Amina
Animanima

You guys figure that title out yet? It’s a word jumble! I was hoping for more from these Sigur Ros collaborators but it makes a good soundtrack and/or background music, I guess, but everything sounds tiny and not as interesting as the packaging looks. We’ve got strings, bells and organ all washing over each other. There is so much room to move in the world of ambient music that it’s almost daunting, but this one isn’t as exciting as the cover art makes it look like it might be. Even Neil Young tried ambient music a few times; with his Arc/Weld CD and even Trans could fall under the ambient banner. But his most successful being the soundtrack he did for the film Dead Man. Director Jim Jarmoush stuck him in a studio with a few a guitars, a warmed up amp, an old piano and a giant screen on which the film was projected. Young played while he watched the film and it was all recorded live to tape…seemed so easy.

That Neil Young song about Elvis (“He Was The King”) reminded me of a story my mom told me once about going to see Presley in 1956 and being bored out of her mind, just not into it. Mind you, this was pre-fame Elvis Presley when he was one of the personifications of what rock ‘n roll was at that time; cutting edge, even. To make matters worse, her friends that she was with decided they wanted to tail him in their car back to his hotel after the show. They didn’t get very far but squealed and giggled the whole frantic way while my poor mom sat in the back and rolled her eyes. Classic, my mom was a punk. Nowadays she’s into Keith Richards and my dad’s down with the Mississippi All Stars and Bela Fleck. Variety.

Anyway, if anything, your kid will love to fall asleep to Animanima. I sure did. It’s eighteen minutes long. - Andrew Lau