For me "Vespertine" is by far Björk´s best album, her masterpiece. There are some good songs on most of the albums but here nearly every song is a "best of". It´s in my top-20 albums list. And the Vespertine based 2002 live DVD "Live At The Royal Opera" is one of the best concerts I have ever seen.
This is simply a f--ing masterwork. There are more of them on this record. Every detail so carefully crafted. The voice is intimately close and far away at the same time. "The unique appearance of a distance however near it may be" - Walter Benjamins definition of "aura"...
One of my favorite Bjork songs, so happy to see you react! My favorite song of all time is Unison, which is the closer to Vespertine btw! I think you should react to this album in whole just to hear that last song, it's insanely cathartic
I like Bjork, she's so weird. I've followed her since she was in The Sugarcubes (have you heard any of those older songs?) and bought her 1st solo album (as an adult, she made another as a child). I feel like she's on a different plane of existence from the rest of us.
I strongly recommand you to listen to some early Björk album songs such as Hyperballad, Venus as a Boy, Play Dead, Possibly Maybe, Unravel, Bachelorette, Hidden Place and Unison (one of my favorites).
When this single came out, I recorded it and played on loop. I was in a cocoon, and didn't want anyone, ANYONE, to disturb me. This went on for days or weeks. And then it came September 11 and I damned the world for destroying my cocoon. So... Listen to Bjork Pagan Poetry brings me back to good feelings, though it is a very down emotion that I had on that cocoon. But much better than the reason it got me out of it...
Every time I hear this & she gets to the I Love Him I Love Him bit I break down & cry. When you're truly in love all sense of self disappears. You are lost in "Love". Bjork can make you feel it like few others.
Oh wow, that’s an interesting interpretation of the lyrics. Her lyrics are always sort of ambiguous, but I’ve always interpreted the “crooked five fingers, forming a pattern, yet to be matched” line as introducing another person into the fray of her self discovery. They are really good at sex, basically, and no one has yet to compare to them at all in her sexual experiences. He’s introduced through a *handshake* which signifies their consensual sexual encounter. I also think your interpretation is equally valid about self discovery, which is part of the beauty of her lyrics and work
Oh wow,JP. I know you are eclectic and totally over the place, but still I did not expect you to react to my favourite Björk album. It takes some getting used to, but there is practically not a weak track on this (rather intimate) album. It's great for winter, BTW. m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-av0FcpwkrPY.html
I saw her twice outdoors in Montreal, 50$, as opposed to when she does amazing venues(more money) that give her a different sound and people sitting unless people feel their feet wanting to move. I love Bjork as an Artist that went beyong with her vocals and music and collaborations. I also loved the Sugar Cubebes, especially BIRTDAT which connected me to her.
Oddly, I don't know much of Bjork music but I do like this. Being from a descendent of a Vestur-Íslendingar I should know her music better than I do. I will have to listen to this again after the game (I have been a Steelers fan from before they drafted Franco Harris). Good song and good review.
Vespertine has to do with the night, and that was the theme of the album. You said to use our imaginations in some of the lyrics here, she gets pretty explicit in the song Cocoon from the album. And as a random aside, I finally got Vespertine on cassette a couple years ago when she released all her albums on that format. Even the ones that never were originally. I missed out getting it on tape in 2001 and never found a used copy in almost 20 years. But when I saw it on Amazon, I pounced.
All of Homogenic (her best and one of the best LPs ever), Post (also amazing), and many more songs. Debut and Vespertine not far behind. Truly amazing artist.
Love this track! In fact, Vespertine is probably my favourite Bjork album, closely followed by Homogenic. Fantastic, ethereal sound, and as bonkers as ever from this queen of avant-garde.
Great description JP........I am not surprised that Iceland would give birth to such an amazing talent.....Pagan Poetry is my favorite Bjork piece....listen to I've Seen It All (train song).
Finally! A reaction video that doesn't stop the video every 4 seconds. You also leonounced her name right. Kudos, great video. Bjork is my favorite musician, your breakdown on her voice and music was right on point. 👍
Hey hey 👋 always glad to see another Bjork reaction. I will say that this song and Album (Vespertine) is when Bjork starts to really experiment and Blend in Micro-Beats of many ordinary everyday things and sounds. In this very song , When she Says "Morse Coded Signals" you hear morse code in the background. Pagan Poetry was inspired by the start and blossoming of her, Then New Boyfriend, Now Ex-husband. She had met him after getting out of another serious relationship and was Hesitant yet Intrigued and enamored by him. If you get a chance I Highly Recommend watching the Video for this song , she incorporates Personal video footage of her and her then New Beau.
Love your reactions; you should watch her full concerts; I can’t believe she is actually better live… she uses Movie Foley Theatrics for her sounds; fun to watch & listen
This time/ I'm gonna keep me all to myself... that's her acknowledging that she's quite the handful and her feelings 4 this guy are huge, but this time, she's not gonna "give herself away", she's not going to show him how HUGELY she loves him, cause it's a bit scary (and then the background vocals make a forlorn sigh, as if to say "yeah that's an empty hope").
