To Create A Universe, You Must Taste The Forbidden Fruit

Time for The Sugarcubes, taken from Side 1 of a mixtape I recorded on 14th September 1991. I'm not sure what was originally on Side 2, but it was replaced (or re-compiled) nearly a year later and features Lush. 

 

The Sugarcubes' third and final album, Stick Around For Joy, was released in the summer of 1992, so this selection focuses on the first two albums and accompanying 12" singles. I didn't have the original 12" of Birthday, but the "Christmas" re-release in 1988, featuring new remixes by The Jesus & Mary Chain. Many of the songs featured here would subsequently also be remixed for the 1992 compilation, It's-It. 

Listening to the songs again, it's easy to understand why I loved - and still love - The Sugarcubes so much. They weren't like anything else I'd ever heard before and there was an irreverence and spikiness that I found greatly appealing. Björk is of course an amazing front person, but I really liked Einar Örn's... well, I going to say 'counterpoint', which is not really it at all. He seemed too often derided or dismissed by the music press, which is a bit unfair: The Sugarcubes were what they were because of the dynamic between the two and a key reason why I liked them so much.

The music itself is a joy, with lots of quirky motifs that nod to but never mimic other bands. Whilst they may not have had great commercial success, they showcased the brilliant musical talent emerging from Iceland. As a family, we were lucky enough to visit Iceland in 2016 and the island and it's music have remained a source of wonder and fascination since. And it all started here.

1) Dragon (Icelandic) (1988)

2) Water (Album Version) (1989)

3) Bee (1989)

4) Motorcrash (Album Version) (1988)

5) Cowboy (Single Version) (1988)

6) Pump (Album Version) (1989)

7) Christmas Day (Birthday) (Remix By The Jesus & Mary Chain) (1988)

8) Traitor (Icelandic) (1988)

9) Dream TV (Album Version) (1989)

10) Speed Is The Key (Album Version) (1989)

11) Blue-Eyed Pop (Album Version) (1988)

12) Deus (10" Remix By Derek Birkett & Ray Shulman) (1988)

13) Mama (Album Version) (1988)

14) Somersault Version (Planet) (Remix By Derek Birkett & The Sugarcubes) (1990)

 

1988: Birthday EP: 7

1988: Coldsweat EP: 1, 8

1988: Deus EP: 5, 12

1988: Life's Too Good: 4, 11, 13

1989: Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!: 2, 3, 6, 9, 10

1990: Planet EP: 14

To Create A Universe, You Must Taste The Forbidden Fruit (47:29)