Björk's Brave New Musical World

For the last two decades, Björk has pushed every boundary she could find, making just about the weirdest pop music that can still be considered pop music. She’s made beautiful, soulful songs out of electronics, musique concrete, an Inuit choir from Greenland, and her inimitable Icelandic accent that makes English unfamiliar. Her genre-bending music, design, and fashion are currently the subject of a buzzy show at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Björk’s 2012 album Biophilia isn’t even an album per se. For each track, there’s an interactive iPad app that teaches musical principles and delves into different aspects of the scientific world. Every song comes with a musical score and lyrics, so that anyone can play along.

“I started off with this project thinking it would be like the frustrated music teacher in me getting out,” she says, “But I ended up learning tons myself.” And as for the music, with songs like “Virus,” “Dark Matter,” and “Cosmogony” — all accompanied by mesmerizing quasi–scientific animation — Björk’s odes to the mysteries of the universe can be as intoxicating as any love song.

(Originally aired October 14, 2011)

Video: Inside Biophilia's Apps

  

Video: Björk, “Moon” from Biophilia

 

Music Playlist

  1. Moon

    Artist: Björk
    Album: Biophilia
    Label: Nonesuch
  2. I See Who You Are

    Artist: Bjork
    Album: Volta
    Label: Atlantic/Wea
  3. Cosmogony

    Artist: Bjork
    Album: Biophilia
    Label: Nonesuch
  4. Thunderbolt

    Artist: Bjork
    Album: Biophilia
    Label: Nonesuch
  5. Virus

    Artist: Bjork
    Album: Biophilia
    Label: Nonesuch
  6. Crystalline

    Artist: Bjork
    Album: Biophilia
    Label: Nonesuch
  7. Who is it?

    Artist: Bjork
    Album: Medulla
    Label: Elektra / Wea