11 Things You Didn't Know About Bjork

Nov 21, 2012
Bjork

1.

Bjork

 

2. "There's no map to human behaviour."

It has been made very clear over the past few decades: There is nobody on this planet quite like Björk. The 47-year-old Icelandic singer (full name: Björk Guðmundsdóttir) takes creativity to new heights, and over the past few decades she's pulled off a level of both critical and commercial success that few artists in the history of music have matched. The most impressive thing about this is that she's done it all without ever conforming to any rules other than the ones she's set for herself. She's an artist's artist, and whether or not you're a fan, you've most likely been entertained, amused, impressed, or mindfucked by Björk at some point in your life.

To celebrate her birthday today, we've dug up some things that you may not know about the eclectic artist that we've all come to love.

3. She sent flowers to the family of the man who tried to kill her

In 1996, a man by the name of Ricardo Lopez tried to kill Björk. Lopez was a pest control officer from Florida, and he was obsessed with Björk. Lopez mailed a sulfuric acid bomb—meant to kill or permanently disfigure its opener—disguised as a book to Björk's London home. Luckily, the Scotland Yard intercepted the bomb before it reached Björk.

But that wasn't even the worst part. It was later revealed that Ricardo Lopez had been filming a video diary over a period of eight months, a total of 20 hours worth of footage. He addressed everything from how he made his bomb, to Björk's relationship with Goldie, and the footage captured Lopez's deteriorating mental state as well as his ultimate suicide - Lopez would shoot himself in the mouth after mailing Björk the sulfuric bomb while Björk's "I Remember You" played in the background.

Though Björk found this incident to be emotionally straining, she expressed sympathy for Ricardo Lopez's family, sending flowers to them. This incident would also mark the end of her time in London and the start of more personal music.

Watch a clip from Ricardo's video diary below. Warning: It's disturbing.

4. An Icelandic poet once made her scared of television

In a charmingly quirky video from 1988, Björk confessed that an Icelandic poet once convinced her that TV was bad. According to the poet, your brain is so busy interpreting the images coming from the screen that you can't judge what is right or wrong. Björk learned more about the science behind how a television operates, and in this clip she takes a television apart, inspects the insides, cites a Danish book, and explains her conclusion that there is no need to be scared of television.

"I became so scared of television that I always got headaches when I watched it. But then later on, when I got my Danish book on television, I stopped being afraid because I read the truth—and that's the scientifical truth, which is much better. You shouldn't let poets lie to you."

5. The tattoo on her left arm is a symbol from an Icelandic book of magic

The tattoo on Björk's left arm is the Vegvísir, a word that literally translates into "sign post." While often confused for a Viking symbol, it's actually from the 16th-17th century Icelandic book of magic called Galdrabók. Some of the spells in the book are protective, meant to prevent illness and suffering, and others are intended to cause fear, kill things, seek out evil, cause flatulence, or turn women into witches. The Vegvísir was used to prevent people from getting lost in harsh weather.

A manuscript from the 18th century reads: "If this sign is carried, one will never lose one's way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is not known."

Bjork also has a tattoo of a star behind her right ear. When asked about that, she said it was "just for fun."

(Viking Rune)

6. She was offered Elliðaey Island as a gift from the Icelandic government

Elliðaey, also known as "Björk Island," is a small island off of the coast of Iceland, and it was once offered to Björk. The Icelandic government saw that Björk was promoting Iceland abroad, and as a token of their appreciation, presented unto Björk the island back in 2000. Though she was tempted to accept the offer and planned on building a house on the uninhabited island, she ultimately declined, concerned over losing privacy. The prime minister at the time was also forced to withdraw his offer after much local protest.

7. She was in a band whose name translates to “Cork the Bitch’s Ass”

Of course she was. From 1981 to 1983, Tappi Tíkarrass was a well-known Icelandic punk band who distinguished themselves from the usual crowd of punks by adding elements of funk and jazz to their music. The band got their name when the original lead singer's father said the band's music “fitted like a cork in a bitch’s ass." Within months of their formation, Björk took over the lead singer role.

