Illinois is Pitchfork’s favorite CD of the year so far. Stereogum gave you the heads up two months ago. Buy this CD, and try to get one with the illegal Superman on the cover. Sure to be a collector’s item. Or potential O.C. subplot.
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um/…who cares??
You’re rude.
already on Ebay…
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=307&item=4745239101&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Great album–but for a quick analysis of what Pitchfork does (they’re often misunderstood/maligned) check here:
http://marathonpacks.blogspot.com/2005/06/another-bale-of-hay.html
Great album–
for a quick analysis of what Pitchfork represents, check here:
http://marathonpacks.blogspot.com/2005/06/another-bale-of-hay.html
it’s good, but it’s a bit too long and there are moments of extreme cheese (see john waynce gacy song)
while it may be “cheesy”
John Wayne Gacy on the album is probably the most beautiful song on the record imo. sure the lyrics are a bit crazy, but that’s the point. the fact that he made a song w/ such a dark subject matter that moving says a lot imo.
def my 2nd fave record so far this year
Eric, great blog. Totally agree with your words on Pitchfork. Keep it up.
Sufjan and Illinois are both awesome. I think or at least thats what I said on air Sunday night, I’m the first UK DJ to play Sufjan. Love the record, Sufjan is awesome.
I actually hadn’t been much of a Sufjan Stevens fan before (too slow and “pretty” for my usual taste) but I like this one a lot.
hmm…it looks like I bought my illegal cd from asthmatic kitty just in time!
It’s hard to get the “I made a lot of mistakes” bit of “Chicago” out of my head. Excellent.
Must. get. CD. now.
I knew I should have bought that CD when it was $10 plus 2 S&H. Apparently there was a handy dandy Illinois postcard that came with your order.
I really hope no one pays $75 for it on ebay. That’s just pathetic.
Too late Jeff — theres another Ebay auction that’s already over $75 sans postcard.
Pitchfork…smitchfork…I like the Sufjan though. Ringo is on John Stewart & Leno tonight! Steven Spielberg has purchsed movie rights for Baywatch! http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/baywatch
Nice interview with Sufjan, plus some in studio recordings, on WNYC-FM radio here in New York this past Friday. The show was David Garland’s “Spinning On Air”. It is archived on their website.
I don’t see any archived audio for that interview. Just pictures and a blurb about Sufjan.
They’re showing the Ringo repeat of the Daily Show again?! Christ! I thought the new studio was supposed to be finished already and new episodes would resume tonight. I’ve been hoodwinked!
i got this record weeks ago – WITH the controversial cover art – and i love it.
not as much as picaresque though. but i love it.
Illinois is the record of the year. I’m glad to see PM received it well…
“um/…who cares?”
Anyone who knows excellent songwriting from their arse. Apparently you are not in this demographic. Check your life out.
I got my limited edition clear vinyl with the original cover art, signed by Sufjan, both Senators and the Governor of Illinois.
yea but none of you have the special edition with capone wearing his “Refrigerator” Perry jersey…
‘Anyone who knows excellent songwriting from their arse. Apparently you are not in this demographic. Check your life out.’
i love when people tell others what they should like. it’s so cool
To those of you looking to buy Illinois today, I have an idea concerning your predicament:
Go to your neighborhood Borders. Apparently they haven’t gotten the memo yet. The local shop I tried here didn’t have it, but not only did the Borders have it, but it was sale-priced at $12.99.
On the other topic, I like Pitchfork. They’re snobby, yes, but I feel that they’re sincere. And their writing may be overwrought, but I always have a good idea of what it sounds like.
“i love when people tell others what they should like. it’s so cool”
I think the main point of loveanddeath’s comment was not that the “who cares” remark indicated an underappreciation of Sufjan Stevens, but just that it was a really obnoxious comment to post on someone else’s blog. Like, if you’re not interested, then skip the post and move on. Don’t be rude about it.
Sufjan needs more cowbell!
I never read Pitchfork, or any other music publication, for the express purpose of not bumming myself out about the fact that the entire indie rock industry has become as much as about marketing and social leverage and as little about actual music as the mainstream rock industry has been for about 35 years. As a musician, I just find the whole thing terribly upsetting.
by the way, just picked it up at Virgin Megastore on Broadway in time sq…theyve got a bunch out in an “Indie Rock” display….who would pay 75 bucks????
