I had the pleasure of seeing Bon Iver live at the Capitol Theater a few weeks back and I still haven’t fully grasped the experience. It was like being in the presence of God. Loud, booming voices all around, euphoric saxophone choruses, flashing scripture phrases and sacred symbols across the stage screens. It was ethereal, with every single eye fixed on Justin Vernon center-stage. The audience was in awe, feeding off the energy before us. The lighting was seizure-inducing. The bass shook the floor, vibrating through my body and changing the rhythm of my heartbeat. Truly an incredible experience.
For me, I think part of what made the experience that much more incredible in retrospect was learning the meaning behind the album. “22, A Million” really does challenge higher thinking, but in a more divine sense. From what I could collectively gather after reading from various forums and doing some biblical research of my own, the album is supposed to represent a conversation between man and God. Each side of the conversation is characterized by a different kind of sound, with the voice of the man being higher in pitch and easily manipulated by the accompanying instrumentation while the voice of God is deep, booming, and layered. This “voice of man” is best demonstrated in songs such as “22, OVER SOON”, “33, GOD”, and “21 MOON WATER”. Conversely, this “voice of God” is best seen in songs such as “715 – CREEKS”, “8 (circle)”, or “00000 Million”. The reoccurring idea of divinity is also seen in each of the songs seemingly-obscure titles. Many of the numbers in the titles seem to correspond directly with a specific psalm. For example, the album opens with “22, OVER SOON”, which introduces the high pitched voice of man in a seemingly vulnerable way. Accordingly, Psalm 22 reads “My God, why have you forsaken me,” or as it is written on the accompanying song book to the album’s physical copy “why are you so FAR from saving me – PSALM 22”. But some numbers carry different sacred meanings aside from Psalm correlation. Perhaps the most interesting number to look into comes from “33, GOD”. This particular song seems to project itself as the most holy in the entire album, given that it has the word “GOD” in its title. However, the number 33 also allegedly carries strong religious connections. It is believed to be the age of the dwellers of heaven, the age Jesus was at his death, the dimensions of the Flower of Life, the number of deities in the Vedan culture, as well as the number of vertebrates in the human spine. This information blew my mind upon discovery. At first glance, the random numbers and symbols assigned to each song in the album can look like absolute nonsense. But in reality, the album is a masterpiece. It’s a carefully planned out project that holds so many puzzles and keys to the way the universe works on a sacred and emotional level. It is beyond artistic expression. It reaches closer to ideas of research and discovery, in a way that brings listeners closer to the world around them rather than the music industry.
FREE YOUR MIND 