The Challenge of Covering Björk

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Music in this episode:

Björk - "Bachelorette" (1997)

Björk - "Human Behaviour" (1993)

Björk - "Isobel" (1995)

Aubrey Ghent and Friends - "There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood" (1997)

Carlos Di Sarli - "Indio Manso" (1958)

Astor Piazzolla - "La Milonga del Angel" performed by Fabio Furia (2014)

Björk - "Oceania" (2004)

Müslüm Gürses - "Ask Tesadufleri Sever" (2006)

Trio Shalva - "Bachelorette" (2013)

Clams Casino - "Illest Alive" (2011)

References:

I draw on the Sonic Symbolism podcast episode on Homogenic, this Stereogum interview, and this Record Collector Magazine interview via a French Björk fan site.

Björk mentions tango in this Apple Music interview at 48:50.

My analysis draws on the score for “Bachelorette” that Björk included in her book 34 Scores for Piano, Harpsichord, Organ and Celeste.

I discuss Thomas Turino’s book, Music as Social Life: The Politics of Participation.

There are two instrumental layers in the track that I neglected to mention: tympani and distorted screaming mixed way in the background. It’s probably samples of Björk’s vocal track, but it’s hard to tell.

I also forgot to point out an obstacle to covering Björk songs: she frequently sings in Icelandic, nonsense syllables, or combinations of the two. The end section of “Bachelorette” is a case in point. I guess you could just scat-sing all of that, but it’s not as straightforward as singing a song by a more conventional songwriter.