Bon Iver vs. Peter Gabriel

Peter Gabriel is back! Well, sort of. Rather than come out with a CD of new and original material he thought he would wail a variety of songs from other people in his own way, call it a new CD, get a ridiculous amount of praise and call it a day. A bit scathing I know but is this really going to be the trend now - borrow the sounds of the youngsters and sing your same old, same old?

One of the first singles off Gabriel's new CD, Scratch My Back, is Bon Iver's song Flume from the album For Emma, Forever Ago. This album launched Bon Iver into the high court of the indie world - Pitchfork ranked it 29th in the Top 200 Albums of the 200s and NPR named it among the 50 Most Important Recordings of the Decade.

A little background helps a lot: Bon Iver is a band founded by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. In 2007, after the end of a relationship, the breakup of a band, and a bout with mono, Justin spent three months alone in his father's cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin. He ended up writing and recording the entire album, which is a collection of beautiful, melancholy songs sung in a distinct falsetto enriched by layers of voices, which is now duplicated wonderfully live by a full band. The single Skinny Love is best known and I think explains the mood of the album very well. It is a good story and one that follows Bon Iver everywhere they go, which most recently was the soundtrack for the second Twilight movie (the song is Roslyn, Bon Iver with St. Vincent). Yeah, even the vampires are hip to the know about Bon Iver.

The great Peter Gabriel covering his song, this has to be a topping cherry for Mr. Vernon and

a nice wave of publicity for the band - the song is up on the Bon Iver web site

and Gabriel made it available on his own web site. I am excited for Bon Iver, that

Peter Gabriel loved his song enough to cover it and that Bon Iver will become known

to the masses. I won't even do my typical, petty 'I have liked them for so much longer and

of course you like them now that they are everywhere' as I hear from the new wave of fans.

I'll try at least, I can't make promises if it is a bourbon drinking night though.

I just have to say though, I like Bon Iver's original version better, WAY better.

Let's try an experiment - listen to Gabriel's version of Bon Iver's Flume first.

Comment on this post and tell me which one you prefer.

The original Flume by Bon Iver:

http://lala.com/zznI or on

Pitchfork or BEST YET on

La Blogotheque (more to come on this fucking amazing web site on the next post)

I will leave the album review of Gabriel's Scratch My Back to the LA Times:

Album review: Peter Gabriel's 'Scratch My Back' Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

NPR Song of the Day

Subscribe to NPR 'Song of the Day'. It will be the little sunshine burst amidst the crap e-mails, Facebook evites and of course the never ending e-mail chains at work arguing over minutiae.

Here is the link to subscribe (for free). Start receiving your 'smart' song of the day from the knowledge wealthy NPR folks:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4703895

The songs they pick are old and new, across genres and across the globe. They also always feature a nice little blurb explaining the artist and the specific song they picked. The last four days have rendered songs that have all ended up on the newest playlist I am building and led me to further investigation and downloading:

1. Nova Onda, Nova Onda Do Pelo

A Swedish drummer that collaborates with Seu Gorge, the Brazilian singer from the Wes Anderson film Life Aquatic, where he sang David Bowie songs in Portuguese. Fique vibrante!

2. Beachcomber, Real Estate

Mark my words, this New Jersey band is going to be a band to watch in 2010, they are already drawing substantial crowds in New York and Brooklyn, which is the new epicenter of cool, you didn't get the memo? Well the Avett Brothers tell you clearly, listen to their song I And Love And You the next time it is playing on the radio which is in 4,3,2,1...

3. Man On the Moon, Cloud Cult

A Minnesota band that has been around since the early '00s but just reissued their most popular two albums. The more you listen to them the more you realize where a lot of these new indie darlings learned their tricks.

4. My Wife, Lost in the Wild, Beirut/Realpeople

"In "My Wife, Lost in the Wild," Condon (lead singer) constructs, bit by bit, a remarkable sonic structure, built around whirling synths and swirling beats. He layers one of his strongest assets — his clear, gorgeous crooner's voice — on top of itself, piling on in a round robin with himself to dizzying effect, culminating in an a cappella ending in which Condon serenades, "You'll send your heart to me" over and over as he harmonizes with himself. The result melds a bedroom singer-songwriter's humility with an artist's desire to top his own beautiful best work." - NPR

An added bonus is their 'Best of 2009' lists. They are only ten songs long, each song based on the overall quality of the album, and fucking spot on. They also feature diverse lists like: 'Best British Bands of 2009', '10 Albums You're Too Cool To Like', and 'Judging By the Cover: The Best Cover Songs of 2009'.

Check it out: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120574256