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. 

What is your favorite band? Not, “who”, but, “what”. What experiences, feelings, emotions, sights, smells, people, memories, pain, etc. does your favorite band evoke?

Pavement is my favorite band.

And Pavement is also my junior year of high school riding in the back of my parents car south on I-35 to a new city. A new life. Pavement was being scared to death, but also being optimistic about what was around the corner.

Pavement is 17 year old me with a crap used-guitar playing crappily played music like crap, but feeling like a rock star.

Pavement is falling in love with a girl, and Pavement is getting over the girl when she broke your heart. 

Pavement is sharing mix CDs with Kate Callahan. And Pavement is discussing rock-star-ology with Darren White.

Pavement is a fall night driving home with the windows down and thinking about your life.

Pavement is riding the Tube in London. Wilco is walking at the DFW airport alone, but Pavement is definitely public transportation.

Pavement is high school friends from Oklahoma.

Maybe more importantly, Pavement is where I first fell in love behind a band’s story. I really think above all else I am a story-teller. I want to hear about other people’s lives, and I want to tell their story to others. And Pavement was the perfect vehicle. The band that could have been. The mysterious front man. The slackers that accidentally made really great music. The lyrics that could mean everything, or could mean nothing. (That probably mean nothing.)

While I’m not as big of a music snob as I once was, and I don’t participate in music centered talk, study, or debate as much as I once did, I will forever love Pavement.

Yeah, I know I already saw them in Chicago at p4kfest—but I’m going to see them again, for the first time. I’ll let you know how it goes…