The BON IVER Iceberg Explained

Intro what do you know about bony ver I'd Hazard a guess that it's not much the ever evolving band has a history that spans almost two decades and although some might think their Peak was years ago the band is as big as ever post pandemic they have headlined festivals sold out Arenas and have similar streaming numbers as Leed Zeppelin Carly Ray Jepson and Lili yotti though bony is a big band I struggle to find people around me who know much about them and as a longtime listener I feel their Chronicles are too rich to leave in the shadows certain collaborations sounds songs and ideas sit at the center of the band and come together to form one great story their last album was released just over 5 years ago in 2019 and the day after I finalized this video bony began teasing something we aren't sure what it is yet exactly but the future is bright Skinny Love [Music] whether it's a cover live version or the studio cut most people's entry point into bony ve is through Skinny Love This laconically melancholic song is the Indie anthem of the mid 2000s with minimal percussion and hauntingly bright acoustic guitar tracks Skinny Love recounts a story of just that Skinny Love love metaphorically the speaker is skating on ice with their lover and they feel it Getting Thinner and thinner they know that some point soon the cracks under their feet will no longer be warnings complex romantic emotions are continually laid bare throughout the song ending in a final Cry of naked desperation who will love you who will fight who will fall far behind the magnetic material at the of bony ve is emotion while skinny love may not make you feel happy you'll be damned sure that it'll make you Bon Iver Is A Man feel I am mother's only one it's a common misconception for people to assume bony ve is the name of a person most people who are unaware with bony will see the band name hear the male falsetto and immediately assume Bon be is a oneman show this obviously isn't the case while it's true that Justin Vernon founded the band and initially released Forma forever ago as a solo act Shan KY and Matthew mccon joined Vernon less than a year after its founding and have never left you can see them both here on drums behind Vernon at glastenbury 2009 The Wisconsin Cabin [Music] doing any sort of research into the roots of bony ver will soon reveal the origin story of the first album for Emma Forever Ago Legend has it that in 2006 Vernon was living in Raleigh North Carolina playing with a band called day Armand Edison he contracted pneumonia then mono then a liver infection and while bedridden the band wasn't doing well and he was kicked out in the wake of this Exile he found himself purposeless so as you do he broke up with his girlfriend and drove 18 hours to his parents home in Wisconsin seeking Refuge from the chaos he ended up at his parents hunting cabin in rural Wisconsin where he spent the winter other than doing some odd jobs around the cabin like chopping firewood and yard work he recorded music when the winter was over nine songs were compiled into an album that we know and love today for Emma Forever Ago Slow And Sad Music [Music] with the lyrics of Skinny Love and the themes of Forma forever ago centering around a single man's loneliness it's reasonable to prejudge bony as a gloomy tortured musician AA Elliot Smith or Katon Hensen as we'll come to see this is far from the truth hope and resilience are strong themes in later bony ve works and even early songs like the wolves and Forma are brimming with energy and [Music] Holocene light in geological time scales the holos scene is our current ERA bookended by the last ice age and the present from the first written word and the invention of the wheel to cell phones and sliced bread all of human history has occurred in this Epoch hollene was the second single of bony's second album bony ver ver each song title In the album refers to a place and this idea of place was a distinct shift away from the themes of dissipating love and crushing isolation from the previous album instead a more earthy and grounded tone flows through bony ver bony ultimately culminating with hollene the takeaway lyric from hollene tends to be and at once I knew I was not magnificent we attach ourselves to locations and people in moments but this line challenges these attachments that we hold so dear as time goes on what happens to them how can love compare to an Epoch but you're wrong if you think that the joy of Life comes principally from Human Relationships God's plac it all around us it's in everything in anything we can bone ee-VARE experience bon ior bon e ior Bon Iver it's understandable to not immediately know how to pronounce bony ver if it's your first time seeing the band name although if you have a French background the name might make more sense at first glance the name originates from the TV show Northern Exposure the show has all the nostalgic charm of Gilmore Girls and Twin Peaks without the David Lynch weirdness and takes place in a rural Alaskan town in episode 10 of season 5 it snows for the first time that year and all the characters step outside to greet each other and celebrate winter to say good winter in French you would say Bon and given their anglophone background most characters end up saying bony ve when Vernon was alone in his parents hunting cabin the TV had no cable connection so he'd watch hours and hours of Northern Exposure over VHS Bon mace Bon [Music] sh I think I've seen this film before Taylor Swift Taylor Swift released two albums in 2020 Evermore and folklore each featuring bony