Rank Bjork's Albums

I don't really know the other ones well enough (I don't own them), but from what I've heard, I'd put Debut and then Medulla last.

Mine:

Vespertine
Homogenic
Post
Medulla
Debut
Selmasongs

now ranking the bjork VIDEOS, that'd be fun.

fronting on post is ridiculous.

Selmasongs

Vespertine

Bachelorette
Hyperballad
Army Of Me
Joga
Human Behaviour
Nature Is Ancient
Isobel
I Miss You
It's Oh So Quiet
Alarm Call
Big Time Sensuality
Venus As A Boy
Violently Happy
Play Dead
Hunter
Possibly Maybe (can't remember it enough)
Hidden Place
Pagan Poetry

anything i forgot stick in the middle (the Lynn Fox video projections for the recent tour look gorgeous)

-- Matthew "Flux" Perpetua

this is almost exactly my take on it, though i'm not sure i'd even bother ranking the new one.

Debut

Homogenic

I'm in a bit of a vicodin haze right now...should I go listen to the album?

I just can't imagine loving something so...cotton candy.

Part of it has to do with tensions I hear that maybe you don't: how e.g. glitches or dissonance might rupture soft 'pretty' melodic and timbral surfaces.

it took seeing the breathtaking Royal Opera House DVD for Vespertine to really 'click' with me, and when it did it was a small bombshell. As well as a 'Well, duh' moment. I don't hear it as glossed over, 'cotton candy' sentimental, superficial or derivative anymore since then.

In fact I think it shares a lot of moments exactly as raw, searching and emotionally exposed as 'Homogenic' (Cocoon, Pagan Poetry, An Echo A Stain and especially Aurora) along with the more familiar loved-up peans to eternal domestic comforts, life and family.

To me it's another fantastic work that came from a not-too enjoyable time in her life very much akin to 'Homogenic', if you're willing to buy into the whole emotional pain=deeper better art theory/cliche I guess.

I think the reason this wasn't picked up on as much of a take on the record is as much a result of her modesty at the time in not making any linking comments re: Lars Von Trier (although she has spoken out a bit more about it now, describing the process of making Dancer In The Dark as like 'having petrol poured on your soul' (approx)) and the fact that the record has a happy ending this time, mirrored by the fact she was very publicly known to be in love again.

I do think a big weakness of the record as a whole is the length, and the 'still' sounding songs (It's Not Up To You, Undo, Harm of Will) which make it feel sprawling and dense compared to her usual albums. The first two of those in particular just felt like re-treads thematically for her and really alienated me from what I feel is the real spirit of the record better captured further in. And as for 'happy endings' again, I think 'Unison' is a charming but unusually indistict closing track by her standards.

I'm definitely glad she's moved on from it though, it would have been a stiflingly pretty, eventually vacant artistic direction to move any further into.

I guess I wrote all that because I'm a huge fan of hers too, and (ridiculously) it really pains me to know that someone else has the trouble I had not 'getting' one of her finest records yet. Or maybe you'll never like it it doesn't really matter :)

1 = Debut/Homogenic/Vespertine
4 = Post/Medulla

interspersed with huge amounts of everything else she's done. Post from the livebox is also far, far more deserving of the acclaim for that record and time and carries the sentiment, and sense of adventure a little better than the studio record I think.

6 = Selmasongs :(
(me too)

The only song I can actually stand on that record is "Heirloom."

so, for me, its:

homogenic
vespertine

and then the rest I like more or less about the same. Medulla is an admirable record but I don't listen to it much.

I love the first sugarcubes album although they are a band served best by the greatest hits collection.

[oh sod it, the rest]

There was no discussion of Voltaic on ILM?

wait what's Voltaic? not volta? News about the upcoming Björk album Volta.

Best first:

Homogenic
Medulla
Post
Vespertine
Debut
Volta

Homogenic
the song "Ruby Baby"
Debut
Post
Volta
Vespertine
Medulla

Medulla
Vespertine
Homogenic
Debut
Post
Volta

Post
Homogenic
Debut
Vespertine
Volta
Medulla

Homogenic
Post
Debut
Vespertine
Selmasongs
Medulla
.
.
.
Volta

Homogenic
Post
Debut
.
.
.
Medulla
.
.
.
Volta
.
.
.
.
(the cruel depths of hell)
Vespertine
Selmasongs

debut > post

congratulation to the five or so posters who got this right itt

Homogenic
Debut
Post
Vespertine
-----------
then i gave up on bjork

(the cruel depths of hell)
Vespertine

SO RONG...

Life's Too Good
Post
Homogenic
Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!
It's It
Selmasongs
Gling Glo
Telegram
Medulla
Vespertine
Debut
Volta
Stick Around For Joy

though
"All Is Full Of Love" was redeemed by the Plaid remix and the video, but doesn't do anything for me on the album.

is OTM

I'm convinced I'm the only one who prefers the album mix of AIFOL to any of the remixes. To the point I'd watch the music video with the album version cued up.

