First Listen: Bon Iver, ‘Bon Iver’ at NPR
I don’t think I can count how many articles I’ve read on Bon Iver these past few days. And they’re all the same. Whether it’s a lengthy examination of Justin Vernon or a brief review of the new eponymously named album it seems the oft-uttered phrase ‘lonely cabin in Wisconsin’ is impossible to escape from. But Vernon, seen here on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last month, seems happy to leave that revered indie legend behind.
The new album ‘Bon Iver’ - so good they named it twice? - is now being streamed in its entirety online (link above) and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it yet. Though I was never one to call ‘For Emma’ a flawless record, will meaty auto-tune ever replace the softly strummed guitars and breathy silences of the little cabin in the woods? Regardless of how I’ll perceive this album after a few more spins, I think ‘Perth’ and ‘Calgary’ have to be two of the most perfect songs I’ve heard this year.
It’ll be interesting to see how audiences respond to this new record. Like ‘For Emma’ the lyrics this time around aren’t particularly descriptive, but I think that’s where this band really shines. Rather than crafting four minutes of disco pop around a questionable refrain about not answering a telephone call in a club because you’re “k-kinda busy” Vernon et al manage to pick lyrics out of the guitar reverb and spin them into something attractive and allusive. Something about the arrangement of chords and the swirling rawness of Vernon’s voice has made ‘For Emma’ stand out in the minds of millions, I’m sure, as an album that hits you right there. You know, there, that space between your head and your heart where the child of logic and emotion rests only to create total loneliness and insecurity. There.
The clouds are rolling in on this warm June day, and I can smell rain in the air. In the past, the music of Bon Iver has served me well during days like this.. ‘Bon Iver’ may not be as isolated as the last record was, but after streaming it in the background whilst writing this out I can safely say that I see myself enjoying this album - synths and all - in the months to come. Tracks like ‘Holocene’ are a slight throwback to the echoing Bon Iver of old, but there’s something in the masterful composition of the likes of ‘Perth’ that comforts the insecurity that has waited, bated, in the three years since Vernon left that cabin in the woods. Even without an alt-indie fairy tale story behind it, ‘Bon Iver’ is sure to be a magical chapter in the evolution of this band.
I adore this girl almost as much as I adore Bon Iver. Please check out her new music blog!
I submitted a post to the brilliant fuckyeah-arthistory blog and I’ve only just noticed that it was published. I was really worried about submitting this, or rather, I was worried that my commentary was too long and too soppy. But I’m actually quite proud that so many people appreciated it and reblogged it:
Susan Sontag in Petra, Jordan, Annie Leibovitz. (1994.)
There’s a lot to be said about this artist. Far from the highly stylised Photoshop images she pioneers today, photographer Annie Leibovitz, though still synonymous with celebrity, had an entirely different vision in her earlier years. But I’m not going to lament over her once-great talent for capturing intimate moments with musicians throughout the 1970s and 80s. Instead, I’m going to lament over the long enduring love affair that produced countless simple, elegant photographs..
I could really talk for days about my love of the relationship between Leibovitz and writer Susan Sontag, but I know that this blog is meant as a visual aid rather than a collection of essays so I’ll keep it brief. The consideration of the presentation of simple snapshots like the one seen above have changed dramatically since the death of Sontag in 2004 - until then, the romantic relationship between Leibovitz and Sontag had never explicitly been confirmed nor explained. Anyway, before I get carried away, I find this image to be an astounding symbol of their love; hidden from sight for so many years like the city of Petra (a historical and architectural marvel in itself). The more I look at it, the more I feel the tension in the stone and the quiet in the air around them!
For someone who has made their name capturing the image of celebrities, I find the personal work of Leibovitz to be such a perfect example of someone capturing the emotion of the heart.
Jus’ showin some luurve for my girl! I feel like her mother for doin’ this (:
(Source: cavetocanvas)
(Source: paradoxicalsentiments)
I don’t know if it’s anticipated much on here, but there’s a new edition of the somewhat popular ‘Spring.’ mix I made a little while ago on 8tracks.. The imaginatively titled ‘Spring. vol II’ is up and ready to be aurally appreciated at your leisure. Enjoy!
I love this gal’s music taste all most as much as I love her. I feel guilty keepin’ this to myself, so here! Give it a listen!
I would say somethin’ like “my life has been so crazy lately” but really, it hasn’t. It hasn’t been crazy. It’s been slow and steady and jus’ wonderful. I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time, and I don’t find myself whiling away the hours on here no more.
I’m really grateful for the inspiration I’ve found on here, and I’ve made a list of some of my favorite blogs. I don’t really see myself carrying on with this much now, so I jus’ thought I should give credit where credit is due for most of my reblogs!
See y’all soon, maybe (:
Um, so I made a mix over on 8tracks and thought I might share it with you all.. The sun was shining bright today, and the sky’s beginning to change. It almost smelt like summer.
So I’d like to think that these songs sort of bundle together the quiet insecurities of winter and the blossoming hope of spring, but I’ve been a bit hit-and-miss with my mixes in the past.
If you’re not a fan of acoustic guitars with the occasional folky twang, keep on walking. Otherwise, let me know what you think!
Beautiful mix by a beautiful girl with beautiful taste! Check it outttttt
Don’t think I could love him more if I tried.
(via childrenslaughter)
(via childrenslaughter)
