Customer Reviews

Bjork: There's More to Life Than This (Stories Behind Every Song)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I guess since I've been a Bjork fan for a while now, I was hoping to find some new insight into her songs through this book. If you want to learn the intentions and meanings behind Bjork songs, you're better off going to her website or searching online for interpretations or interviews. This book, while providing some solid background information about Bjork, does not provide too much information about the songs themselves. It seems that the author took random quotes and tried to apply them to the songs as he saw fit. The timeline is useful, and pictures are gorgeous. The descriptions for each song are not more than a couple of paragraphs each, far too short to even get an introduction for a Bjork song. It is a good collector's item--that's why I bought it. But if you're looking for some answers, like, what do those bjorkish words mean?, look somewhere else...like the 4um

my mom brought this book back for me from london, because at that time (last november) it was next to impossible to find in the states. the book looks nice on the outside. nice oversized book, with thick glossy paper. and the idea of the book is nice, the story beihnd every song + info on the cubes/gling-glo and early stuff.

however, the book does fall a little short, content wise. the information gathered is mostly pretty well known (keep in mind i am a total björk dörk :p ) but the pictures in the book totally make up for the (lack of) content! there were so many pics i have never seen before, and huge, oversized glossy pictures! i was in heaven :)

i was really hoping for more information about the sugarcubes, which is why this book didn't get a 5 star rating! they only talked about the 'cubes, and didn't get in to the meaning behind the songs.

A fine overview of Bjork's career, with lots of good photos, and a track-by-track discussion of each album, beginning with her pre-teen "Bjork" effort and concluding with "Vespertine." (There's also a discussion of all B-sides and collaborations.) Mr. Gittins is apparently not a musician--he can't tell a recorder from a flute and describes a sitar as "Indian strings"--but he's otherwise well-informed and appreciative of Bjork's genius without going overboard. Highly recommended to Bjork fans.

I've always thought that Bjork was just the loveliest lady, but I haven't seen or heard much of her. Yesterday I picked up this book at Barnes and Noble for $4.98, yes that's four ninety-eight, and it is just chock-full of so many pictures and clear tidy text that I am very impressed. It may not be the most in-depth work about her, but it seems fairly accessible, and she is not terribly well-known beyond a certain reputation as being a bit "out there." She's an artist, not a commodity like so many musicians, and it's not what we expect, and people forget to look beyond the far-out sound bite or video clip.

This is a good reference book if you want to know what Bjork is saying AND meaning in her songs. This book has helped me understand some of her Icelandic accent, which I think is awesome. Some of her songs get so twisted in my head, (I am always changing lyrics anyway) that I have to use this book to know what she is really saying. I have lots of fun with the English language, Bjork does speak very well, but if you have a hearing problem like I do, this book will make for good reading.
This book has mostly all of her songs, the reasons why she wrote them, it opens up a whole new realm for any Bjork fan.
The photography is great, also. Bjork is a Beautiful Icelandic Princess with much talent.