Bon Iver is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon, Sean Carey, Michael Lewis, Matthew McCaughan, Andrew Fitzpatrick, and Jenn Wasner.
members: Michael Lewis, Justin Vernon, Matt McCaughan, Mike Noyce, Sean Carey, Andrew Fitzpatrick
formed in: Eau Claire
labels: Jagjaguwar, 4AD
genres: folk rock, rock music, indie folk, folk music, contemporary folk music, folktronica, art pop
awards: Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Libera Award for Record of the Year
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After the breakup of his band DeYarmond Edison, the ending of a relationship, and a bout of mononucleosis hepatitis, Vernon left Raleigh, North Carolina, and moved back to Wisconsin. He spent the oncoming winter months at his father's cabin in Dunn County, Wisconsin. According to Vernon, it was during this time that the "Bon Iver" moniker first entered his mind; while bedridden with mononucleosis, he began watching the 1990s TV series Northern Exposure on DVD. One episode depicts a group of citizens in Alaska, where the show is set, emerging from their homes into the first snowfall of the winter and wishing one another bon hiver (lit. “good winter”). This was initially transcribed by Vernon as "boniverre"; however, when he learned of its...
Are you them, or do you know them? The mail slot is open.
"Skinny Love" is a song written by American musician Justin Vernon. It was originally released by Vernon's band Bon Iver in 2007.
A cover version by the British vocalist Birdy was released in 2011. Both versions charted internationally and have been featured in multiple television and film soundtracks.
"Skinny Love" was the first single released from Bon Iver's 2007 debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, in the United States. The song was released as a single in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2008. While "Skinny Love" has been considered a reference to singer Justin Vernon's relationship with former girlfriend Christy Smith, Vernon countered this as "not entirely accurate [...] 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."
There are three music videos for this single. The first music video for the song was uploaded to YouTube on April 1, 2011. It features Birdy playing the piano of walking in a dark house. The second music video was shot in one take and framed on Birdy's face. The camera changes focus as she sings. It was uploaded on October 14, 2011. The third music video was uploaded on January 15, 2014.
"Holocene" is a song by American indie folk band Bon Iver. It was released as the second single from their album Bon Iver, September 5, 2011.
The single is backed with a cover of Peter Gabriel's song "Come Talk to Me" as a B-side, which was previously released as a limited edition song for Record Store Day. The song was named one of the best songs of 2011 by various music publications.
Frontman Justin Vernon explained the song title in an interview with Mojo: "It's partly named after the (geological) era, but it's also the name of a bar in Portland where I had a dark night of the soul." He also stated that "the title is a metaphor for when you're not doing well. But it's also a song about redemption and realizing that you're worth something; that you're special and not special at the same time."
The music video, directed by Nabil Elderkin, was filmed in the region of Vík in Iceland with a Red Camera. It features a blonde Icelandic boy waking up and roaming around the island's volcanic landscape and glaciers, equipped with just a walking stick. Since the lyrics of "Holocene" describe the idea that the self is part of something greater, the music video highlights the expansive landscapes in contrast to the boy. The video was debuted on the National Geographic Channel. In January 2012, music video blog Yes, We've Got a Video! ranked it at number 10 in their top 30 videos of 2011, saying that the video "should serve as proof that the art of the music video is not dead."
The song was highly acclaimed by critics. Pitchfork named it as the second best song of 2011, saying "the rising and falling chord changes create a sense of motion that develops throughout the whole song, a tide-like ebb and flow that ends with an abrupt denouement, so swift it withholds almost as much pleasure as it yields." Rolling Stone ranked it as the 22nd best single of 2011, simply stating that "'[Holocene]' takes sensitive-guy poetry somewhere sublime." The song also won 2nd place in Stereogum's annual Gummy Awards. It was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost both to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". It was voted 52nd in the 2011 Triple J Hottest 100.