Just what is she doing?

This month we will be looking at the contribution to Music Videos made by kooky iconic Icelander, Bjork or Bee-joor-ak as I used to think she was called at school. My dyslexia just about copes with English let alone a language that has funny things over its letters.

Not only has she been taking chances with her music over the years (some of it verging on damn near unlistenable) she has also been taking chances on video directors. She has worked with all the big guns (Michel Gondrey, Chris Cunningham, Spike Jonze, Stephane Sednaoui) often before they hit the big time and currently taking chances on first time directors (recently holding a competition to direct her video for new single Innocence).

We will start Bjork retrospective with All is Full of Love by Chris Cunningham. Bjork has quite a lot of influence in the making of her videos and apparently she specifically sort out Chris for all is full of love and in an interview with her she said she was looking for something white, clinical yet sexy at the same time... I'm not sure if this is erotic but what ever floats your boat:



I think this was Bjork's first solo single but I am far too lazy to look it up, it was certainly the first thing I ever saw of her. This was Michel Gondry's first big video outside France (or was it Lucas with the lid off???), Human Behaviour:



The first of about a thousand Bjork/Gondrey collaborations. On Michel's DVD he talks at length about collaborating with Bjork, if your interested.

More Michel with Hyperballad:



I used to hate this video with a passion when I was younger and I was going to put it in an example of "how not all Michel touches is gold and that even the best collaborations can go awry, but watching it again I can't think why I hated it so much. Ok, its not the greatest video in the world, but its got some nice ideas in there and some great effects, the glowing electricity pylons and the effective superimposition's... Maybe MTV just over played it. Why not comment, let me know is this video crap?

Great eerie dark video, involving sheep and amoeba, from Coronel Blimp, Nature is Ancient:



I totally forgot about this video and it is a truly excellent animated one for I Miss You by the guy who started Ren and Stimpy, John Kricfalusi:



Even more Michel, Army of Me:



Very distinctly Michel Gondry, the trade mark perspective size changes, the stretching body parts, over sized objects and people in animal suits, its all there. I would draw your attention to the narrative. Prospective terrorist goes to blow up a lover in a coma, on the way stops at the dentist to have a filling removed and uses it to restart her truck. An everyday story I think you will all agree.

Next is the first of two collaborations between Spike Jonze and Bjork, the first which I expect every man and his dog has seen as it was probably Bjork's most commercial hit and indeed Spike's most commercial video, big budget and heavy rotation on MTV (in the days before youtube and multiple music channels, when that sort of thing happened). Its Oh so Quite:



This is the second collaboration with Spike Jonze for Triumph of a Heart, this shows two artists a bit more in tune with their style of work, Spike has gone back to a slightly rougher video style of Praise You and Bjork is doing her own thing with hand clapping and acapella.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQB9d-MMIx0 (sorry rubbish, a link to this one, go watch and come back)

I know a lot of people who don't like both the video and the song so there is some debate about how successful this collaboration is. I saw it at Antenna with a room full of other music video junkies and it pretty much got their seal of approval judging by the laughs. Personally if it has a dancing cat, I am sold.

*In an bit of a side note, coming soon Spike is currently directing Where the Wild Things Are, which is pretty awesome really.

As mentioned previously the spectacular fan made video for Innocence by Annabella Faustin, who won the competition to make the first video for Volta.



This video highlights the serious issues facing the music video promo industry. If fans can produce videos of this quality for almost nothing why are you going to have huge budget and big time director, esp. when the record industry is in meltdown and record companies have no money for commissioning promos.

Well produced vid for Unravel:

Reminds me of that Audi A6 ad.

I think we will end on the rarely seen night version of Big Time Sensuality by Stephane Sednaoui. The power of the artist lead video, and a very game Bjork. I really don't know why this was never the original video (it has a is more aesthetic light contrast than the day time one). Probably an MTV thing:



So in conclusion, as inventive in her music video commissioning as she is with her music, love or loathe them she has made some amazing videos that have pushed boundaries, and played her part in making stars out of lesser know directors. Bjork we salute you.

Again, a big thank you to you all for taking the time to read and watch, very much appreciated. Another huge debt of gratitude to the boys and girls at YouTube, both the users and developers for the continued flouting of international copyright law and for making it so easy to find this stuff on the web, I thank you. As always, I will leave with something totally irrelevant. Who's the boom king! Flight of the Conchords and Abi the racist dragon: