You can accuse Bjork of a lot of things: being weird, acting in the most depressing movie ever, wearing that one dress that was basically an entire swan that people still talk about even though it happened forever ago and also that time she got all aggro with the paparazzi. But she’s always been aware of who her audience is. Following that train of thought, Bjork is streaming Voltaic on NPR, the most ideal website for a musician whose fans are also incredible nerds. It’s a collection of alternate versions “recorded live to tape” of the music from a bunch of her previous albums, so yeah, you’ve probably heard most of them before, but apparently not like this. In addition to the album, screenings for concert film Voltaic: The Volta Tour are currently being held all over the United States. Dates are down below.

June 17 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
June 19, 20 – Anchorage, AK @ Bear Tooth Theater
June 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ 941 Theater
June 23 – New York, NY @ School of Visual Arts Theater
June 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Montalban Theater
June 23 – Madison, WI @ The Orpheum Stage Door
June 23-28 – Oxford, MS @ The Amp
June 23-28 – Lake Geneva, WI @ Geneva Theater
June 24 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Trylon Microcinema
June 26, 27 – Seattle, WA @ Northwest Film Forum
June 26, 27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Roxie
June 26, 27 – Bellingham, WA @ Pickford Film Center
June 26, 27 – New Orleans, LA @ Zeitgeist Arts Center
July 20 – Austin, TX @ Alamo Drafthouse Ritz

The evolution of the female solo artist over the past fifteen years has been a curious one. My generation grew up on solid, strong voices with apparent themes and lyrical twists. Tori Amos, Beth Orton, and Bjork were wildly different, but carried about them an obvious gravity; even Liz Phair’s sexual irreverence was rooted in the serious problem of sexual inequality.

Through the years, this picture of the solo female as singer-songwriter has shifted in interesting and probably heartening ways; these days, we’re more than familiar with Ida Maria, Lily Allen, Marnie Stern, and Kate Nash as figures that do their share to hold up images that are strong, but with a sense of irreverence. It’s somewhere in between the perceptions of serious, earthy songwriters and saucy, somewhat edgy singers that Polly Scattergood emerges; a forceful, breathy set of vocals taking precedence over a backdrop of ethereal sound.

It’s almost as if Scattergood has taken the best moments of the last 20 years in female rock history and studied them closely. Layered between moments of bare piano tracks are synthesizer-driven beats, creating an almost shockingly poignant soundscape. From the keyboard-heavy crescendos of “I Hate The Way”, it becomes clear that Scattergood’s forte is sadness. “My doctor said I’ve got to sing a happy tune,” she sings after weaving a tale of stark heartache, creating a wonderful and wrenching ending that evokes Marissa Nadler’s best lines.

Where Scattergood makes her true mark is in the ability to weave lyrical thickness with driving melody; “Other Too Endless”, “Please Don’t Touch”, and “Bunny Club” stand out immediately as very obvious and very British singles, though each track is laced with dark and contrasting imagery. Through the course of the album, her voice becomes a uniting factor, able to traverse both the twisted and the sweet through the album’s course. “Please Don’t Touch” hits a lilting note remniscent of Allen or Nash, where “Bunny Club”’s melody simply haunts.

It’s difficult not to find Scattergood’s work compelling from the very beginning, though it may take a few listens to make sense of the record as a whole. This is by no means a medley of sounds and moods; rather, it’s a well-orchestrated whole that executes each musical shift with a smooth elegance. What’s most remarkable is that no matter how far into the depths of despair Scattergood reaches (and when she channels death by suicide as in “Untitled 27″ or by cancer in “Breathe In Breathe Out”, those depths are very deep), her work retains a strange sense of hope. Polly Scattergood succeeds in evoking the serious while nodding at the irreverent, making for a most impressive debut.

Besides the fact you weren’t cool, famous or wealthy enough to attend.

From Flavorwire:

10. Off the Heezy, Fa Sheezy. As after parties go, this one was was particularly epic. Held on the crystalline roof-deck of the Cooper Square Hotel, the intimate gathering featured a (dangerously) open bar, and, for no apparent reason, an open-air bath tub. Björk kicked up the party with an unexpectedly ruckus DJ set featuring Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison” and Amerie’s “Got Me Trippin’.” Members of Dirty Projectors, St. Vincent, and Vampire Weekend, meanwhile, could be seen waiting in line for the can.

Read the full list here.

Something else you might not have known is that Olaf Arnalds also performed.

Icelandic songstress Olof Arnalds and her charming multi-instrumenalist friend David Thor Jonsson had spent the whole day at a Russian spa, so when they played at Union Hall on Tuesday night, they were in an entirely festive mood. Olof was wearing a flowing dress of no particular shape, which she later confessed was too slippery to let her sit comfortably on the stool, but its free-spirited nature was a fit for the night’s mood.

