Djohariah - Music
Djohariah by Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens
Artist Biography For Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens Born July 1 1975 Is An American Musician Songwriter And Multi-Instrumentalist From Petoskey Michigan. He Is Known For His Lyrically Focused And Instrumentally Rich Songs That Often Relate To Faith And Family. He Has Enjoyed Wide Critical Success In The United States. He Is Considered Part Of The Folk Revival Through Indie Pop But His Influences Are Very Broad Including Experimental Electronic Music The Jazz Of Vince Guaraldi And The Academic Minimalism Of Steve Reich And Philip Glass. Though Stevens Had Announced Plans To Make An Album For Each Of The 50 U.S. States Beginning The Series With The Albums 'Michigan' 2003 And 'Illinois' 2005 He Has Since Then Somewhat Retracted The Statement. "Sufjan Stevens Is Not Going To Write A Record For Each Of The 50 States After All" Was The Original Text Included On The Online Liner Notes For 'Mews Too An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation' A Disc Released On February 7 2006. This Statement Was Possibly Included As A Joke As The Text Has Since Been Removed And The Current Liner Notes Related To Sufjan Stevens Reads "Sufjan Stevens Can Fold A Fitted-Sheet He Once Worked As A Professional Folder In A Commercial Laundromat ." Background Stevens Was Born In Detroit Michigan And Grew Up In The City Of Petoskey In That Same State. He Attended Hope College On The West Coast Of Michigan. The Name Sufjan Is An Arabic/Persian Name That Predates Islam And Most Famously Belonged To Abu Sufyan A Figure From Early Islamic History. It Has Been Mentioned In The Press That The Name Was Given To Stevens By The Leader Of Subud A Spiritual Sect To Which His Parents Belonged When He Was Born. Stevens Has Stated That The Name Is Of Armenian Origin And Means "comes With A Sword " And That It Is "a Charming Militaristic Muslim Name." In Fact The Name Is Not Armenian And Armenia Is A Predominantly Christian Country.
Sufjan Is Also The Plural Form Of Sufi In Persian . Sufi Is A Practitioner Of Sufism .This Word Is Frequently Used In The Old Persian Literature Specially Sufi Poetry . His Brother Marathonist Marzuki Stevens Has Trained To Compete In The 2008 Olympic Trials And Has Played On Two Of Sufjan's Albums. A Multi-Instrumentalist Stevens Plays The Banjo Guitar Drums And Several Other Instruments Often Playing All Of These On His Albums Through The Use Of Multi-Tracking. While In School He Studied The Oboe And English Horn Which He Also Plays On His Albums He Is One Of The Few Musicians In Popular Music To Use These Instruments. Career Sufjan Stevens Began His Musical Career As A Member Of Marzuki A Folk-Rock Band From Holland Michigan. He Also Played And Continues To Play Various Instruments For Danielson Famile. While In School At Hope College Stevens Wrote And Recorded His Debut Solo Album A Sun Came Which He Released On Asthmatic Kitty Records A Record Label He Founded With His Step-Father In 1999. He Later Moved To New York City Where He Was Enrolled In A Writing Program At The New School For Social Research. While In New York Stevens Composed And Recorded The Music For His Second Album Enjoy Your Rabbit A Song Cycle Based Around The Animals Of The Chinese Zodiac That Ventured Into Electronica. Stevens Followed This With The First Of His 50 States Albums A Collection Of Folk Songs And Instrumentals Inspired By His Home State Of Michigan. The Result The Expansive Michigan Included Odes To Cities Including Detroit And Flint The Upper Peninsula And Vacation Areas Such As Tahquamenon Falls. Melded Into The Scenic Descriptions And Characters Are His Own Declarations Of Faith In God Sorrow Love And The Regeneration Of Michigan. Following The Release Of Michigan Stevens Compiled A Collection Of Songs Recorded Previously Into A Side Project The Christian Folk Album Seven Swans Which Was Released In March 2004. Next He Released The Second In The 50 States Projects Entitled Come On Feel The Illinoise!. Among The Subjects Explored On Come On Feel The Illinoise! Are The Cities Of Chicago Decatur And