| "Big Time Sensuality" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byBjörk | ||||
| from the albumDebut | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 22 November 1993 (1993-11-22) | |||
| Studio | Olympic (London, England) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | One Little Indian | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Nellee Hooper | |||
| Björk singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Big Time Sensuality" onYouTube | ||||
"Big Time Sensuality" is a song by Icelandic singer and songwriterBjörk, released in November 1993 by the labelsOne Little Indian andElektra as the fourth single from the singer's debut album,Debut (1993). Written by Björk and staple collaboratorNellee Hooper and produced by Hooper, "Big Time Sensuality" is ahouse-influenced song that helped boost Björk's popularity worldwide, particularly in the US, where she charted for the first time. In Iceland, it was a number-one hit. The lyrics deal with her relationship with her friends and Hooper. The song features house grooves and electronicbass-sounds. Its music video was directed by French directorStéphane Sednaoui and filmed in New York City.
"It's not erotic or sensual even if it may sound like that. As you know, you create pretty deep, full-on love relationships with friends. A lot of it is also about myself. I can be a coward a lot of the time and there comes a moment when I write a song when I get quite brave. It's a lot about me dealing with myself rather than attacking other people. Would I like to know the future? No. There's a side to me that likes to plan a little bit ahead and there's a side that just needs to be free. I've got problems with booking airline tickets – I always change them. Sometimes I wonder if it's just for me to feel free. To kind of not be nailed in is really important to me".
After leavingthe Sugarcubes, Björk traveled toLondon where she began having contacts withelectronic music, and that inspired her to change her musical style from thepop-rock sounds of the Sugarcubes to a morealternative and electronic style of music. "Big Time Sensuality" was one of the last songs to be written forDebut, and was originally planned to be the first single from the album,[3] but it got delayed by the release of "Human Behaviour". It was then intended to be the third single, but it got delayed again by the success of "Play Dead", and was finally released as the fourth single on 22 November 1993.[4]
The song was co-written by Björk andNellee Hooper and produced by Hooper, which helped her in writing and producing her firsttwo albums. The singer's meeting with Hooper inspired her in writing the song: "I think it's quite rare, when you're obsessed with your job, as I am, when you met someone who's your other part jobwise and enables you to do what you completely want".[3] The lyrics deal with the bravery of enjoying life to its fullest and were inspired by Björk's friendships:
I’ve got a lot of courage, but I’ve also got a lot of fear. You should allow yourself to be scared. It’s one of the prime emotions. You might almost enjoy it, funny as it sounds, and find that you can get over it and deal with it. If you ignore these things, you miss so much.[2]
"Big Time Sensuality" received three different remixes fromFluke. One of them, called the "Fluke Minimix" was performed on different occasions and was used for the song's music video. This edit was later released on Björk'sGreatest Hits.
The single also contained "Glóra" ("Gloria") and "Síðasta Ég" ("The Last Me") as B-sides, two songs that were recorded byThe Elgar Sisters, a group formed in the early eighties by guitaristGuðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson and Björk. "Glóra" is an instrumental track which features aflute-solo played by Björk, who also wrote and produced the track. "Síðasta Ég" was written by Björk, Óttarsson and Þór Eldon Jónsson, a member of the Sugarcubes, and was produced by Björk and Óttarsson, withguitar played by Óttarsson.
The first two verses of "Big Time Sensuality" are underscored by upbeatkeyboards that lead intoelectronica andtechno-influenced grooves that Sandy Masuo ofOption defined as "brooding".[5] Björk belts out the first lines accompanied by a base of percussion, while the chorus features stronger electronic beats. After the first two verses, Björk sings some sounds like moans or shouts. Ben Thompson defined the yells sequence as "sinuous pop-funk squawk".[6] After theinterlude "I don't know my future after this weekend/And I don't want to!"funk-like sounds lead the song to an end.
The "Fluke Minimix" is composed on a series of synthesizers and by slower vocals. The remix features electronic bass and heavily usesreverb. The track ends with the lines "It takes courage to enjoy it/The hardcore/And the gentle/Of Big Time Sensuality" whispered by Björk.
