Sigur Ros & Attenborough Vs Bliss n Eso & JBT

Sigur Ros & Attenborough Vs Bliss n Eso & JBT

Sigur Ros and Attenborough (via the BBC) win hands down. It's not all Bliss n Eso's (with John Butler's help) fault though, they were up against it from the outset.

Visually - Even putting aside for one moment the music behind these film-clips (the quality of which is admittedly subjective), in the argument for preserving our planet, having the most expensive documentary ever filmed (in the BBC's Planet Earth) on your side is going to go a long way when it's in competition with file footage that had been spliced together. It's not just the quality of the film itself though, but what it's depicting. Attenborough shows the wonders of nature, without a human in sight. Unspolit landscapes abound, and the fierceness of both the natural and animal world is on display. It is so well captured and the absence of humans only reinforces how small we really are, and how well the Earth copes without our influence.

In contrast, the Bliss n Eso clip shows all the worst traits of humanity and reinforces how destructive people can be. I get that it's confronting, and is making a point, but in trying to convince people to save the planet, the clip only made me think the planet would be better off without any humans. Not least Bliss n Eso.

Musically - It's not that I even disagree with Bliss n Eso and John Butler. They're on the right side, and they're arguing for the right things. It's just that it's so poorly done, that they do their message a disservice. Middle class white musicians from the inner city are never going to convince those that are happy to see the environment destroyed to change their mind. They're preaching to the converted (and even then, turning a lot of them off). Again, it's not even the message itself, but rather the delivery. It is so obvious. The lyrics are about as trite and simplistic as lyrics get. If someone had to write a stereotypical Aussie hip hop song regarding protecting the environment and being cool to each other, they would come up with something very similar to that Bliss n Eso (and John Butler) song. Having said that, I don't really know anything about Bliss n Eso, so I may be being unfair. Still, it's right up John Butler's alley, so the same argument applies to him.

Jonsi from Sigur Ros on the other hand, sings in Icelandic, and occasionally Hopelandic (a combination of Icelandic and a made up language he uses to sing in). If nothing else, this prevents any cringe worthy lyrics ruining what might otherwise be a positive or moving experience. At least, it does for people that don't speak Icelandic.






I suppose I am being a bit harsh.