ver in one song the first folklore saw a duet between the two titled Exile this piano ballad is accompanied with a subtle string and percussion section that mounts in a crescendo of emotional turmoil between bony and Swift they each sing from opposite perspectives of a failed relationship narratively bony sings of his fr ation with how the relationship ended he believes it ended unfairly in abrupt betrayal with no warning signs likening these feelings to being exiled similarly although Swift initiated the breakup she felt like her efforts to better the relationship were ignored forcing her to cut ties likewise to her this forced separation felt like Deep Falsetto Exile Vernon the lead vocal and Main songwriter of bony has a naturally deep voice this is cleverly highlighted in Exile where his deep voice is contrasted harshly with Taylor Swift's higher voice however if there was a consistent musical technique that signatures bony ver it would be Vernon's falsetto throughout the four albums there is so much musical progression and experimentation but the falseta remains as a constant in 2008 Vernon credited this singing technique with his ability to reach painful Melodies that he otherwise wouldn't be able to Beach Baby [Music] conjure between Forma forever ago and bony ver bony ver bony ver released an EP with four songs one of them is titled Beach baby this song packs a colossal punch clocking in at 51 words in total with a runtime under 3 minutes despite its small scale it is split into two beautiful sections I'll call them the crw and the steel the crw starts with cryptic pleas that flow languidly over a simple guitar progression the falsetto is in full force for this section then a 40-second long pedal steel guitar solo plays that can only be likened to a purpley orange sunset in the summer after a great day does it feel short because it's so special or is it so special because it's Bon Iver Is A Band short at the time of this recording Justin Vernon Shan KY and Matthew mccon play alongside Andrew Fitzpatrick Mike Lewis and Jen wner with six touring members it's hard to consider Justin Vernon as the sole contributor to bony ver I mean look at the Personnel here for I I even so for live shows it would be impossible to capture the magic of bony ver with one person performing the layers and wide array of instruments require a group of extremely talented multi-instrumentalists not every drummer can convey the energy and power of the climax in the wolves and also be able to play The Gentle tingles and Tangles of hallene in the same night Seasons as we know bony is a rough English translation of the French bon which means good winter shortly after the release of fora forever ago many listeners compared the album to a cold winter night despite its July release date probably because of its origin in the Wisconsin cabin with each subsequent album release came an eerie resemblance to the next logical season that is after the winter mood of fora forever ago Bon bony perfectly encapsulates a crisp dewy spring morning 22 a million then transitions into a mellow warm summer evening that definitely included psychoactive substances finally II caps off the Forum with a feeling of maturity the majority of the year is in the past it might be over soon as stated in a Jag Jaguar promotional video for II there is a foundation common to all four albums sincerity the feelings that each album evoke may be decidedly different but feelings will nonetheless be evoked regardless of the album sincerity is forever in Roslyn [Music] season the 2009 single Roslin combines the frigidness of Forma forever ago the hope of Bon Bon and the introspection of bloodbank all into one originally a song recorded by bony and St Vincent for the joy of It the song was then featured in the soundtrack for Twilight most recently though you've probably heard it on Tik Tok like beachbaby Roslin is an outsider in the Bon discography neither are a part of the four albums but both deserve to be listened to with a strong cup of tea on a wistful day two gorgeous Misfits fun fact Roslin is the city in Washington where Northern Exposure was filmed in the show the main Cafe in town roslin's Cafe is an illusion to this filming location given that Roslin was released in 2009 could it have been an early seed in the geographical conception of bony bony released 2 years later it is technically the earliest Pony be song with a title that refers to a place I am In the Flesh Walt Disney Nike Kanye West [Music] Google a what's a GU to a nonel make it out of all right all right w [Music] pause the video rewind stop zoom on that man and the pixels no it cannot be is this just no holy [ __ ] okay I need a Coca-Cola help me out ton jise Kanye West and bony have had a collaborative relationship for over a decade to list Kanye sampled Woods the outro to the blood bank EP and enlisted bony as a feature for monster and Dark Fantasy in his 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy the two then worked together in Kanye's 2011 album Watch the Throne and more notably in his 2013 Masterpiece yeus their most recent appearance together was in 2020 for two Francis and the Lights songs friends and take me to the light in 2024 given Kanye's downward spiral who knows if there will ever be further collaborations between the two Kanye West is another notable point of entry into the Bony sphere despite the abrasiveness of yeesus and the callousness of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy there is a well trodden path from those two albums that leads to the beauty of bony ve Re: Stacks [Music] if you think