Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 11-21-22

Today’s playlist celebrates the November 21 birthdays of Carly Rae Jepsen, The Sugarcubes’ Björk, Phoenix’s Thomas Mars, Dr. John, WAR’s Lonnie Jordan, Vivian Blaine, and Amanda Lepore; and the November 22 birthdays of Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club’s Tina Weymouth, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O, Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog, Max Romeo, The Trashmen’s Steve Wahrer, The Youngblood’s Jesse Colin Young, Climax’s Sonny Geraci, Jason & the Scorchers’ Jason Ringenberg, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s Steve Van Zandt, Lynda Lyndell, and composer Hoagy Carmichael.

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 10-29-22

Today’s playlist celebrates the October 29 birthdays of Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, Roni Size, The Sugarcubes’ Einar Örn, Tove Lo, Pilot’s David Paton, Quiet Riot’s Kevin Dubrow, The Simpsons’ Dan Castellaneta, Neal Hefti, Melba Moore, Baio, and Toni Childs; and the October 30 birthdays of Eagles’ Timothy B. Schmit, The Temptations’ Otis Williams, Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick, Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, The Posies’ Ken Stringfellow, Tom Browne, Snow, The Kendalls’ Jeannie Kendall, and Eddie Holland.

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (8-16-20)

Inspired by the anniversary of the passings of Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin; the August 16 birthdays of Madonna, Kool & the Gang’s James “JT” Taylor, Young Thug, Al Hibbler, Eydie Gorme, Barbara George, Court Yard Hounds’ Emily Robison, Ketty Lester, Sheila, and Joe Sealy; and the August 15 birthdays of Deee-Lite’s Lady Miss Kier, The The’s Matt Johnson, The Doobie Brothers’ Tom Johnston, Bobby Helms, Bobby Caldwell, and Nipsey Hussle.

Smoke A Cigar – Today Is Björk’s Birthday

“It’s a story about a love affair between a five year old girl, a secret and a man who lives next door. The song’s called ‘Birthday’ because it’s his fiftieth birthday, but not many people can figure that out of the lyrics ‘cos it’s more about the atmosphere around it and how they touch. It’s a tasteless pop song—not even that. A pop song—very unusual. I was always changing my mind about what the lyrics should be about. I had the atmosphere right from the start but not the facts. It finally ended up concentrating on this experience I remembered having as a little girl, among many other little girls’ experiences. It’s like huge men, about fifty or so, affect little girls very erotically but nothing happens . . . nothing is done, just this very strong feeling. I picked on this subject to show that anything can affect you erotically; material, a tree, anything.”
– Björk

When asked by a reader of The Guardian “what’s [sic] does the line ‘sows a bird in her knickers’ mean?”, Björk replied “Obviously it is about haberdashery … and embroidery of course ….”

Today is Björk’s 49th birthday. Here are twenty career highlights.


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Ringo + Björk

It’s Björk’s Birthday And I Need To Dance!

“I think everyone’s bisexual to some degree or another; it’s just a question of whether or not you choose to recognize it and embrace it. Personally, I think choosing between men and women is like choosing between cake and ice cream. You’d be daft not to try both when there are so many different flavors.”
– Björk, Diva Magazine, October 2004

I love cake, but I prefer ice cream. I’m not into vanilla – it’s too…vanilla. I’ll eat it if there are no other options, but I prefer chocolate. I could eat a big dish of chocolate ice cream every night and never tire of it.

However, my favorite flavor is chocolate chip mint. Everything is better with a hint of mint. Chocolate and mint together? If one has that at home there is no reason to ever leave the house.

Dulce de leche is next on my list. Mmm mmm. That sweet caramel makes my tongue so damn happy! Throw a little hot fudge and whipped cream on top and it’s the perfect late night snack to enjoy before dozing off to sleep.

While I prefer ice cream, I enjoy going to a good bakery to check out the cakes. As with ice cream, I love the chocolate cakes. (“Chocolate Cake,” by the way, is the title of an underrated song by Crowded House.)

I like many cakes, but I don’t care for fruity ones. I’m not referring to fruitcake. I have no idea what a fruitcake is; it’s something I’ve heard used as a punchline on Christmas specials, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one in real life. I’m referring to cakes that have jelly in them, or strawberries or anything else that may be construed as healthy. It’s a friggin’ cake! Don’t be getting your healthy fruits mixed up in my cake. A banana is welcome, but that’s it. Chocolate and banana is a combination I love. Add a hint of mint and I’m all set.

Ringo + Björk
Today Björk turns 49 years old. Celebrate with some cake and ice cream. Our weekly dance party kicks off with her first post-Sugarcubes single, “Human Behaviour.”

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Ten Facts About Björk

1. Her last name is Guðmundsdóttir.
2. Her first album, entitled Björk, was released in December 1977 when she was twelve years old.
3. Before forming The Sugarcubes, Björk was in the bands Spit and Snot and Tappi Tikarrass. The latter is Icelandic for “Cork the bitch’s ass.”
4. When they formed The Sugarcubes, Björk was married to the band’s guitarist. They divorced and he married a woman who became the band’s keyboard player.
5. The Sugarcubes’ biggest US hit is entitled “Hit.” It spent five weeks at number one on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart.
6. Her single “Earth Intruders” reached #84 on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart. It is Björk’s highest-placing single to date on that chart.
7. She wrote “Bedtime Story” for Madonna. The 1995 single was Madonna’s first to miss the US top 40 since before her breakout hit “Holiday” twelve years earlier.
8. Her performance in the motion picture Dancer in the Dark won her the Best Actress Award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
9. Her album Medúlla is mostly a capella. One song has a piano, one a bass synthesizer, and another a gong. The remainder of the sounds is created by human vocals.
10. Today is her birthday. I don’t know if she’s smoking cigars.