Top 10 Songs of 2011: #2 Bon Iver - Calgary 

Chances are, if you turned on the radio or TV this year, you heard or saw Bon Iver. The band (well, Justin Vernon) popped up performing on pretty much every late night show, The Colbert Report, etc. His songs made it from alternative radio to pop radio to everything in between. He hung with Kanye.

And it wasn't just for show. Bon Iver (the album is self-titled) was a phenomenal album. Different from the quiet folky songs of the previous releases, but no so different that it wasn't Bon Iver. The sound has evolved. It's got a few more instruments, maybe it's a little brighter; but it's still the same falsetto, it feels just as sparse at times.

"Calgary", for my money, is the track off the album, though honestly, you could have picked almost any song (it's really is a remarkable album). Here, you have the falsetto, leading into an almost 80s drum beat, on top of some synths. It feels small, even though you know it's not. But as you pass the halfway point, you get the slightly offkey guitars, and the song changes a bit. Just a bit. The 80s sound drops out and it feels like an acoustic song that isn't acoustic.

I don't know how to describe it. I think that's how I can describe a lot of the tracks off of Bon Iver. I can't tell you why they're different. I can just tell you they are.