The Delightful Sigur Ros Trivia Quiz

Answer: Iceland

The home of Bjork, geothermal hot springs, a giant dust cloud and a European banking crisis, Iceland is considered home to the dream pop band, Sigur Ros. Both Bjork and Sigur Ros are far from conventional but this perhaps contributes towards their charm.

The band hail from the capital of the island nation of Iceland, Reykjavik, but their influence has extended far beyond the city, and indeed the country.

Answer: 'Von'

'Von' was the first album released by the Icelandic band, Sigur Ros, and was done so in 1997. Unfortunately, sales didn't go that well in their home country with less than 500 people buying the album and there was virtually no international interest. In later years, when the band became internationally recognised, 'Von' was released once again and the album went platinum in Iceland.

Answer: US cinema and television

The single 'Svefn-g-englar' came from the 1999 album 'Agaetis byrjun', which was also the name of a track on the album. The songs had been played via media around the world but it was through the use of 'Svefn-g-englar' in the film 'Vanilla Sky' (2001) that the band really got their breakthrough.

The ethereal nature of the music of Sigur Ros made it particularly suited to shows which were attempting to create a pensive, sombre atmosphere. Shows such as '24' and 'Queer As Folk' (US) made use of other songs by the Icelandic band.

Answer: Jonsi

Lead singer of Sigur Ros, Jonsi Birgisson, is the reason for the surreal sound of the band's music. With a falsetto voice accompanied by the playing of his guitar with the bow of a cello, Birgisson assured the band would have a unique sound. Known more commonly as simply "Jonsi", the lead singer of Sigur Ros is openly gay and his partner was the designer of a few of the band's album covers.

One of Jonsi's singles, 'Go Do', featured in the ITV coverage of the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup in South Africa. A thirty second extract from the song was used in the queue for the commercial break with the aim of being inspirational.

Answer: "Hopelandic"

When first hearing some of the music of Sigur Ros, one wonders what language the lyrics are in. The songs that are not in Icelandic or English have lyrics formed from the invented language, "Hopelandic". The language is based on Icelandic, but the invention has a more heavenly, mysterious streak.

Answer: 'Hoppipolla'

This is a fantastic track and in many cases it is the song that introduces people to the work of Iceland's Sigur Ros. 'Hoppipolla' is still used in trailers and television broadcasts in the UK and across Europe. The song is used often for inspiration in sports; British coverage of the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup used excerpts of 'Hoppipolla' in their theme. The track was also used in the trailer for the film 'Slumdog Millionaire', the winner of the Best Picture Oscar for films released in 2008.

Chicane released a cover version of 'Hoppipolla' which was called 'Poppiholla'. The cover spent many weeks in the UK top ten and was used in Sky TV broadcasts of the Guinness Premiership for the 2009 to 2010 season.

Answer: Hollywood Bowl

Their performance at the Hollywood Bowl would prove not to be their only visit to the United States, as their popularity continued to increase in later months. Sigur Ros also visited Japan, Hong Kong and New Zealand as well as other countries which demonstrated that their popularity transcended cultural differences.

This could possibly be due to their use of an invented language or due to their unusual style. Even though the band have some Icelandic influences it is difficult to place the origins of their music from the music and lyrics alone.

Answer: No fee

For these concerts there was no fee for those lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. This is because the concerts weren't pre-planned as such and would take place in establishments such as coffee shops. Not a bad deal, a coffee and piece of cake whilst listening to an internationally recognised band play, live!

As an aside, the currency of Iceland is the Icelandic krona (ISK) and not the Euro ().

Answer: Australia

Splendour in the Grass is a festival that is held annually in Byron Bay, Australia, which is a town that is about as far east as you can get on the mainland of the country. With spectacular beaches the town is home to the festival which attracts artists such as Coldplay, Moby and the Arctic Monkeys year in, year out.

Answer: 'Gobbledigook'

Some fans saw this continued separation of the band from their dream pop beginnings as a bit of a risk but from a pure business point of view, opening up the band to new audiences is never a bad thing. 'Gobbledigook' was the first single released across Europe and the USA from the album, 'Meš suš ķ eyrum viš spilum endalaust'. I am not going to try to begin to say it but the translation is given in the question section.

Some wonderful words there with snollygoster giving particular pleasure. It is not in use any longer but was a Victorian word to describe a person obtaining something, or gaining an advantage with no thought to ethics. Maybe city bankers and politicians could be described as a [insert collective noun] of snollygosters!