Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Like the self-proclaimed "Spiderman" who climbed Chicago's Sears Tower with no harness, Sufjan Stevens scales dusty prairies, steel factories and 200 years of history in the second installment of his 50 State Project, Illinois, a 22-track anthematic tone poem to The Prairie State. An engrossing musical road trip, Illinois takes you through ghost towns, grain mills, hospital rooms and the City of Broad Shoulders, with guest appearances by a poet, a president, a serial murderer, UFOs, Superman, the goat that cursed the Cubs, and Decatur's famous Chickenmobile. Sufjan weaves variegated musical styles (jazz, funk, pop, folk and Rodgers and Hammerstein-like flourishes) and the textures of 25 instruments into a tapestry of persons and places famous, infamous, iconic and anonymous.

1. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois

2. The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You're Gonna Have To Leave Now…

3. Come On! Feel The Illinoise!: Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition/Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

4. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

5. Jacksonville

6. A Short Reprise For Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But For Very Good Reasons

7. Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother!

8. One Last 'Whoo-Hoo!' For The Pullman

9. Go Chicago! Go! Yeah!

10. Casimir Pulaski Day

11. To The Workers Of The Rock River Valley Region, I Have An Idea Concerning Your Predicament, And It Involves Tube Socks, A Paper Airplane, And 22 Able-Bodied Men

12. The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts

13. Prairie Fire That Wanders About

14. A Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has An Existential Crisis In The Great Godfrey Maze

15. The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!

16. They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!

17. Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All The Way Out In Bloomington-Normal

18. This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man For Whom He Saved The Earth

19. The Seer's Tower

20. The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders: Part I: The Great Frontier/Part II: Come To Me Only With Playthings Now

21. Riffs And Variations On A Single Note For Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, And The King Of Swing, To Name A Few

22. Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run

23. The Avalanche

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 2 person(s) rated this product.

Excellent! posted on 01/27/2010 5 Stars This is one amazing record. Just amazing music on a great pressing for 20 bucks. Get it. You will not be disappointed.

You haven't bought it yet??? posted on 09/11/2006 5 Stars Reviewer: Jason P. Sufjan Stevens created his own genre, and with skill! It's acoustic, banjo/piano/electric guitar/other instruments. It's calming, yet powerful. It's melodic, yet purposefully dischordant at times. The lyrics are full of meaning, yet ambiguous. There's raw honesty that music hasn't seen in years. There's no making music for the masses, or music just to make a buck or two. Sufjan Stevens creates where others just copy. This is his second album in his US State's project. (His first being Michigan). All of the songs pertain to the state of Illinois (the S is silent...:) ) and things that happened therewithin. Ranging from the Sears Tower to John Wayne Gacy, Jr to the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois. As boring as that sounds, he takes these stories and puts life into them creating a soundscape to be remembered. He relates the stories to personal experiences. You will not be dissapointed.

Write a review and let people know what you think of this product OR just rate it.