Keith Jopling Discusses Björk, Vespertine

Send us Fan Mail For this episode, author, editor and podcaster Keith Jopling talks about Björk’s 2001 album Vespertine. Keith explains why Vespertine has been one of his favorite albums since its release and why it’s been top-of-mind for him lately. He and Al discuss the themes of domestic bliss and surrender that are prevalent in the album’s lyrics. Keith explains how Vespertine was both a response to and a reaction against the changes in music listening that resulted from streaming. He also talks about his recently-published book Body of Work as well as his podcast The Art of Longevity. Keith made a couple of references to the My9Albums website and the social media trend it has catalyzed. Al hopped on the trend and posted the nine most impactful albums in his life here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DfC1LipHBSh/. He also wrote about those choices in the You, Me and An Album newsletter here: https://youmealbum.ghost.io/hopping-on-the-my9albums-trend. If you want to share your nine most important albums, you can start at www.my9albums.com. You can follow Keith on Instagram at @songsommelier. You can also learn more about his work and explore The Art of Longevity podcast, playlists, articles and artwork on his website www.songsommelier.com. Be sure to sign up for the YMAAA Newsletter at youmealbum.ghost.io.  To keep up with You, Me and An Album, please give the show a follow on Instagram at @youmealbum. Excerpts from episodes are now available on YouTube at @YouMeAndAnAlbum. Please consider subscribing and liking! Al has put a pause on publishing new Bonus Tracks episodes, but you can listen to the past ones at the You, Me and An Album Patreon for $1/month. Just go to www.patreon.com/youmealbum. 1:19 Keith’s introduction 2:02 Keith explains why this interview took place at the Berklee College of Music 3:39 Keith shares why he decided to talk about Vespertine 6:03 Keith recalls why he listened to Vespertine frequently when it came out 8:52 Keith clusters the album’s tracks into three groups 13:08 Al and Keith talk about the opener “Hidden Place” 17:42 Keith explains how Björk foresaw and responded to the shift to streaming music 19:45 Björk bucked many of the emerging trends by making a cohesive album 22:50 Keith focuses on the album’s middle section 24:46 Al talks about Vespertine’s “wholesomeness” 26:58 Keith discusses the theme of surrender in Björk’s songs 30:52 Keith talks about how Björk’s subsequent albums got weirder 34:26 Al makes note of the Björk-Toumani Diabaté connection 36:30 Keith had a chance to see Björk on her Vespertine tour 38:44 Keith explains how albums survived the threats posed by streaming 49:20 Keith and Al talk about listening parties and the social aspect of album listening 51:56 Keith reveals his upcoming plans for The Art of Longevity Support the show