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== Biography == |
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⚫ | Stevensfaggotiritual community to which his parents belonged when he was born.<ref>{{cite web | last = Odland | first = Jeffrey | title = Junkmedia: An Interview with Sufjan Stevens | publisher=Junk Media | date = May 12, 2004 | url = http://www.junkmedia.org/index.php?i=1031 | accessdate = August 27, 2006}}</ref> The name "Sufjan" means "comes with a sword."<ref>{{cite web | last = Satran | first = Pamela | title = Nameberry — Baby Name Sufjan: Meaning, Origin, And Popularity | publisher=Nameberry | url = http://nameberry.com/name/boy/Sufjan | accessdate = December 4, 2008}}</ref> |
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Stevens was born in Detroit and lived there until the age of nine, when his family moved to [[Petoskey, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web|author=“” |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdqAnmWLkWE |title=Retrieved on February 21, 2009 |publisher=Youtube |date= |accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> In Petoskey he attended Harbor Light Christian School as well as the prestigious [[Interlochen Arts Academy]]. He went on to attend [[Hope College]] in [[Holland, Michigan]] and earned a Master of Fine Arts from [[The New School]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=5 |title=Retrieved on March 30, 2009 |publisher=Asthmatickitty.com |date= |accessdate=October 31, 2010}}</ref> |
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''Sufjan'' is a [[Persian language|Persian]] name<ref>{{cite news | last = Harrington |
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Stevens' parents later gave him the option to change his name, but he was unable to think of a name that he liked; his parents later admitted that they did not really have the money for him to legally change his name.<ref name="Stevens">{{cite web | last = Stevens | first = Sufjan | title = What's in a Name? | publisher=Asthmatic Kitty Records | url = http://sidebar.asthmatickitty.com/archives/1867 | accessdate = May 17, 2009}}</ref> |
Stevens' parents later gave him the option to change his name, but he was unable to think of a name that he liked; his parents later admitted that they did not really have the money for him to legally change his name.<ref name="Stevens">{{cite web | last = Stevens | first = Sufjan | title = What's in a Name? | publisher=Asthmatic Kitty Records | url = http://sidebar.asthmatickitty.com/archives/1867 | accessdate = May 17, 2009}}</ref> |
Revision as of 03:00, 11 November 2010
Sufjan Stevens |
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Sufjan Stevens (Template:Pron-en SOOF-yahn; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on the Asthmatic Kitty label, which he formed with his stepfather, beginning with the 2000 release A Sun Came. He is best known for his 2005 album Illinois, which hit number one in the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, and for the song "Chicago".
Stevens has released albums of varying styles, from the electronica of Enjoy Your Rabbit and the lo-fi folk of Seven Swans to the symphonic instrumentation of Illinois and Christmas-themed Songs for Christmas. Stevens makes use of a variety of instruments, often playing many of them himself on the same track,[2] and writes music in various time signatures. He is considered part of the folk revival in indie pop, but his influences are very broad. His music has been likened to electronica[3] and aesthetically compared to the minimalism of Steve Reich.[4] Stevens' music often has spiritual themes, and many songs (most notably on Seven Swans) draw inspiration from Bible stories.
Biography
Sexual Orientation
Stevensfaggotiritual community to which his parents belonged when he was born.[5] The name "Sufjan" means "comes with a sword."[6]
Stevens' parents later gave him the option to change his name, but he was unable to think of a name that he liked; his parents later admitted that they did not really have the money for him to legally change his name.[7]
A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens is known for his use of the banjo, but also plays guitar, piano, drums, and several other instruments, often playing all of these on his albums through the use of multitrack recording. While in school, he studied the oboe and English horn, which he also plays on his albums. This multitude of instruments, including string and horn orchestrations, figure prominently in his compositions, giving his music a symphonic sound.