Jacksonville The Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy The Poet Carl Sandburg And Mississippi Palisades State Park. He Has Contributed To The Music Of Denison Witmer Soul Junk Half-Handed Cloud Brother Danielson Danielson Famile Serena Maneesh Castanets And Liz Janes. He Played Piano On For Fellow Brooklyn Musician's The National's Album 2007 Boxer. A Cover Of "She Is" Is Included On The Album Dream Brother Released In The United States On January 31 2006. Sufjan Contributed A Lot To The Sound Of The 2001 Liz Janes Album Done Gone Fire As He Engineered Recorded Produced And Arranged It As Well As Playing Many Addition Instruments. Sufjan Recently Recorded With Rosie Thomas And Denison Witmer Playing Banjo And Providing Vocals. It Is Unknown How This Record Will Be Released. In April 2006 Pitchfork Erroneously Announced That Stevens And Thomas Were Having A Baby Together But Were Forced To Print A Retraction. Witmer And Thomas Later Admitted It Was An April Fools' Prank. The Fifty States Project Beginning With Michigan Stevens Announced An Intent To Write An Album For Each Of The 50 U.S. States Although In Interviews He Wavers Between Utter Sincerity And Self-Deprecating Irony When Describing The Idea. Stevens Spent The Second Half Of 2004 Researching And Writing Material For The Second Of These Projects This Time Focusing His Efforts On Illinois. As With Michigan Stevens Used The State Of Illinois As A Leaping-Off Point For His More Personal Explorations Of Faith Family Love And Location. The Widely Acclaimed Illinois Was The Highest Rated Album Of 2005 On The Metacritic Review Aggregator Site Based On Glowing Reviews From Pitchfork The Onion A/V Club Spin Billboard Entertainment Weekly Rolling Stone The New York Times And The Guardian. The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards Awarded Stevens With The Album Of The Year Best Album Art/Packaging And Male Artist Of The Year. Pitchfork Media And Paste Magazine Named Come On Feel The Illinoise! As The Editors' Choice For Best Album Of 2005 And Stevens Received The 2005 Pantheon Prize Awarded To Albums Selling 500 000 Copies Or Fewer For Come On Feel The Illinoise!. In April Of 2006 Stevens Announced That 21 Pieces Of Music He Had Culled From The Come On Feel The Illinoise! Recording Sessions Would Be Incorporated Into A New Album Called The Avalanche. The Album Was Released On July 11 2006. While There Were Other Projects Rumored To Be Released Following 2005's Illinois By 2009 And His Live Album The BQE He Was Seemingly Finished With The Project Calling It "Such A Joke" And Accepting That The Project Was Too Massive And Too Cliché To Ever Reach An End. Religious Themes Many Of Stevens' Songs Have Religious And Spiritual Allusions But His Album Seven Swans Has The Most Direct Religious References. Stevens Has Expressed That He Is Christian But Does Not Overtly Advertise This Aspect Of Himself In His Music. Stevens Has Also Stated That He Does Not Try To Make Music "with A Message" Or Music For The Sake Of Preaching. "I Don't Think Music Media Is The Real Forum For Theological Discussions " Says Stevens. "I Think I've Said Things And Sung About Things That Probably Weren't Appropriate For This Kind Of Forum. And I Just Feel Like It's Not My Work Or My Place To Be Making Claims And Statements Because I Often Think It's Misunderstood." The Songs 'Abraham' 'Seven Swans' 'To Be Alone With You' 'We Won't Need Legs To Stand' And 'The Transfiguration' Directly Address Christianity On The Album Seven Swans. In 'Abraham' Sufjan Recounts The Old Testament Story In The Book Of Genesis When Abraham Ordered By God As A Test Of Faith Leads His Son Isaac Up A Mountain And Prepares To Kill Him As Commanded But Before God Sends An Angel To Intervene . The Lyrics Of 'The Transfiguration' Follow The Biblical Accounts Of Jesus' Transfiguration In Matthew 17 1-8 Mark 9 1-8 And Luke 9 28-36. Michigan And Come On Feel The Illinoise! Are Packed With Christian References And Metaphors. Michigan Contains "Sleeping Bear Sault Saint Marie" Which Implores "Oh Lamb Of God! Tell Us Your Perfect Design And Give Us The Rod" "Lamb Of God" Being