Björk Blog and Journals

5 Videos That Give You A Stiff Neck “There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

We're so used to watching films that move, and cut, and zoom, and generally feel very cinematic. But there's something incredibly understated about a video that's able to just set the camera down, and let the action play out in front of it. Below are five videos that do just that; the camera stays in one position, and everything else goes.

Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity
The great thing about this video is not so much how cool it looks to see everything move in the room, but the fact that Jamiroquai can dance the whole time.

Björk - Violently Happy
This video creeps me out not because they're so spastic, but because everything is too cheery!

The Bright Light Social Hour - Back And Forth
I could do to see that guy get a little more nekkid.

I Heart Hiroshima - London In Love
The colors really add to the feel of this video, in their own subtle way.

The All-American Rejects - Move Along
Kind of a cheat, since there's a lot of regular camera movement-- but you have to admit that when the quick cuts jump in, it's pretty intensely awesome.

"All the world's a stage,"
- Jaques, As you Like It by Shakespeare

Theatre. Where performance truly got it's start, and yet how we forget the humble beginnings of what turned into the peoples main source of entertainment. Well, not truly forgot. Below are five videos that assimilated traditional theater means for their videos, and totally rock more because of it.

The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Definitely ranks up there as one the most well controlled chaos videos out there. Fun fact: much of the samples are from the John Waters film, Polyester.

Moulin Rouge - Lady Marmalade
Somehow seeing four pop/R&B starlettes dressed as prostitutes doesn't surprise me, but... is Missy Elliot their pimp, or something?

Bjork - Bachelorette
One of the more ingenious collaberations between Bjork and director Michel Gondry. Try and count just how many ways this becomes a story within a story within a story-- it's in more ways than you think.

Tegan And Sara - Back In Your Head
One of the few videos that almost makes individuality seem like a bad thing!

Laura Marling - My Manic & I
A haunting song, a haunting tale, yet beautiful in it's unfolding.

Did I miss any other great videos? Have a favorite video with a great theme? Comment or message me, and they just might show up on a list down the line!

PS: The 5 A Week Music Video series is officially back on, after way too long of a downtime. Every weekend, expect more!

The quirky Icelandic pop star, Bjork, spent all of 2007/2008 touring to promote her last album, Volta.  And although she won't be touring this summer, you can still watch the swan dress-wearing songstress.  

Bjork is releasing the tour film Voltaic: the Volta Tour, which is made up of film from shows in Paris and Reykjavic.  But this won't be Bjork's only release this summer.  The tour film is part of the greater Voltaic collection.  The box set includes two CDs and two DVDs and will be out June 23rd. 

Up-and-coming Estonian pop-star Kerli performed her (soon-to-be-massive) hit song, "Walking On Air," in Los Angeles on Saturday, October 18th for the taping of Spike TV's 2008 Scream Awards. This little gothic Lolita provides us with a much-needed new blend of goth-infused trip-hop that tickles the spine and sends oxygen rushing to the brain - and she's cute as a little button! What did you think about her performance?

"Nattura," Bjorks new single that she wrote and produced, is going to be realeased on the Nattura website on October 20, with 100% of the proceeds going to support various Icelandic environmental causes. As reported by Sterogum, the single includes Thom Yorke of Radiohead adding ambient vocals to the track which add an eerie, almost other wordly feel. Read more...

Buzzlulz posted it, and she took it from IDontHaveFleas, then DecayedApple participated, and now I'm totally down to do this. Can you guess what song the first line of lyrics is from? I've put my iPod on Shuffle for 20 songs. I expect this to be super hard.

I'll cross out the ones people guess. If you guess one....um....I'll say thanks? I don't really have anything to give out.

1) "We are here, we are there, they are nearing people everywhere we go."
2) "Did you ever wonder, "Will I make it through this night?" Death By Stereo - Forever and a Day
3) "You said I could find love in the folds of your flesh."
4) "Ramblin' out of the Wild West, leavin' the towns I loved the best..." Bob Dylan - Talkin' New York
5) "What she said: How come someone hasn't noticed that I'm dead and decided to bury me?" The Smiths - What She Said
6) "Something to say, when you're so far away."
7) "Guess again everyone: Who just left us for dead?"
8) "I can swallow secrets and spit up blackmail." Pig Destroyer - The Gentleman
9) "If you had the time to lose, an open mind and to choose, would you care to take a look or can you read me like a book?" Iron Maiden - Caught Somewhere In Time
10) "I have no feelings for you; you can't smother this anymore."
11) "I was so wasted." The Circle Jerks - Wasted
12) "Take a look at today's headlines; usual signs but in different designs." Raised Fist - That's Why
13) "You can't be what you were, so you better start being just what you are." Fugazi - Bad Mouth
14) "Is now a good time to say that I'm sick of playing all your games with your head in a corner?" Kid Dynamite - Wristrocket
15) "I will wade out till my thighs are seeped in burning flowers." Bjork - Sun in My Mouth.
16) "The mad man Malik makes MCs run for Milk of Magnesia." A Tribe Called Quest - Baby Phife's Return
17) "Whether you wake up late or at 5 AM, secret missions with one intent: my only passion, the one reason to live." Bones Brigade - I Hate Myself When I'm Not Skateboarding
18) "I got so much trouble on my mind, I refuse to lose." Public Enemy - Welcome to the Terrordome
19) "Slaves: Hebrews born to serve to the Pharoah." Metallica - Creeping Death
20 "Tune out the noise of swan songs that savior the passing scarlets." HIMSA - Rain To The Sound of Panic

DON'T GOOGLE THESE. That is cheating. Seriously. :( I know mine is ridiculous hard because....well, no one on Buzznet really listens to what I do. But try!