Stevens currently lives in Kensington, Brooklyn, in New York City,[8] where he makes up the Asthmatic Kitty Records staff of the Brooklyn office.[9] His brother Marzuki Stevens is a nationally recognized marathon runner.[10]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Sufjan_Stevens_crop.jpg/220px-Sufjan_Stevens_crop.jpg)
Stevens began his musical career as a member of Marzuki, a folk-rock band from Holland, Michigan. He also played (and continues to play) various instruments for Danielson Famile. While in school at Hope College, Stevens wrote and recorded his debut solo album, A Sun Came, which he released on Asthmatic Kitty Records. He later moved to New York City, where he was enrolled in a writing program at the New School for Social Research.
While in New York, Stevens composed and recorded the music for his second album, Enjoy Your Rabbit, a song cycle based around the animals of the Chinese Zodiac that ventured into electronica.
Stevens followed this with the first album to be released as a part of his "Fifty States Project", a collection of folk songs and instrumentals inspired by his home state of Michigan. The result, the expansive Michigan included odes to cities including Detroit and Flint, the Upper Peninsula, and vacation areas such as Tahquamenon Falls. Melded into the scenic descriptions and characters are his own declarations of faith, sorrow, love, and the regeneration of Michigan.
Following the release of Michigan, Stevens compiled a collection of songs recorded previously into a side project, the album Seven Swans, which was released in March 2004.
Next he released the second in the 50 states project, titled Illinois. Among the subjects explored on Illinois are the cities of Chicago, Decatur and Jacksonville; the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the state's observance of a holiday in honor of Casimir Pulaski, the poet Carl Sandburg, and the serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
Over the 2005 winter holidays, Stevens recorded an album with Rosie Thomas and Denison Witmer playing banjo and providing vocals. In April 2006, Pitchfork erroneously announced that Stevens and Thomas were having a baby together, but were forced to print a retraction.[11][12][13] Witmer and Thomas later admitted it was an April Fools' prank.[14] In December 2006, the collaborative recordings were digitally released by Nettwerk as a Rosie Thomas album titled These Friends of Mine. The album was released in physical form on March 13, 2007.
On September 11, 2006, in Nashville, Tennessee, Stevens debuted a new composition, a ten minute-plus piece titled "Majesty Snowbird".[15][16] On November 21, 2006, a five CD box set Songs for Christmas was released, which contains originals and Christmas standards recorded every year since 2001 (except 2004). Stevens undertook in the project initially as an exercise to make himself 'appreciate' Christmas more.[17] The songs were the work of an annual collaboration between Stevens and different collaborators, including minister Vito Aiuto; the songs themselves were distributed to friends and family.
In April 2007, in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Stevens made unannounced appearances on Thomas's tour in support of this album. In 2007 he did a Take-Away Show acoustic video session shot by Vincent Moon standing on a roof in Cincinnati.[18] In 2007, he played shows sporadically, including playing at the Kennedy Center to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Millennium Stage concerts.[19] He was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music to create a "music and film work" titled The BQE, described as "a symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway".[20] It premiered at BAM's Next Wave festival on November 1–3, 2007.[21] Stevens has also worked as an essayist, contributing to Asthmatic Kitty Records' "Sidebar" feature and Topic Magazine.[22] He wrote the introduction to the 2007 edition of The Best American Nonrequired Reading, a short story about his early childhood education and learning to read titled How I Trumped Rudolf Steiner and Overcame the Tribulations of Illiteracy, One Snickers Bar at a Time.[23][24] That winter, he hosted an "Xmas Song Exchange Contest" in which winner Alec Duffy won exclusive rights to the original Stevens song "The Lonely Man of Winter." The track has never been uploaded, and can now only be heard by attending private listening parties at Duffy's home in Brooklyn.[25][26]
Stevens has contributed to the music of Denison Witmer, Soul Junk, Half-handed Cloud, Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile, Serena Maneesh, Castanets, Will Stratton, Shannon Stephens, Clare and the Reasons, and Liz Janes. In 2007 alone, Stevens played piano on The National's album Boxer, produced and contributed many instrumental tracks to Rosie Thomas's album These Friends of Mine, multiple instruments on Ben + Vesper's album All This Could Kill You and oboe and vocals to David Garland's new album Noise in You.