Skinny Love is a tragic depiction of love restacks will leave you speechless there's no strong emotional expression like in Skinny Love only a raw recount of the pain of unreciprocated love the track ends with the words your love will be safe with me accompanied by a cheery high note [Music] this high note is Then followed by 50 seconds of almost pure silence experientially the silence is a powerful method of leaving The Listener with their own feelings this makes Forma forever ago less consumable and more fulfilling at the end of the album you aren't left with a message from someone else you're left with your thoughts Novo Amor know I don't know I don't know the originality of bony is a sharp double-edged sword Avid listeners will likely try to find similar artists at some point in their bony listening career and in this search the music of Novo Amore is likely to crop up with similar vocals instrumentation album art and band name Novo Amore is the musician with the closest sound and soul of bony ver in my opinion the album birthplace closely resembles bony ver bony ver I'd also guessed their latest album Antarctic and dream machine is inspired by a healthy Fusion of 22 a million and I I the similarities are controversial some bony fans view Nova omore as an unoriginal ripoff some as a respectful tribute and some don't give a [ __ ] and simply listen to the music they enjoy Weird Music having been satisfied with dipping your toes into Bona and moving on to your entire foot you'll notice that songs are Rife with unique Oddities lyrics often have challenging meanings song structures are unconventional and sampling and Distortion are employed with meticulous abandon bony bony is not a dramatic departure from fora forever ago but 22 a million will [ __ ] ify your expectations you may not believe me but death breast will grow on you if you're looking for more like Skinny Love Exile or Roslin then exploring the discography Beyond Forma forever ago for similar simplicities will be somewhat fruitful but you'll be exposed to so much more bony ver has always been rooted in evolution every album has masterfully introduced new textures and sounds that being said before you even play a song you'll instantly notice a glaring distinction between each Song Titles album for bony be song titles A good rule of thumb is the weirder the name the weirder the song all the songs in Forma forever ago do not have as much experimentation as the songs in 22 a million and their song titles reflect that the chaotically ordered path that 22 a million Trail blazes is reflected in every facet of the album as soon as any of your senses interact with 22 million you know you are not in for a normal Music Experience some of the song naming schemes do have coherence and cohesiveness despite their cryptic nature for instance as we touched on earlier with hollene all the song names in bony ver bony ver refer to a place although not advertent the thread of geography binds every song in Bon Bon together similarly each song in 22 a million is associated with number that is symbolically meaningful in the song as with all things bony there is a method to the Are you recording, Trever? madness you recording Trevor yes your first impression of I I will be the 31 seconds of confusion that is ye you think something is going to start amidst the rustling mumbling brushing and on and offing but instead the only only Clarity you get is a single confirmation Trevor is in fact recording for this I'm exceedingly grateful to 33 "GOD" [Music] Trevor if you ever get the chance to watch bony be live and you're trying to figure out a song that is safe to head to the washroom for go pee during 33 God because if you don't you will wet yourself about halfway through this song is much more Punchy than its studio version when performed live employing the band's two drummers to their full potential like all other songs on 22 a million the number in the song title is symbolic Jesus Christ died when he was 33 years old as the song is about the death of religion and reconciling with the loneliness of our species its title is an apt summary it is also one of the more digestible songs on 22 a million containing relatively clear and coherent vocal over some traditional instrumentation with only a slight amount of effects this song and 29 straford Apartments would be my recommended entry points into 22 a Eaux Claires million in 2015 Justin Vernon and Aaron desar of the national founded the oakair Music and Arts Festival slated to take place in you guest it oair Wisconsin as Vernon is is the founder lots of bony adjacent artists like the national Sharon Van etton Francis Starlight sufian Stevens performed at the four festivals between 2015 and 2018 bony ver also premiered new songs during their performances at oair the Live premiere of 22 a million in its entirety actually occurred on stage at oair in 2016 the festivals in 2015 and 2018 also included performances of unreleased tracks but we'll put a pin on that one for now we'll need to go deeper sadly oir 2018 was not received as a stellar success and as such the festival was not held in 2019 then Co happened and suddenly it's 2024 we can only hope another oakair festival is in the Take Away Shows future in June of 2008 a series of videos showing bony ver performed tracks from Forma forever ago were uploaded to YouTube the performances were all done in unusual settings not on a stage but on the street or in a cramped apartment the channel blogo Tech dubbed these performances takeaway shows the series continues to this day and probably features artists you know live