La Música del Mundo: Björk ~ Greatest Hits (2002)

Björk Guðmundsdóttir

Fædd: 21. nóvember 1965

Uppruni: Reykjavík, Íslandi

Tónlistarstefnur: djass, pönk

Útgefandi: Smekkleysa

Samvinna: Sykurmolarnir, KUKL, Tappi Tíkarass

Vefsíða: http://bjork.com/

Björk Guðmundsdóttir, best þekkt sem Björk, (fædd 21. nóvember 1965 í Reykjavík) er íslenskur popptónlistamaður, sem hefur náð alþjóðlegri hylli. Hún hóf tónlistarferil sinn með píanónámi þegar hún var ellefu ára. Ári síðar, eða 1977, kom út platan Björk þar sem hún söng meðal annars þekkt íslensk barnalög. Stuttu síðar fór pönktónlist að hafa áhrif á hana en einnig djasstónlist. Snemma á ferli sínum var hún í nokkrum pönk- og djass-fusion hljómsveitum. Árið 1983 stofnaði hún ásamt fimm öðrum hljómsveitina KUKL, sem síðan þróaðist út í hljómsveitina Sykurmolarnir. Með þeirri hljómsveit hlaut Björk fyrst heimsfrægð. Þegar Sykurmolarnir hættu árið 1992 hóf hún sólóferil og hefur á honum gefið út 10 plötur, þar af 3 safndiska og einn með tónlistinni við mynd Lars von Triers Myrkradansarinn, en hún bæði lék aðalhlutverkið og samdi tónlistina við myndina. Björk var tilnefnd til Óskarsverðlauna fyrir lagið ,,I've seen it all" úr Myrkradansaranum árið 2000.

Björk hefur hlotið ýmis verðlaun fyrir tónlist sína, meðal annars Tónlistarverðlaun Norðurlandaráðs 1997.

Björk lét húðflúra galdrastafinn Vegvísi á vinstri handlegg sinn.

Faðir Bjarkar, Guðmundur Gunnarsson, er fyrrverandi formaður RSÍ.

Björk Guðmundsdóttir was born on 21 November 1965, known simply as Björk, is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her musical style is eclectic and she has achieved recognition in rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical, and folk.

Born in Iceland in 1965, singer-songwriter, producer and actor Björk has incorporated a full range of music styles and collaborators over her career.

She released her debut album aged 11: the self-titled album, sung in Icelandic, was a mix of cover versions and new songs and hinted at the eclectic career that was to follow.

With a number of collaborators and musical styles, Björk had another three albums to her credit by the time she came to the world's attention with the Sugarcubes in 1986. Their first single "Birthday" charted and generated a cult following, helping sales of their first album Life's Too Good in 1988.

In 1992 the Sugarcubes dissolved and she was able to pursue her solo career. Her album Debut, released in 1993, produced her first solo hit single "Human Behaviour" and she was nominated for the BRIT Awards Best International Newcomer. The success of the album opened doors for her and there followed collaborations with artists including Madonna and Tricky.

Björk's follow up album 1995's Post included the single "It's Oh So Quiet" which spent 15 weeks in the UK single charts. Continued sales of the next album Homogenic, released in 1997, meant it went platinum in 2006.

Success was not just confined to music: she has had numerous acting roles including a main role in the Lars Von Trier film Dancer in the Dark, and she has produced a book of prose and photographs, also called Björk.

As a contribution to the South East Asia Tsunami appeal, Björk requested remixes and interpretations of her single "Army of Me". Fans and producers alike responded and sales of the subsequent album, Army of Me: Remixes and Covers, raised money for UNICEF.

She has been recognised for her contributions to music by the Academy Awards, BRIT Awards and The Golden Globes, and received the Palme d'Or for Best Actress at Cannes in 2000 for Dancer in The Dark. Her career looks likely to be successful regardless of what she decides to do.

Björk ~ Greatest Hits (2002)

Greatest Hits is a compilation album released in November 2002 featuring the songs of Icelandic singer Björk. Although not all of Björk's singles are included on this collection, all of the songs on Greatest Hits were released as singles. The tracks were selected by fans through a survey on Björk's website. Greatest Hits presents the songs in descending order of most-popular votes, with the exception of "It's In Our Hands" which was a new song and appears at the end of the compilation.

