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Sufjan Stevens – Biography, Is He Gay, Who is The Wife? Renowned musician Sufjan Stevens will not be forgotten in a hurry, having made a significant impact on the music industry. He is a songwriter, composer, and a multi-talented instrumentalist who started as far back as the 90s to mesmerize his audience with his unparalleled talent.
Sufjan Stevens - 'Carrie & Lowell'Stevens' recent albums - 'Illinois' and 2010's 'The Age of Adz' - were art projects featuring complex instrumentation and themes. But, as Stevens said in a recent Pitchfork interview, 'Carrie & Lowell' has a simple focus - 'This is my life.' The album centers on Stevens' tumultuous childhood with his mother, Carrie, and her struggles with mental illness and substance abuse. The other half of the album's title refers to Stevens' stepfather, Lowell, who remains a positive influence on his life. Stevens ties it all together with his starkest instrumentation since 2004's 'Seven Swans.'
The orchestral music and art-rock are all but gone, replaced by acoustic guitars and subtle synths.That simplicity gives Stevens' brilliant lyrics an emotional wallop. On 'Should Have Known Better,' Stevens sings about abandonment: 'When I was three, maybe four, she left us at the video store. Nothing can be changed. The past is still the past.' 'Carrie & Lowell' covers a variety of emotions, from unrequited love ('All of Me Wants All of You') and suicidal thoughts ('The Only Thing') to more abandonment ('Carrie & Lowell'). It's all caused Stevens, one of the best musicians of his generation, to question his place in the world: 'What's the point of singing songs, if they'll never even hear you?' As previously stated, most of these emotions originate with Stevens' mother.
Yet, despite all of the pain, he still longs for her love. On 'Fourth of July,' a touching song about her death, Stevens expresses his desire to bring her back to life, as he examines his own sense of mortality.
But it's not all doom and gloom. Stevens does reveal fond memories of seeing his niece on 'Should Have Known Better.' He also labels the time Lowell was married to Carrie as a 'season of hope' on the moving title track.The album's stunning, final three-track sequence focuses on Stevens' attempt to reconcile his fear of death with his need for faith. 'Jesus I need you, be near, come shield me,' he sings on 'John My Beloved.' It's in those final 12 or so minutes we discover 'Carrie & Lowell's' defining message. The album is about fighting through despair in order to find something to hold onto.
'Carrie & Lowell' fits with the emotionally delicate nature of an artist just a few months shy of turning 40.In the grander scheme of things, 'Carrie & Lowell' is an album showcasing the kind of impactful vulnerability found in the best work of artists like Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple and even Bob Dylan.This may be Stevens' best work to date, which is saying a lot. 'Carrie & Lowell' may not be an 'art project,' but it is certainly a work of art.
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'Illinois,'(sometimes identified as 'Sufjan Stevens Invites You to: Come on Feel the Illinoise')Released: July 5, 2005For folks who. suspect they're the target audience for 'classical music for people who don't like classical music.' .
wish more musicians wouldn't market themselves as either Christian or secular and instead just expressed their faith (or doubt. Or both) as part of their artistic vision. love Chicago.The backstory:Betweenand this one, 2005 was a great year for concept albums based around the history and mythology of Midwestern states.
Throw in great releases. And, and 2005 was a landmark year for the revival of folk influences in the world of indie pop — something I'm sure historians will be talking about generations from now (not really).' Illinois' is a landmark album, though. By just about, it was the best reviewed album of 2005, and it represented an ambitious accomplishment by a singer-songwriter who previously had been known — though not well-known — for little folk ditties. 'Illinois,' by contrast, is a composition, a symphonic portrait that captures the peculiar American spirit that dreamed of skyscrapers rising out of the prairie to dominate the Lake Michigan shoreline. It does so almost as well as anything written. The latter, who once described as one of the most important musicians of the 20th century, would agree, I think.
It's too bad he never got a chance to hear 'Illinois' because I think he would have liked its intricate chamber pop. Sufjan Stevens was born in Detroit, grew up in Petoskey, studied oboe at Interlochen and attended Hope College in Holland.
He first caught the attention of critics in 2003 with a tribute to his home state, 'Michigan' (sometimes identified as 'Greetings from Michigan, the Great Lakes State'). Somewhere along the line, Stevens announced he intended to write a similar, and he next turned his attention to the Land of Lincoln.As a Michigander, I can't help feel a little disappointed that 'Illinois' is such an obvious leap compared to 'Michigan,' but there's no denying it.
'Illinois' has more depth, invites more reflection and is a more enjoyable listen. What's fascinating about the album is how Stevens' lyrcis combine the epic and historical with the intimate and immediate, nowhere better than on the track 'Casimir Pulaski Day.' Though the title references an Illinois state holiday honoring a Polish-born, the song itself is a heartbreaking tale about a young girl with leukemia, the boy who is in love with her, and his confusion and anger at God when she dies (on Casimir Pulaski Day) in spite of all the prayers. Make no mistake, though, this is a deeply religious album from the very start. 'Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois' takes the true account of a in 2000 and infuses it with imagery that recalls the Trinity and Jesus Christ's incarnation and resurrection. Yeah, chew on that.Stevens plays guitar, banjo, flute, accordion, vibraphone and a lot more on the album, often constructing looping (repeating figures) that recall such minimalist composers as.
The album is 22 tracks long, though many are not proper songs but short reprises and transitions designed to help the album's flow. References to Illinois landmarks, famous figures and history abound, including the,of 1893, serial killer, 8-foot-11 giant,and the. On the intriguingly titled 'They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!,' Stevens imagines forgotten Midwestern towns rising from the dust of abandoned industry while a choir chants, 'I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S.'
Stevens has that Rhode Island, Oregon or New Jersey might be his next subject, but so far he still has 48 states left to go. He has at times demurred regarding the 50 States Project, and there have been indications that the whole thing might have been a joke, but another masterpiece on the order of 'Illinois' would certainly be welcome. My two cents: For me, at least, 'Illinois' is an album that demands to be listened to from start to finish in the correct order. I tried listening to individual tracks, but it was only when I listened to the complete work that I finally got it.
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In fact, you know how I keep alluding to the album's classical influences? I'd love to see a professional orchestra present the piece as an oratorio. I'm looking at you,. Get on that.Someone else probably said it better: 'From its framing gimmick and its anti-folk folk songwriting to its he-has-to-be-kidding song titles and its show-offy instrumentation, Illinois should reduce to a simple stunt performance. That it's pop-art of the highest caliber, instead, cements Stevens as one of the most vital voices in music today.' — Jonathan Keefe forMoment that kills me every time: 'Twenty-seven people, even more / they were boys with their cars, summer jobs / oh my God' (from 'John Wayne Gacy, Jr.' .
The List Thus Far. 'I am Shelby Lynne,' Shelby Lynne. 'Bachelor No. 2 (or, the last remains of the dodo),' Aimee Mann. 'Stankonia,' OutKast. 'Haunted,' Poe.
'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'
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