The song was deemed as a highlight ofDebut and was praised by critics. Reviewing the album, Heather Phares ofAllMusic, noted that "Björk's playful energy ignites thedance-pop-like 'Big Time Sensuality' and turns the genre on its head with 'There's More to Life Than This'."[7] The website cites the track as anAll Media Network-pick, and in a track review, Stacia Proefrock defined it as an "aggressive, screechydance number" that "While not scraping the top of the charts[...] was part of an album unusual enough to stand out among its fellow pop releases as a quirky and complex experiment that worked most of the time".[8]Larry Flick fromBillboard wrote, "Wiggly bass and heavy beat come to the fore here, unfortunately competing with Björk's voice for lead billing, when her vocal really should be allowed to steal the show."[9] Sean McCarthy of the Daily Vault defined the track as "insanely addictive".[10] John Hamilton fromIdolator felt that "this dancefloor monster resembles the soulful Americanhouse sounds ofCrystal Waters andUltra Nate in its original album mix, but for the single, it was revamped into a stormingtrance jam by remix duoFluke."[11]Taylor Parkes fromMelody Maker named it Single of the Week, writing that the new remixes "burn with precisely the kind of firework-faced madness that the best dance music achieves almost effortlessly, metallic thunder and cyclones of percussion, Björk's urgent, foot-stamping voice bobbing and weaving inside it all like a heat-seeking dolphin."[12]
Martin Aston fromMusic Week gave it four out of five, stating that it "sees the ubiquitous star this time going for the big dancefloor smash", adding that "she can do no wrong right now."[13]Simon Reynolds ofThe New York Times stated that "the sultry 'Big Time Sensuality' has her vaulting from chesty growls to hyperventilating harmonies so piercing she sounds as if she's inhaledhelium".[14] Johnny Dee fromNME commented, "More fun, madness and surprise follows", noting "the pulsating grind" of the song.[15] Tim Jeffery from theRecord Mirror Dance Update noted, "That soaring voice starts the track over swirling synths before a deep and rumbling bassline powers in and the rest is history repeated as Bjork heads for another smash."[16] German bandCulture Beat reviewed it forSmash Hits, giving it four out of five.Tania Evans said, "She really knows how to express herself as an artist and I like the irregularity of her phrasing and the way she uses her voice. She is unique."Jay Supreme added, "I love her, her voice is real good. This song comes from a different angle but you can tell that it's definitely her."[17]Vox journalistLucy O'Brien called it "saucy".[18]
"Big Time Sensuality" was nominated in theBest Song category at the1994 MTV Europe Music Awards, losing to "7 Seconds" byYoussou N'Dour andNeneh Cherry.[19] In 1995, the song was awarded one ofASCAP's Rhythm & Soul Awards.[20]
"I had seen theRed Hot Chili Peppersvideo that he did, sort of black and white and silver, and I want to do a video to song called "Big Time Sensuality", and I was very aware that I want it to be quite different from "Human Behaviour", which is more sort of epic story-telling thing. "Big Time Sensuality" was more like a personal statement, it has to be very in-your-face. Then he called up, a little later, with something he thought was even better, basically to get a truck and drive up and down Manhattan as long as the light would last. I guess the idea to put someone on a truck, and kinda drive the truck, and you have to dance really intensely, and just the elements of danger at the top of that, do it in a city like New York. I think the policeman, very aggressive, asking us to try to stop to do it and we were kind [sic?] bit like, we were kinda like anarchists not stopping, the police were after us. Then, you get all those people who actually want to jump on the truck and take part like; "Are you doing a movie? Can I take part of it?" We had very big speakers and were blasting the song, everybody was kinda listening, and you know how New York people are, they're very sort of open anyway, they were clapping and dancing along, it was a bit of a performance statement. It was a great day, we had great laughs".
To shoot the music video for "Big Time Sensuality", Björk called upon French directorStéphane Sednaoui, who had previously directed videos forMadonna,U2, andRed Hot Chili Peppers. Sednaoui heard about Björk when he went toLos Angeles for the first time and was fascinated by her music.[22] Björk personally wanted the director after seeing some photos ofKurt Cobain shot by him, that Björk recalled as being the only photos in which she saw Cobain "laughing out loud and dancing".[22]
Sednaoui at first wanted to go to Iceland to shoot the music video, but the costs were too high for the budget. Björk explained the inspiration for the music video: "when you're living on the edge and it's about the courage to enjoy life".[22] The director got the idea for the music video while he was inNew York and realised that "it would work amazingly with the city. With all the big buildings and everything and her voice".[22]
The video for "Big Time Sensuality" was shot inblack and white on 26 October 1993[23] and features Björk dancing on the back of a moving truck slowly driving throughNew York City in the middle of the day. Björk appears dressed in a white sweater and a long white skirt, with her hair in buns. The video uses film effects likeslow motion andfast motion. The video was released in three versions. The first uses the album/single version. The second version uses a remix byFluke, an edit of the "Fluke Moulimix". The third version, shot in the evening, uses the full "Fluke Moulimix".