Adding to the suggestions below, I'd go with Human Behaviour and for something with a bit more punch, Army Of Me. The latter has menacing bass synths prowling in the background, synth orchestral hits 'a la' Owner Of A Lonely Heart and some firey put-down lyrics delivered in the way only Björk can.
I really like how Bjork always looks at the musical rules and says (in an Icelandic accent) 'Yeah, not gonna do that' The songs usually go places that no-one else thinks of going and for that, we're all the richer.
Two tracks of hers that I really like are "Come to Me" from her 1993 album Debut, "Isobel" from her 1997 re-mix album (the one with an all blue cover with her face on it and the song "Cold Sweat" from her pre-solo band The Sugarcubes. She really belts this one out. There are quite a few gems with that group. "Deus" is another from the Sugarcubes.
Not heard much Bjork, a few singles. Always liked her voice though. I think i liked this... it was intriguing, interesting, and expansive. It's certainly peeked my interest. I'll definitely have to listen to this again, and then more of her works.
Try to react in Bjork's song, "Lionsong". Its really beautiful but it might be weird to many people. Vespertine is best album and vulnicura is very emotional album.
Yeah u reli should do more Bjork reactions, there’s so much to analyze, her music is amazing, extremely lush n layered as u described, diversified n inspiring too. Btw there r indeed Morse code sounds when she sings the line if u listen more carefully, same in the end of Wanderlust (from Volta, usually ranked the lowest in her discography among her fans, but still contains amazing singles) which u’ve listen to before.
Not just smooth silk in that voice (which makes spider silk a good analog). Rough silk, sometimes. Rosin on the bow, and digging in. (But she got some poetry out of you, there. :D ).
Love Björk - specifically her first five solo albums. For me, Vespertine is the last great album in her discography. But man, what a run of truly excellent albums she had going there.
i'd suggest susanne sundfor from norway. her voice is pure magic! what do you prefer, a music video, a live performance? regarding your analysis of the lyrics and the construction of music i decided to reccomend you a song called "when" which is also, like pagan poetry, a song about the bitter side of love, toxic relationship. the lyrics are somehow a bit religious and she turns this song into a kind of religious experience. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5Pw1KasvFQE.html When can I see you again? I've been waiting out here for so long and I Don't seem to find a reason To keep building these castles out of snow They only melt away When spring is arriving and you won't be here Waiting to drag me down into your pond You bury me slowly, you bury me slowly Take what you can Give what you don't need Still I'll let it be known in every parish You are loved, you are loved When can I see you again? I've been waiting out here for so long and I Don't seem to find a reason To keep building these castles out of snow They only melt away When spring is arriving and you won't be here Waiting to drag me down into your pond You bury me slowly, you bury me slowly Take what you can Give what you don't need Still I'll let it be known in every parish You are loved, you are loved You are loved, you are loved You are loved, you are loved
Always had heard good things about Björk but, have had limited exposure*. This was an interesting song, enjoyed it. One song I really love is Earth Intruders*, have to hear it periodically. Don’t wait a year for the next one. Try: Robert Fripp’s Exposure with Daryl Hall, Peter Hammill, Peter Gabriel* and the Roches. Awesome album! Peace and intruder* Music
Saw her on the Vespertine tour. The concert at the Royal Opera House was Filmed and is available. It’s excellent and also builds slowly throughout the entire show. Great reaction and analysis. Do more Bjork. Maybe from that concert I mentioned. The opening and first song would be nice. To do.
@@JustJP got lucky on those tickets. She brought it all out on that tour and it’s her Masterpiece performance. It was as a few weeks after 911 and people were afraid of going to concerts at that time but I figured if Bjork is gonna play, I’m gonna go. 911 colored that concert with even more emotion and poignancy than the normally very emotional songs. I’ve seen shows before and after that one but that one was extra special.
That harp like sound is a big music box…She had it custom made with a plexiglass case instead of wood to make the sound harder and more piercing than a wooden enclosure.
Interesting but not enough for me to persevere. With this album, Björk's path and mine diverged. I stick to Sugarcubes and her first three solo albums.
Something I forgot to mention earlier, I agree about artists expressing themselves, putting their heart into their music. That's why I don't think sampling should be allowed. So often I hear a young reactor listen to a classic song and they jump up because they recognize a snippet, a beat, a line that was co-opted by some later wannabe. "Is that where this line is from?" they ask. If you don't have the talent to come up with an original hook then you're in the wrong business. Get a real job that doesn't require genuine creativity.
I beg to differ. Sampling can be used to great effect, and putting 'snippets' in a new context actually can be a creative act (see DJ Shadow, The Avalanches or some stuff by the Beastie Boys). Unfortunately too many tracks rely only on a catchy sample carrying the entire song - and in that case there indeed isn't much of a song, just a dumb sample.
This is the most reductive opinion I have ever heard in regard to a well known practice that has been used in different forms before the advent of digital sampling. Absolutely no reason for you to spew that verbal venom and absolutely trash opinion.
By your absolutely broken logic, the VERY WELL KNOWN classical music motif of "Dies Irae" or the standard of having contrafacts on jazz standards is "indicitive of no creative talent". Fuck outta here.
