Björk - Medúlla Survivor, Round 13 - FINAL

[Chun]

Björk - Medúlla Survivor

This is the survivor for Björk's 6th studio album, Medúlla, released 30.8.2004. It's very much totally a capella (consisting only of human voices).

The survivor will start tonight with round 0 which lasts 2 days, a preliminary round to familiarize yourself with the 14 songs. In this preliminary round, you can pick a song and describe/review it with your own words (min 50 to max 100 words, copying texts from the internet does not count). If you do, your votes count double in all rounds. Please take a different song if one song is already taken. Round 0 will be open for the whole length of the survivor, so you can claim your double votes later if you don't have the time to do your review now.

After that, the survivor will move to rounds 1-13 and the final, eliminating one song each round. Songs you reviewed are save in round 1.

[Lemo]

Desired Constellation is the most beautiful song in the world. I fell in love with it in the Lake District, looking up at the stars. We went camping in the summer and it was so dark!!! There were no lights around and the sky looked so beautiful. I just lay in the grass looking up at it

[Chun]

Desired Constellation is the most beautiful song in the world. I fell in love with it in the Lake District, looking up at the stars

Hey Lemo! I love that song as well. Alas, that's only 24 words for your review. Come on now, you've still 26 to go.

[Chun]

Round 0 - Familiarize yourself with the songs

Before we begin the survivor, let's get to know the album (more closely). The album consists of 14 songs, and my appreciation of them is very diverse.

