Bon Iver: “Fuck You a little bit, Grammys”

Following comments made to the New York Times late last year, and a Twitter feud with The Avalanches over his endorsement of Bushmills Whisker, singer Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has revealed that the band were asked to play at next Sunday’s 54th Annual Grammy Awards but declined on the condition that they refused to play with another artist.

“We wanted to play our music, but were told that we couldn’t play. We had to do a collaboration with someone else. And we just felt like it was such a large stage – we’re getting nominated for this record that we made. Me and Brian [Joseph] and a bunch of our fucking friends and we were given accolades for it, and all of a sudden we were being asked to play music that had nothing to do with that. We kind of said ‘fuck you’ a little bit, and they sort of acted like they wanted us to play, but I don’t think they wanted us to play.”

It’s interesting then Vernon and his band would acquiesce to the use of their music in a campaign promoting the awards ceremony, along with Skillrex, Adele and the Foo Fighters. The Grammy-nominated song “Holocene” features in the CGI TV spot that ends with the assertion “We Are Music” – just not the kind of music Vernon wants to play with anyone else.

The comments were made at an event supporting Bushmills Whiskey, where Vernon also addressed last December’s spat with The Avalanches, maintaining in retrospect that there are no hard feelings: “I would’ve said the same shit,” he said. “That’s the only fucking thing pissed me off over that whole thing is that a whole bunch of people tried to make it out to be like it was a thing. But hey, people are just trying to get shit off their breastplate you know what I mean?”

The band’s second self-titled album is nominated for four Grammy awards, including a best new artist “Bon Iver,” best alternative music album, with “Holocene” nominated for record of the year and song of the year. We can’t wait to see what happens when if he wins.

Via Billboard

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