For Emma, Forever Ago

Today's Music for the Day is Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago. This album was something given to me by a friend in the recent past. Initially I tried to listen to it in my car on my commute, which was decidedly not the appropriate venue for such music. Later, I brought it into my office and home and gave it a few dedicated listens, giving me a better perspective on the album.

To preface this album somewhat: Bon Iver is the stage name for Justin Vernon (and a couple supporting musicians, for touring purposes, I suppose). If you aren't familiar with Vernon's back story, and how exactly he brought For Emma into existence, it's probably worth looking into. (Wikipedia and a little emotional detachment are probably the only things that are necessary.)

For Emma is a very basic album, with the sound consisting of Vernon's falsetto and guitar. Everything is fairly restrained; Vernon sometimes raises his voice but there's hardly anything to constitute screaming here. Sometimes the songs have a little bounce, sometimes they are so minimalist that even Nick Drake would wonder what is going on.

I have a hard time not considering Justin Vernon to be 2008's Zach Condon - the indie music sensation who appeared from left field (almost literally, in Vernon's case). This, I think, is a good thing - it is human nature (if not music snob creed) to root for the underdog. Vernon's aversion to overproduction of his music is also very important - I can only hope it starts a trend.

In spite of this evidence, I can't completely recommend For Emma to everyone. This has nothing to do with the quality of the songs or performance, and everything to do with the emotional weight of the album. It's difficult to listen to this album and not empathize with Vernon's emotions; everything here is too bare and honest not to be affecting. Because of this, listening to For Emma is a good way to turn an otherwise carefree day serious.

Still, I recommend this album, even if it's not something I can listen to every day or even every week. The title track and "Skinny Love" are probably the standouts, though there really isn't a failure to be found on the album. I'm also partial to "The Wolves", and even the 1:58 "Team" carries its weight well.

In short, this is a great album, a cathartic success that is uncommon in art and music. Just make sure you have a dog or someone to give you a hug at hand if you listen to the whole thing at once.

In Other News:
Let's go to Rock the Garden. Come on. Do it. Calexico, Yeasayer, the Decemberists! For the love of crap, let's go! Tickets go on sale to the public next on the 22nd!

I'm trying to decide between seeing Elvis Perkins and Mogwai in May of this month. I suppose I could do both but I feel I should make a choice, given that I'm considering going to Montreal basically just to see Beirut in July.

Why do bananas only make me hungrier?