Archive for the ‘For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) – Bon Iver’ Category

09 ‘re: stacks’ – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) – Bon Iver

  • very different ac gtr sound – low quality, boxy
  • ac gtr doubled
  • no drums or other instruments
  • vox, falsetto doubled, hard panned – very clear in contrast to gtrs
  • first line descends into full voice
  • chorus; some gtr melody
  • structure: chord holds between vox lines in the verse, builds expectation
    ‘This my excavation and to – [hold] day is Kumran’
    ‘I keep throwing it down two [hold] hundred at a time’
  • structure: verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, verse 3
    stops just as expected 3rd chorus should come
  • long after track ambience – gtr knocking, footsteps, beep

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. structure: chord holds between vox lines in the verse, builds expectation
    ‘This my excavation and to – [hold] day is Kumran’
    ‘I keep throwing it down two [hold] hundred at a time’
  2. structure: verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, verse 3
    stops just as expected 3rd chorus should come

08 ‘For Emma’ – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) – Bon Iver

  • muted strum 4 count
  • all in; ac gtr, bass drums, horns, elc gtr lines soaring/bending
  • vox enters, horns drop out
  • horns come in to reinforce start of some vox lines
  • bvs – falsetto/full voice double, hard panned. response; ‘running on, running on’
  • inst break – ac gtr, horns and elc gtr – static noise
  • then drums, bass, horn solo join
  • ends with chorus chords, no lyrics, wordless vox

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. horns and monophonic elc gtr lines etc. providing chordal harmony
  2. bvs – falsetto/full voice double, hard panned. response; ‘running on, running on’

07 ‘Team’ – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) – Bon Iver

  • long ending: holding chord, bass line solo, snr/kik on beat, distorted elc gtr, bvs, whistling doubled
  • snr doubled loosely; phasing? delayed to drift in and out of time?

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. snr doubled loosely; phasing? delayed to drift in and out of time?
  2. whistling, doubled

06 ‘Creature Fear’ – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) – Bon Iver

  • vox harmonies, wordless, verbed
  • gtr and brushed percussion join
  • full vox verse – some slipping into falsetto
  • melody line doubled by ac gtr
  • chorus: ‘So many foreign worlds
    So relatively fucked
    So ready for us
    So ready for us’
    bass, ac gtr, snr on beat and harmonised falsetto vox
  • ends suddenly – sort of – remainder is labelled a new track
    next track continues performances, and harmonic content

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. begin with vox harmonies, wordless, verbed
  2. ends suddenly – sort of – remainder is labelled a new track
    next track continues performances, and harmonic content

05 ‘Blindsided’ – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) – Bon Iver

  • keys or vox or sustained gtr chords cut in & backwards notes
  • ac gtr strums (2 strings) on beat, with kik
  • vox enter, doubled falsetto
  • 2nd verse: drums join (kik snr only)
  • vox: doubled and 2 part harmony
  • middle: ‘would you really rush out’
    strum/beat stops
  • call & response: ‘for me now’
  • ends with loops of backwards notes and plinky gtr

KEY IDEAS to plunder

  1. loops of backwards notes and plinky gtr; start and end
  2. middle: ‘would you really rush out’
    strum/beat stops
    call & response: ‘for me now’
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