January 9, 2010

In Pursuit of Justin Vernon

Justin Vernon, perhaps better known by his nom-de-record Bon Iver, has a special quality about him. It’s an intangible brilliance, a sort of signature whereby everything he records is identifiably his. The sort of musical identity that drives fans to rabidly hunt down everything he has done. I find myself gripped by this desire, ever impressed by Vernon’s music in all forms.

In the past days, weeks, and months, I’ve come across a few Justin Vernon tracks that fall outside of the Bon Iver umbrella that I wanted to share with you.

The first comes from a concert he did in his hometown of Eau Claire. It’s the track “For Emma, Forever Ago” off of his debut album, but played by Vernon’s high school jazz band. Vernon adds his signature vocals, of course, but the whole situation really gives the track a new feel. No longer a sad, lonely tune about a long gone lover, “For Emma” becomes more of a jaunty look at the past – it’s feels less like a song of regret and more a tune of wisdom. It’s an interesting change of meaning for one of my favorite Bon Iver songs. Love love love the piano outro.

The second track is from the New Moon, the megablockbuster movie with the surprisingly indie soundtrack. I found the OST, despite a stellar tracklisting, largely lacking. This tune, however, really caught me. It’s a collaboration between Bon Iver and St. Vincent, and it’s absolutely brilliant. The echoing aesthetic really works well with Vernon and Vincent’s voices, and I love the way they highlight the chord changes by putting a mic on the acoustic guitar’s frets. I sat on this tune for a while before I really came around, but shwee shwoo was it worth it.

The last tune is a true Justin Vernon original, from an album called Hazeltons that he put out before he ran off into the woods, survived a winter, and became Bon Iver. I first caught wind of it through Pretty Much Amazing, and since have managed to get my hands on the whole thing. I really dig it – it shows Vernon at an early stage of his musical development, not fully polished, but with brilliant little twinkles of what would come a few years down the road. “Hazelton” is my favorite tune from the collection, I hope you like it.

Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) – For Emma (f. Eau Claire Memorial H.S. Jazz Band) (YSI) (dropbox)

Bon Iver and St. Vincent – Roslyn (YSI) (dropbox)

Justin Vernon – Hazelton (YSI) (dropbox)

Bookmark Digg Bookmark Del.icio.us Share on Facebook Bookmark Reddit Bookmark StumbleUpon Bookmark Technorati Bookmark Twitter

1 comments:

M. Berman said...

i gotta say the justin vernon EP is just as good as bon iver material, hes genuis!

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.