EXAMINING: Björk’s Medúlla
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MicTheSnare
LISTEN: https://open.spotify.com/album/6bjGw9Clp684XTRPBI0h6K
SUPPORT: https://shop.bjork.com/cd/medulla.html
Even in a discography as varied as hers, Bjork’s 2004 album Medulla stands out – mostly because it’s entirely performed using the voice. In this episode of EXAMINING, let’s take a look at the album’s various influences and collaborators to understand how it came together, and what it has to say about the capabilities of the human voice.
(I’m also playing with a new format specifically for this video. I don’t plan on using it often – if ever again – but if you like/dislike it for any constructive reason, let me know.)
(Correction: Bjork gave birth to her SECOND child just before Medulla released, not her first.)
SOURCES:
– Documentary on the Making of Medulla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEZeBB_SHWo
– Triumph of a Heart Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvgVsxaqYgA&list=PLzvdgLQIZIKU1CUC1AtDtdVZWdBJiqmvj&index=3&t=0s
Interviews (Some mentioned in the video, some that helped for inspiration):
– https://www.innerviews.org/inner/bjork.html
– https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/interview-bjork-44474
– https://www.bjork.fr/Dazed-Confused-1996
– https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/08/23/bjorks-saga
– Pierrot Lunaire Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd2cBUJmDr8
– Schoenberg Quote: https://www.schoenberg.at/index.php/en/joomla-license-3/rpierrot-lunairel-op-21
Inuit Throat Singing
– https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-science-of-tuvan-throat-singing/
– https://folkways.si.edu/throat-singing-unique-vocalization-three-cultures/world/music/article/smithsonian
– Tanya Tagaq TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dumvYzfuT0w
– FADER Piece: http://www.thefader.com/2016/11/11/tanya-tagaq-retribution
– Tanya Tagaq Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuTIySphv2w
John Tavener
– “The Lamb”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCnYdL_co6Y
– “Prayer of the Heart”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rWwBYaIWxM
– BBC Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK7Qkxt8FNs
Rahzel
– Beatbox Battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym3lb0SSXhM
– If Your Mother Only Knew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFMem__ZCig
– Composers Now Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm4IS_-Md_c
– Interview with Slant: https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/interview-rahzel/
Other Clips
– Vassar Devils Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbKnWI64RHc
– Glee Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70j133q1Inw
Sachs, Curt, and Jaap Kunst. The Wellsprings Of Music. Da Capo Press Paperback, 1988.
Comments are closed.