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[amateuroverture]

Folk Fridays are back! This week is all about Justin Vernon and the time taken in isolation to create the iconic record "For Emma, Forever Ago".

Running away(to write some songs)

Many of us dream of running away. Of venturing into the unknown and emerging with an inward discovery about ourselves and our capabilities. Throughout music history, many musicians have fled to the comfort of their country homes or private studios in order to write powerful pieces. But in my humble opinion, no one quite knows how to disappear and sink into the solitude of creativity like Justin Vernon.

It was November of 2006 and Vernon was in the midst of what he calls the greatest depression of his life. He was 25 struggling with band tensions, remnant symptoms of his long battle with pneumonia, and arguably the worst ailment of all: heartbreak. So, he packed up his belongings and drove to Dunn County, Wisconsin to his father’s cabin in the woods to escape adulthood. Vernon was completely unaware that he would reemerge from this venture with an album that would change indie-folk music forever. 

Isolation

During his first couple of weeks in Wisconsin, Vernon did nothing but watch TV and drink cheap beer. As he puts it he spent his time “just breathing in and out for a while.” He became self-sufficient and hunted for his food, creating complete isolation from society. The idea of running away and being alone with your thoughts is scary to some and idyllic to others. But one thing rings true for all, creativity thrives in space not suffocated by the pressures of everyday life. Although Vernon wasn’t necessarily creative in his first weeks of isolation, it was this act of doing nothing that cleared the space he needed to create something different.

(we owe it all to) The Bear

Days had seemed to blend together and the endless stream of TV, hunting, and boredom was starting to amplify Vernon’s depression. Thankfully, nature intervened when late one-night Vernon heard scratching noises and low growls. He slowly crept to the porch to find a grizzly bear trying to get into his house. Filled with primal fear he screamed and screamed, eventually scaring it away. This bear is pivotal to this story and should maybe even be accredited to the creation of “For Emma, Forever Ago” because in a strange way, it helped Vernon find his voice again. It was through this fearful screaming that Vernon remembered he could make noise. 

I hear it in the distance 

In the following days, Vernon swore he heard a choir in the distance. Call it paranoia or the hallucinatory effects of complete isolation but he felt the need to find a way to record the choral piece replaying in his head. He took an icy walk to his car, got out his trusty vintage Silvertone S1348 and Shure SM 57 mic, and sat down to write. He recorded his own voice and edited it to sound like a warm, full chorus on ProTools, which eventually became the beautiful melodic intro to Lumpsum. Without the interference of others and alone with his own thoughts Vernon’s creative process had begun. The infamous record “For Emma, Forever Ago” was in its beginning stages. Over the next couple of weeks, Vernon would continue to write melancholy yet comforting pieces about loss, love, and growing older.

“Everyone has an Emma” -justin vernon 

Many of us have dealt with the heartbreak that comes with falling in love for the first time. It’s a pain that never seems too dull. The album “For Emma, Forever Ago”, was inspired by Vernon’s first love, whose middle name was Emma. Alone in his isolation, he was given the time and space to confront the feelings of heartbreak and write the greatest breakup songs ever written. 

“Emma isn't a person. Emma is a place you get stuck in. Emma is a pain that you can't erase.”

The new yorker, 2009

Emma is a different reality for everyone, whether it's a favorite place you moved from, a dear friend you haven’t spoken to, or a childhood dream left behind. For me, the beauty of this record is that it’s relatable to all and felt by many. In the title track “For Emma” the lyrics “running home, running home, running home.” really stick out to me. Vernon is trying so hard to get back to a place in his life where he was young and free from the lonesome depression brought out by life’s ends. 

Running Home

3 months after his escape to Wisconsin, Vernon emerged from his dad’s cabin with 9 demo tracks. He decided he would re-record, polish up the tracks, and master the record when he got home. But after a few of his friends heard the songs they begged him to release them as they were, raw and unfiltered. The amateur beauty of these tracks is what made them so popularized and inspired the mid-2000s movement of folk indie. Bands like Fleet of Foxes and The Head and The Heart gained inspiration from Bon Iver’s slow-paced, soft-sung melodies. From Flume’s twangy, acoustic melody played on a cheap Ebay guitar to the inspired chorus sounds at the beginning of LumpSum. “For Emma, Forever Ago” is one of the most beautifully written, poetic, and sweetest records I’ve ever had the honor of listening to. It is a living example of how isolation often leads to masterful work. Vernon proves you don’t need a fully stocked studio or a band of musicians to create your best work. Sometimes you just need to run away to find your sound and write a record.

*Disclaimer- Some stories are dramatized for effect*

[amateuroverture]

Welcome to Folk Friday! A blog segment where we talk about different elements of folk and the artists that inspired them. This week it's all about Bob Dylan, the engineer and moving force that wrote the best folk songs known to man.

