Ugly Sunset

Michael Marotti and I have a half-decade history of nontraditional joke gift-giving - a Lego head in a tiny handmade box a la the movie Seven, a star named after one of my fictional personalities, or that time when, unbeknownst to Mike, he gave me my wedding ring at someone else’s wedding. Junk for most, but for Mike and I, precious treasures worth exchanging.

Nonsense gift exchanges are different from the buy-you-what-you-ask-for charade now so prevalent in our culture. Nonsense gifts require an inventiveness. A one-upsmanship. Your next gift needs to be better than your last. And it’s because of these truths that I’ve spent the last two years crafting my next gift for Mike. 

The band Bon Iver has long been one of Mike’s favorites. He’s got the records, he’s been to concerts, he sports the swag and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s even got a few Justin Vernon face swaps in his roll. The one thing I’m almost certain Mike doesn’t have, however, is a cover version of their 2011 self-titled album.

That is, as the cliche goes, until now. I reimagined the artwork, the songs, and the music videos for Mike’s enjoyment. The result is something fane, representing the liminality between a place and awake. 

Mike, the past is slain.