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Bítið Fast í Vítið

Bítið Fast í Vítið

Bítið Fast í Vítið, which in Icelandic could be translated as Take a Firm Bite of Hell or Put Your Teeth Firmly into Hell, was an EP released in 1982 by Tappi Tíkarrass, an Icelandic punk/pop group led by vocalists Björk and Eyþór Arnalds.
Released by Spor label, it was their first work after the band had formed by the end of 1981 and with five tracks, it featured a song in English titled “London”.
This release, is the most punk-oriented work of the band if compared to their following and last release in 1983 called Miranda. The members of Tappi Tíkarrass were:
- Björk Guðmundsdóttir: vocals and keyboards.
- Eyþór Arnalds: vocals.
- Jakob Smári Magnússon: bass.
- Eyjólfur Jóhansson: guitar.
- Guðmundur Þór Gunnarsson: drums.

Track listing

Credits

Music and lyrics: Tappi Tíkarrass. All vocals by Björk Guðmundsdóttir.
Album: Dóra Einarsdóttir.
Recording engineer: Tony Cook.
Photography: Friðþjófur Helgasson.

External links

- [http://www.bjork.com Björk official website]
- [http://home4.inet.tele.dk/olrik/bjork/disco/ Björk's Purple Lodge Discography] - Complete discography listing, it includes DVDs, VHS, books and her collaborations with other artists.
- [http://www.bjork.digimer.pl/o/media.htm Mp3 and MIDI files] - A look trough Björk’s artistic career and her collaborations with other artists.
- [http://www.hi.is/~tom/genius.html Tom Brenner - Björk: The Genius] - Page with information about Tappi Tíkarrass, related bands and an Icelandic music exhibit. Note: This article features Icelandic characters. For more information see Icelandic language. ------ Category:1982 albums Category:Tappi Tíkarrass albums

Icelandic (language)

:For other meanings, see Icelandic (disambiguation). Icelandic (íslenska) is a North Germanic language spoken in Iceland. It is an inflected language with four cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. Its closest relative is the Faroese language. While most Western European languages have reduced greatly the extent of inflection, particularly in noun declension, Icelandic retains an inflectional grammar comparable to that of Latin, Ancient Greek, or more closely, Old English. Written Icelandic has changed relatively little since the 13th century. As a result of this, and of the similarity between the modern and ancient grammar, modern speakers can still read, more or less, the original sagas and Eddas that were written some eight hundred years ago. This ability is sometimes mildly overstated by Icelanders themselves, most of whom actually read the Sagas with updated modern spelling and footnotes - though otherwise intact. This old form of the language is called Old Icelandic, but also commonly equated to Old Norse (an umbrella term for the common Scandinavian language of the Viking era). The icelandic alphabet is notable for its retention of two old letters which no longer exist in the English alphabet: þ (thorn) and ð (eth or edh), representing the voiceless and voiced "th" sounds as in English thin and this respectively. The complete Icelandic alphabet is: A Á B D Ð E É F G H I Í J K L M N O Ó P R S T U Ú V X Y Ý Þ Æ Ö (32 letters) a á b d ð e é f g h i í j k l m n o ó p r s t u ú v x y ý þ æ ö The preservation of the Icelandic language is taken seriously by the Icelanders — rather than borrow foreign words for new concepts, new Icelandic words are diligently forged for public use. An extremely purist form of Icelandic is High Icelandic or Háfrónska. Icelandic does not have any dialect differences that can cause misunderstanding.

Sounds

Icelandic has an aspiration contrast between plosives, rather than a voicing contrast, something relativly rare among European languages. Preaspirated voiceless stops are also common. However fricative and sonorant consonant phonemes exhibit regular contrasts in voice, including in nasals (rare in the world's languages). Additionally, length is contrastive for many phonemes; voiceless sonorant consonants seem to be the only exception. The chart below is based on Scholten (2000, p. 22); refer to the IPA article for information on the sounds of the following symbols:

Consonants

The voiced fricatives , , and are not completely constrictive and are often closer to approximants than fricatives. The status of and as phonemes or as allophones of and is the topic of some debate. One the one hand, the presence of minimal pairs like gjóla "light wind" vs. góla "howl" and kjóla "dresses" vs. kóla "cola" suggests that the palatal stops are separate phonemes. On the other hand, only the palatal stops, not the velars, may appear before front vowels, and some linguists (e.g. Rögnvaldsson 1993) have held out for an underlying phonemic representation of and as and respectively, with a phonological process merging into . Whether this approach, which is consistent with the orthography and historical processes, represents a synchronic reality is disputed. The dental fricatives and are allophones of a single phoneme. is used word-initially, as in þak "roof", and before a voiceless consonant, as in maðkur "worm". is used intervocalically, as in iða "vortex" and word-finally, as in bað "bath", although it can be devoiced to before pause. Of the voiceless nasals, only occurs in word-initial position, for example in hné "knee". Recently, there has been an increasing tendency, especially among children, to pronounce this as voiced, for example pronouncing hnífur "knife" rather than standard . The palatal nasal appears before palatal stops and the velar nasals before velar stops. appears also before and through the deletion of in the consonant clusters and . The preaspirates (e.g. löpp "foot") do not occur in initial position. The geminates are not necessarily longer than simple but do cause shortening of a preceding vowel. Still, they may be pronounced long in certain styles of speech, such as when talking to children.

Vowels

Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. Vowel length is predictable in Icelandic (Orešnik and Pétursson 1977). Stressed vowels (both monophthongs and diphthongs) are long:
- In one-syllable words where the vowel is word-final:
- fá "get"
- nei "no"
- þú "you"
- Before a single consonant:
- fara "go"
- hás "hoarse"
- vekja "wake up"
- ég "I"
- spyr "ask (1 person, singular)"
- Before any of the consonant clusters , , or :
- lipra "agile (accusative, feminine)"
- sætra "sweet (genitive, plural)"
- akra "fields (accusative, plural)"
- hásra "hoarse (genitive, plural)"
- vepja "lapwing"
- letja "dissuade"
- Esja proper noun, a mountain
- götva as in uppgötva "discover"
- vökva "water (verb)" Before other consonant clusters (including the preaspirated stops and geminate consonants), stressed vowels are short. Unstressed vowels are always short.
- Karl proper noun
- standa "stand"
- sjálfur "self"
- kenna "teach"
- fínt "fine"
- loft "air"
- upp "up"
- yrði as in nýyrði "neologism"
- ætla "will (verb)"
- laust "lightly"

Morphology

Many German speakers will find Icelandic morphology familiar. Almost every morphological category in one language is represented in the other. Nouns are declined for case, number and gender, adjectives for case, number, gender and comparison, and there are two declensions for adjectives, weak and strong. Icelandic possesses only the definite article, which can stand on its own, or be attached to its modified noun (as in other North-Germanic languages). Verbs are conjugated for tense, mood, person, number and voice. There are three voices, active, passive and medial, but it may be debated whether the medial voice is a voice or simply an independent class of verbs of its own. There are only two simple tenses, past and present, but to make up for that there are a number of auxiliary constructions, some of which may be regarded as tenses, others as aspects to varying degrees.

