So I've decided that I can't find the words to adequately describe my experience at the Sufjan Stevens concert I went to in November. Suffice to say, it was a life-completing experience, and I can pretty much die now and be satisfied. But something I ran across on Pitchfork reminded me about how I wasn't sure how the concert would go in the days leading up to it.
This was primarily because Sufjan's latest album, Age of Adz, was a complete reversal from his recent work. To be fair, the electronic, eclectic sound wasn't completely out of left field-You Are the Blood off of the Dark Was the Night compilation now sounds more in line with Sujfan-but it certainly felt like a jolt after his All Delighted People EP, released just a bit before the full album (The Owl and the Tanager is pretty representative).
Despite some nervousness going in, the concert itself not only was amazing, but it also sold me on Adz. I know that there were people that still haven't come to terms with the directional shift *cough*J*cough*, and apparently Sufjan does too--this interview basically has Sufjan acknowledging that the album was more an experiment in noise than a project in songwriting. One of the best (and I use best lightly...probably more like "most representative") answers was probably in response to those that were thrown off by Adz:
"I can't apologize for the direction I'm going because it feels necessary and obvious. I know it's confusing because I'm something of an aesthetic nightmare, and I kind of suffer from multiple personality disorder. But that's part of me and my character. So, I guess I don't care. It's a big shift, and it may not be for some people. They should stay home. [laughs] Don't listen to the record; don't buy it."
So what does one do when their favorite artist says they're not going to continue with the music that made you love them? Hang on for the ride.
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