The video helped Björk to be known in North America where it received heavy rotation onMTV channels, with many noting that the video was more known in the country than the song: "Few people know how the melody for "Big Time Sensuality" starts, but anyone who watched MTV in the early '90s could cheerfully belt out the single measure when she sings the words "Big Time Sensuality".[24]
The video was later spoofed by British comediansFrench & Saunders, in a low budget fashion (i.e., on agreenscreen), and also plays on the name ofIceland, Björk's home country, with thestore of the same name. A short scene of the video can be seen in the movieVanilla Sky (2001) in a vision sequenceTom Cruise has.[25]
The song received a heavy promotion, and as such, Björk did numerous TV appearances. On 8 August 1993, she appeared on the UK showThe Beat, performing the song along with "Venus as a Boy" and "Come to Me". Björk performed the song live on other British shows likeDance Energy,Top of the Pops andSmash Hits Poll Winners Party. She then performed the song live onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in one of her first appearance on the American broadcast. She performed the track onMTV's Most Wanted, where she performed also "Human Behaviour", and onThe Grind. On a rarelip-synch performance, she sang the song on the Italian showFestivalbar. She also performed the song live, dressed in a big, red gown at the1994 MTV Europe Music Awards, where she received two nominations. The song was part of herMTV Unplugged set list, where it received a different arrangement, accompanied byIndian instruments and aharpsichord. Its performance was released onDebut Live, which was included inLive Box.[26]
"Big Time Sensuality" was a staple performance at herDebut tour andPost tour. Notably, its performance during the Post tour at theO2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London was released on her VHS and DVD releaseLive at Shepherds Bush Empire, with the same performance released onPost Live, where it was given a "much moreminimal treatment"[27] accompanied byLeila Arab "gently hyperkineticjungle beats".[27]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toby Creswell | Australia | 1001 Songs[citation needed] | 2005 | * | ||
| Panorama | Norway | The 30 Best Singles of the Year 1970–98[citation needed] | 1999 | 23 | ||
| NME | United Kingdom | NME Rock Years, Single of the Year 1963–99[citation needed] | 2000 | * | ||
| The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[citation needed] | 2014 | 322 | ||||
| Q | The Ultimate Music Collection[citation needed] | 2005 | * | |||
| The Guardian | 1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear[citation needed] | 2009 | * | |||
| Radio X | The Top 1000 Songs of All Time[citation needed] | 2010 | * | |||
| Robert Dimery | United States | 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download[citation needed] | 2010 | 1002 | ||
| Bruce Pollock | The Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era: 1944-2000[28] | 2005 | * | |||
| Pitchfork | Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s[citation needed] | 2010 | 201 | |||
| Spin | The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994[citation needed] | 2014 | 69 | |||
| WOXY.com | Modern Rock 500 Songs of All Time[citation needed] | 1989–2009 | 510 | |||
| Slant Magazine | The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time[29] | 2020 | 82 | |||
| Rolling Stone | 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time[30] | 2022 | 29 | |||
| (*) designates lists that are unordered. | ||||||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Big Time Sensuality" | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Síðasta Ég" | 2:57 |
| 3. | "Glóra" | 1:43 |
| 4. | "Come to Me" (Black Dog Mix) | 5:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Big Time Sensuality" (TheFluke Minimix) | 4:09 |
| 2. | "Big Time Sensuality" (Dom. T Big Time Club Mix) | 6:09 |
| 3. | "Big Time Sensuality" (Justin Robertson – Lionrock Wigout Vox) | 7:21 |
| 4. | "Big Time Sensuality" (Morales Def Radio Mix) | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Big Time Sensuality" (The Fluke Magimix) | 5:51 |
| 6. | "Big Time Sensuality" (Justin Robertson's Prankster's Joyride) | 7:03 |
| 7. | "Big Time Sensuality" (The Fluke Moulimix) | 5:43 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 22 November 1993 |
| One Little Indian | [4] |
| Japan | 25 June 1994 | CD | Mother | [48] |
