It's hard for me to hear anything from For Emma. I would listen to that album on repeat lying on my bedroom floor in total darkness while I was coming off of heroin. My marriage ended at the same time, so that entire album just makes me weep. Twelve years later, and everything Justin Vernon does has a direct line to my soul. Great analysis!
Thts J. Tillmans // I will return, long may you run. For me. I was a active user of heroin for most of my adult life. Just very happy i never lost my wife of 25 yrs. I dont know why she stayed with me other than complete devotion and love. Especially when i still have trouble loving myself. Even clean. Stay frosty brother. 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼 Check out the J. Tillman album i mentioned.
Dude yeah. I mean that’s way heavier than mine. But I was desperately in love with a girl and she gave me like a vinyl copy of that record on my birthday like a week before we broke up (she broke up with me). And it was dead December in this ridiculously harsh winter. And for the next four months I was just bedridden basically listening to it in the dark with like snowdrifts piling up outside and wind. Will always love the album and be super connected to the band. But yeah man. Can be tough to listen to. It’s like shedding
Seeing Bon Iver live was one of the best experience of my live, like really. I stood still throughout the whole concert with light in my eyes and couple of tears coming down. Shivers.
Completely agree! I’ll be seeing them 3 times over the course of 4 days this summer. I also flew out to the tenth anniversary shows in LA which were INCREDIBLE
Same here. I saw them at the most insane location called Red Hill Auditorium, basically a large amphitheatre in the middle of a forest. It was a life changing experience I will never, ever forget.
I've seen them twice and the last time dropped some MD... damn was it a beautiful time (Melt Festival 2019, there's a set here on YT I go back and watch from time to time)
If you're a fan of Bon Iver, one of my all time favorite recordings of his is a live acapella version of Heavenly Father. It really does speak to my soul. The video here on youtube is titled Bon Iver - "Heavenly Father" (Acapella) | Live at Sydney Opera House
i was supposed to see him in Lewiston this past summer, and the ONLY video of ANY song ive been able to find from that show is Heavenly Father and boy oh boy has that song ever came far from the Sydney Opera House acapella performance you're mentioning
Does anyone else feel a funny kind of FOMO, not only listening to these guys, but hearing about the recording process? Man what would I give to be in the room, with people who listen to music deeply, who understand the tenderness and terror behind the sounds. Y’all really honor the music, and the process. Thank you for letting us listen 💜
Yes, I completely understand what you mean. I'm so engaged with Jack and Ryan's content-and not just because Scary Goldings is one of the greatest bands of the last decade. I haven't felt this way since listening to albums with friends in a dorm room...and that was a lonnnng time ago.
A year after this episode was recorded I am here watching and it makes so much sense for me. I am working on my on solo project... All I have is a SM-57 and 58 and a beringher C-2. For many is "nothing". But seeing Bon Iver and how was recorded this album inspires me so much. You can have all the GEARS and equips and studios and everything... but if you don't have the soul, feeling and connection with your music... everything material you have means nothing.
I've never connected much with his earlier albums, but something about "22, A Million" makes it one of my all time favorite albums. So close to perfect, but so painful I can't listen to it too often.
A notorious french psychiatrist wrote an in-depth analysis of 'For Emma, Forever Ago' as a creative outcome from a major depression' that I believe will be of interest to you guys. One can read it on Academia , or here : Bon Iver's “For Emma, Forever ago” was undoubtedly the folk rock disc of the year 2008, and a sensation. The falsetto voice of Justin Vernon dedicated to his expression of loneliness and melancholy is deeply moving and perfectly suited to the marketing image of a lumberjack emerging out of the blue and out of his snowy Wisconsin forest. Actually, despite having been recorded single- handedly, this album is very sophisticated in its poetical lyrics as well as in its rare and precise sonorities. The choice of an acoustic guitar and a few gimmicks roots it in the aesthetics of what is called in paintings “art pauvre”, an art of poor means, thrifty about instruments and effects. It happens that this is a wrong impression : contrarily to the Felice Brothers or Bon Iver's sometimes acolytes, Bowerbirds, Justin Vernon does not hesitate to rely on technological tricks but only on a sparse and smooth level. Anyway what I want to stress out is that the appeal of this album resides in its being the diary of a psychological journey. What is told is the story of a depression and of its healing. Justin Vernon lost his band (DeYardmond Edison) lost his girlfriend and lost his health, stricken by a hepatic mononucleosis. He retreated to a log cabin his father owned in Northern Wisconsin. “I did not know where else to go and I knew I wanted to be alone and I knew I wanted to be where it was cold.” During three months he spent his days resting in bed, chopping wood amidst the snow and producing songs by editing and dubbing over and over his recordings. By the way this program of isolation, hard rest and strained physical work is exactly what is advocated by the Japanese method of curing depression devised by the psychiatrist Morita. After seing a TV program about Alaska (country where his father goes to hunt caribous) Justin Vernon wished himself “bon hiver” just like the Alaskan do. Now here is a man whose family name comes after a french town in Normandy and who lived almost all his life in Eau Claire (Wisconsin). Even if he does not technically speak french his mind background is saturated with french language bits and parts. So when he became enthralled by this syntagm “Bon (H)iver” and decided to coin it as the motto of his new identity something important occurred, something that we must interpret carefully. Is a motto equivalent to a blazon which, according to Lacan, is the sign of phobia? More significantly, Justin Vernon