Björk Ready for 40

From www.contactmusic.com (1/12/2006):

Björk couldn't wait to turn 40 (11/21/05), because she learned how to be middle-aged from her grandmother.

The singer admires the way her Grandma handled the landmark, and hopes being 40 will bring her the same happiness.

She says, "I'm ready for it. When I was a girl, my mum was a bit of a wild child and a hippy. Her life was chaotic. She didn't know who she loved or what she wanted to do.

"But when my grandmother was 40 she was sussed. She'd feed the people she loved, but also lead a fabulous life. She was a painter and she used to sneak off for a couple of weeks with a lot of red wine and just paint. She had the best of both worlds.

"I think 20 isn't cool, 30 is a mess and being 40 is nice.

"I'm there now. I am a good older person."

Björk: In Her Own Words

Hikin.com has a small archieve of Björk articles, and among them is this one published in Britain in the Times of Friday, August 10, 2001. While many of these comments are several years old, I think they provide a great peek into the mind and persona of Björk.

On life:
"I used to think I'd live forever." (July 2001)

On her upbringing:
"It wasn't like I was bought up by wolves, but it was very much a question of getting a key round my neck and becoming my own little trooper." (December 1995)

On her personality:
"I've always been happy, silly, sad, boring, furious, ecstatic, in love, the whole scale, all at the same time. So if I'm not happy all the time, it doesn't make me unhappy, if you see what I mean." (July 2001)

On fame and stardom:
"Being famous is like nine million volts of electricity going through you." (July 2001)

"I had a little taste of stardom with the Sugarcubes, enough to know it's not brilliant." (June 1993)

On her film role in Dancer in the Dark:
"There were periods in this film when I felt like I was having an affair from music, that I felt dirty…because musichas always been the place that sorts me out." (October 2000)

On diplomacy:
"I believe in diplomacy. Kofi Annan [the UN Secretary-General] is a great hero of mine – that element of trying to unite very different worlds…right now I can do with a bit of hanging out just with my mates." (September 2000)

On her and Sir David Attenborough:
"There is such a big chunk of me that is David Attenborough, I think he is my biggest inspiration." (December 1995)

"I have always seen myself as a discoverer, and I think we share this. It is as if he is the interpreter between the natural world and your gran who's sat at home watching television. In a similar way I interpret an audio world which is also shared with people." (2001)

On working with people:
"Everyone will take this the wrong way, especially the Daily Star, but for me to work with people musically is just as important as a love affair. That's why I get rarely involved with them." (December 1995)

On assaulting a journalist at Bangkok airport in 1996:
"The journalist just shoved a microphone in my son's face and asked what bit was like having a mother like me. I just saw red. I'm not proud of fighting her, but I'd do it again." (November 1997)

On her star sign, Scorpio:
"I have to re-create the universe every morning when I wake up. And kill it in the evening…maybe twice a year I have to destroy everything." (June 1995)

On the Spice Girls:
"I think people like the Spice Girls are sacrificing their lives for the entertainment of the planet." (September 1998)

On her future:
"My life is too busy at the moment. But who knows what will happen? I might go on the Punch and Judy show – I mean the Richard and Judy show. I'll try anything once." (December 1995)

On her ex-boyfriend DJ Goldie:
"He bombarded me with drum-and-bass tracks all the time, until I said: 'Give me a break.' He gave me a break all right!" (November 1997)

On her new album, Vespertine:
"It is dedicated to worshipping the home, hibernation, finding paradise in your kitchen, magical moments on your own, that kind of thing." (July 2001)

On her own fulfilment:
"I've got this feeling of completion. The last time I got it was when I was seven and caught a salmon." (September 1998)

On the letter bomb and leaving England:
"Things were happening all around me, and I realised that I'd come to the end of the extrovert thing. I had to go home and search for myself again. My job is essentially about generosity and when I went to London, I had a lot to give, and it turned out I had given it all. If I'd tried to give any more, it would have become bad energy. So I left at just the right time. I'm not saying that I was responsible for the letter bomb, or that I saw it coming, but it didn't surprise me either, because something definitely wasn't right. I am much much happier now." (July 2001)

On Iceland:
"In Iceland, if your car breaks down you fix it, and if you need a house you build it. I'm not saying if you're hungry you go hunt, but it's not far from that. My family still hunts half their food. If you need good music, you make it." (September 1998)

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Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd.