the (second) Bon Iver album

anyway, i read some of the lyrics & yeah they were pretty dumb in places, but it def seems like an album that

a. is rich enough in texture/arrangement/vocals etc that the lyrics don't HAVE to matter
b. works from a lyrical standpoint if you stick to the phrases that make sense out of context & sorta let the other ones go in one ear & out the other

nb i listened to half of the album once, but that was my impression

I tend to look at the number rating as an enthusiasm meter, which works perfectly fine for me.

It's like, Pitchfork has a ton of different ways to use itself as a resource, and the number system is just one method of entry, along with Best New Music, The Playlists, the news stuff, and the reviews themselves-- which I feel like mostly serve to put music (even throwaway bullshit albums) into a musical/cultural context that they've created. So for me, it works incredibly as a resource for finding new music, which is I think what it's intended for, right? They have a lot of access points that they're really great about cultivating, developing and maintaining. I think it's a great site that I frequently disagree with, and some bullshit sneaks in through various individual personalities.

But if you can't figure out how to use it, I don't know what to tell you. Cuz that ain't them, that's you.

goole: Last night, Justin Vernon brought an iteration of Bon Iver to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that sounded neither like the muted folk of his 2007 breakthrough or the layered majesty of his forthcoming follow-up. Instead, he sang beside pianist Phil Cook--his best friend and former bandmate in DeYarmond Edison, and now a multi-instrumentalist in Megafaun--to play a beautiful and simple medley of hits by other people: "A Song for You," by Leon Russell via Donny Hathaway, and Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me." It was one of the smartest television appearances by a band I've seen in a bit.

I saw him perform the Raitt cover on ... Fallon, probably? ... and was bothered that he seemed to be deliberately avoiding the melodic line. But I really love the original song, so.

Ha, that was actually an xpost.

It also seemed so left-field to me, because all I really knew about this dude before this album was "Skinny Love," but it makes way more sense in the context of "Beth/Rest."

I can't get past his voice, and I'm not that fond of Asia.

cool geebs thx

the vocals remind me of tvotr, theyre a bit more annoying in this context of less cool sounds but not the worst

In reply to sickmouthy:

I thought long and hard about this and came to the conclusion that the album was more like a 9.6 than 9.5. These Pitchfork dudes know nothing.

i was kinda disappointed that the new tvotr was missing the p gabriel 80s synth-rock vibe but this gets pretty close to hitting that spot

why don't you just marry peter gabriel already

you should stand outside his house with a boombox

and play a toto song.

or just beth/rest

bon iver's cover of "come talk to me" is kind of sweet, not nearly as good as the raitt cover tho

Prefer his cover of "Big Time" with Four Tet and Grizzly Bear tbh

you should stand outside his house with a boombox

Reminds me of the South Park episode where someone told Stan was told to win Wendy back he'd have to stand outside her house playing a Peter Gabriel song on a boombox. Cut to him standing there with "Shock the Monkey" playing.

^ poor structure, but you get it.

after making an "experimental" and at least half successful attempt to get into this record a month ago, i haven't once been tempted to return to it.

you made an experimental attempt to get into the album? did you listen to it while hanging upside down or what

fuck, this is def filling the TVOTR void -- i didn't pick up on it until i put it on headphones

the way he sings that bonnie rait song should be a dealbreaker but then it is somehow the complete opposite of a dealbreaker and the song breaks through and i'm crying either way so.

never listed to for emma, from the forest but i will check this guy out on the strength of the cover.

yes

xx

fuck, this is def filling the TVOTR void -- i didn't pick up on it until i put it on headphones

― J0rdan S., Monday, June 20, 2011 7:09 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this is encouraging cause new tvotr is a snooze

yes it is

His phrasing is exquisite, but, wow, that Raitt cover (which I just heard) left me cold. Rather appropriate that he stretched out the "Don't patronize me" line.

i've never liked tvotr like at all.

youre just not trying hard enough, probably

His phrasing is exquisite, but, wow, that Raitt cover (which I just heard) left me cold. Rather appropriate that he stretched out the "Don't patronize me" line.

to me his only serious misstep there - Raitt's delivery of that line sets a ridiculously high bar though

I can't get past his voice, and I'm not that fond of Asia.

― The Edge of Gloryhole (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, June 20, 2011 5:47 PM (Yesterday)

^
I have no idea how I feel about this album yet, but this is an excellent sentence.

Colbert interview right now is lolz. Gonna do "Calgary" after the commercial break.

a second opinion

Hrm. Can see that getting replaced down the road.

do we still use enya as a generic stand-in for "shlocky aural wallpaper"?

and geez, two-and-a-half? that's a one-star review if i've ever read one. "overblown debacle," ouch. sounds like someone didn't get what they wanted for christmas.

yeah overblown is pretty lol considering one of the first things that jumps out is the careful arrangements

which btw remind me more of Antony than anyone

man fuck enya haters

it's always hilarious when some indie album gets a lot of attention and people who would never in a million years have listened to it otherwise get all up in arms about it

then again that sentence is probably true just as a generalization with all genres - it's hilarious/boring when some (metal, rap, bossa) album gets a lot of attention and people get all OH NOT DON'T YOU REALIZE IT'S HORRIBLE

all right so i am listening to this for the first time at 2 am which feels pretty right, okay

this is a very pretty thing

wasn't going to check this out before the 9.5, now i am going to check this out

I kind of have to rmde at all the "OMG where in the world did 'Beth/Rest' come from?!?!" comments from critics who, by saying that, admit that they really haven't been paying all that much attention Vernon since For Emma. I mean, if you heard the (pre-Kanye) "Woods" and the Gayngs album, this wouldn't come as that big of a shock.

should we be bringing up green gartside or would that set people's teeth on edge...

Passed by a coworker watching the Colbert appearance and I idly noted Bon I. sitting there surrounded by people doing deliberate handclaps and I was all "Huh."

should we be bringing up green gartside or would that set people's teeth on edge...

When discussing, say, Destroyer, sure. This guy don't know about rhythm.

I prefer the Sean Carey album.

That Allmusic review is an embarrassment.

performance on fallon was kinda O_O -- sorta lol'd at giving his own band the gas face

anyway it made me think of sufjan, altho their recorded music is different in many, many ways

the (second) biggest seller on the billboard charts