changed the french correct “Bon Hiver” into “Bon Iver”, eliding the letter h . His explanation is that hiver reminded him too much of liver, his sick organ, but this explanation is not convincing because a bon(good) liver is what he was hoping for. It is a typical denial which for a psychoanalyst reveals that something is hidden into the unconscious self, i.e. probably repressed. My explanation is that by repressing the letter h Justin Vernon a.k.a. Bon Iver was repressing the emotional drives associated and condensed with it, h being for a native english speaker a mixture of ache and hate, both sentiments at the core of a nervous depression. By dropping the ache Bon Iver was dropping the ache he felt and was getting rid of his pain, by dropping the hate Bon Iver was dropping the anger he felt and was getting rid of the hate that is turned reflectively against oneself in a depression. Let us check his own words in the song “The Wolves (Act I & II)”: Someday my pain, someday my pain Will mark you, Harness your blame, harness your blame and walk through. However one of the few established rules of the mind is that what is repressed always returns. So Justin Vernon repressed the H to chop himself out of his depressive mood swing. His Unconscious is familiar with the fact that the very letter h is akin to the word hache which in french means axe, the instrument he uses for his recovery. So hache(axe) has been pushed back and axe(hache) comes out in the song “re: stacks” which is the only song of the album where and echo autotune effect is applied and specifically to the syllable axe/acks as in racks and stacks. It is not difficult to suggest that instead of gripping an axe for aggressive purposes, instead of returning against himself his aggressive drives like any person experiencing depression does, Justin Vernon by becoming Bon Iver liberated himself from the hache/axe that was splitting him down. « It wasn’t planned at all, the goal was to hibernate » said he. And he made beautiful music. Dr. Guy Maruani
This is such a fantastic video. I love hearing the breakdown and intimate explanations. Thank you! I live in Eau Claire and remember hearing people talking about Justin and how he would be famous one day. This town has such a dynamic music scene and the early Bon Iver albums feel like Eau Claire to me. Like a warm, late-night drunken embrace with our orchestras, jazz festival, punk cabaret, Indy rockers and singer songwriters.
I never studied music at school or college but I've always been musical. The way you guys explain musical concepts being discussed is so helpful to me, thanks!
Great episode as always👍 I'd love to see an episode with more engineers like Tim talking more about his craft, and how a mix can really change the feel of a track!
Amazing episode ya'll! I'm from Wisconsin but recently moved to Arizona and it was astounding to me how much Bon Iver's music evoked the feeling of home. So glad to see Bon Iver continue to get more and more attention over the years. Such incredible art
My connection to his music was finding it and listening with my new girlfriend at the time and both became closer finding common ground together of a special musician like Justin Vernon. His music became the soundtrack of my life for 10 years of love, loss, loneliness, regret after magical 7 year connection with the same girlfriend ended. My life was upended. Marriage, kids, the love of my life, was all taken off the table as we split. His music and albums were constant during this entire period. I cant listen to his music without bringing back to what went wrong. Felt so connected to the lyrics and tones. I know she feels the same way 1000 miles away if she hears it. Or at least that's what i tell myself. I tried to win her back and for the first time in my life i couldnt talk myself out of things or talk my way back into them. Nothing i said, did, wrote, registered with her. It was when i learned what ambiguous loss meant.
Hey, PMR guys! Good? How hard would it be to get Michael League (Snarky Puppy, Bokanté, Bill Laurance Trio, D. Crosby etc...) as a guest? Not to talk directly about (amazing) music writing and band playing, but to address the business model that he uses with his musical endeavors and within the GroundUP Music label. I mean, come on, the dude has a thirty people band and even organizes a music festival! He must have a secret magical way of doing all that! I loved so much the episode where you talked about Pomplamoose's business model, that I thought that Michael League would be an amazing follow-up to that. With that said, let me enjoy this Bon Iver episode. Love the music and passion! Best! Cheers!
Yes!! Bon Iver is one of my all time favorites! Glad to see people dive into their records! They're simple and complex, rich and mellow, engaging and relaxing. And if you want to hear a human's spirit and emotions, listen to Justin pour his heart out. Also, the Bon Iver album has some of the smoothest song transitions ever.
This episode SLAPS! Thinking with Bon Iver in mind, I would love for you guys to react to Vocal only songs like Woods by Bon Iver and Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. There is just something so magical about hearing songs that are just the human voice orchestrated with technology. It's so artificial yet it exudes so much emotion, it's almost hard to comprehend.
I have never ever heard anything..anything even close to Woods. Its just something else. It just stands on its own. Listen to the Pitchfork live version. It’s awesome.
@@parthyadav3733 Justin Vernon is also in a band called “Volcano Choir” and they have a version of the song woods. I think I prefer it to the original. It’s the most powerful song I’ve ever heard
People talk about “..the path not taken..”.. Watching and listening to you guys doing what you do with music is,for me,catching a glimpse though the trees of what could’ve been..had I not taken the path I chose… Now that I’m retired for the most part, I’m trying to get back on the path you’re on..and that I was headed for…countless memories ago… It’s a beautiful trip.. You guys are blessed..! I hope you appreciate that.. Thanks!👍🏼❤️
Elliott Smith's XO is one of my all-time fave albums! Also, Either/Or is a fantastic selection of songs that show how you don't need a recording studio to make great music. Some of those songs are literally boom box recordings where Elliott just sings/plays into the boom box mic.
