The song and video for 'Bachelorette', and the album it's from, 'Homogenic', conjures up memories of Christmas during a time where I was awkwardly changing from a sissy prepubescent to a sissy pubescent. My involvement with Christmas, and the memories I was creating, often associated with music, stem from around this time. The year before was my obsession with The Nightmare Before Christmas and from that my obsession with the American way of celebrating 'the holidays'. Like an adult, I wasn't ashamed to be into music anymore, and asked for 'Homogenic' for Christmas. 'Bachelorette' was the single released around this time, and out of frustration and impatience on Christmas Eve, went into Sutton and bought the single with all the remixes. I think I was about 13 years old.
I didn't mature like a normal teenager, the typical things teenagers do I did when I was much older, and might explain why I don't ever feel how old I actually am, which is frustrating for me. While everyone was being typically 13, I wanted to 'make house' and Christmas was the perfect opportunity to get involved and feel grown up, and my tired over worked parents were more than happy to let me decorate and make cookies and cakes.
Bjork was my favourite singer around this time. In fact, she was probably the only music I listened to. Those days, to listen to your favourite song or to see your favourite music video, you had to wait hours listening to the radio or watching MTV, which I often did, and it was the arrival and anticipation of Homogenic where I probably experienced my first real excitement to a new release, having starting to understand her as an artist. You see, I was quite stubborn with music when I was at school, and it was NOT cool to like Bjork, I discovered, after proudly telling people I liked her. I learnt to keep it to myself, but there was no way in hell I was going to join the crowd and listen to the fucking Spice Girls.
On Christmas morning I opened Homogenic and listened to it all day. I made gingerbread men, making sure it was photographed with a camera I got too, taking over the kitchen and being homely. It was weird looking back but it was so exciting to me then. The music was the soundtrack, I think I played it in the kitchen, so the album is Christmas all over, but Bachelorette, and the video, directed by Michel Gondry, how lit up it was, theatrical, with Bjork and her sparkly dress and blue denim jeans combo, will always remind me of the cozy build up to Christmas, and the grey sky outside on Christmas Eve, as I let myself slowly burn against a radiator looking out the window in anxious contentment.
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