Syntax

Icelandic is SVO, generally speaking, but the inflectional system allows for quite some freedom in word order.

Icelandic sign language

:Main article: Icelandic Sign Language Icelandic sign language was originally based on Danish Sign Language. Until 1910, deaf Icelandic people were sent to school in Denmark. Today, Icelandic sign language has evolved apart from its Danish roots. The language is regulated by a national committee.

References

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External links

- University of Iceland ([http://www.hi.is/page/hi_is_english_frontpage English]) ([http://www.hi.is/ Icelandic])
- [http://www.ismal.hi.is/malsten.htm Íslensk málstöð (The Icelandic Language Institute)]
- [http://lexis.hi.is/ Lexicographical Institute of Háskóli Íslands / Orðabók Háskóla Íslands]
- [http://www.hi.is/nam/islenska/ Íslenskuskor Háskóla Íslands]
- [http://www.hum.uit.no/a/svenonius/lingua/flow/li/minig/enmini_is.html An Icelandic minigrammar]
- [http://www2.hu-berlin.de/bragi BRAGI] - website on the Icelandic language, primarily in Icelandic and German, though other languages are available for some sub-pages.
- [http://www.rimur.is/ Iðunn - Poetry society]
- [http://www.rimur.is/?i=4 Bragfræði og Háttatal]
- [http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/IcelOnline.IEOrd Icelandic-English Dictionary / Íslensk-ensk orðabók] Sverrir Hólmarsson, Christopher Sanders, John Tucker. Searchable dictionary from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries
- [http://frontpage.simnet.is/annas/laerdom/malshatt.htm Some Icelandic sayings] (I)
- [http://www.msfelag.is/lettmeti/malshaettir.htm Some Icelandic sayings] (II)
- [http://www.mannanofn.com/ Meanings of Icelandic names]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=isl Ethnologue report for the Icelandic language] (about Ethnologue)
- [http://www.ma.is/kenn/svp/kennsluefni/malfar/fyrsta.htm Daily spoken Icelandic - a little help]
- [http://www.ma.is/kenn/svp/pistlar/default.htm Mannamál, Some tricky points of daily spoken Icelandic]
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Icelandic-english/ Icelandic - English Dictionary]: from Webster's Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.islenska.de/index.html Íslenska - German magazine for Learners of Icelandic]
- [http://mimir.dettifoss.org/ Mimir - Online Icelandic grammar notebook]
- [http://briem.ismennt.is Thorn and eth: how to get them right]
- [http://www.verbix.com/languages/icelandic.shtml Verbix - an online Icelandic verb conjugator]
- [http://www.lexis.hi.is/beygingarlysing/index.html An online declension tool for Icelandic nouns]
- [http://www.mentalcode.com/nl/islenska/index.page Mentalcode - Icelandic]
- [http://www.samkoma.com/mimir/mimir.htm Mímir - Icelandic grammar notebook]
- [http://gis.bofh.is/ornefnaskra/ Örnefnaskrá Íslands - Icelandic place names directory] Category:Icelandic language Category:North Germanic languages Category:Languages of Iceland ja:アイスランド語 nb:Islandsk språk simple:Icelandic language

Extended play

:For the TV show on G4 formerly called Extended Play, see X-Play. An extended play or EP, is the name given to vinyl records or CDs which are too long to be called singles but too short to qualify as albums. Typically an album has eight or more tracks (anywhere between 30-60 minutes), a single only one or two (5-15 minutes), and an EP four to eight (or around 15-35 minutes.) Some artists, especially in the days of vinyl, have released full-length albums that could fit the definition of a modern-day EP. (See Yes's Close to the Edge and Prince's Dirty Mind as examples.) A remix single is not considered an EP unless it also has other songs on it (an EP/single hybrid). The name "extended play" has become something of a misnomer, for though it originally was used for singles that were extended beyond the standard length, it is now more often synonymous with an album that is shorter than usual; indeed, EPs are sometimes referred to as "mini-albums" (see below). For this reason, among others, they are referred to as "EPs", the full name being used much more rarely. EPs were released in various sizes in different eras. The earliest EPs were 33⅓ RPM recordings on 10" (25cm) disks, and appeared at the close of the 78 RPM era. By coincidence, the format gained wide popularity with the coming of Elvis Presley, and it is sometimes erroneously stated that the term "EP" derived from his initials. In 1967, The Beatles released a double-EP containing all the songs from their TV film Magical Mystery Tour. In the 1970s and 1980s there was less standardization, and EPs were made on 7" (18cm), 10", or 12" (30cm) discs running either 33⅓ or 45 RPM. Some novelty EPs used odd shapes and colours, and a few were picture discs. The term is also sometimes applied to compact discs with short playing times. However, since a CD can carry any amount of material up to around 80 minutes, the distinction between a CD EP and a short CD LP is somewhat arbitrary and is based on artistic and marketing factors. For example, EPs are usually released as a promo or as a method for an artist to release a collection of songs unfit for an album. Some artists prefer to use the term "mini-album" instead of "EP", bringing a stronger significance to the work instead of it being counted as a mere add-on to an artist's discography. Music fans have been divisive on whether, for example, a five-track release of 60 minutes would be considered an EP or an album; this choice is left for the artist to determine themselves. The Mars Volta ran into problems with their five-track album Frances the Mute before its release; the final track, "Cassandra Gemini", was divided into eight arbitrary sections so the band would be paid an album's wages rather than an EP's.[http://www.thecomatorium.com/board/index.php?showtopic=30877] Fans of doom metal or experimental music such as Current 93 and Nurse With Wound are very familiar with albums containing a very low track count.

The 7" EP in punk rock

The first recordings released by many punk rock bands were released in 7" EP format, mainly because short song nature of the genre that resulted made it difficult to create sufficient material to fill an LP. Many such bands also were unsigned, or signed to a minor record label that did not have the funds to release a full length album, particularly by newly formed bands. As many record stores would not sell demo tapes, the 7" EP became a standard release for punk rock bands, who could sell them nationwide at a cheap price, and thus be heard beyond the areas where they performed. These records would vary in length, having anywhere from 2 to as many as 10 or more songs (4 being somewhat of a standard), and recorded at 33 RPM as often as 45 (outside of punk rock many people refer to any 7" record as a 45, as it has been the standard speed for such records). Some of these recordings would qualify as singles, although this term was sometimes eschewed as being a mainstream design for determining commercial airplay, which did not apply to the vast majority of such bands. The term "single" also had a way of being somewhat dismissive of any tracks other than the primary one, delegating them as b-sides, when many bands, having a 7" record as their most significant release, would put all their best songs on the recording. Using the term EP in such cases would be considered technically incorrect, as they were not "extended", and the term "7 inch" became a standard. For bands that went on to achieve commercial success, it was often customary for the original EP tracks to be released later on full-length albums, or to be somehow re-issued in another format. The split 7" EP has also been a widespread feature in the genre, in which two bands would release such a record together, each performing on one side. This was a way to cut costs, particularly for self-released EPs, and was often used as a way for a more established band to help promote a promising newer act. Alternately, two bands with friendly relations with each other would release split EPs together. In some countries, split EPs are also used by major record labels to promote two new albums by wholly different artists, usually in the form of radio promos.[http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=196210]

Tappi Tíkarrass

, Björk Guðmundsdóttir and Guðmundur Gunnarsson.]] Tappi Tíkarrass, was a famous Icelandic punk/pop band which added elements of funk, disco and jazz to their music marking a difference to other traditional bands at that time. The band is also considered as the first serious music project of now renowned singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir.

