc degeneration' — which sounds like a bad DJ name but is actually just ageing bones throwing in the towel. To overcome the pain I just say to myself. 'I'm not old. I'm just… compression sensitive.' 4. I pretend I know what my kids are talking about Modern parenting is like being dropped into a video game you didn't know you downloaded. There are words, abbreviations, trends — and somehow, I'm always the villain. I try to stay up to speed. I read the odd TikTok trend breakdown. I ask careful questions like 'Is Riz good or bad?' But mostly I just smile, nod, and hope someone doesn't point and roar 'He hasn't a clue!' Historically, parents have always been uncool. It's practically our job. But in this age of memes and livestreams, the speed at which you become irrelevant is faster than a teenager slamming a door. According to one study, kids think their parents are officially 'cringe' from age 12 onward. Which is deeply unfair, because that's exactly when I got good at wordplay. 5. I pretend I'm in control of money On the outside, I look composed. Inside, I'm three receipts away from yelling 'WHY DID I SPEND €6 ON KOMBUCHA?' Knowing full well that it isn't going to solve my 'bloating'. (It's possible my large stomach is caused by repeated ingestion of salted caramel ice-cream. However without more scientific study this cannot be 100% proven.) In your 40s, people assume you have a grip on money. You nod at mortgage rates, you say things like 'we'll revisit that in Q3', and you pretend your pension is something other than a shoebox with old Bus Éireann vouchers. Financial adulthood is just constant juggling. Kids, bills, petrol, insurance. Your life essentially becomes a series of direct debits. You're always 'just after paying something off'. As a self-employed person for most of my life I'm still trying to get my head around invoicing. Culturally, Irish people were never raised to talk about money. We were raised to say things like 'Ah, sure we'll make do' while sweating through a budget spreadsheet written on the pack of a till receipt. According to behavioural economists, money shame is real — especially in midlife when you're expected to have it all sorted. But guess what? No one really does. Even your man with the campervan and the laser-cut grass. He's stressed too.
Calgary Herald
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Canadian director Dean DeBlois brings animated How to Train Your Dragon to vibrant life
Article content When Dean DeBlois was told that DreamWorks was considering turning the beloved How to Train Your Dragon animated series into a live-action movie, he thought that his words might come back to haunt him. Article content The Canadian filmmaker had previously told people that he was not a fan of live-action remakes. DeBlois thought he had closed the chapter on the Dragon franchise. He co-wrote and co-directed the 2010 animated original and its two sequels, turning the tale of a Viking teen named Hiccup who forms a bond with a young dragon named Toothless into a beloved and lucrative franchise. He received his fourth Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film in 2020 for the second sequel, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and had moved on to imagining other worlds. But when the prospect of a live-action version came up, he suddenly felt very protective. Article content Article content Turning an animated favourite into a live-action film isn't new, and many have been box-office hits. But recent live-action remakes, including Tim Burton's Dumbo or Guy Ritchie's Aladdin, received mixed reviews despite being in the hands of A-list directors. The live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, released a few months ago, received some scathing reviews. Article content Article content 'My first response was 'OK, I'm going to eat my words,' ' says DeBlois, who was born and raised in Aylmer, Que., before attending Toronto's Sheridan College's prestigious animation program in the late 1980s. 'I had been saying that I was not a fan of this trend, and here it was happening to my movie. I felt a very protective instinct, just knowing where the heart is and knowing the characters and the world so well. I said, 'I know I haven't made a live-action movie, but would you please consider me as the writer-director? I pledge and promise to bring forward the sense of wonder and emotion that comes from that original, so it doesn't end up as yet another soulless remake.' Article content Article content It's true DeBlois did not have a lot of live-action experience – although he did make the 2007 documentary Heima, about the band Sigur Ros – but it's hard to argue with his success in the world of animation. His directorial debut, alongside Chris Sanders, was 2002's Lilo & Stitch. It received an Oscar nod for Best Animated Feature, as did How to Train Your Dragon and its two sequels. Article content The live-action version, which opens Friday, is not a scene-for-scene remake of the original, but it's closer to its source material than the 2010 original is to British author Cressida Cowell's series of children's books that it was loosely based on. Article content When Sanders and DeBlois were asked to adapt Cowell's first book, Dreamworks had already made a few failed attempts to develop a film more faithful to the book. They were given a good deal of creative freedom in interpreting the story. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was CEO of DreamWorks at the time, gave the two filmmakers three mandates and a tight deadline of 15 months. Fifteen months may seem like a long time, but it probably seemed like a split-second when compared to the long gestation period given to most big-budget animated films.