Renditions are always a treat when it comes to bony be these takeaway shows are no exception they're a snapshot of the early 2000's internet age when Indie music was but a germinating seed Skinny Love The Wolves Fara lumpsum and Flume were all performed for these takeaway shows and remained some of the most popular live versions of these songs personally the Forma performance is my favorite it's got a jolly confused old man and a cameo of a dog what more could you Hey Ma [Music] want hey Ma was was the first single to be released from bony's 2019 album i i as its title suggests the central theme of the song is maternity the music video contains some childhood home video footage of Vernon which when paired with the song evokes a beautiful sense of nostalgia in the lyrics There are a few Illusions to climate change concerns the theme of connecting and caring for your mother combined with these denouncements of fossil fuels could also suggest that this song is a veiled proclamation to care for everyone's mother mother earth no matter how you interpret this song there's a reason it is the most popular on II it's a true synthesis of bony's earlier indie folk and the later experimental Bon Iver Is Justin Vernon [Music] electronic so far I've been throwing around the names Justin Vernon and bony ver as if they're synonyms hell Forma forever ago is essentially a solo Justin Vernon album with the Bony ver moniker it's hard to imagine a bony ver without a Justin Vernon this sentiment has echoed throughout the Bony Community sure it's a band but when we really get down to Brass tax Vernon is at the helm he is the primary songwriter he is the frontman he does the promotional videos and to quote Old Lenny he was born with theft of a golden voice maybe the people who naively assume bony ver is one guy are [Music] One To One Shows right the takeaway shows took place just over 15 years ago now but bony ver has worked with blogo tech more recently in 2017 a onetoone video was released in the video Vernon sings Circle alone to an audience of one this audience member was to quote blogo kidnapped between shows at the michelberger music festival in 2016 in Berlin for a song so heavily steeped in layers of sound and effects an acoustic version with just one guitar and one voice makes this performance truly a one of one two years later in 2019 another onetoone show with bony be was released featuring a fan favorite deep cut [Music] Brackett, WI as we move down the iceberg the featured songs are those that you have to go looking for bracket Wisconsin is our first one originally released in 2009 in the dark was the night compilation album the context of this song is similar to Roslin it is a conceptual meld of Forma forever ago and bony Bon and was released outside of the official bony discography between the releases of Forma forever ago and bony bony with two verses and a twice sung chorus this simple song is in essence a meditation of time it's ccal repetition and its paradoxically singular past in our little lives Seasons shuffle along every year and they come and they go but our lives are defined by how those seasons were filled what came to fruition what didn't happen What died Commas [Music] as bony has matured commas have become more and more of a motif throughout their Artistry chronologically I assume Forma forever ago was named without The Motif in mind and as for bon bon the comma is Central to solidifying the geographical themes so for the first two albums I'm inclined to believe it was a fun stylistic choice at most and coincidental at least then 22 a million seems to become self-aware of its commas they are prominently featured in the album artwork this comma divided by comma symbol which represents the million in 22 a million directly opposes this symbol which represents the 22 in 22 a million these two symbols overlay a square yinyang and to go deeper the yinyang itself comprises two commas that mirror each other vertically mirroring the image horizontally also shows kind of two twos it's ironic that all this symbology and self-referentiality is neatly packaged into this nice little square almost too ironic finally we get to I I in this case it's hard to look at the album title and focus on anything other than the comma it adds another dimension of complexity what does the comma signify in the context of the title if the comma in Forma forever ago distinguishes Clauses the one in bony Bon distinguishes place and the one 22 a million distinguishes a duality what does the comma in i i signify is the meaning hidden in the symbols or the concept or the songs is there even some sort of intention other than style how should the title even be pronounced i i i comma I I and I I Eric Timothy Carlson [Music] I other than music there is another uniquely distinguishing feature of bony the artwork after 22 a million any visual art associated with bony aptly mirrors the music it's abstract formless recognizable and individual unsurprisingly most of the artwork can be traced back to one person Eric Timothy Carlson affectionately known as Etc he has collaborated extensively with the band to create the small Universe of symbols and cryptograms related to 22 a million and the cartoonish abstract vignettes that accompany I I the simple yet unplaceable visual Artistry strikes a similar chord to the music of 22 a million and I I the art is so easily and pleasantly experienced but leaves an ocean of interpretability for you to swim through at this point it's hard to imagine bony releasing new stuff without some artistic input from Etc Heavenly Father in [Music] a in 2014 bony