B is for Bon Iver

By Sarah

igh. Bon Iver makes me so happy. First, context. I listen to a lot of music. I have ever since I was 5 or so. In 3rd grade, I would blast my Tiffany record on my Cabbage Patch Kids record player (I promise that my musical tastes have improved since 1987). In any case the seeds were planted from an early age and I've been moderately obsessed ever since.

This sometimes results in me feeling overwhelmed by the amount of incredible music out there, especially when it comes to checking out new acts. Often I will hear about new music or read some reviews and even when things sound awesome I think to myself, "Ughhh, I have no energy to love a new band right now."

This is the mistake I made with Bon Iver about a year and a half ago. I kept hearing great things and refused to listen.

Fast forward to this past autumn when I came across the song "Flume" from For Emma, Forever Ago. I absolutely loved it. And still, for some reason, felt reluctant to really dive in. Which is funny, because the dude only had one album out at the time. Not an extensive catalog, so it's not like there was too much to handle. But I stayed away.

Then sometime around March, I was hanging out at a friend's who had the disc on repeat. I was in love and immediately felt ashamed of my behavior. I felt like I owed Justin Vernon (the man behind the music) a personal apology. I was a believer.

In any case, the music is beautiful. 2007's For Emma, Forever Ago has been followed by the Blood Bank EP, released earlier this year. Do yourselves a favor and check them out. Absolutely stunning.

My personal favorites: "Lump Sum," "Blindsided," and "re: stacks" from For Emma, Forever Ago and "Blood Bank" from the EP of the same name. "Blood Bank" is the far-and-away front runner for my favorite song of 2009.