Joga Hidden Place Army of Me Human Behaviour Earth Intruders Oceania Stonemilker Crystalline Atopos The Gate
It never ages a day, no matter how many times you listen to it. A beautiful song on a truly remarkable album.
Jóga is the only Bjork single I bought week of release. I remember a drama with the CD single - I was in London and it was nowhere and I could only find it in a greek shop?
Lead singles rank: Joga Army Of Me Hidden Place Earth Intruders Human Behaviour Atopos Who Is It Stonemilker Crystalline The Gate
In other news, I just found out she’s never had a UK #1 album. HOW!? Post, Homogenic and Vespertine are sheer genius.
Had Michael Jackson not decided to release HIStory on the Thursday of that week, Post would have got to number 1. I remember being super-annoyed, as Post was the first album I ever bought on its release day - got the bus into town after school and everything!
I think there was also a manufacturing issue with Post and a number of copies had to be retrieved, thus resulting in a #2 placement.
The lyrics to Atopos are straight from a '10s Bjork word-generator, but To insist on absolute justice at all times It blocks connection is a moment. Gen X queen!
In the UK the CD singles were available as the 3CD+VHS boxset, which made it ineligible to chart as it exceeded the 3 format rule of the time - I read that OLI had issues with Official Charts on trying to make it eligible (but failed), so maybe they pulled the formats/release until this was resolved? Not entirely sure but I think they were only available in the boxset in the UK, not separately (this old Out magazine article says as such) but they made the singles afterwards have separate CDs.
Her last three albums didn't chart in the Top10 in the UK but it feels like there's a renowed interest in her music so I wouldn't rule out a Top10 placement this time around. #1 seems impossible though, especially because of streaming.
The vinyl came out on different weeks for Vulnicura and Utopia. With everything releasing the same week and all the variants, a top 10 definitely seems within possibility.
For Vulnicura, they released the album digitally months before the physicals - I think because it leaked?
Yeah, it was meant to come out in March(?) 2015 but leaked in January, and Björk even made a whole post about releasing it early digitally if I remember right
I’m usually more of a fan of Björk’s “prettier” moments (Vespertine is my favourite album of hers), and there have been plenty of moments of great beauty across the last two albums. ‘Stonemilker’ of course is the prime example, but there are so many more (‘The Gate’ is stunning, for the record). ‘Atopos’ is quite far removed from being a “beautiful” sound, with all the dissonance and hammering beats… but something keeps drawing me back to it.
Atopos is my favorite single she’s put out in ages. Give me that album of spooky carnival bangers, mjöther. I’m obsessed.
Same. It has insane replay value for me for some reason. As gorgeous as Stonemilker / The Gate were, they were also… an overwhelming listening experience. Atopos on the other hand, despite being also heavy-sounding, there’s a lightheartedness to it that I really enjoy.
So this was possibly the first full Bjork song I've ever listened to (and if not, then definitely my first video+song combo) and it was definitely an experience. I'm not sure it was the most optimal entry point but I just couldn't help myself with the memes and the kikiing in here. Might dive in more eventually.