4:28 - "What is the real story behind that?" He explained it terribly, let me give a more insightful explanation.. In 2006, Justin's relationship with his bandmates disintegrated, he broke up with his girlfriend, and late that fall, retreated alone to his father Gil's cabin on 80 acres in Dunn County, Wis., where he hunted deer, chopped wood and put up walls in a barn. He also started writing and recording songs about longing and lost love and self-disappointment and he experimented with his falsetto, manipulating and layering recordings of his voice, creating an ethereal choir-like effect and establishing a distinct signature trait. He likened the experience to "shedding skin." "I was definitely down and pretty confused," he said. "At 26, I was thinking about going back to school to be a music teacher. To me, that felt like giving up, even though I was excited about that prospect. There was a lot of despair. I had anxiety and depression for longer than I kind of knew about and I didn't really understand it back then."
Great episodes. I could keep listening like forever! I'm Japanese and living in Japan, and watching this talk gets me more close to bon iver stuffs while we can't go see live shows. Waiting for more anatomies of bon iver! We're seeking from all over the world.
11:37 Truth. I once had a beautiful custom shop guitar that I sold because the luthiers were so skilled that they had purified all the instrument's imperfections out of it to such a degree that it no longer had the voice that originally drew me to that instrument.
YES-That part of Cool Cool River is so moving! The horns and vocal melody cut through so hard while the rest of the song is a discombobulating set up. I am lucky that Simon's Rhythm of The Saints Tour was my first concert (Pittsburgh, PA). Elliott Smith and Fleet Foxes are great. Would love to see an episode about the harmonic devices of Elliott Smith.
Great show guys, I love Bon Iver. I consider for Emma a masterpiece, to this day it’s as fresh and beautiful as the first time I heard it, then to follow up with ‘ self titled’ another work of genius. I feel grateful to Justin Vernon for making his music speak to me so beautifully.
So many interesting threads to follow with Justin Vernon. Bon Iver's bass sax player Colin Stetson is incredible imo and Vernon drops a death growl on one of his solo tracks! Vernon and a member of The National have a band and were featured on one record from German electronica geniuses Mouse On Mars. And then the same combo of Vernon and The National's guitarist have done a lot with Taylor Swift recently. I really like Vernon's bridge section in the title track from Evermore. The weird thing is, I'm not even a great fan. His voice doesn't do it for me like it clearly does for others. But he's still fascinating. I'd compare him to Björk in that way. Striking, character-filled voices that are going to polarise peeps - but I would always want to at least hear _about_ what they're up to.
When Jack was describing the battle I was right there with him and feeling everything! I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to that song again without thinking abou this battle.
I just set up my stereo at my new house. I am going through the vinyl that I collected over the past 2 years but could not hear because my stuff was packed up. Over the weekend I listened to Frank Zappa live at the Roxy. For all of the praise he gets for his intricate compositions it is easy to forget how amazing of a guitarist he was.
This was to go with the beginning "what are you listening to" section. For the rest of the video I have not listened to Bon Iver much. So it is nice to listen closely to music that is new to me.
've been a Bon Iver fan for so long now and this episode means so much to me. I hope there's a podcast where you cover all songs on the album. It's very interesting to hear the story behind the songs I've been listening to for years -- from a person (horn player) who actually plays on the album. Thank you for this episode.
First seen Bon iver back in 2012 in Miami @ the Fillmore… being in the 2nd row was an absolute experience. Feeling the vibrations, the instruments bouncing off the walls, and his insane vocals… still the best show I’ve ever been to. I’ll be at their upcoming show on the 15th of April and I am beyond excited
Loved this episode! Justin Vernon is also a killer producer! He produced one of Kathleen Edwards albums called Voyageur and pulled things out of her I hadn’t heard before! One of my all time favourite albums ever!
New here and seeing CEO of Patreon was a surprise I like how you guys do critical listening and not over the top reactions and talk over the content like most channels
The one tattoo I have is Skinny Love lyrics. Cliche. I know. But, there is a lot behind it. It has religiously been in my top played music for over a decade now. Justin's story is another reason in the expanse of reasons that I want to start a music project of my own. There's just so much I've seen and experienced in 30 years that I feel compelled to chronicle it.
What amazes me about bon iver is how impactful and storytelling the music is even without the lyrics. English is not my first language, but i'm quite fluent. When i listen to Bon Iver i actually oftern don't understand much of what he is saying unless i sit down with the lyrics in front of me. I understand fractions. I guess the use of "weird" words and the "unclear" pronunciation can make it hard for someone like me to understand after only a few listens. Still Bon Iver is some of the best music i've ever heard, this just shows how impactful the production, melody and the sound of his voice are. I'm not really sure what most of the songs are actually about but I'm very sure about what the songs mean to me and I don't really miss understanding the lyrics. True art.
That is on purpose. His words do not always "make sense" lyrically, but are sound-driven and are meant to go along with the music. So, don't feel bad, because they are actually weird and unclear :-)
The “machine gun analogy” was perfect. I remember hearing this song for the first time when it came out: I was just getting into hardcore/metal music, and I was crying at how beautiful the intro was before the fucking double kick sound came in. That groove was so metal, down to the sound of whatever was playing the role of the “kick”, so much top end click! One of the best releases ever
So true that music can get attached to memory - Bon Iver takes me to cloudy Nov-Dec, building decks in a pretty town in VA. Grateful for and super into the recommendations you guys give at the beginning.
