Icelandic rockers Sigur Rós are shedding their sweaters for a worldly jaunt of a summer tour, a timely escape from the upcoming wet season in their homeland. As Iceland is a temperate zone with temperatures huddling between 30-60 degrees Fahrenheit, there isn't a whole lot of fun in the sun (which doesn't set for the months of June or July), though it's no winter wonderland either. I think I'll keep running with this national fact thing for a few more paragraphs.

Iceland is the most developed country in the world according to the Human Development Index, with the 13th longest life expectancy at 81.8 years (Andorra ranks 1st with an overall average of 83.5). The largest city is Reykjavík, with a population of 118,000. Two hundred thousand of the nation's 350,000 citizens are contained within Reykjavík and its greater metropolitan area (a drastically high percentage of these individuals maintain personal blogs).

The largest music festival is Icelandic Airwaves, spanning five days starting the third weekend in October. The first Icelandic Airwaves was held in 1999 in a hangar at the Reykjavík Airport. It has since showcased hundreds of international bands before they were widely recognized in their own countries, such as CYHSY, The Rapture, and The Bravery, as well as a plethora of Icelandic bands.

Icelandic music is traditionally religious and choral, which is why Björk (which pronounced correctly rhymes with "jerk"), müm, and Sigur Rós all sound like sad, harmonious whales. Whale watching, consequently, is a rapidly growing sector of the Icelandic tourism industry.

Sigur Rós see the world:

*Sigur Rós Tour The World. This Is Icelandic, A Language Derivative Of Old Norse