útgáfudagur

Back in the fall of 2002, at the end of another in a string of endless conference calls, I stood up from my desk at work, jumped on the Red Line, and rode the 2 stops to Harvard Square. Inside Newbury Comics, the new Sigur Rós album ( ) was front and center in the store. I bought it and then met my friend Dan for lunch, almost too excited to eat.

At work I listened through the new record 2 or 3 times and then took it back home to listen to it some more. It was, and is, genius, and a brilliant followup to Ágætis byrjun, their second album.

After three years "publishing day" has come again. Instead of the Red Line, this time it was a walk out to my rain-soaked car, my path blown askew by heavy winds from the south. I drove downtown, with Hallgrímskirkja as a beacon, parked on a side street, and got blown sideways again on the way in to 12 Tónar, the best record store perhaps anywhere. My friend there had the new album displayed prominently, was listening to it, and a crowd was huddled around the couches, eagerly discussing it.

I'm about to put the new album, Takk, in the CD player for the first time. I'm savoring a day that doesn't come around often.