Hey, total aside, but major props to whoever did the closed captioning on this episode. It's really helpful when it's done properly, like this. Thank you
If you ever get a chance to watch the recording: Live at AIR Studios (4AD/Jagjaguwar Session). Such an amazing stripped down version of beautiful piano and harmony.
Bon Iver has the most special song I've ever heard in my life, for me is Roslyn, I have lot count of how many times I've heard it, it's just so magic, so special...
I would LOVE it if you guys talked about Blue October and how Justin Furstenfeld's vocals and especially Ryan Delahoussaye's violin really makes the band's sound work.
The guitar sounds like a parlor guitar or even a Kay hollowbody with slightly to used strings not necessarily out of tune. Oh and my album Neutral Milk Hotel- On Avery Island!!!
I enjoy how you guys break down the music and the song. I realized long ago I always missed something about virtually everything I listened to. A missed lyric is the most usual. But, in a large choir someone does the words and I would fill in the body from my baritone. Even that was often off key. The instrumental part we often hear as one thing with color splash from the palate. When it was "Tight" everyone knew. While precision delivery may be thought to be required understanding to have before being worthy...Well, for some that is true, mostly not. We have Jazz to fall back on. Smooth and not a rigid bone in its silk.
Your videos are quickly becoming my most looked forward to every week, because ya'll deliver every darn time! So much appreciation for the content guys.
At 25:30 Tim shares the Heath Ledger anecdote. I knew this one, after having seen the documentary I Am Heath Ledger a couple of times, where Justin is featured sharing the story. I highly recommend the documentary. It will make you cry, but if in times like these you need a roll model to look up to, seeing what made Heath so loveable, as shared by family and friends, makes you wish you were even half the man he was in terms of just sheer creativity and outwardly love and energy. So yeah, do that when you are somewhere where you are comfortable crying your eyes out.
Jack has a hard job at Patreon and it’s really impressive he’s able to keep it up, PLUS his passion for music, PLUS not losing his mind over the political BS that comes with running a public platform for creators…….regardless of what you THINK you think about him he’s an extremely impressive guy
10:50 that guitar went through hell before Justin even got it. Bought it used in one of the local music store for cheap and ended up finding a beautiful resonator beneath multiple layers of crappy paint.
It's hard for me to hear anything from For Emma. I would listen to that album on repeat lying on my bedroom floor in total darkness while I was coming off of heroin. My marriage ended at the same time, so that entire album just makes me weep. Twelve years later, and everything Justin Vernon does has a direct line to my soul. Great analysis!
That's rough. Hope you're doing well
Thts J. Tillmans // I will return, long may you run. For me. I was a active user of heroin for most of my adult life. Just very happy i never lost my wife of 25 yrs. I dont know why she stayed with me other than complete devotion and love. Especially when i still have trouble loving myself. Even clean. Stay frosty brother. 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼
Check out the J. Tillman album i mentioned.
Dude yeah. I mean that’s way heavier than mine. But I was desperately in love with a girl and she gave me like a vinyl copy of that record on my birthday like a week before we broke up (she broke up with me). And it was dead December in this ridiculously harsh winter. And for the next four months I was just bedridden basically listening to it in the dark with like snowdrifts piling up outside and wind.
Will always love the album and be super connected to the band. But yeah man. Can be tough to listen to. It’s like shedding
Seeing Bon Iver live was one of the best experience of my live, like really. I stood still throughout the whole concert with light in my eyes and couple of tears coming down. Shivers.
Completely agree! I’ll be seeing them 3 times over the course of 4 days this summer. I also flew out to the tenth anniversary shows in LA which were INCREDIBLE
Same here. I saw them at the most insane location called Red Hill Auditorium, basically a large amphitheatre in the middle of a forest. It was a life changing experience I will never, ever forget.
I've seen them twice and the last time dropped some MD... damn was it a beautiful time (Melt Festival 2019, there's a set here on YT I go back and watch from time to time)
Cringe
I’ll be seeing my first live Bon Iver performance later this week. Trying to not build it up too much, but I know it’s gonna be an unparalleled show.
If you're a fan of Bon Iver, one of my all time favorite recordings of his is a live acapella version of Heavenly Father. It really does speak to my soul. The video here on youtube is titled Bon Iver - "Heavenly Father" (Acapella) | Live at Sydney Opera House
me too 🙌
i was supposed to see him in Lewiston this past summer, and the ONLY video of ANY song ive been able to find from that show is Heavenly Father and boy oh boy has that song ever came far from the Sydney Opera House acapella performance you're mentioning
Bon Iver has this magic in his songs, you can’t listen and not feel SOMETHING, so perfect.
For me “Towers” is one of Bon Iver’s best, it captures an atmosphere and combines it with a driving pain in such a raw fashion.
For sure!
Love towers, and your absolutely right man
That whole album is his best work overall
Does anyone else feel a funny kind of FOMO, not only listening to these guys, but hearing about the recording process?
Man what would I give to be in the room, with people who listen to music deeply, who understand the tenderness and terror behind the sounds. Y’all really honor the music, and the process.
Thank you for letting us listen
💜
Yes, I completely understand what you mean. I'm so engaged with Jack and Ryan's content-and not just because Scary Goldings is one of the greatest bands of the last decade. I haven't felt this way since listening to albums with friends in a dorm room...and that was a lonnnng time ago.