National Post
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Concert news: Blue Rodeo, Sigur Rós and The Beaches all making their way to Edmonton later this year
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Article content Happy news for multiple generations of concert fans as Blue Rodeo, Sigur Rós and Beaches have all just announced separate shows in Edmonton. Article content For stalwart Toronto troubadours Blue Rodeo, their Oct. 4 and 5 Edmonton double header at the Jube is a 40 th anniversary tour kicking off in Calgary Oct. 1-2. Article content The band was actually born in the summer of '84 when Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor started up as a trio with keyboardist Bob Wiseman, releasing the single Try off their Outskirts in October 1987. Article content In the decades since, hits like Hasn't Hit Me Yet, 5 Days in May, Lost Together and the sweeping Diamond Mine have formed a reliable sing-along soundtrack to backyard parties, soft-seaters and folk fest main stages like Edmonton's alike. Article content Tickets for the birthday celebration shows go on sale 10 a.m. Friday at Article content Also on sale the same time at Icelandic post-rock icons Sugar Rós will be joined by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra Nov. 10 at Winspear. Article content At it since '94, the indie cool trio of falsetto lead vocalist and guitarist Jón Þór 'Jónsi' Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson have long been regulars on college radio, getting international acclaim from heavy hitters like Radiohead, Coldplay and the late David Bowie. Article content If you're not familiar with the band, start with 1999's dreamy Ágætis byrjun with the headphones on in the bathtub — this is sure to be a moving night with our accompanying orchestra. Article content While we're here, might as well mention the ESO is playing a couple of programs over four days in its Symphony Under the Sky at Snow Valley Aug. 20-23. Article content Aug. 20 and 22 it's Summer Classics: Beethoven, Mozart & Haydn featuring Beethoven's Symphony No. 8, alternating with Sparkling Festival Hits Aug. 21 and 23 full of orchestral takes of pop, film and Broadway tunes. Article content Article content Article content Coming off dozens of American dates, the Toronto four-piece (who got going in 2013, if we're counting) will be at Edmonton Expo Centre arena Oct. 27. Article content Blame Brett, What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Paranoid and Blow Up are among their party-rock hits, as well as the recently released Last Girls at the Party. Article content
Sydney Morning Herald
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Vivid Live: A triumphant orchestral excursion with Sigur Ros and the SSO
VIVID LIVE SIGUR ROS Opera House Concert Hall, May 23. Also May 24 and 25. Reviewed by ROD YATES ★★★★ Before starting this tour, Icelandic three-piece Sigur Ros were at pains to point out these shows would be more than just a traditional group performance with the backing of an orchestra. Indeed, bassist Georg Holm told this masthead that concertgoers would be seeing 'the orchestral version of the band'. And so it is that when the trio follow British conductor Robert Ames onstage, each member clad uniformly in black, they position themselves among the already seated Sydney Symphony Orchestra, rather than at the front of the stage. The message is clear: Sigur Ros are a part of the ensemble, no more or less important than the 41 musicians surrounding them. It's a point made time and again throughout this two-hour excursion through the band's cinematic, often ethereal catalogue, from the title track of their 1997 debut album Von to material from their latest, 2023's Atta. The rich cellos that usher in Untitled #1 – Vaka lend it a warmer, more sombre gravitas than its recorded counterpart; the rousing oompah climax of the exquisite Se Lest benefits from the added bombast, one of the rare occasions the orchestra takes full-blooded flight. The very presence of the SSO affords the band the opportunity to realise the string-laden Staralfur in all its glory, a feat they long stopped trying in their more traditional live shows. Loading They are masters of navigating dynamic musical ebbs and flows; as Ekki Mukk draws to a close and the orchestra slowly dissipates, Kjartan Sveinsson's haunting keyboard refrain is rendered even more fragile by virtue of the sound that came before it, a contrast that renders the audience completely silent as the notes fade to a whisper. On occasion the songs do tend to blend into one another, vocalist Jonsi Birgisson's majestic falsetto (an instrument in itself) gliding above the sweeping strings. It would, however, be a disservice to label it repetitive – instead the effect is more hypnotic and dreamlike, as though the entire Opera House is one giant, fully immersive sound bath.
The Age
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Vivid Live: A triumphant orchestral excursion with Sigur Ros and the SSO
VIVID LIVE SIGUR ROS Opera House Concert Hall, May 23. Also May 24 and 25. Reviewed by ROD YATES ★★★★ Before starting this tour, Icelandic three-piece Sigur Ros were at pains to point out these shows would be more than just a traditional group performance with the backing of an orchestra. Indeed, bassist Georg Holm told this masthead that concertgoers would be seeing 'the orchestral version of the band'. And so it is that when the trio follow British conductor Robert Ames onstage, each member clad uniformly in black, they position themselves among the already seated Sydney Symphony Orchestra, rather than at the front of the stage. The message is clear: Sigur Ros are a part of the ensemble, no more or less important than the 41 musicians surrounding them. It's a point made time and again throughout this two-hour excursion through the band's cinematic, often ethereal catalogue, from the title track of their 1997 debut album Von to material from their latest, 2023's Atta. The rich cellos that usher in Untitled #1 – Vaka lend it a warmer, more sombre gravitas than its recorded counterpart; the rousing oompah climax of the exquisite Se Lest benefits from the added bombast, one of the rare occasions the orchestra takes full-blooded flight. The very presence of the SSO affords the band the opportunity to realise the string-laden Staralfur in all its glory, a feat they long stopped trying in their more traditional live shows. Loading They are masters of navigating dynamic musical ebbs and flows; as Ekki Mukk draws to a close and the orchestra slowly dissipates, Kjartan Sveinsson's haunting keyboard refrain is rendered even more fragile by virtue of the sound that came before it, a contrast that renders the audience completely silent as the notes fade to a whisper. On occasion the songs do tend to blend into one another, vocalist Jonsi Birgisson's majestic falsetto (an instrument in itself) gliding above the sweeping strings. It would, however, be a disservice to label it repetitive – instead the effect is more hypnotic and dreamlike, as though the entire Opera House is one giant, fully immersive sound bath.
