Pitchfork: Björk To Release Exhaustive Singles Box In April

Björk To Release Exhaustive Singles Box In April
Planning limited-edition Björk Mini Cooper to haul box sets around in

Wow! What a surprise! Our Icelandic queen of weird-sad-bastard-alternative music, Björk, is primed to release another box set sometime in April. This upcoming set, which will be a collection of Björk's singles, comes after the recent wallet-buster releases of Greatest Hits and Family Tree (which reviewer Chris Ott fondly referred to as a "disaster"), the Live boxes, and seemingly endless DVD's.

The singles box, which as of this writing was still unnamed, will contain every freaking Björk single ever made. Björk's official website nearly wetted itself in happiness over the news, saying: "It is the complete singles box. Every single, mix and white label combined in one box."

Okay, okay. I know what you're thinking. Who's going to spend their hard earned skrilla on another collection of already-released music, we already bought the first two sets, who really needs another, etc. Does Björk really need the extra cash? Is she bankrupt? Well, hold on a second-- Björk's site has the answer: "[The box set] is being released to cater for the demand for the obscure mixes which are no longer available, hard to get or were never released in some countries." Well, sweet! So, instead of downloading said mixes off Kazaa or Soulseek, you can lay down a Ulysses S. Grant or two for them.

Now, to be fair, this set has been in planning for a number of years now, and was originally slated some time ago to be released through label One Little Indian. As Björk's site explains, "Looks like some sort of itch is setting in, because for seven years, we have had plans to make a SINGLES BOX SET and... guess what-- that soup is being stirred again... it certainly looks like it is has gotten a confirmed final release." Okay, fine, Björk, I'll buy it. But release your next album already, dammit!

The design for the box set is being done by the London-based design group Me Company. Just thought I'd share.

There's no official tracklist as of yet, but the singles expected to be included, in every possible combination and incarnation, are "Human Behaviour," "Venus As A Boy," "Big Time Sensuality," "Violently Happy," "Army Of Me," "Isobel," "It's Oh So Quiet," "Hyperballad," "Possibly Maybe," "I Miss You," "Jóga," "Bachelorette," "Hunter," "Alarm Call," "All Is Full Of Love," "Hidden Place," "Pagan Poetry," "Cocoon," and "It's In Our Hands." With more than twenty distinct variations of the "Human Behaviour" single alone, you can bet this will be a collector's dream (and an anal-retentive's nightmare).