1001 Songs Challenge #816: Army of Me (1995)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be…

Bjork – Army of Me (1995)

Welcome to 1995, dear reader. We say farewell to the UK and make our way to Iceland. Björk previously appeared on our list as a member of Sugarcubes with the excellent track, Birthday, in 1987. We join Björk in 1995 though and she is now a solo artist and has released her second album, Post. From there 1001 Songs have gone with the track – Army of Me.

Army of Me is essentially a family affair with the track inspired by Björk’s relationship with her younger brother. She revealed that around the time of the song’s composition her brother had gone off the rails, was out of control and needed to turn his life around. Army of Me does not offer sympathy or help though. Instead, Björk tells her brother that enough is enough and only he can sort himself out and get his life back on track. Bjork is being a concerned older sister but also pretty firm.

I remember first learning of Björk when she released Post and Army of Me was highly unusual being defined as industrial rock. The music video was out there from what I recall. It is a good song but I preferred Hyperballad from this album, arguably the singer’s best song. Björk would hit the UK Top 10 with Army of Me and Post was very much the creative peak of her career. Now in her fifties, the Icelandic starlet continues to perform.

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Ultravox – Vienna (1980)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (1994)