Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
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CD Details
Artist: Sufjan StevensEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2003-07-01
Music Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Soundtracks:
- Flint (For The Unemployed And Underpaid)
- All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
- For The Windows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti
- Say Yes! To M!ch!gan!
- The Upper Peninsula
- Tahquamenon Falls
- Holland
- Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
- Romulus
- Alanson, Crooked River
- Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie
- They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For The Homeless In Muskegon)
- Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)
- Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)
- Vito's Ordination Song
Music reviews of Michigan
Music Review: Impressions
Rating: 4 Stars
1st Impression: Turning on the HDTV without cable or satellite & scanning through the many PBS stations, I came across the show "Austin City Limits" where a large brass band was wearing butterfly wings. I clicked the information button & the name Sufjan Stevens came on the screen. Is this Cat Stevens with his new Islamic or Arabic first name? No, he changed his first name to Yusuf. Also everyone including the lead singer on the piano was too young & Cat Stevens would never do anything that avant-garde. Wait, I know the name Sufjan Stevens from somewhere...he played & sang with the neo-folk songwriter Rosie Thomas on her 2007 CD "These Friends of Mine".
After reading everything I could get my hands on about Sufjan Stevens, I read that many people either like or dislike his music. Many call him a pretentious repeater of words & themes, while others consider him a multi instrumental genius. I check out all of his CD's & some of the songs, for example on the CD "Illinoise" the songs "John Wayne Gacy Jr" & "They are Night Zombies" the title & words (I went to a lyrics web site) are rather gothic for my taste. Reading the Amazon reviews I came to the conclusion that "Illinoise" was not the place to start & "Michigan" seem to fair better with the musical press & Amazon reviewers.
2nd impression: It's too bad that Sufjan Stevens lives in the 21st century. He would have made a bigger impression in the late 1960's (sadly before he was born) because these days there is nothing completely new. There is always some traceable influence that can stand out. Sufjan Stevens basic repetitive percussion background music comes from 1970 to 1980ish minimalist classical music of Steve Riech, for example "Tahquemenon Falls" & "Alanson, Crooked River". Do I also hear a little Phillip Glass's 1977 CD "North Star" with the word-less female back-up singers in "They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black"? In one Amazon review the author states that some songs sound like 1960ish Vince Guaraldi Charley Brown music. I agree, especially in the song "All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!" which also adds a little Gentle Giant's 1973 CD "In A Glass House" in the mix.
The banjo & the brass arrangements come from home spun folk music. At times the folk music can sound rather child-like, under practiced, or rough. I normally like my music either very refine as in classical music or very rough as for example Bob Dylan. Some artists can never reach these extremes & can therefore sound rather amateurish. Some songs of Sufjan Stevens do approach this forbidden middle ground because either the main musical theme & main lyrics repeat too often or the brass band sounds off tune in some places. The banjo playing never matches the skill, speed, or jazz mode of Bela Fleck, but is used in place of a hand picked guitar. One Amazon reviewer wrote that the folk music sounds like Neil Young. He's right! "Old man take a look at my life..." as I hum along from the early 1970ish "Harvest" LP. Yet I will give Sufjan Stevens credit for taking a gamble to express himself & at least reach those of us that need a little something different to refresh ourselves from the over played commercial pop music. Also many of the slow songs are very emotional & do hit the target of expressing the business down turn of the auto industry. In all "Michigan" will always keep you guessing & interested due to its many styles & questionable uses.
As I am writing this review the song "Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)" is dancing in my head. Right now it's a good thing. I hope I can sleep tonight.
3rd impression: After listening to the CD for several days, the music grows on you. Sufjan Stevens's singing voice is not his strong point but fits the songs with quiet emotion, especially "Oh God Where Are You Now? (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)" The brass band amateur sound takes on a certain innocence which reflexes the pathos of the economic cloud in today's Michigan & the mix of many musical styles is very refreshing.
I notice several Amazon reviews write about Sufjan Stevens use of Christian themes within his lyrics. Yet he received his pre-Islamic Arabic first name from his father, who was in an inter-faith non-religious spiritual community called Subud. I studied the major religions & philosophies, but never heard of this group. Reading the basics from the Internet, their style of worship comes close to Gurdjieff teachings (which I do know), whos group in Europe helped started Subud in America. Therefore I first thought Sufjan Stevens was using Christian themes as a basic spiritual outreach for the major American culture, but after buying his later CD "Seven Swans", Sufjan Stevens knows the inter workings of Christianity as only a Christian would. In other words, he seems to be within the Christian paradigm; for example the need for an incarnation of God to start the resurrection. In the Jewish or Islamic paradigm there is a resurrection but no incarnation. Listen to the songs "Abraham", "Seven Swans", "To Be Alone with You", "He Woke Me Up Again", "We Won't Need Legs to Stand" & "The Transfiguration" from the "Seven Swans" CD & "Oh God Where Are You Now? (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)" & "Vito's Ordination Song" from the "Michigan" CD, & come up with your own conclusions. Yet Sufjan Stevens wrote that he would never use his music as a means of preaching, which works because many non Christian Amazon reviewers write about this issue & enjoy his music. This reminds me of Van Morrison who also uses Christian themes to convey a larger spiritual message. If you like the Christian themes of this CD then buy "Seven Swans" which is more folkish in style, & more pronounce & profound in spiritual subject matter.
A "5" would be given if the music was tighter & less repeative. Therefore a "4" is given because the CD keeps one interested.
By the way, I did sleep rather well last night
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