Bjork ~ Greatest Hits

Greatest hits album by Björk

Released: November 4, 2002

Recorded: 1993-2001

Audio CD (November 5, 2002)

Country: United Kingdom

Format: Vinyl, LP, CD, Album, Compilation, Gatefold Cardsleeve

Genre: Electronica, Alternative, Ambient

Style: Experimental, Downtempo, Trip Hop

Label: One Little Indian | Elektra / Wea

Producer: Björk, Nellee Hooper, Mark Bell, Graham Massey, David Arnold, Danny Cannon, Drew Daniel

© One Little Indian Records UK Ltd. | © Elektra Records (Elektra Entertainment Group Inc.) / © Wea Records (Warner Music Group (WMG))

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Song Title:

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1. All Is Full Of Love (LP Version) |4:47

Written by Björk

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Björk

2. Hyperballad (LP Version) |5:22

Written by Björk

3. Human Behavior (LP Version) |4:12

Written by Björk, Nellee Hooper

4. Jóga (LP Version) |5:04

Written by Björk, Sjón

5. Bachelorette (LP Version) |5:15

Written by Björk, Sjón

6. Army Of Me (LP Version) |3:55

Written by Björk, Graham Massey

7. Pagan Poetry (LP Version) |5:13

Written by Björk

8. Big Time Sensuality (The Fluke Remix) |4:55

Written by Björk

9. Venus As A Boy (LP Version) |4:41

Written by Björk

10. Hunter (LP Version) |4:15

Written by Björk

11. Hidden Place (LP Version) |5:28

Written by Björk, Guy Sigsworth, Mark Bell

12. Isobel (LP Version) |5:48

Written by Björk, Nellee Hooper, Marius De

13. Possibly Maybe (LP Version) |5:07

Written by Björk, Nellee Hooper, De Vries

14. Play Dead (LP Version) |3:56

Written by Björk, David Arnold, Jah Wobble

15. It's In Our Hand's (LP Version) |4:15

Written by Björk

Total Time: 72:19

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Information:

There were two online surveys preceding the release of Greatest Hits. The survey that gave the tracklist was one where fans voted for their favourite single-tracks. Another one was conducted simultaneously where fans could vote for their favourite of all her songs, albums tracks as well as B-sides. This sometimes is the cause for some confusion about the authenticity of the fan-selected tracklist concept because the results from the single-track survey doesn't always match with the overall survey. For example, "Hyperballad" was the song receiving most votes from Björk fans on the overall survey, but appears as the second track on Greatest Hits. The results of both surveys can be seen on Björk's website.

Several of the songs are presented in their radio (or single) remixed forms, most notably "Big Time Sensuality" (the Fluke version featured in the promotional video, and not the shorter "Minimix" as featured on the single). "Possibly Maybe" includes the famous electronic sounds that were temporarily deleted off the Post version of the track, and "All Is Full of Love" is presented in its single version.

As with many greatest hits compilation albums, some of Björk's biggest singles were absent. The most obvious omission is "It's Oh So Quiet", her highest-charting UK hit. Also missing are "Alarm Call", "I Miss You", "Cocoon" and "Violently Happy" as well as any pre-Debut material.

The tracks "Human Behaviour", "Big Time Sensuality", and "Venus as a Boy" are taken from Björk's 1993 album Debut. "Play Dead" was originally released on the Young Americans movie soundtrack (1993) but was included on some editions of Debut.

"Hyperballad", "Army of Me", "Isobel", and "Possibly Maybe" are from the 1995 Post album. "All Is Full of Love", "Jóga", "Bachelorette", and "Hunter" are from her 1997 Homogenic album. Finally, "Pagan Poetry" and "Hidden Place" are found on her 2001 Vespertine album.

The artwork on the CD was produced in collaboration with Icelandic contemporary artist Gabríela Fridriksdóttir. It is the only one of Björk's album covers that includes both a logo and a title.

Greatest Hits was released on the same day as Björk's Family Tree box set, which contained a "greatest hits" disc on which the songs were chosen by Björk. Greatest Hits and the greatest hits "as chosen by Björk" have seven tracks in common.

