sufjan stevens anyone?

[faithnotgreed]

i havent seen anyone talk about him so i thought i would throw this out in case someone else enjoys his music as much as i do

which song or album you would recommend
- a sun came
- enjoy your rabbit
- seven swans
- greetings from michigan
- cmon and feel the illinoise (aka illinois)

does anyone have "enjoy your rabbit" - supposed to be based on the animals of the chinese zodiac

i adore "casimir pulaski day" from cmon and feel the illinoise

[Tyrone Slothrop]

1. I'm a pretty big fan

I haven't heard/found his first two yet (A Sun Came & Enjoy Your Rabbit), but his other stuff is pretty phenomenal.

Illinois and Michigan are both great, but my fave might be Seven Swans. It's a lot different -- much quiter, mostly just Sufjan and his banjo, but the songs are really good. (Faves on Seven Swans are The Dress Looks Nice On You, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and To Be Alone With You.)

I got the chance to see him last August -- great show. He had a full 9 piece orchestra/choral group backing him.

[faithnotgreed]

2. nice

thanks for the response - i wasnt sure if anyone would
just in case you didnt know this his first two albums (and michigan and illinois) are on itunes among other places

what kind of venue did you see him in (college or theatre or...)
must have been a fantastic concert

[Tyrone Slothrop]

11. He and his band did 5 nights at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC

It's a smallish venue -- probably holds around 1,000-1,500 if I had to guess.

It was great! They were doing a different theme for each night; I was there on Dress Like a Pirate Night. They had a big box of pirate-themed accessories in the back of the theater where you could grab an eyepatch or hook for the duration of the show. The band themselves, however, were all dressed in U of Illinois cheerleaders' uniforms in honor of the Illinois album. Being an alum and a native Illinoisian, it was quite fun and special.

And, of course, the band was quite excellent on all fronts.

[Susang]

5. Try looking here

http://asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=5

It's the record label he helped form.

[terrya]

3. I have "Come on and feel the Illinoise"

One of my newest favorites. My particular favorite is "Decatur, Or Round of Applause for Your Stepmother", because...I'm from Decatur and it's just a great song. :-)

Nice cd

[faithnotgreed]

6. thanks terrya - good to see you

im not around as much as i would like but im glad to see you
and really glad to know you enjoy sufjan

i want to drum up any support for him i can so thank you for your part

heres to decatur.... and the great state of illinoise~

[Susang]

4. I've mentioned him several times

I usually hear crickets when I post. :-(

I'm a big fan of his Michigan album. I think it's his best, being a subject he's lived and understands quite thoroughly. Though Illinoise is pretty fab too! Since I grew up in Michigan and currently live in Chicago, it's very hard to choose. ;-)

[faithnotgreed]

7. susang~

hi and thank you so much for posting
if i had seen your previous posts about him i certainly would have joined in and at least lessened the amount of crickets you heard

have you heard his rabbit album - im fascinated with that and would like to know what you think
i know i posted his name some time back in the thread asking whose stuff would you buy just on their name alone (something like that)
and sufjan was one of mine

greetings from michigan is wonderful
and yes i understand he spent a good deal of time in his research even though he is from there
seems you have the best of both worlds

thanks again for letting me know and next time his name pops up youll know you arent alone

take good care
im glad to talk with you.....

[Susang]

8. I've heard all his stuff

I even just bought tickets to his show with Liz Janes in Chicago on March 30th. Shhhh....don't tell anyone, it's supposed to be a secret! ;-)

[faithnotgreed]

9. locking the lock and throwing away the key a la bugs bunny

you clearly have great taste
have a wonderful time (at the secret event) and of course make sure to tell us about it (when you can)

[Jean Louise Finch]

10. Yeah.

I only have "greetings from michigan" but I quite like it. very mellow stuff.

[faithnotgreed]

12. hi jean louise

may i ask what prompted you to get an album of his
his lyrics and style certainly set him apart from much of the pack

thanks for posting and take care

[Jean Louise Finch]

13. Hello!

Hello faithnotgreed!

Thanks for your very nice message. My partner actually picked it, after hearing about it from the friend of a friend. My brother is in school in Michigan at the moment, which is why we picked that particular album. We've been aiming to get the others but not so easy to find in my part of the world.

Definitely different. Sometimes I find it a bit too mellow, but usually it suits me perfectly well indeed.

Jean Louise

[faithnotgreed]

15. oh wow

i didnt realize where you lived but since you mentioned your "part of the world" i looked at your profile

i appreciate you tellling me how you learned of him - even in thailand of course it was through a michigander
i cant recall when i first heard of him but then sometime ago he was on a compilation promotional cd and its been love ever since

thanks for responding and im glad to meet you....

[mvd]

14. Haven't dug into his whole catalog yet, but..

you can't go wrong starting with Illinois. Neo-folk classic IMO.

[faithnotgreed]

17. definitely

neo folk with a little stereolab/experimental quirkiness mixed in at times

in fact when i was listening to him again today i was wondering who else (in my music library) had that melodic guitar and intelligent songwriting thing going
a few options to be sure

[TInCanCommunications]

16. I have Illinois/Michigan ... his other stuff gets pretty religious

The religion even comes in on Illinois and Michigan.
But it's still awesome.

[faithnotgreed]

18. yes quite true....

but as a combination "christian" and green party member it works for me
but i definitely understand that some/all of his stuff doesnt click with everyone

when he talks of praying over a sick body (but nothing happened) i can dig it
im into energy work and medical alternatives so i just appreciate the honesty and earnestness
he does have a different mind which i really appreciate

on edit: glad to see you tincan
i havent seen you around much so i appreciate your posting

[TInCanCommunications]

19. The arrangements are incredible

But sometimes his lyrics/vocals just aren't quite there.
There's one song on Illinoise that annoys the hell out of me. There's this abrupt chant, repeated over and over that gets awfully grating.
And the Wayne Gacy song is iffy.

Otherwise, it's one of the best records released in recent memory.

Sometimes, I wish he'd show a little more balls. An extra rocker or two would be nice.

[faithnotgreed]

20. sounds good to me

when i first heard the beginning of
"the man of metropolis steals our hearts" i was surprised (in a good way)

i would enjoy hearing an album of him getting crazy(er)