song of the year so far - Bon Iver 're:stacks'

Its been a funny year so far. In terms of music it has been wonderful, but for me there have been times of real uncertainty and worry regarding my working life. Things have turned out really well in the end and I start an exciting new job on Monday after leaving my previous job of seven years.

It has been a strange couple of months. I remember sitting on the train in February, at a time when I had to make a big, scary decision and reading Laura Barton's 'Hail Hail Rock n Roll' column in the Guardian, where she eulogised about Bon Iver, an artist who was then unknown to me, and wrote "...This is, I suppose, a perfect album to listen to if you need to make a decision, to leave somebody, or to stay with them, to quit your job, to get over someone. Its listening makes for solitary work; it requires concentration and dedication and a willing vulnerability, but in listening to it repeatedly you establish a kind of routine that frees your thoughts."

How right she was. 2 weeks later I was listening to the album ('For Emma, Forever Ago') and you can read my thoughts in a post below; it took me a while before I could bring myself to try and review it, so in awe was I of the record.

The record has followed me around ever since. It was playing on my ipod when I stood outside my new employer's offices before my interview two weeks ago. It was playing on my stereo the next day when they phoned to tell me I'd got the job. It is playing now, as I sit here thinking about next week. Excited/scared.

're:stacks' is my favourite track on the record because it is so calming. It is the last song on the album and after all that has gone before, it seems to settle everything into place, leaving all as it was before.

"everything that happens is from now on
this is pouring rain
this is paralyzed"

Its been a strange time. In a funny way these last few weeks have been like a state of limbo and maybe thats why Bon Iver has soundtracked everything so well ("it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away"). Everything moves on now, but I think this record will stay with me for a very long time.