Okay, after months of trying to figure out what Björk-related thing to do on the site, I decided to do an alphabetical order countdown of 60 of my favourite Björk songs. The reason it's 60 songs is because she turned 60 in November last year and I thought it would be funny. I was even considering reviewing all her songs but... yeah. Lol.

I had a look through her solo discography (so nothing from The Sugarcubes or pre-Sugarcubes, although those are great too x) and picked out 60 songs that stood out the most to me right now in terms of my personal preference. I'm sure there will be things people won't agree with, and that's fine, but I do hope some people chime in with their own thoughts so it's not just a selfish thing haha.

I will add to this whenever I feel like it if that's okay, but will try to keep it up somewhat regularly. I will probably post the first song or two later on today.

5 Years

From Homogenic (1997)

Written by Björk

Produced by Björk & Mark Bell

Okay, so, it's abrasive. And it's meant to be abrasive. Lyrically it's related to a break-up of a relationship where Björk felt her partner couldn't 'handle love' and she dares him to 'show me your palms' as there is 'not a threat in sight'. The Homogenic character as displayed on the cover was, in Björk's words, inspired by 'a woman who was put in an impossible situation. So she fights back, not with weapons, but with love.'

The parent album was intended to be 'extrovert', as opposed to the follow-up album which was 'introvert'. Homogenic was also intended to be a tribute album to Iceland. Despite this, it was largely recorded in Spain (I have seen videos of some of the recording sessions). It has many songs with variations of 'volcanic' beats combined with 'patriotic' strings, a combination reminiscent of what Björk would think of as 'Icelandic music'. '5 Years' is a great example of this, and is one of the most 'explosive' songs on the album. A rather unfiltered expression of personal feelings regarding relationships.

My favourite parts of the song include the sudden 'string breakdown' where the synth line is replaced by a strings melody instead! And the final minute or so when the vocals have finished, with the amalgamation of chaotic, expressive strings and these volcanic beats has always just been gorgeous musical bliss for me.

Ooooo now this is a good idea, will definitely be following it <3

Just reminded myself of '5 Years' and that production is awesome

Vespertine is my favourite Björk album so I'm intrigued to see how much representation it has.

I don't know enough about the lore so I look forward to your evidently passionate write-ups <3

I won’t know quite a lot of these but love what I do know from her!

My absolute favourite 😍 Looking forward to following the countdown. Like Jade, Vespertine is my favourite album of hers (and my fave of all time ❤️).

Starting off strongly with 5 Years!

Hey Vespertine is my favourite!!! hehe

Thanks for the nice words already. I'm actually considering replacing some songs with other ones - and I also have a question. Alphabetical order might be a bit weird because near the end it might become very predictable if there are only a few letters of the alphabet left And people might also get annoyed like 'oh you clearly skipped this song' etc. 🤣 So maybe I'll just use random.org to generate an order?! More element of surprise that way.

I know Buzzjack likes for things to be in order of preference, so like counting down from my 60th fav to my fav, but I rank enough songs in BJSC and other contests

Okay, yes, I decided to randomize the rest of the list. I'm also still tweaking it a bit There are so many other songs I could include but I'm kind of going by instinct. Every studio album is represented and I specifically also wanted to include some non-album songs. Here is the next one!

Oceania

From Medúlla (2004)

Music written by Björk

Lyrics written by Sjón

Produced by Björk & Mark Bell

This song, with lyrics written from the point of view of the ocean (!) by Icelandic poet Sjón, was performed at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. Björk wore a huge dress representing the ocean, naturally.

She was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee to write a song for the ceremony and she included it on her album Medúlla, a very fascinating album made almost entirely out of various human vocals. This song in particular features beatboxer Shlomo as well as The London Choir, resulting in an intriguing mix of sounds, swirling like ocean waves, enveloping the listener in an epic experience.

Interestingly, Björk initially had the idea to feature several pianists 'duelling' with each other for this song, but in the end decided to go for this all-vocal version (although there is a piano version out there somewhere). She also had trouble writing the lyrics herself as apparently being asked to write an epic song for the Olympics resulted in hilarious lyrics about sports socks and ribbons! So she enlisted the help of occasional collaborator Sjón, who penned these lyrics inspired by the ocean and evolution.

I love this song because like I said, it just envelops me in this very unusual, swirling mix of sounds. The music video, directed by Lynn Fox, is also gorgeous. In it, Björk is depicted as 'Mother Oceania', with crystal beads on her face.