:(

Wrong Eric H., I prefer it too

According to a press release, Biophilia consists of "a studio album, apps, a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live shows and educational workshops," not to mention a documentary film

And previously reported, Björk is currently in the middle of the first run of Biophilia shows, taking place at the Manchester International Festival in Manchester, England. This is indicative of the way she intends to tour behind the album. Over the next three years, she plans to play six-week residencies in eight cities, all at intimate venues, to audiences of less than 2,000. At these performances, she'll use the apps to perform Biophilia in full twice a week. During her residencies, the venues will also collaborate with local schools to host music-education workshops.

http://pitchfork.com/news/43032-bjork-reveals-full-scope-of-ibiophiliai/ jeez whoa wtf

I just prefer Bjork getting urgent to her being cooey cute a la Debut.

This binary doesn't exist with Bjork -- most of her work is urgent when it's most cute. I'm still fond of Debut because it finds her wrestling, for the last time, with the production du jour and injecting enough personality. It's almost a covers album! But if by cute you mean "The Anchor Song," "Venus as a Boy," "Come to Me" -- man, she's got descendants on every album!

Twin musical Tesla Coils.

Can I just say at this point, I don't care what the album sounds like. Any album featuring musical tesla coils is automatically the best album of all time.

just saw the "Biophilia" concert in Manchester

it was fucking amazing

highly, highly recommended

she plays in the round, with a choir, with lots of custom-built instruments

and voiceover from Sir Richard Attenborough

and she sings her ass off

ayo eric i also prefer the album version of "all is full of love" because it sounds like it's trying to reach us from another room

and then it succeeds

She is actually getting reviews in, like, New Scientist for this.

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2011/07/sparks-fly-at-bjorks-new-show-biophilia.html

This is the first album Bjork has released since I've really gotten into her and I'm p psyched to be able to follow it. Also one of those residencies SHOULD be in NYC, right? Right??? Maybe this will make up for Seefeel cancelling their tour...

the dude who built her new live toys has a blog: http://andycavatorta.com/

homogenic
debut
post
vespertine
---
---
the others

I clicked Stan's link before bed last night, then dreamt I went and saw the show.
In my dream, it was awesome and I started crying almost immediately as soon as she walked on stage.

I definitely rank vespertine at the top but these were tipped by the live versions of the songs from that album in the Volta shows with all the strings rescored for brass. Magic.

my ranking

vespertine - FUCKING AMAZING
homogenic - amazing
medulla - mostly great, a bit hit or miss
selmasongs - very good
post - pretty good, but never got the hype as to why it's one of her best
debut - quite patchy
volta - mostly zzzzzzz

think that's it. i haven't played telegram more than once (cant even remember it) and never heard Drawing Restraint 9

Telegram is a remix collection, based on "Post" (gettit?)

In my drawer here is Debut, a dual sided disc with DVD content. 5.1 mix and a bunch of vids.

VESPERTINE
(big gap)
HOMOGENIC
MEDULLA
POST
VOLTA/SELMA
DEBUT

New one leaked. Wasn't really feeling it at first, but the second half is surprisingly strong.

She keeps repeating that trick in "Crystalline" where the tinkly, xylophone/celeste/harpsichord whimsy gets crashed by industrial beats, but it seems to work better in "Sacrifice" and "Mutual Core."

(I guess that trick sort of dates back to "Hyper-Ballad.")

AAAAHHH I HAVE TO HEAR THIS NOW

as usual, i have no idea which bjork thread to revive. but this is really good writing on bjork, i think: http://thequietus.com/articles/23621-bjork-best-albums

also, since the thread hasn't been revived since 2011, i'm curious how bjork fans rate vulnicura and utopia among her other work.

Homogenic
Vespertine
Post
Vulnicura
Debut
Medulla
Biophilia
Utopia
Volta

i am the worst bjork fan ever, but i have approximately 0% recollection of biophilia

replace but with and

vulnicura took a little while to grow on me - i usually tend to gravitate to her more 'active' material, but vulnicura is great sink-into-able material from front to back, and better than she's done that kind of stuff on any of her earlier records. watched the videos for utopia but haven't gotten around to it yet apart from those

i haven't listened to a few of these completely in a while, and i'm generally pretty amenable to most of what björk does, but (very) rough ranking off the top of my head:
homogenic
vulnicura / debut
post / volta / vespertine / medulla / biophilia

rank em

Homogenic > Vespertine > Telegram > Post > Debut > Medulla > Selmasongs > Utopia > Vulnicura > Volta > Biophilia > Drawing Restraint 9

Vulnicura was a welcome return to form for me when released, it seemed to revisit the harsher distorted beats of Homogenic and was a little more accessible emotionally. Utopia was also a nice surprise, the arrangements are gorgeous on this and it's really a record to live in. Also there's some good melodic vocal hooks, which it seems have become less frequent on recent Bjork albums

also this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68qymYgSxCM

Recruiting: POLL Neon Like -- ILM artist poll #88 -- BJÖRK (voting open until April 27, 2018)