That's pronounced "Soof-yahn"

When I sat down to figure out what I'd write about in my inaugural post, it didn't really take long to settle on my favorite artist of all time, Sufjan Stevens.  My love affair with Sufjan's music started in summer of 2005, when a friend from home gave me his album Seven Swans as a graduation gift.  It took some time for Seven Swans to grow on me, though, so I'll start off with the one that immediately caught my attention: Come On, Feel the Illinoise.  This album epitomizes the complex, multi-instrumental arrangements that characterize Sufjan's music (fun fact: he plays most of the instruments heard on his albums, including the oboe and banjo), which can range in character from light and lackadaisical (Come on Feel the Illinoise! Pt. 1: The World's Columbian Exposition/Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream) to heart-wrenching (John Wayne Gacy, Jr.; after a(n in)famous serial killer) to symphonic (better examples on other albums, but for now, check out Chicago, one of his most widely-known songs, for some seriously orchestral arrangements).  

Scanning through the list of tracks for Illinoise, it's also pretty obvious that there is a serious level of creativity being put into the song titles, from A Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has An Existential Crisis In The Great Godfrey Maze, which takes longer to scroll through on iTunes than the entire length of the song, to one of my personal favorites, A Short Reprise For Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But For Very Good Reasons. Fun fact number 2: Sufjan enrolled in a writing program at The New School for Social Research, which might explain both the long titles, and the stories contained within songs.  

Sufjan tends to be a master of the concept album, and there's no greater proof of that than the (possibly exaggerated?) 50 States project.  Sufjan's stated goal is to make an album for each state, although to date only two exist: Greetings from Michigan, and Come on Feel the Illinoise.  Sufjan also released a collection of outtakes/B-sides for Illinoise called The Avalanche, but as I can't do every single album justice in one post, I'll save that one for later.  It's been quite a few years since an album for a new state has come out, although Sufjan did premiere the BQE, an audio/visual monument to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, in November 2007 (just another demonstration of the symphonic quality of his music).  I've given up following the guesses on the next state, as I've heard NY, OR, RI, and New Jersey! The Musical! all as potential next subjects.  I'll believe it when I hear it, so to speak.  

Luckily, unreleased Sufjan tracks show up moderately frequently, either on compilation discs for his record label (that he co-founded with his stepfather), Asthmatic Kitty, or through internet links to performances (thanks, YouTube!).  Some of these non-album tracks are my favorites, so I'll leave you with a couple more before signing off on the inaugural post.

Damascus-Showcase of one of the more frequently used instruments in Sufjan's music, the banjo.  Don't let it dissuade you; the song is calming, full of complex, broken chord progressions (one of the surefire ways to ensure I like a song), and one of the favorites of almost every Sufjan fan I know.  

Opie's Funeral Song-mellow, heartbreaking storytelling.  Acoustic guitar and piano. 

Jupiter Bad June-if you guessed that I'm biased towards this one because of the string quartet it contains, you are correct! Beautiful, beautiful song.  Lost the file for it when my laptop was stolen; this makes me sad.  

So there you have it--my inaugural post, an homage to a small part of the prolific songwriting of Sufjan Stevens (he's adorable, too!).  While this would definitely fall under my definition of indie music, fret not, other people! This will eventually degenerate into whatever random songs I happen to be listening to on repeat at work (as in...there will be an ode to Led Zeppelin at some point, I assume, plus a couple Euroclubbing playlists).  Hope this is interesting to someone besides me, and catch you on the next post.  Still deciding who to use; could segue into The National (Sufjan played piano on their album Boxer, and they have a new album coming out in a few months...but that's a while away), or some of the Scottish bands I've been obsessing over lately (e.g. The Fratellis, or Frightened Rabbit, c/o Helen). 

じゃ、またね〜！