Quicksand

From Vulnicura (2015)

Music written by Björk & Spaces

Lyrics written by Björk

Produced by Björk

As prompted by random.org, we now move to 2015's heartbreak album Vulnicura. This is the closing track on the album. Vulnicura ('cure for wounds') was largely inspired by the break-up from her long-time partner, although this particular song was lyrically inspired by her mother who had a heart attack and went into a coma ('if she sinks, I'm going down with her'). Björk's mother later passed away in 2018.

Musically, Björk did the string arrangements, but the skittering beat was sampled from a track called 'Apologies' by obscure Irish producer Spaces (John Flynn). I read somewhere that Björk had been struggling to find/create an appropriate beat for the song and eventually she found this beat by Spaces online, and found it worked for the song perfectly. So she contacted Spaces and he gave his permission to use it.

Despite the sad topic of the song, for me this song nicely ties the themes of the album together, even offering a glimmer of hope, urging the listener to not give up. I have heard Björk say that she considers herself an optimist, and it seems to me that even with darker songs, she prefers to inject some amount of positive energy and hope.

For me, this song works because of the mix of skittering beats and beautiful strings, heartfelt lyrics, and I also think it has one of the most engaging vocal lines / melodies of her later work. ('when we're broken, we are whole, and when we're whole, we're broken')

Please let me know if the commentaries are too long and nobody can be bothered to read them! hehe. I try to include both what I know about the inspiration and creation of the song (with some additional research at times), and also my own feelings about it.

Hyperballad

(sometimes written as Hyper-ballad)

From Post (1995)

Written by Björk

Produced by Björk & Nellee Hooper

Video version (shortened; different vocals in the verses):

According to setlist.fm, this is Björk's most frequently performed song live. It's also up there as one of my favourites, and is very much a fan favourite.

The slightly bizarre lyrics describe a situation where the protagonist is getting worn out or bored in a romantic relationship, so she wakes up very early every morning and goes to throw things off a cliff ('like car parts, bottles and cutlery'), just so she can return back to her partner and feel happier with them, because she got something out of her system. It's a very interesting concept, and describes an emotion people can have in relationships in quite a specific and unusual way.

Musically, it starts off gentle and almost hushed, and just keeps building. The climax is amazing, with all the electronic sounds and flourishes, followed by absolutely beautiful strings. This is unfortunately shortened in the music video version, in which Björk is portrayed as a video game character, living out the story of the lyrics. She sang the verses live in the video.

The commentary lengths look good to me!

'Hyper-ballad' has got to be my favourite to drop out so far, what a special song. 💗

Forgot to mention, the video of 'Hyperballad' was directed by Michel Gondry, known for movies such as 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', 'The Science of Sleep', and 'Mood Indigo', which I especially loved.

Jóga

From Homogenic (1997)

Music written by Björk

Lyrics written by Sjón

Produced by Björk & Mark Bell

Video version (shortened; omits one verse):

Another major fan favourite next! This is also a very special song. 'Jóga' (pronounced like 'yoga') is essentially a love song to Björk's best friend, who is nicknamed Jóga, real name Jóhanna. I read somewhere that she is a yoga teacher (hence the nickname!) and I think also a massage therapist ('every nerve that hurts, you heal'). Again, Björk was having trouble writing the lyrics so they were penned by poet Sjón (I have reason to believe there were additional lyrics by Björk but I'm not completely sure).

What a beautiful tribute to both a friend, and Björk's native country Iceland. This is another great example of the combination in Homogenic of volcanic beats and romantic strings that are a nod to Iceland. Björk has said of this concept: "The electronic beats are the rhythm, the heartbeat. The violins create the old-fashioned atmosphere, the colouring."

From the moment the song starts with its beautiful violin melody, I'm moved. It's a powerful, soaring, emotional song, with a music video again directed by Michel Gondry, that shows off the landscapes of Iceland. I particularly love the part in the video where Björk is standing on a mountain and a 'tunnel' to her chest opens up, containing an island. I do find it slightly annoying how quite a few Björk videos have a shortened version of the song. 🥲

There are many versions of this song including one with strings and voice only, and a bunch of remixes.

Björk and Michel Gondry at the video shoot:

Submarine

From Medúlla (2004)

Written by Björk

Produced by Björk & Mark Bell

This is probably the most unusual song thus far! I'm glad to include it as even though I wasn't 100% sure at first (and I'm still tweaking my list in fact as it's proving to be quite difficult and I'm overthinking it a bit), it's just such an interesting piece to me, especially within the context of the full album on which it is track 7 (headphones recommended 🎧).

