HYPERBALLOT: ILM Artist Poll #88 -- Björk Resultsness

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.

Desired Constellation is great, feels like a continuation of the Vespertine b-sides

At one point I was so obsessed with that micro glitch sound that I asked Olivier Alary himself what programs he used for the work he did with bjork on vespertine and medulla. Here’s the three programs he was using for the curious:

MAX/MSP: http://www.cycling74.com/
SOUNDHACK: http://www.soundhack.com/
SUPERCOLLIDER www.audiosynth.com/index.html

somehow i think we'll be seeing more homogenic tracks as the countdown continues

xpost

lol i am literally going through max/msp, supercollider, and pure data tutorials at this very moment! good to see i'm about 25 years behind the times

i would be surprised if there are any homogenic tracks that don't place

Xpost: Never used max msp but I know at some point even Johnny Greenwood the guitarist from Radiohead used it for pedal effects so it seems hard as hell to dominate but it seems you can program any sound you’re looking for with it so I don’t think it’s outdated software at all unless something more intuitive comes along.

Autechre have been using MAX/MSP for years. I used it to create some novel midi controller interfaces in the past. Never got into the sound design aspects.

(Taking a little break before the last four today.)

Re:"Immature", for me the definitve version of the song is the 07/08 brass rearrangement. Incredible, powerful sound.

Live performances of desired constellation I’ve seen on youtube she uses what i think is the reactable, which operates on the same principles as max/msp but in a more analogue way. It looks so fun to use.

i should've put "arisen my senses" higher on my ballot

a lot of bjork's music codes as extremely romantic and sensual but i almost feel like she perfected the balance on "arisen." it actually sounds like falling in love to me

^ Yeah, it's almost like the millisecond of lips touching for the first time stretched out to a song length.

hell yeah

I have a belated comment on Heirloom, actually it’s more of a question, are there any other songs whose second half is just a repeat of the first but with the pronouns changed? It’s a simple trick but a really effective one imo, really opens up the dreamy feeling of domestic intimacy to include the listener. So generous, and especially effective as part of a more driving track in between some slower reveries, as Dan said.

I kind of wish Bjork had stuck with this intimate and charming sort of bedroom electropop sound for another album before jumping into medulla.

She should’ve made a full album with Matthew Herbert

at least róisín did

https://cansesclasseled.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/34-i-miss-you.jpg

34. I Miss You (Post, 1995) -- 458 points; 12 votes

great song though it feels like it placed correctly

I think that’s the only Post single I didn’t vote for, feels unfinished

Desired Constellation, Heirloom, Immature - these are all core Bjork songs to me.

god i love this song, my favorite off post. some days that little riff runs through my head all day long

Desire Constellation is such a beautiful beautiful track.

No one can imbue words 'repeatedly' quite like Bjork do it. It's something I can't explain very well, but it's like the word is a whole world into itself.

xpost agreed, it's one of my favorites from Medulla for sure

Also Where Is The Line shreds more than almost any rock guitarist has ever dreamed of shredding.

xp I really like I Miss You too, the combination of the Latin-sounding percussion, hurdy gurdy (?) drone, saxophones and trumpet really make it unique

https://cansesclasseled.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/33-play-dead.jpg

33. Play Dead (The Young Americans soundtrack, 1993) -- 472.5 points; 12 votes

I don't dislike this song or anything, but for me it falls outside the official Bjork canon.

Evidently many disagree. It was top 10 in that alternate poll linked upthread, which perplexes me.

No one can imbue words 'repeatedly' quite like Bjork

When I think of "Desired Constellation" I somehow always hear Kate Bush singing "instinctively."

oh wow i completely forgot about play dead on my ballot! glad to see it place!!

I expected Play Dead to be much higher. It's collaborative, but so much else is (like I Go Humble, which I am giving up hope of seeing place now, it's Bjork singing over an LFO track, and that's great)

Dang, I hoped for "Crying" at #7, not 37. A great life-in-the-city song, with such a magnificent lead up to the chorus.

Hearing 'Play Dead' for the first time now (as far as I can remember). That epic 90s trip-hop vibe. The bass really stands out, makes sense that Jah Wobble was involved (thx wikipedia). Also only recently realized that Jah Wobble is a white British dude.

+ who beat up Nick Kent with a bike chain

https://cansesclasseled.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/32-alarm-call.jpg

32. Alarm Call (Homogenic, 1997) -- 478.5 points; 15 votes

never heard 'Play Dead'

“play dead” ruuuuules

I always get Pluto and Alarm Call confused, since Pluto sounds like it should be called 'Alarm Call'.