03:27 01 Pleasure Is All Mine reviewed by RaFanatic: This is the first song i loved from this album. For a long time i this was the only song i like from Medulla, but eventually they all grew on me. Pleasure Is All Mine is such a fantastic song mostly because, in my opinion, of voices in the background and also because of her voice. I love how she sings it with so much emotions. Also, instrumental is so good too, especially in the beginning. My favorite part must be when she sings higher notes at the end of the song, When in doubt - give.
01:24 02 Show Me Forgiveness reviewed by jamesssxD: Show Me Forgiveness may only be an interlude, but it's one of the tracks that instantly caught me on first listen! With headphones, I can hear her voice echo throughout the song & it's beautiful. The song absorbs me in & even though it's a small song, it has some of Bjork's best lyrics. So much emotion in this song that I can actually feel it. Amazing track!
04:41 03 Where Is The Line reviewed by KevinScream: Where Is The Line is visceral! It's a self-understanding experience, in which she pressures us on how far we can go, how strong we actually are. It's such a deep feeling, since we are encouraged to exercise our most instinctive human behaviours - our defense mechanisms - to be renewed after all.
03:14 04 Vökuró reviewed by Vindrag: It is darkening & brightening - in my mind when I listen to Vökuro. A pack of wolves catch their prey even today. It's a final. The end of the beginning which ended in its beginning. I can not feel ashamed for the the crying lullaby's of wolves does not fear any child.. Vökuro is a song that I feel very personal about in my relationship with Bjök, because I can translate parts of the texts. The song rocks me towards her embrace, or perhaps more towards the dark and unknowns embrace. Companionship. It's an icy, cracking, anxious, lonely and nomadic song. It conveys pride and Nordic mythological images are swishing around in my head. Animals, lots of animals. Jag ryser av den svarta omfamningen.
01:52 05 Öll Birtan reviewed by chun1702: I like the combination of repetitive rhythmic voices by Björk and screaming by Björk more than the combination of repetitive rhythmic voices by Björk that don't start at the beginning and softly singing Björk. That's why I chose to review this and not Miðvikudags. Well, they are both rather interludes than full tracks, and are clearly the weakest two tracks of the album.
03:57 06 Who Is It (Carry My Joy On The Left, Carry My Pain On The Right) reviewed by Cactuar: Who Is It is something of an oddity. It has an immensely memorable hook but the instrumentation brings the song to a different plane. One can argue that with traditional pop arrangements this could have been a smash hit for the quirky songstress. It appears like a battle between optimism and pessimism musically, with the verses starting off hopeful then dipping into melancholy before climbing back into the reaches of joy. Look out for the original Bogdan Racynzski version which utilizes a largely electronic sound and dissonance to create a strange effect, and the "Bell Choir" version which brings the emotions of the song to new highs (and lows).
03:14 07 Submarine reviewed by ThomyX: Even though I'm not familiar with all of the Medúlla tracks, I've read many reviews about the album and most of them noted 'Submarine' as one of the weaker tracks on it (along with 'Ancestors'). All the diverse opinions made me curious so I listened to 'Submarine' on YouTube, expecting a bunch of strange noises but the song couldn't be any further from that, actually. There's a kind of special vibe in it I can't really describe. I found the male voices that stay dominant throughout the whole song very calming but the magic arrives only when Björk comes in. The gibberish (or Icelandic?) part around 1:45 sends shivers down my spine, it's a wonderful moment of the song. I've found myself listening to this track quite often, especially when I want to relax. I always imagine myself floating on the surface of water in the dark night, staring at the night sky. I get dark/greenish vibes from the song, I could imagine a music video like Oceania to this. I'm not sure what the song is really about as I don't understand most of the lyrics, but it's such a soothing piece that I think it should survive at least(!) one round in the game, but the more the better.
04:55 08 Desired Constellation reviewed by Lemo: Desired Constellation is the most beautiful song in the world. I fell in love with it in the Lake District, looking up at the stars. We went camping in the summer and it was so dark!!! There were no lights around and the sky looked so beautiful. I just lay in the grass looking up at it.
03:25 09 Oceania reviewed by Mylostlenore: Oceania was made for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the song is really worthy of such worldwide views. what a track it is, it's hard to believe that this track is almost acapella and the ability for make it sound aquatic and orchestral is an outstanding achievement for any artist. The song sends shivers down my spine because of the touching lyrics, lush experiments. P.S the choirs sound so sweet.
01:59 10 Sonnets/Unrealities XI reviewed by PatientHunter: Sonnets/Unrealities XI seems to be one of the least-appreciated songs on the album, but it's one of my favorites. I know Björk herself did not write the lyrics, but the ideas within are so interesting: to not get angry when someone leaves you, but let it go and pass on the happiness to another. I wish breaking up could be that simple...! Along with Sun In My Mouth, this song amazes me in that Björk took a poem without melody and set it to song. The melody is complex, too, and the choral arrangement is comforting to me. I think it's fantastic and I'm glad it's been played at several Biophilia shows!
04:08 11 Ancestors reviewed by crazycrazy: This track has a whiff of Yoko about it when I listen again actually! OK some may see it as just a bunch of grunts and moanings (which it is technically! ) But it can be deeply affecting when the mood is right. There are parts where the moans increase in speed and intensity, these are my favourite parts, a really expressive piece, not a track which can be played excessively though, just when the mood hits you.
04:00 12 Mouth's Cradle reviewed by skapunk: Intense, catchy and well structured, this song has a unique madness about it. The vocal bass is the highlight of the song. The choir is captivating and mystic. The grunts and fierce and energize you. Definitely a gem of the album. Bjork's vocals are spot on, and the melodies brilliant. A brave song, that works on many levels.
01:24 13 Miðvikudags
04:04 14 Triumph Of A Heart reviewed by Blondini: Triumph Of A Heart will probably now forever be known as her final UK hit, but what a way to go out! Riding a rhythm of human beatboxers with a euphoric, infectious pop melody and capped off with one of her funniest videos. Bjork should treat her pussy with more respect, or did i get that the wrong way round?

Previews of the songs at last.fm
If you use Chrome and have the Last.fm free music player installed, you can even listen to the whole songs there.

Previews at Amazon.uk



As I posted earlier, now you can pick a song and describe/review it with your own words (min 50 to max 100 words, copying texts from the internet does not count). If you do, your votes count double in all rounds. Please take a different song if one song is already taken. Round 0 will be open for the whole length of the survivor, so you can claim your double votes later if you don't have the time to do your review now. Songs you reviewed are save in round 1.

[GoodBoyGoneBad]

I like this album and the cover is one of my favorite ever!

[CrazyCrazy]

Under-rated collection.

Will vote Chun! My posting quota is being a b*tch again so I may have to PM you my votes!

[Chun]

crazycrazy, great to see you here! I started listening to the Yoko Ono survivor album today at work. I will accept PM votes.

[Chun]

GoodBoyGoneBad, yes, the cover is amazing. At first, when it was released, I did not like neither cover nor songs. She looks like a beast from the deepest ocean, wet and salty, caught by fishermen, not used to the gravity above sea level but determined to reign the sky like she reigned the water for a thousand years.

[NothingFails]

I have grown to like a few of the songs, but even though I love to be challenged, I still haven't warmed up to this album in eight years.

Still looking forward

[Chun]

Thank you for your review, Lemo. I added it to the list of tracks posted above. Desired Constellation is save in round 1. Camping is a great experience, I was camping in British Columbia two years ago, the night sky is amazing. We have so much light pollution nowadays in Germany, I can't really see the stars anymore, only the big ones.

I hope crazycrazy will do the review for Ancestors.

[Chun]

NothingFails, I'm glad you will participate and can't wait for your opinion.

Cactuar, skapunk, Vindrag, RaFanatic, BadGirl, KevinScream, PatientHunter, jamesssxD et al., where are you, I'll write you a PM if you don't show up tomorrow evening.

[CrazyCrazy]

I hope crazycrazy will do the review for Ancestors.

OK! As it gives me more points as well!

Ancestors ~ This track has a whiff of Yoko about it when I listen again actually! OK some may see it as just a bunch of grunts and moanings (which it is technically! ) But it can be deeply affecting when the mood is right.

There are parts where the moans increase in speed and intensity, these are my favourite parts, a really expressive piece, not a track which can be played excessively though, just when the mood hits you.

[Chun]

wow that was fast, thank you, crazycrazy.

Ancestors is save in round 1.

[CrazyCrazy]

wow that was fast, thank you, crazycrazy.

Ancestors is save in round 1.

Pleasure.

[Mylostlenore]

I've only just discovered that you can scrobble last.fm on google chrome.

I love Oceania

Oceania was made for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the song is really worthy of such worldwide views. what a track it is, it's hard to believe that this track is almost acapella and the ability for make it sound aquatic and orchestral is an outstanding achievement for any artist. The song sends shivers down my spine because of the touching lyrics, lush experiments.

P.S the choirs sound so sweet.

[RaFanatic]

Can't wait

[CrazyCrazy]

Oh and Chun babe it's ~ Medúlla.

[Chun]

Oh and Chun babe it's ~ Medúlla.

Yes, I know. I thought I keep it simple in the title because some of us can't see those signs and get %??? instead. I change it now that you insist though.

[Chun]

Yes, RaFanatic is on board.

Thank you for your review, Mylostlenore. Great you are joining as well

Oceania is save in round 1.

[LonelyDreamer]

Medúlla... The best female album of all time!!



Where Is The Line is visceral! It's a self-understanding experience, in which she pressures us on how far we can go, how strong we actually are. It's such a deep feeling, since we are encouraged to exercise our most instinctive human behaviours - our defense mechanisms - to be renewed after all.

[Blondini]

Triumph Of A Heart will probably now forever be known as her final UK hit, but what a way to go out! Riding a rhythm of human beatboxers with a euphoric, infectious pop melody and capped off with one of her funniest videos. Bjork should treat her pussy with more respect, or did i get that the wrong way round?

[Chun]

Hey KevinScream, hey Blondini! Great you are here and thank you for the reviews.

Where Is The Line and Thriumph Of A Heart are save in round 1.

[Cactuar]

Who Is It is something of an oddity. It has an immensely memorable hook but the instrumentation brings the song to a different plane. One can argue that with traditional pop arrangements this could have been a smash hit for the quirky songstress. It appears like a battle between optimism and pessimism musically, with the verses starting off hopeful then dipping into melancholy before climbing back into the reaches of joy. Look out for the original Bogdan Racynzski version which utilizes a largely electronic sound and dissonance to create a strange effect, and the "Bell Choir" version which brings the emotions of the song to new highs (and lows).

[Chun]

Wow, Cactuar and everyone else, thank you for your reviews. They make me listen to the songs again to feel your descriptions and interpretations.

Who Is It is save in round 1.

[RaFanatic]

Here's my tiny review of Pleasure Is All Mine.


Pleasure Is All Mine This is the first song i loved from this album. For a long time i this was the only song i like from Medulla, but eventually they all grew on me. Pleasure Is All Mine is such a fantastic song mostly because, in my opinion, of voices in the background and also because of her voice. I love how she sings it with so much emotions. Also, instrumental is so good too, especially in the beginning. My favorite part must be when she sings higher notes at the end of the song, When in doubt - give.


Hope this works