Bjork

I love Bjork! She is one of my top 5 all time favorite artists, for a whole lotta reasons. I know she's an aquired taste for many folks, but I figure people who have the ability to appreciate Elbow might be able to enjoy her music as well. Can I get an amen, anybody?

I saw her live when she headlined Reading in '95 and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Not sure about the last single I heard of hers though, made my ears bleed!

I happen to agree that the most recent release was far from her best...Volta's probably the Bjork album I've listened to least out of her whole catalogue. It got fantastic reviews but I just wasn't feelin' it the way I ususally do with her stuff.

I've never seen her live, but I hope I'll get the chance to eventually...bet it was amazing to hear her @ Reading!

I just admire the way she does exactly what she wants to and isn't worried about airplay or sales or any of that rubbish. She's true to her vision, as unusual as that vision may be, and most of the time it sounds incredible.

I love her attitude more than her music to be honest but I must admit I do like a lot of her older stuff quite a bit.

She sure is one cool chick though thats for sure!

I really need to be in the mood for Bjork, sometimes I find the music great, but other times, I cant stand her.

I don't love every song to death either, quite honestly. But I would argue that when she's at her best (songs like Joga, Unison and Big Time Sensuality come to mind straight away), her music is on par with any of the best artists out there. And I would much rather listen to someone with heart, originality and genuine passion for making music over 99% of the chart-busters making music today. When so many of them play it safe by following formulas (another emo record, anyone? ) I can always appreciate the effort from someone who dares to be different. That's why I love Elbow, too! Any artist who creates their own sound, instead of jumping on a bandwagon, is okey-dokey with me.

sounds good to me

I have to agree that the latest album wasn't her greatest, but she has done nothing but supply great music to listen to and at first I was unsure if I'd ever like her but I'm glad a friend of mine forced me to listen to her. The great thing about her is that she isn't afraid to do something different than what anyone else would think of doing, i.e. Medúlla.

I'm off to see this wonderful woman tonight at Manchester Apollo. What a weekend for me this is, Björk and Elbow!

Ooooh, I could not be more jealous! But I do hope you have an amazing time! Please come back and let us know what she sang and how it was...pretty please?

Oh I will...I'd have got some video and pictures as well, if some numpty hadn't dropped my camera onto a concrete floor last week at the Dodgy gig

I have her greatest hits collection, which I'm sure ommits a lot of essential stuff. But in any case, I love what I have of hers, that voice of hers is a wonderful instrument

Well I have to say I was a little disappointed.

For a start, the sound was awful, even stood where I was at the mixing desk, just sounded muddy and lacking clarity all evening, Björk's voice was hard to distinguish.

I found the set list lacking...from "Debut" there was only 1 song ("Anchor Song", of all things!). "Post" was better represented with Army Of Me, "Hyperballad" and "Cover Me".

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a greatest hits freak, and didn't expect nor want her to sing "It's Oh So Quiet", never really liked it much anyway. But I missed "Violently Happy", "Big Time Sensuality", "I Miss You" etc.

She opened with "Earth Intruders", which was great, and "Declare Independence" was a stormer, but mostly I didn't really get a lot out of it.

Visually the show was impressive and highly colourful, but didn't change much over the course of the evening.

It was also a VERY costly evening. I've never paid that much to see anyone at the Apollo (£37.50!) and the merchandise was ridiculous (£20 for a T-shirt, £40 for 5 lithographs) which makes me think someone in Björk's management is doing well out of this, because I could not see where my money went.

This is only the second time I have seen Björk live (first was in 1995 at Phoenix Festival, and it blew me away) so maybe I just don't get her live, but I think, for me, she will remain a recording artist only.

Roll on Sunday, Elbow at The Academy.

Thanks for the report, though I'm sorry to hear it was a letdown. Since I am not overly in love with the new release (Volta), I figured the tour behind it might be heavily skewed toward that material, which as you noted, leaves out a lot of great older stuff.

I think as a live act, she is a bit of a mixed bag (from what I read, anyway...never seen her myself). Some of her earliest tours were almost like karaoke, with a lot of pre-recorded backing, and it was more focused on a dance-pop type of sound. Then when she released Vespertine, that tour was done with full orchestra, choir, etc. I have the DVD of her performance @ the Royal Opera House, filmed on that tour, and it is so beautiful. I'd have given my left arm to see one of those shows.

Tell you what, though - regardless of the quality of the artist, any show with poor sound quality and exorbitant merch/ticket prices is a real bummer. Ah well, I'm sure Elbow will more than make up for it on Sunday!

hmm, thats a shame

Any Bjork fans ever hear of the Bjorkestra? It's a jazz band that plays interpretations of Bjork's songs. I swear! Someone I know from MySpace recommended the CD to me, and I gave it a listen over the weekend...it's not my cup of tea, but if you're into jazz or jam bands you might enjoy it. Or if you just feel like listening to some really unusual sounds, 'cause this sure fits the bill!

Jaysus, no posts here since 2008?!?! OK, well, the new stuff from the upcoming album/"iPad experience" Biophilia is freaking me out, in a good way. I have no iPad and do not want one, but I wish I could try out the apps for the songs as it seems amazing to explore the music in this way. As for the music itself, I saw several clips of her recent Manchester shows on YouTube and I have a verrrry good feeling about this one. With her, there's never a "return to form", because she doesn't have a "form" as such. Everything is totally new every single time. But the new music is way more enjoyable than the stuff on Volta was, from what I've heard up to now, so I'm actually excited to get the whole album when it drops.

I really don't know why I haven't taken time to listen to Bjork yet. I heard her new single and thought it was pretty neat.