http://www.spiegel.de/druckversion/0,1588,151434,00.html

Spiegel Online  2001-08-22

By Stéfan Picker-Dressel

Translation by Steven Bélanger

Sent to BEP by schteefen .  schteefen@HOTMAIL.COM


"Who cares about the color of my slip?"


   Björk passes as an eccentric, a perfectionist and a gifted singer. 
   The 36 year-old Icelandic pop-elfin spoke with Spiegel-Online about 
   her new album "Vespertine", obtrusive fans and her predilection to 
   hard liquor.


Spiegel-Online: After your soundtrack excursion for "Dancer in the 
Dark", your new album is unusually soft and harmonic. Did you have a 
relaxing year?

Björk: Absolutely. In truth I am a calm and introverted woman. When I 
was a little child, in Iceland, I often sang while walking through the 
woods. I loved these peaceful moments and have missed them for a long 
time, because they make one realise that things are no longer as they 
were as in childhood. This greatly influenced my personal style and my 
opinions on music. I wanted to hold on to these moments.

SP: When did you discover music?

B: At a very early age. My mother says that by the age of one I was 
already singing a lot. By the age of two I could remember entire songs 
and hummed them to myself. Actually, I was a very happy child. Music was 
always a marvel to me.

SP: You lived for a long time in London. What is the difference between 
London and Reykjavik?

B: In Reykjavik, you are left alone. In London, you can't live without 
changing yourself. I had to do that, too; at some time or another I had 
to change from an introverted person to an extroverted one. Otherwise, 
in Iceland, you become and alcoholic or commit suicide. Thus, every 
person that I met, I engaged them in conversation. This especially helps 
to get rid of people's shyness. And I drank a lot of coffee.

SP: It helps to drink coffee? Other people drink alcohol, so that they 
can speak more easily and come out of their shells.

B: Perhaps. But for me, drinking coffee helps the most.

SP: In the past you were often the target of stalkers, or very obtrusive 
fans. Can you explain why so many people are fascinated by you?

B: That's all so frightfully complicated, and I can't for the life of me 
explain it. Thankfully I am emotionally strong enough so that I don't 
let these things get to me too much. Afterwards I think about how these 
people see me. I know that I decided to become a public person, but I 
don't think that people really want to know what color my slip is. Many 
people are born to be celebrities. Not me. I'm a musician.

SP: And also an actress. Were you very surprised of the success of 
"Dancer in the Dark" in the past year?

B: To this day I can't understand it. For me, "Dancer in the Dark" was 
nothing more than an independent film by an eccentric filmmaker. Like 
all of Lars von Trier's films.

SP: Do you not like Lars von Trier?

B: In my opinion, he's overrated. He's a bad director, who's even worse 
at explaining what he actually wants.

SP: That doesn't sound very nice.

B: In principle, I am very skeptical about compliments. I've been living 
in New York for a while, and I have noticed that as an Icelander, I am 
the complete opposite of the Americans. When an Icelander likes someone, 
they wouldn't say so, even after ten years. Americans tell you how much 
they like you, even after only a minute.

SP: What has to happen, in order for you to accept a compliment?

B: In Iceland it works as follows: you get together like always, and 
start off by drinking two bottles of whiskey. At 7 o'clock the next 
morning, just before going home, you finally say: "you know, you're not 
that bad". That's pretty much the most common compliment, as you would 
hear it in Iceland. At the same time, it's a profession of love.

SP: Are you a heavy drinker?

B: A few whiskeys won't kill me. That reminds me of the time when we 
were camping a lot. One of us had a ghettoblaster, and the other had a 
bottle of cognac. We always had a great time, because the stars don't 
shine as bright elsewhere in the world as they do in Iceland.

SP: What do you wish for the future?

B: When I'm fifty years old, I want to sample all of the different 
brands of cognac in the world, as well as organising my butterfly 
collection, which I will have started by then. That sound nice as a 
life's duty, doesn't it? Hopefully butterflies will still exist.