Venus as a Boy
"Venus as a Boy" | ||||
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Single by Björk | ||||
from the album Debut | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 23 August 1993[1] | |||
Studio |
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Genre |
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Length |
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One Little Indian | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Björk | |||
Producer(s) | Nellee Hooper | |||
Björk singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Venus as a Boy" on YouTube |
"Venus as a Boy" is a song by Icelandic musician
"Venus as a Boy" is an
The accompanying music video was directed by the British music video director Sophie Muller. The clip shows Björk in a kitchen cooking eggs, and was inspired by the singer's favorite book Story of the Eye. Björk performed the song on different TV appearances, including Top of the Pops, and sang it during the course of her Debut tour.
The song was later chosen by fans to be included in her greatest hits album,
Background and inspiration
The song was written by Björk and was produced by Nellee Hooper. It was one of the last tracks to be recorded for the album.[5] The song was inspired by a "specific person"[5] but Björk never revealed who it was. Although, it is supposed that this specific person is Dominic Thrupp (also known as Dom T.) with whom Björk had a relationship at the time of writing.[3] Moreover, the song talks about a boy who saw everything from a "beauty point of view, and not superficial beauty but the beauty of brushing your teeth and the beauty of waking up in the morning in the right beat and the beauty of having a conversation with a person." as revealed by the singer.[3]
The B-sides were "Stígðu Mig" ("Step Me"), a song originally recorded by The Elgar Sisters; a group formed in the early eighties by guitarist Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson and Björk, written by Björk, Guðlaugur and Thór Eldon.[6] The other B-side is "I Remember You", a cover of the classic love song written by Victor Schertzinger and Johnny Mercer, that was recorded together with "Like Someone in Love", but did not make the cut as the latter did. In both songs Corky Hale plays the Harp.[7]
Composition
"Venus as a Boy" has been described as an
"I think I wrote it in my living room in Iceland and sang it into my dictaphone. Later, by accident, we were going through sounds and I found this broken bottle sound. It wasn't intentional but it sounded great. It was one of the last songs recorded for Debut - the album was ready to go. Sometimes the more unpredictable side of me does several headstands and flicks-flacks once the album has been delivered and the best song come[s] out."[11]
Björk played keyboards in the song: "I don't use samplers much. I will usually gather soundbanks for each album and will then play them in on keyboards. This applies for simpler beats in songs like Venus as a Boy".[12] She is also responsible for the bassline, in an interview where she described her collaboration with Timbaland she said: "He was a big fan of 'Venus as a Boy', the Bollywood strings and I remember him coming up to me at a party and saying he loved the bassline in that song and I felt pretty chuffed because I wrote that!"[13]
Since Björk wanted the album to sound like an Indian soundtrack, many tracks including "One Day", "Come to Me" and the same "Venus as a Boy" features Indian instruments. The strings were recorded by a film studio orchestra in
Critical reception
"Venus as a Boy" received positive reviews from many music critics. Heather Phares of
A less flattering review came from
The song was nominated in the "Song of the Year" category at the inaugural Icelandic Music Awards in 1993.[24]
Music video
Background
The accompanying music video for "Venus as a Boy" was directed by English director Sophie Muller and features Björk in a kitchen, fondling and cooking eggs. The usage of eggs was inspired by the singer's favorite book, Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille, a novella which deals with the bizarre sexual perversions of a pair of teenagers. At one point in the book, a girl, Simone, uses boiled eggs for sexual stimulation.[25]
The story of the egg comes as Björk explains:
She [Sophie Muller] kept going on about it being fried. I was saying, 'No way is that book about a fried egg! I'm sorry. Poached? Okay. Boiled? Okay. Raw? Okay. But not fried.' [And a fried egg is unsuitable because......?] Because it's too hard. It's rough and it's greasy. It should be about being sort of liquidy and wet and soft and open...
She gave Muller a copy of Story of the Eye a couple of days before they filmed but did not insist that she read it. Muller did not have the time. After recording the video and then reading the book, Muller admitted to Björk that "Fried was the wrong egg!"[11]
Much of the cutlery featured in the music video came from Björk's house.[26]
Synopsis
The video opens with Björk, in an orange tee, in a kitchen, seemingly thoughtful. She leans on a table and while admiring an egg, she starts to sing. She turns on the fire and starts to fry some butter. As the second verse begins, the butter starts to burn so she takes it under the stream of the sink. She pours some oil in a pan and appears thoughtful again, after which she adds the eggs to the pan.
