I love Bjork!; JSDNotes

[juli@carr.dartmouth.edu (Julian West)]

> Could somebody explain the reference to "Our Price", please?
 Sounds like a record store, doesn't it? O, someone said that. But what is
 his problem with "the"?  Wouldn't you say "pop down to the K-Mart"?

> From: Pete Hartman <bucc2!pwh@bradley.edu>
> I saw the new video for _Regina_ (a hard "g" rather than the soft
> one usually used in english) by the Sugarcubes last weekend.  I
 Can you describe it briefly for those of us who don't watch TV but
 nevertheless like to fantasize about Bjork?  :-)

>	Kate's so clever nowadays she writes *and* produces her records.
>    She's also got bloomin' sexy with "Sensual World" in which talk of 
  Ha, ha.           ^^^^^

>    desire, touching and Kate's own breasts is rife.  But these aren't
  Well, Molly's breasts, actually.

> Francisco Bay Guardian_.  Here's this week's picks:
>Kate Bush--"The Sensual World"
>Ian McCulloch--"Proud To Fall"
>The Lightning Seeds--"Pure"
>The Sugarcubes--"Regina"
   What, only fourth?

> Most of the tracks on "Opel" consist of Syd singing and playing acoustic
 Thanks, especially for posting the lyrics.  Joyce's poetry is not nearly
 so interesting as his 'prose', however.

-----------------------------------
More back-and-forth with JSD:

> [on _love_and_anger_:] 
Yes, yours is a more conventional interpretation. I too see strong
parallels to RUTH. I really didn't think much about suicide in relation
to the song until _after_ IED's comments about death.  I am still 
waiting to hear something from that corner...

>>> The Fog: this is _plainly_ an outtake from "the Ninth Wave"
> No, I'm being facetious again.  But there are so many musical, timbral,
> and thematic links to so many songs from _The_Ninth_Wave_, that it's
But it really does sound like a _Ninth_Wave_ b-side, doesn't it?

> But first, a note: I don't think it's an allegorical song, because
> Kate usually is very literal minded when she tells a story.  Think of
> "Cloudbusting" or "Houdini" where all the lyrics make perfect sense if
> you happen to know exactly what she's talking about.  In fact, I can't
> think of a single allegorical text in the KT oeuvre.  It may be late at
> night however, and my memory might not be sharp as a razor...
How about, for an example near at hand, RUTH? Or _Gaffa_?
_There_Goes_a_Tenner_, while perfectly literal, is an example of a song
which we have never found a precise antecedent for, and where the lyrics
don't quite make "perfect sense" even in the most precise setting we have.
However, I suspect there is, as you suggest, some precise referrent for
the image of coin-tossing.

> chicks, if you ask me, and I intend to try it out at the next
> appropriate social event I'm at. ]
But try it soon! After Oct. 17, everyone is going to be doing it!

> "There Goes A Tenner." I think it is relevant.  Could this be possibly
> based on an actual historical event?  Wouldn't surprise me if it were.
Wouldn't surprise me either. Any Hitler experts out there?

> Try: "and bow to a southerly wind"
Sounds good, even without going back to the recording.

> I think it is "up" in all four lines.
I think so too; "out" made a little more sense.

> Last line is: Reaching out for MAMA!!!
This one I have to go back to the tape for. Probably I just heard what
I was expecting to hear, as though this were a conventional pop record!

Basically, all of your textual corrections are well taken, thanks.


-------------------------------------Julian-----------------------------