ver composed an original song for the movie Wish I Was Here Heavenly Father the film portrays a struggling father who tries to care for his family as his life gets flipped upside down the song however is loaded with references to Christianity and a Christian's struggle with the structuration of religion whether this song is a conversation with god or simply a backdrop to the film it is deeply loved by the Bony Community it's commonly added in the band set lists but it is not on any streaming services so it's not as widely known to fans who have not been to a concert given that there is no easy to access studio version the live Renditions of the song are its main draw specifically there seems to be consensus among bony bear fans that the Acappella version recorded the Sydney Opera House is divine the NPR music 10th anniversary and blogo one to1 show are some other Great Performances of heavenly father we can rest happy when it is finally officially Bon Iver Is More Than Justin Vernon released you know Bona in general just like a little little town of people trying to be good [Music] bony ver has been more than just in Vernon since 2008 the music that has been made post Forma forever ago could not have been done with one person and H the band tours with two drummers and neither of them are Justin Vernon the story of Northern Exposure was initially rooted around one man as the show progressed more and more people became key contributors and integral characters to a grander narrative the exact same story can be said of bony there may be one man in the middle of it all but you can't distill the story of a town into the story of one [Music] Keep It Restaurant person during the release of I I the sentence Keep It restaurant was included in many media promotions of the album Vernon himself has also been a proponent of the expression at this point it is essentially a synonym with keep it cool among the Bony bear Community I'll also point us to this little tidbit about the phrase from Reddit user aside your favor the phrase originates from Shia the second last song on i i near the end of the song Vernon sings Keep It rational but the Distortion effects on his Vocal Track really warp the words it's not a stretch to initially think he is saying keep it restaurant personally I hear keep the rash alone in any case this would not be the first time bony is messing around with F**kified language fi fuckied astuary paramind death breast C dedic coding there are a lot of words that aren't words in bony songs some are self-explanatory like [ __ ] aied and some require a bit of Investigation to figure them out astuary seems to be a port Monto between astrum the Latin word for star and estu meaning a point where a tide meets a stream combining these ideas conjures an image of a Confluence of Astral bodies or more abstractly some sort of convergence between a linear journey and an eternal dimension of abundance the fun is that these aren't real words so their meanings are your interpretations some words that are real words have their meanings Twisted when situated in the context of Bon's music the traditional meaning of the word Flume is a deep narrow Channel or Ravine with a stream running through it but when the meaning of the word Flume was questioned in the Bony subreddit Vernon himself replied with simply birth canal from this perspective given that Flume is the first song of the first album the word takes on new meaning with Vernon's definition instead of Miriam Webster zooming out from just words bony songs contain entire stanzas with cryptic meanings that make your head scratch in million we heard what A River don't know is to climb out and heed a line to slow Among Roses or stay behind take some time to digest what that means to you because it's certainly not self-explanatory who knows how many more buried Links of meaning and connection have yet to be Big Red Machine uncovered in 2009 twin brothers Aaron and Bryce dner produced the dark was the night compilation album featured earlier in this video during production Aaron messaged Vernon on MySpace asking for a bony ve song that they could include on the album the product of this interaction was bracket and ultimately a decade in the making artistic relationship between Aaron and Vernon that culminated in the formation of a band Big Red Machine to trace its roots we have to fast forward to 2016 Aaron Bryce and Vernon created a collective called people that specifically valued collaboration between musicians people performed at music festivals uplifted other Independent Artists and organized events all throughout 2016 to 2018 then a self-titled debut album was released by Big Red Machine in 2018 this collection of 10 tracks is packed with solid hits and features contributions from pre Punisher Phoebe Bridgers the staves and of course Bryce dner I have more than half the songs on the album saved so instead of giving recommendations I'll just urge you to check the entire album out out finally most recently Big Red Machine released an album in 2021 titled how long do you think it's going to last this time around Aaron and Vernon dialed in their 2018 self-titled Vision but collaborated with even more voices anas Mitchell Robin pecknold of Fleet Foxes Ilie Ben Howard and Taylor Swift my two favorites are Reese and Phoenix and if you liked Exile and Evermore but wanted more of a bony ve song than a Taylor Swift song Birch might be just what you're looking The Messina [Music] for if you've heard the song Creeks off of 22 a million the unorthodox vocal effects stand out it's as if a choir of autotuned Justin Vernon