The Greatest Hits album was also listed on Blender magazine's "500 CDs You Must Own"

Additional Information:

All Is Full of Love

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Björk

Hyperballad

Additional engineer: Oswald Bowe, Kirsten Cowie, Adrian Scarff, Mark Warner

Cello: Anthony Pleeth

Conductor: Eumir Deodato

Keyboard: Björk, Marius De Vries

Miscellaneous support: Isobel Griffiths

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent, Al Stone

Performer: Gavyn Wright

Producer: Björk, Nellee Hooper

Programming: Marius De Vries

Recorded by: Howard Bernstein, Steve Price

Strings arranger: Eumir Deodato

Viola: Bob Smissen

Remixes: Hyperballad (Brodsky Quartet version)

Recording of: Hyper-ballad

Composer: Björk

Miscellaneous support: Isobel Griffiths

Human Behaviour

Producer: Nellee Hooper

Mash-ups: Happy Behaviour (Björk vs. Mary J. Blige)

Samples: Go Down Dying

Recording of: Human Behaviour

Composer: Björk, Nellee Hooper, Antônio Carlos Jobim

Jóga

Arranger: Björk, Eumir Deodato

Cello: Sigurður Bjarki Gunnarsson, Jon R. Ornolfsson

Mixer: Howie B, Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Mark Bell (LFO member), Björk

Strings: The Icelandic String Octet

Viola: Guðrún Hrund Harðardóttir, Moeidur Anna Sigurdatdottir

Violin: Sigurbjorn Bernhardsson, Sigrun Edvaldsdottir, Una Sveinbjarnardóttir, Sif Tulinius

Sampled by: Emotional Landscape

Recording of: Jóga

Composer: Björk, Eumir Deodato, Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson

Lyricist: Björk, Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson

Orchestrator: Eumir Deodato

Bachelorette

Arranger: Björk, Eumir Deodato

Bass: Mike Brittain, Paul Gardham, Chris Laurence, Paul Pritchard

Cello: Paul Kegg, Helen Liebmann, Martin Loveday, Jonathan Tunnell

Harp: Helen Tunstall

Horn: Jeff Bryant, Mike Thompson (UK horn player)

Miscellaneous support: Isobel Griffiths, Tony Stanton

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Björk

Recorded by: Steve Price

Snare drum: Frank Ricotti

Timpani: Steve Henderson

Viola: Roger Chase, Bill Hawkes, Peter Lale, George Robertson

Violin: Vaughn Armon, Mark Berrow, Ben Cruft, Roger Garland, Wilf Gibson, Jim McLeod, Perry Montague-Mason, Peter Oxer, Maciej Rakowski, Gavyn Wright

Recording of: Bachelorette

Composer: Björk, Eumir Deodato, Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson

Lyricist: Björk, Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson

Miscellaneous support: Isobel Griffiths, Tony Stanton

Orchestrator: Eumir Deodato

Army of Me

Co-producer: Nellee Hooper, Graham Massey

Engineer: Alan Fisch

Keyboard: Björk, Marius De Vries, Graham Massey

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Performer: Marius De Vries, Nellee Hooper, Graham Massey

Producer: Björk, Nellee Hooper, Graham Massey

Programming: Marius De Vries, Graham Massey

Recorded by: Alan Fisch

Remixes: Army of Me (Masseymix)

Recording of: Army of Me

Composer: Björk, Graham Massey

Pagan Poetry

Additional producer: Marius De Vries

Arranger: Jack Perron

Bass: Björk

Bass guitar: Björk

Harp and other instruments arranger: Björk

Harp arranger: Björk, Zeena Parkins

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Björk

Programming: Jake Davies, Marius De Vries

Recording of: Pagan Poetry

Composer: Björk

Big Time Sensuality (The Fluke Minimix)

Additional producer: Fluke

Producer: Nellee Hooper

Remixer: Fluke

Venus as a Boy

Producer: Nellee Hooper

Recording of: Venus as a Boy

Composer: Björk

Hunter

Arranger: Eumir Deodato

Cello: Sigurður Bjarki Gunnarsson, Jon R. Ornolfsson

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Mark Bell (LFO member), Björk

Recorded by: Markus Dravs

Strings: The Icelandic String Octet

Viola: Guðrún Hrund Harðardóttir, Moeidur Anna Sigurdatdottir

Violin: Sigurbjorn Bernhardsson, Sigrun Edvaldsdottir, Una Sveinbjarnardóttir, Sif Tulinius

