Music / Post

Your tape lulled me to sleep, to sleep, to sleep...

Post is the third studio album by Björk, released in 1995. The album's sound, usually categorized as "art pop", incorporates a slew of different electronic/dance genres including techno, trip hop, IDM, house music, ambient, jazz, industrial, and experimental music.

The album also features songs Björk wrote after moving to London that represented the quick pace and urban culture of the city, deviating from the domestic themes of Debut, which mainly had compositions written in Iceland. It also focuses on the contemporary styles of British underground club culture, with which Björk had established close ties.

Unlike Björk's previous release Debut, which was almost entirely produced by one person, Post has more collaborative efforts. Several people helped with the production, including Massive Attack's Tricky, and Björk co-produced every song on the album.

The exponential increase in fame and success the album brought Björk also came with downsides such as unwanted media attention, mainly brought on by her infamously attacking a reporter in a Bangkok airport during the album's tour^note In Björk's defense, she had specified that she would only speak to reporters at a designated press conference and that she did not want the press bothering her anywhere else, especially because she had her son with her. The reporter in question, who had been following her for four days straight, not only ignored this request and showed up at the airport anyway but was also trying to interview Björk's son, so the altercation was not completely wanton. alongside her having a stalker who ultimately committed suicide. This directly influenced her following album, Homogenic, as it was recorded in Spain to maintain privacy.

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Tracklist:

1. "Army Of Me" - 3:54
2. "Hyperballad" - 5:21
3. "The Modern Things" - 4:10
4. "It's Oh So Quiet" - 3:38
5. "Enjoy" - 3:57
6. "You've Been Flirting Again" - 2:29
7. "Isobel" - 5:47
8. "Possibly Maybe" - 5:06
9. "I Miss You" - 4:03
10. "Cover Me" - 2:06
11. "Headphones" - 5:40

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Hypertropes:

