Review: Bon Iver – “Bon Iver, Bon Iver”

I wrote a review last week of Bon Iver’s new, self-titled album. So far, it’s probably the best thing I’ve written at my internship this summer. I had the record for about a month by the time I wrote this, and I had listened to it religiously for that month, so I had plenty of thoughts to squeeze into the review. I quote:

And so, while For Emma dripped with the alienation and inward focus embodied by its now mythologized cabin-lore origins, the communal effort that spawned Bon Iver gives the record an almost universal import. This is the sound of a man awake in the world and reaching outward, and it’ll make you want to wrap your arms around the entire human race. Vernon’s lyrics are oblique as always, casting impressionistic moods while always keeping the precise meaning just beyond reach—but by doing this, he leaves room for you to enter the songs for yourself and attach to them your own feelings and associations. Deliberate or not, it works beautifully.

Read the full thing here.

Some Recent Clips

I’m mostly settled into my groove with my summer workload (now that I’ve only got about a month left of it). Here’s what I’ve been up to, belletristically, over the past couple of weeks:

- I wrote an op-ed for WiredAcademic.com—a website I’m working for that covers online education—engaging with the recent arguments that higher education is a “bubble” in the economic sense. Here’s a quick excerpt:

“A degree’s value consists not only in the slip of paper itself, but more importantly in the work that went into earning it. All of those late nights spent reading dense philosophy and writing 15-page papers of literary criticism—they build diligence and character, and these things carry over to the workplace. In fact, they’re the very things that a degree is supposed to signify.”

Read the full thing here.

- I did a couple of profiles of up-and-coming bands for CMJ. One is an instrumental group from the UK called Gallops, and the other’s of a Canadian trio called Oh No! Yoko. I felt pretty good about how they turned out. Check ‘em out here and here.

Soundtrack: Whenever – Today

I haven’t done this in a while, so I feel like it’s useless to include dates. Anyway, here’s what I’ve been listening to lately.

Cults – S/T

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about how I really needed some summer music to get me in the mood for the season, and almost as if in response, this came across my desk at work that day. Cutesy female-led groups are always hit-or-miss for me, but this is definitely a hit. Really cool grooves, a laid-back vibe; perfect for the season. And how about that Jim Jones sample on “Go Outside“? Creepy.

Bob Dylan – The Freewheeling Bob Dylan

I walked to the river and listened to this all the way through, the other night. Sitting on a bench, watching boats go by, squinting to see the people walking along the opposite side of the river, and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” playing in my ears. Definitely one of the more zen moments of my summer, so far.

Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

I’ve been in a mood for punk lately. I don’t know what it is about Jersey music, but I just feel really drawn to it. That whole us-against-this-godawful-town mien, with the hopeful, we’re-gonna-beat-this-somehow undertones that Springsteen had at his best. Plus, you’ve got to love this particular band’s audacity; writing a concept album that tells about your breakup through the lens of the Civil War. That’s just awesome. “Four Score And Seven” and “Richard II” have been my jams.

New Feature Story

A few weeks ago, I reported and wrote a story about a nonprofit in the city that gives free legal counseling to people served by a soup kitchen in the East Village. It was really encouraging to get a look at what these guys do–some of them work 80-plus hours a week, but they still show up on Saturday mornings to volunteer. These types of stories are a real joy to report. I’ll post the first bit of it here, but you can read the full thing over at RedeemTheCity.com.

East Village — At 9:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month, a dozen volunteers gather on the second floor of a soup kitchen in Manhattan’s East Village. But they’re not here to dispense food to the people waiting in line outside. They’re lawyers, and they want to give people free legal advice.

Open Hands Legal Services is a non-profit that talks to people facing legal trouble and advises them about housing law, public benefits, criminal law, and immigration. Currently, the organization does not have the budget to represent clients itself, but if a person needs a lawyer, Open Hands points them in the right direction. “A lot of times, people get discouraged in going for legal aid, just because of the hoops that they have to jump through,” said Ime Imeh, the organization’s Executive Director.

The government offers many types of help at the federal, state, and local levels, but many people who need the aid either don’t know that it exists, or don’t know how to apply for it. Usually, people slip through the cracks for small reasons: a missing form, a forgotten appointment, or unclear directions to the offices where those appointments take place. “They can’t get in the door,” Imeh said. “So what we do is bring the services to the people.”

Read the full story here.

New Story Up On ESPN.com

I just had my second story for ESPN.com published over at their Action Sports page. Check it out here.  I’ve really enjoyed writing for them, and I’m looking forward to doing some more of that during the rest of the summer.

