Skinny Love

Just a few words today, about music and art.

Albums are becoming a lost art form. In our world of quick consumption, we need only the best songs from the albums. We reject buying physical copies and no longer stare at and analyze the cover art. I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, after all, the music industry has been such a dinosaur for so long.

But anyway, yes, we’ve embraced more a more versatile, single track, digital distribution method of popular music, but there are still albums, those few here and there that are perfect. You know the ones. The albums that you can put on and listen to all the way through, and think that every single song is a masterpiece, that none were a mistake. It’s rare course, and deeply subjective to the person listening. A few of mine would be Give Up (Postal Service), Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd), In Rainbows (Radiohead), Good Kid MAAD City (Kendrick Lamar masterpiece). And this one, by Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago.

Every single song on this album is just perfection. Written during a low point in life, the artist Justin Vernon perfectly encapsulates winter, innate sadness, worth, and love lost. He locked himself in his families cabin for the winter, and emerged months later with this perfect piece of art, representing a break from society and a paradigm shift in his mental health.

I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
Now I’m breaking at the bridges
And at the end of all your lines

These lines at the end of Skinny Love conjure up the line of men who have loved me, fought for me, and the one that fell far behind. And I just love it, and melt each time, and think of my husband who fought and will always fight for me.

Who will love you?
Who will fight?
Who will fall far behind?

Of the album For Emma, Forever Ago, Justin Vernon says “Emma isn’t a person, Emma’s a pain that you can’t erase.”

Several years ago Birdy covered Skinny Love on her debut album, and her version is just lovely. No, not near as powerful as the original, but beautiful and sweet in its own right. She’s a young one after all.

Motivational Monday (sometimes Tuesday hehe) is The Stoner Mom’s weekly music post dedicated to introducing moms to some non-dorky jams. Or maybe it’s just an excuse for The Stoner Mom to listen to her favorite jams? In 2015 I highlighted my favorite rap songs. This year I’m covering my all-time favorite songs.