• The Aloner: Isobel in "Isobel".
  My name Isobel
  Married to myself
  My love Isobel
  Living by herself
  • "Possibly Maybe"
  As much as I definitely enjoy solitude
  I wouldn't mind, perhaps, spending little time with you sometimes, sometimes.
• Anatomically Impossible Sex: "Enjoy."
  This is sex without touching!
• Animated Music Video: John Kricfalusi created one for "I Miss You."
• Bilingual Bonus: Björk speaks some Icelandic in "Headphones".
• Break Up Song: "Possibly Maybe".
  Since we broke up, I'm using lipstick again.
  I suck my tongue in remembrance of you.
• Broken Record: The ending of "The Modern Things" imitates a locked groove that keeps repeating, complete with a bit of surface noise.
• Call-Back and Continuity Nod:
  • "Human Behaviour" from "Debut" (1993) and "Bachelorette" on Homogenic (1997) are companion pieces to "Isobel".
  • "I'm going hunting" in "Cover Me" has a similar line to the refrain of "Hunter" on Homogenic (1997).
• Careful with That Axe: Her vocals in "It's Oh So Quiet" (ironically) are quite loud at times.
  There's no mistake, THIS IS IT!
• Cover Version: "It's Oh So Quiet", a cover of the German song "Und jetzt ist es still" performed by Horst Winter in 1948, with music written by Austrian composer Hans Lang and German lyrics by Erich Meder. The English lyrics were written by Bert Reisfeld.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: The imagery of "Hyperballad" was inspired by a dream Björk once had.
• Epic Rocking: "Hyperballad", "Isobel", and "Headphones" are all over 5 minutes long, with the latter two being closer to 6 minutes in length.
• Face on the Cover: A close-up of Björk's upper torso and face.
• Genre Mashup: Most tracks are cross between classical music, electronic pop music and avantgarde. "It's Oh So Quiet" sounds like an old Hollywood musical by contrast. "Army Of Me" has something Industrial about it.
• Genre Roulette: This is Björk, people!
• Gratuitous French: "Possibly Maybe"
  Mon petit vulcan
• Green-Eyed Monster: "You've Been Flirting Again" seems to be about jealousy regarding the title. The lyrics are more mysterious.
  all that she said was true
  (...) all that she meant was good
  (...) how you reacted was right
• Imagine Spot: "Hyperballad"
  I'm back at my cliff
  Still throwing things off
  I listen to the sounds they make on their way down
  I follow with my eyes 'til they crash
  Imagine what my body would sound like, slamming against those rocks
  and when it lands will my eyes be closed or open?
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: "I Miss You".
  I miss you, but I haven't met you yet.
• In Harmony with Nature: "Hyperballad"
  We live on a mountain, right at the top
  There's a beautiful view from the top of the mountain
  • Isobel in "Isobel" is born from a spark in a forest and transitions into womanhood while the pebbles of the forest grow into skycrapers and overtake the area. After a bad experience with love in the city, she decides to isolate herself again.
• Magical Mystery Doors: Happens once in the museum scene of her clip for "Army Of Me".
• Make a Wish: "Enjoy", where Björk wishes various things.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Isobel's name is a Punny Name on "isolation".
  • The album title Post has a Double Entendre, referring to the fact that the songs on the album where written after (thus "post") moving to England and dealt with her experiences there. The white shirt with blue and red markings on the album cover refers to the Union Flag on the British Royal Mail airmail envelope ("post" in the context of "mail").
• Mood-Swinger: The narrator of "It's Oh So Quiet" goes from calm to hysterically shrieking as her love life waxes and wanes.
• Non-Appearing Title: "Post" does not appear in any of the lyrics. "You've Been Flirting Again" does not appear in the song itself.
• Nostalgia Filter: "It's Oh So Quiet" has an old big band jazz feel to it.
• One-Woman Song: "Isobel".
• One-Word Title: "Post" and the track "Enjoy".
• Oral Fixation: "Possibly Maybe".
  I suck my tongue in remembrance of you.
• Pep-Talk Song: "Army Of Me" which gives the advice to get over all your complaints and get on with life.
• Record Producer: No less than four record producers were brought in, including Tricky.
• Sampling: The drum line of "When The Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin is sampled in "Army Of Me".
• Self-Backing Vocalist: Björk does this in "Headphones".
• Shout-Out:
  • "Possibly Maybe" was sampled on the track "Mutual Slump" on DJ Shadow's album Endtroducing......
  • Beavis And Butthead watched the music video of "Army of Me" in the episode "Steamroller".
  • "Isobel" has been remixed by St Germain.
• Stealth Pun: Björk's outfit in the cover image — white, with blue and red diagonal stripes along the lapels — resembles an envelope for first-class international mail. In other words, she's dressed as postage.
• Stock Sound Effects: "Possibly Maybe" opens with telephone sounds.
• Stylistic Suck: "Possibly Maybe" has vinyl surface noise.
• Sudden Musical Ending: "Enjoy" ends like this.
• Summon Backup Dancers: The music video for "It's Oh So Quiet".
• Suppressed Rage: In "Hyperballad" the protagonist releases her suppressed aggression by "throwing little things off" a cliff and even imagining herself "sliding down that cliff".
• Surreal Music Video:
  • "Army Of Me", directed by Michel Gondry, has Björk driving a gigantic tanker truck through a city, fighting of a gorilla for re-obtaining a diamond and planting a bomb in a museum to free a boy.
  • "Isobel" and "Hyperballad", also directed by Gondry.
  • "Possibly Maybe", directed by Stéphane Sednaoui.
  • John Kricfalusi's video for "I Miss You" is full of his trademark style of Deranged Animation. For starters, it begins with a cartoon version of Bjork getting out of bed and putting on bunny slippers... which then sprout legs and carry her to the bathroom.
• Technology Is Evil: "The Modern Things".
  All the modern things have always existed
  They've just been waiting to come out
  And multiply
  And take over
  It's their turn now

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