I should buy Björk a boat

July 30, 2021 2:25 PM

The 2005 video for Björk's Triumph of a Heart (alternative) follows a familiar three-act story: relationship difficulties lead to one partner storming off for an evening of wild fun while the other (played here by Nietzsche) ponders at home; thoughts and regrets on both sides; and a return and reconciliation. However, a brief scene around 3:55 became something else...

...namely the "I should buy ..." meme. In 2012, Redditor DrTango submitted a post to the /r/funny subreddit, featuring a screen capture with the caption “I should buy a boat”. Variations soon followed, including book, car, socks, drugs, um, exercise, cat, gameshow, decision, and this one.

posted by Wordshore (20 comments total)

Or you could just nick her one.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:37 PM on July 30, 2021 [4 favorites]

I never realised where this image was from!

Our ship's cat has the boat thing covered, but would probably like us to adopt another cat.
posted by automatronic at 2:45 PM on July 30, 2021 [6 favorites]

Before he was banned from driving, my cousin used to park his car in the same way Björk does.
posted by Wordshore at 2:55 PM on July 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

YouTube's algorithm also recommended this video about the making of the video (and part 2) with important information such as (a) the first cat they auditioned was named Nietzsche but it didn't work well when they put it into a suit and (b) the second cat they auditioned, the one that made it into the video, was named Wittgenstein.

I haven't followed Bjork down all of the roads that she's travelled down but I am so glad that she's forged her own paths!
posted by ElKevbo at 2:58 PM on July 30, 2021 [8 favorites]

Medulla was a weird album, almost all human made sounds, not musical instruments.
posted by Bee'sWing at 3:19 PM on July 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Mod note: I have amended the post to accurately convey the dead philosopher for whom the cat in question was named. Carry on.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:30 PM on July 30, 2021 [10 favorites]

I never saw the "buy" meme, only the more heartbreaking "Supposed to pick up" version
posted by achrise at 3:38 PM on July 30, 2021 [6 favorites]

Since it's been almost ten years, I'll save you a search - The Ikea Monkey
posted by achrise at 3:41 PM on July 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'd like to buy Bjork a boat
and furnish it with love
with apple trees and honey bees
and lots of modular dubs

Edit: is a 1971 joke too old these days?
posted by eschatfische at 3:54 PM on July 30, 2021 [14 favorites]

It was easy to pick out the sounds that made it onto the album watching the 'making of' video, and fun to see who made them.
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:25 PM on July 30, 2021

1. Cat, you are too good for Bjork. You deserve someone who won't go out boozing all night but will stay with you and appreciate you for the cat you are.
2. I've only visited once. But my god, do I want to live in Iceland. Where people are connected to the land and sea and each other and art is appreciated and life is difficult but consciously appreciated.
3. What if Bjork isn't the quirky genius we all laugh at, but really genuinely mentally ill? Like, in the middle of Los Angeles she'd be considered a weirdo with a personality disorder who makes "art" that's not really all that interesting. But she seems happy and uninhibited, so good on her. I think I'd find her grating as a roommate, but if I lived in Iceland and only dealt with her at the corner pub, she'd be awesome. Because I would be living in Iceland and everyone who was a weird free spirit would be ok and I'd be happy with my own quirks and flaws and life would be in harmony. Instead, I'm a miserable American who divides the world into "us" and "them", and "them" are bunch of assholes.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 4:51 PM on July 30, 2021 [5 favorites]

478. Does a child believe that milk exists? Or does it know that milk exists? Does a cat know that a mouse exists?

-Wittgenstein.
posted by clavdivs at 5:10 PM on July 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Hello. Hi there. I'm sorry, but there appears to be some confusion surrounding the philosopher-cat-actors. It is very clearly stated at 2:33 in the making-of video that Wittgenstein in fact aggressively asserted his rights, autonomy, and lack of consent when forced to submit to wearing the capitalist wage-slave garb the director demanded. Nietzsche was the weak-willed puddle of conformity who meekly acquiesced and submitted to whatever he was made to do and thus appears in the video. I would like the record corrected, please. This is important.
posted by whatnotever at 5:53 PM on July 30, 2021 [6 favorites]

This is delightful! Thank you!
posted by wheek wheek wheek at 6:58 PM on July 30, 2021

Yeah, I don’t know, Slarty Bartfast, she lives in my neighborhood in Reykjavík, and when I see her out and about she’s usually either with her kids or grandkid, and if not for her stylish clothes she wouldn’t stand out at all.

She’s lived for over three decades as a working artist, and people who pull that off are usually fairly levelheaded.
posted by Kattullus at 10:26 PM on July 30, 2021 [13 favorites]

Mod note: I have amended the amendment to the post to accurately re-convey the dead philosopher for whom the cat in question was named, and I feel like ultimately this momentary lapse can only make us stronger. Carry on..
posted by taz (staff) at 1:49 AM on July 31, 2021 [18 favorites]

That I now know the cat was named Nietzsche, that he was in a Björk video, and that the video had him in a slightly-toxic-but-mostly-okay relationship with Björk...this has immensely brightened up my day, refreshed my soul, and turned my run-down English workers' suburb into a beautiful Icelandic countryside where little pink hearts are flying everywhere.

Yes, Nietzsche. You should buy a boat.
posted by Katemonkey at 3:29 AM on July 31, 2021 [3 favorites]

Sorry if this seems harsh, but:

But my god, do I want to live in Iceland. Where people are connected to the land and sea and each other and art is appreciated and life is difficult but consciously appreciated.

You know Iceland is a real place, not a magical pixie vacation spot, right? It’s filled with people, many of whom are nice but some are mean and others are troublesome. They have capitalism and political corruption and racism and murders and all the other shit that humans pump into the world. I like Reykjavík a lot, but living there would be a lot like living in other cities.

I apologize for calling you out, but MetaFilter sometimes has a weird Iceland fetish that’s not a good look.
posted by GenjiandProust at 3:53 AM on July 31, 2021 [11 favorites]

Or you could just nick her one.

Or go down to the harbor and jump between them.

I haven't paid attention to Björk in 20 years. That was a mistake. Thanks!
posted by eotvos at 7:50 AM on July 31, 2021 [1 favorite]

If she had a boat, she'd go out on the ocean. And if she had a pony, she'd ride it on her boat.
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:03 PM on July 31, 2021