Various frames of the frying eggs and Björk playing with a spatula are shown; at one point the eggs appears burned, causing Björk's concern, but then they return unspoiled. During the gibberish part of the song, Björk grabs and gently caresses a
Reception
The video was praised for its sensuality. Joe Clark, comparing the video with that of "Big Time Sensuality", stated that the video offers "bigger-time sensuality ("His wicked sense of humour suggests exciting sex"), though it's symbolized by the eggs and butter Björk uses to fix herself breakfast".[27]
The "egg portion" of the video was parodied by comedic duo French and Saunders in a collaborative effort, featuring a spoof of the "It's Oh So Quiet" and "Big Time Sensuality" videos as well.[28]
Live performances
On 13 August 1993, Björk performed the song on the UK show The Beat, in one of her first TV appearances.
Björk appeared on the
The singer performed the song during all of her
Track listings
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Venus as a Boy" (Edit) | 4:05 |
2. | "Venus as a Boy" (Mykaell Riley Mix) | 4:51 |
3. | "There's More to Life Than This" (Non-Toilet Mix) | 3:47 |
4. | "Violently Happy" (Domestic Mix) | 5:17 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Venus as a Boy" (7" Dream Mix) | 4:02 |
2. | "Stígðu Mig" (Björk, Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Thór Eldon) | 1:53 |
3. | "Anchor Song" (Black Dog Mix) | 4:48 |
4. | "I Remember You" (Victor Schertzinger, Johnny Mercer) | 4:13 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Venus as a Boy" (edited LP version) | 4:03 |
2. | "Stígðu Mig" (Björk, Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Thór Eldon) | 1:53 |
3. | "Human Behaviour" (The Underworld Remix) | 12:05 |
4. | "There's More to Life than This" (Non-Toilet Mix) | 3:45 |
5. | "Venus as a Boy" (Anglo American Extension) | 5:03 |
6. | "I Remember You" (Victor Schertzinger, Johnny Mercer) | 4:13 |
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Covers
The song was covered by
References
- ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. 21 August 1993. p. 23.
- ^ Freedom du Lac, Josh (1 January 1998). "Björk". In Knopper, Steve (ed.). MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 53.
- ^ a b c d "Björk "Venus as a boy"". Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ "Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)".
- ^ a b "'Venus As A Boy'". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ "Björk – Venus As A Boy". Discogs. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ Pytlik, 2003. p.64.
- ^ Gardner, Elysa (1 June 1993). "In a Björk state of mind". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ Shoup, Brad (20 February 2013). "Björk Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ a b Guzmán, Isaac (5 March 2015). "Björk Is Your Tour Guide: An Exclusive TIME Interview for Her MOMA Retrospective". Time. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Venus As A Boy". Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ "Inside Track: Björk's Vulnicura". Sound On Sound. April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ "An interview with Björk". BrooklynVegan. 17 April 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Debut - Björk". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ Flick, Larry (2 October 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 75. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Parkes, Taylor (21 August 1993). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 31. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Singles of the Year". Melody Maker. 25 December 1993. p. 78. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
- NME. p. 17. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ Dee, Johnny. "BJORK – Debut". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ "New Singles". Smash Hits. 1 September 1993. p. 52. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Graves, Tom (2 September 1993). "Bjork: Debut". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ Narburgh, Kate (22 September 1993). "Bjork; Bjork; Elektra". Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ "Verðlaunahafar og tilnefndir frá 1993-2004". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "Story of the Eye". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "'Venus As A Boy'". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ Clark, Joe. "Dotting the Ös and crossing the Ts". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "French and Saunders Vs Bjork". 15 January 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "The Beat - UK". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "What live TV appearances did Björk do for Debut?". Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media.
- ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (23.09.1993 – 29.09.1993)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 23 September 1993. p. 20. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "Björk – Venus as a Boy". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "Bjork: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart — Week Ending 20 Feb 1994". ARIA. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Árslistinn 1993". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 4 January 1994. p. 17. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
External links
- Venus as a Boy webpage
- "Venus as a Boy" at Discogs (list of releases)
- Venus as a Boy releases at 77ísland