Justin Vernon's Bon Iver

When thinking of an artist or band that I would love to introduce or talk about on this blog, what first comes to mind is none other than the Wisconsin native Justin Vernon and his almost unintentional but extraordinary band, Bon Iver.

I admit that after stumbling upon the band while doing my daily, itunes scavenger hunt looking at the "top ten" and "new and net worthy" lists, I, like many others, mispronounced the name as 'Bon /I/ver' with a long /i/ sound and thought Justin's name was actually Bon Iver.

After doing my research and sampling a few doses of the talented falsetto, I had come to love the band and Justin even more.

The band from Eau Claire racked up two Grammys in 2012, including one for 'Best New Artist', which was ironic to me that his first official album with the band For Emma, Forever Ago, was released in 2008. And it had felt like forever ago when I had downloaded his second hit "For Emma" which followed the more popular "Skinny Love" five or so months before he hit the mainstream. 

The album itself was recorded solely by Justin on a few stray microphones and old fashioned equipment in a desolate cabin in the deep, beautiful cold woods of Wisconsin. The cabin to Justin was a form of hibernation to recover from mononucleosis and heartbreak. A melancholy feeling of coldness that reflects Justin's inner struggle for solitude and revival is delivered throughout "For Emma" and "Skinny Love", but his warm voice and peaceful guitar rifts are calming, sleepy and soft. The simple vocals in "For Emma" could be interpreted many ways, either referring to a past, lost love or of a deeper meaning of trying to emerge from a snowy, Wisconsin forest and the past itself.

After releasing For Emma, Forever Ago and feeling renewed spiritually, Holocene became the second experiment for the band and was released recently in 2011. In an interview with the popular music magazine, Mojo, Justin stated that the album's title "is a metaphor for when you're not doing well. But it's also a song about redemption and realizing that you're worth something; that you're special and not special at the same time."

After jumping from For Emma, Forever Ago to the new album, I listened to every song on Holocene and of course immediately downloaded the second single "Holocene". A message of more self-appreciativeness is shown throughout the magnificent album.

I remember last year being on my dad's boat on the lake and being nestled up in a cabin located in the 'v' part of it, below the front deck. As usual, I had my ipod and it was filled to the brim with new, last minute songs that I had downloaded to keep me occupied, including "Holocene". The very minute my head touched the cushion of the bed and I pressed play, my eyes closed and I felt in perfect harmony of the waves while my mind drifted away. After I awoke from my happy place, I rushed to my laptop and downloaded the whole album, which was something I had never done before but glad I did.

If you have ever been in a state of uncertainty about your purpose in life and want to be reborn again, simply looking for a more relaxing get away from the chaos of life, or just want something new to listen to, I obviously would highly recommend listening to Justin Vernon's work. Hearing this passionate man's voice, music, and life story of healing from the inside out is another reason to love Bon Iver like I do because one way or another it will grow on you and will become a peaceful state of mind.

As you can see the giant ipod touch at the top right of the screen has both Skinny Love and Holocene, please go check it out and comment!:)