# Any Sufjan Stevens fans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265 "2008-02-26T19:24:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/1 "2008-02-26T19:24:56Z")
I discovered this guy on Sirius Left of Center last summer and have gotten 3 of his albums since then; _Illinois_, _Michigan_, and _Seven Swans_. They’re all great but _Illinois_ is by far my favorite. Very wide range emotionally and musically. I like to listen to it when I’m running at night. It captivates me such that I can go much farther without even feeling like I’m exerting effort. I’m starting to feel about him the way I felt about Sublime 10 years ago. Except I’m more mature now and this music is too. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/2 "2008-02-26T19:46:24Z")
I love _Illinois_. I also have several of his Christmas stories. He reminds me of Cat Stevens (no relation) and several of my other favorite 60s/70s singers but with a sorta kinda New Age slant. There are lots of vids of him on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/3 "2008-02-26T20:22:25Z")
I have _Illinoise_ as well - overall, I find much of it quite beautiful, but I find that I lose patience with some of the interludes. He gets an amazingly big sound without actually using very many pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/4 "2008-02-26T20:24:49Z")
Yes, he is my favorite musician for now. I have wondered who else one ought to listen to if one enjoys Sufjan Stevens. Neither Pandora nor Music Map seem to come up with good suggestions. Does this mean there aren’t any? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/5 "2008-02-26T20:29:23Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] Yes, he is my favorite musician for now. I have wondered who else one ought to listen to if one enjoys Sufjan Stevens. Neither Pandora nor Music Map seem to come up with good suggestions. Does this mean there aren’t any? -FrL- [/QUOTE] Last.fm has several suggestions for related artists… some are quite similar (like Cat Power) and some are actually not all that similar at all (like The Decemberists). All very solid recommendations, though. [Linkie Dink](http://www.last.fm/listen/artist/Sufjan%2520Stevens/similarartists) (warning: streaming audio ensues) ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/6 "2008-02-26T22:35:02Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] I have wondered who else one ought to listen to if one enjoys Sufjan Stevens. Neither Pandora nor Music Map seem to come up with good suggestions. Does this mean there aren’t any? [/QUOTE] I hear a lot of similarities in [this,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Production_of_Eggs) _Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs_. (I haven’t heard his new one yet.) It’s literate, mostly gentle, orchestral, odd. I like _Illinois_ a lot, but never really warmed up to _Michigan_. Some of his love songs on other records seem a little precious to me. And he needs an editor, especially if he hopes to get to the other 47 states. (Bon Jovi, of course, has already taken care of _New Jersey_.) ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/7 "2008-02-26T23:25:37Z")
I love Sufjan! I saw him a few weeks ago in Sydney in a concert that can only be described as magical. For some in the audience it seemed to be an overpowering experience - people around me were crying, there were standing ovations and 3 encores (a practice which annoys me no end, but I appreciated the sentiment on this occasion - it’s quite an amazing to be surrounded by that kind of outpouring of passion and love!!) A few days ago I picked up an album by **St. Vincent** , who is the guitarist in Sufjan’s live band. It’s outstanding. She’s also in the Polyphonic Spree (and uses several of them on the record), and the album starts of sounding like a fusion of them and Sufjan before moving wider into all sorts of strange territory, like a pop/folk/jazz/rock fusion. I can’t recommend it enough. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/8 "2008-02-27T00:19:31Z")
[QUOTE=Sampiro] I love _Illinois_. I also have several of his Christmas stories. He reminds me of Cat Stevens (no relation) and several of my other favorite 60s/70s singers but with a\*\* sorta kinda New Age slant\*\*. [/QUOTE] Sufjan Stevens is openly an Evangelical Christian, who started out as the keyboardist for the Christian band **Danielson Famile**. Maybe that’s what you mean by “New Age Slant?” ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/9 "2008-02-27T00:21:22Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] I have wondered who else one ought to listen to if one enjoys Sufjan Stevens. Neither Pandora nor Music Map seem to come up with good suggestions. Does this mean there aren’t any? [/QUOTE] You should probably start with Stephens’ record label, [Asthmatic Kitty](http://asthmatickitty.com/main.php), which is mostly populated by Sufjan soundalikes and the solo projects of members of his band, such as “My Brightest Diamond,” which is the girl that does most of the singing in his group. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/10 "2008-02-27T00:22:43Z")