Recording of: Hunter

Composer: Björk, Eumir Deodato

Lyricist: Björk

Miscellaneous support: Mike Paradinas

Orchestrator: Eumir Deodato

Hidden Place

Arranger: Björk, Vince Mendoza, Guy Sigsworth

Bass guitar: Björk

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Björk

Programming: Jake Davies, Matthew Herbert, Matmos, Guy Sigsworth, Damian Taylor (Canadian Electronic & rock producer)

Recording of: Hidden Place

Composer: Mark Bell (LFO member), Björk, Guy Sigsworth

Orchestrator: Vince Mendoza

Isobel

Additional engineer: Oswald Bowe, Kirsten Cowie, Gorby, Adrian Scarff

Cello: Anthony Pleeth

Conductor: Eumir Deodato

Keyboard: Björk, Marius De Vries

Miscellaneous support: Isobel Griffiths

Mixer: Al Stone

Performer: Gavyn Wright

Producer: Björk, Nellee Hooper

Programming: Marius De Vries

Recorded by: Howard Bernstein, Lenny Franchi, Steve Price

Strings arranger: Björk, Eumir Deodato

Trumpet: Maurice Murphy

Viola: Bob Smissen

Remixes: Isobel (Deodato mix)

Recording of: Isobel

Composer: Björk, Marius De Vries, Nellee Hooper, Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson

Miscellaneous support: Isobel Griffiths

Possibly Maybe

Additional engineer: Oswald Bowe

Engineer: Howard Bernstein

Keyboard: Björk, Marius De Vries

Mixer: Howard Bernstein, Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Björk, Nellee Hooper

Programming: Marius De Vries

Remixes: How Could You (Possibly Maybe remix), Possibly Maybe (Lucy mix)

Sampled by: Mutual Slump

Recording of: Possibly Maybe

Composer: Björk

Play Dead

Additional producer: Tim Simenon

Engineer: Kerry Hopwood, Q (Mix Engineer)

Mixer: Q (Mix Engineer)

Performer: David Arnold (British film composer)

Producer: David Arnold (British film composer), Danny Cannon

Remixer: Tim Simenon

Sampled by: Paper Planes Playin' Dead

Recording of: Play Dead

Writer: David Arnold (British film composer), Björk, Jah Wobble

It's in Our Hands

Additional programming: Marius De Vries

Engineer: Jake Davies, Valgeir Sigurðsson

Mixer: Mark 'Spike' Stent

Producer: Björk, Andrew Daniel

Programming: Björk, Matmos, Guy Sigsworth, Damian Taylor (Canadian electronic & rock producer)

Samples: Die Dinge des Lebens

BBC Review:

November 2002 sees Björk release a collection of recordings that span her solo work to date. This includes a Greatest Hits album, put together from an online vote, where fans could choose the tracks which they liked best, or which they felt best reflected her career.

This could be the only realistic way in which to measure Björk's success, whose music is respected and adored by such a diverse range of people.

There are 15 tracks, most of which come from her four solo albums. The album begins, very appropriately, with 'All is full of love': it is well nigh impossible to ignore any emotional response to Björk's music, whose voice, lyrics and philosophy fuse with the very best of production and orchestration to create life enhancing music.

Relive the snapshots of Björk's confessionals, quirks like throwing things off the tops of mountains, her bewilderment and admiration for potential mates and the human race in general, and her tendency to hide as self defence. The earlier tracks sound as fresh as ever, and it is surprising to realise that her earlier work is just as self assured and accomplished as the most recent Album, Vespertine. The vast orchestration in context is reminiscent of her home country, and the drama in the tracks take more from programmatic classical music than pop. For instance, the opening trumpet and violins, from which emerges an African-style drumbeat and dirty guitar conjures up all too well the other-world that 'Isobel' inhabits.

The fans picked well: this album is full of beautiful moments, like the timpani of 'Human Behaviour', the point at which the bass kicks in on 'Joga', plus the opening harp on 'Pagan Poetry'. Amust for any fan of Björk; even if you already own all the tracks, the choice and order of this compilation make it an essential.

