ARTIST:
BON IVER


ALBUM:
BON IVER


KEY TRACKS:
MINNESOTA, WI
HOLOCENE
MICHICANT
TOWERS


"armor let it through, borne the arboretic truth you kept posing"
It's winter right now in Tennessee and it's been the mildest and loveliest that I can remember.  So it's ironic that Bon Iver, french for "good winter", came at this time of year.  Justin Vernon's most recent effort has enjoyed much success and critical acclaim.  Grammy nods, Pitchfork's/Paste's album of the year, not to mention a snagging a top spot on nearly every music critic's picks of 2011.  Bon Iver is up for a few Grammy's this year, made evident by the fantastic commercial put on the Recording Academy so I may actually be watching them this year.

I've always liked Bon Iver, but this album really deepened my feelings for his music.  Much of this is due to the fact that I've gone through a really rough two weeks at work.  Relationships were strained, promises were broken, and I was left feeling frustrated and mistreated.  But in spite of the tumultuous events of my life, this album comforted me at the end of the day.


My favorite on the album is the second track:  Minnesota, WI.  These lyrics hit me hard, especially because of what was going on at my work:  "settle past the patience where wishes and your will are spilling pictures".  I was fed up, and impatiently waiting for my work to be recognized and appreciated (not to mention compensated).  Also, the lyric "the arboretic truth you kept posing" again reminded me of work.  I was posing, pretending to be satisfied when really I was aggravated.  

But besides the lyrics, I really enjoy the musicality of this track.  Distorted saxophones take their place among finger plucking, and building drum beats.  However, it's Justin's voice that truly makes the track.  This is the only track that you hear him abandon his typical falsetto for a lower, more natural sound.  Frankly I'm surprised he doesn't sing like this more.


Michicant is another track I'm continually drawn back to.  As someone who lived in Michigan for awhile, there are a great number of things that you can't do.  Musically the track sounds heavy and slow which are some of the feelings I felt when enduring those long harsh winters there.  It also reminds me of Michigan's (and my own) economic difficulties, making progress difficult.


Yet the most beautiful is the subtle beauty of Holocene.  I love this track because it celebrates the significance of insignificance:  "and at once I knew I was not magnificent".  I took great comfort in this song because it reminds me that current issues are so small in the grand scheme of things.  Also:  not the needle, nor the thread, the lost decree, saying nothing, that's enough for me".  This reminds me that as much as I want to ruminate and fuss over what's happened.  Truly what's enough is to say nothing.  Saying nothing lessens the time you spend dwelling on the thought and turns it into what it really is:  insignificant.  This problem is insignificant...but I'm still working on getting there.  

LISTEN:  MINNESOTA, WI  |  HOLOCENE  |  MICHICANT  | TOWERS   

NEXT WEEK:  BEIRUT  |  THE RIP TIDE