"Army of Me
" is a song by Björk, released in 1995 as the first, and leading, single from her second solo album Post
. It is a grinding, industrial tune, punctuated by numerous samples of explosions and lyrics which encourages the listener to stop complaining and get on with life – or else. The song also appeared, later in the same year, on the soundtrack of Tank Girl
. This song was also ranked #316 in Blender magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born
. [1]
When Björk realised it was her most popular song to be covered by other musicians, it appeared on a 2-CD charity benefit compilation entitled Army of Me: Remixes and Covers
in late 2004.
|
ARMY OF ME TICKETS
|
Music Video
The music video, directed by
Michel Gondry, begins with Björk driving a huge truck, making everything shake as it passes. The truck begins to fail, so Björk opens the door and goes to check the motor. The motor consists of a jaw and all the teeth are broken and full of trash (comically illustrated by a shaggy-looking man crawling out from the garbage). Then she touches her cheek appearing to have a toothache. She walks down the street to a dentist to take care of the situation, and discovers that the dentist is actually a gorilla. The gorilla takes out a diamond out of Björk's mouth and attempts to stash it away for himself, but Bjork jumps on his back and pummels him to get it back. Then she takes the diamond and she runs out of the dentist's office, the diamond growing the entire time. She tosses the diamond inside the motor-mouth which apparently it uses as its fuel source. Afterward, she keeps driving, and she stops outside a museum, where she takes out a bomb and puts it inside, next to her boyfriend's head who has been deeply sleeping the entire time. She runs out of the museum to the confusion of everyone else, making it to the exit right as the bomb goes off. After the explosion she returns inside the museum, and her boyfriend appears to be alive again. She hugs him, crying teardrops of jewels, and screen goes black and showing a message "To Be Continued".
Track listing
UK CD1
(162TP7CD; Released: April, 1995)
# "Army Of Me" - 3:57
# "Cover Me" (Cave Version)
1 - 3:07
# "You've Been Flirting Again" (Icelandic Mix)
1 - 2:25
# "Sweet Intuition" - 4:43
UK CD2
(162TP7CDL; Released: 1995)
# "Army Of Me" (ABA All-Stars Mix) - 3:46
# "Army Of Me" (Masseymix) - 5:12
# "Army Of Me" (featuring
Skunk Anansie) - 4:33 Different vocal take, not simply a remix.
# "Army Of Me" (Instrumental ABA All-Stars Mix) - 3:46
UK CD Promo
(162TP7CD; Released: April, 1995)
# "Army Of Me" - 3:56
UK 12" Vinyl Promo
(162TP12BB; Released: 24 March 1995)
Side A
# "Army Of Me" (ABA All-Stars Mix)
Side B
# "Army Of Me" (Instrumental ABA All-Stars Mix)
UK 12" Vinyl Promo
(162TP12GM; Released: 1995)
Side A
# "Army Of Me" (Masseymix) - 5:15
UK 12" Vinyl Promo
(162TP12P; Released: April, 1995)
Side A
# "Army Of Me"
Side B
# "Army Of Me" (featuring Skunk Anansie)
2
Side C
# "Army Of Me" (ABA All-Stars Mix)
Side D
# "Army Of Me" (Instrumental ABA All-Stars Mix)
UK 7" Vinyl Promo
(162TP7D; Released: 1995)
Side A
# "Army Of Me"
Side B
# "Army Of Me" (Instrumental ABA All-Stars Mix)
UK 12" Acetate
(162 TP 12 BB; Released: 1995)
Side A
# "Army Of Me" (Beastie Boys Vocal Mix)
Side B
# "Army Of Me" (Beastie Boys Instrumental Mix)
EUR CD
(579 153-2; Released: April, 1995)
# "Army Of Me" - 3:58
# "Army Of Me" (ABA All-Stars Mix) - 3:46
# "Army Of Me" (Masseymix) - 5:12
# "Army Of Me" (featuring
Skunk Anansie) - 4:33
# "Army Of Me" (Instrumental ABA All-Stars Mix) - 3:46
FRA CD
(579 152-2; Released: April, 1995)
# "Army Of Me" - 3:58
# "Cover Me" (Cave Version)
1 - 3:08
US CD Promo
(PRCD 9152-2; Released: 1995)
# "Army Of Me" - 3:38
JPN CD
(POCP-7039; Released: 1995)
# "Army Of Me" - 3:58
# "Army Of Me" (ABA All-Stars Mix) - 3:46
# "Army Of Me" (Masseymix) - 5:12
# "Army Of Me" (featuring
Skunk Anansie) - 4:33
# "Army Of Me" (Instrumental ABA All-Stars Mix) - 3:46
Notes
1 Not indicated on the release
2 Slightly different mix than that found on the commercial release
Charts
Chart
| Peak position
|
UK Singles Chart
| 10
|
U.S. Billboard
Hot Modern Rock Tracks
| 20
|
U.S. Billboard
Bubbling Under Hot 100
| 8
|
Swedish Singles Chart
| 12
|
Dutch Singles Chart
| 13
|
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)
| 13
|
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)
| 17
|
Norwegian Singles Chart
| 17
|
French Singles Chart
| 22
|
New Zealand Singles Chart
| 25
|
Swiss Singles Chart
| 27
|
Australian Singles Chart
| 32
|
Remixes
- ABA All-Stars mix
- Featuring Skunk Anansie
- Featuring Skunk Anansie with Skin
- Instrumental ABA All-Stars mix
- Masseymix
- Several other remixes (and covers) appear on Army of Me: Remixes and Covers
.
"Army of Me" released by other bands
- German metalcore band Caliban covered this song on their 2006 album The Undying Darkness. The female vocals on the chorus were recorded by Tanja Keilen (Sister Love).
- Silent, Belgian metal band covered this song on their 2005 self-titled demo.
- The Alternative metal/post-hardcore band Helmet recorded a cover of "Army of Me," which was released on a "Music for Our Mother Ocean" benefit compilation.
- The Australian metal band "Many Machines on Nine" covered "Army of Me" on their self-titled 2000 EP.
- A jazz cover by the Yaron Herman Trio on "A Time For Everything" NAIVE 2007
- Abandoned Pools, an alternative rock band have also covered the song, which is available on "The Reverb EP"
- Powerman 5000 released a cover of this song on their The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Vol. 1 compilation.
- Grisbi released a cover of this song on Army of Me Remixes and Covers.
- Sin, a french industrial band, covered the song, available on "Errare Digital Est", Recall 2003.
- Oliver Weers, a Danish rock vocalist made semifamous by his participation in the Danish X-Factor 2008, released a heavy metal style cover version of Army of Me in 2008 on an album entitled Get Ready
- Australian alternative metal band Beanbag covered the song on their 2001 sophomore album Welladjusted
.
All Wikipedia content is licensed under the GNU Free Document License or is otherwise used here in compliance with the Copyright Act
|