Love him also. I saw him live in Brooklyn and I think it was about the best live show I’ve ever seen. Please, I beg you, see him live! I was one of the dorks who was crying. It was a combination of things–an emotional time for me, plus the material hit close to home a few times. The show I saw was called “The BQE” (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, for the uninitiated). When I lived in Brooklyn and saw this concert, just a few months ago, I lived right next to the BQE. The central piece (which was the first act) was an orchestration accompanying a film involving all kinds of images of my neighborhood and environs. Very wistful, as I knew I was leaving town to return to Chicago soon. Sufjan even managed to film my very block! The second act was “Sufjan plays the hits,” where we got to hear all kinds of stuff from his albums. The last song of the show was…Chicago. It was just too much for me. That song gets me every time anyway, because I started my adulthood in Chicago, moved to New York (yes, in a van, with my friend, well…husband), and at that time, was yearning to come back. So yes, that’s how I ended up crying at a concert, looking like a total dweeb amongst all the disaffected hipsters. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/11 "2008-02-27T00:24:26Z")
[QUOTE=Ichbin Dubist] I hear a lot of similarities in [this,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysterious_Production_of_Eggs) _Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs_. (I haven’t heard his new one yet.) It’s literate, mostly gentle, orchestral, odd. [/QUOTE] _Definitely_ check him out if you’re a fan of Sufjan Stevens (I like both, but Bird is by far my favorite). ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/12 "2008-02-27T00:33:36Z")
[QUOTE=TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW] Sufjan Stevens is openly an Evangelical Christian, who started out as the keyboardist for the Christian band **Danielson Famile**. Maybe that’s what you mean by “New Age Slant?” [/QUOTE] Yeah, but he’s not a “mainstream” evangelical Christian, as far as I know. From what I’ve read, his family is more hippie-dippy than that, some sort of spinoff sect. I don’t know, I could be wrong. Anyway, I’m not a big fan of evangelical Christianity by a long shot (most of us forced into it during adolescence against our will aren’t), but it doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of his music. The Biblical references are often done quite well, and I can appreciate their beauty even though I’m not really on board with that whole…thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/13 "2008-02-27T00:40:34Z")
[QUOTE=TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW] Sufjan Stevens is openly an Evangelical Christian, who started out as the keyboardist for the Christian band **Danielson Famile**. Maybe that’s what you mean by “New Age Slant?” [/QUOTE] I’m referring to his sound- there is such a thing as “New Age Music”. Sufjan Stevens, imo, has songs that are reminiscent of certain New Age artists (Enya, McKennitt, etc.). I couldn’t care less what his religion beliefs are and wasn’t referring to them, so be thee not so touchy (or misinformed). ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/14 "2008-02-27T05:07:08Z")
How is his first name pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/15 "2008-02-27T05:50:10Z")
Soof-yan. I don’t like him at all. I once heard his cover of “Free Man In Paris” and it was so fucked-up that I wanted to find him and strangle him. His instrumental orchestrations, while admittedly unique, lack nuance to my ears. I find his voice to be saccharine and grating, as well. As for St. Vincent, I really like her song _Now Now._ ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/16 "2008-02-27T15:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Soof-yan. [/QUOTE] Interesting. I’ve only discussed him with a few people in person but no one ventured a guess at this pronounciation. I’ve heard, Soof-John Suff-John Suff-jun but not Soof-yan. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/17 "2008-02-27T20:31:16Z")
I’ve heard him say soof-yan himself. ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/18 "2008-02-28T00:09:20Z")
He’s referenced in _Snow Patrol_’s Hands Open song: > [@](#): > > Put Sufjan Stevens on > and we’ll play your favorite song > “Chicago” bursts to life and your > sweet smile remembers you, my > > Hands open, and my eyes open > I just keep hoping > That your heart opens Was interested for a minute to listen to him because of this… I got over it. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-sufjan-stevens-fans/439265/19 "2008-02-28T03:27:46Z")
[QUOTE=FlightlessBird] He’s referenced in _Snow Patrol_’s Hands Open song: Was interested for a minute to listen to him because of this… I got over it. [/QUOTE] What was your issue with him? I listened to the Snow Patrol song and found it bland and unoriginal.