* adds Lobo to his buddy list *
Yeah, Sigur Ros is amazing. The first time I listened to them I was like "wtf this is friggin' weird" but then I kept listening to them and just became amazed. They seriously do affect my mood.
They also have a wide variety of music. They have less "timid" music (e.g., the albums Von and Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do) although I don't like that adjective describing Sigur Ros. Every album of theirs is very different, and each album is very cohesive: oftentimes you are listening to the album and not a particular song. Take the album "Takk..." for instance. The songs Takk, Glosoli, Hoppipolla, and Mea Blonsair flow together very well, as is evident in the transition from song to song.
I also think of them as artistic. I'll just talk about one song to try to convince you to listen to them.
The song:
http://www.hi.is/~bjornbjo/sigur_ros-vidrar_vel.mp3So it starts out like nails on glass for like 30 secs. Well, maybe not quite, but sorta like that. Why? Well, they let you take your own meaning from that. When the piano melody starts up I think of a butterfly flying out from underneath a pile of manure. Good spawning from a world of bad. etc. etc.
Then the piano melody goes for a little while and then a different class of instruments are added later which keep it interesting and they go on for a little while and then it builds up... and I feel like I'm in heaven =p.
And then the ending is also artistic, not in the same sense as objective musical beauty but in the sense of poetry. The exceptionally beautiful music that spawns from the soft, consistent piano melody, only lasts for such a short while. And then it gets slaughtered by instruments screwing up and what you'd imagine when a band collapses on stage. This isn't a recording of live music, so you know it's not that. And then it ends all suddenly with the violin. It's like they're teasing you.
And it's interesting how the beautiful melody comes from the piano and the violin makes the last note that ends it.
Anyways, you can take your own meaning from this song. I think it's objectively beautiful and subjectively poetic. And I think this song and that description is an accurate representation of the band.