Bon Iver: You're all. I need. To get by.

I'm a sucker for a tune that tugs on the heart-strings.

You know the kind. You're sitting at home, waiting for someone to call you. You heart crushes like a pedestrian under a Metro Bus as you get the text message - "Not going to make it tonight. Sorry."

Or perhaps, you're not waiting at home. Instead, you've gone ahead and stepped into a "situation"/"relationship" that has you spinning, reeling, twisting like a tornado. And though that feeling can be exhilarating at first (like spinning around in circles and falling on your back in the middle of the cul-de-sac with the other neighborhood kids wearing striped shirts and ice-cream stained shorts)... well, eventually, everyone tires of getting kicked in the face by cows and flying cars. This post is also for you.

After a night of getting stood up by someone I didn't even know (silly blind date), I knew I still needed a beautiful tune to, for lack of a better term, mourn to. I had gotten my hopes up just a wee bit, so, the thought of this little shit sending my Friday night plans, well, down the shitter was a bit much for me to handle solo. Especially in the midst of the holiday season!

Subscribing to the notion that music can, in fact, save my mortal soul, I turned to Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago.* Almost immediately, I could picture Bon Iver (pronounced bon-eeeevehr, real name: Justin Vernon) walking me through a wood, playing his guitar and singing 'Flume' as we wander along, kicking at branches, letting my less-than-positive thoughts go. I found myself able to breathe deeply just a few tunes into the record, and proceeded onto an evening of partying in the Atlas District (notice a pattern here?).

Excited that I was able to enjoy my weekend, I returned to work on Monday and tapped right into NPR's All Songs Considered. I was surprised to find that I like live Bon Iver even better. I listened to the NPR concert so many times, in fact, that I can almost recite Bob Boilen's commentary. I also checked out LaBlogotheque (concert a emporter = little impromptu shows with lots of my favorite musicians), and what do you know: more beautiful singing from my man with the beard.



Imagine my delight, then, when I heard that Bon Iver was coming out with a new EP this week. Blood Bank marks a bit of a more adventurous, less-intensely-lonesome venture... but it is nonetheless solid, emotive, and sincere song-writing. It is still the kind of record I'd turn on when I feel a little blue. But is the kind of work that I'd expect to turn me out a more hopeful than when I started. And though 'Woods' just might remind you of Imogen Heap's 'Hide and Seek' slow-synth (or as a co-worker says, "like Kanye's stuff")... I think it's a tad more original/unexpected that either of those comparisons suggest. And I definitely plan on giving it a listen to calm down before heading to the eye doc tomorrow (silly, mysterious eye problems).

To those of you who have not yet tuned in, I beckon you - sit with me and the others who have. Grab your cuppa tea. Turn up Bon Iver. Close your eyes. Enjoy.

You can download 'Blood Bank' (the opening track, not the whole EP) here.

*Special thanks to RecreationalUse, who sometimes, keeps me up-to-date with good tunes. Sometimes.