The song was inspired by Björk being pregnant with her daughter and how she felt she had become somewhat lazy during that time. The song, which is basically a fascinating duet with Robert Wyatt who brings his very interesting deep vocals to it which is very much a part of the atmosphere created by the song, repeats the line 'Shake us out of the heavy deep sleep'. That line is basically a call Björk is making to the part of her that writes songs to 'wake up' and become more active again after hibernating. 'When will it be time to document? Do it now!'

As Medúlla is mainly a vocal album, this song is no exception. It's very-very apt that the song is called 'Submarine' as it does evoke a kind of 'submarine' sound, of being underwater. I can visualize this as I'm listening. I'm so glad this song exists and that it was included on the album. It is a very interesting way to combine different vocals to create an atmospheric song.

'Jóga' is stunning, I'm a sucker for a violin and love her delivery here.

I think I first came across it when listening through old editions of BJSC about a decade ago, as it was sent to the 9th contest.

24 minutes ago, Jade said:

'Jóga' is stunning, I'm a sucker for a violin and love her delivery here.

I think I first came across it when listening through old editions of BJSC about a decade ago, as it was sent to the 9th contest.

Yes! I always remember that it had been sent to BJSC at a very early stage, which is funny to me. My first ever contest was the 11th edition (shocking tbh!), so it was just a bit before my time.

Pleasure Is All Mine

From Medúlla (2004)

Written by Björk

Produced by Björk

So random.org wanted me to go for two Medúlla songs in a row which is fine by me! (Remember, I am not ranking these, but writing about them in random order)

'Pleasure Is All Mine' is also a very special song, I guess all of these are for me. 🥲 Some more than others. This is the opening track to the vocal album which I think sets the mood for this almost 'ancient' themed record very well. Björk has discussed the album as being 'prehistoric', and also evoking a sense of humans singing together in caves. A fascinating concept for an album.

This is one of the small handful of songs on the album that does include a musical instrument other than the human voice - and that is a gong! It only appears for a few seconds, can you spot it? 😄

This song was also inspired by Björk having a short time alone for the first time since giving birth to her daughter, and allowing herself to be self-indulgent, getting extremely immersed in music and singing again. She went to a studio in La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands, and this song about 'selflessness of womanhood' poured out of her. She described the choral arrangement as 'almost haunted with femininity', which is interesting, especially as the choir has prominent male voices (which add so much to the song!). It's also one of the songs on the record that contains Tanya Tagaq doing throat singing!

'Pleasure Is All Mine' is the first of these songs so far that I have heard live! I've seen Björk live twice and she played that song the first time I saw her, at the gorgeous Eden Project in Cornwall!

Also, I'm realising it doesn't really make sense to call this a 'countdown' as I'm just posting about 60 songs in a randomized order

Isobel

From Post (1995)

Music written by Björk, Nellee Hooper, Marius de Vries

Lyrics written by Sjón

Produced by Björk & Nellee Hooper

Video version (shortened):

'Isobel' is, in my estimation, one of Björk's most epic and story-based songs. Björk has described the lyrics, penned by Sjón, as being about a girl named Isobel (named so because she is isolated) who was born from a spark in a forest, and goes to the city to spread a message of needing to follow one's instincts, instead of logic, logic and more logic. In fact, the repetitive 'na na na' in some parts of the song were supposed to be Isobel going in front of clever people's noses and pointing her finger to them, saying 'na na, stop using so much logic and follow your intuition!' A completely unique concept for a song. I'm sure it was also inspired by Björk's personal experiences of moving to London, and some of her experiences and thoughts were just turned into an abstract story.

Even though the lyrics were written by poet Sjón, I'm sure there was an interesting dialogue between him and Björk regarding what the lyrics should convey. Björk is a highly collaborative artist and while she gives her own vision, she also allows people to do what they feel in the moment.

One of my favourite things about 'Isobel' is the almost tribal-sounding (?) beat. It drives the song so nicely, with the bass line, flourishes of dramatic strings and Björk's soaring vocals on top of the beat creating a wonderful, epic atmosphere.

The beautiful black-and-white music video was directed by Michel Gondry. Apparently the filming process was not easy for various reasons, including it being a rainy day, Björk not liking her outfit, and "no one was quite sure of what they were doing."

I heard this song both times I was lucky to see Björk live.