Since 1999 the majority of my CDs were arranged on carousels, each holding 200 discs each. The CDs in each carousel, and each column of 50 within the carousel, bore a family resemblance to each other. Sometimes this would be artist-based: Neil, Bob and Van, with Woody, Nick and Leonard as satellites. Sometimes chronological and genre: independent pop from the '80s or '90s. And sometimes even geographical: I had a New York column (from Sonic Youth to Laurie Anderson), which segued into Boston (Jonathan Richman, Galaxie 500), and from there into other bands produced by Kramer (Low, Bongwater), and so on in a chain of associations that evolved over eight years and two house moves.
In the new house the CDs are now arranged on specially-installed shelves, which has required a rethinking of the schemas, since the shelves carry different 'unit volumes' from the carousels. There's still a 'Neil & related' shelf, and a 'Stephin & related' one. Most of the others are genre-based (classical & crossover, ambient & dance, jazz & hybrids thereof). Then there's a couple of shelves which don't follow any easy pattern. They're what I call the canon or the catalogue: widely renowned music that doesn't represent the more personal idiosyncrasies of my taste. Albums like The Ramones. And many albums like that, and Post, which I bought for a fiver from Fopp between 2000 and 2002.
Within these 'canon' shelves, there are little clusters. Post is in a little section of mid-90s albums that made the charts.
All of which is by way of avoiding saying much about Björk or her music, because I don't have much to say. I can see why people like her, particularly some of the songs on this album. I can appreciate them, but I don't love them. I actually forgotten I even had this. Every now and then I dip my toes into her career. I saw the Sugarcubes in Sheffield University's Lower Refectory in about 1988. Medulla was the first album I ever bought as a download, from Bleep.com, three years and four days ago.
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