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SONGS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE, Nº 4

BJÖRK - ARMY OF ME

Writer: Björk, Nellee Hooper, Graham Massey.

Album: Post (1995)

“Army of Me” was among the first songs that Björk recorded after the sugarcubes disbanded in 1992. Yet the Icelandic pop queen did not feel this brash, storming number made sense for her post-‘cube Debut—and she was right. Its aggressive call to arms would have ruined the pretty electronic pop picture painted on her first major label solo outing. It did, however, work perfectly as the opener on her second solo album, Post.

Having delivered the “Polite, shy” Debut, Björk wanted to go in the other direction, and showcase her other side: the side that is not to be messed with. She might be the only one performer on the planet that is equally effective cooing like a baby or hissing like a snake, ans it’s all the latter on “Army of Me”, a song Björk wrote for her brother. 

“Army of Me” was accompanied by multiple remixes, including rock revamp with Skunk Anansie. A decade later, twenty versions were assembled as Army of Me: Remixes and Covers, the proceeds of which were donated to the United Nations Children’s Fund—a heartwarming end to an angry song.