Origins

By 1980-81 Björk was playing in a garage band called Jam-80 next to bassist Jakob Smári Magnússon and guitarist Eyjólfur Jóhansson. They performed a mixture of pop and punk and despite having recorded a cassette demo, they never released any official album and this music project came to an end when decided to create a punk band with more serious music. That is how Tappi Tíkarrass came into being by September 1981 when Björk, Jakob Magnússon and Eyjólfur Jóhansson joined, vocalist Eyþór Arnalds, and drummer Guðmundur Gunnarsson, who was later replaced by Oddur F. Sigurbjarnarson. The name Tappi Tíkarrass, which in Icelandic means “Cork the Bitch’s Arse” was given after Jakob’s father claimed that the band’s music “fitted like a cork in a bitch’s arse”.
Tappi Tíkarrass combined elements of punk and pop music to create an exotic post punk with references to Siouxie and the Banshees and the first stage of The Cure.

Releases: Bítið Fast í Vítið and Miranda

The Cure Their started to record by August 1982 and released an EP titled Bítið Fast í Vítið which went out through label Spor. This 12” vinyl was formed by 6 tracks performed by Björk, who replaced the original vocals by Eyþór. The only song in English was “London”.
They followed up in 1983 with the release of their first album titled Miranda, which was released by Gramm. This record consisted of 13 tracks and even though Tappi Tíkarrass was the less experimenting project of singer Björk, this album outstands with songs like “Kríó” which feature pop melodies, and “Tjet”, a song that renders a mellow start and ends with disco references.

Featuring and appearances on film

Tappi Tíkarrass appeared in Rokk í Reykjavík, a TV documentary directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. Tappi Tíkarrass was one of the 19 bands featured in the film and collaborated with two songs: “Hrollur” and “Dúkkulísur”, both of them performed by Björk and Eyþór.
Despite the raise on the interest on this band as Björk developed into an international music artist, the discography of Tappi Tíkarrass has never been reissued and all the original releases are widely unavailable.
The band has appeared only in two Icelandic compilations, Satt 3 which was released in 1984 and featured two live B-sides: “Sperglar” and “Seiður”. Finally, by 1998 record label Spor released Nælur, another compilation which contained the songs “Iltí Ební” and “London”, both of them taken from Bítið Fast í Vítið.

Tappi Tíkarrass split up and the fate of its members

By July 1983 the band split up when Björk joined Purrkur Pillnikk’s singer Einar Örn Benediktsson, Þeyr’s guitarist Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson and drummer Sigtryggur Baldursson, with Medúsa’s keyboardist Einar Arnaldur Melax, and finally Birgir Mogensen bassist from Spilafífl. Together they formed a goth-oriented and more experimental band called KUKL. Jakob Magnússon has collaborated with Bubbi Morthens and Megas, among others, and he is currently a session musician. Eyþór Arnalds has worked in the music industry as a producer.

Performances

Tappi Tíkarrass had several gigs throughout Iceland. Here there are listed some of the known performances.

Discography

EP:

- 1982 - Bítið Fast í Vítið (Spor) Album:

- 1983 - Miranda (Gramm) Featuring:

- 1982 - Rokk í Reykjavík (Hugrenningur), soundtrack to the documentary directed by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
- 1984 - Satt 3 (Satt), Icelandic compilation.
- 1998 - Nælur (Spor), Icelandic compilation. Films:

- 1982 - Rokk í Reykjavík (Íslenska Kvikmyndasamsteypan), documentary directed by F. Þ. Friðriksson.
- 2003 - Inside Björk (One Little Indian), a retrospective documentary of singer Björk.

Related bibliography

- Rokksaga Íslands, by Gestur Guðmundsson. Forlagið (1990).
- Björk, Colección Imágenes de Rock, N°82, by Jordi Bianciotto. Editorial La Máscara (1997).
- Alternative Rock : Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion, by Dave Thimpson. Backbeat Books (2000).
- Lobster or Fame, by Ólafur Jóhann Engilbertsson. Bad Taste (2000).

External links

- [http://www.bjork.com Björk official website]
- [http://www.intravenous.de/home/musik/artikel/island1.html Intravenous.de] - Page about Icelandic music. It includes a section for Tappi Tíkarrass.
- [http://home4.inet.tele.dk/olrik/bjork/disco/ Björk's Purple Lodge Discography] - Complete discography listing, it includes DVDs, VHS, books collaborations, etc.
- [http://www.bjork.digimer.pl/o/media.htm Mp3 and MIDI files] - A look trough Björk’s artistic career and her collaborations with other artists.
- [http://www.hanshan.org/musikk Website featuring information about the Icelandic punk scene] Note: This article features Icelandic characters. For more information see Icelandic language. ----- Category:Icelandic musical groups Category:Punk Category:Pop music

Pop music

Pop music, in popular and contemporary parlance, is a subgenre of popular music. Since the term spans many rock, hip hop, rhythm and blues (R&B), country, dance and operatic pop acts, it is reasonable to say that "pop music" is a loosely defined category. The term is also used in a derogatory manner by those who feel that pop acts lack any musically artistic meaning, or in lack of better terminology, represent a "betrayal" away from the traditional sound of either the act themselves or the specific genre to which the act belongs.

