Men of Musical Genius Monday: Sufjan Stevens

So I’ve been delaying the inevitable in spotlighting this guy as a MoMG (woo, acronyms!), as you can’t find a blogger out there today who won’t sing his praises. However, at the end of the day, you just can’t deny it… Sufjan Stevens is an indie god.

I was pretty early to jump on the Sufjan bandwagon, listening to his album Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State via a friend back in high school. This of course was the first in his 50 States Project, where he plans to make a concept album for each of the 50 states. The fact that three years later he’s only up to two doesn’t bode well for it finishing within his lifetime. On the other hand, he definitely delivered the goods on Sufjan Stevens Invites You To Come on feel the Illinoise, which the indie snobs are currently deriding as overhyped, but at the same time admitting their undying love for (said love, by the way, can only be rekindled by the announcement of a b-sides and outtakes collection for Illinoise due out this summer).

So, on with the tracks: the first, Vito’s Ordination Song, is a haunting and gorgeous end to Michigan, and only improves with the b-side acoustic demo. The second, Casimir Pulaski Day, is hands down one of the most emotionally stirring songs I’ve heard in my lifetime—when I heard it in concert this past September, and the trumpet solo kicked in five feet in front of me, I almost cried. I even went so far as to write an analytic essay on it for my Religion in American Lit class… you can check it out here if you’re really interested ;)

Sufjan Stevens- Vito’s Ordination Song (acoustic)
Sufjan Stevens- Casimir Pulaski Day