I
want to write about music today. I’m not sure where I’m going
with this one, but I know where I’m starting – with Björk.
I
also have Björk on the mind because of her new album.
I
didn’t actually know she had
a new album until an acquaintance on Facebook mentioned it. The last
thing I heard from Björk was the single “Earth Intruders” and I
have no idea when that came out. I really liked it, but for one
reason or another I never followed up on getting the related album.
There’s a story there, but first I’m going to conduct an
experiment regarding my perception of time:
EXPERIMENT
My
first thought – without looking it up – is that “Earth
Intruders” was released a few years ago.
Then
I have to think that “a few years ago” according to my own
personal definition would be post-2010 because it is currently 2015
and I know it was longer ago than that.
Then
I think it must have been around 2007.
But
that’s the year my son was born and – holy crap
that was seven
years ago
(going on eight) – I know it was before that.
At
this point I don’t know if it was before I got married in 2005 or
before or after I met the future Mrs. Troublemaker in 2004 and I have
to give in and look it up before my head explodes and I am SO FUCKING
OLD and so many things have happened recently that are actually over
the past decade and WHERE IS THE TIME GOING I’M DYING SOON.
“Earth
Intruders” was released on April 9, 2007 which, for some reason,
makes me feel a little better.
It
wasn’t a decade ago, but it was before my son was born, like I
thought.
END
OF EXPERIMENT
So
that was just a small sample of how disorienting it is getting old
and thinking about things that have happened. It’s usually awful
because I’ll just be sitting there, all comfortable with life, the
universe, and everything, and then all of a sudden I’ll think of
the Beastie Boys.
Here
is how these thoughts occur:
“Hey,
I haven’t listened to the Beastie Boys lately”
“Man
– that last album was great.
Why haven’t I listened to it more? It was so
much better
than To
the 5 Boroughs.”
“But
that one isn’t really as bad as I thought it was the first time I
heard it. There are some great tracks on it. “Crawlspace” is
actually pretty fucking awesome. When MCA’s part…”
“fuck.
MCA is dead.”
“I
don’t want to think about that.”
“Licensed
to Ill
came out in 1986 and that was almost thirty
years ago.”
“I
don’t want to think about that, either.”
“Holy
shit, Paul’s
Boutique
was so
amazing
and I didn’t even appreciate it when it first came out because it
sounded so different. I was so dumb!”
And
then I’d think about all of the albums, then related acts –
Luscious Jackson, DFL, maybe Northern State – and on and on like
that.
Which
I guess is how I end up going from 808 State to Björk.
The
first time I became aware of Björk was when I saw the video for
“Human Behaviour” on 120
Minutes.
The video – by Michel Gondry – was gorgeous, the girl singing was
adorable, and the bear was super creepy. The song wasn’t like
anything I had ever heard, which to a certain extent describes
everything Björk has ever done.
I
didn’t jump on that first album – Debut
– because I honestly wasn’t sure what to make of the musical
style. This was 1993 – I was seventeen years old and still pretty
heavily focused on metal and hip-hop. While I found the sounds of
Björk interesting, the music just didn’t fit into my somewhat
narrow idea of things that I would buy and listen to regularly.
It
occurs to me that MTV played an important role in my life. It was the
venue where I discovered new music. In the pre-internet days there
was radio and MTV and radio was extremely limited. MTV, on the other
hand, played everything
together on one station. Within the space of a few hours you could
hear Soundgarden, Big Daddy Kane, the Spice Girls, The Pixies, and
Slayer; just to name a few. While there were obviously plenty of good
and great artists that never saw play on the channel, it still
provided a valuable avenue to discover new things. It was the channel
that you just left on in the background and every once in a while
heard or saw something exciting and new that really clicked.
We
don’t have that anymore. And that might be how my brain, in a
roundabout way, came up with this post.
I’ve
had an idea brewing for a few months now of using the music of
independent artists after the intro of the podcast rather than trying
to find something appropriate to the subject matter that comes from a
bigger, well-known artist. I’d much rather spotlight somebody that
you guys might not have heard of than play some artist that’s
already all over the internet and iTunes and sells eighty million
t-shirts a year.
So
I’ve already spoken to a couple of folks and that’s going to be
starting soon. We’re no MTV, but at least we can do something to
help out the little guys.
Okay
– let’s get back to Björk and wrap this thing up.
I
didn’t get fully into Björk until I saw her live, and that is
something of a story unto itself.
I
had a good friend that I would go and see shows with. We saw The
Roots with The Pharcyde and Spearhead, The Beastie Boys, and a bunch
of other shows that I’d have to look at the ticket stubs to
remember. She really wanted to go and see Björk at The Masquerade. I
wasn’t all that interested, but I really liked going to see shows
with her and in general I’ll go see anybody live. So we got tickets
and went. This was August 2nd,
1995.