Characteristics as a subgenre

Pop music is generally described as very commercial friendly, marketable and memorable, with either vocals, lyrics, instruments, or a combination of all three creating catchy choruses or verses. Pop music is also known for its ability to attract listeners through its versatile sound since it pulls from a plethora of musical influences. It can be also fair to say that pop music is predominantly image driven, especially through the subject matter of the lyrics, live performances, music videos, and other forms of exposure which makes it favourable and unfavourable to whoever is the listener. In modern times (increasingly over the last half-century; most notably since the start of the 2000s), this genre's immense success as a commercial product has, ironically, led to even more commercialization within the music itself, with "artists" being drawn in by companies for their appearance, dancing ability and vocal competence; and being provided with an image, choreography, and most importantly complete songs by veterans working for the record company. Some notable examples include Swedish songwriter Max Martin's having crafted most hit songs by pop acts such as Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys, and the pop boy band O-Town having been created as an MTV show. This technique for creating music is massively effective commercially for several apparent reasons. It is adept at targeting specific demographics among young people, since songs are written with that purpose in mind by talented professionals, and images crafted similarly. Also, by sticking to a straightforward formula and format, it is able to produce a consistent, predictable, and marketable product. That ability is only aided, naturally, by the vastly reduced output of the artists preventing companies' dependency on their eccentricities and whims. On the other hand, that reduced role for the artist, especially in the creative area, has always drawn harsh criticism from music fans who are painfully aware of its lack of substance. A music production method completely opposite to that of pop music is that of indie music, where record labels are small, vastly dependent on their few artists, and run by young entrepreneurs rather than corporate veterans. Indie artists, in turn, are in no way image driven, not widely marketed (often because of the label's financial constraints), and are almost universally of organic origins rather than having been assembled by their label. Many new artists turn to small indie labels since their reduced marketability makes them an unpopular choice with major labels.

Sound and themes

Pop in whatever influence form that it takes is done with simpler songwriting and arrangement. It takes from numerous influences but generally the focus is on the predominance of a simple melody, which makes the songs memorable; stripped down rhythms, which attributes to the less complex songwriting and sound arrangement; and the combination of the states of the melody and the rhythm allows for harmony to actually be a driving force of the song, which makes it more pleasing to the listener's ear. Themes are definitely varied ranging from personal songs to vivacious party jams. However, the most common theme deals with the wide range of emotions stemming from physical or emotional love. Music videos and live performances are mainly for exposure purposes, thus artists usually have extravagant stage shows and antics such as choreographed dancing, which is usually common amongst female musicians.

History and success

Pop music is far too ambiguous and far too diverse to say that it has a real concrete history as to when it began or so to speak. It can be said, however, that pop music serves now as to what folk music did in the early 20th century, which was to appeal to wide audiences of listeners. It has continued to evolve in that role. Therefore, the evolution of pop music can be discussed. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, pop music served as an umbrella term to the music that got the most exposure -- rock 'n' roll, soul, and country amongst others. Yet, going into the 1970s when those three genres became more textured and deep in musical composition, the simpler forms of musicianship started to take the form of pop music as the subgenre. shape their sound instead of relying on actual instruments. In the 1990s, the advent of boy bands such as the Backstreet Boys and girl groups such as the Spice Girls solidified pop as its own subgenre. Many solo artists labeled as pop (at times incorrectly) continue the evolution of the subgenre as a whole through not only their music, but their popularity themselves. As for success, pop music's wide marketing and general massive appeal has made it exponentially successful in record sales, airplay, and ticket sales. It has been the case ever since its evolution began. The music can be also credited for spurring subcultures amongst subcultures by those who identify with the music and/or the artist in general. In addition, the same characteristics also allow for many new artists to enter the pop music realm.

Effects beyond music

The friendliness and the appeal of pop music makes the subgenre prized by record companies, radio stations, and music telelvision stations thanks to sales and ratings. The relative ease of the draw generates billions and billions of dollars into the entertainment industry. The wide canvas of artists benefit from sales, airplay, shows, and endorsements. Pop music also attributes to the bold statement in lifestyle, from sexual expression, to general individual expression, and consumer habits. This is strictly a byproduct of the powerful image pop music thrives on and thus creates a slew of imitators amongst inspired everyday people.

Björk

Björk Guðmundsdóttir , (born November 21, 1965 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic singer/songwriter and composer with a great expressive range and an interest in many kinds of music including popular, trip-hop, alternative rock, jazz, electronica, folk, and classical music.

Early Career

Björk's musical career began at the age of eleven, when she began studying classical piano in elementary school. One of her instructors submitted a recording of Björk singing Tina Charles' song "I Love to Love" to Radio One, an Iceland radio station. The recording was aired nationally; upon hearing it, a representative of the record label Fálkinn contacted Björk with a record contract offer. With the help of her stepfather, who played guitar, she recorded her eponymous debut in 1977. This album featured several Icelandic children's songs, and covers of popular songs such as the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill", sung in Icelandic. It became a smash hit in Iceland, though it was virtually unknown elsewhere. Punk music began to have an influence on Björk; at the age of fourteen, she formed the all-girl punk band Spit and Snot, shortly followed by a jazz fusion group called Exodus in 1979. In 1980, she graduated from music school at the age of fifteen, and in 1981, she and Exodus bassist Jakob Magnússon formed another band, Tappi Tíkarrass (which means "Cork the Bitch's Ass" in Icelandic), and released an extended single, Bítið Fast í Vítið in the same year. Their album Miranda was released in 1983. Björk next collaborated with Einar Örn Benediktsson and Einar Melax from Purrkur Pillnikk, and Guðlaugur Óttarsson, Sigtryggur Baldursson and Birgir Mogensen from Þeyr. After writing songs and rehearsing for two weeks, they (under the name KUKL which means "sorcery" in Icelandic) found they worked well together, and decided to continue, developing a sound that some have described as resembling Goth music. Björk began to show indications of what would become her trademark singing style, punctuated with howls and shrieks. KUKL toured Iceland with UK anarchist band Crass, and later visited the UK in a series of performances with Flux of Pink Indians. The band produced two albums as a result of these collaborations: The Eye in 1984, and Holidays in Europe in 1986, both on Crass Records. In the summer of 1986, several members of KUKL went on to form a band called Pukl but soon changed the name to Sugarcubes.

Popularity

Sugarcubes]]

The Sugarcubes

The Sugarcubes' first single, "Ammæli" (or "Birthday" in English), became a huge hit in England. They gained a significant cult following in the US and UK, and calls from record companies began coming in. Eventually the band signed with One Little Indian in the UK and with Elektra Records in the United States, and recorded their first album, Life's Too Good, in 1988. The album propelled them into international stardom — the first Icelandic rock band to achieve such popularity. While with the Sugarcubes, Björk participated in a number of side projects. She recorded Gling-Gló, a collection of popular jazz and original work, with the bebop group Trio Guðmundar Ingólfssonar, released in Iceland. Björk also contributed vocals to 808 State's album Ex:El, a collaboration which cultivated her interest in house music.

Solo career/Debut

Tensions steadily mounted between Björk and Einar Örn, however, and by 1992 the Sugarcubes dissolved. Björk moved to London and began thinking about a solo career; to this end, she began working with producer Nellee Hooper, who had produced for Massive Attack, among others. Their partnership produced Björk's first international solo hit, "Human Behaviour". Her solo debut album, simply entitled Debut, was released in June of 1993 to positive reviews; it was named album of the year by New Musical Express, and eventually went platinum in the United States. Debut was a mix of songs Björk had written since she was a teenager as well as newer lyrical collaborations with Hooper. The success of Debut enabled her to collaborate with other artists on one-off tracks; she worked with David Arnold on "Play Dead", the theme to the 1993 film The Young Americans (which appeared as an extra track on a re-release of Debut) and also appeared on a track on the 1997 album Not For Threes by Plaid, which was released on the cult Warp Records label.

