I've made it a point to have more fun with friends. Today, it was breakfast with Jason and Kevin at a local bistro, Danks Street Depot. Thanks for breakie, guys!
Jase and Kevin with a post-breakfast buzz
I have been a huge fan of Björk for a long time. A few years ago it probably bordered on obsession, but after all, "fan" (in this context) comes from "fanatic." There's something about her artistry that I find
ultimately compelling. Like others at university during the 1980s, I was captivated by her voice when I first heard her as a member of the Sugarcubes. Who was this crazy, evocative band with the wild pixie squealing songs like F^cking in Rhythm and Sorrow and Hetero Scum? I wasn't sure, but I loved them, and moreover, I loved her.
A number of years went by. Then one evening I was standing with some friends in an annoying bar on 17th Street in D.C. when on the giant video screen appeared a small woman in a long white dress, her hair bunched on her skull in large nubian knots. She was dancing on the back of a flat-bed truck as it traveled down the busy streets of Manhattan. And she was singing one of the best songs I'd heard in long time. I recognized the voice
instantly. Talk about big-time sensuality. My senses were flooded with a mix of longing and excitement. I moved closer to the gargantuan video screen until I was enveloped in the light and sound.
Because the intervening years between university and my eventual move to D.C. had been completely occupied with voice studies, auditions, rehearsals and performances, I had become entirely out of touch with any non-classical music. My life revolved around landing gigs and studying the trills and roulades of Baroque music. Seeing Björk prancing on that truck brought something back to me, and I reconnected with a voice I'd missed.
I began collecting Björk's recordings and videos. I Gophered (remember those days?) with an international
Björk fan-club, and even had a few VHS tapes of Björk miscellanea (which I fondly labelled Björk-o-rama vols. 1, 2 and 3) sent to me from some guys in London. At the time, she enjoyed a much wider popularity in Europe. I began to make frequent trips to Tower Records and began snapping up nearly everything she released. It was official. I was a fanatic.
It wasn't until October 2001 that I got to see her live. I was living in Burlington, Vermont by this time with my former partner, also a Björk fan (thankfully). We drove from Burlington to Toronto to see her on the Vespertine concert tour. The swan dress be damned, it was an unforgettable experience. I had spent so many years missing her concerts, as they either sold out before I could get tickets or took place in cities that I couldn't get to for whatever reason. But then, finally, I got to see this woman up close. No longer did I have to admire her from afar. After that concert, my obsession faded. I
still followed her music and career, and I continued to acquire her recordings and videos, but for some reason the voracity with which I had consumed her work diminished. I hadn't by any means lost interest, but I was content to move from fanatical enthusiast to seasoned devotee.
Someday I'll write about what fuels my attraction to this woman and her music. For now, I'm happy to know she's still writing and producing, and that my fondness for the artist continues to ripen.
Earth Intruders (courtesy AtlanticVideo & YouTube)
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