Thursday, January 15, 2004
(1:44 AM) | Anonymous:
Say Yes! To Michigan
A few months ago, I was bold, unforgivingly stupid, in saying this:
"It's time. I'm going to name my top 3 albums of 2003. I know there is still 1 1/2 months to go, but I'm not impressed enough by what is yet to come out to stave off any longer."
Well, I missed at least one amazing album. It is by a fellow named Sufjan Stevens. I was originally drawn to it by the title of the thing, which is "Greetings From Michigan!: The Great Lakes State".
This is my home state. I'm really rather fond of it. I hold it up as one of the greatest in this union of ours, in spite of all it's failures in recent years. Those add a certain level of humility and stuff to the people. I'm also making all this up in an attempt to justify a level of fillial warm fuzzies that I can't otherwise reckon with.
Next, after the title, I examined the songs. This is where I knew I'd have to buy rather than "obtain" this album. Such hits as :
"Flint (For The Unemployed And Underpayed)"
and
"For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti"
or
"Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
and of course,
"Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)
The guy know how to pull on the heartstrings of a Michigander. (Wow..I just used that term. I am going to cut off my lower extremities and throw them in the ocean.)
Musically, I'd place it somewhere in between a less cocky Badly Drawn Boy, or a more focused Iron & Wine. Also..the lyrics are far beyond usual fare..which is always cool.
Trust me, I wouldn't bump the great post by Adam below unless I fully believed this album to be the most incredible thing since Led Zeppelin's IV, which I know nothing about, but hate.
