"Skinny love doesn't have a chance because it's not nourished."

Wisely said by Justin Vernon, the amazing voice behind Bon Iver. The band's name relates to the French term "bon hiver" meaning "good winter," considering their 2007 debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was recorded in his dad's Wisconsin cabin. Talk about cabin fever. But if that means you churn out a successful album in THREE MONTHS, (along with the breakup of your former band, coping with an ending relationship, and dealing with mononucleosis) than that's something to be proud of. Who said isolation needs to be depressing? Some great artists make beautiful things during difficult times in their lives.

Their latest compilation of amazing, woodsy sounds, eponymously named Bon Iver is on a different path of musical genius compared to For Emma. Some of the song titles resemble cities - both existent and non-existent (i.e. Hinnom, TX). And although For Emma was recorded in his dad's cabin, this second album was recorded in a remodled veterinarian clinic in Wisconsin. How sick! Ugh, this makes love them even more.

I recently read a Pitchfork interview with Vernon and he certainly knows how to answer questions so eloquently. I felt like I was reading an indie rock version of Obama's speeches. Mr. Prezzy Poo knows how to interview well too! Some semi-motivational, awe-inspiring quotage from Vernon's interview:

On the topic of his ex-girlfriend Christy Smith, who is rumored to be who "Skinny Love" was about: 

"I'm not afraid to talk about it, but how do you guarantee it's accurate? To say that "Skinny Love" is about Christy would not be entirely accurate. We dated and she's an incredibly important person that I lived with for a long time, but it's about that time in a relationship that I was going through; you're in a relationship because you need help, but that's not necessarily why you should be in a relationship. And that's skinny. It doesn't have weight. Skinny love doesn't have a chance because it's not nourished."

On the perception of truth:

"I began realizing that it wasn't important for me to concern myself with the perception of truth. It's like a giant metaphor for high school-- people think or say certain things, and those ideas get amplified via telephone and, all of a sudden, somebody's a dick or a racist. I just want to know that, no matter what the perception of me as a person is, I can live with who I actually am. But I find it funny that the stories are wrong. It goes to show that even the indie rock world-- which is supposed to be about truth and independence from corporate mindfulness or something-- is totally subject to the paraphernalia of celebrity."

On writing songs about friends:

"I never thought like that before but, with Emma, people always ask me, "Did you ever second-guess how it was about all these people once the record got big?" I have to reiterate that the album was more about me than anything. Emma isn't a person as much as it's a place and a time. The reality is, if you're friends with somebody you should be able to be honest with them, and that honesty should be the biggest magnet to truth. I've had conversations with the people that the songs regard and, while it can be uncomfortable or awkward, I feel like we're in a very celebratory, loving place. Especially on the new record, I feel like there's nothing but yee-haw vibes about these people."

On being one's self in a relationship:

"[...]no matter how much you care about a person, you have to be able to know that you can sit down at night and be happy with who you are without that person. That's really hard when you're a lonely emo kid. But you can do it. You should be able to have happiness. If you don't have that, then you're not really bringing your whole self to the relationship. You're using each other as a crutch. But I could be totally fucking wrong."

On changing the name of his group:

"[...]You never have to be scared about who you are. You never have to be scared to look to the future for opportunity. You never have to change your scene because you're always comfortable with evolving. It's about the opportunity to never have to worry about being something someone expects you to be-- you just have to be who you are."

Clearly, I was intrigued by his answers (see bolded, colorful quotage!). I absolutely agreed with his statement about being honest about those you know. Sometimes honesty is what causes people, including myself, to be fearful. They run away from it. They don't wanna believe it. But it's truth. And sometimes it sucks. But oftentimes it occurs for a reason. Some mysterious, unknowing reason. Holocene.