Live Friday: 10-17-08

If for some reason you've yet to hear it, Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago" is an incredibly gorgeous and bare album of folk songs written and sung by Justin Vernon. There's very little I can recommend more in 2008, but especially as the temperatures drop, the seasons change and we fully embrace the small chill that comes with the fall season. Yes, this is truly a record for the current outdoor conditions, and perhaps in some respect it also works in coordination with the current state of world affairs, what with everyone's economy going down the toilet. It's an album of heartbreak and sorrow, albeit the admirably beautiful kind. Enough said in that respect, but Bon Iver is the featured artist for this week's Live Friday. Vernon and his four-man backing band played an in-studio session and chatted with WXPN at the end of September, and I wanted to share that with you.

What I perhaps find most interesting about this session are the small adjustments made to the individual songs when there's a full band backing Vernon instead of it just being him alone in a remote Wisconsin cabin. The songs here are fuller to a degree, and in some aspects emhanced. I suppose it depends on your attitude towards the original studio recordings and how closely Vernon should be faithful to them. Check it out though- this comes highly recommended, very much like "For Emma, Forever Ago" is as well (hint: buy it on vinyl- see link below).

Bon Iver on WXPN 9-25-08:
Bon Iver- Lump Sum (Live on WXPN)
Bon Iver- Flume (Live on WXPN)
Bon Iver- For Emma (Live on WXPN)

Stream the entire interview/session

Buy "For Emma, Forever Ago" on vinyl from Amazon

Labels: bon iver, Live