A Biblical Name For Jesus Christ . The Song "Oh God Where Are You Now?" Asks God To "hold Me Now" To "save Somehow" Searching For God In The Midst Of Personal Turmoil. "There's No Other Man Who Could Save The Dead " The Song States. The Album Closer 'Vito's Ordination Song' Was Apparently Originally Written For Sufjan's Friend Vito Aiuto And Its Lyrics Allude Directly To Psalm 139 "I Always Knew You. In Your Mother's Arms I Have Called Your Name" "I've Made A Crown For You" . The Song Speaks Of "When The Bridegroom Comes" - The New Testament Speaks Of Jesus Christ As Being The Bridegroom And The Church His Bride Finally Being United Together At The End Of Time. Come On Feel The Illinoise! Features The Song 'Chicago' With Its Refrain Of "You Came To Take Us To Recreate Us" And 'Decatur' Has The Chorus Of "It's The Great I Am" "I Am" Being The Name The Lord Reveals Himself By To Moses In Exodus 3 14 . "Casimir Pulaski Day" Speaks Of "All The Glory That The Lord Has Made" In The Midst Of Personal Pain And Loss. "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" Has The Lyrics "Lamb Of God We Sound The Horn. Hallelujah!" One Instrumental Passage Has The Title Of "In This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man For Whom He Saved The Earth". "The Seer's Tower" Speaks Of Emanuel "With His Sword With His Robe He Comes Dividing Man From Brothers" An Interesting Side Note Is That "Sufjan" Actually Means "comes With A Sword" . Indeed The Vast Majority Of Songs Of Come On Feel The Illinoise! Contain Lyric Lines Which Can Be Readily Identified As Having A Basis In Stevens' Faith In Christ. Sufjan's Second Electronic Album Enjoy Your Rabbit Contains A Song Cycle Based On Of The Animals Of The Chinese Zodiac Culminating With The Song "Year Of Our Lord". Stevens Released The Original Christian-Themed Song "God'll Ne'er Let You Down" On The "To Spirit Back The Mews" Compilation On Asthmatic Kitty. The Officially Unreleased Christmas Albums Sufjan Stevens Made And Then Compiled Into Songs For Christmas Feature Suitably Christmas And Christian Themed Music Both Originals And Covers Of Hymns And Traditional Songs. Trivia On Snow Patrol's 2006 Album Eyes Open There Is A Reference To Sufjan And The Song "Chicago" In The Song "Hands Open" - "Put Sufjan Stevens On And We'll Play Your Favorite Song/"Chicago" Bursts To Life And Your Sweet Smile Remembers You." Sufjan Has Twice Been Featured On The FOX Television Show "The OC". "To Be Alone With You" And "For The Widows In Paradise For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti" Can Be Heard On Episodes 202 And 315 Respectively. Sufjan Stevens' Music Has Appeared Twice On The Showtime Dark Comedy "Weeds". "All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands" Appears On S1E02 Over The End Credits And "Holland" Appears Near The End Of S2E10. Two Of Sufjan's Songs Appear On The Soundtrack To "Little Miss Sunshine" "Chicago" And "No Man's Land" The Song "John Wayne Gacy Jr." Appears On The 3rd Season Of The Tv Show "Nip/Tuck". Several Songs Can Be Heard On The Movie "Driving Lessons" You Can Also Hear Snippets In Between CSI Shows On 5US In The TV Show "Austin City Limits" He Mentioned That When He Was A Kid He And His Best Friend Saw Something In The Sky Which They Couldn't Figure Out. They Thought It Was A Spaceship Or UFO First Then An Eagle Or A Dragon. Finally They Realized It Was A Giant Wasp. He Wrote The Song "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" About The Incident And Mentioned That The Reason They The Band All Have Wings On Stage Is To Overcome His Fear Of Flying Things. The Song "Redford For Yia-Yia & Pappou " Is Heard In The 2012 "World Of Red Bull" Television Commercial. He Is Quoted As Saying "selling Out Never Looked So Good." And "somebody Had To Pay For All Of That Christmas Confetti." Referring To His Recent Christmas Album And Supporting Tour. In 2017 Stevens Wrote Two Original Songs To Be Featured In The Gay Drama Film “Call Me By Your Name” Entitled “Mystery Of Love” And “Visions Of Gideon”. He Also Made A Reworked Version Of His Song “Futile Devices” Which Is Also Featured On The Soundtrack.