A year after this episode was recorded I am here watching and it makes so much sense for me. I am working on my on solo project... All I have is a SM-57 and 58 and a beringher C-2. For many is "nothing". But seeing Bon Iver and how was recorded this album inspires me so much. You can have all the GEARS and equips and studios and everything... but if you don't have the soul, feeling and connection with your music... everything material you have means nothing.
I've never connected much with his earlier albums, but something about "22, A Million" makes it one of my all time favorite albums. So close to perfect, but so painful I can't listen to it too often.
The lounge lizards are so cool, Painting with Jon is an amazing show too
I’m the complete opposite, interesting
Wow, weakest album for me. Still love it but yeah, bottom of the list.
Agree 100%
Watching the NPR live concert made me like 22 a lot more. I think it translates better live
A notorious french psychiatrist wrote an in-depth analysis of 'For Emma, Forever Ago' as a creative outcome from a major depression' that I believe will be of interest to you guys.
One can read it on Academia , or here :
Bon Iver's “For Emma, Forever ago” was undoubtedly the folk rock disc of the year 2008, and a sensation. The falsetto voice of Justin Vernon dedicated to his expression of loneliness and melancholy is deeply moving and perfectly suited to the marketing image of a lumberjack emerging out of the blue and out of his snowy Wisconsin forest.
Actually, despite having been recorded single- handedly, this album is very sophisticated in its poetical lyrics as well as in its rare and precise sonorities. The choice of an acoustic guitar and a few gimmicks roots it in the aesthetics of what is called in paintings “art pauvre”, an art of poor means, thrifty about instruments and effects. It happens that this is a wrong impression : contrarily to the Felice Brothers or Bon Iver's sometimes acolytes, Bowerbirds, Justin Vernon does not hesitate to rely on technological tricks but only on a sparse and smooth level. Anyway what I want to stress out is that the appeal of this album resides in its being the diary of a psychological journey. What is told is the story of a depression and of its healing. Justin Vernon lost his band (DeYardmond Edison) lost his girlfriend and lost his health, stricken by a hepatic mononucleosis. He retreated to a log cabin his father owned in Northern Wisconsin. “I did not know where else to go and I knew I wanted to be alone and I knew I wanted to be where it was cold.” During three months he spent his days resting in bed, chopping wood amidst the snow and producing songs by editing and dubbing over and over his recordings. By the way this program of isolation, hard rest and strained physical work is exactly what is advocated by the Japanese method of curing depression devised by the psychiatrist Morita.
After seing a TV program about Alaska (country where his father goes to hunt caribous) Justin Vernon wished himself “bon hiver” just like the Alaskan do. Now here is a man whose family name comes after a french town in Normandy and who lived almost all his life in Eau Claire (Wisconsin). Even if he does not technically speak french his mind background is saturated with french language bits and parts. So when he became enthralled by this syntagm “Bon (H)iver” and decided to coin it as the motto of his new identity something important occurred, something that we must interpret carefully. Is a motto equivalent to a blazon which, according to Lacan, is the sign of phobia?
More significantly, Justin Vernon changed the french correct “Bon Hiver” into “Bon Iver”, eliding the letter h . His explanation is that hiver reminded him too much of liver, his sick organ, but this explanation is not convincing because a bon(good) liver is what he was hoping for. It is a typical denial which for a psychoanalyst reveals that something is hidden into the unconscious self, i.e. probably repressed. My explanation is that by repressing the letter h Justin Vernon a.k.a. Bon Iver was repressing the emotional drives associated and condensed with it, h being for a native english speaker a mixture of ache and hate, both sentiments at the core of a nervous depression. By dropping the ache Bon Iver was dropping the ache he felt and was getting rid of his pain, by dropping the hate Bon Iver was dropping the anger he felt and was getting rid of the hate that is turned reflectively against oneself in a depression.
Let us check his own words in the song “The Wolves (Act I & II)”:
Someday my pain, someday my pain Will mark you, Harness your blame, harness your blame and walk through.
However one of the few established rules of the mind is that what is repressed always returns. So Justin Vernon repressed the H to chop himself out of his depressive mood swing. His Unconscious is familiar with the fact that the very letter h is akin to the word hache which in french means axe, the instrument he uses for his recovery. So hache(axe) has been pushed back and axe(hache) comes out in the song “re: stacks” which is the only song of the album where and echo autotune effect is applied and specifically to the syllable axe/acks as in racks and stacks. It is not difficult to suggest that instead of gripping an axe for aggressive purposes, instead of returning against himself his aggressive drives like any person experiencing depression does, Justin Vernon by becoming Bon Iver liberated himself from the hache/axe that was splitting him down.
« It wasn’t planned at all, the goal was to hibernate » said he. And he made beautiful music.
Dr. Guy Maruani
wow that comment was worth the reading, thank you for sharing !
Such an interesting read
thank you for sharing!! this was very intruiging stuff
Thank you for sharing this! Glad I took the long (at least in terms of TH-cam comments) read 😊
Yeah: XO.
Great songs, melodies, harmonies and lyrics!Every instrument sounds so beautiful in the mix of that album.
Beautiful.
This is such a fantastic video. I love hearing the breakdown and intimate explanations. Thank you!
