BJORK - SELMASONGS EP
anyone who's heard "it's oh so quiet" -- or, better yet, seen the video -- from bjork's post knows that she has the capacity to handle showtunes. even the staunchest supporter of the theater has to however begrudgingly admit that the very form is a tad ridiculous: people spontaneously breaking out into song for no reason; the conceits behind the musicals; the lethal amount of bathos in the songs. who better, then, to tackle the genre than bjork?
the story: the soundtrack is composed of songs that bjork performs in her award-winning performance in lars von triers' dancer in the dark, in which bjork assumes the role of selma, a czech-immigrant worker who is slowly going blind due to a genetic disorder. her young son will suffer the same fate if he doesn't get an operation; accordingly, the money selma's stashed away for the operation disappears and...well, you get it.
the pairing of bjork and the showtune is just as natural as you'd imagine. the ep begins with the instrumental overture which points out the suffering and despair that's looming on the horizon, yet it's still suffused with a faint glimmer of hope; best of all it's impossibly epic and rife with heartache -- andrew lloyd webber, eat your heart out. without saying a word, it perfectly encapsulates the story. as i said, the dread (you'd think i was getting paid to use that word this week) is still a little ways off, so...LET'S DANCE!
"cvalda" is next on the album, and it's a clattering whirl of percussion with bjork joined by her friend, kathy, played by the divine catherine deneuve. it's a fun little number and i can already see the production in my mind without having yet seen the film. "cvalda" puts all worries aside for the moment; it's refreshing because the next track reveals selma's malady.
"i''ve seen it all" is a duet with radiohead's thom yorke, singing in an oddly low register. his deadpan, in this case, is a perfect compliment to bjork's, um, idiosyncratic vocals. it's an immensely sad song with lyrics characteristic of the theater, where viewers just love to be made to feel bad. bjork sings of all of the things she's seen in her life, trying to accept her fate with total dignity, whereas yorke counters with all of the things -- mostly tourist attractions like the empire state building and the great wall of china. the production is magical and, what to many may be a pairing made in hell, the end result is unbearably poignant.
"scatterheat" is the most "typical" bjork song on the album with its off-kilter and rapid-fire percussion, it sounds like something from post. the song doesn't appear in the movie, though it's opening verse is in the song "smith & wesson." having not seen the film, its lyrics are fairly cryptic and the song goes on for too long for its own good. there's a definite sense of foreboding, and i guess that's why it's here.
the next song, "in the musicals," also recalls bjork's earlier work. it begins with what sounds like bjork singing in the midst of a basketball game, what with the squeaking and dribbling sounds. after that, it moves into musical mode with strings and a big chorus. my guess is that this song is about the sound of music as selma is slated to play the lead in a local production of the play. there's a tapping bit at the end that, while it sounds interesting, most likely comes across better on the screen.
"107 steps" isn't much of a song, per se, as it is a setup. it's similar to spiritualized's "200 bars" in that it's composed of bjork and others counting to 107, with orchestral backing. what these steps represent isn't quite apparent, though, once again, seeing the film will surely clear that up. as they near completion, the music builds and builds and you know that this track is leading up to the climax, not just because it's the penultimate track, but also because of the anticipation and anxiety it emanates.
the last track is "new world" and it's a reprise of the overture, but with bjork's vocals and lyrics added. with those components included, it becomes even more emotional than the overture itself. i'm not quite certain what the song is about, though i have ideas and in the interest of not spoiling the film, i'll keep them to myself. any way you look at it, however, "new world" is the big closer and it's impressively breathtaking. like radiohead's "motion picture soundtrack," this is the type of song to roll over the end credits, except in this case it may be literal instead of just figurative.
does this soundtrack hold up apart from the movie? oh, yes. as i noted, there are some ambiguities and question marks, but they should only make you want to see the film even more. as a bjork album, it's very fine indeed. selmasongs makes you hope that she'll include more classic musical influences on her next proper album, because this ep bears out the promise of "it's oh so quiet" and then some, adding pathos that some may have thought the eccentric bjork incapable of. good show.
(c) 2000 - fred solinger -
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