are singing in tenor baritone and bass all at the exact same time a vocal process dubbed the meina after collaborating producer Chris meina takes in a vocal and keyboard track to produce harmonies in real time the band and MSA have never given explicit detail on how the process actually works fans have tried to recreate it themselves there are even some misconceptions that MSA created a brand new instrument called the MSA for Bon to use but MSA himself discredits this idea here's how he summarizes the process Releasing Every Song Ahead of i,i [Music] on June 2nd 2019 bony ver played a headlining show at All Points East festival and after their set released two singles to Digital streaming platforms you man like and HMA a month later on July 11th 2019 two more singles were released faith and gelmore along with an album release date announcement August 30th 2019 listening parties for the albums Premiere were scheduled around the world on August 7th then unexpectedly the morning after the listening parties each song from II was officially released on digital platforms every hour this was a complete surprise to give my personal account I had been closely following the band that entire summer I even considered flying from Canada to Europe to watch a couple shows for their summer European Festival tour had I done this I would have been there when the band announced the album on July 11th none of that happened though I ended up not going to Europe and instead constantly checking the Bon subreddit website and Twitter account for new information I devoured every shitty iPhone recording of live sets that were posted and quickly deleted on YouTube weeks went by and August 7th rolled around fans shared their stories of the listening parties meeting band members and their first impressions of the album and I ate it up I couldn't get enough fantasizing about what they had in store people were saying it was a departure from 22 a million but undeniably bony be what did that mean what did that sound like I went to sleep giddy unable to wait another 3 weeks I woke up the next morning checked the subreddit and couldn't believe that seven more songs had released digitally which really meant the album was released just imagine how you felt the last time your favorite artist announced an album weeks away recall the the frustration and excitement then imagine they just randomly release it that's bony 89 [Music] be it's hard to write about this song because of how legendary it has become among the community for some background it has only been played twice by the band once at olair 2015 and once at olair 2018 it was originally slay for release with 22 a million as we can see in this early track list but never made the cut ever since its first performance in 2015 I'm willing to bet it is the most requested unreleased song to get a studio version at this point it is frowned upon to ask the band about the song because the question has already been asked so many times they know we want it they'll release it if they want to the song Perfectly distills the sound of bony ver over a low cring saxophone the song is regularly punctuated by what sounds like a distorted guitar I'd go so far as to say it even sounds like a high-pitched dobl whatever it is it's magnificent having been played 3 years apart the lyrics differ between both performances with no official lyric sheet ever being released throughout the long history of the song there has been one constant it is deeply revered and loved by the community this deleted tweet from Vernon shows that there was some effort in trying to release the song but so far this has not come to fruition we can only hope this means the song has been marinating in bony ver juice for five crazy I Can't Make You Love Me years Bonnie R's most well-known song is her 1991 single I can't make you love me it's a heart-wrenching painfully obvious tale of unrequited love the lyrics tell the story of the final hours of a relationship where the speaker has come to terms with their beloved's decision to leave them they are aware of the dwindling time with their Beloved the moment is steeped in the refute of sadness and embrace of pain while bony ver has certainly released some certified sad Classics I dare you to find a sadder breakup song Miss R ate and left no crumbs when the single Calgary was released for bony ver bony the bside was a rendition of if I can't make you love me for years the performance had been a buried treasure in the Bon discography existing essentially only on unofficial YouTube videos uploaded by fans however the air Studios version has since been officially released by the band in the 10th anniversary edition of bony Bon despite this the original B-side version seems to be the preferred version by the community which only exists on unofficial videos online faces are for friends only you 22, A Million Press Conference know that's what I think near the end of 2012 Vernon hinted that bony ver would be going on a Hiatus by saying the band is winding it down this news came on the tail end of critical Acclaim from bony ver bony ver and its subsequent 15-month long touring cycle it's believed that the Hiatus was caused by the dizzying attention that the band was receiving on one hand understandable but on the other shocking the band played no shows in 2013 2014 and then once in 2015 for the oakair festival in 2016 the band started winding back up they toured some shows in the beginning of the year then surprisingly debuted 22 a million at oair 2016 the album was released about a month later the odest although equally as appreciated part of