Björk - Selmasongs (Dancer In The Dark OST) [2000]

Genre: Electronica, Soundtrack, Alternative, Ambient

MySpace: bjork

My opinion & thought: This the soundtracks album for the indie film "Dancer In The Dark" which was starring by Björk herself. A brilliant indie film + great soundtracks.

Stands out track(s): New World, I've Seen It All

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.

Notably, some of the song lyrics on the album are substantially different from the songs in the film; the most obvious example being "Scatterheart". Some lyrics were rewritten, perhaps to prevent spoiling crucial plot details, since the soundtrack was released in stores before the movie opened in theaters, or to make the record flow better as a stand-alone album. In particular, the song "I've Seen It All" loses much of its meaning, as Thom Yorke and Björk swap characters during the song (in the film, Björk duets with Peter Stormare and they maintain their characters throughout the song). In addition, the tracks "My Favourite Things" and "(The) Next-to-Last Song" do not appear on the album at all, possibly for the same reason. The track "I've Seen It All" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. For the track, Björk made a "webeo" with director Floria Sigismondi that premiered on September 1, 2000 on MTV.com. It used a shorter version of the song that the singer recorded specifically for the webeo.

The album was re-released in 2006 as a DualDisc including new DTS 24/96 5.1-channel surround sound mixes. The DualDisc also formed part of the (____surrounded):box set.

Tracklisting:

1. "Overture" (Instrumental) – 3:38
2. "Cvalda" (with Catherine Deneuve) – 4:48
3. "I've Seen It All" (with Thom Yorke) – 5:29
4. "Scatterheart" – 6:39
5. "In The Musicals" – 4:41
6. "107 Steps" (with Siobhan Fallon) – 2:36
7. "New World" – 4:23

Track 1 written by Björk and arranged, orchestrated, and conducted by Vincent Mendoza.

Tracks 3, 4, 6 & 7 written by Björk, Sjón & Lars von Trier.

Tracks 2 & 5 written by Björk, Mark Bell, Sjón & Lars von Trier.

Charts:

Country	Peak position	Certification	Sales
Austria	21
France	4	Platinum	242,000+
Finland	10
Norway	2
Poland	19
Sweden	12
Switzerland	20
U.K.	34
United States	41		201,000

Björk - Homogenic [1997]

Genre: Electronica, Tribal House, Alternative, Ambient

MySpace: bjork

My opinion & thought: The third studio album by Björk, which is a concept album and it's going better, especially "All Is Full Of Love", the greatest song ever written & performed by Björk.

Stands out track(s): All Is Full Of Love, Jóga, Hunter

Homogenic is the third studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter and musician Björk, released on 23 September 1997 by One Little Indian and Elektra Records. It was written in collaboration with producer Mark Bell of LFO. It has sold over 2.3 million copies worldwide. It peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart. It was also nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards, while "All Is Full Of Love" was nominated for Best Music Video. The album was re-released in 2006 as a DualDisc including new DTS 96/24 5.1-channel surround sound mixes. The DualDisc also formed part of the (____surrounded): box set.

Album concept:

Björk continually describes Homogenic as an extension of her personal feelings. In interviews, she called the album her "most me yet" and "emotionally confrontational." Claiming that there are no surprises on Homogenic, Björk wanted to make a minimalist album with few tools: a string orchestra, vocals, and synthetic beats. She has revealed that the album's name stems from the fact that all of the tracks are relatively similar and did not realise that "homogenic" is not actually an English word, referencing English as her second language. In an interview for Oor, Björk said:

“

I wanted to make it an honest record. Me, here, myself, at home. I asked myself if there is such a thing as Icelandic techno, and how it could sound. Well, in Iceland, everything revolves around nature, 24 hours a day. Earthquakes, snowstorms, rain, ice, volcanic eruptions, geysers... Very elementary and uncontrollable. But at the other hand, Iceland is incredibly modern; everything is hi-tech. The number of people owning a computer is as high as nowhere else in the world. That contradiction is also on Homogenic. The electronic beats are the rhythm, the heartbeat. The violins create the old-fashioned atmosphere, the colouring. Homogenic is Iceland, my native country, my home.

Tracklisting:

All tracks written by Björk unless where noted

1. "Hunter" – 4:15
2. "Jóga" (Björk/Sjón) – 5:05
3. "Unravel" (Björk/Guy Sigsworth) – 3:17
4. "Bachelorette" (Björk/Sjón) – 5:16
5. "All Neon Like" – 5:53
6. "5 Years" – 4:29
7. "Immature" – 3:06
8. "Alarm Call" – 4:19
9. "Pluto" (Björk/Mark Bell) – 3:19
10. "All Is Full of Love" – 4:32

Reception & charts:

Homogenic was extremely well received by critics and the general public. Allmusic's Heather Phares gave the record a five-out-of-five star rating, citing it as more emotionally deep than any of Björk's previous work and a "seamless fusion of chilly strings, stuttering, abstract beats, and unique touches like an accordion and glass harmonica." Writing a review of the album forPitchfork Media, Ryan Schrieber graded Homogenic as an 9.9-out-of-10, claiming that Björk has started to re-define what music actually is rather than its sound.^[7] Rolling Stone praised the juxtaposition and contradiction of live strings and synthesised beats, eventually naming it one of the boldest albums of 1997.

Country	Peak position	Certification	Sales
Australia	6	Gold	35,000
Austria	5
Canada	20	Gold	50,000+ [9]
Finland	10
France	2	2x Platinum	556,500+
Norway	3
Spain	33
Sweden	5
Switzerland	13
UK	4	Gold	100,000+
U.S.	28	Gold	500,000+
Europe	-	Platinum	1,000,000+