For Emma, Forever Ago (Lo-Fi Magic)

For Emma, Forever Ago. Bon Iver.

Musician Justin Vernon, finished recording an album with his band ending in the band parting ways, experienced a hard break-up with his girlfriend, and had an awful battle with mono in the fall a few years ago. Feeling heartbroken, lost, and out of place, he decided to spend the winter alone in his father's cabin in northern Wisconsin. Alone, with all his personal belongings--some clothes, a four-track tape recorder, a computer, a couple guitars, a few microphones and a few other miscellaneous items--he spent a bleak winter there in the cabin cut off from the world. It was there, that he took the name Bon Iver (based on the French Bon Hiver or Good winter) upon himself and wrote songs chronicling his frustration, anger, and resentment towards the painful recent events in his life.

He recorded them himself, with only what he had,... a meager, incomplete home studio. He intended to send these song demos to record labels and hoped get a record deal with one, but when his friends heard the demos, they raved. At the insistence of friends and family, he pressed five hundred copies of For Emma, Forever Ago and had a concert and release party.

Some Photography and the Importance of First Impressions

I just wanted to share some of my work with you tonight, as well as some pictures taken of me performing as Sagebrush Rebellion. First I'll explain the context of the snippet I'm going to post.

Beginnings. Beginnings of any creative work are like first impressions. Whether it's the first verse of a song, the first page of a novel, the introduction of an formal article or essay, or the first paragraph of a short story, the first few sentences are crucial. In essays, the first paragraph has to catch the reader's attention as well as state the purpose and point of the entire essay. The introduction in a musical selection must set the tone as well as interest the listener. In a story--short or long like a novel--the introductions are just as crucial.

Imagine these beginnings as a first meeting with someone. In a story or song especially. The listener/reader will be introduced to the cast of characters. One must set up who is the narrator of the work, as well as indict who the audience is, whether that is a general audience (i.e. the World) or a very specific one (i.e. a single person or group of persons, whether named or un-named). The first few moments really count. Imagine you come face to face with a person and you greet them, but they make no reply. More than likely, if they are unresponsive, you will say good-bye and leave. It's the same in writing. There must be a connection made between the narrator and the audience.

A Lesson in Songwriting

There's an old saying among writers that has great relevance to songwriting.  "Less is more." Using this in a story is much easier than in songwriting. When applied to writing, its uses are very obvious. Instead of "The grey dog with a mangy coat and a definite limp walked slowly down the street, full of pot holes and rain." a writer could say, "The mangy grey dog limped down the street, around the pot holes filled with last-night's rain." Its more succinct and really paints a clearer picture. But, applying this is much more difficult in writing lyrics.

Neither of the above lines would work in a song. They're much too long, and laden with awkward words. Sam Beam, of Iron and Wine, recently discussed how he uses well-known religious imagery to clarify and create images and stories.