Bjork ruffled some feathers last night at the conclusion of her first and likely last concert in China (at the Shanghai International Gymnastics Centre) n she shouted out “Tibet! Tibet! Tibet!” as the music was winding down at the end of the performance. Here’s the vid:

More than anything I’d like to direct you to both the article (the writer was at the show) and the comments section of Danwei where opposing sides of the incident have been sounding off.

In general I like Bjork, especially “Vepertine.” I also like authentic punk moments in music. But I don’t know if this really qualifies as one. I’m guessing Bjork knows little about the situation in Tibet outside of what MCA from the Beastie Boys said 15 years ago. Last week she shouted “Kosovo! Kosovo! Kosovo!” at the same point of the same song at a concert in Tokyo. The song itself (”Declare Independence”) was written tongue-in-cheek, dedicated to Greenland and the Faroe Islands. My point is, there’s no point. At least not one that Bjork herself would likely want to articulate verbally.

But she certainly pissed off some Chinese netizens and that’s always fun. Here’s a transcript translated on Danwei:

“If she was yelling free Shanghai, that would be great! Free Shanghai! Free Shanghai!”
“Those who put on the show should be severely fined and not allowed to bring this kind of trash in for performances.”
“Call the relevant authorities! Be gone with her! What a bitch! Fuck!”
“Doesn’t surprise me that she’d do something like this.”
“Very yellow, very violent!”
“I don’t think there is any issue, so what if she sang a few lines about Tibet, we don’t need to berate the woman to death. Is our government really that sensitive?”
“I don’t understand, why do Western stars give a shit about Tibet. Isn’t Tibet ours?! Mind your own business!”
“Wow, the nerve! Where did she get the courage to do this! Weirdo!”
“I like Bjork, it’s ok for her to have a different point of view, but for her to do this is disrespectful to fans here, very selfish of her.”