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April 13, 2006

Sufjan Stevens Hypothetical Tracklists

Kevin at Randon In NYC is having none of this Illinois 2 business. He and his friends have been trying to see who could come up with the best hypothetical tracklisting for a future Sufjan Stevens 50 States release. "We have a lot of time on our hands," he suggests -- but I think this game could be very important to get Sufjan's creative juices flowing. Here's his six of his tracklists, forty-two to go!

  • New York, New York - It's a Helluva State
  • Connecticut: The New England Tri-State!
  • Indiana: We're Proud to be Called a Hoosier, Even If We Don't Know what One Is!
  • Massachusetts: A State at Bay
  • Florida, The Sunshine State, Welcomes You
  • Texas: The Lone(ly) Star StateContribute your own in the comments if you're so inclined. And speaking of Sufjan, I'm sure you felt a tinge of confusion over the Sufjan/Rosie Thomas baby hoax. Pitchfork promptly issued an apology of sorts, quoting the response letter issued by Mr. Stevens himself. Stereogum got our hands on the original unedited missive, and we couldn't help but notice PFork left off section D. Though, if it was us -- we'd probably do the same. For the Sufjan completists, here it is:
    A few things:

    a) First of all, I would like to thank everyone who called or sent notes of congratulations about the news of my baby. I am so proud.
    b) Secondly, the baby is a hoax. I had nothing to do with the baby hoax. I was as shocked as everyone else about the baby. Matthew's story was so convincing I almost believed it myself.
    c) Thirdly, something you need to know about Rosie is that she's really weird and she's really funny. When she's not singing songs, she dresses up in a neck brace and wears broken reading glasses and delivers pizza as a dimwit named "Sheila Saputo." This is not the behavior of a normal person. So it's no surprise that she could pull this off, this imaginary baby. But the fact is, Rosie is not carrying my baby. As far as I know, we spent quality time in the studio, not in bed. If Rosie's pregnant, it's not my baby. Maybe it's Denison's baby. Maybe it's an alien baby. I don't know. All I know is that the baby is probably going to grow up to be a clown, or a mime, or a bassoon player or something funny like that. Most babies come out crying, but Rosie's baby is going to be born laughing its butt off.
    d) Fourthly, the fact that an internet news site printed a story about my baby without consulting me first is insulting. I mean, it's my baby. Maybe I have things I'd like to say about the baby too. Such as: it doesn't exist.

    Yours,
    Sufjan Stevens

    The Music Slut has an MP3 of "Adlai Stevenson," included on a new KRS comp, but caveat downloader: the version of the tune that will grace Avalanche is very different, and supposedly much more complex.

    Posted at 12:50 PM




    -->

    16 Comments

    Pitchfork didn't print Item D because it wasn't true. We contacted Sufjan's publicist, like it said in our response.

    Posted by: scottpl at 04/13/06 1:03 PM | Reply
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    Admittedly I enjoy "Illinois" but Dan Bejar, undoubtedly the most intelligent songwriter today, has a point:

    “I know that simply coming up with a concept and working it effectively to its conclusion is an invalid form of art–making. [That’s] why there’s so much bad shit out there, or why people might get dazzled by the idea of 50 records for 50 states.”

    Sorry Sufy, Brother Dan scored one on you and the precious American underground.

    Posted by: josh at 04/13/06 1:31 PM | Reply
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    Sorry Scott -- must've misread. I know you guys do your homework.

    Posted by: scott at 04/13/06 1:39 PM | Reply
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    thanks scott!

    the music slut hearts you.

    Posted by: matt at 04/13/06 1:50 PM | Reply
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    "I know that simply coming up with a concept and working it effectively to its conclusion is an invalid form of art–making." Destroyer WHAT?

    I sure hope that's a misquote because that's probably one of the most grossly glib generalizations I've heard about what's valid art. Never mind Sergeant Pepper's or Kid A... Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, anyone?

    Posted by: Vic at 04/13/06 3:06 PM | Reply
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    Iowa - We Have... *Something* Interesting... Give Me Some Time, I'll Remember...

    Posted by: gretchen at 04/13/06 3:22 PM | Reply
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    (scott, no prob - and thx for the BOC link)

    Posted by: scottpl at 04/13/06 4:38 PM | Reply
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    Faux-Sufjan Stevens Presents:
    Say Good Morning to Kansas, and Mean It!

