Thursday, December 25, 2008

The Twelve Days of Christmas - # 1

Song of the Year - # 1

After Hours - We Are Scientists

This should not come as a shock to any loyal Skog Blog reader. This was the very song that I boldly announced that I had listened to approximately 87 times in one week. I would put the final tally for the year at somewhere in the ballpark of 1374 total listens this year. Way to go We Are Scientists! Below is the music video (which was previously posted) and the second is an acoustic version of this song.







Album of the Year - # 1

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago



This album is what I like to call a slow burner. I listened to it a few times and it didn't do that much for me. So I put it aside and didn't give it much play for a few months. Occasionally a song would find its way onto the shuffle rotation and I would look down and think, "Who is this?" The second attempt of getting into this album was much more successful. I quickly became obsessed with it. I 'got' it. Around this same time I got a text one late Sat night by my 'Half Poly Friend' who said, "I have found the greatest album in years..." and sent me info about Bon Iver. When I informed him that I had been trying to get into Bon Iver for a few months he nearly ended our friendship for holding out on him. That's the kind of passionate response this album creates. It is haunting, it is beautiful and it will burn right into your soul if you let it. I listened to For Emma, while driving through Yellowstone this year and it might have been the most spiritual experience I had in 2008.

Bon Iver is now a band but it is the brainchild of Justin Vernon. He was living in North Carolina and after breaking up with his girlfriend and his band of several years, he packed up and moved back to Wisconsin and spent the winter in his father's cabin alone. For Emma, Forever Ago is the result of his frosty winter in exile. He recorded and re-reocorded the vocals to create his own harmonies and played every instrument on the album. I have spent years trying to find a suitable replacement for Elliott Smith since he passed away and if Bon Iver can live up to the promise it showed on Emma then I may have finally found someone to carry on his legacy. And that is about the best praise I could give anyone.















5 comments:

Corbie said...

Congratulations! You did it! I mean, there is no sign of Tracy Chapman but the fact that you posted on 12 consecutive days is impressive. Oh, and Bon Iver was a great way to end things - good stuff.

brohammas said...

Bon Iver is good stuff, as I said to you earlier, Q-Tip is even more noticably absent than Tracy Chapman.

12 consecutive days? I checked every day and I'm willing to bet there was some doubling up going on...

Mostly I'm just trying to prove Corbie wrong and be declared "winner".

kg said...

There may or may not have been a Christmas miracle that put up two posts on Christmas day - postdating one to the 24th. Santa was busy on Christmas Eve so back off...

kg said...

PS - With this bounty of good tunes we are all winners this Christmas.

brohammas said...

Roger Craig is indeed a proud man today.