Sufjan (Soofyan) Stevens. You either love him or you hate him. Or you’re like me and you hated his music right smack dab up to the point when you fell in love with his music.
I mean, what’s not to like? The guy’s an indie artist whose favorite instrument is a banjo. He plays dozens of instruments, like a glockenspiel and an oboe, which brings a great deal of texture and complexity to his music. That’s what makes it really hard to listen to sometimes; it’s unpredictable stuff, but it’s meaty stuff.
Here’s a classic example: Chicago, the song he’s probably most famous for, is a memorable pop-ish jaunt, but as quick as you can say “Casimir Pulinski”, the simple, haunting ballad of John Wayne Gacy gets seared into the brain. And then, without so much as a blink, his music takes on a whole new level with the grand, sweeping sounds of Majesty Snowbird, one of his yet-to-be-recorded songs he performed live on his most recent tour.
Now, those of you indie aficionado’s *cough*Andy*cough* will have to bear with me. I know I’m a few months behind on this, but unfortunately I only just recently got caught up on all of this.
You can watch his Majesty Snowbird performance (with the Butterfly Brigade!) here or here, or better yet, download the full 10 minute .mp3 with much better (still not great) sound quality.
Enjoy.
UPDATE: For those interested, I’ve got the lyrics for Majesty, Snowbird as per Hawkeye:
Rain bird, laughing in the olive tree, la la dee dah
Colored shirt, with the alabaster altarpiece, you gave to me
Summer sweet, some forgiven
Your advice is all that seems to matter much to me
Call it sweet, call it something paradise
Is it the right word you designed for me?
Is it the broken word or good advice i need?
Is the half as sweet set aside for me?
Is it mysterious? is it something ripe and sweet?
Snowbird, your sister said she needed me, la la dee dah
Show them first, show them what you did for me, la la dee dah
Quiet sound, and little soldier sent beneath
And epaulets that covered every shoulder
Call it sweet come take
Forget the things I said, to please
Is it the right word you designed for me?
Is it the broken word or good advice i need?
Is the tapestry set beneath my wings?
Is it mysteroius, glorious? Indeed.
Don’t stop, don’t break
You can delight because you have a place
Quiet room, I need you now
Is it the right word?
Is it the broken word?
Is it the tapestry?
Is it the majesty?
Is it the right word?
Is it the broken word?
Is it the tapestry?
Is it the majesty?
Don’t stop, don’t break
You can delight because you have a place
(x5)
Quiet room, i need you now…
