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Selmasongs
Soundtrack by Björk
Released	September 18, 2000 (UK) September 19, 2000 (US)
Genre	Electronica, Classical, Contemporary
Length	32:14
Label	One Little Indian
Producer	Björk Mark Bell
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Alternative Press 12/00, p.91 NME 9/16/00, p.37 The Onion (Favourable) link Pitchfork (7.4/10) link Rolling Stone 9/28/00, p.56 Slant Magazine link Spin 11/00, p.197
Björk chronology
Homogenic (1997) Selmasongs: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Dancer in the Dark (2000) Vespertine (2001)

Selmasongs was released in September of 2000 by Icelandic singer, musician and actress Björk as a soundtrack to the film Dancer in the Dark, in which she also starred as the main character, Selma.

The album features classical arrangements as well as melodies and beats composed of sounds from mundane objects, such as factory machines and trains.

Notably, some of the song lyrics on the album are substantially different from the songs in the film; the most obvious example being "Scatterheart". Some lyrics were rewritten, perhaps to prevent spoiling crucial plot details, since the soundtrack was released in stores before the movie opened in theaters, or to make the record flow better as a stand-alone album. In particular, the song "I've Seen It All" loses much of its meaning, as Thom Yorke and Björk swap characters during the song (in the film, Björk duets with Peter Stormare and they maintain their characters throughout the song). In addition, the tracks "My Favourite Things" and "(The) Next-to-Last Song" do not appear on the album at all, possibly for the same reason. The track "I've Seen It All" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. For the track, Björk made a "webeo" with director Floria Sigismundi that premiered on September 1, 2000 on MTV.com. It used a shorter version of the song that the singer recorded specifically for the webeo.^[1]

The album was re-released in 2006 as a DualDisc including new DTS 24/96 5.1-channel surround sound mixes. The DualDisc also formed part of the (____surrounded): box set.

1. "Overture" (Instrumental) – 3:38
2. "Cvalda" (with Catherine Deneuve) – 4:48
3. "I've Seen It All" (with Thom Yorke) – 5:29
4. "Scatterheart" – 6:39
5. "In The Musicals" – 4:41
6. "107 Steps" (with Siobhan Fallon) – 2:36
7. "New World" – 4:23

Track 1 written by Björk and arranged, orchestrated, and conducted by Vincent Mendoza.

Tracks 3, 4, 6 & 7 written by Björk, Sjón & Lars von Trier.

Tracks 2 & 5 written by Björk, Mark Bell, Sjón & Lars von Trier.

"Overture" and "Cvalda" have become favorites to perform by Marching Bands and Drum & Bugle Corps. In 2005, the Cadets performed both of these within their show "The Zone: Dreamscapes in Four Parts with a Door", as part of a surreal theme. "Overture"'s strong brass plays very well into these, where "Cvalda" is often used as a drum feature. The Cadets finished in 1st place in 2005, tying a record score with 99.150 out of 100.

• Selmasongs mini-site