Cortney Harding (January 25, 2008). "Bon Iver". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016 . Retrieved November 25, 2015. a b "Ultratop.be – Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 25, 2015.

a b Chris Whibbs (February 19, 2008). "Bon Iver's Good Winter". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015. a b c d e f g Nilina Mason-Campbell (May 27, 2008). "Interviews: Bon Iver". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015.Love, human interaction, connection, relationships. It really is a strange thing, but something that we're almost inevitably drawn to due to human nature and a human need. It's something that's incredibly bittersweet because, for me, love inevitably ends. Even if you stay with a person until you die, it doesn't mean that the adoration, the initial connection, the lust, that smitten feeling where you're just infatuated by that person, that ineffable feeling that's so incredibly intense and profound will remain the same.

Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody. December 4, 2009. Archived from the original on December 15, 2009 . Retrieved January 12, 2010. This is the sound of icy cold glacial loneliness. It's the perfect album to listen to in winter, I find it weirdly comforting to listen to and if you've ever had your heart broken, you can relate to it. For Emma, Forever Ago is desolate, poignant, introspective, deep, beautiful, chilling, intimate, delicate and vulnerable. So full of woe and longing, it's an album that really hits you hard. Justin Vernon really does create his own little world that's so full of isolation and pain, yet it so easy to get lost in. I arrived at the cabin in November, so there's a very big winter theme for everything when I was there. On a physical level, I would wake up to stoke the fire or get wood chopped to get it in the house to keep warm. Just winter in general was kind of a part of where I was physically and metaphysically as well. It bled into the music naturally. I had nothing but the sound of my own thoughts, and they were really loud when that's all that was going on. a b Hyden, Steven (February 18, 2008). "Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 29, 2015 . Retrieved August 22, 2015. a b c d Bill Glauber. "Northern exposure". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015.Alt/Indie's Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody. November 23, 2009. Archived from the original on December 16, 2009 . Retrieved January 12, 2010. a b "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020 . Retrieved September 23, 2020.

The album was recorded at the cabin between late 2006 to early 2007. Vernon abandoned his old songwriting methods and instead focused on wordless melodies that he later set to words, which he felt evoked a more subconscious meaning. The record's lyrical subjects include lost love and mediocrity. His folk-infused songs include heavy choral arrangements, featuring Vernon's falsetto, and horns. He hunted his own food and spent much of his time isolated. Though he did not intend to make an album, he received strong encouragements from friends and decided to self-release For Emma, Forever Ago in July 2007. After several performances and online exposure, he was signed to Jagjaguwar later that year. a b "Danish album certifications – Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved October 15, 2019. a b c d Courtney Harding (March 8, 2008). "Bon Iver Breaks Through". Billboard. Vol.120, no.10. Prometheus Global Media. p.52. ISSN 0006-2510 . Retrieved November 25, 2015. Lars Brandle (April 17, 2015). "U.S. Vinyl Album Sales Up by 53% in Q1". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015.

Notes

Barry Adams (February 28, 2012). "On Wisconsin: In Eau Claire, Justin Vernon's roots run deep". Wisconsin State Journal. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012 . Retrieved November 25, 2015. As such we should be finding epic stories of isolation and loneliness. Perhaps we do? Certainly the sparsity of the musical accompaniment, all pauses, minute lo fi acoustic rumblings, the whole analog feel accompanied by what seems to be an extremely limited post-production lends itself to this whole concept - job done then? a b Sendra, Tim. "For Emma, Forever Ago– Bon Iver". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015 . Retrieved August 22, 2015. Andy Hines (July 30, 2008). "Bon Iver Is Trying To Break Your Heart". Philadelphia Weekly. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015.

Another album that possibly gets a higher rating than it deserves because of the whole mystique of the story...bloke splits up with band and girlfriend and buggers off to a mountain to cabin to 'find himself' and sort his shit out. Interview: Bon Iver's Justin Vernon". The Village Voice. December 9, 2008. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015. a b "Danishcharts.dk – Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 25, 2015. Darcie Stevens (March 14, 2008). "Review: Bon Iver". Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015. Ever since acoustic introspection became one of the most praised qualities in music over a decade ago, I've been quietly pleased that I was never tempted to attempt to publish any of my musings. If nothing else, the age/time continuum and thinner hair has taught me that however acute private feelings may be, they do not make for great art unless they can be embedded in a wider context.

Catalog

a b c d e f g Grayson Haver Currin (July 27, 2011). "Bon Iver's long wager". Indy Week. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015 . Retrieved November 25, 2015. Somewhere in the basement, hopefully ravaged by cold and damp, I have a succession of notebooks containing any mumber of thoughts, ideas, events and the like from my past. Far too much is terribly mawkish and self-pitying. Pitchfork Staff (October 2, 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016 . Retrieved April 29, 2023. Quiet and folkily ambient, For Emma, Forever Ago is an impassioned cry too compelling not to become heard. However, the pain, sadness, heartache, regret, longing in the end is worth it. Because for a period of time, somebody else understood you, related to you, you connected, they loved you, were intimate with you. Love can change the way you look at the world. It can make you feel a certain way that's incredibly hard to define, you just feel like you're a better person because you're spending time with a particular person. Falling in love is one of the best things that can happen to a human being, falling out of love or watching your relationship disintegrate is one of the worst things that can happen to you. Dutchcharts.nl – Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 25, 2015.