I live in Eau Claire and remember hearing people talking about Justin and how he would be famous one day.
This town has such a dynamic music scene and the early Bon Iver albums feel like Eau Claire to me. Like a warm, late-night drunken embrace with our orchestras, jazz festival, punk cabaret, Indy rockers and singer songwriters.
This is how I want every show to talk about music. technical, but approachable. ya'll geeking out is how it should be. amazing.
I never studied music at school or college but I've always been musical. The way you guys explain musical concepts being discussed is so helpful to me, thanks!
Love this episode! Would love to hear you guys talk about the magic from "22, A Million" or "I,I"
The sounds of those albums speak to my soul.
AGREED
YES!
Yes!
Same!
Absolutely!!! 22 A Million is one of the greatest albums of all time;
27 minutes talking about bon iver went by so damn fast. MORE PLEASE!
Thank you for introducing me to this music. I'd heard of them but never listened. Down the rabbit hole I go.
Great episode as always👍 I'd love to see an episode with more engineers like Tim talking more about his craft, and how a mix can really change the feel of a track!
I second this! Would love to see Tim join in the conversation about of the production and mix!
Third!
Bon Iver is a perfect example that simple music doesn't necessarily mean bad music. Great video!
Amazing episode ya'll!
I'm from Wisconsin but recently moved to Arizona and it was astounding to me how much Bon Iver's music evoked the feeling of home. So glad to see Bon Iver continue to get more and more attention over the years. Such incredible art
The rawness, the flaws, the imperfections 💜💜💜 Bon Iver is a gem.
My connection to his music was finding it and listening with my new girlfriend at the time and both became closer finding common ground together of a special musician like Justin Vernon. His music became the soundtrack of my life for 10 years of love, loss, loneliness, regret after magical 7 year connection with the same girlfriend ended. My life was upended. Marriage, kids, the love of my life, was all taken off the table as we split. His music and albums were constant during this entire period. I cant listen to his music without bringing back to what went wrong. Felt so connected to the lyrics and tones. I know she feels the same way 1000 miles away if she hears it. Or at least that's what i tell myself. I tried to win her back and for the first time in my life i couldnt talk myself out of things or talk my way back into them. Nothing i said, did, wrote, registered with her. It was when i learned what ambiguous loss meant.
love how jack and ryan are matching with the wall behind them
frickin awesome show will definitely be tuning in more thanks guys
Hey, PMR guys! Good? How hard would it be to get Michael League (Snarky Puppy, Bokanté, Bill Laurance Trio, D. Crosby etc...) as a guest? Not to talk directly about (amazing) music writing and band playing, but to address the business model that he uses with his musical endeavors and within the GroundUP Music label. I mean, come on, the dude has a thirty people band and even organizes a music festival! He must have a secret magical way of doing all that!
I loved so much the episode where you talked about Pomplamoose's business model, that I thought that Michael League would be an amazing follow-up to that.
With that said, let me enjoy this Bon Iver episode. Love the music and passion!
Best! Cheers!
Although I'd love for them to dissect Lingus...
@@Trapper50cal Absolutely! Why not two episodes, then? Or more? lol
Yes!! Bon Iver is one of my all time favorites! Glad to see people dive into their records! They're simple and complex, rich and mellow, engaging and relaxing. And if you want to hear a human's spirit and emotions, listen to Justin pour his heart out.
Also, the Bon Iver album has some of the smoothest song transitions ever.
This episode SLAPS! Thinking with Bon Iver in mind, I would love for you guys to react to Vocal only songs like Woods by Bon Iver and Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap. There is just something so magical about hearing songs that are just the human voice orchestrated with technology. It's so artificial yet it exudes so much emotion, it's almost hard to comprehend.
I have never ever heard anything..anything even close to Woods. Its just something else. It just stands on its own. Listen to the Pitchfork live version. It’s awesome.
@@parthyadav3733 Justin Vernon is also in a band called “Volcano Choir” and they have a version of the song woods. I think I prefer it to the original. It’s the most powerful song I’ve ever heard
@@mounthope2567 its not on spotify. Where can i find it?
@@parthyadav3733 I’m so sorry I forgot to tell you the name of it!!! It’s Volcano Choir “still”
@@parthyadav3733please let me know what you think of it :)
People talk about “..the path not taken..”..
Watching and listening to you guys doing what you do with music is,for me,catching a glimpse though the trees of what could’ve been..had I not taken the path I chose…
Now that I’m retired for the most part, I’m trying to get back on the path you’re on..and that I was headed for…countless memories ago… It’s a beautiful trip..
You guys are blessed..! I hope you appreciate that..
Thanks!👍🏼❤️
Elliott Smith's XO is one of my all-time fave albums! Also, Either/Or is a fantastic selection of songs that show how you don't need a recording studio to make great music. Some of those songs are literally boom box recordings where Elliott just sings/plays into the boom box mic.
Bon Iver’s song does make you feel like you are listening to them in a remote cabin in the forest and it’s snowing outside.
I love that he chose Paul Simon's Cool, cool River. Paul Simon songs/albums are my go to when I need a musical hug and support.
God I love Bon Iver. This makes me want to listen to all their albums.
The second record is without a doubt my favorite album of all time. This fellas horns on Perth gives me feels every time.
4:28 - "What is the real story behind that?"
He explained it terribly, let me give a more insightful explanation..
