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Sufjan Stevens - Majesty Snowbird


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I thought it was incredible. Imagine what I wanted to do to my friends who came out of the show saying "structurally it was pretty cool, but melodically it didn't work." If you said "she wanted to smite them through the sternum" you should have been correct. They were ridiculous.

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I saw him this past Saturday in Indianapolis, and I am still :angel :wub :angel on musical cloud 9 as I relive the show through youtube. I loved the strings and the horns and the butterfly and bird wings. Especially as Sufjan's bird wings would flap back and forth as he rocked during the songs, clearly seen in Graham's youtube link for Transfiguration. But Majesty Snowbird was a mind-blower.

 

I'm so glad I introduced my step-sister to Sufjan's music last year. She used to only listen to Christian music (the boring kind), so I gave her Seven Swans and she fell in love ... with everything he's written. So she stood in line for 7 hours getting us 2nd row. Yay! :thumbup

 

And my 78-year-old mother went along with us ... :D ... and she really enjoyed it, as I knew she would, what with all the added strings and horns. :music Never put in her earplugs even once! :lol

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My "review" of the Chicago show:

 

I wasn't all that excited by the Illinoisemaker tour. As much as I like spectacle and pageantry, it just seemed a little forced and weird; the cheers were cute, but seemed stilted. I knew the centerpiece of this tour was a large string section and horns, which got me a little more excited. The spectacle and pageantry of 15 people on stage in giant colorful wings and feathers and beautiful background projections (provided by Deborah who did Wilco and Calexico's for a bit) was pretty impressive. The songs themselves could have been lost beneath that, but instead just filled you up like the perfect cup of hot chocolate on a chilly night. There was a healthy mix from the three major albums, with "Chicago" being especially warm and fuzzy. The new song he played "Majesty Snowbird" seriously knocked the wind out of me. There is nothing I can compare it to. There are mp3s and video of it out there, but I haven't even checked it out, because there is no way it could replicate the FEELING or do it justice. Just fucking amazing. Add to that My Brightest Diamond (aka Shara Worden) who is a wonderful sidewoman to Sufjan. Warm Fuzzies all around!

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I really enjoyed the show in Chicago - he is extremely talented. I wish, though, he put a little more energy into the show as a whole. I overheard a comment that I didn't think was too far from truth, "This show was like decaffeinated Polyphonic Spree."

 

"Majesty Snowbird" was definitely the highlight of the show for me.

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i just don't get it. there is nothing special about this dude at all. his voice is weak, arrangments are too bombastic, and he is wearing wings (i think?)...just my opinion. is there just a dirge of anything remotely good these days that this dude is the savior?

 

rider

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I enjoy his music. I often like his more modest arrangements (Seven Swans) better. That said, sometimes I can really go in for some enthusiastic bombast. I'm not sure who implied he was a savior. I've heard that Pitchfork likes him a lot, but I don't keep up with that so I don't know what they've said. One concert review I read said that his earnest American music might mark the end of the post-modern era. That was probably overstating things--especially since I think his act is somewhere between kitch and earnestness--but I don't think most reviewers have said much along those lines.

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is there just a dirge of anything remotely good these days that this dude is the savior?

 

rider

 

Nope. You're just not "in the club" so to speak (of those who get his music). It's like Radiohead or Neil Young for me: I just don't get it and probably never will.

 

The only difference being, of course, that I dig a lot of the musicians Neil Young has influenced.

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Nope. You're just not "in the club" so to speak (of those who get his music). It's like Radiohead or Neil Young for me: I just don't get it and probably never will.

 

The only difference being, of course, that I dig a lot of the musicians Neil Young has influenced.

 

 

good point. guess maybe i am a little jealous of those who get it. glad folks are enjoying him.

rider

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is there just a dirge of anything remotely good these days that this dude is the savior?

 

I was about to write this big spiel about Sufjan's incredible literate pop, but then I noticed that you'd used the word "dirge" when you meant to say "dearth." Then it clicked.

 

In sum, he's brilliant, but not for everyone. There are people who don't like Bob Dylan, too! And the only Will Oldham record I like is his new one. Go figure.

Edited by TheMaker
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