Geddy Lee’s opinion on Björk

Although some musicians are icons of a certain kind of music, many of them have a really broad musical taste and one of them is Geddy Lee. The Rush vocalist, bassist and keyboardist was a fundamental part of the Canadian band alongside the guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer/lyricist Neil Peart.

Besides being a huge fan of Progressive Rock and Hard Rock music, Lee also enjoyed some artists from other music genres, but especially the ones who were trying to do something different. Over the decades he talked about many artists, giving his opinion on them and one was the Icelandic singer Björk.

What is Geddy Lee’s opinion on Björk

Many Rush fans might be surprised but Geddy actually likes Björk’s music and praised her many times during his career. For example, back in 2013, Rolling Stone magazine asked him to list some of his favorite songs and one of them was “Isobel”, a song from Björk’s second studio album “Post”, released in 1995.

“This is a beautiful song. Björk‘s voice just slays me. I love how much emotion she brings to her songs. Even when I don’t understand what she’s singing about – which is quite often,” Geddy Lee said.

In his opinion, although she experienced commercial success she still is underrated. That’s what he told The Quietus in 2012 after he picked her album “Post” (1995) as one of his favorite ones of all time. “This is probably the most surprising album on this list. I know, it is hard to see any connection between Rush and Bjork. Maybe there isn’t one. But I don’t think she gets the credit that she deserves.”

He continued:

“Journalists tend to focus on the things she says and does and, of course, what she is wearing. She is a very visual artist so perhaps that is understandable. But people tend to forget just what a fantastic and truly original artist she really is.”

“She is not afraid to try new things, either. In fact she thrives on it. It would have been very easy for her to have gone the pop route and built on her hit singles. There must have been pressure for her to do that but it is not what she is about. Just great music powered by an immense imagination,” Geddy Lee said.

Geddy Lee also loves Björk’s song “State of Emergency”

Another Björk song that Geddy is a big fan of is “State of Emergency”, a track from her third record “Jóga”, released in 1997. Three years later, when he was promoting his first solo album called “My Favorite Headache”, the musician praised her in an interview with Global Bass Online in 2000. For him, the track was brilliant and she was awesome. He mentioned Björk after he was asked who were some songwriters that made the hair of his arm stand-up.

“If I hear ‘State of Emergency’ by Björk, that really blows my mind. It’s a brilliant song, she’s awesome. She is not for everyone’s taste, but she is damn well for my taste, I love her. She is a real artist. She’s deeply talented and her voice is as compelling as any voice as I have ever heard,” Geddy Lee said.

By 2018 the Icelandic musician had sold an estimated amount of more than 22 million records worldwide. Many of her records appeared on the Top 20 of the United States Billboard 200 chart.

But besides being a musician, Björk is also an actress. She appeared in the movies: “The Juniper Tree” (1990), “Dancer In The Dark” (2000), “Drawing Restraint 9” (2005) and “The Northman” (2022).