oh wait but “arisen my senses” is amazing. it’s like björk’s sade song
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 20 April 2018 02:37 (six years ago) link
I know it's a new fan fave, and I keep waiting for it to open up for me, but it just hasn't.
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Friday, 20 April 2018 02:38 (six years ago) link
Ballot sent! Was definitely in danger of overthinking it if I took any longer...
― Gavin, Leeds, Friday, 20 April 2018 09:48 (six years ago) link
I really love the consistency and the progression of her album covers. All with her face and all without words.
https://i.imgur.com/T52DavH.jpg
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 20 April 2018 11:24 (six years ago) link
Medulla does have the title on it actually - the necklace. I think Post, Vespertine and Biophilia have my favourite covers
― ufo, Friday, 20 April 2018 11:34 (six years ago) link
Ha weird
I never knew what the Biophilia cover looked like until this moment
― nevertheless, he stopped (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 20 April 2018 11:52 (six years ago) link
How many ballots so far, you ask? Eight, the answer.
Don't make me wait 5 years!
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Friday, 20 April 2018 14:20 (six years ago) link
hey I got a whole week, I haven't even started listening!
― sleeve, Friday, 20 April 2018 14:21 (six years ago) link
Same as Sleeve! You'll probably get mine a minute before (or after) the deadline, as per usual.
― lbi's life of limitless european glamour (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 20 April 2018 14:22 (six years ago) link
i'll send mine now! i was gonna try to do remixes but there's just too much!
― challops trap house (Will M.), Friday, 20 April 2018 14:41 (six years ago) link
i'll definitely have one as well, just deciding on the order!
― Karl Malone, Friday, 20 April 2018 15:36 (six years ago) link
I am 20 tracks right now without delving into the post-millennial era (where my relationship with Björk gets iffy).
― Dangleballs and the Ballerina (cryptosicko), Friday, 20 April 2018 15:41 (six years ago) link
Think I should send in my ballot too. I wanted to relisten to stuff I'm less familiar with but I think no matter how many listens I give Biophilia, nothing on there is ever gonna click with me. Did find a few new excellent B-sides in researching for this poll though
― Vinnie, Friday, 20 April 2018 16:25 (six years ago) link
"oceania" is like the patient zero of björk videos where she just wears weird shit on her face/head in roomfuls of cgi
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 20 April 2018 17:44 (six years ago) link
I like "Earth Intruders"!
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 April 2018 17:46 (six years ago) link
(apropos of nothing except some nay-saying above)
"Earth Intruders" is B+ Bjork, to use an Alfred-ism
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Friday, 20 April 2018 18:00 (six years ago) link
also as mentioned earth intruders liberally cribs a section of wendy carlos 'c'est afrique'
utopia is a great record. it's one you can live in, staunchly enviornmental/atmospheric.
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Friday, 20 April 2018 20:46 (six years ago) link
I love environmental/atmospheric records. But for some reason it's the almost-song-but-not-ness of 'Utopia' that keeps me outside looking in. It could portentially be amazing if Bjork wanted to do instrumental-textural-ambient-etc. records, though her voice would be missed. But when she sings without meter and melody, with sort of auto-Bjork-isms that hint at previous melodies without cohering into melody--it just fundamentally fruatrates me. I feel like the track she did for the closong credits of 'Being John Malkovic' presaged that strand that has made up half her work post-Medulla.
― Soundslike, Friday, 20 April 2018 20:52 (six years ago) link
^I definitely can see this point of view. It is sort of an environmental/atmospheric record, but not quite. I think it functions as mood music for me - my favorite kind of music! Every time I listen it feels slightly different
― Dan S, Friday, 20 April 2018 21:21 (six years ago) link
just read Ross's post, I guess what I meant in mine by 'environmental/atmospheric' was more 'ambient', but I like his description.
― Dan S, Friday, 20 April 2018 21:27 (six years ago) link
third attempt with utopia and "arisen my senses" is going on my ballot, it makes me believe i have synesthesia
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 20 April 2018 22:14 (six years ago) link
successive blushes each a different color
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 20 April 2018 22:15 (six years ago) link
it really is a beautiful introduction
― Dan S, Friday, 20 April 2018 22:31 (six years ago) link
first track on utopia barges out the gate, big and bold, love it.
tabula rasa almost brings me to tears
cheers to Dan
oh wow soundslike the track from BJM amphibian is seriously fucking amazing. i hate to say the weakest link on her new records is her voice, ever dove-tailing into the ether, rarely to coalesce into some meaningful melody.
