Song/Music Video Review : Hoppipolla

Smiling

Spinning round and round

Holding hands

The whole world a blur

But you are standing

Soaked

Completely drenched

No rubber boots

Running inside us

Wanting to erupt from the shell

The Wind

An outdoor smell of your hair

I breathe as hard as I can with my nose

Jump into puddles

With no boots on

Completely drenched(Soaked)

With no boots on

And I get a nosebleed

But I always stand up

(Hopelandic)

And I get a nosebleed

But I always stand up

(Hopelandic)

Here's a little dash of Iceland for the blog. Hoppipolla is performed by a group of musicians from Iceland called Sigur Ros (whose concert in Malaysia I sadly miss last year but that's another sad story). This song is probably one of the more radio-friendly songs of the group - hence maybe the popularity, but it does not take anything away from the quality and musicality of the song. Hoppipolla has a very simple premise, both in the song and in the music video : becoming a child again. Even the title roughly translates to "jumping into puddles". But it is the innocent and naive message that the song is conveying that makes it so bittersweet and nostalgic. Because it is something that most of us have stashed away behind books and work and worries to be left to rot. 

For reference, Hopelandic, as often used in Sigur Ros' songs is a constructed language without any semantic meaning that is implemented by the band to allow the listeners to interpret their own meaning- a method also famously used by Yuki Kajiura. 

One couldn't have asked for a better music video to accompany this song. It reflects the childhood nostalgia present in the song from door pranks, wooden swords, young love to stealing pears from the poor oblivious shopkeeper. It has a hint of mischief but also an underlying tone of sadness. The 'children' is this video are not young kids with scraped knees and muddy nails. Perhaps it is a reminder that one can always keep the childhood innocence at heart despite the passing of time. Or perhaps it reflects that sad reality that one can only afford to be a child again when one's time is ending. Who knows. There are many scenes where the shots were purposely taken to make it seem as if it was children running behind fences and jumping around on muddy sidewalks before panning to give the us the full view. I think that is very clever of the director. The scene that hits me the hardest is where they were playing pretend-pirates in the graveyard and did not bat an eyelash at the reminder of death surrounding them.

There is something about a piece of music or art that transcends more than just screaming admiration and stage performances. It brings you to places you thought can only be visited in lysergic dreams and lost childhood. And it is when one encounters such rarity that one actually take a step back and bask in whatever  is left of the moment. Surprisingly, something that one often underestimate. So thank you Sigur Ros, I needed that. And in the spirit of hoppipolla, og ég fæ blóðnasir, en ég stend alltaf upp.

Suffice to say, I am a sobbing mess right now.