From the minute they came on stage, they owned it as if it was their own living room. With forgotten lyrics, mid-song instructions, sing-alongs, bursts of Icelandic conversations with each other, and even a joke about David’s mother’s guitar-playing, they made the illusion of a living room much more compelling.

When Olof did a beautiful version of a Hank Williams song, David voluntarily kicked himself out mid-song, after some eyes-only communication in which Olof indicated that she wasn’t appreciating the “zack! zack!” style of his hitting the chords. She insisted that David got it from his mother, and that Olof just wanted to be miserable playing a sad Hank Williams song without all of the “zack! zack!’s”. David assigned himself the punishment of standing next to the picture of a old woman that famously hangs behind the stage, and assuming her unpleasant facial expression throughout the song.

Well into the show, and to the bewilderment of the respectful and quiet audience, they offered a four-minute break, instructing everyone that they should use it to chat with friends, get drinks and go to the bathroom. During the entire time, David played a loop on the gorgeous toy piano that his friend had bought in New Orleans, and brought to the show just in time.

He’s directed videos for Bjork and Radiohead, won an Academy Award for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and was even the drummer for that French band Oui Oui. And now Michel Gondry could be adding you into his personal portfolio, for the mere price of $19.95! What will this French man think up of next, a new and improved version of the Sham Wow!?

Upon visiting Gondry’s website, you are able to submit a photo to yourself via e-mail under the “sketch” section, which Gondry will take, and use as a reference to draw a pretty picture of you. Ok, we don’t know how pretty it will be, and from the looks of his website it will be more like a kooky caricature, accentuating the size of your nose, gut or bushy eye brows, but at least it will be autographed.

If you really like Gondry’s rendition of your portrait, you can even opt to have the sketch of your mug put on any item on the website. It will take 6-8 weeks to receive your sketch (he’s a very busy man), but you’ll probably look cooler than all of your friends wearing a one of a kind, signed Michel Gondry original — or  just look  like a narcissist, either way it’s still cool.

Bjork and Dirty Projectors are putting their creative geniuses together for a one-time benefit show in New York City in early May. Yeah, you read that correctly. The two forces will be collaborating together to benefit Housing Works, an AIDS and homelessness charity based out of New York. 

The show will take place on May 8 at the Housing Works Bookstore & Cafe (a capacity of only 300), and all of the proceeds from the one-time show will go towards Housing Works. Housing Works is a non-profit organization that has been around since 1990, and services the homeless living with HIV and AIDS. The show is being sponsored by those lovely folks over at Stereogum, who approached Bjork and Dirty Projectors and asked them for their help. 

The outcome of the offer led to Bjork performing music by David Longstrath of Dirty Projectors, and will have Bjork playing with Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, Haley Dekle, and Longstreth himself, using only voices and an acoustic guitar, according to Stereogum. Along with the momentous collaboration between Bjork and the Projectors, Kurt Weisman and Olof Arnalds will also be performing at the small, 300-seat cafe.

Bjork’s Icelandic documentary Nattura-Summer 2008, which focuses on the environmental issues facing Iceland, is done and ready to be released tomorrow, March 10, exclusively on iTunes. 

The documentary, directed by Charlie Lightening, focuses on the proposal to increase the use of aluminum smelters as a way to control Iceland’s natural energy. Featuring commentary from Bjork and other prominent Icelandic figures, the film is centered around the use of alternative means to the industrial practices. The documentary also features discussion and debates about the Icelandic environment, including interviews with environmentalists and scholars, Omar Ragnarsson and Andri Snaer Magnason. 

All of the proceeds for the film go to the Nattura Campaign, which Bjork is greatly involved with. The campaign was founded in attempts to generate alternative and eco-friendly ways to vitalize Iceland’s resources. 

“It is now more important than ever before to emphasize a respect for nature,” Bjork said about the Nattura Campaign. “I believe that profits, technological advances and working together with nature can all go hand in hand. None need to be sacrificed at the expense of the others.”

The recently name-changed Santigold is performing at the SoHo Apple Store tonight, as part of the iTunes: Live from SoHo series.

The Santigold performance — set to start at 7 p.m. — will be held on 103 Prince Street in New York City. And even though we still don’t get why she changed that one letter in her name, we’re sure the Philly-based singer, who’s toured with the likes of M.I.A. and Bjork, will put on a stellar performance; blowing the Apple Shirts off the backs of computer junkies and fas alike. As part of Apple Live, which has become a staple event for the computer retailer, hosting different performers at the retail locations, Santigold is just one of the many artists added onto Apple’s roster of performances within the last few years.

Always at the forefront of music’s frontier, “Wanderlust” saw Björk pushing the limits of her music videos even further, when she released it in 3D. As beautiful as it is strange, the video for “Wanderlust” might only be #6 on our list of the best of 2008, but it’s our #1 choice for the coolest video of the year.

Björk – “Wanderlust”
Created by Encyclopedia Pictura