Skip to main content

Björk

28
Björk

Björk

If Billie Holiday is an American treasure, well, if you were to put that treasure underwater, froze it, thawed it out centuries into the future and doused some acid & baking soda on it, out of that treasure chest would come Björk. Originally gaining fame in her home of Iceland with her band, the Sugarcubes, Björk was bound to break solo & she did just that with 1993's Debut. Following that was 1995's Post, 97's Homogenic, 2001's Vespertine, 2004's Medúlla, 2007's Volta, 2011's Biophilia (the first album where I was truly a fan), 2015's Vulnicura and 2017's Utopia. There's a lot to unpack there... you can't skip her first three or four albums, they're all amazing. I like Volta just because it seems to be the loosest (and most fun) album she has. Vulnicura was her break up album, with Björk expressing that the album reflects her feelings before and after her breakup and the healing process. Her legacy can be felt today with the likes of Grimes & FKA twigs. There are a lot of artists who would not be where they are if Björk hadn't broken down the path. She's a true trail-blazer. And she gave us this moment. Björk is like a butterfly who returns to the cacoon to try on different colors. Never one to stay in one area of music for too long. Björk  first came on my radar with her song "Unravel" which opens up The Flaming Lips' addition to the Late Night Tales compilation series (a label that asks artists to create a mix CD basically of their favorite "late night" songs, songs to listen to late at night, from their record collection [if you haven't checked out Late Night Tales do so A.S.A.P.]). "Unravel" shook me to my core: I had never heard a voice like that & still haven't. I go down the Björk rabbit-hole every now and then, meaning I go through her albums from start to finish or just watch a live concert of her's: Every time I do that I come back with my artistic itch fullfilled & feel like I've somehow done my brain, not just my ears, but rather my WHOLE being a favor. Björk connects on every level. Call me a dork, but I love...

Björk

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Billie Holiday

27 Billie Holiday Billie Holiday The first jazz singer to really incorporate blues & move peoples hearts, Billie is immortal. I didn't get into her with her traditional music but rather the 2007 album Remixed and Reimagined . Even through the chops & screws- one thing was unmistakable- that voice- so beautiful, so unique, so pure... She said she tried to sing like a horn & it's evident. She is one of the most accomplish vocal performers of all time. A half-a-century later & her style is still mimicked. Billie is as American as apple pie. In 1935 she was singing at the Apollo Theater. She hopped around labels- Columbia to Decca to Verve- until finding her home. She would battle personal problems (drug use & the like). She would pass away on July 17, 1959. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington... there's certain artist that are almost as important to American history as they are to the progression of popular music itself. Billie is one of...

Grouper

 131 Grouper  Grouper Reverb. Echo. Effects. Acoustic. Droney. These are some words you could use to explain Grouper's earlier work. Grouper is the solo project of Liz Harris. Her first album was self-titled & self-released. Grouper's second album was 2006's Way Their Crept . There was something special about that mid-ought's droney-underwater sounding indie. Grouper would go on to release five (!) more albums before I came on board as a fan: 2006's Wide , 2007's Cover The Windows & The Walls , 2008's widely acclaimed Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill & 2011's double-album (but separately released) AIA: Dream Loss & AIA: Alien Observer ... just to be followed up by 2012's double album: Violent Replacement Part I and Violent Replacement Part II . It wasn't until Grouper's more structured-releases that I became a full fledged fan. It was with 2013's The Man Who Died In His Boat that I finally jumped on board as a full-fled...

Drake

84 Drake Drake It’s not everyday that a rapper comes along & breaks arecord for most Top Ten singles by an artist or band, a record held by The Beatles for 54 years. Drake released his first mixtape in 2006 but he first bust onto the scene (not including his acting career on Degrassi High ) with 2009’s timeless-single “ Best I Ever Had ,” which, with the help of its sexist (but still sexy) video , peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, not bad for a song off a   mixtape: 2009’s So Far Gone . With the unexpected success of the mixtape, the debut album 2010’s Thank MeLater quickly arrived. I didn’t jump on the band wagon until his second album, 2011’s Take Care , which, I will still argue is his best. It probably helps that the title track was produced by one of my favorite DJ’s, ( Jamie xx ). 2013 gave us Nothing Was The Same ,   which proved Drake could really spit bars. His lasting power could no longer be questioned. 2015 gave us If You’re Reading This It’s T...