Originally a duo, the band has expanded and contracted in the 12 years of being and has counted 15 - 20 people along the way.
The band was formed in 1997 by original members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason, their first release was a split 10" with the girl-band Spúnk and saw light in the summer of '98. They were joined a year later by twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir and released two albums as quartet. Following a number of collaborative projects, the group’s celebrated debut album Yesterday was dramatic - today is OK (reissued by Morr Music in October 2005) gained a wealth of glowing press and widespread praise. A remix project, Please Smile My Noise Bleed, also released on the Morr Music label in November 2001.
In 2002, after the release of Finally We Are No One and the extensive first world tour, Gyða left the band to return to her studies in Reykjavík. Shortly after, the third sister Ásthildur Valtýsdóttir joined for singing duties temporarily and Serena Tideman replaced Gyða on cello, for a single European tour. The band's third album, Summer Make Good, a darker and foggier, nautically themed work was released in May 2004, flanked by two singles, Nightly Cares and Dusk Log. By then the ensemble had evolved to include Eiríkur Ólafsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir (who had guest appearances on múm recordings from the beginning) and Ólöf Arnalds. In early 2006, Kristín also left the band after releasing and heavily touring the album Summer Make Good.
The start of 2006 saw the band's creativity start to blossom once again, starting with two remixes Goldfrapp of the tracks ‘Number 1’ and ‘You Never Know’. They followed this with two legendary DJ sets at the FatCat Festival in Belgium in February and SXSW in Austin Texas 2007. With a combination of decks, effects, laptops, toy microphones, old cassette player recordings and vocals, coupled with their own recorded material, strange electronic covers by friends, gypsy folk music and general craziness on stage. They were also subsequently invited DJ at Summer Sonic Festival in Japan as well as be headline act as DJ's in Radio 1’s Rob Da Bank tent at Bestival on the Isle of Wight. In september 2007 múm released Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy which turned out to be the bands last release for the Fatcat Records.
múm has always worked on projects which could be classed as unusual for a pop band or a pop collective. Among their extra curricular activity is their own soundtrack for the classic Sergei Eisenstein film, 'Battleship Potemkin', live performances of which have taken place in Hafnafjordur Iceland, Brooklyn Lyceum New York, and at the distinguished Gijon Film Festival Spain. múm have also composed for theater, most notably two radio theater plays, 'Svefnhjólið' (Sleeping Wheel) by Gyrdir Eliasson which won the Nordic Radio-theater prize and in 2008 Augu þín sáu mig (Your eyes saw me) by poet Sjón (which múm also worked with in 1999 on the operetta Kisa (cat). In 2005 they were invited to Amsterdam by the Holland Festival to collaborate with the National Dutch Chamber Orchestra to create a performance piece based around various compositions of the late avant-garde composer Iannis Xenakis for one of the centre piece shows at the festival.
múm released their fifth studio album, Sing Along to Songs You Don't Know, in August 2009. The collective now consists of founding members Gunnar Örn Tynes and Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason and for touring and recording, this line-up is expanded to include their friends Eiríkur Orri Ólafsson (trumpet / piano/ keyboards), Hildur Guðnadóttir (cello / vocals), Sigurlaug Gísladóttir (Vocals / ukulele/ various), Róbert Reynisson (guitars/ukulele's) and the Finnish Samuli Kosminen (drums / percussion). The musical group sometimes extends to Ólöf Arnalds, Högni Egilsson, Ólafur Björn Ólafsson and Guðbjörg Hlín Guðmundsdóttir as well as a never ending family of friends and musicians who may join at the drop of a hat.
Official website: http://www.mum.is
They Made Frogs Smoke 'Til They Explode
múm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't squeeze it too hard up
Don't mash it up
Ooh, don't pull its legs! They're pulled
Don't squeeze it too hard up
Don't crush it up
Glue it back with little sticks
Put it back into the grass again
If you break a kitten's neck
You must shake its body and check
If it's still alive; be gone to sleep
If you snap it like a twig
Glue it back with little sticks
Put it back into the grass again
The lyrics to múm's song "They Made Frogs Smoke 'Til They Explode" are quite dark and unsettling. The song seems to be a mix of instructions on how to handle animals (frogs and kittens) and a metaphorical illustration of the darker aspects of human behavior. The repetition of the lines "Ooh, don't pull its legs! They're pulled" and "If you snap it like a twig, glue it back with little sticks" creates a sense of unease and discomfort in the listener.
The line about making frogs smoke until they explode is a reference to a real-life experiment conducted in the '60s and '70s in which researchers exposed frogs to different drugs and chemicals to study their effects. The line "If you break a kitten's neck, you must shake its body and check if it's still alive; be gone to sleep" is a deeply disturbing and macabre line that seems to suggest a callous indifference to the suffering of animals.
Overall, the lyrics to "They Made Frogs Smoke 'Til They Explode" seem to be a commentary on the darker aspects of human nature, specifically our tendency to experiment on and abuse animals in the name of scientific progress or entertainment.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh, don't pull its legs! They're pulled
Be gentle with the creature and avoid causing harm
Don't squeeze it too hard up
Avoid applying too much pressure to the creature
Don't crush it up
Be careful not to damage the creature in any way
If you snap it like a twig
If you accidentally break the creature, try to repair it
Glue it back with little sticks
Use small materials to repair the broken creature
Put it back into the grass again
Return the creature to its natural habitat and environment
If you break a kitten's neck
If you harm the kitten in any way
You must shake its body and check
Check if the kitten is still alive and try to revive it
If it's still alive; be gone to sleep
If the kitten is still alive, it will eventually recover and rest
Contributed by Adam L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
slint69
Ooh, don't pull it's legs! They're pulled!
Don't squeeze it too hard up, don't mash it up
Ooh, don't pull it's legs! They're pulled!
Don't squeeze it too hard up, don't crush it up
If you snap it like a twig, glue it back with little sticks
Put it back into the grass again
If you break a kitten's neck, you must shake it's body and check
If it's still alive be gone to sleep
If you snap it like a twig, glue it back with little sticks
Put it back into the grass again
David Firth
Wonderful video for a wonderful song. I'm going to have to get this album on vinyl. Looking at the comments it really amazes me how closed minded some people can be about music. "Oh it's not polished verse chorus verse mainstream pop-rock with a fashionable haircut, how can I ever enjoy it?"
CryingCow
true
ymo
omg i love your videos :)
Smooth Arc Engineering
That's what the bears for..
ouroboro
14 years ago :3 i was 10!!
Smooth Arc Engineering
@ouroboro 14 years ago I was still an old bastard
George Clancy
I remember when this album was new. I was so excited... can't believe 13 years have passed already. Oh time...
Pixel Doll
To this day, I still think múm is one of the most creative bands out there. This is my favorite song by them. (:
Vanessa Parra
+Pixel Doll oh girl you havent listen to animal collective, obviously
Pixel Doll
Vanessa Parra Song recommendation? I'm into weird shit LOL. :)