He has contributed covers of Tim Buckley ("She Is"), Joni Mitchell ("Free Man in Paris"), Daniel Johnston ("Worried Shoes"), John Fahey ("Variation on 'Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Park"), The Innocence Mission ("The Lakes of Canada"), Bob Dylan ("Ring Them Bells") and The Beatles ("What Goes On") to various tribute albums. His versions of "Free Man in Paris" and "What Goes On" are notable for only retaining the lyrics of the original, as Stevens has taken his own interpretation on the melody and arrangement. His rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" has a similar rearranged melody and arrangement as well as a whole new verse.[27]
His song "The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders" was featured in the 2006 British comedy-drama Driving Lessons, starring Harry Potter's Julie Walters and Rupert Grint. In 2008, he produced Welcome to the Welcome Wagon, the debut album of Brooklyn-based husband and wife duo Vito and Monique Auito, The Welcome Wagon.
In February 2009, Stevens contributed "You Are the Blood" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night produced by the Red Hot Organization. In April 2009, Stevens uploaded a song about director Sofia Coppola online.[28] This song was written while Stevens was in college, from a series of songs about names.
Stevens recalled:
"[...] A few weeks later, our dog got hit by a snowplow and I forgot all about the problem of names. Until college, when I learned to play the guitar, and, as an exercise, started writing songs (very poorly executed) in the same way that Henry Ford produced the automobile: assembly-line-style. I wrote songs for the days of the week (poor Monday!). Songs for the planets (poor Pluto!). Songs for the Apostles (poor Judas!). And, finally, when all else failed, I started a series of songs for names. [...] Each piece was a rhetorical, philosophical, musical rumination on all the possible names I had entertained years before when my parents had given me the one chance to change my own. Oh fates! I sang these songs in the privacy of my dorm room, behind closed doors, pillows and cushions stuffed in the air vents so no one would hear. And then I almost failed Latin class, my grades plummeted, my social life dissolved into ping pong tournaments in the residence halls, and, gradually, my interest in music (or anything divine, creative, fruitful, enriching) completely waned. I turned to beer. And cigarettes. And TV sitcoms. And candy bars. Oh well! A perfectly good youth wasted on junk food! That is, until a few months ago, when I came across some of the old name songs, stuffed onto tape cassettes, 4-track recorders, forgotten boxes, forgotten shelves, forgotten hard drives. It was like finding an old diary, or a high school yearbook, senior picture with lens flare and pockmarks, slightly cute and embarrassing. What was I thinking? [...]"[7]
In September 2009, Stevens began performing four new songs while on his Fall tour, "All Delighted People", "Impossible Souls", "There's Too Much Love" and "Age of Adz".[29] That year Stevens contributed to an album with his step father, Lowell Brams, entitled Music For Insomnia. The album was released December 8, 2009.[30]
In November 2009, Stevens admitted to Exclaim! Magazine, in regard to the fact that he recently called his fifty-state project a joke, that "I don't really have as much faith in my work as I used to, but I think that's healthy. I think it's allowed me to be less precious about how I work and write. And maybe it's okay for us to take it less seriously."[31]
In June 2010, The National's Bryce Dessner claimed Stevens is currently at work on his next full length album and stated the band is playing on the new album.[32]
The Fifty States Project
Beginning with Michigan, Stevens announced an intent to write an album for each of the fifty U.S. states.
