That she is, that she is. One of the few true musical goddesses in the world today. So many of her songs are absolute classics. I love everything she does (including Sugarcubes) but Debut is still my favorite album by her. Except for “It’s Oh So Quiet,” which shouldn’t be done by anyone but Betty Hutton (though if anyone were to cover it, Bjork is the one to do it) I love every song, but some I adore beyond measure. “One Day,” “Venus As A Boy,” “Come To Me,” and “Human Behaviour” are my favorites.
I met Bjork once. The Sugarcubes were playing at a summer festival (with New Order headlining) and we had seats right in front of the stage, a few seats from absolute center. It was one of those stage/seats/lawn-type places. The Sugarcubes played first or second, I can’t remember, but it was still midday and very VERY hot, in the upper 90’s. Bjork wore a leather jacket. I still can’t understand what kept her from fainting from the heat. I had a backstage pass to talk with her (because of my radio show) but wasn’t supposed to go back until after New Order went on. As soon as they took the stage, we got up and went back to the lawn and searched for 2 people who looked like they were having orgasms from New Order’s music, BIG BIG BIG fans, who were stuck back on the lawn probably due to finanaces. We found a couple of kids who were just in ecstasy at the music, explained that we had to leave but that they could have our tickets to go to our seats in the front. They boggled a bit, thanked us profusely, then raced away. If there’s such a thing as karma, we got some big points that night. Anyway, we met Bjork backstage and we had a nice chat. We talked about Kate Bush (Bjork is a huge fan) and a few other things. Too soon she was whisked away to talk to some other people. She seemed very very shy, but was very very sweet. I cherish that meeting.
Ditto. Bjork is one of the few true originals these days. She’s done more to move pop music forward in the last decade or so than just about anyone. In years to come, she’ll be seen as just as important and influential as Prince or Bowie.
I find her fascinating to look at and listen to. My first real exposure to her was a documentary we found late one night on cable- she was so interesting.
I remember seeing a Sugarcubes video when I was in my teens or 20s, and thinking that the singer had to be the hottest babe I’d ever laid eyes on. It helped that she was just dripping sexuality in the video. At the time I had never heard of the band, and didn’t know the singer’s name.
Many years later, I heard of Bjork, and learned that she had been the lead singer for The Sugarcubes. Remembering that hotness, I looked up some Bjork videos on the 'Net and I was all like, “… the hell was that?” Very very confusing stuff that Bjork makes.
I’ve been told several times that my favorite Japanese pop singer, aiko, looks just like Bjork, which makes me wonder if Bjork has some Japanese blood, or if it’s just her makeup. Their birthdays are almost too coincidental:
Bjork - November 21, 1965
aiko - November 22, 1975
It is pronounced Byork. I think. Funny. I own every album since she has gone solo, and it has just occured to me that I am not completely sure how to pronounce her name.
Wow! I have been saying it wrong for 13 years! I think I will continue to pronounce it ‘byork’ though. I mean, saying ‘byerk’ at this point would make me feel like one of those local news reporters who over-roll their ‘rs’ when pronouncing Spanish words.
Still, it is good to know the correct pronounciation. Thanks.
I’ve always been a fan of the album Homogenic. I actually had a “Bjork phase” in High School, when I really got into her music. Of course my friends thought it was hilarious, but it was worth it.
Wait it’s pronounced Byerk? Not Byork?
I suppose it would vary from dialect to dialect. But someone like my father (who speaks a weird Swedish dialect, and thinks that Icelandic sounds reeeeally familiar but not quite enough to understand outright) would pronounce it “Byairk” (the “air” bit is pronounced the same as the stuff you breathe).
Funny thing, those pronunciations. I recently found out that my family name, Osborne, isn’t the nice little English name I thought it was. It turns out it’s from the Old Norse “Asbjørn”, which is pronounced “Oosbern”
Note: The letter after the j should be a lowercase “o” with a slash through it (sorry, I don’t know what that letter is called). As I’m typing this on a Mac, I don’t know what’s gonna show up when somebody with a non-Mac OS looks at it.
That is the one album I haven’t heard yet (or of).
But most of her other albums are quite poppy, wouldn’t you agree?
There are always a few numbers on it that are a little bit out there, that you could call experimental, but for the rest?
Or maybe it’s just me.
I never really ‘got’ Bjork, but I love the Gling Glo album, it is beautiful. Well worth a listen! Until then I just thought she was the pretty-looking, screechy lady.
The very first concert I saw was the “Monsters of Alternative Rock” tour with Sugarcubes, Public Image Ltd, and New Order. The Sugarcubes had just released “Life’s Too Good” and didn’t really have a following yet. It was a little sad when Bjork and Einar were prompting people to stand up and dance with them and the arena was still a bit empty as most were waiting for the next acts.
I’m flying out to Seattle in a couple weeks with my partner to see one of his friends. She’s a promoter and has got us tickets to the Sasquatch Festival with Bjork headlining on Saturday night .(Sarah Silverman is hosting too). I can’t wait!
That’s it! That’s the concert we went to in Kansas City. I had forgotten who else was on the bill (PIL? Cool). I know I liked all the bands, but we bought tickets specifically to see The Sugarcubes and that’s all I had eyes/ears for since I loved Life’s Too Good so much. Everyone else was just an added bonus who just happened to be there too. I’m a bit sorry about missing New Order but I wouldn’t have given up the chance to meet Bjork for anyone this side of Kate Bush.
