When Björk wore a swan dress to the Oscars, the fashion press responded like mean girls clustered around a locker sneering, “Ew… she’s weird.” It seems quaint, given the Met Gala getups these days. The dress, designed by Marjan Pejoski, is now revered, exhibited in major museums. Was Björk stung, at the time, by all the worst-dressed lists, by the New York Times sniffing at her “self-conscious wackiness”? Was it discouraging, how nobody got the joke? Björk the mythmaker, the one and only. I’ve always loved this song, mostly for the elation—those swelling strings—of the chorus at 2:05.

Bjork, "Isobel," written by Sjón, Nellee Hooper, Marius de Vries & Björk, 1995.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to early June, 2025.

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