Stevens spent the second half of 2004 researching and writing material for the second of these projects, this time focusing his efforts on Illinois. As with Michigan, Stevens used the state of Illinois as a leaping-off point for his more personal explorations of faith, family, love, and location. Though slated for general release on July 5, 2005, the album was briefly delayed by legal issues regarding the use of Superman in the original album cover artwork. In the double vinyl release, a balloon sticker has been placed over Superman on the cover art of the first 5,000 copies. The next printings had an empty space where the Superman image was, as with the CD release.[33]
The widely acclaimed Illinois was the highest-rated album of 2005 on the Metacritic review aggregator site, based on glowing reviews from Pitchfork Media, The Onion A/V Club, Spin, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, KEXP, and The Guardian.[34] The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards awarded Stevens with the Album Of The Year, Best Album Art/Packaging, and Male Artist Of The Year. Pitchfork Media, No Ripcord, and Paste Magazine named Illinois as the editors' choice for best album of 2005 and Stevens received the 2005 Pantheon prize, awarded to noteworthy albums selling fewer than 500,000 copies, for Illinois.[35] In April 2006, Stevens announced that 21 pieces of music he had culled from the Illinois recording sessions would be incorporated into a new album, called The Avalanche,[36] which was released on July 11, 2006.
The next states to be taken on in the project have been reported as Oregon and Rhode Island.[37] In late 2005 and early 2006 Stevens played a new instrumental track titled "The Maple River". There are various Maple Rivers in the U.S., in Minnesota, Iowa, North or South Dakota. There is also evidence to suggest the possibility of a New York album. Not only is Stevens's current residence in New York City, but at the footnote of his writing piece titled "Friend Rock", Stevens stated that he was reading a biography on Robert Moses, who is a notable New Yorker.[38] In late 2007, Stevens debuted several new songs about New York, including "BQE", a track about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, one of many urban developments designed and spearheaded by Robert Moses.
Stevens made brief mention to a possible collaboration with Asthmatic Kitty labelmate Rafter on an album about California.[39] Stevens also recorded "The Lord God Bird"[40] about the reported sighting of an ivory-billed woodpecker, thought to be extinct, in Arkansas (known as the 'lord god' or 'great god' bird because of its breathtaking appearance). This was in connection with a National Public Radio piece in which "independent radio producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister were curious about how Stevens writes his songs."
"Sufjan Stevens is not going to write a record for each of the 50 states after all" was the original text included on the online liner notes for their Mews Too: An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation disc released on February 7, 2006.[41] This statement was possibly included as a joke, as the text has since been removed and the current liner notes related to Stevens reads, "18. Sufjan Stevens can fold a fitted-sheet (he once worked as a professional folder in a commercial laundromat)."
In an article published on February 24, 2008, in New York Magazine, Stevens implied that New Jersey could be the target of his next state project. After he gave a brief quote about the New Jersey Turnpike, he was asked, "So is this the next musical project?" Sufjan joked, "New Jersey, the musical—an ode to the turnpike."[42]
The Guardian published an interview with Stevens on October 27, 2009, in which he stated in relation to the Fifty States Project: "I have no qualms about admitting it was a promotional gimmick".[43]
The BQE
On May 31, 2007, Asthmatic Kitty announced that Stevens would be premiering a new project titled The BQE in early November 2007. The project, dubbed a "symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway", was manifested in a live show. The BQE featured an original film by Stevens (shot in Super 8 mm film and standard 16 mm), while Stevens and a backing orchestra provided the live soundtrack. The performance used 36 performers which included a small band, a wind and brass ensemble, string players, horn players, and hula hoopers. There were no lyrics to the music. The BQE was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music as part of their Next Wave Festival and performed on three consecutive nights from November 1–3, 2007.
The performance sold out the 2,109 seat BAM Opera House without any advertising.[44] After three weeks of rehearsing the piece with the three dozen musicians[45] involved, he presented the 30-minute composition. The BQE was followed by an additional one hour of concert by Stevens and his orchestra. The BQE won the 2008 Brendan Gill Prize.[46]
The multimedia package was released on October 20, 2009. The release included a CD of the show's soundtrack, a DVD of Brooklyn-Queens Expressway footage that accompanied the original performance (not a film of the performance itself), a 40-page booklet with liner notes and photos, and a stereoscopic 3D View-Master reel. A limited edition version that features the soundtrack on 180-gram vinyl and a 40-page BQE-themed comic book starring the show's hula hooping wonder women, the Hooper Heroes, was also released.
