The Sufjan Stevens Debate
Will Sufjan ever release any more 'state-themed' albums, per his claim to write one for all 50 states? Do you ever want him to finish?
Mark Steffen - If there's one thing I heard a lot of while attending college in the heartland of Illinois a few years back, it was plenty of Illinoise. It seemed like I couldn't walk from one end of the quad to the other without hearing every bespectacled co-ed ranting about how "magical" that "Suff-Jan Stevens" is. It seemed like every idiot smoking a clove cigarette couldn't shut up about how excited they were that he'd be playing shows in our college town soon - and all of this in response to a gimmicky mediocre album? I'm sorry, as much as I like huge concept albums and cohesive projects, I don't wish the fate of Illinois on any other unfortunate states.
Wes Soltis - While I agree there were some clunkers on Illinoise - I would hardly say the album is mediocre. I haven't listened to the album in quite a while, but I can think of at least eight or so songs on that album I enjoyed. I also believe the album got a little better with each listen. It also helps that he is pretty magical live, possibly giving the listener a new appreciation for his album work.
I laughed when I heard he was planning to write an album for every state, though. I thought it was impossible to do. Maybe at this point he could write a song about each state, or release a full-length cover regions or something. However, mediocre? What do you think makes him mediocre?
Mark - My thoughts on Sufjan are a lot like my thoughts on Wilco or M. Ward: I know it's good, it just doesn't hit me in the gut the way it does for everyone else. Chalk it up to me being inundated with it via annoying people during my musically formative years, or my passion for good riffs and lyrical clarity. The point is, I don't want/need 49 more albums as dreamily hazy as Illinoise; nor do I need an orchestrated meditation on the highway I ride my bike under/huff exhaust fumes from every day.
Wes – I mean, I don’t need them, either – but wouldn’t it be at least remotely interesting for him to write an album about, oh, I don’t know – Rhode Island? I don’t know anything about Rhode Island. Do you? I guess I was never annoyed by the Sufjan lovers, but then again maybe I’m just one of them and don’t know it.
Actually I’m probably just biased because of the Clyde Tombaugh song he had on the Illinois b-sides album. He was the guy that discovered Pluto and was from my hometown. When I was in sixth grade we wrote letters to the government to make sure Pluto stayed a planet. I ended up being on the evening news because of it.
In fact, I’m convinced that is the only reason I like Sufjan Stevens. Maybe you are right. Fuck the other 48 states or however many he has left.
Posted by Wes Soltis on Jul 23, 2009 @ 9:00 am