The Brilliance of Bob Dylan

I was ten years old the first time I heard Bob Dylan. I was in my dad’s car listening to him rant about how today’s music would never compare to the “melodious poetry” the ’60s had produced while the high-pitched, bright sounds of Tambourine Man drifted through the backseat. Of course, as a ten-year-old, I didn’t have the slightest clue what he was talking about. The furthest I could dissect music at this point was just that I thought Dylan’s voice sounded “strange” in comparison to the Daughtry singer that was constantly on the radio. It wouldn’t be till my sophomore year of college that I would start to understand my dad’s passionate remarks. 

In college, I took a class called “Music of the Woodstock Generation '' and immediately fell in love with what I(and my dad) chose to believe was the real start of the music industry. I became enamored with the legends of laurel canyon, the chaos that ensued at Woodstock, and of course the gentle and inventive poetic wisdom of Bob Dylan. I liked how different Dylan seemed from all the madness of the industry. He was under the complete influence of himself and often wandered off the beaten path with every album he put out. He was an artist through and through, with no regard to any level of fame he might’ve reached, a rarity in the vain and directed music world.

Greenwich Village

The year was 1961, and Bob Dylan was only nineteen years old when he moved to New York to pursue his talents(1). Upon moving to New York, his luxury suite was a busted hotel on  Waverly Place and his concert venue was a tiny music cafe called Cafe Wha, which would one day be crowned the birthplace of not only Dylan but Hendrix and Springsteen to name a few others(2). Dylan performed a few of his idol Woody Guthrie's songs the first night he arrived in New York and his cocky and tender performance instantly hooked the crowd. Now, this is not a complete history of Bob Dylan’s life story by any means. Instead, it’s more of a personalized account of how his artistic style still has a way of reaching new audiences, audiences like myself and other young people that find solace in his gentle tunes. 

“Melodious Poetry”

My dad is a writer so he has a very weird and prose way of phrasing things. But when he was describing Dylan’s pursuits, he couldn’t have come up with a better description. His songs are more stories than anything, with descriptions of lovers' past, dramatic stories about evading the law, and overall questions of morality. One of my favorite songs by Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” uses a ballad style of poetry. Throughout the song, Dylan poses questions unable to be answered as a way of showing how little we know about the way life works. 

“How many years can a mountain exist

Before it’s washed to the sea?

Yes, ’n’ how many years can some people exist

Before they’re allowed to be free?

Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head

Pretending he just doesn’t see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind”(3)

No matter your thoughts on Dylan it’s pretty hard to say that he isn't good with his words. Even the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided it was time to pay its respects to the “melodious poetry” Dylan can’t seem to stop creating. In 2016, they awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature. Their reasoning for awarding Dylan with such an honor was this: “For having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition(4).”

Trapeze Troubadour 

The funny thing about all this poet talk is that Dylan himself refuses to describe himself with the word. Instead, he likes to use alternative words that in a way yield the same meaning. Dylan once stated “I don’t call myself a poet because I don’t like the word. I’m a trapeze artist(5).” I dissect this quote by first discerning what he means by calling himself a trapeze artist. I think he means he refuses to fall under definition and because of this he jumps from genre to genre and does the unexpected. Like when he pulled out an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival and nearly got booed off the stage. To me, this was a poetic act in itself. Or maybe he means each album is a circus act. He swings from gentle folk to electric rock with one smooth yet discernable jump. Much like one of his most famous songs suggests, Dylan is a rolling stone within the industry. Although he might have adopted certain “rebel” traits from his idol Guthrie, his unpredictability and original sound have turned him into the respected self-declared “trapeze artist” he is today.

Influence on Industry

Bob Dylan changed many things about what it means to be an artist. After his impact and possibly due to it, folk music became a much more popular venue for poetic storytelling and raw vocals. He wasn’t the best singer in the world but that’s what made him special. He was genuine and had a raw sort of talent. As an avid fan of folk music, one thing remains clear to me. The folk music of the 60s is superior to today’s hottest releases. The legends of laurel canyon and Dylan himself solidified the genre to be relatively unpolished yet masterful. Dylan was a true folk artist because he could tell stories that rhymed and transported the audience somewhere other than their bodies. Folk music today is so curated, with repetitive choruses and songs written for the purpose of social media use. It’s rare to find a talented amateur artist with a knack for writing great songs. For that reason alone, Bob Dylan will always remain on my mind and in my playlists.

Special thanks to my dad for showing me great music at such a young age. You were right.

                    

    References 

Courtney. (2022, August 12). Bob Dylan's Greenwich Village Walking Tour. Free Tours by Foot. Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://freetoursbyfoot.com/bob-dylan-greenwich-village-tour/ 

 About cafe wha? - New York City Live Music: NYC. Cafe Wha? (n.d.). Retrieved April      14, 2023, from https://www.cafewha.com/about 

Blowin' in the Wind: The official Bob Dylan Site. Blowin' in the Wind | The Official Bob Dylan Site. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/blowin-wind/ 

The Nobel prize in Literature 2016. NobelPrize.org. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2016/dylan/facts/ 

Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bob-dylan 

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