Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on Q

Justin Vernon, the unifying, falsetto voice behind Bon Iver, joined Jian Ghomeshi at Glenn Gould Studio for a rare and candid interview covering such topics as his comments about the Grammy’s, selling his music to corporate interests, and working head-to-head with Kanye West.

Watch: Bon Iver - “Calgary” (via boniver)

Listen to Bon Iver’s new album, Bon Iver, in its entirety via NPR First Listen.


[http://www.boniver.org/]

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  • 17 Plays
  • Flume (Bon Iver)Peter Gabriel

I honestly love this cover of “Flume” by Peter Gabriel. His latest album, Scratch My Back, was released last month but this is the first time I’m hearing about it (for shame!). Besides “Flume,” Gabriel covers Radiohead, Regina Spektor, and The Magnetic Fields. Love love love. Here’s what he said about covering Bon Iver: “Bon Iver was introduced to me by my younger daughter, Melanie, who’s a big fan. When I first heard this track it immediately registered. I tried singing a couple of his songs, but this was the one that I could feel instinctively. The first arrangement that John did was all based around the brass, and although I loved what he had done, it felt too heavy and lacked contrast. Very late in the day I sat down at the piano and tried to find a really simple part for the verses, which then allows the brass entry to have more meaning. There were a couple of lines of lyrics that felt awkward at first, but the more time I spent with it the more natural it became. It is a beautiful song.” (via The Quietus)

The tracklist to Scratch My Back:
01 “Heroes” (David Bowie)
02 “The Boy in the Bubble” (Paul Simon)
03 “Mirrorball” (Elbow)
04 “Flume” (Bon Iver)
05 “Listening Wind” (Talking Heads)
06 “The Power of the Heart” (Lou Reed)
07 “My Body Is a Cage” (Arcade Fire)
08 “The Book of Love” (The Magnetic Fields)
09 “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today” (Randy Newman)
10 “Après moi” (Regina Spektor)
11 “Philadelphia” (Neil Young)
12 “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” (Radiohead)