Earlier this year I was stunned by the beauty of Jónsi’s in concert at the Pabst. It will be at or very near the top of my annual list of favorite shows of the year. Simply incredible. Tonight, Jónsi will perform a solo concert, webcast live, in video, for an NPR Music webcast (their first). It will also be available to watch in full all day Monday. Find some time to watch.

With that out of the way, I’ve got some CD’s that need a home. Jónsi and Alex, who last year released Riceboy Sleeps also teamed up to create a limited edition CD showcasing their 13 favorite artists. In addition to curating the collection, the duo created the album artwork above. We’ve got five (5) copies of these to give away to good homes. To enter, leave a comment letting us know what songs you’d put on a collection like this. Make sure to leave a valid e-mail address as we’ll be contacting the winners at the end of the week. Here’s the Rain Down My Favorite Songs track list:

1. “The Celebrated Polish Carillon using only the upper three keys of the piano” – Natalia Janotha
2. “Ave Maria” – Alessandro Moreschi
3. “Voggubarnsins Mal”- Smarakvarttinn A Akureyri
4. “Mother’s Last Word To Her Son” – Washington Phillips
5. “Donx Sourire” – Django Reinhardt
6. “The Gypsie Laddie” – John Jacob Niles
7. “I Can’t Believe You’re In Love With Me” – Billie Holiday
8. “Parlez-Moi D’Amour” – Lucienne Boyer
9. “Marche Funebre” – Raoul Pugno
10. “Moon River” – Audrey Hepburn
11. “John Cassavetes (2)” – Ekkehard Elhers
12. “A Candy Coated Slow Down” – John Somers
13. “When You Wish Upon a Star” – Cliff ‘Ukelele Ike’ Edwards

Jónsi plays the Vic Theatre in Chicago on Wednesday, November 3rd. He’s also performing a solo acoustic set that same day at Reckless Records on Broadway at 5:30pm.

Buy: Jónsi – Go

Another beautiful capture by our friends at La Blogotheque, “A trip across Paris in a van. Lost drumsticks. A cafe you’d never expect to visit before the age of 60. An hour of waiting, and then, voilà–a few notes on the harmonium, a grand piano, a heavenly voice.”

Last night was my first live encounter with Iceland’s Sigur Rós. Pretty powerful stuff. Pretty easy to drift off into dreamland too. It was my first time in the Chicago Theatre, beautiful place. I caught the 5am train from the city back to Milwaukee on little sleep. We’ll be reporting from Austin City Limits over the next four days. Sigur Rós photos and proper review coming tonight. Until then, watch some of the gorgeous videos below. Stunning stuff.

Sigur Rós – “Hoppipolla”

Sigur Rós – “Glósóli”

Sigur Rós – “Saeglopur”

Discuss: Have you seen Sigur Rós live? What did you think of their show? What is their best record?

Myspace: Sigur Rós
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Popplagio / The Pop Song”
MP3: Sigur Rós – “Staralfur”

Find more MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

Each Tuesday stop by Muzzle of Bees for our recommended purchases for the week. Here are the albums we suggest for the release date of June 24th:

Artist: Alejandro Escovedo
Album: Real Animal
Label: Back Porch
Myspace: Alejandro Escovedo
MP3: Alejandro Escovedo – “Always A Friend”
Video: Alejandro Escovedo – “Always A Friend” (w/Bruce Springsteen)
Upcoming: 7/3 – Summerfest, Milwaukee, 8/2 – Willow Island, Madison
MoB: Alejandro’s best work to date, period. Following the ups and downs of personal illness only to emerge with such a powerful and timeless record is just about all you can ask for. This will easily find a place on my favorites of the year list. We’re fortunate to have Alejandro through our state a couple times this summer, don’t miss your chance to see him live.

Artist: Sigur Rós
Album: Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Label: Beggars
Myspace: Sigur Rós
MP3: Sigur Ros – “Gobbledigook”
Video: Sigur Rós – “Hoppipolla”
Upcoming: 9/24 – The Chicago Theatre
MoB: Another brilliant offering from the Icelandic wonders. Always combining lush sounds building into something much larger – and beautiful all the way through. A great late night record.

Artist: Hercules & Love Affair
Album: Hercules & Love Affair
Label: Mute
Myspace: Hercules & Love Affair
MP3: Hercules & Love Affair – “Hercules Theme”>
Video: Hercules and Love Affair – “Blind”
Upcoming: 9/14 – Monolith Music Festival, Red Rocks
MoB: Combining electronic and wold music elements into an album sure to appease fans of both genres, making them one of the most talked about and anticipated artists of the year. Their live shows will be the talk of the summer.

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

Have you been streaming the new Sigur Rós record með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust? By all recent accounts the band’s live shows have reached “must see” status.

No Wisconsin date this time around (who remembers their last Wisconsin shows?), but Chicago fans can catch the Icelandic wonders at The Chicago Theatre on Wednesday, Spetember 24th.

Presale: Friday, June 20th @ 9am EST

Myspace: Sigur Rós
MP3: Sigur Ros – “Gobbledigook”

Find MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

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