Who Is It (Björk song)

"Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)"
Single by Björk
from the album Medúlla
B-side "Oceania"
Released 18 October 2004
Format CD, DVD
Genre Folk pop, beatboxing
Length 4:09
Label One Little Indian
Writer(s) Björk
Producer(s) Björk
Björk singles chronology
"It's in Our Hands"
(2002)		 "Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)"
(2004)		 "Triumph of a Heart"
(2005)

"Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right)" is a song by Björk, which was the first official single to be released from her album Medúlla. The video was directed by Dawn Shadforth and shot outdoors in Björk's native Iceland. The video features the bell choir version of the song, which was re-recorded with the Bústaðakirkja Bell Choir, and is different from the album version.

Background

The first version of the song was written with Bogdan Raczynski. Raczynski stated that he did not want this version to be made generally available. He was quoted as saying, "It was a beautiful thing we did together, but for that reason alone it should be left in the clouds. People need mystery and romance."[1] In spite of this, it did eventually receive a limited vinyl release on the Rephlex record label.

Björk explains about the song

“ This is a song I wrote at the end on Vespertine, but I didn't put it there because I felt it was from a different family - Vespertine was introvert and shy and not very physical a record, and this was a very physical song that I wrote when I was feeling quite strong again. ”

Charts

"Who Is It" was expected to be the breakthrough hit from Medúlla, being hailed as the best track on the album by many fans and a potential propel to its parent album. "Who Is It" reached UK's midweeks Top 20, Björk's first appearance there since "Possibly Maybe", which reached #13 in November 1996. By the end of its release week, "Who Is It" earned a respectable Top 40 placing, debuting and peaking at #26. In other charts all over the world, it obtained Top 75 placings, most notably in Italy, in which "Who Is It" reached #19.

Music video

Björk in the music video for Who Is It.

The video for "Who Is It" was shot in Hjörleifshöfði, Iceland and directed by Dawn Shadforth. In the video, Björk wears a bell-shaped dress designed by Alexander McQueen[2] and several children are dressed in clothes covered in small jingle bells that fall off of them. The bell choir was formed by Salka, Júnia, Kaktus, Daði, Örnólfur and Gabríel of The Bústaðakirkja Bell Choir.[3] The version of the song played in the video is different from the album version, removing almost all the vocal music and replacing it with bells, known as the Bell Choir Mix of the song.

Live versions

Cover version

In 2011, Bon Iver performed a cover version of the song during a concert in Brooklyn, New York and subsequently covered it on an iTunes live session.[4]

Track listing

UK CD1

  1. Who Is It (Radio Edit)
  2. Oceania (featuring Kelis)

UK CD2

  1. Who Is It (C2n Dattasette Mix)
  2. Who Is It (Fruit Machine Mix)
  3. Who Is It (Bell Choir Mix Featuring The Bústaðakirkja Bell Choir)

UK/EU DVD

  1. Who Is It (Video)
  2. Who Is It (Choir Mix)
  3. Mouth's Cradle (Cortejo Afro/Ilê Aiyê Mix)

EU/JP CD

  1. Who Is It (C2n Dattasette Mix)
  2. Who Is It (Fruit Machine Mix)
  3. Who Is It (Bell Choir Mix)
  4. Oceania (featuring Kelis)

Remixes

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Italian Singles Chart 19
UK Singles Chart 26
French Singles Chart 62
European Singles Chart 65

References

  1. ↑ "bjork.com /// who is it". Retrieved 2004-01-25.
  2. ↑ http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2010/09/bjork-pays-tribute-to-fashion-designer-alexander-mcqueen/
  3. ↑ http://www.bjork.fr/Who-is-it-Clip
  4. ↑ "Two Brief Highlights: Bon Iver at Prospect Park". Retrieved 2011-08-11.

External links