base talk Hot take: Bjork actually sucks, why?

[Sazare]

2 hours ago, Sergi91 said:

I mean what exactly is this? 

 

This song is haunting when you’re on drugs tbh

[flower moon]

2 hours ago, Sergi91 said:

I mean what exactly is this? 

 

This song is a journey

I think it all comes down to expectation a lot of the time. Are you expecting a catchy, radio friendly bop? If so, her music might seem jarring.

She's a storyteller, an experimenter, and she isn't interested in meeting expectations one might have of artists.

[Pop Art]

I've been trying off and on to get into her for about a decade now and I just...can't. I really wish I could because she exudes the essence of artistic creativity — her visuals are so mesmerizing and I definitely love those, but the music just isn't it for me it seems. (Not meaning to change the subject or start ****, but this is a big reason I love Gaga — she too oozes this sort of artistic quality (though in a tamer, more streamlined level than Björk), but the way she packages it is much more palatable and digestible. Not that one is inherently better than the other, but I guess I personally prefer it this way.)

 

I will say though that this song and video are just...life changing.

 

 

[Oceania]

By the way some of you call anything not conforming to pop standards "unlistenable" or "messy", you can tell  you never ventured outside the western mainstream sphere. Remind me of me when I was 12/13 and only listened to top 40 hits. 

 

There's a whole World of different sounds and voices out there, pop music is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

And to think that Bjork is actually more pop than not . Let me give that masterpiece of Biophilia a stream or two.

Edited June 16, 2022 by Oceania

[Doogle]

Not reading 12 pages of try hard twinks pretending Jessica Simpson is better than Björk because they don’t like anything outside of a basic pop song but the run from Debut to Medulla is unmatched.
 

Post, Homogenic and Vespertine in particular. The gorgeous lyrics, the fresh ahead of its time production and the timelessness of it all. Wow oh wow. The other girls truly wish. 

[Ibrahim]

I'd like to akin Bjork to an experience. When I first gave her a listen, I really got sucked into her sound. Her vocals are pretty non-traditional but in the context of a Bjork composition, they're emotive, soaring, vulnerable; she's very versatile. 

 

Since then, if I feel like listening to Bjork, it's kind of an all-day thing. She scratches an itch that no one else really can and I admire her stubbornness to really just create without any external pressure. Her stuff has gotten way more esoteric as she's progressed but I suspect she still considers herself a pop artist, an avant garde one at that. 

 

Some credit her with the creation of proto-dubstep, spawned by the production of her Joga song.

 

If she's not for you, she's not for you. The world moves on. 

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by Ibrahim

[Ibrahim]

59 minutes ago, Pop Art said:

I've been trying off and on to get into her for about a decade now and I just...can't. I really wish I could because she exudes the essence of artistic creativity — her visuals are so mesmerizing and I definitely love those, but the music just isn't it for me it seems. (Not meaning to change the subject or start ****, but this is a big reason I love Gaga — she too oozes this sort of artistic quality (though in a tamer, more streamlined level than Björk), but the way she packages it is much more palatable and digestible. Not that one is inherently better than the other, but I guess I personally prefer it this way.)

 

I will say though that this song and video are just...life changing.

 

 

What do you think of these? 

 

 

 

[Kevin Parker]

1 minute ago, Ibrahim said:

What do you think of these? 

 

 

 

Did you really have to recommend her worst video ever 

[Ibrahim]

2 minutes ago, Kevin Parker said:

Did you really have to recommend her worst video ever 

Video? 

 

The song is fire. Who cares about the video. 

 

Mutual Core on the other hand. Whew. Talk about ART.

[Pop Art]

11 minutes ago, Ibrahim said:

What do you think of these? 

 

 

 

The first one is okay — the song is a bit easier to digest, but doesn't really go anywhere for me. The video is also just okay for me.

 

Now the second one, whew the visuals.  But I'm not surprised — like I said, she usually delivers in that area for me. The song was actually not bad too.  I think my biggest problem with her is that her vocals are kinda grating to me, especially how she often sings in roughly the same note at a constant volume during certain parts of her songs. That and her tone just doesn't seem to agree with my ears. :(

 

 I will admit I haven't delved into her lyrics, and going based off of what some other people are saying, that's another area where she shines. I think this is because I normally have to enjoy the sound of a song before I'm persuaded to look into what the actual lyrics are, and seeing how that's my biggest blockade with Björk...it makes sense I've never gotten that far.

[Ibrahim]

9 minutes ago, Pop Art said:

The first one is okay — the song is a bit easier to digest, but doesn't really go anywhere for me. The video is also just okay for me.

 

Now the second one, whew the visuals.  But I'm not surprised — like I said, she usually delivers in that area for me. The song was actually not bad too.  I think my biggest problem with her is that her vocals are kinda grating to me, especially how she often sings in roughly the same note at a constant volume during certain parts of her songs. That and her tone just doesn't seem to agree with my ears. :(

 

 I will admit I haven't delved into her lyrics, and going based off of what some other people are saying, that's another area where she shines. I think this is because I normally have to enjoy the sound of a song before I'm persuaded to look into what the actual lyrics are, and seeing how that's my biggest blockade with Björk...it makes sense I've never gotten that far.

Yeah, I can see what you're talking about. Her belts will largely swell into sort of a similar arrangement. And often times she can use this phlegmy quality to it. There are a few songs that meander along like that, where they become super repetitive, like Pluto, that I just can't get into or dread listening to because I know it's just going to go on longer than it needs to. 

