Fun Stuff > BAND
Sufjan Stevens
Oerdin:
I honestly didn't like Sufjan when I saw him live in San Diego. His music nearly put me to sleep. Still, one or two songs now and then are on the play list in my Zen Touch and on my computer at home.
Garcin:
--- Quote from: sjbrot ---
--- Quote from: Spike ---Sufjan Stevens is pretty good, but I find myself cringing every now and then due to seemingly over sensitive/emotional lyrics..
--- End quote ---
The only part of Illinois that I would agree with this point is on "John Wayne Gacy, Jr.," because it comes off a little schmaltzy.
That being said, I love the album almost too much.
--- End quote ---
So Sufjan makes a song about a pedophile serial murderer psychopath, ends the song with the lyrics "And in my best behavior/I am really just like him/Look beneath the floorboards/For the secrets I have hid" -- lyrics that send shivers down my spine every time I hear them because they are so creepy and so artistically brave -- and you refer to the song as schmaltzy?
Wow. Just, wow.
Illinois is awesome. Michigan is equally awesome, but more subtle. It's a concept album, and it's enormous, so the really standout tracks sometimes get crowded out but check out:
Track 3 -- For the Widows In Paradise, for the Fatherless In Ypsilanti
Track 5 -- The Upper Peninsula [Saw it live when I saw Illinois and it was even better]
Track 12 -- They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless In Muskegon)
Track 15 -- Vito’s Ordination Song [Fucking brilliant song, definitely the rythmic standout on the album]
Track 18 -- Pickerel Lake [Woah -- nice distorted guitar -- REVERB!]
That's right folks, Sufjan doesn't give you an album, he gives you a four course meal that still leaves you wanting more. And for the love of god, even if you have to wear the face of a ticketholder, see him live -- Illinois was one of the 5 best concerts I've been to, and from what I hear, he's mighty consistent.
Merkava:
Again, I have no idea how someone could hate "John Wayne Gacy Jr."
Those lyrics are freakin chilling.
sjbrot:
I don't hate "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." by any stretch of the imagination. It's really just the first part of the song, where he trying to raise up some feelings for the victims that strikes me as overdone.
Dara:
I found the "with their cars, summer jobs, oh my god" line to be utterly eerie
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