It has been almost a decade since It's All Aquatic fell upon the ears of the local music scene in Eau Claire, WI. Today we are happy to say, for the first time ever, you can buy the album on vinyl and on iTunes. Check out the media page for some live videos.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
This line references Vernon’s relationship with fellow Eau Claires songwriter Josh Scott, whose work Vernon resonated with early on.
In these line, he’s essentially saying (in more obfuscated terms), that as soon as Scott played him his song “Lip Parade”, he was instantly won over, given the way that his work expressed feelings that Vernon was also feeling for years to come, before he had his own voice in the music scene.
After recording Josh Scott’s EP for a full release, Vernon shared a personal note about how Amateur Love inspired him, on his record label’s website:
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
"Someway, baby, it's part of me, apart from me"
You're laying waste to Halloween
You fucked it, friend, it's on its head, it struck the street
You're in Milwaukee, off your feet Bon Iver – Holocene
You're laying waste to Halloween
You fucked it, friend, it's on its head, it struck the street
You're in Milwaukee, off your feet Bon Iver – Holocene
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
So I looked for your eyes
And the waves looked like they'd pour right out of them Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
And the waves looked like they'd pour right out of them Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
I'll try hard, I'll try always, but it's a waste of time
It's a waste of time if I can't smile easily
Like in the beginning
In the beginning Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
It's a waste of time if I can't smile easily
Like in the beginning
In the beginning Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
When I heard the knock on the door
I couldn't catch my breath
Is it too late to call this off? Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
I couldn't catch my breath
Is it too late to call this off? Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
What is this?
The Genius annotation is the work of the Genius Editorial project. Our editors and contributors collaborate to create the most interesting and informative explanation of any line of text. It’s also a work in progress, so leave a suggestion if this or any annotation is missing something.
To learn more about participating in the Genius Editorial project, check out the contributor guidelines.
Here, the artist uses imagery of winter, and paints a picture for the listener of what it’s like to feel alone with only the bitter winter surrounding you.
In the cold air is the memory of the lost love that has left you there, alone and without the warmth of another; much like Vernon’s own experience post-breakup in his hunting cabin in northern Wisconsin.
Vernon often likes referring lines of many of his song to ice, cold, snow, frozen, and winter. The artist’s name, after all, is a purposeful misspelling of “Bon Hiver” which is French for “Good Winter”
In his conversation with Aaron Rodgers for GQ Sport, he explains the full story behind this song after Rodgers asks him to. He got f*cked with his brother & they took a walk in Eu Clair – his hometown & it was empty. when faced with the highway or main road, he saw all of the snowy trees & fog either side & had an ephemeral moment where he realised how small he was in the grand scheme of things. Fantastic discussion, check out the YouTube vid.
There might be more layers to the “Jagged vacance thick with ice” image.
“Vacance” implies that something is missing. But it’s not a peaceful absence, it’s jagged. It’s not just a lost love, it’s one that has been ripped away unceremoniously, leaving lasting damage in its wake beyond what would normally be associated with a break-up.
To ram home the point that these aren’t wounds that heal easily, “thick with ice” implies the passing of time. Instead of healing, time has frozen this wound in place, almost preserved it in some macabre way for us to examine.
Looking at the next line (and this is where my imagination might get a little carried away), one can imagine looking not into this jagged, grotesque wound but through it, like a broken window, and seeing the lasting effects that a trauma like that can have on someone’s outlook on life and on love.
167
It’s worth noting that vacance is French for holiday considering both the holidays that are mentioned in this song and Vernon’s past history with using French in his song lyrics and even his artist name.