explanations

Justin Vernon Is Still Iffy on the Grammys, BFFs With Kanye, a Fan of Whiskey

Almost immediately after Bon Iver received four Grammy nominations (including, oddly, Best New Artist), Justin Vernon was cast as this year’s “Who Is Arcade Fire,” a mantle he encouraged with his own slightly confused reaction to the nods. A few days later, The New York Times Magazine published some outtakes from an earlier interview in which Vernon questioned the value of the Grammys. (Money quote: “We should not be gathering in a big room and looking at each other and pretending that this is important.”) Vernon more or less owned up to the feelings on Twitter, but an appearance on last night’s CBC Radio “Q” show gave him a chance to explain — or rather, to redeliver the comments in a thoughtful, slightly befuddled (look at that ruffled hair!) Midwestern manner that basically negates any brattiness one might have read into the original quotes. He also managed to clear up that weird whiskey/selling out beef with the Avalanches (“I didn’t know they were a band, no”) and defend his good friend Kanye (“The thing nobody talks about with that whole debacle is … he was right. The Beyonce video was the best video of the decade”), all in a single sitdown. Efficiency! Anyway, eighteen minutes of charming Justin Vernon is below, or his performance with the National is here. (And if you missed his workout tips yesterday, you’ll want to check that out. Trust.)

Justin Vernon Is Still Iffy on the Grammys