Holocene (song)
{{Infobox song
| name = Holocene
| cover = Bon Iver - Holocene cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Bon Iver
| album = Bon Iver
| B-side = Come Talk to Me
| released = {{start date|2011|9|05}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Indie folk|baroque pop}}
| length = 5:36
| label = {{hlist|4AD|Jagjaguwar}}
| writer = Justin Vernon
| producer =
| prev_title = Fall Creek Boys Choir
| prev_year = 2011
| next_title = Towers
| next_year = 2012
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|TWcyIpul8OE|"Holocene"}}}}
}}
"Holocene" is a song by American indie folk band Bon Iver. It was released as the second single from their album Bon Iver, September 5, 2011. The single is backed with a cover of Peter Gabriel's song "Come Talk to Me" as a B-side, which was previously released as a limited edition song for Record Store Day.{{cite web |url=http://stereogum.com/764161/bon-iver-announces-holocenecome-talk-to-me-details/mp3s/ |title=Bon Iver "Holocene"/"Come Talk To Me" Details |publisher=Stereogum |date=July 20, 2011 |access-date=December 16, 2011}} The song was named one of the best songs of 2011 by various music publications. It was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year for the 54th Grammy Awards,{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/news/44763-bon-iver-nominated-for-record-of-the-year-grammy-for-holocene/ |title=Bon Iver Nominated for Four Grammys |author=Amy Phillips |publisher=Pitchfork Media |date=November 30, 2011 |access-date=December 16, 2011 |archive-date=August 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825091919/http://pitchfork.com/news/44763-bon-iver-nominated-for-four-grammys/ |url-status=dead }} and is featured in the Cameron Crowe film We Bought a Zoo,{{cite web |url=http://www.theuncool.com/2011/12/29/we-bought-a-zoo-complete-soundtrack/ |title=We Bought A Zoo - Complete Soundtrack |publisher=The Uncool |date=29 December 2011 |access-date=1 January 2012}} Zach Braff's film Wish I Was Here, the 2014 film The Judge, the Dutch film Just Friends (Gewoon Vrienden) in 2018, the 2019 film Give Me Liberty .
On February 4, 2012, Bon Iver performed "Holocene" on Saturday Night Live.{{cite web |title=Bon Iver - Holocene (Live on SNL) |url=https://vimeo.com/36228798 |website=Vimeo |access-date=30 January 2022}}
Background
Frontman Justin Vernon explained the song title in an interview with Mojo: "It's partly named after the (geological) era, but it's also the name of a bar in Portland where I had a dark night of the soul." He also stated that "the title is a metaphor for when you're not doing well. But it's also a song about redemption and realizing that you're worth something; that you're special and not special at the same time."
Vernon later explained the origin of the song in a conversation with Aaron Rodgers:
{{quotation | It was Christmas night, and my brother and I watched Inglourious Basterds, of all films. You know, it's not like it was a subject matter that was, you know, gonna birth a song like that exactly, but it was—I like watching Tarantino's films because they're so complete. They're just complete creative ideas executed at such a high level, you know. And we had a little smokey-smoke and took a walk down our road, and it was so quiet and it was like a really icy night and it was already quiet 'cause there's not a lot of people traveling, and it was really kind of spooky night. The air's just hanging, and we went and walked over to this bridge over I-94, and there just wasn't a single car. There was nothing for miles and miles, and the air was hanging in such a way with the ice storm kinda going on, and it looked like this sheet of ice on the road and this glow of the distant lights of Eau Claire, and it was just—it really just came out, like at once I knew I was not magnificent, you know, and the highway aisles of ice and all that, and it was one of those moments where you're not really sure if you're the creator of something or not or if you've just been handed something to share. It's easy to stay humble sometimes when, you know, it's like, I've worked hard and everything, but sometimes you just feel like you really are a conduit for describing an idea or something like that, but that's really where all that came from, and the different verses are really about Eau Claire and about my people from there.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRCFYWLqUps&t=1670 |title=Aaron Rodgers and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon Have an Epic Conversation |publisher=GQ Sports |date=4 December 2019}}}}
Vernon also explained how Wisconsin influenced his perception and songwriting:
{{quotation |There's a lot of humble people around. Growing up in Wisconsin, I never felt like anybody was really trying to prove too much. The winter slows us down enough that, you know, we're not Hollywood. We don't seem to think achievement is the biggest thing. It's family and togetherness and having a beer at The Joynt or whatever. It's more like that, and I've always resonated with it and it's another one of the reasons I can't seem to leave.}}
Music video
