Stuttgart, Sept 11

I'm not one to be too interested (understatement) in celebrities' takes on important events, or hearing about how they dealt with it, or what they were doing/thinking at the time..... Hearing about some of them certainly adds to my cynicism about life; but....

(there's always a but, eh?) I do remember hearing a few days after the attacks that Bjork had not canceled her Stuttgart appearance that night (which, in Germany, with the time difference and all, would only have been only a couple hours after). On the Bjork website, fans posted that she had dedicated a song that night, and subsequently, I thought I had located the exact live version (alas, the person in Finland who claimed to have the whole show never sent it to me...) of the song. Having seen her a few times, the accounts that mention how little she talks during her shows came as no surprise, and apparently, that night, dedicating the song was one of the few moments she spoke more than a couple of words (usually it's just a cute "thank you") (and here's one fan's account of the night). Asking the audience members to pray for the victims of the attack, eyes filled with tears, she sang Gotham Lullaby, a song by Meridith Monk. Some of you may know that back in 1996, a "fan" had sent a bomb to her London home (caught in time by the police, but the bomber killed himself), and that was the main reason she fled London. After moving to Spain, (where she did a lot of the work for Homogenic) she now makes her home in lower Manhattan (with frequent visits back to Iceland, of course). What little I can gather about her personality, I can only imagine that canceling the show was not an option - for her own sake no doubt, as singing is her emotional outlet - but I imagine, for the fans, to be able to give a brief glimpse of beauty, she must have felt honored to have the opportunity.

So, here's a live recording of Bjork singing Gotham Lullaby, Meridith Monk's original version of Gotham Lullaby, and a very groovy unofficial remix, incorporating Bjork's live recording, bits of Meridith Monk's, plus the d.j.'s own additions.