In 2006, Justin's relationship with his bandmates disintegrated, he broke up with his girlfriend, and late that fall, retreated alone to his father Gil's cabin on 80 acres in Dunn County, Wis., where he hunted deer, chopped wood and put up walls in a barn.
He also started writing and recording songs about longing and lost love and self-disappointment and he experimented with his falsetto, manipulating and layering recordings of his voice, creating an ethereal choir-like effect and establishing a distinct signature trait. He likened the experience to "shedding skin."
"I was definitely down and pretty confused," he said. "At 26, I was thinking about going back to school to be a music teacher. To me, that felt like giving up, even though I was excited about that prospect. There was a lot of despair. I had anxiety and depression for longer than I kind of knew about and I didn't really understand it back then."
This was amazing to watch. Thanks guys! Stoked to see Bon Iver in Amsterdam in 3 days
Great episodes. I could keep listening like forever!
I'm Japanese and living in Japan, and watching this talk gets me more close to bon iver stuffs while we can't go see live shows. Waiting for more anatomies of bon iver! We're seeking from all over the world.
My "got me through a hard time" album is "August and Everything After" by Counting Crows. That's some good crying there...
I have to revisit that album every once and a while and realize how amazing it still is.
11:37 Truth. I once had a beautiful custom shop guitar that I sold because the luthiers were so skilled that they had purified all the instrument's imperfections out of it to such a degree that it no longer had the voice that originally drew me to that instrument.
A song can be a bookmark in our lives
The Wolves is a perfect sound late night lonely anxiety.
YES-That part of Cool Cool River is so moving! The horns and vocal melody cut through so hard while the rest of the song is a discombobulating set up. I am lucky that Simon's Rhythm of The Saints Tour was my first concert (Pittsburgh, PA). Elliott Smith and Fleet Foxes are great. Would love to see an episode about the harmonic devices of Elliott Smith.
Great show guys, I love Bon Iver. I consider for Emma a masterpiece, to this day it’s as fresh and beautiful as the first time I heard it, then to follow up with ‘ self titled’ another work of genius. I feel grateful to Justin Vernon for making his music speak to me so beautifully.
I love the "re: Stacks" record. So unique, so rich.
I love this format, please keep sharing your experiences and knowledge!!
Justin Vernon is my musical hero. So stoked to watch this episode!!
WOW, the Perth and victory in war reference was GENIUS.
Constantly speaks to my soul. Listening to him makes life make more sense.
Love this man's music from beginning till the end. Grew up with Holocene and growing old with Holocene.
So many interesting threads to follow with Justin Vernon. Bon Iver's bass sax player Colin Stetson is incredible imo and Vernon drops a death growl on one of his solo tracks! Vernon and a member of The National have a band and were featured on one record from German electronica geniuses Mouse On Mars. And then the same combo of Vernon and The National's guitarist have done a lot with Taylor Swift recently. I really like Vernon's bridge section in the title track from Evermore.
The weird thing is, I'm not even a great fan. His voice doesn't do it for me like it clearly does for others. But he's still fascinating. I'd compare him to Björk in that way. Striking, character-filled voices that are going to polarise peeps - but I would always want to at least hear _about_ what they're up to.
And even with all that you missed one: Jason Feathers, which I can't even begin to describe. A hidden gem if you ask me.
I want more bon iver stuff, that was great
When Jack was describing the battle I was right there with him and feeling everything! I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to that song again without thinking abou this battle.
I just set up my stereo at my new house. I am going through the vinyl that I collected over the past 2 years but could not hear because my stuff was packed up. Over the weekend I listened to Frank Zappa live at the Roxy. For all of the praise he gets for his intricate compositions it is easy to forget how amazing of a guitarist he was.
This was to go with the beginning "what are you listening to" section. For the rest of the video I have not listened to Bon Iver much. So it is nice to listen closely to music that is new to me.
Man, C.J. with the "Cool, Cool River" reference. What a song that is... those hits!
've been a Bon Iver fan for so long now and this episode means so much to me. I hope there's a podcast where you cover all songs on the album. It's very interesting to hear the story behind the songs I've been listening to for years -- from a person (horn player) who actually plays on the album.
Thank you for this episode.
I wish this video would never end! So incredibily interesting, thank you so much.
First seen Bon iver back in 2012 in Miami @ the Fillmore… being in the 2nd row was an absolute experience. Feeling the vibrations, the instruments bouncing off the walls, and his insane vocals… still the best show I’ve ever been to. I’ll be at their upcoming show on the 15th of April and I am beyond excited
Loved this episode! Justin Vernon is also a killer producer! He produced one of Kathleen Edwards albums called Voyageur and pulled things out of her I hadn’t heard before! One of my all time favourite albums ever!
I appreciate this breakdown! Lo-Fi at its best album
Every brass player is nodding along furiously
New here and seeing CEO of Patreon was a surprise
I like how you guys do critical listening and not over the top reactions and talk over the content like most channels
The one tattoo I have is Skinny Love lyrics. Cliche. I know. But, there is a lot behind it. It has religiously been in my top played music for over a decade now. Justin's story is another reason in the expanse of reasons that I want to start a music project of my own. There's just so much I've seen and experienced in 30 years that I feel compelled to chronicle it.