Run Rabbit Run
On October 6, 2009 Stevens' label released an album of versions of his 2001 album Enjoy Your Rabbit rearranged for strings and performed by the Osso String Quartet, entitled Run Rabbit Run.[47]
All Delighted People and The Age of Adz
In 2010 Stevens was featured on The National's album High Violet in May and sang backing vocals for the band on The Late Show with David Letterman.[48] Following the release of High Violet, band frontman Matt Berninger mentioned that Stevens was recording a new album in the band's studio and that The National would appear on some of the tracks. In early August, Stevens announced North American tour dates across dozens of cities. On August 20, 2010, Stevens suddenly and unexpectedly released a new collection of tracks, the All Delighted People EP, for digital download. The EP is built around two versions of the title track, "All Delighted People."[49] The EP surprisingly rose to #27 on the Billboard 200 albums solely through its digital sales.[50] On August 26, Asthmatic Kitty announced that Stevens would release his newest full length album, The Age of Adz, on October 12.[51] NPR streamed the album until it released October 12, 2010.[52]
In interviews, Stevens has stated that, in 2009/10, he suffered from a mysterious debilitating virus infection that affected his nervous system. He experienced chronic pain, and was forced to stop working on music for several months.[53] He said: "The Age of Adz, is, in some ways, a result of that process of working through health issues and getting much more in touch with my physical self. That's why I think the record's really obsessed with sensation and has a hysterical melodrama to it."[54]
Themes
Many of his songs have spiritual allusions. He says he does not try to make music for the sake of preaching. "I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions," says Stevens. "I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of forum. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements, because I often think it's misunderstood."[55]
Such themes are most notable on his album Seven Swans, the songs "Abraham", "Seven Swans", "To Be Alone with You", "He Woke Me Up Again", "We Won't Need Legs to Stand" and "The Transfiguration" refer to Christian themes. In "Abraham", Stevens recounts the Old Testament story in the Book of Genesis. The lyrics of "The Transfiguration" appear to follow the Biblical accounts of Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9: 1–8, and Luke 9:28–36. The title of "All the Trees of the Fields Will Clap Their Hands" is a quote from Isaiah 55:12.[56]
During a 2004 interview with Adrian Pannett for Comes with a Smile magazine, when asked how important faith was to his music, he responded, "I don't like talking about that stuff in the public forum because, I think, certain themes and convictions are meant for personal conversation."[57]
Discography
![]() | It has been suggested that some portions of this article should be split into a new article titled Sufjan Stevens discography. (discuss) (October 2010) |
Albums
Year | Album | Peak chart positions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US H.S. | CAN | IRL | UK | ||
2000 | A Sun Came | — | — | — | — | — |
2001 | Enjoy Your Rabbit | — | — | — | — | — |
2003 | Michigan | — | — | — | — | — |
2004 | Seven Swans | — | — | — | — | — |
2005 | Illinois | 121 | 1 | 23 | — | — |
2006 | The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album | 71 | — | 93 | — | — |
2006 | Songs for Christmas | 122 | — | — | — | — |
2009 | The BQE | — | — | — | — | — |
2010 | All Delighted People EP | 27 | — | — | — | — |
2010 | The Age of Adz | 7 | — | 13 | 23 | 30 |
Compilation appearances
- "All Delighted People" (Eye of the Beholder Vol.1, Tract Records, October 3, 2000)
- "Woman at the Well", "(Year of the) Ox", and "Far Physician's Son" (8.21. a blue bunny compilation, Blue Bunny Records, 2000)
- "Damascus" (Seen/Unseen, Absalom Recordings, September 25, 2001)
- "The First Full Moon", "God'll Ne'er Let You Down", "Bushwick Junkie", "I Can't Even Lift My Head" (To Spirit Back The Mews, Asthmatic Kitty, 2002)
- "For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti" (Rough Trade Shops: Counter Culture 03: Best Of 2003, Rough Trade Records, February 2, 2004)
- "Borderline" (Hope Isn't a Word, Comes With a Smile, 2004)
