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44 posts tagged Bon Iver
The National Debut New Songs, Collaborate w/ Bon Iver
“We’re getting really excited about the new record already,” Matt Berninger said recently. “So we might dive into the writing process right away. I feel we’re kind of ready.” Now, just a few days following that interview, our first preview of the National’s “less cerebral and academic” new material is here, as they debuted two fresh cuts on CBC’s Q Radio today: “Rylan” and “I Need My Girl.” Video of the folky latter tune is above, while both songs from the radio broadcast can be streamed here. Update: Now we have clips of Justin Vernon joining the band for “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” and “Rylan” after the jump.
In Other News
Kathleen Edwards, ‘Change the Sheets’ Video
The first single off Kathleen Edwards’ forthcoming Voyageur LP — “a road ditty” that she warned “might make you drive faster” — now has an official video replete with fitting footage of Edwards and her band pounding the pavement on recent tours. While director Dan Huiting traces the tune’s steady pace by cutting time-lapse photography with behind-the-scenes moments and live coverage of Edwards unveiling “Change the Sheets” to various crowds, you might spot a cameo from the record’s co-producer, Justin Vernon. Check it out above.
Previously: “Sidecar”
Kathleen Edwards: “Sidecar”
Last month, Kathleen Edwards shared “Change the Sheets,” a promising first preview of her forthcoming Voyageur LP, which was co-produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Here’s our second taste: “Sidecar,” a concise, uplifting ode to new love — complete with a turn of phrase that recalls many of the lyrical moments that have endeared me most to Edwards’ past work. “You and I will be sidecars,” she declares in the chorus (note the artwork), “there to chase down the hard stuff.” Give it a spin above.
Given their one-off live duet and Justin Vernon’s “The Park” cover, it’s fitting that Bon Iver and Feist just shared the Later with Jools Holland stage. Perhaps more appropriate, though, is that the pair have new records to promote — Bon Iver, Bon Iver and Metals — for which they’ve assembled some of their best respective live backing bands to date. Either way, they both delivered inspired, must-see performances for Jools and friends tonight. Check out videos of Bon Iver doing album track “Towers” along with Feist’s “The Bad in Each Other” and “How Come You Never Go There” after the cut. *Update: “Perth,” “Calgary,” and “Bittersweet Melodies” were also performed. They aired tonight:
Hear Bon Iver Cover Bob Dylan: “With God on Our Side”
We’ve heard ’80s country hit “If Hollywood Don’t Need You (Honey I Still Do)” and a genre-bending take on Björk from Bon Iver, but this one takes the cake: Bob Dylan’s “With God on Our Side,” one of the rock poet laureate’s most enduring ’60s anthems, performed with reverence and relevance the other night in Portland, Oregon. Hear Bon Iver’s inspired cover — complete with Justin Vernon in his lower register voice and glorious trumpet solos — above.
Hear Bon Iver Cover Don Williams
Ever since Elliott Smith’s perfectly imperfect live version of Hank Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” at Largo, I’ve had a soft spot for covers of early ’80s country tunes. And while it’s hard to beat that half-reverent take, Bon Iver made an equally unusual pick at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium this summer: “If Hollywood Don’t Need You (Honey I Still Do),” a 1982 Don Williams hit about his lover leaving Amarillo for Tinseltown. The lyrics don’t really expand beyond the title, but there is this priceless, dated shout-out: “Oh, and if you see Burt Reynolds / Would you shake his hand for me / And tell ol’ Burt I’ve seen all his movies.”
Hear the faithful take above, as Justin Vernon and friends have since retired their nod to “Music City.”
Canadian alt-country singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards will return next January with her follow-up to 2008’s Asking for Flowers. Co-produced by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon (with whom she’s shared the stage on multiple occasions), Voyageur began last summer when Edwards wrote new tune “Wapusk” for the National Parks Project after visiting the titular northern Manitoba park.
“A week later I was in Wisconsin, freshly sunburned and armed with new material,” Edwards recalled. “Justin Vernon set up some microphones and handed me his nylon string guitar… Unknowingly, it marked the first of many months spent in the studio together.”
Today, “Wapusk” is available to stream ahead of its October 3 release as the A-side to a 7” single backed by album track “Change the Sheets.” Both gorgeous tunes, including the latter cut — described by Edwards as “a road ditty” that “might make you drive faster” — are available to stream/download here or below.
Bon Iver & James Blake - “Fall Creek Boys Choir”
In which the new collaboration between Bon Iver and James Blake arrives following its debut on BBC Radio 1 moments ago. Hear their track, “Fall Creek Boys Choir,” featuring Justin Vernon steeped in Auto-Tune on lead vocals and Blake helming production/keyboards, above.
In an interview preceding today’s radio premiere, Blake said the pair met at this year’s SXSW Festival in Austin, adding that there’s a possibility for future team-ups, as they’ve been sharing ideas via e-mail ever since first hitting it off in the spring.
Bon Iver - “Holocene” (Official Video)
In which director Nabil Elderkin interprets Bon Iver, Bon Iver single “Holocene” through an Icelandic kid exploring the island nation’s volcanic landscape and coastline. “It looked like Mars to me, so I always wanted to shoot [in Iceland],” Elderkin told National Geographic. “When Bon Iver gave me the reins on this video, I knew it had to be filmed there.” Check out Justin Vernon & Co.’s second Iceland-related endeavor of late above.
Bon Iver Covers Björk – “Who Is It” (Live in Milwaukee)
Last night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Bon Iver kicked off an extensive tour in support of Justin Vernon’s excellent self-titled LP, unveiling live versions from the new studio set and revisiting favorites off For Emma, Forever Ago. For the encore, Vernon and friends closed out both the show and Milwaukee’s Bon Iver Day with an impressive cover of Björk’s Medúlla single “Who Is It (Carry My Joy on the Left, Carry My Pain on the Right).” Here’s some decent video and audio from the performance.