2/28/12

A new favorite takes on an old one. I was always sort of regretful for not being more familiar with the rest of Bonnie Raitt's catalog, save for Nick of Time, Something to Talk About, and maybe a few others if I heard them...but I know she is a guitar master with a gorgeous set of blues pipes.

But this song. This song. It was the soundtrack to many a dance rehearsal, a last track on several mix CDs burned pre-high school graduation.

You can't listen to this and not identify. Not if you've had a heart, or a failed relationship, or a failed attempt at one. Not if you've been alone. Not if your head betrays your better interests by bombarding you with thoughts, memories, fantasies, of the person you love and can no longer show them.

In Bon Iver's gifted falsetto, and a new solo arrangement, I can love it all over again. That voice! Certainly it's not for all listeners' tastes but I think it's quite beautiful, and I'm thrilled to see him pay homage to a musician who is often not given enough credit - at least, colloquially - for creating some really masterful contributions to the modern pop song, and it's ability to rise from blues.

"lay down with me,
tell me no lies,
just hold me close,
don't patronize

cause i can't make you love me
if you don't
you can't make your heart feel something it won't
here in the dark
in these final hours
i will lay down my heart
and i'll feel the power but you won't
no, you won't"
~I Can't Make You Love Me, as covered by Bon Iver

Also, YouTube, how did you know I would love this? Prediction technology is starting to weird me out a little, but, I'll get used to it.