What amazes me about bon iver is how impactful and storytelling the music is even without the lyrics. English is not my first language, but i'm quite fluent. When i listen to Bon Iver i actually oftern don't understand much of what he is saying unless i sit down with the lyrics in front of me. I understand fractions. I guess the use of "weird" words and the "unclear" pronunciation can make it hard for someone like me to understand after only a few listens. Still Bon Iver is some of the best music i've ever heard, this just shows how impactful the production, melody and the sound of his voice are. I'm not really sure what most of the songs are actually about but I'm very sure about what the songs mean to me and I don't really miss understanding the lyrics. True art.
That is on purpose. His words do not always "make sense" lyrically, but are sound-driven and are meant to go along with the music. So, don't feel bad, because they are actually weird and unclear :-)
Amazing work! I saw Bon Iver at Glastonbury 2009 and it remains one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to
Thanks for this interview!
Loved this episode, thank you!! Also, french horn players rock!! ❤️
Love that you used the Pockets Skinny Love in your intro
The “machine gun analogy” was perfect. I remember hearing this song for the first time when it came out: I was just getting into hardcore/metal music, and I was crying at how beautiful the intro was before the fucking double kick sound came in. That groove was so metal, down to the sound of whatever was playing the role of the “kick”, so much top end click! One of the best releases ever
damn im so happy i found this, this is the coolest show ever :) thanks for existing
So true that music can get attached to memory - Bon Iver takes me to cloudy Nov-Dec, building decks in a pretty town in VA.
Grateful for and super into the recommendations you guys give at the beginning.
Where in VA?
@@estebanb7166 Williamsburg/Jamestown
@@bentaylor4705 Right on. Nice area.
This was so good guys. I love how you’ve been getting some inside knowledge with the guests of late.
Thanks!!! So great! I hope see Bonobo here!!
Hey, total aside, but major props to whoever did the closed captioning on this episode. It's really helpful when it's done properly, like this. Thank you
I words of Neo : "I can see music" ...now , after you explained it. Thanks!
22, a million MESSED me up in 2016 and i still haven't recovered tbh
If you ever get a chance to watch the recording: Live at AIR Studios (4AD/Jagjaguwar Session). Such an amazing stripped down version of beautiful piano and harmony.
This video is gold 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
Please make a part 2 of bon iver where ou listen to songs from album 3 and 4 as well!!
Bon Iver has the most special song I've ever heard in my life, for me is Roslyn, I have lot count of how many times I've heard it, it's just so magic, so special...
I would LOVE it if you guys talked about Blue October and how Justin Furstenfeld's vocals and especially Ryan Delahoussaye's violin really makes the band's sound work.
The guitar sounds like a parlor guitar or even a Kay hollowbody with slightly to used strings not necessarily out of tune. Oh and my album Neutral Milk Hotel- On Avery Island!!!
That last comment/question by the Scary Pockets Patron totally nailed it.
Bon...je viens d'apprendre quelque chose (encore). Bon Iver = Bon hiver. Merci encore à vous!
An album that got me through a hard time has to be The Party by Andy Shauf especially the song Early To The Party
Yes. Great episode! Would love to see the Frank Ocean episode now. Thanks!
When Perth came on I spaced out and forgot I was watching this ha.
the self titled album is my favorite and most nostalgic!
I enjoy how you guys break down the music and the song. I realized long ago I always missed something about virtually everything I listened to. A missed lyric is the most usual. But, in a large choir someone does the words and I would fill in the body from my baritone. Even that was often off key. The instrumental part we often hear as one thing with color splash from the palate. When it was "Tight" everyone knew. While precision delivery may be thought to be required understanding to have before being worthy...Well, for some that is true, mostly not. We have Jazz to fall back on. Smooth and not a rigid bone in its silk.
I’ve only watched 2 videos of yours and I feel like I’ve learned so much haha and I’m a musician as well 😅I’m obsessed now
Your videos are quickly becoming my most looked forward to every week, because ya'll deliver every darn time! So much appreciation for the content guys.
I've been the biggest fan boy since 2007 stoked to have watched this
Another inspiring episode. Plus C.J. is the kind of guy you want to talk music all day, all night.
Somehow skipped over this video but yessss FLEETFOXES!
Make a Ben Howard video. His musical and sound evolution is fascinating. I think it would be really interesting.
This is pretty dope, inspired had to make some music, keep up the good work
Great great episode. The military analogy was deep deep analysis.
This episode deserves a Part 2.
At 25:30 Tim shares the Heath Ledger anecdote. I knew this one, after having seen the documentary I Am Heath Ledger a couple of times, where Justin is featured sharing the story. I highly recommend the documentary. It will make you cry, but if in times like these you need a roll model to look up to, seeing what made Heath so loveable, as shared by family and friends, makes you wish you were even half the man he was in terms of just sheer creativity and outwardly love and energy. So yeah, do that when you are somewhere where you are comfortable crying your eyes out.
PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS REACT, KEEP.THIS.UP!
Jack has a hard job at Patreon and it’s really impressive he’s able to keep it up, PLUS his passion for music, PLUS not losing his mind over the political BS that comes with running a public platform for creators…….regardless of what you THINK you think about him he’s an extremely impressive guy
Tried to slip by us the Scary Pockets cover of Skinny Love as the intro music?
10:50 that guitar went through hell before Justin even got it. Bought it used in one of the local music store for cheap and ended up finding a beautiful resonator beneath multiple layers of crappy paint.
I LOVE THESE PEOPLE