My favorite song is the one with the part about “crying in the bathroom.”
Seriously, though, Sufjan does a lot of crying in his songs.
I agree with the above comment that the John Wayne Gacy song is probably the best. Partially because it does not feature Sufjan crying. And it is not insufferably coy, as that maddeningly beautiful hipster often can be.
Thanks Reid for the Borders tip! Just got a copy at the shop at 57th and Park. The computer seems to indicate they had 5 copies in the store (although I grabbed the only one I saw out).
re: Jeff and WNYC broadcast of Sufjan interview. It appears that program is not archived yet. Hopefully will be soon.
OK, here’s news you can use…Sufjan Stevens will be performing a live show on KCRW-FM in Los Angeles Thursday July 15 at 11:15am. The show will be streamed on the net.
But that blurb about Baywatch & Spielberg is pretty awesome!
Can’t wait to see the newest lame reality show with Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke that will search for a new singer for INXS! Navarro (who admittedly can play good guitar) seems to be turning into the male version of Paris Hilton, with all of his cheesy TV appearances. Seems he won’t go anywhere unless there’s a camera around.
Shouldn’t the CD be “Illinoise” as it says on the cover? Kind of weird to put a different but similiar title to your album on the cover.
The spine of the jewel case says “Illinois”
Ah. well there you go.
Next ending Ebay auction over $90 for promo copy of Illinois. Hurry, ends in 5:30 EST, July 5th.
Indie-yuppies are looking to make a score on this one. Over 20 Ebay auctions, some with $100 “Buy it now” options.
are these auctions just for the normal CD with the Superman cover?
Both Retail and Promo versions of the CD for sale on Ebay, all with Superman on the cover. Prices range from $10 to over $100, for the CD alone.
personally i like Seven Swans better than the tracks that i’ve heard from Illinois. but i suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a closer listen since pitchfork is so enamoured with it.
Please, for the sake of all mankind, let’s not follow ebay auctions here on the gum.
I just went into two of my neighbourhood CD stores, and they both had copies with Superman on the cover. Sigh.
Yale Bloor – Best. Post. Ever.
There is an auction that is up to $53 on ebay now. This is like the indie hipster’s Butcher Cover.
I had the cd in my hand at my local record shop and as i got to the counter they told me they just got a call saying they couldnt sell it anymore because it was “defective”.
indie hipster=oxymoron
I found this auction for it on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=307&item=4745309852&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V
it doesnt say anything about the cover or have a picture of it but you can take your chances
Someone save me some embarassment: How is Sufjan pronounced? Like it looks or Scandanavian-esque?
–Stranded in a land where I only read about good bands, never hear about them.
Holy Crap!! So Sufjan makes it by Pitchfork and the fickle readers of Stereogum only to be blasted by high-priced lawyers for DC Comics. Thank God they only read Pitchfork and not Stereogum. Or else I may have never gotten my grubby hands on this excellent CD with original, super, as in superman, artwork. Thank you DC Comics for showing that there are bigger assholes in the universe than the RIAA.
Miss Pronunciation –It’s “Soof-yan”
Sufjan Stevens has a real winner.
I don’t think we needed Pitchfork to tell us that, but some people do.
re:DC COMICS > RIAA : I don’t think anyone can fill the role they’ve played at killing their profits by suing their loyal customers, grandmas, and children of America
Marvel just announced that they’re coming out with a new villain . . . Sufjan Man the Copyright Infringer.
i got the special edition with track 23, surfjan’s straightforward, unironic cover of the bears’ shufflin crew’s superbowl shuffle. when he sings “the others, they all learned from me” and lets his voice crack just a little bit, it speaks volumes about the tragedy inherent in man’s hubris.
i will sell this to anyone who wants it for 1500 american dollars.
in case there are any Sufjan-heads around who don’t read Pitchfork, NPR is broadcasting a piece today on him which includes a song specially written for the segment (about the town where the newly un-extinct ivory-biled woodpecker was re-discovered). The song should be available at the NPR site sometime today. And btw, “Feel the Illinoise” is supercooltremendous – certainly in my top three for the year.
postscript: PM is cool ’cause I wouldn’t have heard about this otherwise, ya know?
yeah he’s on Soundcheck v soon on http://www.wnyc.org
Does anyone know if Amazon is selling the original copies? On their site they show a Supermanless cover, but Asthmatic Kitty haven’t even released those yet.
