There are many a JV song that have moved the tides of hipness over the past 20 years or so, but the album made in a winter cabin somewhere in Wisconsin after a breakup is the stuff of legend. It’s the genesis of so much of the “indie” iconography we are all familiar with today. Lots of his lyrics are pretty poetic and hard to interpret, but the music and vocal affect are pretty undeniably moving here. And since this is a playlist about songs, I felt this was the most representative of his writing strength. An important album all around.