Post

Björk returned to the studio during 1994 to work on her next solo album with Nellee Hooper, Tricky, Graham Massey of 808 State, and electronic music producer Howie B. The album, Post, contained songs based on Björk's relationships and songs about love (one of her favorite subjects), as well as some angry and confrontational material. Like "Debut," it was a collection partly made up of songs she had written in past years. She wrote the song "Bedtime Story" for Madonna's 1994 album Bedtime Stories, which became Madonna's first single released in 1995 and performed on MTV Unplugged during this time. By 1995, the new album Post was ready; it was released in June, reaching number two on the UK's pop charts, and also went platinum in the United States. January of 1997 saw the release of Telegram, an album of uncharacteristic remixes of songs from Post.

Homogenic

Later that year, the minimalist electronic album Homogenic was released and marked a dramatic shift from her earlier "pixie" image cultivated on the "Debut" and "Post" albums. Björk worked with producers Mark Bell of LFO and Howie B on the album, as well as Eumir Deodato; numerous remixes followed. Homogenic was her first conceptually self-contained album and is regarded as one of Björk's most experimental and extroverted works to date, with enormous beats that reflect the landscape of Iceland, most notably in the song "Jóga", which fuses lush strings with rocky electronic crunches. The emotionally-charged album contains a string of memorable music videos, several of which received airplay on American MTV, especially the epic "Bachelorette" and "All Is Full of Love", which became an alt-rock hit in 1999. The album eventually reached gold status in the States in 2001.

Vespertine

In 2001 the album Vespertine was released. This album saw Björk creating an introverted, internal, personal world of microbeats and tiny rhythms. The album featured chamber orchestras, Inuit choirs, very hushed vocals and personal, vulnerable themes. She collaborated with experimental sound manipulators Matmos, a DJ from Denmark Thomas Knak, and the experimental harpist Zeena Parkins for the album. Lyrical sources included the American poet E. E. Cummings and the American independent filmmaker Harmony Korine. Vespertine spawned three singles: "Hidden Place", "Pagan Poetry", and "Cocoon". America's then-more independent and artistic music video channel, MTV2, played the album's first video, "Hidden Place", pretty heavily, despite its somewhat controversial lyrics and imagery. However, the next video, for "Pagan Poetry", brought Björk to an even higher level of controversy with the channel. The song's video features graphic piercings, blurred sex scenes, and Björk's exposed nipples. As a result, the clip was initially rarely shown by MTV, and certain parts (for example, Björk's breasts) were censored out during the rare occasions when it was played. In 2002, the clip finally enjoyed unedited American airing as part of a late night special on MTV2 entitled Most Controversial Music Videos. Previously banned or censored videos were shown in their entirety during the TV-MA-rated special which aired on MTV2 regularly on weekends between 1 and 5 AM, until the infamous Janet Jackson incident at the 2004 Super Bowl. The video for "Cocoon" also featured a naked Björk, this time with her nipples secreting a red thread that eventually enveloped the singer herself in a cocoon. The video was also not aired by MTV.

Family Tree/Greatest Hits

2002 saw the appearance of the CD box set Family Tree containing a "these-are-my-roots" retrospective of Björk's career, comprising many previously unreleased versions of her compositions, including some very quiet work with a string quartet, the Brodsky Quartet. Also released that year was the album Greatest Hits, a retrospective of the previous 10 years of her solo career as deemed by the public: The songs on the album were chosen by Björk's fans through a poll on [http://www.bjork.com/ Björk's website]. A DVD edition of the CD was also released; it contained all of Björk's solo music videos up to that point. The new single from the set, "It's In Our Hands" made Björk a bona-fide sensation in America when it shot to #2 in the singles chart. In 2003 Björk released a series of low-priced DVDs and CD box set called Live Box containing live recordings of her previous albums.

Medúlla

2004 saw the release of Björk's Medúlla, in late August. Medúlla was a more impromptu piece of work after two concept albums, and in the midst of production, Björk decided the album would work best as an entirely vocal-based album. She used the vocal skills of Hip hop Beatboxer Rahzel, avant-rocker Mike Patton, Soft Machine drummer/singer Robert Wyatt, and several choirs; she again appropriated text from poet E. E. Cummings for the song "Sonnets/Unrealities XI." In August 2004 Björk performed the song "Oceania" (from her Medúlla album) at the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. In typical Björk style, her performance was one of the more unique of the event. As she sang, her dress slowly unravelled to reveal a 10,000 square foot (900 m²) map of the world, which she let flow over all of the Olympic atheletes. The song "Oceania" was written especially for the occasion. "Oceania" immediately shot to the top of the American chart based on airplay alone (as it was not available as a conventional single), though it would be the only single from Medúlla to do so. Shortly after, an alternate version of the song began circulating on the internet with additional vocals by Kelis. Though some were confused as to the authenticity of this collaboration, Björk's camp confirmed its legitimacy. The follow-up of "Oceania" was "Who is it" which charted at No. 26 in the UK followed by "Triumph of a Heart" in 2005 charting at No. 31. A video for the potential next single, "Where is the Line?", was filmed in collaboration with the Icelandic artist Gabríela Fridriksdóttir in late 2004. "Where Is The Line?" ascended to No. 30 in the Modern Rock Tracks chart before it was announced a single would not be released for the song.

Army of Me-Xes

After the disastrous tsunami which struck southeastern Asia in late 2004, Björk began working on a new project, Army of Me-Xes. This new project recruited fans and musicians from around the world as Björk posted on her website the need for the covering and remixing of the 1995 hit, "Army of Me". Björk was overwhelmed with the 600 responses which came flooding in. Out of these Björk as well as co-writer Graham Massey, picked the best 20 to appear on the album. The album was released in April in the UK and in late May 2005 the US. It peaked at No.14 on the dance albums chart in the UK.

Drawing Restraint 9

On July 25 2005 in the UK and on August 23 in the US, Björk released the album Drawing Restraint 9. It is a soundtrack to her boyfriend Matthew Barney's movie of the same title, and found Björk exploring traditional Japanese music styles to complement the experimental film, where the two lovers find themselves on a whaling ship and cut off each other's feet. Signifying her status as one of pop music's true originals and one of the most daring, innovative, and idiosyncratic artists of the last two decades, Björk was awarded the prestigious Inspiration Award at the Annual Q Magazine Awards in October 2005, accepting the prize from Robert Wyatt, with whom she collaborated on 2004's Medúlla album.

