Member Since: 4/11/2012
Posts: 19,069
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Björk
Introductory Album: Homogenic
Special Thanks: Owl
Wow, okay so what the ****ing **** do I say about Björk?
She's incredible. Nope, she's beyond incredible - saying she is doesn't do her justice. I know I've said that about a lot of artists I've discovered this year but dayum, Björk is just something else.
Okay, so it started before I joined ATRL. I was waiting for my membership to be approved and was prowling the threads when I came across a "Best Albums with Only 10 Songs" thread, where one of the first posts I saw was Owl's posting a picture of Homogenic. Skip to the next thread I entered, something like "Best Electronic Albums Ever" and there were at least ~20 people that said Homogenic, naturally with Owl leading the pack. It was that night I downloaded Homogenic and decided to listen to it. I didn't have a clue what to expect; with no prior knowledge of Björk other than It's Oh So Quiet, which I'd heard like twice.
I plugged in my headphones and began an adventure that lasted for 43.5 minutes, sparking some sort of wondrous thirst in me. It was some of the most creative, complex and yet high quality music I'd ever heard in my life, and remains my favourite electronic album of all time. I listened to that album so many times it was unreal, and a couple of weeks later I downloaded her whole discography. Pluto was instantly my favourite, but Bachelorette spurred something in me and rapidly moved up to second place once I took in the full awesomeness of it. I moved on Vespertine next, which was also ****ing incredible, albeit much more mellow and calmer so I didn't fawn over that quite as much as Homogenic (I've not been in the mood for slower music for around a year now ). Needless to say though, Björk delivered the amazingly high quality music and lyrics once again with her Homogenic follow up. It's Not Up to You was always my favourite, but a day or two before now I realised the pure perfection of Pagan Poetry, which is one of the best songs ever - so that has taken It's Not Up to You's place by default.
I carried on listening to bits here and there, at around a few songs per album until I started fangirling with madonnas - a heavy Björk stan (naturally). Eventually he swayed me to listen to Post (which was like 3 weeks ago) and yet another exponential album! The album is so fierce, yet passionate; angry, yet beautiful in the same capacity. I Miss You and Isobel continue to fight for my approval of favourite song from Post, but Isobel always gets the edge due to the Tropical Island feel to it, as well as the perfect lyrics written by the genius Sjón.
Medúlla, Volta and Biophilia I've yet to listen to fully, Debut at all, but Medúlla and Biophilia are amazing pieces of art - I can tell that having only heard ~5 songs from each properly. Medúlla is unique and her vocal usage is unmatched in the music industry to this day, and Biophilia was made with an App so is relatively sparse in terms of music, but remains a masterpiece with Cosmogony being one of her best songs - a beautiful piece about the creation of the universe.
Overall, I have to give Owl my dedicated thanks; without his profound (but brilliant) stanning, I never would have found this Icelandic goddess. I'm so glad I did, because it's really made me realise what quality music is, changing my taste for the better, and she continues to amaze me after 4 albums - a feat not many artists are capable of. I hope she never stops making her masterpieces ever, and I refuse to believe she'll die.
Favourite Album: Homogenic
Favourite song from each album:
Debut - n/a
Post - Isobel
Homogenic - Pluto
Vespertine - Pagan Poetry
Medúlla - Where Is the Line
Volta - Earth Intruders
Biophilia - Cosmogony
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