- "To Be Alone With You" (Music from the OC: Mix 4, Warner Bros. Records/Wea, 2005)
- "What Goes On" (This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul, Razor & Tie, October 2005)
- "She Is" (Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley, Full Time Hobby, October 3, 2005)
- "Opie's Funeral Song" (Mews Too: An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation, Asthmatic Kitty, February 7, 2006)
- "Variation on 'Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Park'" (I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey, Vanguard Records, February 14, 2006)
- "The Friendly Beasts" (See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages, Paper Bag Records, March 21, 2006)
- "Adlai Stevenson" (The Sound the Hare Heard, Kill Rock Stars, May 9, 2006)
- "Chicago" and "No Man's Land" (Little Miss Sunshine, Directors: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, August 18, 2006)
- "Casimir Pulaski Day" (Guitar And Voice For Rainy Days, Volume 2, Your Musicland, 2006)
- "Free Man in Paris" (A Tribute to Joni Mitchell, Nonesuch, April 24, 2007)
- "Ring Them Bells" (I'm Not There: Original Soundtrack, Columbia Records, 2007)
- "Decatur, Or, Round of Applause for your Stepmother!" (Folk Off: New Folk And Psychedelia From The British Isles And North America Compiled By Rob Da Bank, Sunday Best, 2006)
- "In the Words of the Governor" (The Believer, music compilation CD, June/July 2007)[58]
- "You Are the Blood" (Dark Was the Night, 4AD, February 17, 2009)
- "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing" ("Friday Night Lights Vol. 2 (television soundtrack)"), Arrival Records, May 2010
Collaborations
- Serena Maneesh by Serena Maneesh (HoneyMilk Records, August 29, 2005) (Sufjan Stevens — flute, marimba)
- Done Gone Fire by Liz Janes (Asthmatic Kitty Records, September 6, 2005) (Sufjan Stevens — producer and performer)
- What's The Remedy? by Half-handed Cloud (Asthmatic Kitty Records, October 25, 2005) (Sufjan Stevens — producer and performer)
- These Friends of Mine by Rosie Thomas (Sub Pop Records, December 12, 2006) (Sufjan Stevens — producer and performer)
- "Racing Like a Pro" and "Ada" from Boxer by The National (Beggars Banquet Records, May 22, 2007) (Sufjan Stevens — piano)
- Welcome to the Welcome Wagon by The Welcome Wagon (Dec 2008)
- "Pity Dance" and "Around The Lion Legs" from Heavy Ghost by DM Stith (Asthmatic Kitty Records, March 7, 2009) (Sufjan Stevens — piano, voice, stapler, stationary floor fan, bass drum, flutes)
- "Afraid of Everyone" and "England" from High Violet by The National (Beggars Banquet Records, May 11, 2010) (Sufjan Stevens — piano, vocals)
- "Say Hello" from Rosie Thomas (featuring Sufjan on vocals)
Miscellaneous releases
- Michigan Outtakes (first available as free mp3 download on Stevens' website; now included on the vinyl version of Michigan)[59]
- "The Dress Looks Nice on You" (7″ vinyl single) (Rough Trade Records, 2004)
- "The Lord God Bird" (National Public Radio website, July 6, 2005)
- Songs for Christmas, Vol VI: subtitle missing (Dec 2006, unreleased to the general public)
- Songs for Christmas, Vol VII: subtitle missing (Dec 2007, unreleased to the general public)
- "The Lonely Man of Winter" (Xmas Xchange Contest song, Dec 2007, unreleased to the general public)
- Songs for Christmas, Vol VIII: Astral Inter Planet Space Captain Christmas Infinity Voyage (Dec 2008, unreleased to the general public)
- "Sofia's Song" (April 2009, featured on Asthmatic Kitty Records' blog, The Sidebar)
References
![]() |
- ^ "Sufjan Stevens' artist profile". Asthmatic Kitty Records. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
- ^ Peschek, David (June 25, 2004). "Michigan review The Guardian". London. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- ^ Pattison, Louis. "Avalanche Review". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
Part psychedelic bluegrass, part extra-terrestrial electronic ambience, and part tribal percussion-fest
- ^ Gill, Andy. "Illinois Review". Uncut. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
All rendered in a weird, pan-stylistic blend of alt.country, minimalism and American brass band music
- ^ Odland, Jeffrey (May 12, 2004). "Junkmedia: An Interview with Sufjan Stevens". Junk Media. Retrieved August 27, 2006.