 

Last recommendation!

 

 

 

Lyrically, I find her hit or miss. She's almost always a hit and what I find refreshing about her is that her approach to lyrics is often unique, her phrasing and word choice can be clever, and her metaphors can be humorous or just novel in how she narrates her worldview. 

 

Countering that, she does have softer vocal songs, like Come to Me

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by Ibrahim

[Wicked]

There's a couple things in OP you're trying to project as facts when they're more bold lies.

 

Either way, if you think she sucks you're entitled to that opinion. 

[Pop Art]

15 minutes ago, Ibrahim said:

Yeah, I can see what you're talking about. Her belts will largely swell into sort of a similar arrangement. And often times she can use this phlegmy quality to it. There are a few songs that meander along like that, where they become super repetitive, like Pluto, that I just can't get into or dread listening to because I know it's just going to go on longer than it needs to. 

 

Last recommendation!

 

 

 

Lyrically, I find her hit or miss. She's almost always a hit and what I find refreshing about her is that her approach to lyrics is often unique, her phrasing and word choice can be clever, and her metaphors can be humorous or just novel in how she narrates her worldview. 

 

Countering that, she does have softer vocal songs, like Come to Me

 

I actually really enjoyed all three of these.  Maybe I've been starting at the wrong places all these years by (inadvertently) going straight for her least digestable songs/albums.

[Jeremiah]

This is literally a pop song, come on now!

 

 

[Eric.]

13 hours ago, JoeAg said:

spill! idk how Utopia became a regular listen for me but i literally have not returned to it since late 2018 

To be fair, I like to keep listening to newer music in general. I enjoy it a lot the year it's released and then I rarely come back to it years later. I'm very FOMO is that regard. 

[JoeAg]

1 hour ago, Eric. said:

To be fair, I like to keep listening to newer music in general. I enjoy it a lot the year it's released and then I rarely come back to it years later. I'm very FOMO is that regard. 

you’re very fear of missing out? i’m confused lol

[MingYouToo]

I dont care if shes acclaimed her biggest hits still sound like noise to me and not in a good way if being smart means Id love listening to Bjork then call me dumb and deaf. 

[TheBoss]

You can say she's not your taste, but you can't tell me she's not an amazing musician, she's an incredible producer, writer and an unique singer, plus I love how she always brings someting new to the table with each era and always founds a way to be innovative with her craft. She makes it all seem so effortless.

 

Even her B-Sides are incredible, some of your faves struggle to even have a good and cohesive album, Björk could never!

 

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by TheBoss

[The7thStranger]

31 minutes ago, TheBoss said:

Even her B-Sides are incredible

Taste.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2022 by The7thStranger

[Skirt]

The fact that I agree with everything you said is kind of scary… 

[Same Ol' Mistakes]

How does this thread have ******* 300 posts

[FUTUR3NOSTALGIA]

20 hours ago, wehavetostan said:

imagine coming at Taylor and saying Björk “screams nonsense” when Rosalía sang about absolutely nothing for half of her latest album   

well you didn’t even listen to it if you say that… you just read viral tweets and that’s it ??

[Never Ending]

The bitterness in the OP...  It's ok baby, you don't have to like everything else that other people do.

 

First of all, yes, 5 Years is incredible and one of my favourites on Homogenic. Don't try it.

Second of all, I stopped reading after the "who's more influential than Bjork" part... Literally please stop. I don't know if this is a troll but at this point it seems like it. 

 

Just say her music isn't your thing and move on.

[The Second Coming]

Imagine thinking that about an artist with masterpieces like Hyper-ballad,  Jóga or Pagan Poetry to name a few  but not surprised since ATRL is filled with basic homos that can't appreaciate anything apart from cheap Ibiza dance beats, leotards and Party City costumes.

[Haze]

Honestly, as an opinion you're completely entitled to think she sucks, but some of the 'objective standards' used here are laughable. Her influence is widely attested by both major artists and smaller acts, from Madonna to Arca, from Ellie Goulding to Imogen Heap to Perfume Genius, and she even gets covered by her peers (Tori Amos). Yes, she has moved away from melody in her later career but since when is melody the standard of great music? Tons of musical genres, from classical to jazz to electronic have had major pieces that haven't been melodious. It is only somewhat a standard of what defines pop music, and it's clear Björk situates herself on the edge of what counts as pop music, and not in the middle.

 

The most annoying thing is the pretentiousness of deciding in our place that we only like Björk because we want to seem cool or smart. When i had a break down and stayed at the mental hospital it was her music that was a lifeline to me, precisely because of its irregularity. Sometimes in life you don't need a 'pretty' song, but a transformative one, and Björk's musical world is a place where my most painful and most beautiful emotions and experiences found a home. Her music has to click, but once it does and you enter her songs, you don't come out of it the same way, something has altered. Vulnicura felt like my own heart bleeding and singing, (with all the ugliness that comes with pain), and when I first played Arisen My Senses on Utopia, it felt like I was coming back alive with her. A tough sonic landscape is sometimes exactly what life demands. My most played artist is Kylie Minogue, because when I study, work out or just chill, i like a preppy pop song, something that is designed to make you feel good. But when i'm in bed and feeling lost, I listen to Björk. Both are essential.