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Sometimes the land you live in permeates your soul, making you one with it.
An innate flow, a continuous osmotic process that roots itself, shaping you day after day.
In the music of the Sugarcubes, there is all of Iceland, its colors, its moods, an ancestral,
cathartic relationship that interconnects the symbolic and the corporeal dimensions.
The music, the words, the geysers, Björk's enchanting voice, and the northern lights in a whirlwind of rare beauty,
find their natural transposition in "Life's Too Good."
Sugarcubes formed in Reykjavík on June 8, 1986, with Björk Guðmundsdóttir (vocals),
her husband Þór Eldon (guitar), Bragi Ólafsson (bass), Sigtryggur Baldursson (drums),
Einar Örn Benediktsson (vocals, trumpet), Friðrik Erlingson (keyboards), who was replaced the following year
by Einar Melax, and later by Margrét Örnólfsdóttir.
"Life's Too Good" debuted on the London label One Little Indian Records in the summer of 1988,
after a single EP ("Einn Mol'á Mann") released two years earlier, and what emerges from its grooves is pure emotion.
The vocal arrangements between Björk and Benediktsson and the sharp, fiery guitars, running free, twisting
on a massive bass framework, create a perfect and original formula,
music that sounds delightfully informal, polyhedral, beyond the conceptions of its time.
The media impact of this talented band from distant Reykjavík
did not go unnoticed by the famous talent scout, DJ, and journalist John Peel, and the music magazine Melody Maker
which ranked the album second in their annual "End Of Year Critic Lists,"
preceded only by none other than "Surfer Rosa" by the Pixies.
The singles "Coldsweat," "Deus," "Motorcrash," and "Birthday" received absolute acclaim from the specialized critics
despite the renowned conservatism prevalent in the industry magazines of the time.
A special mention goes to "Birthday," born two years earlier in its original language version, "Ammæli,"
it is an ecstatic orgy, a hypnotic ballad supported by the ethereal, impressive vocals
of the enchanting Björk and the overwhelming instrumental anarchy that sets the pace
of the track through an oxymoron "dissonance-consonance."
"Thread worms on a string, keeps spiders in her pocket, collects fly-wings in a jar..."
Grotesque and surreal, the lyrics also perfectly align with the musical parts,
strangeness is customary as in Carroll's tales.
"Deus" is no less, four minutes and ten (the album's longest track) of love, of passion.
It is a slow march through a solemn atmosphere marked by Ólafsson's bass, robust and essential as ever,
riding Björk's voice, accompanying her until the end of the track
which fades into an inspired, spine-chilling riff by Eldon.
The intriguing "Mama" with its mystical aftertaste, the finely crafted pop-funk of "Blue Eyed Pop,"
the typical post-punk spleen in "Sick For Toys," the orchestral and bizarre "F***ing In Rhythm & Sorrow,"
seal a work that, thirty years after its release, remains radiant and eternal.
In April 1988, the Sugarcubes gave the world "Life's Too Good."
Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, but not only.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Traitor (03:10)
Einar
But, I'll teach the little angles
I'll take the harp away
But I'll teach them how to use the harmonica
I'll just do something like....
My punctuality is well known
When the revolution takes place
I'll be late And
I'll be shot as a traitor
Björk
When the sun rises
Einar
When the sun rises
I will not see
I regret nothing
It was worth it
Going through life without a timepiece
Did pay off
Björk
The sun rises
Einar
My reward to be free
And alone even now at the pillar
Blindfold at sunrise
Hearing the drums
Of Catalan beating my time away
Björk
The sun rises I will not see
Einar
My heartbeat keeps time
With the drums.
but soon my only pulse will fade away
Björk
The sun rises I will not see
Einar
I smile just knowing
When the sun rises
I will not see.
02 Motorcrash (02:23)
Björk
Riding on my bicycle,
I saw a motorcrash,
A proper motorcrash,
And lots of spectators,
I rushed to the centre
Saw the injured parents,
Cuts on the children,
An awful motorcrash.
Dangerous motorcrash,
Terribly bloody motorcrash,
Destructive motorcrash.
Oh oh oh.
Took the mother,
Sneaked with her secretly
All the way to my home,
And nursed her gently
Put on her bandages,gave her
Milk and biscuits,
She sighed pleasantly after this
Awful motorcrash.
It's a dangerous dangerous motorcrash,
Terribly bloody motorcrash,
Destructive motorcrash.
