Line #4 Music/Medulla


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5e18e5edc28dde66d5e55cdc1bb3bee5.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: ''A triumph to have a heart for...'']]
3
4	-> Medúlla ''is the most extreme record Björk has ever released and the most immediately accessible.''
5	-->-- ''Magazine/RollingStone''
6
7	''Medúlla'' is the sixth studio album by Music/{{Bjork}}, released in 2004. The album is notable for being almost entirely sung ACappella, with every possible kind of human voice singing you can imagine.
8
9	The album is seen as one of her most audacious experiments, but has garnered a lot of praise as one of her masterpieces. The most successful single of the album was "Triumph of a Heart", while "Oceania" was also enough of a fan favourite to be performed by Björk during the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
10
11	And for fans of [[MemeticMutation memes]]: The "Triumph of a Heart" video provided the Internet with the [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-should-buy-a-boat-cat I Should Buy A Boat Cat]].
12
13	----
14	!! Tracklist:
15
16	# "Pleasure Is All Mine" (3:26)
17	# "Show Me Forgiveness" (1:23)
18	# "Where Is The Line?" (4:41)
19	# "Vökuró" (3:14)
20	# "Öll Birtan" (1:52)
21	# "Who Is It?" ("Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right") (3:57)
22	# "Submarine" (3:13)
23	# "Desired Constellation" (4:55)
24	# "Oceania" (3:24)
25	# "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" (1:59)
26	# "Ancestors" (4:08)
27	# "Mouth's Cradle" (4:00)
28	# "Miðvikudags" (1:24)
29	# "Triumph of a Heart" (4:04)
30
31	----
32	!! Triumph of a Trope:
33
34	* ACappella: Almost all tracks are sung a cappella. The only exceptions are the bass synthesizer on "Who Is It?", the piano during "Ancestors" and the gong during "Pleasure Is All Mine".
35	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: "Oceania".
36	--> ''Stingrays are floating across the sky''
37	* BrokenRecord: "Where Is The Line"
38	--> ''Where is the... line with you?''
39	* ContinuityNod: This is her third album, after ''Music/{{Homogenic}}'' and ''Music/{{Vespertine}}'', to be named after a scientific term.
40	* CoverVersion: "Vökuró", a cover of Icelandic female pianist and composer Jórunn Viðar.
41	* EtherealChoir: Beautifully done in a piece like "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" and "Pleasure Is All Mine".
42	** And BREATHTAKINGLY done in "Who Is It (Choir Mix)".
43	* EverythingIsAnInstrument: The voice and the voice alone.
44	* FaceOnTheCover: A close-up of Björk in a mask.
45	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Öll Birtan" which fade into "Who Is It", in the midst of a cappella, just like that!
46	* FolkMusic: This is probably the most traditional album Björk- or any other artist- ever made. All back to the roots of the human voice as a musical instrument.
47	* GratuitousForeignLanguage: "Vökuró", "Öll Birtan" and "Miðvikudags" are sang in Icelandic.
48	* GratuitousLatin: The album title is the Latin word for "bone marrow".
49	* {{Instrumental}}: "Miðvikudags".
50	* InterspeciesRomance: In the "Triumph of a Heart", Bjork's character is married to a cat, or at least a strange being that looks like a cat.
51	* MinisculeRocking: The 1:23 "Show Me Forgiveness", the 1:52 "Öll Birtan", the 1:59 "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" and the 1:24 "Miðvikudags".
52	* MotherNature: "Oceania" is written from the viewpoint of the ocean, singing about human evolution from her waters.
53	* NewSoundAlbum: The entire album was made out of nothing than the human voice. This includes singing, beatboxing, humming, grunting, sighing, panting, tongue clicking, throat singing,...
54	* OneWordTitle: "Vökuró", "Submarine", "Oceania", "Ancestors" and "Miðvikudags".
55	* PimpedOutDress: Björk wears a bell-shaped dress, designed by Alexander [=McQueen=] in the music video of "Who Is It?"
56	* ProtestSong: "Mouth's Cradle" delivers a TakeThat against UsefulNotes/OsamaBinLaden and UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush.
57	--> ''I need a shelter to build an altar away''
58	--> ''From all osamas and bushes''
59	* QuestioningTitle: ""Where Is The Line?", "Who Is It?"
60	* PepTalkSong: "Show Me Forgiveness"
61	--> ''But if soon start forgiveness''
62	--> ''The girl might live''
63	* RageBreakingPoint: "Where Is The Line?"
64	--> ''I want to be flexible''
65	--> ''I want to go out of my way for you''
66	--> ''But enough is enough''
67	* {{Sampling}}: Not all the singing is done live. Some of the vocals have been processed or sampled. The line "I'm not sure what to do with it" during "Desired Constellation" is a sample from "Hidden Place" from ''Music/{{Vespertine}}'' (2001).
68	* SelfBackingVocalist: It's what to be expected from a cappella album.
69	* ShoutOut: The lyrics for "Sonnets/Unrealities XI" are based on the poem "It May Not Always Be So; And I Say" by Music/EECummings.
70	* SpecialGuest: Music/MikePatton, Music/RobertWyatt, Tanya Tagaq, Rahzel (Music/TheRoots), Shlomo and Dokaka have guest appearances.
71	* UnusualEuphemism: According to the WordOfGod, "Mouth's Cradle" WordSaladLyrics is about breastfeeding.
72	** One also can interpret her 'Favorite fuel' that move through her 'Stubborn trunks' in "Triumph Of A Heart" is nothing more than a stream of semen.
73

Context Music / Medulla