Now,
I had no idea what a huge, giant deal this was. Björk has apparently
only toured the US once and 1995 was it. And she played less than
thirty cities. So not only was it pretty special that we saw her,
it’s amazing that we did so in a setting as intimate as The
Masquerade. Most of her appearances since Post
have been at massive festivals.
Time
wasn’t the precious commodity back then that it is now, so we
arrived in time to see the opening act – a common practice that
exposed me to a ton of new bands. Some were good, most were not. The
band opening for Björk was a NOT. It was a bunch of loud, irritating
noise. We couldn’t even understand what was going on. I think the
tickets were a tad on the pricey side, though, so I was determined to
stick the nonsense out.
I
hadn’t even really thought about that nightmarishly bad opening act
until I did some research online to find out when this show took
place. And that’s when I saw that the opening act was Aphex Twin
and my brain did that thing that brains do when they’ve been
confronted with two opposing and yet entirely true facts.
You
see, I really
like
Aphex Twin. A guy I worked with at a music store years ago opened my
eyes to the magic of Richard D. James and it was like a light went
on. I don’t love everything he does, but I totally appreciate it.
And there are a good number of songs that I like a lot.
But
I hated
Aphex Twin that night. Because I had no context, because I was
waiting for Björk, and because my musical palette simply wasn’t
ready. I was those kids from 1955 watching Marty McFly trying to do
an Eddie Van Halen solo on the guitar.
Once
that noise wrapped up the diminutive Icelandic pixie took the stage.
She was wearing this pink, see-through vinyl dress that I tried not
to be too distracted by because my friend was there. I don’t
remember if there was any banter – I’d imagine not – but once
she started singing, she was incredible. INCREDIBLE.
I can’t get over the massive sounds that came out of that little
body.
There
have been a few times that I was truly moved by a live musical
performance. There’s always a reaction, but I mean moved.
Like, when you feel yourself filling up with emotion, but it’s so
intense and powerful that it’s a physical feeling. Like your body
is being filled with a warm, electric fluid.
Faith
No More did it.
Tori
Amos did it (yes, really).
They
Might Be Giants did it (though, oddly, not the first time I saw
them).
nine
inch nails did it.
Björk
did it.
Right
there that night, she made me a fan. Seeing that performance was
massively powerful and, in 1995, was a huge influence on my taste in
music. Or at least, on my willingness to expand my taste in music.
From
that night on I followed Björk enthusiastically. I can’t claim
that I stuck with her all the way.
Dancer
in the Dark
was just too much for me. My girlfriend at the time insisted we watch
it and it bummed me the fuck out, but only because it is the most
depressing film I have ever seen. From that point on I just couldn’t
enjoy the music as much, which is saying something about the power of
that movie. The following album, Vespertine,
never stuck with me. I suppose the after effects of that particular
relationship might have soured things a bit, too. Those years of my
life often seem like an unreal nightmare.
I
didn’t really come back around until the aforementioned “Earth
Intruders”, which I believe was released as a free download. Or
maybe I paid for it but was just excited to see something fresh and
new from an old favorite.
The
song was fantastic. I dug it, but for some reason never bought the
accompanying album, Volta.
I think I didn’t quite trust that little Icelandic nymph to not
suddenly bust out some depressing dirges that would be reminiscent of
Dancer
in the Dark.
Side
Note: Yes – I am well aware that the movie was an even worse
experience for her than it was for me. Working with Lars von Trier is
no treat.
That
pretty much brings us up to date. I downloaded Volta
shortly after I started writing this and I intend on adding Debut,
Post,
and Homogenic
to my music devices as soon as I get home. I suppose I’ll even give
ol’ Vespertine
another shot. As soon as the new album, Vulnicura
is available on something that isn’t iTunes I’ll get that one,
too.
It’s
funny how the brain works. My brain, anyway. I hadn’t really
thought too much about Björk in years, but for whatever reason that
post about her sparked something in me. I vividly remembered all of
those experiences – hearing “Human Behaviour” and “It’s Oh
So Quiet”, watching Tank
Girl
with the accompanying perfection of “Army of Me”, and of course
that live concert experience that remains one of the most powerful
shows I’ve ever seen.
I
don’t know if everybody is this way, but music is very much a
historical tracker for my brain. There’s nothing else that can
evoke memories and feelings so quickly and clearly. So many songs
have very specific ties to my soul, so strong that every time I hear
them I feel events as though they were still happening. Even when
they’re bad feelings they’re still important – not just because
I feel alive in a different way, but because that bad feeling is
just a memory now. It’s over and I got through it.
As
for the good ones – I’m glad there’s something that can trigger
those memories in the way that music can. And it turns out that Björk
brings up more good than bad.
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