Currently

At the recent Q Magazine Awards, Björk said in an interview that she is living in Reykjavik again and is starting work on a new album. Nothing has been said of the content or theme of the album, although Björk has said that she plans to record some of it using the latest computer technology on a round-the-world boat trip with partner Matthew Barney and their daughter Isadora in 2006. She is currently training for the trip. Björk also performed with Zeena Parkins recently at the Zenkel Hall in Carnegie Hall for Meredith Monk's "Making Music" concert. They performed Meredith's "Gotham Lullaby", a song Björk had also performed while she was touring. Reviews of the concert can be seen at the [http://4um.bjork.com Björk 4um]

Björk in Film

Meredith Monk Björk's intermittent acting career began in 1990, when she appeared in Juniper Tree, a tale of witchcraft based on the Brothers Grimm story of the same name. Björk played the role of Margit, a girl whose mother has been killed for practising witchcraft. Björk also had an uncredited role in 1994's Prêt-à-Porter. In 1999, Björk was asked to write and produce the musical score for the film Dancer in the Dark, a pseudo-musical about an immigrant named Selma who is struggling to pay for an operation to prevent her son from going blind. Director Lars von Trier eventually asked her to consider playing the role of Selma, a proposal she initially turned down. He then threatened to stop the project, which would have made all the musical work she had already done useless. Eventually, she accepted. Filming began in early 1999, and the film debuted in 2000 at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival. Björk received the best actress award for her role, and yet she described the shoot as so physically and emotionally trying that she has sworn off acting ever again. This was a rumour, however that was put to rest in numerous interviews. Björk later stated that she always wanted to do one musical in her life, and this was the one. She also said that she could not do movies and music at the same time. The soundtrack Björk created for the film was released with the title Selmasongs. The album features a duet with Thom Yorke of Radiohead titled "I've Seen it All". She was invited to record Gollum's Song for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, but declined the invitation, as she was then pregnant; the track was instead recorded by her fellow Icelander Emiliana Torrini. Emiliana Torrini In 2005, Björk collaborated with her New York-based long-time boyfriend Matthew Barney on the experimental art film Drawing Restraint 9, a no-dialogue exploration of Japanese culture. Björk and Matthew both appear in the film, even though Björk commented that she wouldn't act again, she says that what she does in the film isn't acting, it's being a human sculpture. She was also responsible for the film's soundtrack, her second after 2000's Selmasongs.

Her Name

Björk usually goes by her first name only. This is not a stage name or affectation; it is normal for an Icelander to be referred to by his or her first name, as the last name simply indicates the name of the father. See Icelandic naming conventions. Björk means "a birch tree" in Icelandic (the meaning of Icelandic names is often transparent), cognate with Old English beorc and the modern English word. Though many English-speakers pronounce her name "Byork", a more accurate approximation would be "Byerk", which she has pointed out rhymes with "jerk". [http://ebweb.at/ortner/tia/97/babe9706/babe9706.html] Guðmundsdóttir is pronounced roughly "GWUTH-muns-doe-tir", and means "Guðmundur's daughter". Incidentally, her father Guðmundur is a well known labour leader in Iceland and was nationally recognized before his daughter became famous.

Personal Life

Björk and her contemporary media artist boyfriend Matthew Barney have a daughter, Isadora, born October 3, 2002. Björk also has a son, Sindri, born June 8, 1986, by Þór Eldon who was her bandmate in the 1980s post-punk group "The Sugarcubes". Her son Sindri Þórsson now has his own band called "Desida", where he plays bass. They garnered some positive reviews after their performance at Iceland_Airwaves in 2005. On the negative side, Björk has complained of being hounded by paparazzi in England and in 1996 two separate incidents gave the media much to chew on. First there was "The Bangkok Incident" - a rather notorious brawl that was captured on tape. After a long flight to Thailand an obviously exhausted Björk emerged from an aircraft at Don Muang airport with her then ten year old son. A television reporter attempted to get her attention as she hurried past the TV crews, but failed. The reporter then made a move towards Björk's son and seemed to try to grab a hold of him as she put the microphone in his face. Björk suddenly snapped and attacked the reporter, landing several blows in a confusing mêlée that was quickly broken up. This incident may be connected to her overall frustration with the media invading her privacy at that time, or it may simply have been caused by exhaustion, jet lag and the confusion of the situation. Later that year a more disturbing story emerged - this time casting Björk as the victim but causing her still more distress. An apparently deranged fan from Florida named Ricardo Lopez (not to be confused with the boxer) filmed himself in the process of making a bomb intended to at the very least disfigure his idol if not kill her outright. While the device, which was intercepted in the mail sorting room near its final destination in England, has frequently been described as a disfiguring "acid bomb" - Lopez says on one of the many tapes he made of himself: "I am the angel of death for her". This, and his eventual on-tape actions seem to indicate that he did not expect her to survive. The more than 20 hours of videotape detailing his deranged obsession with Björk, the construction of the device and general rantings then end quite dramatically as Lopez takes out a gun. Believing his device had either killed Björk or would soon do so, Lopez shot himself on camera in an apparent attempt to meet her in the afterlife. He was successful in taking his own life, if not that of his idol, and the tape (which eventually made its way onto the internet) continued to run for approximately five minutes after his death. It is not known if the camera stopped at that point or if the version making the rounds had an even longer silence edited out at the end. There is apparently also a version that ends right after the fatal gunshot. Already a private person, Björk was loath to comment on either of these incidents and later told the Guardian: "It just got a bit much."

Partial Discography

:See Björk discography or Official Website for an extensive listing of albums and singles.

With The Sugarcubes

- 1988 - Life's Too Good
- 1989 - Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!
- 1992 - Stick Around for Joy
- 1992 - It's It
- 1998 - The Great Crossover Potential
Solo studio albums

- 1977 - Björk
- 1990 - Gling-Gló (with Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar)
- 1993 - Debut
- 1995 - Post
- 1997 - Homogenic
- 2000 - Selmasongs: Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack Dancer in the Dark
- 2001 - Vespertine
- 2004 - Medúlla
- 2005 - Drawing Restraint 9 [Original Soundtrack]
Other releases

- 1997 - Telegram [Remix album]
- 2002 - Björk's Greatest Hits
- 2002 - Family Tree [Box Set]
- 2002 - Vespertine Live - Royal Opera House [DVD]
- 2002 - Later - 1995-2001 seven TV appearences [DVD]
- 2003 - The Live: 1993-2002 [Box Set]
- 2005 - Army of Me: Remixes and Covers
Television

- 1987 - Glerbrot character: María. (Ríkisútvarpíð) - National Icelandic Television.
Films / Shortcuts

- 1987 - The Juniper Tree, character: Margit. (Rhino Home Video)
- 1994 - Prêt-à-Porter, featuring Björk as a model.
- 2000 - Dancer in the Dark, character: Selma Jezková. (Zentropa Entertainment)
- 2005 - Anna and the Moods, Björk performs the voice of Anna Young. (CAOZ Ltd.)
- 2005 - Drawing Restraint 9, character is known as the "Guest." (Matthew Barney)
Bibliography

- 1984 - Um Úrnat frá Björk (free distribution)
- 2001 - Björk (Little-i)
- 2003 - Björk Live Book
Related Bibliography

