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
When Girls Collide
múm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bits of flesh and eyeballs burning in the night
And when the storm dies down
Pick the pieces up and put them on the ground
And in the bloody tongue
We sing a dirty song
To wish, cuss so bad
But they said, yes they said
It's in your head, it's in your head
And they said, it's in your head
It's in your he-ead, in your he-ead
In your he-ead, in your he-ead
And in the bloody tongue
After the bloody song
But this song is in your head
In your lips and in your head
Yes this song is in your head
It's in your he-ead, in your he-ead
In your he-ead, in your he-ead
It's time to break this bloody spell
It's time to blow shit back to hell
It's time to break this bloody spell
It's time to blow shit back to hell
He-a-e-a-e-a
And they sing in your head
In your head, in your head
And when they sing in your head
In your he-ead, in your he-ead
In your he-ead, in your he-ead
In your he-ead, in your
The lyrics of múm's song "When Girls Collide" present a vivid and intense imagery of a chaotic and violent scenario. The song starts by describing the aftermath of a collision between two girls, where there are body parts scattered around and eyeballs burning in the night. The chaotic scene transforms into a bloody and dirty song that is sung in a language that is not understood by most listeners. The lyrics then shift to a dialogue between the singer and some unknown voices who are trying to convince them that what they are experiencing is just in their head. However, the song concludes with the singer realizing that the song is indeed in their head, and it's time to break the bloody spell and blow the shit back to hell.
The lyrics of "When Girls Collide" convey a lot of different themes that require a deep interpretation. At the surface level, the lyrics present an intense scenario of violence and chaos that is quite unsettling. However, there are many subtle hints and metaphors that convey deeper meanings. For example, the collision between the two girls could represent a conflict or clash between two ideologies, cultures, or even nations. The bloody and dirty song that follows could represent a corrupt or harmful narrative that is being promoted in society, and the singer is finally realizing the harm it's causing.
Line by Line Meaning
When girls collide
When two or more girls come together in a destructive manner
Bits of flesh and eyeballs burning in the night
Violent body parts flying and burning in the darkness when girls collide
And when the storm dies down
When the conflict between the girls is resolved and calmness returns
Pick the pieces up and put them on the ground
Collect and gather the remains of the altercation and lay them down
And in the bloody tongue
The language used during the conflict is aggressive and violent
We sing a dirty song
We express our anger and frustration through a crude and offensive tune
To wish, cuss so bad
To curse and express our desire for bad things to happen
But they said, yes they said
Others have told us that what we experienced is not real
It's in your head, it's in your head
They are dismissing our experiences and emotions as being only in our minds
And in the bloody tongue
Even though the conflict is over, the language used during the altercation still lingers
After the bloody song
Following the violent tune we sang during the conflict
But this song is in your head
The memory of the song remains in our minds
In your lips and in your head
The words of the song we sang in the conflict still echo in our minds and on our lips
Yes this song is in your head
The memory of the song will not go away easily
It's time to break this bloody spell
It is time to end the cycle of violence and aggression
It's time to blow shit back to hell
It is time to fight against the negative emotions and put them back where they belong
And they sing in your head
The memories of the violent conflict still haunt and affect us
And when they sing in your head
When the memories of the conflict resurface
In your he-ead, in your he-ead
These memories and emotions are deeply ingrained in our minds
In your he-ead, in your he-ead
The memories and emotions persist and continue to affect us
Contributed by Jordyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
charlie z
one of their best fucking songs ever and I'm saying that as someone who strongly prefers their first 3 albums and doesn't love "Smilewound" that much. glitch ain't dead! great melodies in that chorus too.
Luis H
damn right
carlos echeverria
Es demasiado hermoso , me produce mucha emoción , es conmovedor , como de otro mundo .
Aloxcar :3
Wey te gusta mum y hablas español :D
tienes facebook?
Lucía Zamora
oh dios ;0 español
Aloxcar :3
jajajaja, si tan solo entendieran lo que dice la letra, es muy gracioso por que antes de traducirla ya tenia la idea de que hablaba de algo así, no quiero hacer espoilers pero es algo así como pumped up kicks... música linda, letra wow!! quizá suba un video subtitulandola
Nicolás Restrepo Torres
Múmoso
carlos echeverria
La letra se puede googlear , pero yo la quiero así sin letra . Para mi representa el bombardeo al palacio de gobierno , el mega hospital abandonado en mi barrio donde ocurrieron crímenes , las bailarinas serian las madres de los detenidos desaparecidos , etc . Es una metáfora a mi gusto .
Nicole Pichardo
This is how I feel when I'm walking alone with music.
Fucsia Junio
Quando as bee colidem ♡