#17 on the 2009 Musical Advent Calendar

Living in Seattle demands listening to bands like Bon Iver. Similar to Mark Kozelek and Sun Kil Moon, Iron & Wine, Nick Drake, and Jeff Buckley — Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver provides a warm blanket of loving sadness that helps people cope with the suffocating darkness and overcast skies that are prevalent from October to May in the Northwest.

But that doesn’t mean you don’t need a little somewhat-depressing music in your neck of the woods, too. Personally, I find it therapeutic. Surely you’ve felt that same connection to a band. Maybe it was The Cure. Elliot Smith. All the way back to the blues greats. That’s what the blues are all about, right? Share in my depression and you shall be healed. Or, at least satiated for a little while.

If you’re new to Bon Iver, I suggest checking out their debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, which came out last year. The song above, a live recording made from the 4-song EP Blood Bank, is indicative of the band’s sound. I didn’t anticipate including EPs in the countdown, but this EP was so good it couldn’t not be included. Agreed?

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18. Fever Ray by Fever Ray
19. Tell ’Em What Your Name Is by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
20. Mo Beauty by Alec Ounsworth
21. Here Comes Science by They Might Be Giants
22. Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
23. Hungry Bird by Clem Snide
24. Actor by St. Vincent
25. Elvis Perkins in Dearland by Elvis Perkins in Dearland
26. XX by the XX
27. Grrr… by Bishop Allen
28. Keep It Hid by Dan Auerbach
29. It’s Blitz! by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
30. Beware by Bonnie “Prince” Billie
31. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear