HOW DOES MUSIC FEEL TODAY? #7 The Sugarcubes “Cowboy”

“Cowboy” was a “bonus track” used to get you to buy The Sugarcubes’ debut album Life’s Too Good on the exciting new medium of “compact disc”. I had less than zero dollars in 1988. I was 17 and far below the poverty line, so I was thrilled to babysit someone’s brand new CD player while they went out of town. (No, this is not a euphemism for stealing it.) I put on a couple CDs, cool. Then… The Sugarcubes. My senses were opened full flood. The endorphins sandblasted my face and torso. The Sugarcubes. I’ve never fallen out of love with them or even paused in listening to their music.

“Cowboy” is a fucking deranged dance song heavy on “The Einar”. Einar, the co-lead vocalist with the singular Bjork (who we all know today as one of the greatest vocalists of our time) was sometimes a polarizing force to the listening public through no fault of his own. I LOVE his vocals as much as I love Bjork’s (and I loooooooooove her). His ranting, frantic, obsessive, tuneful talk-singing is the perfect, balancing, vinegar-based counter condiment to Bjork on the sandwich that is The Sugarcubes. There is no band without both, which always made me wonder…