Website Http //sufjan.Com
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Djohariah
Sufjan-Stevens - All Delighted People EP
Sufjan’s Bandcamp Describes The Sprawling Song As A ’17-Minute Guitar Jam-For-Single-Mothers ’ But It Is Really So Much More Than That. Sure The Actual Lyrics Don’t Come Until 12 Minutes Into The Song But The Elegiac Nature Of The Song Is Apparent Almost From The First Note. The Bass Line Just Screams ‘apology’ In The First Few Bars. As The Lead Guitar Begins To Solo It Takes On The Role Of A Silenced Stifled Creature. The Western ‘twang’ Of The Muted Electric Is Not Common In Sufjan’s Pieces And The Dynamic Interplay Between The Choral ‘ooh/ahhs’ And The Guitar Suggest That It Has Something To Say But Can’t Get It Out Above The Background Noise. Most Of The Time The Guitar Goes Quiet When The Chorus Becomes Loud – But In Those Intervals When It Breaks Free It Soars Over The Rest Of The Music And Shows Off What It Is Capable Of. Eventually The Chorus Takes Over Mesmerizing The Listener With Chants Of “Djohari Djohariah.” This Chant Introduces The Character Of Djohariah To The Music But Giving Nothing More To Latch On To. As The Guitar Reenters It Takes On A More Alien Sound Scratchy And Electronic More Noise Than Raw Emotion As Before. Here The Chorus Continues Its Chant Of “Djohari Djohariah ” Lending More Power And Transforming The Meaning Of The Guitar. The Weakening Guitar Is Djohariah Fighting A Losing Battle Against Everyone Else’s Voices. It Yearns To Be Unique But Never Achieves The Triumphant Glory It Once Had. At Times It Conforms To The Swells Of The Chorus At Other Points It Seems To Completely Lose Control And Move Nowhere But In Circles. Around 11 Minutes The Guitar Dies Off Completely. The Tempo Increases And The Chorus Begins To Morph How It Says Djohariah’s Name – Instead Of Enunciating The Last Few Syllables It Becomes A Question “are Ya?” Questioning Where The Guitar’s Presence Has Gone. Finally Sufjan’s Vocals Break Free From The Chorus Initially Coming Off As Pessimistic “I Know You Won’t Get Very Far.” Sufjans Modifies This Insult After A Short Pause Blaming This Lack Of Success On The “back Seat Driver Carpetbagger” Who Stole Djohariah’s Heart. The Song Gets Very Specific To Djohariah Rather Than Single Mothers In General – She Spends Her Money On A Car In A Twisted Plot Line That I Still Haven’t Been Able To Unravel. Sufjan Then Proclaims That Djohariah Doesn’t Need The Man Who Left Her For Dead In Her Life And That He Is A “heart Grabber Back Stabber Double Cheater Wife Beater.” Whether This Laundry List Of Horrible Things Is Actually The Truth Or Just Something Lyrical Is Besides The Point – The Level Of Devastation Is Very Salient And Apparent. Either Way I Wish To Extend My Apologies To Djohariah. It Is At This Point That Sufjan Changes His Tone To An Encouraging One Djohariah Works Hard A Single Mother And Shouldn’t Listen To The Neighbors Because They Don’ T Know What Is Best For Her. Sufjan Tells Her To Not Be Ashamed “For The Woman Is Woman Is The Glorious Victorious/ The Mother Of The Heart Of The World.” This Chorus Transforms And Eventually A Female Voice Joins Sufjan In Repeating “Go On! Little Sister! Go On! Little Sister!/ For Your World Is Yours World Is Yours.” All In All The Song Seems Extremely Personal. It Seems As Though It Is Addressed Right To Djohariah And I’m Almost Tempted To Think That Much Of This EP Is An Attempt At Making Amends With Her For Something. Perhaps Sufjan Feels As Though He Didn’t Help Her Enough In Her Time Of Need As She Raised A Daughter As A Single Mother Or Perhaps He Simply Wants To Encourage Her To Make A Name For Herself. So Much Of Me Wants To Believe That The Female Singing At The End Is Djohariah – That She Joins In With Sufjan Rising Again And Becoming The Dominant Voice As The EP Comes To A Close But I Really Can’t Do Any More Than Hope.
