Björk (as well as composer Ennio Morricone) won this year’s prestigious Polar Music Prize, an award and cash grant given to outstanding musicians, composers, groups and organizations. It was created by ABBA lyricist and manager Stig Anderson in 1989, and since then people like Steve Reich, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Quincy Jones, and Led Zeppelin have won the award. Björk was at the ceremony today in Stockholm, where Robyn paid tribute with a cover of Post‘s “Hyperballad.” The cover is a little shaky, and if Robyn had gotten a glimpse of Björk’s expression during the song, she might’ve stopped dead. But Björk does smile and applaud at the end, so maybe she won her over.
Here’s the MP3:
You can grab many more Post covers (including Dirty Projectors’s cover of “Hyperballad”) at Stereogum Presents…Enjoyed
UPDATE: Wildbirds & Peacedrums also performed at the show. They did “Human Behaviour”:
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Also, she’ll be performing “Dancing On My Own” with Deadmau5 at the VMAs. I’m guessing only 10 seconds will air in a bumper before they cut to commercial.
Amazing how this prediction is so right on.
Curious question/ No harm intended – Why is Robyn gaining popularity with the independent target market? I’m just wondering why she’s gone from being the person of simple minded 90′s pop and now she is marketed to Bjork fans? In 1997, anyone that owned her album also loved boy bands and thought Bjork was weird. Now in 2010, Stereogum advertises her materials while posting updates from brilliant artists such as Sufjan and Beck. With this gathered information….Why the hype?
p4k. That should answer all your questions.
You could say the same thing about Justin Timberlake and it would still sound stupid.
Because Robyn from 1997 is different than Robyn from 2010. Compare manufactured teen against one of the finest electropop in the world. Owning a small record label she can release/sing anything she wants.
Check out interviews with her. She talks about her process and how she really had to fight hard to get her own label. Though she wants to make music that is still “pop”, she wants creative control. Pop with her eccentric twist, whether through quirky lyrics or collaborating with Icelandic or Uk electronica groups. She seems both intelligent and down to earth. Her music is not marketed for the pitchfork type, but for anyone. And she does not seem concerned at all with music elitism. She went fairly unnoticed for quite awhile and has taken five years before this release. I’m glad she’s getting coverage. Her prior album in 2005 had the likes of The Knife, creating a beat for her. She is aware of good music and that may attribute to why trendy music blogs are paying her notice.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard Robyn sing. I’ve seen her name around music sites and such, but never actually listened to a song of hers. My first impression is that this cover is pretty standard. Really light and poppy — considering she’s got an entire massive orchestra in support. Overall, not a fan of this. Hey, it’s great to love Bjork. But I always believe if you cover someone else’s song you need to do one of two things: Either do it standard and knock the hell out of it. (Which means your vocals or arrangement must outstanding.) Or dismantle it completely and make it your own. This cover is middling. Makes you want to say, “Meh.”
Do yourself a favour and listen to her own songs, not covers. Start with the song ”With Every Heartbeat”, her brilliant UK no. 1 single. What do you think about it?
Silly people. When will they learn that it’s not possible to cover Bjork and not sound like an amateur.
I’m pretty sure that smile on Bjork’s face at the end is what is known as a polite smile.
Though I am not sure how she managed to stay awake during the first half of that, my boredom almost prevented my brain from registering that the music had started.
I thought this was rather awesome. Kid can obviously sing.
And as for Bjork’s face, can’t imagine there’s really an approved look for listening to your own song back. Probably kinda awkward.
Well, I like Robyn’s hair, but man, that was unbearable. Bjork’s expression was the most interesting thing about this performance. You’d probably hear a better rendition of this at any local karaoke bar.
That said, why the heck do people even bother covering/tributing bjork songs. Nothing compares.