Many of us know the enjoyable challenge of putting together a play list of songs for special occasions: the New Years Eve party, the all day road trip, or - for the experts among us - the wedding reception. Clearly the chosen songs must reflect the nature of the occasion. But if we’re honest, these songs also say something about us, as the creators of these collections. Choosing our album of the year presented us with this challenge: What album best represents both the occasion of 2008 and our abiding interest in goodness and wonder? There are as many ways to answer this question as there were terrific albums this year, but it was Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago that simply wouldn’t let us go throughout the year.
In a year of war and economic depression, we needed an album that acknowledged our sometimes grief. For Emma, Forever Ago was born from its creator’s heartbreak and isolation. With his cryptic lyrics and haunting falsettos, Justin Vernon (the Bon Iver moniker comes from a French phrase meaning “good winter”) captures a sense of loss that many of us felt throughout the year. There is more than mourning in these nine songs though; hope and longing also surface throughout. Consider the closing verse from the album’s last song, Stacks:
This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization,
It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away
Your love will be
Safe with me
It is this expectant quality that kept drawing us back after first writing about the Wisconsin native’s debut album earlier this year. While the occasion often called for lament, Vernon and his band mates allow for something beyond the immediate angst. Those who caught the band on their extensive tour experienced this first hand. Clearly grateful for their growing audience, Bon Iver invited participation throughout their shows. During The Wolves (Act I And II) the audience was asked to repeatedly sing the phrase, “What might have been lost,” building to a cathartic and dissonant scream.
2008 may have been a year of loss. We scan the headlines or recall personal moments of regret and are perhaps thankful to leave the year behind. Maybe For Emma, Forever Ago is our memento of the longing and hope contained within the hard moments. What might have been lost is greater than what was lost. What might have been lost may even be less than what was gained. For this reminder we choose For Emma, Forever Ago as our album of the year.
-----
Related Items: REDNOW 2008 FAVORITES: Albums of Wonder
Bon Iver preforms The Wolves (Act I and II)
