#1006 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

I have been interested in Sufjan Stevens for awhile now. I read about him awhile back and the albums that he has recorded. What intrigued me was that he records some of his albums as themes and they vary in styles. His first album is a folk album and the songs explore folk music styles from around the world. His second album is electronic and each of the songs are inspired by the animals of the Chinese zodiac. For his third album, Michigan, Sufjan announced his "Fifty States Project" in which he planed to record an album of songs for each of the states. For album number four he went back to folk-rock and recorded songs that tell stories from the bible. Album six is electronic/hip-hop beats and focuses on personal themes. Album seven was recorded as a way for Sufjan to grieve and come to terms with the death of his mother, who had schizophrenia and drug abuse problems and abandoned Sufjan when he was one. Sufjan has also recorded 10 EP's of Christmas songs, an album of songs based on the Brooklyn-Queens expressway and an album called "Planetarium" with each song inspired by something in the Solar System.

Album number five, this one, was the second in his fifty states project. 22 songs long, although some are just short segues, the album consists of different musical styles through out. I thought it was really quite good, and I enjoyed the themes that the songs explored. I thought the idea behind it was so original. This is what being an artist is about, being original and creative, not to be famous but to create, and when it works it is recognized and the fame and accolades follow.

"Come on Feel the Illinoise"

Tomorrow's Album #919 Mike Ladd - Welcome to the Afterfuture