the album roll out was not a Live premiere of the album but a press conference that was held about a month before the album's relas release Vernon masterfully maneuvered himself out of speaking to numerous media Publications about the release of 22 A Million by simply having them come to him listen to the album and answer some questions the entire video is a deep dive into the creation history and sound of the album if you're at all interested in 22 a million this is a fantastic place to start learning more Bruce Hornsby [Music] you may be familiar with the song The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby which roughly goes that's just the way it is the song was also sampled by Tupac in his song changes regardless Hornsby is a legendary prolific figure that mostly travels behind the scenes of the music industry he's collaborated with Bob Dylan The Grateful Dead sting and so many more he's even credited with the piano arrangement for Bonnie rates I can't make you love me here he is in the music video in addition to this impressive roster he has had a fruitful ongoing collaborative relationship with bony ver over the past decade or so to list he has performed with the band a handful of times on stage starting way back at oakair 2016 he sung and performed piano on you manlike and even had Vernon featured on his own 2020 album non-secure connection on top of being a fantastic musical collaborator the guy has been making great music for 50 years if you're in the market for 80s core music similar to the Blue Nile his first three albums are Religion [Music] awesome the awe inspiring nebulous nature of bony allows almost every song to have a different meaning to each listener yet there are some clear themes that frequent the discography love belonging Nostalgia hope pain and notably spirituality 22 a million is founded on The Duality of human and superhuman the title of the album hints to this in a bit of a puzzling way to crack the code you first have to know that Vernon's favorite number is 22 when we associate 22 with a person what could we associate a million with usually lucky or favorite numbers don't really go past three digits it's so hard for our little to comprehend what a million is anyway in this sense it's not a stretch to posit that if 22 is the opposing Force to 1 million and mortality is the opposing entity to immortality the album's central Duality is human and superhuman we explored religiosity a little bit in the 33 God section but there are even more songs that grapple with religious topics Faith from II 666 from 22 a million and Heavenly Father more myopically various religious Concepts and objects are sprinkled all throughout the four albums if you go digging into the lyrics you'll find gods and seminaries and toras and kumran and sermons and scriptures this is not entertainment this is a spiritual [ __ ] thing it's no surprise to learn that Veron majored in religious studies and minored in women's studies in college from the lyrics it seems like spirituality has been a constant North Star throughout the band's lifespan that has led it on a simultaneously fruitful and hopeless Journey 22 Over Soon (Colbert Version) it leading up to the 2020 American election bony ver was at home like the rest of us they did not stop making music however even releasing two singles that are purportedly part of season five as shown on their album covers the band even took part in the late shows play atome series by upending the studio version of 22 overs soon they leveraged this unique live rendition by including a prominent message detailing the due date to register to vote in Wisconsin electric guitar the op1 and the MSA comprise the main instrumentation of this version differing wildly from the vocal sample loops and saxophone that oozes from the studio version on top of this the inflections Vernon puts on his singing differ just enough to be noticeable and in my opinion shift the mood of the song notably this version is centered around an excerpt of a speech given by Viola Davis at a women's March that had taken place 2 years prior the excerpt sends a message that is anything but cryptic change is possible approaching and important I would be ecstatic if this performance became a regular Occurrence at live shows similar to how Creeks is The Jig [Music] performed prior to the II release summer of 2019 19 bony ver played live music for the contemporary dance Collective Tu dance in a series of shows titled come through during these shows many early versions of the songs on I I were debuted in front of audiences while Tu dance performed as a little tangential tidbit of history there was a song slated for the 22 ailon release that did not make the final cut titled 1867 that was played during the come- through shows this song eventually became Marion on I I what song that was played for come through that did not make the 22 a million or I I release was a song titled The Jig initially very industrial and abrasive the song slowly turns into a rhythmic beauty that blends large noisy sounds with an Airy synth and a nicely placed Les Paul The Jig was also played at bony's second set of bonaroo 2018 at the set the band played the come through songs with tu dance but also had close collaborators like Naim Moses sumne silvanesso and Francis and the lights on stage to perform their own songs and covers some great songs were performed at the show but the jig Takes the Cake for me alas if bony be dropped a noise album and then ceased to function out of nowhere I would be a happy [Music] Bald Tiktok Duets man in 20121 while everyone was at home with