- Post, by Sjón Sigurðsson/Björk Ltd. Bloomsbury (1995).
- Björk - The Illustrated Story, by Paul Lester. Hamlyn (1996).
- Björk - An Illustrated Biography, by Mick St. Michael. Omnibus Press (1996).
- Björk Björkgraphy, by Martin Aston. Simon & Schuster (1996).
- Björk, Colección Imágenes de Rock, N°82, by Jordi Bianciotto. Editorial La Máscara (1997).
- Dancer in the Dark, by Lars von Trier. Film Four (2000).
- Lobster or Fame, by Ólafur Jóhann Engilbertsson. Bad Taste (2000).
- Army of She, by Evelyn McDonnell. Random House (2001).
- Human Behaviour, by Ian Gittins. Carlton (2002).
- Bjork: There's More to Life Than This : The Stories Behind Every Song, by Ian Gittins. Imprint (2002).
- Wow and Flutter, by Mark Pytlik. ECW (2003).
See also

- Björk Guðmundsdóttir & Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of Number 1 Dance Hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links

- [http://www.bjork.com Official Website]
- [http://bandnews.org/band/Bj%F6rk Björk News]
- [http://www.bjork.com/facts/lyrics/ Björk Lyrics]
- [http://unit.bjork.com/77island/ 77ísland - Complete Björk Discography]
- [http://www.bjorkish.net Björkish.net], news, specials videos, photographs and forums.
- [http://www.bjork.digimer.pl Björk Digimer], it features MP3 and MIDI samples of Björk's entire music career.
- [http://www.aifob.tk/ All is Full of Björk], Latinamerican fansite frequently updated including downloads and a forum.
- [http://www.bjorkonline.com/unplugged/unplugged.html MTV Unplugged (1994)], songs recorded during a presentation on MTV.
- [http://www.bjork.com.br/abjork BjörkJsnet], lots of information in English and Portuguese.
- [http://home4.inet.tele.dk/olrik/bjork/disco/ Björk's Purple Lodge Discography], discography including videos and other releases.
- [http://www.bjoerk.ch bjoerk.ch], fan site with image gallery.
- [http://www.b-j-o-r-k.com b-j-o-r-k.com], fan site including downloads, icons, images, and a forum.
- [http://bjorklossless.goudwater.nl bjorklossless], fan site for users of bjorkhub.no-ip.info: offers over 150 non-commercial live CDs and DVDs.
- [http://www.allbjork.com/ allbjork.com]
- [http://www.sofftchevaliers.net/ sofftchevaliers.net], great french website.
-
- [http://bjork.mainac.net/ bjorkmanic.net]
- [http://4um.bjork.com/ 4um] Official Björk discussion forum
- [http://boogiebjork.tk/ www.BoogieBjörk.tk] Mexican Björk fansite for the spanish-speakers bjorkers! Category:Trip hop artists Björk Björk Björk Björk Björk Björk ko:비에르크 ja:ビョーク

1981

1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January-February

- January - Sarawak chamber found
- January 1 - Greece enters the EEC
- January 1 - Palau becomes self-governing
- January 4 - Sheffield police arrests Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper
- January 13 - Donna Griffiths, a schoolgirl in Pershore, Worcestershire, UK, begins a uncontrollable series of sneezes that end September 16 1983 - after 978 days
- January 16 - Protestant gunmen shoot and wound Bernadette Devlin McAliskey and her husband
- January 19 - United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity
- January 20 - Ronald Reagan succeeds Jimmy Carter as President of the United States of America. Minutes after Reagan becomes president, Iran releases 52 American hostages that had been held captive for 444 days - Iran hostage crisis ends.
- February 4 - Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes the Prime Minister of Norway
- February 9 - Polish Prime Minister Józef Pinkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski
- February 10 - A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino kills eight and injures 198
- February 14 - Australia withdraws recognition of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia
- February 23 - Antonio Tejero, with members of the Guardia Civil enters the Spanish Congress of Deputies, and stops the session, where Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was going to be named president of the government. The coup d'état would fail thanks to King Juan Carlos.

March-April

Juan Carlos.]]
- March 1 - Bobby Sands, an IRA member, begins hunger strike for political status in Long Kesh prison - he dies May 5, the first of ten men.
- March 6 - After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
- March 7 - Colombian guerillas execute US bible translator Chester Allen Bitterman for being a CIA agent
- March 11 - Chilean president Augusto Pinochet sworn in for an eight-year term as president.
- March 19 - Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
- March 30 - President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr., whose family had connections with the vice president. Two police officers and James Brady are also wounded.
- April 11 - Riot in Brixton, South London - rioters throw petrol bombs, attack police and loot shops.
- April 12 - The first launch of a Space Shuttle: Columbia launches on the STS-1 mission.
- April 15 - The Australian Foreign Minister Andrew Peacock resigns from cabinet accusing the Australian Prime Minister Fraser of gross disloyalty.
- April 18 - A Minor League baseball game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island becomes the longest professional baseball game in history: 8 hours and 25 minutes/33 innings (the 33rd inning was not played until June 23rd).

May

- May - Daniel K. Ludwig abandons the Jari project in the Amazon Basin
- May 6 - A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.
- May 10 - In the second round of the presidential elections in France (French presidential election, 1981), François Mitterrand beats Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
- May 13 - Pope John Paul II is shot at and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman, as he entered St. Peter's Square in Rome to address a general audience. (Two days after Christmas in 1983, Pope John Paul went to the prison to meet and forgive his would-be assassin)
- May 21 - In France, socialist François Mitterrand becomes president of the Republic.
- May 22 - Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, imprisoned for life for 13 counts of murder
- May 25 - In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- May 26 - The Italian government resigns over its links to the fascist Masonic cell P-2
- May 30 - Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman assassinated in Chittagong.

June-July

Chittagong return to Buckingham Palace following their wedding watched by over 1 billion people worldwide.]]
- June 5 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (these were the first recognized cases of AIDS).
- June 6 - Seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train fall off the tracks into the River Kosi, in Bihar, India - about 800 dead
- June 7 - Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor
- June 13 - At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, a teenager Marcus Sargeant fires six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II.
- June 22 - Hamas attacks a travel agency in Greece - two dead
- June 22 - Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr deposed
- June 29 - Morris Edwin Robert armed with a machine gun holds hostages in the FBI section in Atlanta Federal Building. After three hours the hostages are rescued - Robert is shot
- July 17 - Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby killing 114
- July 17 - Israeli bombers destroy the PLO HQ in Beirut
- July 27 - Wheel of Fortune premiers in Australia on the Seven Network.
- July 29 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.

