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Medúlla

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Medúlla is an album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on 30 August 2004. The title is the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals. Medúlla received two Grammy Award nominations and reached number one in several record charts.

Background and structure

Björk struggled to create a title for the album, originally calling "Ink" as she wanted the title to represent the "5,000 year-old blood that’s inside us all; an ancient spirit that’s passionate and dark, a spirit that survives. "[1] Her friend then suggested "Medúlla", a medical term for marrow in Latin.[1].

Medúlla is considered Björk's most political album,[2] countering American racism and patriotism after the September 11, 2001 attacks.[2]. Björk also described being pregnant with her daughter Ísadóra influenced her album, particularly with the song "Mouth's Cradle".[2][3]

The album consists almost entirely of human vocals and a cappella arrangements; only a few musical instruments are featured: a bass synthesizer on "Who Is It", piano on "Ancestors", a gong on "Pleasure Is All Mine" and a synthesizer on "Mouth's Cradle". However, the vocals are sometimes processed or sampled: for example, the atmospheric haze that dominates "Desired Constellation" was created from a sample of Björk singing the phrase "I'm not sure what to do with it" from "Hidden Place" on her previous album, Vespertine. The album features beatboxing, choral arrangements and throat singing, as well as guest appearances by such artists as Mike Patton, Robert Wyatt, Tagaq, Rahzel (formerly of The Roots), Shlomo and Dokaka.

All songs were written by Björk, except the lyrics for "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" which was based on a poem by e. e. cummings, and the song "Vökuró", originally by Jórunn Viðar.

The album was originally released both on CD and on DVD-Audio in 5.1-channel advanced resolution. The album was re-released in 2006 as a DualDisc including a lower-quality DTS 96/24 version of the original advanced resolution 5.1 mix. The DualDisc also formed part of the ( surrounded): box set.

Live performances

"Oceania" was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee and performed at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games, in which Björk's sea-blue dress expanded to cover nearly the entire stadium.

On October 8 2004, Björk performed at the BBC Studios for the Friday Night with Jonathan Ross show. She performed the Bell Choir mix of "Who Is It" with Rahzel and an English Bell Choir.

On October 15 2004, Björk performed a set of six songs for a French television show called Album de la Semaine at the Canal studios in Paris, France.

Setlist:

  1. "Desired Constellation"
  2. "Pleasure Is All Mine"
  3. "Show Me Forgiveness"
  4. "Sonnets/Unrealites XI"
  5. "Vökuró"
  6. "Who Is It"

On July 22005, Björk performed in Tokyo, Japan at the Makuhari Messe for Live 8. Accompanied by electronic duo Matmos, a Japanese String Octet and harpist Zeena Parkins, she performed a set of nine songs.

Setlist:

  1. "Pagan Poetry" (Instrumental)
  2. "Pagan Poetry"
  3. "All Is Full of Love"
  4. "Desired Constellation"
  5. "Jóga"
  6. "Hyperballad"
  7. "Generous Palmstroke"
  8. "Bachelorette"
  9. "It's in Our Hands" (Soft Pink Truth Mix)

On January 7 2006, Björk performed in Reykjavík, Iceland at the Stórtónleikar. The major concert in Iceland was announced in the Icelandic Morgunblaðið newspaper in support of the Icelandic Nature preserve. The artists playing were Ham, Magga Stína, Múm, Sigur Rós, Hjálmar, KK, Rass, Björk, Ghostigital, Damon Albarn and Egó. Björk was accompanied by Zeena Parkins on harp and she performed 3 songs.

Setlist:

  1. "Vökuró" (Harp version)
  2. "Show Me Forgiveness"
  3. "Generous Palmstroke"

Reception

Reviews for the album were strongly positive; The Guardian gave it 5 stars out of 5 and heralded it as brave and unique. Pitchfork Media, despite not appreciating the wide array of collaborators concluded:Medulla is an interesting record...(Björk)'s found a way to bathe her immediately distinctive melodies and vocal nuances in solutions that cause me to reevaluate her voice and her craft.Rolling Stone Magazine stated that Medulla is both the most extreme record Bjork has ever released and the most immediately accessible.In more balanced reviews Andy Battaglia of A.V. Music said that Once perceptions and expectations settle out... the album proves arrestingly in thrall to its own twisted tongue, while Allmusic.com thought that Medulla is not an immediate album, but it is a fascinating one, especially for anyone interested in the world's oldest instrument being used in unexpected ways.

Björk received two Grammy Award nominations for Medúlla, including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Oceania", and Best Alternative Music Album. The album holds an rating of 84/100 at Metacritic. This album is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The album reached a position of number nine on the UK Albums Chart and number 14 on the U.S. Billboard 200, her highest position at the time. It also reached number one in Estonia, France, Iceland and Belgium (Wallonia).

Medúlla has sold 235,000 copies in the U.S. and more than 1 million worldwide.[citation needed]

Track listing

All songs written by Björk unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Pleasure Is All Mine" (Björk, Tagaq, Mike Patton) - 3:26
  2. "Show Me Forgiveness" – 1:23
  3. "Where Is the Line" – 4:41
  4. "Vökuró" (Jórunn Viðar, Jakobína Sigurðardóttir) – 3:14
  5. "Öll Birtan" – 1:52
  6. "Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)" – 3:57
  7. "Submarine" – 3:13
  8. "Desired Constellation" (Björk, Olivier Alary) – 4:55
  9. "Oceania" (Björk, Sjón) – 3:24
  10. "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" (Björk, Cummings) – 1:59
  11. "Ancestors" (Björk, Tagaq) – 4:08
  12. "Mouth's Cradle" – 4:00
  13. "Miðvikudags" – 1:24
  14. "Triumph of a Heart" – 4:04
  15. "Komið" (Japanese bonus track, iTunes release) – 2:02

Chart performance

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Argentine Albums Chart 4
Australian Albums Chart 17
Austrian Albums Chart 6
Belgium (Flanders) Albums Chart 4
Belgium (Wallonia) Albums Chart 1
Canadian Albums Chart 6
Czech Republic Albums Chart 13
Danish Albums Chart 2
Dutch Albums Chart 20
Estonian Albums Chart 1
European Albums Chart 1
Finnish Albums Chart 4
French Albums Chart 1
German Albums Chart 5
Greek International Albums Chart 3
Hungarian Albums Chart 71
Icelandic Albums Chart 1
Irish Albums Chart 22
Italian Albums Chart 2
Japanese Albums Chart 10
Mexican Albums Chart 2
New Zealand Albums Chart 35
Norwegian Albums Chart 3
Singaporean Albums Chart 6
Spanish Albums Chart 6
Swedish Albums Chart 7
Swiss Albums Chart 3
UK Albums Chart 9
U.S. Billboard 200 14
U.S. Billboard Top Electronic Albums 1
U.S. Billboard European Top 100 Albums 1

References

  1. ^ a b "Björk : albums : MEDÚLLA". Retrieved 2008-08-23]]. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Liz Hoggard (March 13, 2005). "'Maybe I'll be a feminist in my old age'". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-08-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Passions in a cold climate". The Independent. August 13, 2004. Retrieved 2008-08-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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