Oh oh oh.
Einar
That girl on that bicycle showed great interest in all the motorcrashes
in the neighbourhood, she looked quite innocent.
Björk
Then we disguised ourselves,
Took a taxi to her home,
When her husband opened the door
She introduced herself, he said
"Where have you been all this time?"
Einar
But believe you me
I know what innocence looks like
And it wasn't there,
After she got that bicycle.
03 Birthday (03:58)
She lives in this house over there
Has her world outside it
Scrabbles in the earth with her fingers and her mouth
She's five years old
Threads worms on a string
Keeps spiders in her pocket
Collects fly wings in a jar
Scrubs horse flies
And pinches them on a line
Ohhh...
She has one friend, he lives next door
They're listening to the weather
He knows how many freckles she's got
She scratches his beard
She's painting huge books
And glues them together
They saw a big raven
It glided down the sky
She touched it
Ohhh...
Today is a birthday
They're smoking cigars
He's got a chain of flowers
And sews a bird in her knickers
Ohhh...
They're smoking cigars
They lie in the bathtub
A chain of... flowers
Tam, tam, tam-a-tam-a-tam...
04 Delicious Demon (02:42)
Björk
Heeeeeeee how!
He how!
He how!
Einar
One person calls someone
To pour the water,
because it takes two to pour the water,
Björk
To plough takes two as well,
But only one to hold up the sky.
Einar
To plough takes two as well,
But only one to hold up the sky.
Einar
One plays the harp, beats a rock with a stick,
Björk
One plays the harp, beats a rock with a stick,
Becomes a priest at least, a delicious demon.
Einar
Least, a delicious demon.
Björk
Delicious demon, delicious demon,
Delicious demon, delicious demon
Björk
Two men need one money
But one money needs no man,
One is on ones knees, loses ones head,
Except maybe a delicious demon.
Einar
Two men need one money
But one money needs no man,
Einar & Björk
One is on ones knees, loses ones head,
Except maybe a delicious demon.
Then one is no longer, then one is no longer
Björk
No longer!
Delicious demon, oh, delicious demon,
Oh delicious, delicious demon...
So delicious!
05 Mama (02:57)
I saw a woman walking down my street,
Walking with grace, so beautifully carefully,
She's a big and pretty mother, big and pretty mother,
Swinging her handbag back and forth so joyfully.
She's drawing circles with her breasts in her jumper.
Give me a big mother, huge and loving one,
I can crawl upon and cling to ...
She's a large woman, warm and cuddly
Wet lady, strong mother.
She's walking down the street in front of my window
Whistling funky tunes in the ears of my neighbours.
Give me a big mother, one that would always want me,
Hot embracing mother, I can crawl upon and cling to ...
You can't be safer can't be more secure
Than with a breast in each palm,
With a breast in each palm,
That's the way I was born
And that's the way I want to die.
Give me a big mother, soft and wet one,
That would caress me
In all those special places.
Where's a strong mother,
One that squeezes me,
One I can crawl.
06 Coldsweat (03:16)
Björk
I close the door,
Shouldn't burn yet,
The wires get hotter
Palms are glowing.
Björk
This is hot meat metallic blood,
This is hot meat, this is open sweat.
Björk
Show you with my fingers,
Draw with the eye,
With your own breath,
I tear your lungs
Björk
Here is hot meat, this is metallic blood,
This is hot meat, this is open sweat.
Einar
Out this side of the blackest meadows
I make my winter dwelling and crush my bones.
Björk
This is hot meat, this is metallic blood,
This is hot meat,
Björk
I'll sail out the window
I'll walk down the henge
I will not finish
Till I'm fully satisfied.
Björk
This is hot meat, this is metallic blood,
This is hot meat, this is open sweat.
07 Blue Eyed Pop (02:37)
Einar
This blue eyed pop
It's just fabulous to go twisting,
Björk
Twisting.
Einar
Boogieing, in beat with
Björk
Beat with
Einar
the thousand pound
Einar & Björk
Snare sound.
Einar
After boogieing
We all crave for a hot-dog spashed with noise ( noise ),
Queue and spew then back home to our love nest,
Need I say more.
Oh! This blue eyed pop is just pure ecstasy.
Björk
This is too much fun, fun, fun,
Everyone is so close to laughing,
This kind of joy won't last,
Björk
Something wonderful is about to happen.
I feel perfectly ready don't know yet what it is,
I will look here inside this disco, this is so hot hot,
We melt together like tigers and we are dancing together.