no mask on or in public with a mask on Vernon was do wedding Tik toks he seldom uploaded a video with his own audio rather opting to use his following to share Tik toks he liked there's a beautiful commonality among his Duets a majority of them only contain his balding head and don't presume this to be mocking my hair is thinning too and I'm only 24 I love the guy I also love that his Duets just show his forehead and what looks to be a perfect hair forhair Recreation of my late Grandpa Arthur's combover of his own videos my favorites are the pizza picture video the ceiling fan video and as an amateur burder the female Northern Cardinal video they are truly certified blob Speyside Classics in my opinion this little diddy is the best of the unreleased songs the lyrics are less cryptic and more bare than most bony be tracks for a band that hides things behind things behind things behind things it's a refresher to get a song with straightforward almost confessional lyrics I have a hunch this song was written around the time of bony ver bony ver given its geographical name and laidback Acoustic sound but its creation date has never been confirmed the instrumentation is equally bare the live Renditions feature Vernon on guitar and Michael Lewis on Sachs Lewis delivers some weaving solos intertwined with Vernon's constant plucking and strumming the combination is hypnotizing and yet the lyrics try to pull you out of that hypnosis as you listen to the reflections leaving you in a state of calm contemplation truthfully if you were to only listen to one song from this video choose this one best enjoyed with a glass of Glen lit April Base [Music] 18 although it's why L known that Forma forever ago was recorded in the Wisconsin hunting cabin it's less known that all three following albums were recorded at the same location the Bony owned and operated Studio April base the name stems from a fictional military base in the TV show The X Files originally a large Ranch House the property was bought by Vernon and some friends with the intent to convert it into a studio years later it is now the deao command center of the band and is often used for all kinds of artistic purposes by the band and close contributors other musicians that have recorded at April base include sufian Stevens Ilie the staves and Kanye West suffice it to say the Studio's connection to Wisconsin and bony's roots in general is integral to the band's creative success and will live on as a concrete form of the band so long as April Bas stands so too the legacy of bony Hayward, WI ver hey we is a small town of roughly 2,000 people in Northwestern Wisconsin it's also the name of one of the earliest unreleased bony ve songs despite its geographical title this unreleased song was most likely written around the same time as the Forma forever ago recordings it's a delightful meld of the loneliness from Forma forever ago with the bright pluckiness of Bon ver bony ver as such the song could fit just as well in both albums it's only been played once in 2018 at a concert in Milwaukee other than this one performance and short intro to the song There Is essentially no information on it the song is almost springan in its lyrics describing quite plainly the story of a girl named Norma jeene as she grows up in presumably the small town of Hayward the singer is telling the story from a perspective of longing and regret almost like they have always loved Norma jeene but just couldn't get the words out to her regardless of its meaning it's a great track that Strays a bit from usual bony ve lyricism but nails the early sounds of Forma forever ago and bony ver Stay Silent During Creeks [Music] bony In The Blood Bank ep the closing song Woods is unique in that there is no instrumentation Vernon manages to make an orchestral Sound by dimensionally layering and placing his autotuned voice in various pitches all around the soundscape the effect is a massive almost spiritually Coral song that both loops and crescendos in 22 a million Creeks stands out in a similar fashion there's no instrumentation well it does not have the same Grandeur as Woods it has Focus there is one piercing voice that is played through the massina to Garner that signature sound so instead of a deluge there is a beam this changes the experience of the song instead of being washed over you are focused your intent you listen to fully experience the intensity of this song the silence is just as a important as the sound it's for this reason that staying silent during Creeks is appreciated there's no need to woo wait for the end a wise robot once said the perfect song is framed with The Resonator Guitar silence if your first introduction to bony be was Skinny Love then your very first impression would have been made by a Nas whiny guitar you didn't hear the voice or lyrics or an nice sack solo it was a guitar a 1930s National duolan resonator guitar the opening strumming of the song is Iconic by its own Merit but there's a power to the guitar itself when bod is performing hardcore fans know that if Vernon is alone on stage with the resonator Skinny Love is coming we anticipate the song before any sound has even been made the image of the guitar itself conjures our excitement it's likely that the very same guitar that was used to record for Emma Forever Ago is played at every show in this sense there's an argument to be made that the object itself carries an enormous amount of the history and Legacy of the band where would we all be right now without that guitar I don't fully know but I can say you definitely would not be wishing this video didn't end