Björk: There's More to Life Than This

by Ian Gittins

Bjork is the most successful radical rock experimentalist of her generation. Contrary, inimitable, and gloriously her own, she has awed her famously dedicated fans for more than a decade with a swooping, querulous voice that has been likened to a glass not quite breaking. Bursting onto the Icelandic musical scene with a precocious album at the age of 11 and a series of releases in the 1980s that notably include her work with the Sugar Cubes, Bjork soon found herself gaining international renown as she released the jazzy Gling-Glo and her breakout solo album Debut. Since then the superstar wordsmith has continued to produce idiosyncratic, well-received works. In 1995 Bjork combined hit-making tunes with her maverick sounds to produce Post, and then after working with an army of collaborators, Telegram. Two years later, Homogenic took listeners on a compelling journey through the outer reaches of electronica. Again abruptly switching directions, Bjork starred as a blind mother in the critically acclaimed Dancer in the Dark, producing the renowned Selmasongs soundtrack. Returning to explorations of herself the next year, she produced Vespertine, an intimate and sensual fan favorite that continues to sell well. Drawing on years of experience covering Bjork and her industry, music journalist Ian Gittins explores and celebrates the creative processes and motivations behind her amazing career and musical history. With 70 color and black-and-white photographs, Bjork is a must-have for her legions of devoted fans.

Genres: Music

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2002

Reviews

[Joe Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

A chronological, album-by-album, song-by-song appraisal of Björk from the beginning of her career up until her fourth official record 'Vespertine' (2001).

Obviously as a piece of work based on a still-active artist, it is now extremely outdated and in need of a renewed edition. Further to this however is an unfortunate lack of proofreading throughout, with words, entire paragraphs and even pictures sometimes being repeated a page or two apart.

The book also relies too heavily on quoting from other biographies, providing next to no new information. What is does provide is 140 pages of relentless praise for an artist who is certainly deserving of admiration, but is also probably deserving of a more insightful examination.

[Steve Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I niche read, but I love her music and it was interesting to get some background on how it came about. It got me listening to it again and I checked out some I hadn't heard before.

[Vanessa (V.C.) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a longtime hardcore Bjork fan - I basically knew everything about Bjork's history and catalogue before reading this book, hence was why I read through this in one sitting. I didn't learn anything new, but a lot was gained from this though, like how Gittins explained the meaning behind the Icelandic songs and lyrics that before, I had no clue what even the title translated to, but now I do. I also liked the general writing style, how Gittins captured the very essence of Bjork musically, lyrically, and personality wise so well. The book was a little bit all over the place somehow though despite how it carefully stayed in chronological order. He didn't really explain the story behind EVERY Bjork song. He mentioned Tappi Tikarass and how rare their albums are, but he didn't dive into the lyrics there. He entirely skimmed over the KUKL albums, didn't mention any of their songs and what they were about, and those albums are attainable. I liked the addition of explaining the meaning behind the b-sides, but I was confused as to why it was scattered and not chronological in its presentation. There were a few typos (at the back of the book, they call "Bukolla" Bukokka...). But all in all, this was a satisfying book for even the hardcore Bjork fan like me. The pictures alone are worth it, but the contents of it all, despite some of the shortcomings, are also worth reading - and owning as part of your Bjork collection.

[lynnee denise]

looking forward to understanding the method to her magic. this creature of a soul being and the rhythm she travels with is transformative.