I suppose I should call Bon Iver (Justin Vernon – yes, there are other band member, but it’s basically him) a game-changer. When was the last time, since Prince, a male musician has been so popular while singing mostly in falsetto? And no, Adam Levine’s full voice doesn’t count. It seems like it shouldn’t be something to get worked up about, but they are unusual – Vernon's whiny-Auto-Tuned vocals – and they don’t always gel so nicely with the more mellow tones of his guitar. But people have been digging it, I’m digging it, so let’s go with it.
And when I say people are digging it, I mean really digging it. The man, despite hisown hesitation at being involved at all, walked away with not one, but TWO of music’s biggest awards this weekend. Bagging Best New Artist doesn’t surprise me as much as Best Alternative Album for Bon Iver. Alternative? Really? How wide a net were they casting here? Folk, yes; country, maybe; but Alt? He ‘collaborated’ on Kanye’s Dark Twisted Fantasy, so why not have him leapfrog Yeazy for Best Rap Album? Does that also make him a game-changer, or just an example of a confused awards organization? Does Vernon really belong under the Alternative umbrella with Thom Yorke, Kurt Cobain, and Dave Grohl? How big is this umbrella anyway? It’s as if, with all the genre cross-breeding going on these days, rather than get more specific about what each artist sounds like, we’re content to place someone on the team where they somewhat resemble the archetype.
Perhaps the Grammys are too inflated. The debate isn’t new and I don’t have much to add to it, but the fact that Vernon could win for Best Alternative Album just shows how mixed up the industry and fans are about the state of genre distinction. If something doesn’t fit inside the box, it’s probably better left out of it.
But what of today's video, "Skinny Love"?
I won't tell you Vernon’s whole story, about how he left a band, broke up with a girlfriend, contracted mono, then holed up in a Wisconsin cabin over a dreary winter to record what became his breakout record, For Emma, Forever Ago. His songwriting method was interesting, though; he wrote all the melodies first, later adding lyrics that were chosen for the way they sounded with the music rather than for being finely crafted poetry. Maybe they end up sounding like the latter anyway, but that’s apparently just coincidence. Or genius.
"Skinny Love," a cut from Emma, is a beautiful, emotional, loping jam – but a jam nonetheless. Vernon’s groove and melody are transfixing, and he does an incredible job of using his full range of instruments despite the stripped-down arrangement. It sticks with you, this song, like peanut butter to the roof of your aural mouth. It’s even been covered by petite pop pianist Birdy, though how could you improve on the song’s already warm, emotional intimacy?
I do wonder which Grammy Birdy would be nominated for… Best Classical-esque Cover of an Alternative Artist Who’s Really More Like Auto-Folk-Tune?
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