Music / Debut

Be ready, be ready to get confused.

Debut, is the second studio album by Björk, released in 1993. Despite the title, this is not her debut album; that album came out in 1977 when she was 12 years old. However, it is generally considered her debut as a solo performer following the breakup of The Sugarcubes.

Debut gained Björk her first international mainstream notability and produced hits such as "Human Behaviour", "Venus As A Boy", "Play Dead", "Violently Happy" and "Big Time Sensuality".

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Tracklist:

1. "Human Behaviour" - 4:10
2. "Crying" - 4:52
3. "Venus As A Boy" - 4:42
4. "There's More To Life Than This" - 3:21
5. "Like Someone In Love" - 4:33
6. "Big Time Sensuality" - 3:56
7. "One Day" - 5:24
8. "Aeroplane" - 3:54
9. "Come To Me" - 4:55
10. "Violently Happy" - 4:58
11. "The Anchor Song" - 3:32
12. "Play Dead" - 3:58

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Big Trope Sensuality:

• Ambiguous Gender: "Venus As A Boy" looks like this at first, until you look at the lyrics more closely.
  He believes in beauty
  He's Venus as a boy
• Bears Are Bad News: Bear imagery appears in the music videos of "Human Behaviour" — where a bear beats up a hunter — and "Violently Happy" — where an insane Björk in a madhouse disembowels her teddy bear.
• Broken Record: The word baby in "Violently Happy".
• Continuity Nod: Björk uses the phrase "I Miss You" in "Come To Me". On Post (1995) she has a song titled "I Miss You".
  • "Human Behaviour" on this album would later form the companion piece to "Isobel" on Post (1995) and "Bachelorette" on Homogenic (1997).
• Deliberately Monochrome: The album cover and the music video of "Big Time Sensuality".
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: "There's More To Life Than This", where Björk leaves a party and wonders whether life could offer more to her? This was based on a real anecdote.
• Face on the Cover: Björk, folding her hands.
• Faking the Dead: "Play Dead".
  I play dead
  It stops the hurting
  I play dead
  And hurting stops
  It's sometimes just like sleeping
  Curling up inside my private tortures
  I nestle into pain
  Hug suffering
  Caress every ache
• Friend to All Living Things: "Human Behaviour" siding with animals against hunters.
• Genre Roulette: The album.
• Hidden Track: "Play Dead", which appears 30 seconds after the final track.
• Highdive Hijinks: In "The Anchor Song" Björk dives in the ocean down to the bottom and decides to stay there, as this is her home.
• Humans Are Cthulhu: "Human Behaviour" describes human behaviour through the eyes of animals.
• Iconic Outfit: Björk's white dress and haircut in the music video of "Big Time Sensuality".
• In Harmony with Nature:
  • The music video of "Human Behaviour" shows Björk in a forest, in harmony with the animals and trees, while a bear has his revenge on a hunter.
  • "Aeroplane" has forest sounds.
  • "Violently Happy"
  I tip-toe down to the shore
  Stand by the ocean
  Make it roar at me
  And I roar back
  • In "The Anchor Song" she dives deep in the ocean and stays there.
• Intercourse with You: "Venus As A Boy"
  His wicked sense of humour
  suggest exciting sex
• Lyrical Dissonance: "Violently Happy". The two words in the title seem strange matches to begin with.
• Non-Appearing Title: Not on the album cover, nor in the album itself.
• Non-Indicative Title: Debut is not her debut album. It's her second.
• One-Word Title: "Debut" and the tracks "Crying" and "Aeroplane".
• The Power of Love: "Big Time Sensuality", "Like Someone In Love".
• Prayer Pose: Björk folds her hands on the album cover.
• Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • The existential feel of "There's More To Life Than This" was inspired by a party Björk once attended, but promptly left. The song evokes this atmosphere by actually recording the vocals during a club night; Björk sneaks into the ladies' washroom to sing the second verse.
• Shout-Out:
  • The visuals of the music video of "Human Behaviour" were inspired by the Russian animated classic Yozhik v tumane (Hedgehog in the Fog) (1975).
  • Beavis And Butthead watched the music video of "Human Behaviour" in the episode "Closing Time" and "Big Time Sensuality" in the episode "Dream On".
• The Something Song: "The Anchor Song".
• Stock Sound Effects:
  • A party crowd in "There's More To Life Than This".
  • A laughing baby in "One Day".
  • Forest sounds in "Aeroplane".
• Surreal Music Video:
  • "Human Behaviour", directed by Michel Gondry.
  • "Violently Happy", directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
• Textless Album Cover: Just a picture of Björk.
• Updated Re-release: The original album ended after "The Anchor Song." "Play Dead" was originally written for the film The Young Americans, and was added to later printings of the album after it became a minor hit.

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