Life, As Viewed Through The iPhone

For the past couple of months, I’ve been getting acquainted with my new iPhone 4, which has to be the most useful thing I’ve bought in the past four years. Being able to check email on the fly has made me so much more productive, and it’s nice to be able to go out somewhere in the city and get directions in real time.

But another perk about the phone is that it has given me a viable camera (for my uses, at least). So, with thanks to Steve Jobs, here are some pictures of what I’ve been up to for the past couple of months (click the picture to go to the whole set).

More to come as the summer unfolds.

A Mirror and Your Worst Destructive Habits

The other day, I came upon an old Rumi poem that I had read before but not very thoroughly. It’s always interesting when something you had sort of skipped over before blows you away on the second pass. Before my second time reading this poem, there were no pen marks in sight on the page, but afterward, there was something underlined in at least every stanza. The poem is called “Childhood Friends,” and though the whole thing is phenomenal, I’m only going to quote a section of it here.

An empty mirror and your worst destructive habits,
when they are held up to each other,
that’s when the real making begins.
That’s what art and crafting are.

A tailor needs a torn garment to practice his expertise.
The trunks of trees must be cut and cut again
so they can be used for fine carpentry.

Your doctor must have a broken leg to doctor.
Your defects are the ways that glory gets manifested.
Whoever sees clearly what’s diseased in himself
begins to gallop on the way.

There is nothing worse
than thinking you are well enough.
More than anything, self-complacency
blocks the workmanship.

Put your vileness up to a mirror and
weep. Get that self-satisfaction flowing out of you!
Satan thought, “I am better than Adam,”
and that better than is still strongly in us.

[...]

Don’t turn your head. Keep looking
at the bandaged place. That’s where
the light enters you.
And don’t believe for a moment
that you’re healing yourself.

Words of encouragement (or exhortation, maybe) for anyone doing creative work. I think the reason this poem stuck with me this time around is that, because I’ve started writing some personal narrative stuff over the past few months, this part about looking into the mirror really resonated with me. When writing, I’ve had moments where I’m about to talk about a thought or a dream that I had, and I’ve thought to myself, “Do I really want to put that on the page? Do I really want people to know this about me?”

I suppose it’s the choice anyone writing in the first person gets to make, consciously or not: Do you cast yourself as a savvy ubermensch who can do no wrong, or will you be vulnerable, be honest, and put something out there that might change the way people think about you (for better or worse)?

It takes a lot of humility, but I think Rumi would choose the latter. Maybe someday I’ll work up the courage to do the same.

Soundtrack: 5/15 – 5/21

My musical diet is much more prescribed these days, since I’m working at a music magazine. Alas, here’s what I’ve been listening to this week.

Bon Iver – Bon Iver
This is the big one. It leaked a couple of days ago (that’s a real bummer, considering that it doesn’t come out until June 21), and I’ve been listening to it ever since. It’s the first album that’s really blown me away this year. You never really know where it’s going to go next, and I’ve had so many “ahhhh, this is awesome” moments, listening to it. All of the tracks are great, but some of the standouts are “Holocene,” “Michicant,” and the lead single, “Calgary.”

Wise Blood – “B.I.G. E.G.O.“
I did a review of one of this guy’s other songs for CMJ this week, but this was the song of his that really grabbed me. But hey, it has to be good if it uses the drums from “When The Levee Breaks,” right?

Darwin Deez – Darwin Deez
I’m working on a review of this for CMJ right now, and I’d say it’s a pretty solid album. Good-natured, optimistic pop music with some Phoenix-esque guitars. “Constellations,” “Deep Sea Divers,” and “DNA” are the highlights for me.

Review: Austra – “Feel It Break”

I felt pretty good about how my first album review for CMJ turned out. It’s of electro-pop group Austra’s debut LP, and I got to pull in some architecture references that I learned from my Arts & Ideas course (thank you, Dr. Bleattler). Check it out here.

Now to find some concerts to (see for free and) review…

First Day At CMJ.com

Today was the start of my Editorial internship at CMJ.com, a magazine in the city that covers music news and also runs a well-known festival every October. I had a great time today, and I’m excited to work the rest of the summer there. The coworkers are friendly and helpful, and I got a chance to write a few news stories, all the while listening to music on my headphones.

I’ll link some of the stories from today, since it was my first time on the job, but from here on out, I’ll probably only post on here about the ones I like the most. I’m all for consistent posting, but I don’t want to clutter this site with minutiae. If you’re interested in reading more of this sort of stuff from me, check in on CMJ.com regularly.