Does anyone honestly think that this Superman cover will be valuable in the future, justifying these auctions, especially since CDs have a shelf life of only 20 years?
Well, I am going to get one at my local Borders. I have been bitter ever since I purchased The pros and cons of hitchhiking vinyl with the ass blacked out…ah…highschool….
Sufjan song on All things considered today?!? Who’s got dat mp3? It’s about arkansas and the ivory billed peckerwood, i mean woodpecker.
i NEED that cover of the Super Bowl Shuffle!!!!
Can anyone e-mail it to me?
kevin – i’ll sell just the mp3 for 750 american dollars. leave the money in a brown paper bag by the golden gate bridge. i’ll throw in the bridge too for an extra 50.
LL Cool F-
http://anon.npr-mp3.speedera.net/anon.npr-mp3/atc/20050706_atc_godbird.mp3
Hey Ebayers while we’re at it, I’ve got a rare recording of Sufjan and Cat Stevens singing “Peace Train” that I’m willing to sell if the price is right(>>$500). I’m not being greedy. I just got my rent to pay.
Here’s the link to the NPR story and new song:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4721675
Enjoy!
Thanks Rich, S-W-E-E-T!! Now does anyone have video of President Bush’s bicycle collision with the British security detail?
Veg:
You’re the asshole. There never was a cease and desist order from DC Comics. Sufjan Stevens made it up — “poor poor me” vs. a big faceless company to get press. The truth is they knew they should have asked permission and didn’t.
There’s a free download of an exlusive track Sufjan Stevens wrote for NPR about a rare bird in Arkansas, “Lord God Bird.”
Get it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4721675.
It’s beautiful.
being an indie yuppie and working at a chain book/music store has its perks… i got mine with the original artwork for 8.99 at borders today. yay for employee discounts.
Bought mine Thurs. at Waterloo Records here in Austin. $10.99 w/ Superman. They still had at least 10 on the rack, all with the original artwork.
I listened to it twice over the weekend and think it’s a really great record. I’ve just been getting into SS, so it’s all new to me….and I love how musical his songs are and how refreshingly literate some of the lyrics are. The songs make me want to hear the rest of the story that I am only hearing a glimpse of.
The Gacy song is the first one that really jumped out at me. The part where he first slips into falsetto (right after “with their cars, summer jobs”) gave me goosebumps.
There are many other tracks that I love, too, but the one that really stuck with me and my girlfriend was Casimir Pulaski Day. I must have sang “with my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied” about a thousand times this weekend.
Great album, IMO. Thanks for the Man of Metropolis mp3 that was up months ago; that was my first exposure to this artist.
it gets old seeing too much Cat and not enough Sufjan under Stevens at your local book/music store
um.. there’s never enough cat under stevens at any record store. do yourself a favor and buy the very best of cat stevens.
as for the OTHER stevens…
virgin megastore on broadway and 46th street has over 100 copies left as of tuesday july 12th. $13.99, not too bad.
Both Stevens are simply….amazing….my top two fav’s, interesting how both Steven’s have spiritual quests as integral parts of their music….the JWG song is fabulous…chock full of sadness and forgiveness “and in my best behavior I am really just like him/look beneath the floorboards for the secrets i have hid”…..no stinkin’ cheese in the room (if u think so u have a cold, cold heart housed in miles of brick)….best album this year by far!
i bought this album on a limited release 8-track tape….
it got stuck in my player……
it plays over & over & over….
& i love it.
this album is on par with anything that was ever put out by the beatles….
& i mean that…seriously.
big ups to brooklyn & sufjan…..
a new king is born.
please come to georgia….
augusta….
home of james brown….
Hey I justed wanted to let you know that I recently added stereogum to my rss feeds and this link prompted me to give Sufjan Stevens a listen at iTunes… I ended up buying several tracks!! thanks
Today I found out that one of the tracks I purchased (Chicago (To String Remix) by Sufjan Stevens) happened to be #485,800,000 on the iTunes 500 Million Contest which won me a new ipod mini!
So great website! heh
I found remixes of the Sufjan Stevens album at http://www.childishgambino.com, they’re pretty good. He sounds like he did the whole thing.
Hi,
can u please send ‘roger waters’- the pros and cons of hitchhiking’ to me as an email attachment. I’m singing it (free) and janis joplin and fela kuti to homeless people in geneva, switzerland on dec. 31. please help.
timi