tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post1884219186378972483..comments2024-03-02T07:40:22.786+03:00Comments on Only Solitaire blog: Sufjan Stevens: Greetings From Michigan...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-57001088027264893702018-02-01T23:43:48.659+03:002018-02-01T23:43:48.659+03:00This album is a grower. It left virtually no impr...This album is a grower. It left virtually no impression on me the first time I heard it, but now I love it to deathAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-18816666677609743722018-01-26T22:04:13.488+03:002018-01-26T22:04:13.488+03:00I like this album a lot more than George, but he g...I like this album a lot more than George, but he gets at something I hadn't thought about - the songs about poor Michiganders are basically about how an OUTSIDER feels about them (even when they lyrics are in the first person) - which is, among other things, why the emotions are the same as in an actually autobiographical song like "Holland."<br /><br />Come to think of it, maybe that simultaneously detached & basically optimistic perspective makes it very much an album of it's time and place, when it sort of seemed like if only we could beat the neoconservatives then the nice progressive liberals would fix everything, just like the New Deal. Graham Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14154166789860646607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-65531110543493963402018-01-26T21:56:50.047+03:002018-01-26T21:56:50.047+03:00The Danielson Families sounds interesting. Thank y...The Danielson Families sounds interesting. Thank you for the recommendation!Graham Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14154166789860646607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-660808341284783109.post-87621159062315993952018-01-23T03:39:24.892+03:002018-01-23T03:39:24.892+03:00Surprised to see no mention of for the Widows of P...Surprised to see no mention of for the Widows of Paradise, which I'd consider the best song on this one. Interesting review, but I can't say I've ever associated doll houses and teddy bears with Sufjan's music.<br /><br />I doubt you'd like it but I'd be curious to see your take on one of Sufjan's biggest influences: the Danielson Famile. Danielson is almost like an inverted version of Sufjan; unhinged and carnival-esque where Sufjan is precise, explicitly Christian where Sufjan is subtle, and screeching vocals instead of Sufjan's whispered. <br />Nevertheless, the commonalities are many: indie folk with marching band arrangements, Christian spirituality, and theatrical costumes. If nothing else, it's pretty funny to read early reviews of Sufjan that label him as a "Danielson Famile off-shoot"Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04758690057578436214noreply@blogger.com