Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise!
I’m a recent but devoted convert to Sufjan Stevens, so I was really looking forward to listening to this album. It’s the second album counting towards Sufjan’s quirky and ambitious aim of recording an album in each State of the US. One of the things that I love about him is his blatant disregard for short and snappy song titles. Track 2 is a perfect example: ‘THE BLACK HAWK WAR, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologise for the Inconvenience but You’re Going to Have to Leave Now, or, “I have fought the Big Knives and will continue to fight them until they are off our lands!”’. iTunes is going to be continuously scrolling on that one. Even without the title, the track is startling, with martial trumpets, drums and wordless vocals creating an amazing atmosphere.
‘Jacksonville’ is a jaunty, summery little number, though it still has Sufjan’s persistent air of sadness. I think my favourite track on the album (though it’s very hard to choose just one) is ‘Casimir Pulaski Day’, which is an intimate and tender portrait of the terrors and breathless anticipation of a teenage romance. It happens to also have a very sad ending:
Tuesday night at the Bible study We lift our hands and pray over your body But nothing ever happens I remember at Michael’s house In the living room, when you kissed my neck And I almost touched your blouse
Many of the tracks, particularly ‘Out of Egypt, into the Great Laugh of mankind, and I shake the dirt from my sandals as I run’ (phew) have the feel of some of the modern minimalist classical composers like John Adams; there are pulsing tones and woven together musical lines, which create a mesmerising texture. It’s an interesting development of his style, and makes me wonder if he is an admirer of Adams’ music.
Another interesting feature of the album is that many of the tracks don’t end abruptly, but have classical-sounding instrumental pieces at the end, such as a brass fanfare, or an intricate banjo line. It’s certainly an unusual album: both musically and lyrically. Sufjan seems to be particularly interested in the stories of everyday people—-the little, disregarded but shiningly important moments in all of our lives. I like that about him a lot.
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You introduced me to Sufjan Stevens and I also love his style. You've certainly given this one a good write-up, and I look forward to listening to it, hopefully soon!----- Cool! As I can across this, I was also watching a video from KCRW 'Morning Becomes Eclectic' of Sufjan performing in the studio. Brilliant to watch, if your a fan.
Thought I would share, enjoy!
Video
by Chris Schwan @ 10/08/2005 12:09 am • Permalink •
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Definately the most accomplished album of the last couple of years. Everything from the lyrics to the instrumentation is astounding, and worthy of all the praise it is receiving. This album is being noticed purely on word of mouth, and the critical acclaim it is receiving.
by alev @ 19/08/2005 1:09 am • Permalink •
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If he manages to record fifty-odd albums with the same magnificence and presence as this one, I'll happily laud Sufjan Stevens as the greatest musician of all time.
by hobbes @ 19/08/2005 10:09 pm • Permalink •
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