50 Similar Tracks:
Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People Original Version Sufjan Stevens - Impossible Soul Okkervil River - So Come Back, I Am Waiting The Decemberists - California One / Youth And Beauty Brigade Yo La Tengo - Blue Line Swinger Animal Collective - Safer Bright Eyes - Let's Not Shit Ourselves To Love And To Be Loved MGMT - Metanoia Okkervil River - For Real Angelo De Augustine - The Ballad Of Betty And Barney Hill Moses Sumney - Make Out In My Car - Sufjan Stevens Version Rosie Thomas - Where Were You? Angelo De Augustine - Old Hope The Antlers - First Field The Swell Season - Leave The Black Heart Procession - Things Go On With Mistakes Turin Brakes - Ether Song Faye Webster - Feeling Good Today Peter And The Wolf - The Fall Ours - Fall Into My Hands Bunbury & Vegas - Bravo The Decemberists - The Tain Unbelievable Truth - Building Kevin Devine - Brother's Blood Mount Eerie - You Swan, Go On Сплин - Танцуй! Kimya Dawson - Anthrax Mystery Jets - Anno's Italy Animal Collective - Fireworks / Essplode Super Furry Animals - The Man Don't Give A Fuck live From London's Hammersmith Apollo Nine Black Alps - Away From Me Rilo Kiley - It'll Get You There Forgive Durden - Cue The Sun My Epic - Arrive Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - 1% Of One Driver Friendly - Lost Boys LostAlone - Breathing In The Future Exhaling The Past Theaudience - How's That? Muse - Algorithm alternate Reality Version The Swell Season - The Verb Competitor Product - I Don't Want To Rule The World Blue Deputy - New Jersey Laura Imbruglia - My Opus Taylor Hollingsworth - In The Dark Ben Nichols - Toadvine Marmaduke Duke - A Curse And A Coyote Something For Kate - One Quarter Of One Hour Strata - Stay Young Angie Aparo - Spaceship Angie Aparo - Hush
POPULAR
TRACKS
MIXES
ALBUMS
Video 1 : 50
Music Tags for Sufjan Stevens:
Biography - Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens Born July 1 1975 Is An American Musician Songwriter And Multi-Instrumentalist From Petoskey Michigan. He Is Known For His Lyrically Focused And Instrumentally Rich Songs That Often Relate To Faith And Family. He Has Enjoyed Wide Critical Success In The United States. He Is Considered Part Of The Folk Revival Through Indie Pop But His Influences Are Very Broad Including Experimental Electronic Music The Jazz Of Vince Guaraldi And The Academic Minimalism Of Steve Reich And Philip Glass. Though Stevens Had Announced Plans To Make An Album For Each Of The 50 U.S. States Beginning The Series With The Albums 'Michigan' 2003 And 'Illinois' 2005 He Has Since Then Somewhat Retracted The Statement. "Sufjan Stevens Is Not Going To Write A Record For Each Of The 50 States After All" Was The Original Text Included On The Online Liner Notes For 'Mews Too An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation' A Disc Released On February 7 2006. This Statement Was Possibly Included As A Joke As The Text Has Since Been Removed And The Current Liner Notes Related To Sufjan Stevens Reads "Sufjan Stevens