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Friday, 20 April 2018 22:32 (six years ago) link
“amphibian” is maybe the best björk song
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 20 April 2018 22:50 (six years ago) link
Holy tuck is it good
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Saturday, 21 April 2018 00:40 (six years ago) link
― sleeve, Friday, April 20, 2018 9:21 AM (ten hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
same, fam
― 21st savagery fox (m bison), Saturday, 21 April 2018 00:54 (six years ago) link
Now "Future Forever" insists on reminding me of its loveliness just to make things difficult. There are far too many casually excellent Björk songs. I have to confess that while I have most of the records on hand and am pro-Björk in principle, I wasn't initially sure I could name 30 tracks I really truly care about at this stage. Boy is my face red!
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Saturday, 21 April 2018 01:19 (six years ago) link
every time i'm about to give up on utopia "tabula rasa" starts and i'm mesmerized until the end. "saint" and "future forever" in particular
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 21 April 2018 15:29 (six years ago) link
ballot sent
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 21 April 2018 16:06 (six years ago) link
lmao i want to change things already, is it possible to resubmit
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 21 April 2018 16:44 (six years ago) link
i am finally in the right mood for vespertine! and it is the best album in the world
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 21 April 2018 16:54 (six years ago) link
Absolutely accepting revisions until the poll closes. Especially if they involve additions of “Its Not Up To You.”
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Saturday, 21 April 2018 19:33 (six years ago) link
hmmmmmmMMMMM
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 21 April 2018 19:35 (six years ago) link
it's great how i'm obsessed with biophilia now
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Saturday, 21 April 2018 19:48 (six years ago) link
i already liked vespertine quite a bit before this poll, but it's risen up into my top tier, now. Hidden Place through Aurora is such a sustained, strong start to an album, it's ridiculous.
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 21 April 2018 19:54 (six years ago) link
“An echo, a stain” is a gear shift, but it too is an astonishment.
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Saturday, 21 April 2018 19:57 (six years ago) link
it is a perfect album start to finish
― 21st savagery fox (m bison), Saturday, 21 April 2018 19:58 (six years ago) link
relistening for the first time in a while, i honestly can't tell if the chorus melody of "unison" is interpolating something or just sounds so classic that i forgot it came from a bjork song
― lowercase (eric), Saturday, 21 April 2018 20:23 (six years ago) link
not that bjork doesn't have classic melodies but like, in the "this has been around for centuries" kinda way
Vespertine feels like a pivot moment for me, you can see both everything she has done up to that point and everything she will do afterwards - although of course you could also make a case for 'Homogenic' or 'Medulla' in that regard.
IIRC "Sun In My Mouth" is the first time a song on one of her albums feels really unstructured (rather than apparently so but not - e.g. "Headphones" or "All Is Full Of Love").
Without checking, I get the sense that every album thereafter devoted a larger and larger proportion to that approach, although arguably Utopia turns the corner on that. (this is not to say the albums necessarily get worse and worse - i.e. the worst songs on Volta are certainly "structured").
― Tim F, Saturday, 21 April 2018 23:58 (six years ago) link
I dunno, "Sun in my Mouth" feels pretty solid to me.
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Sunday, 22 April 2018 01:00 (six years ago) link
Compared to much of what follows, sure.
― Tim F, Sunday, 22 April 2018 01:29 (six years ago) link
I get the point, it doesn’t seem like there is single repeated melodic phrase on Sun in my Mouth.
every track on Vespertine feels like a classic, it really is an amazing album
― Dan S, Sunday, 22 April 2018 01:37 (six years ago) link
Hey brad, Tabula rasa is great
Like something off the score of Hitchcock’s vertigo
disarming
― after party for the apocalypse (Ross), Sunday, 22 April 2018 02:17 (six years ago) link
Tabula Rasa is definitely one of the best Bjork songs
― Dan S, Sunday, 22 April 2018 02:51 (six years ago) link
I may end up shortlisting this on my remix ballot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RJe4j6J4vU
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Sunday, 22 April 2018 18:58 (six years ago) link
I don't know if that "remix" is working for me, but a Bjork Erykah collaboration could be amazing...
― Soundslike, Sunday, 22 April 2018 19:32 (six years ago) link
Mostly I dig the way the "Play Dead" strings work off the chorus from "Cleva."
― Uppercase (Eric H.), Sunday, 22 April 2018 20:01 (six years ago) link