HYPERBALLOT: ILM Artist Poll #88 -- Björk Resultsness

my intro to Tricky

"It's Oh So Quiet" was the song that got my attention (late to the party, admittedly), but listening to the album and having it followed by this song in sequence was what caused me to fall in love with her.

yay enjoy!

as of yesterday only 6/30 of my ballot has placed so i am v interested to see today if my tastes are just the most or just the least normie

Of the 15 songs I'm revealing today, I voted for 9 of them, so today is my best day.

For the longest time I thought the downbeat of the song was half a step off, which basically doubled the tempo, like the heavy snare/handclap thing that that's on the 4-and I thought was on the 4, and that the horn stabs were on the off-beat instead of the downbeat (which makes the vocals off-kilter in a way that makes no sense, I don't know how how I heard it this way for so long???)

like i basically thought this was a weird industrial jungle track

It kind of is?

The beat is nice and there's a small shiver when she says "Eeenjoooy", that's about it for me. Glad she never went this way again, probably because it gets muuurdered by Isobel two songs later.

I wish she had done more tracks like this.

https://cansesclasseled.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/29-the-modern-things.jpg

29. The Modern Things (Post, 1995) -- 515.5 points; 16 votes

Nothing really wrong with it per se, but I've always felt this song was the second Hyperballad that comes after Hyperballad.

CUTLERY

and that the horn stabs were on the off-beat instead of the downbeat

Wait, they're not? Where do you hear the kick drum?

Yeah, maybe they should've sequenced "Enjoy" after "Hyperballad."

That said, "The Modern Things" got my enthusiastic vote.

"enjoy," like "crying," fell off my ballot at the last minute (first draft of my list actually ended with "enjoy"/"crying" which i, uh, enjoyed)

"the modern things" is fucking amazing however

https://cansesclasseled.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/28-one-day.jpg

28. One Day (Debut, 1993) -- 521.5 points; 15 votes

THIS IS SEX WITHOUT TOUCHING

i can't believe "one day" beat "come to me" but also "one day" is so good

So far today is the day of 90s tracks I don't particularly care for

Enjoy makes me wish she had done more collaborations with Tricky. were there any others besides Enjoy and Headphones?

xp boo

My original copy of Debut might have excluded "One Day". I see it's on my current thrift store replacement but it still sounds largely unfamiliar!

https://cansesclasseled.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/27-mouths-cradle.jpg

27. Mouth's Cradle (Medúlla, 2004) -- 526 points; 14 votes

my favorite track from Medulla

Ah now we're talking

Wow, happy to see this one!

whoa, didn't expect it to be top 30!

Medulla, even more than her other albums, demands to be played either on good headphones or loudly on speakers. laptop speakers, moderate volumes, and earbuds just don't cut it.

Mouth's Cradle made it !!
Never fails to heighten my mood, with its cascading choir vocals, what dense simplicity, it makes me want to run or ascend mountains. The way the electronic sample starts the song and then doesn't return because the combination of vocals are just so good at keeping the pace. A marvel of composition. Joie de vivre. She should have made another Medulla.

The coda of that song is baptismal.

And unlike a good number of other songs on that album, I couldn't imagine it working in any other form than in its vocals-only conceit.

Looooove Mouth's Cradle. The background choir part is burned into my brain (and I once unintentionally ripped it off for a track, only later realizing what it was from).

"mouth's cradle" >>>>>>>>

https://cansesclasseled.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/26-pluto.jpg

26. Pluto (Homogenic, 1997) -- 543 points; 15 votes; 1 first-place vote

Approval continues

Only the second track with a first place vote, no?

Also: glad to see people glad to see "Mouth's Cradle" placing.

I feel like Pluto could be released today and it would sound totally fresh and at home in the electronic music landscape.

Disapprove. Quite out of place on Homogenic, noisy mess, clearly an inferior version of Declare Independence which at least is great fun.

Yeah, not really sure Bjork was going for *fun* when making "Pluto."

(That "yeah" was in disapproval, not agreement.)

for some reason i've always heard 'Pluto' as an indirect sequel to "There's More to Life Than This", even though they probably don't share much more than a four on the floor beat. the latter is a lighthearted bjork seeking refuge from a party she doesn't care about, wanting to create her own private party on a secluded island in the middle of the night. 'Pluto' IS a private party of sorts, but one of the mind, agonizing and anxious, more like a snake shedding its skin under a rock than anything you'd want to invite anyone else to. love both songs

great image for Pluto btw, Eric (and great work in general, as others have said!). i feel like it catches her in that Pluto moment

karl's posts itt are a delight

Quite out of place on Homogenic, noisy mess, clearly an inferior version of Declare Independence which at least is great fun.

― Nabozo, Thursday, May 10, 2018 9:04 AM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

at last, the worst take

In terms of Björk making a lot of noise, I was a huge fan of the Voltaic live dvd, it revealed her (then-current) vision to me, I would seal off the living room and blast it on my parents' 5.1 system. Some of these songs grew in density to scary and dangerous nuclear reaction levels, Army of Me for example.

i'd be curious to see a ranking of the post-studio albums live albums she puts out for every release.

at last, the worst take
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Thursday, May 10, 2018

Not my fault ILM makes such terrible choices :P :P

xpost <3 Brad

I would seal off the living room and blast it on my parents' 5.1 system.

i've never seen the Voltaic live dvd. ...party at Nabozo's parents house!!

“declare independence” is such a dull slog and i can’t wait to see it not place at all. great video though