After a couple of years, the band's members disbanded to pursue different things, and Björk moved on to her next project, the gothic, anarcho-punk band KUKL. KUKL translates into ""witchcraft" in Medieval Icelandic.

Here's Tappi Tíkarrass performing in 1982:

Here's another performance from London, also in 1982:

8. She believes everyone is bisexual, to some extent

In a 2004 interview with Diva, Björk explained:

"I’ve always had as many powerful, creative ladies in my life as I have men, and you could probably describe some of those relationships as romantic. I think everyone’s bisexual to some degree or another; it’s just a question of whether or not you choose to recognise it and embrace it. Personally, I think choosing between men and women is like choosing between cake and ice cream. You’d be daft not to try both when there are so many different flavours.”

(BCN)

9. She once ate puffin

She doesn't speak about it too fondly, but when asked about the weirdest thing she ever put in her mouth, Bjork recalled the time she ate puffin:

"I ate puffin once; it's overrated. There's a lot of pickled stuff in Iceland. They pee on shark and then dig it into the earth for a few months, then they get it out and the ammonia has preserved it. I'm more into fresh stuff."

During the same interview, she admitted to once stealing a children's pool:

"I went through an anti-Establishment phase and thought we should get everything for free. I stole a children's swimming pool because my boyfriend and I didn't have a bathtub. I was with a poet friend - he was sweating really hard. Poets don't have strong enough nerves for things like that."

(GQ)

10. She caused beef between Goldie and Tricky

Björk has been quoted saying that music is her true love, so it comes as no surprise that her love life would involve other musicians. In 1996, Björk was romantically involved with British drum & bass producer Goldie, but just prior to her relationship with Goldie, Björk was also linked to Tricky, another artist from the UK. Many believe that the line, "As long as you're humble/Let you be the king of jungle" from Tricky's "Tricky Kid" was a direct barb thrown at Goldie regarding their friction.

Details of this incident remain vague, but many believe that the static between Goldie and Tricky over Björk culminated in these two scuffling in New York during one of Goldie's DJ gigs. While Tricky has denied the two fought because of Björk, who attempted to stop the fight, this incident ultimately ended Goldie and Björk's relationship. Watch Björk speak about her relationship with Goldie while the two were still in that honeymoon stage below.

11. Her infamous attack was sparked when a reporter tried talking to her son

Björk gives off a calm, peaceful vibe, but don't push her too far. In 1996, a hoard of reporters surrounded Björk while she was leaving the Bangkok Airport with her son, Sindri. After some back and forth with the reporters, Björk unleashed a vicious attack on one particular reporter, grabbing her hair, punching her several times, and throwing her to the ground.

Later, Björk explained that after being harassed by reporters for days, she reached her breaking point when the reporter started talking to her son, saying, "It's very difficult to be the son of a pop star isn't it?" This was what pushed her over the edge. Two years later, she attacked another reporter in New Zealand. No legal actions were taken in either of the cases.

12. She released her first album when she was 12 years old

After a mere year of classical piano lessons and an appearance on Icelandic radio landed Björk a record contract with an Icelandic label, the 12-year-old singer released her self-titled debut album. Consisting of covers translated into Icelandic alongside a few originals (including instrumental flute-tribute to Icelandic painter Jóhannes Kjarval written Björk herself), the album was released in limited quantity and remains a rarity outside Iceland. Björk invested the proceeds in buying a new piano.

13. You're probably pronouncing her name wrong

Spelled Björk, the umlaut over the "o" means the proper pronunciation of our favorite Icelandic fairy's name is closer to "Byerk" than the commonly anglicized "Byork." So, next time you're at a party and "Byork" comes up, you can win a bit of hipster cred (or pretend you've spent time in Iceland) by dropping some linguistic knowledge.

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