björk, baby, it's been too long.
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Oh, lord, I remember when I discovered Björk. Do you?I was in France on that particular afternoon, hanging out at my friend Miriam's apartment. It was a small studio with scarves draped everywhere, and every surface covered with candle wax. Miriam was a Swedish exchange student that I'd met á la fac. A few weeks later she would be attacked by her mentally ill neighbor, chased into the street while he threatened to beat her with a chain. She would end up moving in with me to share my sagging mattress, her long hair filling the bed with glitter and cigarette smoke every night.She was a lovely girl, and I looked up to her very much. So when she told me she couldn't stop listening to Björk, I was a little surprised. I didn't really know what that music was, to be honest; it was 1998, and I had been living in a jazz-and-classical bubble for a while. I didn't listen to the radio or watch TV. Björk, I thought, was some cheesy Scandinavian pop star.Miriam lent me the album, and I borrowed my downstairs neighbor's boom box to listen to it. "You like Björk?" she asked, somewhat incredulously.It's always that way: people either love Björk, or hate her. Why? Because she understands what has become part of my personal credo: ugly is sometimes the most powerful beautiful. It doesn't jibe with everyone's taste. And that's fine with me: more Björk for my own self.So, yes, it started there, and later my friend Ian burned me a copy of Vespertine, and oh! that album. Oh, that album. Have you really taken the time to listen to it? I think you should.For the wary uninitiated, the videos can be the best way to introduce yourself to this little princess. Thanks to Herr Pryor, I now have the comprehensive collection. Oh yes! Oh yes, I can watch them all, and on full screen.I can't offer the same advantage to you just now, but nonetheless:In honor of Björk and France, here are two of Michel Gondry's videos: Human Behavior and Hyper-Ballad.
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