Can Fold A Fitted-Sheet He Once Worked As A Professional Folder In A Commercial Laundromat ." Background Stevens Was Born In Detroit Michigan And Grew Up In The City Of Petoskey In That Same State. He Attended Hope College On The West Coast Of Michigan. The Name Sufjan Is An Arabic/Persian Name That Predates Islam And Most Famously Belonged To Abu Sufyan A Figure From Early Islamic History. It Has Been Mentioned In The Press That The Name Was Given To Stevens By The Leader Of Subud A Spiritual Sect To Which His Parents Belonged When He Was Born. Stevens Has Stated That The Name Is Of Armenian Origin And Means "comes With A Sword " And That It Is "a Charming Militaristic Muslim Name." In Fact The Name Is Not Armenian And Armenia Is A Predominantly Christian Country.
Sufjan Is Also The Plural Form Of Sufi In Persian . Sufi Is A Practitioner Of Sufism .This Word Is Frequently Used In The Old Persian Literature Specially Sufi Poetry . His Brother Marathonist Marzuki Stevens Has Trained To Compete In The 2008 Olympic Trials And Has Played On Two Of Sufjan's Albums. A Multi-Instrumentalist Stevens Plays The Banjo Guitar Drums And Several Other Instruments Often Playing All Of These On His Albums Through The Use Of Multi-Tracking. While In School He Studied The Oboe And English Horn Which He Also Plays On His Albums He Is One Of The Few Musicians In Popular Music To Use These Instruments. Career Sufjan Stevens Began His Musical Career As A Member Of Marzuki A Folk-Rock Band From Holland Michigan. He Also Played And Continues To Play Various Instruments For Danielson Famile. While In School At Hope College Stevens Wrote And Recorded His Debut Solo Album A Sun Came Which He Released On Asthmatic Kitty Records A Record Label He Founded With His Step-Father In 1999. He Later Moved To New York City Where He Was Enrolled In A Writing Program At The New School For Social Research. While In New York Stevens Composed And Recorded The Music For His Second Album Enjoy Your Rabbit A Song Cycle Based Around The Animals Of The Chinese Zodiac That Ventured Into Electronica. Stevens Followed This With The First Of His 50 States Albums A Collection Of Folk Songs And Instrumentals Inspired By His Home State Of Michigan. The Result The Expansive Michigan Included Odes To Cities Including Detroit And Flint The Upper Peninsula And Vacation Areas Such As Tahquamenon Falls. Melded Into The Scenic Descriptions And Characters Are His Own Declarations Of Faith In God Sorrow Love And The Regeneration Of Michigan. Following The Release Of Michigan Stevens Compiled A Collection Of Songs Recorded Previously Into A Side Project The Christian Folk Album Seven Swans Which Was Released In March 2004. Next He Released The Second In The 50 States Projects Entitled Come On Feel The Illinoise!. Among The Subjects Explored On Come On Feel The Illinoise! Are The Cities Of Chicago Decatur And Jacksonville The Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy The Poet Carl Sandburg And Mississippi Palisades State Park. He Has Contributed To The Music Of Denison Witmer Soul Junk Half-Handed Cloud Brother Danielson Danielson Famile Serena Maneesh Castanets And Liz Janes. He Played Piano On For Fellow Brooklyn Musician's The National's Album 2007 Boxer. A Cover Of "She Is" Is Included On The Album Dream Brother Released In The United States On January 31 2006. Sufjan Contributed A Lot To The Sound Of The 2001 Liz Janes Album Done Gone Fire As He Engineered Recorded