    1. Hello, You People of the South Wind, You Citizens of the Sunflower State
    2. Dodge City
    3. John Brown Had a Very Cogent Point to Make with Many Guns
    4. The Creation of Milford Lake, the Flooding of Milford, and the Many Familiar Places Lost as a Consequence
    5. Manhattan, Kansas: The Little Apple
    6. Where Did You Go, American Buffalo?
    7. William Quantrill
    8. If It Is 1863 and You Are Anti-Slavery, We Will Deal Harshly With You
    9. I Lost My Leg in Leavenworth and I Want My Pay
    10. Dorothy, Or, Ten Good Reasons to Go and Stay Gone, or, An Insightful Critique of the Gold Standard
    12. Run! It’s a Twister! Head for the Cellar!
    13. Dwight D. Eisenhower and Robert J. Dole Chat Cordially
    14. The Pony Express, Or, All Trails Lead to Marysville
    15. Vote for Suffrage! Mothers and Daughters Are People, Too!
    16. The Konza Prairie
    17. Wichita and the Very First Pizza Hut
    18. Brown V. the Board
    19. Evolution May Be True for You, but Kansans Were Crafted By the Hand of God
    20. Kansas Is America’s Heart, Interstate 70 Its Superior Vena Cava
    21. When Sufjan Stevens Bought Meth in Topeka, He Had Very Many Good Ideas for Songs
    22. If You Care To Leave, The Santa Fe Trail Is Still Available For Your Convenience

    Posted by: fearlessweaver at 04/13/06 4:50 PM | Reply
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    Hey, fearlessweaver and all others. If you have a tracklisting (and you give a shit), feel free to e-mail me at kevinhayes9@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting...I'll post NJ and DE tomorrow -k

    Posted by: Kevin at 04/13/06 5:08 PM | Reply
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    st. john the divine is already a(n excellent) ted leo song. fyi.

    Posted by: spo. at 04/13/06 6:47 PM | Reply
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    Missouri

    An Interlude for Dred Scott (who was mistreated, but is remembered fondly)

    The Mark McGwire Expressway, or Boulevard of Broken Dreams

    Hannibal! Show Us Your Cabins

    Repose for Harry S. Truman, Who Dropped the Bomb

    Missouri, Forgotten River

    A Word Regarding the Recent Unpleasantness In Jefferson City (Agriculture Lobby! still your lawyers!)

    God, why is Kansas City in Missouri?

    PS - Tweedy is the best songwriter today

    Posted by: Joe at 04/14/06 2:24 PM | Reply
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    Kentucky, the Bluegrass State, Where Education Pays!
    1. Herbs! Spices! Eleven of Them!
    2. Loouhvul
    3. The Darkies Used to be Gay, then the Old Folks were Gay, but now the Children will Play
    4. Mutton! or, The Buffet at Moonlite is Not Bad, but the Meat at Old Hickory is Much Better
    5. The Rev. Elijah Craig, Whose Spirit Still Moves Us
    6. Abraham Lincoln, Tom Cruise, and George Clooney Were Born Here, but Moved Away as Soon as Possible
    7. West Liberty, East of Liberty; East Berndstadt, East of Nothing
    8. Two Minutes in May, or How to Dress Up and Spend a Whole Lot of Money for a Really Short Race, or I Parked Six Miles Away and Paid Fifty Dollars to Get Into the Infield and Never Saw an Actual Horse
    9. Adolph Friedrich Rupp
    10. Mammoth Cave! The Biggest Cave! The Deepest Cave!
    11. Paducah
    12. March 1992, Philadelphia (In Which a Young Man Looks Back on a Basketball Game Against Duke, Notes Once Again that Christian Should Have Been Ejected for Stomping on Aminu, and Finds His Anger Renewed Yet Again)
    13. Henry Clay Brokers Yet Another Compromise
    14. A House Between Dwarf and Rowdy
    15. Daniel Boone Was a Man, He Was a Big Man
    16. Elizabethtown! You Deserved a Much Better Movie
    17. They Call it That Because It Supposedly Looks Sort of Blue in the Morning Sun, but it's Looks Pretty Green to Me

    link:
    http://thejtrain.typepad.com/the_j_train/2006/04/my_own_hypothet.html

    Posted by: The J Train at 04/14/06 9:34 PM | Reply
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    Sufjan didn't say Pitchfork didn't contact his publicist. He said Pitchfork didn't contact him. Like he said, it's his baby, not his publicist's.

    Pitchfork posted a letter from Sufjan as if it was his full response, but excised the part critical of their actions. That's poor and deceptive journalism, to say the least.

    Posted by: Adam at 04/16/06 1:28 PM | Reply
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    I'M A BASSOONIST! just having Sufjan Stevens mention the bassoon is an amazing thing to me...oh how wonderful it would be to be in a bassoon/oboe duet with Suffie...

    Posted by: Will at 08/29/06 11:17 PM | Reply
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    Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen reportedly signs a $42.5m (22m) film deal starring his character Bruno...

    Posted by: Jorge Stepp at 11/12/06 9:56 AM | Reply
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    Singer George Michael lends the piano on which John Lennon wrote Imagine to an anti-war exhibition...

    Posted by: Houston Stokes at 11/12/06 3:43 PM | Reply
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