Nate for President

I’d be lying to you if I said I knew a lot about Sufjan Stevens. I don’t know where he’s from (Chicago maybe?) or really when he became popular (2006?). I don’t even know if Sufjan is his real name or just something he picked up in art school (I’m assuming he went to art school). I don’t know these things because, for me, Sufjan was unlike all the other musicians I love and follow > I never wanted to know too much about him. 

Here’s a picture from a Sufjan Stevens concert in 2006. Or 2007. I can’t remember. But what I do remember is he was exactly what I wanted. He played pop folk music with a banjo, full orchestra and butterfly wings. Oh, the butterfly wings.

Here’s a video:

During this concert he played a bunch of his 3:15 - 4:45 long songs. Kept his banter minimal, but kept the fun and the energy very, very high. We loved the show because it was exactly what we expected. It was everything we put on mix tapes to our girlfriends. It was everything we played for our parents when they rode in our car when we were home from college. It was Sufjan.

And now here’s a video from his latest tour. Go ahead, play it. Soak it in.

I know what you’re thinking, it’s different*. It’s real rhythmic. Lots of dancing. Electronic beats. Some auto tune. Also he’s wearing a head band with sparkly streamers coming off the end. Yep.

*Apparently not incredibly different from what he use to do (see: Know Your Rabbit). But like I said, I don’t know much about him other than what I’ve wanted to know about him; he was a great on high school mix CDs.

Sufjan in Dallas. Last Wednesday.

Sure it’s different. Maybe even a lot different than what he was doing before (like 25 minute prog-rock jams). That’s why some people don’t like it.

Recently a friend’s girlfriend described Sufjan’s new album very elegantly. How did she put it? Oh yeah she said, “It SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!”

I disagree with her. His new stuff is fantastic because it’s so different.

If we want to appreciate our favorite musicians, we have to let them breath. We need exploration, creativity, mistakes, ridiculousness, etc. so that we can actually appreciate their work.

Some might say that Sufjan is getting too into himself. He did prep 75% of his songs with the line like, “this was a real exploration for my soul…” But I’m totally into it.

I want more artists that push the boundaries and continue to expand.

I want more Sufjans and Kanyes and less Vampire Weekends and Justin Beibers.