Bjork, the Wak-Job That Keeps Comming Back!

Born Bjork Guðmundsdottir in Iceland, the artist who would perhaps wisely drop her last name for her recording career is inarguably the best-known female electronica artist in the world. Dabbling throughout the '80s, Bjork would eventually hook up with the notable Icelandic group, The Sugarcubes. After experiencing some success on both sides of the pond, the group would break up in 1992, giving Bjork the freedom she needed to pursue what has become her highly successful solo career. Her debut album, aptly titled Debut, and its accompanying smash single, "Human Behavior" (the video for which was memorably lampooned by Beavis and Butthead - "This chick's out of her gourd!") put Bjork on the map. Since then, the highly prolific artist has released album after bizarre (but melodic) album, and with each new effort, has managed to expand her musical prowess and pick up a few more fans. Living proof that demand for talented weirdos was greater than anyone ever expected, Bjork is nothing short of a phenomenon.
Like the weird chick in Drama club who had the social skills of a hammock and who was often overheard confiding, "Some day we'll make them all pay" to her backpack, there's something both disturbing and likeable about Bjork. The artist once wore a dress shaped like a swan to the Oscars and somehow (we really would rather not know) laid a large ostrich egg on the red carpet, has succeeded only partly because she's a freak show on wheels. Bjork does have a tendency to put some people off, but if she wasn't so darn talented, she could have never made it as far as she has. Remember Marilyn Manson? Weirness only gets you so far before people realize "He's still funny-just not ‘ha-ha' funny." Bjork's music is a richly varied and hypnotic treasure trove of sounds and melodies, all held together by her unusually high-pitched and heavily accented vocals. Music enthusiasts have been digging her off-kilter tunes for years because unusual people have a tendency to create unusual music, and unusual music is often quite beautiful. You may know her as the weirdo from the music awards shows, but there's a reason she keeps getting invited.