08 Deus (04:08)
Björk
Deus does not exit.
But if he does, he lives in the sky above me,
In the fattest largest cloud up there.
He's whiter than white and cleaner then clean.
He wants to reach me.
Deus does not exist.
But if he does I always notice him.
Getting ready in his airy room.
He's picking his gloves so gently off.
He wants to touch me.
I'm walking humbly down a tiny street
Pulling my collar it gets bigger, woooh
Einar
I once met him,
It really surprised me,
He put me in a bath tub,
Made me squeeky clean,
Really clean.
Björk
To create a universe
You must taste
The forbidden fruit.
Einar
He said hi. I said hi,
I was still clean.
Björk
Deus does not exist,
But if he does he'd want to get down from that cloud,
First marzipan fingers then marble hands,
More silent than silence and slower than slow,
Diving towards me.
My collar is huge room for two hands,
They start at the chest and move slowly down.
Einar
I thought I had seen everything,
He wasn't white and fluffy,
He just had side burns,
He just had side burns,
And a quiff,
He said hi.
I said hi. I was still clean,
I was squeeky clean.
I was surprised.
Just as you would be.
Einar & Björk
Deus, Deus, Deus, Deus
Björk
He does not exist
10 Fucking in Rhythm & Sorrow (03:21)
A divorced lady arrives home from a bar
Guess, guess what she sees, sees there
There is a naked person in my flat!
He's got a weird expression on his face!
Oh my god and jesus as well!
W-what are you doing here?
Are you hurting your chest?
Offending yourself?
Forcing yourself into pain and sorrow like there is no tomorrow?
You should use the pain and sorrow
To fill you up with power
Life's both sweet and sour!
He looks at me hopeless with tears in his eyes
Goes out of the window and up on the roof
Naked man, naked man calm down!
I-I'll give you some strawberry cake
Don't act like there is no tomorrow
You should use the pain and the sorrow
To fill you up with power
Life's both sweet and sour!
Aaaaaow!
Life's both sweet and sour!
Life's both sweet and sour!
Life's both sweet and sour!
Don't act
Don't act
Don't act-act
Like there's no tomorrow!
You should use the pain and sorrow
To fill you up with power
Life's both sweet and sour
Don't act like there is no tomorrow
You should use the pain and sorrow
To fill you up with power
Life's both sweet and sour
Ta ta ta ooh woah!
oooh...ooh....
Life's both sweet and sour
Life's both sweet and sour
11 Take Some Petrol Darling (01:57)
Taktu bensín elskan
Það er allt bannað hvort sem er
Taktu bensín elskan
Taktu bensín elskan
Allt bannað hvort sem er
Taktu bensín
Loftvogin fellur
Í gulan sandinn
Og borgir þarna stop
Borgir þarna stoppa' en það skiptir engu máli
Það er allt bannað hvort sem er
Taktu bensín elskan
Allt bannað hvort sem er
Taktu bensín elskan
12 Cowboy (03:27)
Einar
Cowboy, cowboy, in the big town
I'm a cowboy in the big town
I'm looking for my pony
A mans best friend is his pony
Aaah!
I'm a cowboy
Aaah, cowboy!
I need my pony
I lost my pony
In the big town
I'm a cowboy in the big city
Looking for my pony
I'm a cowboy x3
I'm not alone
Not lonely
Not alone
Not lonely
I'm a cowboy
I'm stuck like
A cowboy
In the big city
Björk
And he affects me
The odour of his skin, oh
It works in my head
I wanna eat him
I wanna be in him
Einar
I'm a cowboy
Smelt like I sat in
In a tine-mine
Nose is struck
In the back
My back is struck
But who knows I am
I am a
Cowboy!
Cowboy!
On the second floor
On a brass bed
In a big city
I found my pony
But I paid a prize
I got a silver-bullet
Through my heart
I'm a were-cowboy
I am a were-cowboy
A weeere
Weeere-cowboy
A were-cowboy
Were-cowboy
Weeere-cowboy
I am a were-cowboy
Cowboy!
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Other reviews
By The_dull_flame
"Birthday is one of the highest peaks ever reached by Bjork: an enveloping rhythm, a pirouetting yet gentle bass, a trumpet played backwards."
"An album absolutely to have, which proves surreal and avant-garde even now: peaks of absolute delirium contrasted with moments of unprecedented beauty."