- ^ Satran, Pamela. "Nameberry — Baby Name Sufjan: Meaning, Origin, And Popularity". Nameberry. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ^ a b Stevens, Sufjan. "What's in a Name?". Asthmatic Kitty Records. Retrieved May 17, 2009.
- ^ Guarino, Mark (2006). "Sufjan Stevens: Wonder Boy". Harp Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ "About Us". Asthmatic Kitty Records. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ "Sufjan Stevens". Asthmatic Kitty Records. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
- ^ "Sufjan Stevens Hypothetical Tracklists". Stereogum.com. April 13, 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ "Sufjan E-Mails Smack Down". Filter Magazine. April 13, 2006. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ Crock, Jason (May 15, 2006). "Interview: Sufjan Stevens". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ "April Fools". www.denisonwitmer.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Sufjan Stevens, Paramount Theatre; Austin, TX 09-16-2006". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Video/MP3: Sufjan Stevens: "Majesty Snowbird" (Live)". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Songs For Christmas". Ashmtatic Kitty Records. November 21, 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ "Sufjan Stevens and friends @ MusicNow - Sufjan Stevens and friends @ MusicNow - LA BLOGOTHEQUE". Blogotheque.net. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "Live: Sufjan Stevens; Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., 5 February 2007". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ BQE: Helpers, hula hoops, and birds, Asthmatic Kitty Records news release, November 1, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Sufjan Goes High Art for Brooklyn Academy of Music". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Sufjan Stevens Pens Personal Essay for Topic Magazine". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Sufjan Pens Eggers' Nonrequired Collection Intro". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Dave Eggers and Sufjan Stevens, The best American nonrequired reading 2007, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin (2007). ISBN 0-618-90281-3.
- ^ "Listening to Sufjan's "The Lonely Man of Winter" in Crown Heights". Village Voice. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ "Hoi Polloi's Sufjan Stevens Winter Song Exclusive Listening Sessions".
- ^ "Star Spangled Banner". brendoman.com. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Lindsay, Andrew (April 27, 2009). "Sufjan Stevens posts song about Sofia Coppola". Stereokill.net. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
- ^ Stosuy, Brandon. "New Sufjan Stevens - "There's Too Much Love"/"Age Of Adz"/"Impossible Souls" (Live In Ithaca)". Stereogum. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ Michaels, Sean (October 5, 2009). "Sufjan Stevens records album of 'background music'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
- ^ Khanna, Vish. "Sufjan Stevens' Inner State". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (June 11, 2010). "Sufjan's New LP Features the National". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
- ^ "Illinois now available on vinyl". Asthmatic Kitty Records. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ "Best of 2005". Metacritic. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ MP3.com: Music News - Sufjan Stevens nabs Pantheon
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan (April 7, 2006). "Stevens revisits 'Illinois'". Monsters and Critics.com. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ Dahlen, Chris (July 13, 2005). "Art of the States". SF Weekly. Retrieved August 10, 2009.