August-October

- August 1 - MTV (Music Television) is launched.
- August 5 - Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
- August 7 - The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
- August 12 - The original IBM PC released in the United States.
- August 19 - Gulf of Sidra incident (1981). Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi sends two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two US fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The American jets destroyed the Libyan fighters.
- August 19 - US President Ronald Reagan appoints the first female US Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
- August 28 - South African troops invade Angola.
- August 31 - A bomb explodes at the US Army base in Ramstein, West Germany injuring 20 people.
- September 4 - An explosion at a mine in Zalizin, Czechoslovakia - 65 dead.
- September 10 - Picasso's painting "Guernica" is moved from New York to Madrid.
- September 15 - The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world, at 150 years old, when it operates under its own power outside Washington, DC.
- September 18 - France abolishes capital punishment.
- October 6 - Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a parade by army members who were part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization, who opposed his negotiations with Israel.
- October 10 - The Ministry for Education of Japan issues the jōyō kanji.
- October 14 - Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated.
- October 21 - Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece.

November-December

Prime Minister of Greece
- November 1 - Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom
- November 13 - The first Friday the 13th event held by motorcyclists in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada
- November 23 - Iran-Contra scandal: Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), giving the Central Intelligence Agency the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua
- November 25-November 26 - Group of mercenaries lead by Mike Hoare take over Mahe airport in the Seychelles in a coup attempt. Most of the mercenaries escape by a commandeered Air India passenger jet, six are later arrested
- November 30 - Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe (the meetings ended inconclusively on Thursday, December 17)
- December 1 - A Yugoslavian DC-9 crashes into a mountain while approaching Ajaccio Airport in Corsica killing 178
- December 4 - South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa)
- December 11 - El Mozote massacre - in El Salvador, army units kill 900 civilians
- December 13 - Wojciech Jaruzelski declares the state of martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity
- December 15 - A car bomb destroys the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 61 people. This is the first modern suicide bombing. Syrian intelligence is blamed.
- December 20 - The Penlee lifeboat disaster off the coast of South-West Cornwall
- December 28 - The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born (Norfolk, Virginia)

unknown dates

- Millennium Renactment of the translation of Saint Edward the Martyr's relics from Wareham to Shaftesbury
- Mauritania abolishes the institution of slavery.
- James Tobin wins the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
- Mike Cooley, Bill Mollison and Patrick van Rensburg / Education with Production win the Right Livelihood Award
- The counter-culture wire service LNS ceases operations.
- Public funding of election Campaigns introduced in New South Wales, Australia
- The State Council of the People's Republic of China listed the four cities (Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guilin) as where the protection of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural scenery should be treated as a prior project.
- Cuba suffers a major outbreak of Dengue hemorrhagic fever, with 344 203 cases. [http://w3.whosea.org/en/Section10/Section332/Section521_2454.htm]
- Computer and Video Games (magazine) begins publication.

Births

January-March

- January 1 - Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian race car driver
- January 3 - Eli Manning, American football player
- January 6 - Mike Jones, American rapper
- January 12 - Quentin Griffin, American football player
- January 15 - El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
- January 15 - Howie Day, American singer and songwriter
- January 17 - Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
- January 20 - Jason Richardson, American basketball player
- January 20 - Owen Hargreaves, Canadian-born footballer
- January 21 - Dany Heatley, German-born hockey player
- January 22 - Chantelle Anderson, American basketball player
- January 22 - Willa Ford, American singer, television hostess, and actress
- January 22 - Beverley Mitchell, American actress
- January 25 - Alicia Keys, American musician
- January 28 - Elijah Wood, American actor
- January 31 - Justin Timberlake, American musician
- February 3 - Alisa Reyes, American actress
- February 10 - Natasha St-Pier, Canadian singer
- February 11 - Kelly Rowland, American singer (Destiny's Child)
- February 14 - Erin Torpey, American actress
- February 15 - Jenna Morasca, American television personality
- February 17 - Paris Hilton, American actress and heiress
- February 18 - Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
- February 22 - Jeanette Biedermann, German singer and actress
- February 24 - Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
- February 27 - Josh Groban, American singer
- March 1 -Ana Hickmann, Brazilian model
- March 2 - Bryce Howard, American actress
- March 3 - Lil' Flip, American rapper
- March 9 - Antonio Bryant, American football player
- March 11 - David Anders, American actor
- March 11 - Lee Evans, American football player
- March 11 - LeToya Luckett, American musician (Destiny's Child)
- March 16 - Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
- March 28 - Julia Stiles, American actress

April-June

- April 1 - Hannah Spearritt, British singer (S Club 7)
- April 2 - Bethany Joy Lenz, American actress and singer
- April 10 - Michael Pitt, American actor
- April 14 - Mary Castro, American model and actress
- April 17 - Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer
- April 19 - Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor
- April 19 - Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
- April 19 - Troy Polamalu, American football player
- April 22 - Ken Dorsey, American football player
- April 28 - Jessica Alba, American actress
- May 5 - Craig David, British singer
- May 5 - Danielle Fishel, American actress
- May 11 - Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
- May 13 - Sunny Leone, Canadian entertainer
- May 15 - Jamie-Lynn DiScala, American actress
- May 19 - Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
- May 20 - Sean Conlon, English musician (5ive)
- May 20 - Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
- June 1 - Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- June 7 - Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
- June 7 - Larisa Oleynik, American actress
- June 9 - Natalie Portman, Israeli-born actress
- June 13 - Christopher Robert Evans, American actor
- June 12 - Adriana Lima, Brazilian model
- June 21 - Brandon Flowers, American singer and keyboardist (The Killers)

July-September

- July 8 - Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
- July 23 - Michelle Williams, American singer (Destiny's Child)
- July 24 - Summer Glau, American actress (Firefly)
- August 4 - Marques Houston, American singer and actor
- August 5 - Carl Crawford, baseball player
- August 5 - Kō Shibasaki, Japanese singer and actress
- August 8 - Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer and songwriter
- August 8 - Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
- August 8 - Meagan Good, American actress
- August 16 - Taylor Rain, American actress
- August 24 - Chad Michael Murray, American actor
- August 25 - Rachel Bilson, American actress
- September 1 - Clinton Portis, American football player
- September 4 - Beyoncé Knowles, American singer (Destiny's Child) and actress
- September 8 - Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
- September 16 - Alexis Bledel, American actress
- September 21 - Nicole Richie, American actress
- September 22 - Rocco Baldelli, baseball player
- September 26 - Christina Milian, Afro-Cuban singer, songwriter and musician
- September 26 - Serena Williams, American tennis player
- September 30 - Dominique Moceanu, American gymnast

October-December

- October 1 - Jamelia, British singer
- October 3 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Swedish footballer
- October 11 - Beau Brady, Australian actor
- October 15 - Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
- October 20 - Willis McGahee, American football player
- October 22 - Michael Fishman, American actor
- October 28 - Milan Baros, Czech footballer
- October 29 - Amanda Beard, American swimmer
- October 30 - Ivanka Trump, American model
- October 31 - Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer
- October 31 - Frank Iero, American guitarist (My Chemical Romance)
- November 1 - LaTavia Roberson, American musician (Destiny's Child)
- November 3 - Jackie Gayda, Ameri