The music video, directed by Nabil Elderkin, was filmed in the region of Vík in Iceland with a Red Camera. It features a blonde Icelandic boy waking up and roaming around the island's volcanic landscape and glaciers, equipped with just a walking stick.{{cite web |url=http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=144157 |title=Nabil Elderkin shoots Bon Iver Holocene music video in Iceland |publisher=webwire.com |date=August 24, 2011 |access-date=December 16, 2011}} Since the lyrics of "Holocene" describe the idea that the self is part of something greater, the music video highlights the expansive landscapes in contrast to the boy.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/viral-videos/467857/bon-ivers-icelandic-stunner-watch-the-holocene-video |title=Bon Iver's Icelandic Stunner: Watch the 'Holocene' Video |author=Carly Wolkoff |magazine=Billboard |date=August 18, 2011 |access-date=December 16, 2011}} The video was debuted on the National Geographic Channel.{{cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=23281 |title=Holocene by Bon Iver Songfacts |publisher=Songfacts |access-date=16 December 2011}} In January 2012, music video blog Yes, We've Got a Video! ranked it at number 10 in their top 30 videos of 2011, saying that the video "should serve as proof that the art of the music video is not dead."{{Cite web |url=http://yeswevegotavideo.com/2012/01/30/top-30-videos-of-2011-the-top-10/ |title=Top 30 Videos of 2011: The Top 10! « Yes, We've Got a Video! |access-date=2012-04-17 |archive-date=2012-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706170740/http://yeswevegotavideo.com/2012/01/30/top-30-videos-of-2011-the-top-10/ |url-status=dead }}
Reception and legacy
The song was highly acclaimed by critics. Pitchfork named it as the second best song of 2011, saying "the rising and falling chord changes create a sense of motion that develops throughout the whole song, a tide-like ebb and flow that ends with an abrupt denouement, so swift it withholds almost as much pleasure as it yields."{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8726-the-top-100-tracks-of-2011/10/ |title=Staff Lists: The Top 100 Tracks of 2011 |publisher=Pitchfork Media |date=December 12, 2011 |access-date=December 16, 2011 |archive-date=September 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926150820/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/8726-the-top-100-tracks-of-2011/10/ |url-status=dead }} Rolling Stone ranked it as the 22nd best single of 2011, simply stating that "'[Holocene]' takes sensitive-guy poetry somewhere sublime."{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-singles-of-2011-20111207/bon-iver-holocene-19691231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107172529/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-singles-of-2011-20111207/bon-iver-holocene-19691231 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 7, 2012 |title=50 Best Singles of 2011: Bon Iver, 'Holocene' |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=December 16, 2011}} The song also won 2nd place in Stereogum's annual Gummy Awards.{{cite web |url=http://stereogum.com/902171/the-gummy-awards-your-top-10-tracks-of-2011/the-gummy-awards/ |title=The Gummy Awards: Your Top 10 Tracks Of 2011 |publisher=Stereogum |date=December 12, 2011 |access-date=December 16, 2011}} It was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost both to Adele's "Rolling in the Deep".{{cite web |url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=&title=&year=2011&genre=All |title=Past Winners Search |work=Grammy Awards |access-date=February 15, 2012}} It was voted 52nd in the 2011 Triple J Hottest 100.{{Cite web|url=https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/revisiting-triple-j-hottest-100-2011/|title=Revisiting triple j's Hottest 100s of years gone by: 2011|date=2019-01-20|website=Tone Deaf|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-03-16}}
"Holocene" was also included in the book "1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die". In 2019, NPR's listeners named "Holocene" as the best song of the 2010s.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/07/767905185/the-2010s-npr-listeners-pick-their-top-songs-of-the-decade|title=The 2010s: NPR Listeners Pick Their Top Songs of the Decade: All Songs Considered|newspaper=NPR.org}}
Charts
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Holocene"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Bon Iver|title=Holocene|award=Platinum|id=15056|relyear=2011|certyear=2025|access-date=February 20, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Bon Iver|title=Holocene|award=Gold|id=6059|relyear=2011|certyear=2018|access-date=November 26, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Bon Iver|title=Holocene|award=Platinum|source=radioscope|relyear=2011|certyear=2021|access-date=February 9, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Bon Iver|title=Holocene|award=Gold|id=15131-592-1|relyear=2011|certyear=2022|access-date=October 7, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Bon Iver|title=Holocene|award=Platinum|relyear=2011|certyear=2019|access-date=November 26, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|nosales=true|streaming=true}}