- ^ "Asthmatic Kitty Records : Sidebar". Asthmatickitty.com. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "Interview: Questions for Rafter". Asthmatic Kitty Records. February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
- ^ "Brinkley, Ark., Embraces 'The Lord God Bird'". National Public Radio. July 6, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2006.
- ^ "Asthmatic Kitty Records : Various Artists > Mews Too: An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation". Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ Yuan, Jada (February 24, 2008). "Sufjan Stevens Plans Ode to New Jersey Turnpike - New York Magazine". Nymag.com. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ Purcell, Andrew (October 27, 2009). "Sufjan Stevens's symphony for New York". The Guardian. London. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
- ^ Botts, Nathan (November 8, 2007). "A look at the future - Sandow". Artsjournal.com. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "Asthmatic Kitty Records : Sidebar". Asthmatickitty.com. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "Sufjan Wins Prestigious Prize for His "BQE" Thing". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "Asthmatic Kitty Records : News » Sufjan Stevens' Enjoy Your Rabbit Reimagined By Osso As Run Rabbit Run". Asthmatickitty.com. July 9, 2009. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ “” (May 13, 2010). "The National - "Afraid Of Everyone" 5/13 Letterman (TheAudioPerv.com)". YouTube. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Sufjan Stevens". Sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com. October 12, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "Chart Moves: Katy Perry, Vampire Weekend, Cee-Lo, Taylor Swift". Billboard.biz. September 2, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "Sufjan Stevens The Age Of Adz". Stereogum. August 26, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ Hilton, Robin (September 26, 2010). "First Listen: Sufjan Stevens, 'The Age Of Adz'". NPR. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ "''Sufjan Reveals Health Issues, Has Career-Best Sales Week'', Stereogum.com, 22 October 2010". Stereogum.com. October 22, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ Khanna, Vish. "''Sufjan Stevens Discusses His "Mysterious and Debilitating" Health Issues'', Exclaim.ca, 22 October 2010". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
- ^ Sylvester, Nick (August 8, 2005). "Without a Prayer". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 27, 2006.
- ^ "Isaiah 55:12 (New Living Translation)". BibleGateway.com. Retrieved November 29, 2006.
- ^ "Comes With A Smile — Number 15 - Summer 2004". All Good Naysayers, Speak up!. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
- ^ Stosuy, Brandon (June/July 2007). "Cue the bugle turbulent (the 2007 Believer music issue CD)". The Believer. Retrieved April 4, 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Asthmatic Kitty Records : Sufjan Stevens > Michigan". Asthmatickitty.com. July 1, 2003. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
External links
![]() | This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. (August 2010) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Sufjan Stevens - official site
- Asthmatic Kitty - label page
- Sounds Familyre - label page
- Purevolume - official Purevolume site
- Sufjan Stevens - Rateyourmusic
- Photos from Town Hall
- Interview with Vish Khanna
- Interview with Sufjan Stevens by Gerry Visco, New York Press, "Give Me Your Ugly"
- "All Quiet on the Midwestern Front," Cover Story by Susan Moll, Stomp & Stammer, September 2005
- Sufjan Stevens performance from Austin City Limits, September 17, 2006
- Articles to be split from October 2010
- Articles with bare URLs for citations from August 2010
- Wikipedia external links cleanup from August 2010
- Use mdy dates from November 2010
- 1975 births
- Living people
- American banjoists
- American composers
- American folk musicians
- American folk singers
- American folk guitarists
- American multi-instrumentalists
- American oboists
- American rock guitarists
- American rock singer-songwriters
- Cor anglais players
- People from Detroit, Michigan
- People from Holland, Michigan
- Rough Trade Records artists
- Waldorf school alumni
- Winners of the Shortlist Music Prize
- American performers of Christian music
- American Episcopalians