Artist #5: Bon Iver

Bon Iver is an indie folk band. In French, Bon Iver means good winter.  The band was founded by Justin Vernon who is the lead singer, and writes all the songs for the band. They are one of my favorite bands, aside from The Strokes. I actually have an ongoing debate with myself to decide which band I like better, Bon Iver or The Strokes, it is still undecided. In the band’s history they have come out with two albums. The first one is called For Emma, Forever Ago, and the second is called Bon Iver. If you don’t think that you know who they are, you might’ve heard songs with them in it. He was in the song Monster, by Kanye West, and off of the Watch the Throne album with Jay-Z, the song That’s My Bitch. I like both of these songs, but I like That’s My Bitch the most. I discovered this band by watching The Colbert Report. Back towards the beginning of the summer, Justin Vernon was on the show promoting the new album. Justin and Steven Colbert talked for a little, and then later he performed. When I first heard them, I wasn’t sure if I liked them. Their sound was so different and amazing. They have such a unique sound, and it was unlike anything I had ever heard. During the interview, I learned the story behind the band. Before they had put out their first album, and it was just Justin Vernon, he got sick. Since he didn’t have healthcare, and needed to be away from everyone, he went to his father’s cabin in Wisconsin. It was there that he wrote the entire first album, it is a pretty interesting story. Anyway, by the time the performance had ended, I had made up my mind. Since then, I have loved Bon Iver for their amazing music, and original sound.

My favorite thing about Bon Iver is their sound. They don’t sound like anybody else, and Justin Vernon’s voice is amazing. Their two albums are very different though, For Emma, Forever Ago is basically a guitar and Justin Vernon. Where Bon Iver is several different instruments, several different harmonies, but both albums are still great. My favorite songs off their first album are For Emma, and Skinny Love. For Emma is a very relaxed song. I like this about his first album, they’re all fairly relaxed songs. It has a good catchy tune, and his voice is good, as usual. Skinny Love is an amazing song, the guitar in it is phenomenal, and I like the lyrics. The song is basically about his and a girl’s love wasting away. “Skinny Love” refers to the love that is growing smaller. In a line in the song it says, “Come on, skinny love just last the year, pour a little salt, we were never here." Salt helps to heal things, so I think it means he wants to heal his love with a girl, and if they got past the year they’d be fine. Skinny Love is my favorite of these two songs. On the newer album, Bon Iver, my favorite songs are Holocene and Calgary. Holocene goes a little simpler than most of the album, the main instrument is a guitar, and it doesn’t have that many random instruments in it. However, there are still little things going on in the background that I like, it takes a little to pick up on it, but once you realize it you appreciate it. Calgary is a very catchy song. There is just something so hard to explain about Bon Iver’s songs, they’re so good, but they’re hard to explain. They sound magnificent, and the lyrics make you feel good. I like the meaning of the song Calgary though, in an interview Justin Vernon explained it, "Having never been to Calgary, you tend to beautify it or put it into some form in your mind. When I think of Calgary, I think of an isolated capital city. I think about the Rockies. I think about high places. I've always sort of dreamt about it. So Calgary became this place that true love comes from." It has a deep, and beatiful meaning to me, and if I hadn’t read this, I probably would’ve never understood it. This is why song comprehension is so important to me, if you don’t understand a song, then you don’t understand the music. Calgary is definitely my favorite song by Bon Iver. It just sounds the best to me, I can’t explain why, so I won’t try to. I think that you should listen to the songs below and formulate your own opinion. I love Bon Iver, and I hope you will too.

Calgary

Skinny Love