One might claim that the reason why we know about the music of Iceland is because of Björk via the Sugarcubes. When we heard Birthday (1987) from their Life’s Too Good album released in 1988 we fell in love with her voice and her persona and waited for the inevitable – The Sugarcubes’ split in 1992.
In 1993 Björk released her first international solo album, Debut with the lead single Human Behaviour – a perfect slice of arty, oddball, philosophical, meaningful, nonsensical eccentricity, sung by the decades most original vocalist. (Note the co-credit Antônio Carlos Jobim)
Having incorporated more elements of Electronic music, working with producer Nelle Hooper and programmer Marius de Vries and straying from the Punk ideals of The Sugarcubes, we marveled at her vocal gymnastics somehow executed unpretentiously because in seeing her in the videos it looked like this beautiful noise was coming out of a 10 year old pixie girl.
It was something of a hybrid (I love hybrids) somehow Jazzy, Arty, Indie, Electronic, Acid and Showbiz. In reality Björk’s originality made everything sound like her, that high note punctuated by the abrupt growl, a lyrical bent that had you wondering what they ate for breakfast in Iceland and through it all an emotional intelligence that made you feel smart whilst interfering little with your need to take her message outside the building and graffiti on a wall – it was sophisticated Pop.
More singles followed, although the next release was Play Dead from The Young Americans S/track co-written with bass guru Jah Wobble. The song was later added to the Debut album as an extra track. Big Time Sensuality and Violently Happy followed, all five songs were UK hits as Britain’s love affair with this unusual artist flourished.
Björk also covered Like Someone In Love on this album, a Jazz standard written in 1944 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke for the film Belle of the Yukon. Originally sung by Dinah Shore, it was a hit for Bing Crosby in 1945 and was also recorded by Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker and Ella Fitzgerald amongst others.
After this album Björk became an actor and made many more sophisticated records although they all possess those attributes that make her stand out of the crowd, there’s a tendency to cover old ground in the melodies and one can’t help feeling that if you buy a new Björk album you might already have it.
In 2004 Luke Sutherland from Scottish band Long Fin Killie wrote a novella called Venus As A Boy. In the book the character is slowly turning to gold as does everything Björk touches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_as_a_Boy_(novella)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Björk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debut_(Björk_album)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sugarcubes
If you ever get close to a human and human behavior
Be ready, be ready to get confused and be in my head after
There’s definitely, definitely, definitely no logic to human behavior
But yet so, yet so irresistible and me and my fear can
And there is no map uncertain
They’re terribly, terribly, terribly moody of human behavior
Then all of a sudden, turn happy and they and my here after
But oh, to get involved in the exchange of human emotions
Is ever so, ever so satisfying and they and my here on
And there is no map and chair too
Human behavior, human behavior
Human behavior, human behavior
The second single Venus As A Boy was equally lyrically rich and exquisitely sung. Only Björk could captivate in a video where she is frying an egg.
His wicked sense of humour
Suggests exciting sex
His fingers focus on her
Touches, he’s venus as a boy
He believes in beauty
He’s venus as a boy
He’s exploring
The taste of her
Arousal
So accurate
He sets off
The beauty in her
He’s venus as a boy
He believes in beauty
He’s venus as a boy
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