HYPERBALLOT: ILM Artist Poll #88 -- Björk Resultsness

she always chooses great closing tracks for her albums

she's a master of the closing track

another reason why volta sucks tho

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38. Heirloom (Vespertine, 2001) -- 391 points; 13 votes

beautiful song

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37. Crying (Debut, 1993) -- 408 points; 11 votes

whoaaaaa yes!!! I was certain this was one of those songs that no one really loved but me

this got bumped off my ballot at the last minute but i'm sooo glad it placed. "human behavior" -> "crying" is awesome sequencing

There's no here
and people EVERYWHERE

A song that, like "One Day," took a long time to click with me. Its simplicity was off-putting to me in a period where precisely what I loved about Bjork was her eclectic maximalism. Now, I think it's got maybe the first album's best chorus.

When I first got really into Debut this was my favourite song.

Oceania gets a TOO LOW from me but really I love nearly all these songs. Great to see such a mix of the albums represented so far.

Not often cited as one of her best, "Crying" unlocked Debut for me. I heard her vocal decisions, those keyboards, the harmonies, and thought, "Damn, I can dig this."

Crying feels like the most dated track on Debut, production wise, and was never a big fan of it. The ending is the best part, though. Love the vocal harmonies.

Always thought "Crying" sounded like it could have fit on the last Sugarcubes album. Cool song, though it didn't quite make my ballot

Also, no comments on "Heirloom"? For me, it's the one impenetrable track on that album, as much as I dig the visual energy.

hey i said it was a beautiful song

love crying, especially that piano bassline and the harmonies on the chorus

my #12

it's one of the first vespertine songs that really clicked with me. lyrics seem to summarize the aim of the record xp

pure domestic magical realism

Yeah, the ascending duet harmonizing during the chorus of "Crying" is super spare but still somehow expansive.

I love where Heirloom is placed on the album, coming toward the end between two tracks that are reveries

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36. Immature (Homogenic, 1997) -- 420.5 points; 13 votes

this song came alive for me when i was revisiting everything for this poll. i find it... jazzy? (sorry alfred)

is that the first Homogenic track to place?

Yes, and (spoiler alert) the last.

lol

For a very long time, those were my absolute favorite minutes of Björk, I used to play it on repeat. I haven't really changed my opinion, she tears it apart, the melody behind is deceptively simple, with gorgeous detail, this is a transcendent moment in music for me. At most there are three other Homogenic tracks I'd put in front of it.

The way the layers of sound peel off toward the end until you realize that the sampled bassline is actually in a different key gets me every time.

another one i voted for. possibly the most vespertine-like of the tracks on homogenic, if that makes sense.

i think i thought "immature" was a minor track when i was younger but that might've just been bc of the relative brevity of the lyrics, now it's one of my absolute favorite things she's done. as a drummer i kinda wanna cover it just bc it would be fun to figure out how to approximate the programming, it's so buoyant and loose

Ugh, got the number wrong on that graphic. Ah well, it truly is #36. Don't be fooled.

Oh crap forgot to vote Heirloom, it was my favorite Vespertine track for quite some time. Domestica and Heirloom defined a very precise sound aesthetic for me the early to mid 00s. I kind of wish Bjork had stuck with this intimate and charming sort of bedroom electropop sound for another album before jumping into medulla. I feel like this was her album with the most playful and childlike wonder even above post or debut.

Wanderlust feels like a lost Homogenic song. It’s definitely a Volta highlight... I kind of wish the horn arrangements eere mixed higher in the mix they get swallowed by the beat.

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35. Desired Constellation (Medúlla, 2004) -- 456 points; 13 votes

YEAH

Fitting that it's right next to Immature. Gotta love Matmos for that one (if it's them, but it must be).

Did we still not have any first place votes, Eric?

My brain isn't working. Again, the number on the pic is wrong. (Guess I was just trying to right the wrong.)

xp re the horns in Wanderlust, I agree, I think the horns are what make it great

came across an interview with Encyclopedia Pictura, the creators of the Wanderlust video, and liked their description of it

“Bjork is an archetypal nomad, shepherding giant yaks through the Mountains. She does hydromancy to decide whether to take them down a river or not. A second self, the Painbody Backpack, sprouts from her like a growth and then engages her in an action play which displays their relationship. The force which compelled Bjork to go down river begins to manifest itself in Bjork's head and in the physical world. This character, the Rivergod, is a transcendental attractor which pulls her into the future.”

Did we still not have any first place votes, Eric?

Correct, unless you count the few first-place votes for songs that fell outside of the top 60.

Fitting that it's right next to Immature. Gotta love Matmos for that one (if it's them, but it must be).

― Nabozo, Wednesday, May 9, 2018 11:18 AM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's not, it's olivier alary aka ensemble!

YES DESIRED CONSTELLATION! Too low though

Fitting that it's right next to Immature. Gotta love Matmos for that one (if it's them, but it must be).

― Nabozo

It’s actually Olivier Alary aka Ensemble

damn solid xpost

Have people seen the Arisen My Senses video? It's sort of brilliant but it really made me feel physically queasy

yes it's freaky as hell

Oh you stole my post Brad haha almost same exact wording too. Knock on wood.

one of my fav latter day bjork videos tho xp

love the unnecessary shot of arca

the video for The Gate is pretty great too

Yeah, that one got really close to top 10 in the sidebar poll.

Immature is the only track to place for Homogenic??! wow. I think 6 tracks were on my ballot.