Go ahead and post your own and let everyone know! I want to play the game too.

I know I haven't posted anything for a while, if anyone cares, let me know. I just found one of my favorite movies at a yard sale the other day though, pretty crazy movie called Cecil B. Demented kicks ass though. I saw it like twice on HBO and have been trying to find it ever since, OH and has anyone seen a movie called Dancer in The Dark with Bjork it was on some basic TV channel and wound up being pretty damn good. If anyone reads this and has seen either of these message me on what you think of them. Lots of Love for Everyone!

People who read my journal regularly know just how much I love exposing – myself – NO, no, I mean exposing people to new things. The greatest thing about the Internet is its ability to connect people to new ideas, new artists, new musicians, new writers and new personalities that they might not otherwise have known. So, here’s a list to give you a taste of people you’ll like if you dig the work of some of the more well-known artists.

 

If you like Bjork, then you’ll love Venus Hum.

 

Photo Credit: Unknown, Courtesy of Venus Hum Myspace

  

Like Bjork, Venus Hum’s sound is unique, entrancing and intriguing as a peek into the mind of an autistic savant. With sounds as vibrant as colors, lyrics that form vivid word-pictures and a tongue-in-cheek satirical song writing technique that will leave their songs to vibrate with your soul, Venus hum is sure to delight you for hours on end. For your more metaphysical moods, try Humming Birds from Venus Hum’s first album. If you want something smart and dancey with industrial flair (complete with the sounds of closing doors, bubbling champagne, sipping, party chatter, and lilting laughs), check Pink Champagne.

 

 

If you like David Sedaris, then you’ll love Michael Downing's Breakfast with Scot.

 

Downing’s Breakfast with Scot was recently made into a feature film, but one can easily assume that no film could translate Downing’s literary wit and panache. With clever one-liners like “… it was an ambidextrous cry for help for help” and “she spent her humor on her shoes”, Downing’s Breakfast will have you LOLing in no time. Meanwhile, Downing’s protagonist, Ed, will work his way into your heart with his totally open and often sarcastic honesty and his enduring analysis of the beautiful, yet imperfect nature of our society as seen through the eyes of its outcasts. Breakfast’s message is one of acceptance, because nobody fits in perfectly all time.

 

Here's a trailer for the 2007 movie adaptation.

 

 

If you like Junior Vasquez, then you’ll love The Misshapes.

 

Photo Credit: Unknown, Courtesy of The Misshapes Myspace

 

A trio of uber-hip DJs from the NYC, The Misshapes have crashed onto the scene as one of the coolest music making machines to reinvent the club/house sound. In only a few short years after their formation The Misshapes are already in high demand from clubs starting in their native NYC, to old London and even the hipster capitol of the world, my beloved Austin. Of course, you all know that I’m partial to their mix of Shorti by V.I.P with Pink Enemy, but they have also done a rockin’ remix of Madonna’s Jump.

 

 

If you liked The X-Files, then you’ll love Torchwood.

 

 

Photo Credit: Unknown, Courtesy of Wikipedia Entry - Torchwood

 

Okay, so the show’s technically sci-fi, but truly there’s only a little bit of science that is pushed aside easily for creativity, humor and – most importantly – sex. Don’t just think it’s the straight boys and girls getting all the action here. Captain Jack, a former time-traveler from the future who just so happens to be immortal, is a notorious flirt with an eye for girls and boys. One of the show’s most popular side-plots is a semi-secret love affair between Jack and Torchwood’s honorary butler, Ianto Jones. In the first series, the techie of the group, Toshiko, is involved in a lesbian fling with a malicious alien exile and Owen uses an alien super-pheromone to bed a woman and her boyfriend. As for the show’s immense popularity, it can be explained in-part by the show’s executive producer, Russell T. Davies who masterminded the Doctor Who comeback and the other part to the writers of fan fiction! Yes, that’s right, the show's producers have admitted to reading and incorporating some of the most popular themes of fan fiction into the show, including the show’s now notorious romantic/sexual subplots.

Björk's latest video, "Wanderlust," is an eye-popping wonder of music and imagination. To show her support for Record Store Day, the video will screen in record stores across the country. Find out where…

Stereogum has handpicked another dynamite indie band for Enjoyed, which is now available as an exclusive download. Find out who it is...