bon (h)iver means good winter

where do you go when your heart is broken? maybe a spare cabin in the wisconsin woods, where you can ride out the winter with a '64 silvertone guitar, a four-track recorder, and a half-bottle of whiskey to see you through the coldest nights. if you keep howling into the four-track, the wolves outside might even join in on the chorus.

according to another fine chris riemenschneider profile, that's pretty much what mr. justin vernon did last winter. he holed up to lick his wounds and somehow recorded for emma, forever ago in that lonesome cabin. come spring, he emerged as indie-sensation bon iver.

it is 14 degrees below zero in shoreview, minnesota right now, and i'm listening to bon iver's wolves and skinny love as my freezing house cracks, creaks, groans, and occasionally even booms in the background. perfect. i guess you either feel this nick drake/elliott smith hyper-sensitive stuff or you despise it. i can understand either reaction.

if you'd like to hear more, mr. vernon/iver will probably be visiting your town by winter's end. you might also look for his national release on february 19th.