Bonus:

Hit |3:50

Written by The Sugarcubes

Mix: Paul Fox, Ed Thacker, and The Sugarcubes

"Stick Around for Joy"

Studio album by The Sugarcubes

Released: December 1991 (Single), February 18, 1992

Genre: Alternative rock

Label: Elektra

Producer: Paul Fox

Stick Around For Joy released in February 1992 was the third and final album released by the Icelandic alternative rock band The Sugarcubes. In terms of quality fans usually rate the album somewhere between the band's acclaimed debut, Life's Too Good and the widely panned follow-up Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!. The album provided the band's first and only hit, aptly titled "Hit", which reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. and #17 on the UK Singles Chart.

Come To Me |4:52

Written by Björk, Nellee Hooper

"Debut"

Studio album by Björk

Released: 5 July 1993

Recorded: 1992–1993

Genre: Alternative dance

Label: One Little Indian

Producer: Nellee Hooper, Björk

Debut is the second studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk. The album was released in July 1993 on One Little Indian Records in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records in the United States. Björk worked on the album with producer Nellee Hooper who co-wrote five of Debut's songs with her. The album mostly consists of love songs relating to subjects such as her boyfriend Dominic Thrupp, her producer Nellee Hooper and to love of life itself. Musically, the songs on this album took a different direction from her previous albums with her former band The Sugarcubes, with the backing music ranging from house, jazz and trip hop styles.

Overture |3:32

Written by Björk

"Selmasongs"

Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Dancer in the Dark

Soundtrack album by Björk

Released: September 18, 2000

Genre: Electronica, Classical, Alternative, Trip-hop

Label: One Little Indian

Producer: Björk, Mark Bell

Selmasongs was released in September 2000 by Icelandic singer, musician and actress Björk as a soundtrack to the film Dancer in the Dark, in which she also starred as the main character, Selma.

The album features classical arrangements, as well as melodies and beats composed of sounds from mundane objects, such as factory machines and trains.

New World |4:17

Written by Björk

"Selmasongs"

Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Dancer in the Dark

Soundtrack album by Björk

Released: September 18, 2000

Genre: Electronica, Classical, Alternative, Trip-hop

Label: One Little Indian

Producer: Björk, Mark Bell

Selmasongs was released in September 2000 by Icelandic singer, musician and actress Björk as a soundtrack to the film Dancer in the Dark, in which she also starred as the main character, Selma.

The album features classical arrangements, as well as melodies and beats composed of sounds from mundane objects, such as factory machines and trains.

Total Time: 16:32

| DDD | Audio CD | CBR 320 Kbps/48.1 kHz/Stereo |

| Total File Size: 226 mb. | Pass: björk |

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Here: Amazon UK!, Amazon USA!

& here: 4Shared!

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Dancer in the Dark

Dancer in the Dark is a 2000 Danish musical drama film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Icelandic singer Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Peter Stormare, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Joel Grey. The soundtrack for the film, released as the album Selmasongs, was written mainly by Björk, but a number of songs featured contributions from Mark Bell and the lyrics were by von Trier and Sjón. Three songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music were also used in the film.

Dancer in the Dark is the third film in von Trier's "Golden Heart Trilogy"; the other two films are Breaking the Waves (1996) and The Idiots (1998). The film was an international co-production between companies based in several countries: Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, United States, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Norway. It was shot with a handheld camera, and was somewhat inspired by a Dogme 95 look.

Dancer in the Dark premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival to standing ovations and controversy and was awarded the Palme d'Or, along with the Best Actress award for Björk. The song "I've Seen It All," with Thom Yorke, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.

Dancer in the Dark (2000) Official Trailer

Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark (2000)

...Selma has emigrated with her son from Central Europe to America. The year is 1964. Selma works day and night to save her son from the same disease she suffers from, a disease that inevitably will make her blind. But Selma has the energy to live because of her secret! She loves musicals. When life feels tough she can pretend that she is in the wonderful world of musicals...just for a short moment. All happiness life is not able to give her she finds there...

Björk Behind the Movie: Dancer in the Dark

Video!

All Is Full Of Love

Hyperballad

Human Behavior

Jóga

Bachelorette

Army Of Me

Pagan Poetry

Big Time Sensuality

Venus As A Boy

Hunter

Hidden Place

Isobel

Possibly Maybe

Play Dead

It's In Our Hand's

Hit

Come To Me (live)