Produced And Arranged It As Well As Playing Many Addition Instruments. Sufjan Recently Recorded With Rosie Thomas And Denison Witmer Playing Banjo And Providing Vocals. It Is Unknown How This Record Will Be Released. In April 2006 Pitchfork Erroneously Announced That Stevens And Thomas Were Having A Baby Together But Were Forced To Print A Retraction. Witmer And Thomas Later Admitted It Was An April Fools' Prank. The Fifty States Project Beginning With Michigan Stevens Announced An Intent To Write An Album For Each Of The 50 U.S. States Although In Interviews He Wavers Between Utter Sincerity And Self-Deprecating Irony When Describing The Idea. Stevens Spent The Second Half Of 2004 Researching And Writing Material For The Second Of These Projects This Time Focusing His Efforts On Illinois. As With Michigan Stevens Used The State Of Illinois As A Leaping-Off Point For His More Personal Explorations Of Faith Family Love And Location. The Widely Acclaimed Illinois Was The Highest Rated Album Of 2005 On The Metacritic Review Aggregator Site Based On Glowing Reviews From Pitchfork The Onion A/V Club Spin Billboard Entertainment Weekly Rolling Stone The New York Times And The Guardian. The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards Awarded Stevens With The Album Of The Year Best Album Art/Packaging And Male Artist Of The Year. Pitchfork Media And Paste Magazine Named Come On Feel The Illinoise! As The Editors' Choice For Best Album Of 2005 And Stevens Received The 2005 Pantheon Prize Awarded To Albums Selling 500 000 Copies Or Fewer For Come On Feel The Illinoise!. In April Of 2006 Stevens Announced That 21 Pieces Of Music He Had Culled From The Come On Feel The Illinoise! Recording Sessions Would Be Incorporated Into A New Album Called The Avalanche. The Album Was Released On July 11 2006. While There Were Other Projects Rumored To Be Released Following 2005's Illinois By 2009 And His Live Album The BQE He Was Seemingly Finished With The Project Calling It "Such A Joke" And Accepting That The Project Was Too Massive And Too Cliché To Ever Reach An End. Religious Themes Many Of Stevens' Songs Have Religious And Spiritual Allusions But His Album Seven Swans Has The Most Direct Religious References. Stevens Has Expressed That He Is Christian But Does Not Overtly Advertise This Aspect Of Himself In His Music. Stevens Has Also Stated That He Does Not Try To Make Music "with A Message" Or Music For The Sake Of Preaching. "I Don't Think Music Media Is The Real Forum For Theological Discussions " Says Stevens. "I Think I've Said Things And Sung About Things That Probably Weren't Appropriate For This Kind Of Forum. And I Just Feel Like It's Not My Work Or My Place To Be Making Claims And Statements Because I Often Think It's Misunderstood." The Songs 'Abraham' 'Seven Swans' 'To Be Alone With You' 'We Won't Need Legs To Stand' And 'The Transfiguration' Directly Address Christianity On The Album Seven Swans. In 'Abraham' Sufjan Recounts The Old Testament Story In The Book Of Genesis When Abraham Ordered By God As A Test Of Faith Leads His Son Isaac Up A Mountain And Prepares To Kill Him As Commanded But Before God Sends An Angel To Intervene . The Lyrics Of 'The Transfiguration' Follow The Biblical Accounts Of Jesus' Transfiguration In Matthew 17 1-8 Mark 9 1-8 And Luke 9 28-36. Michigan And Come On Feel The Illinoise! Are Packed With Christian References And Metaphors. Michigan Contains "Sleeping Bear Sault Saint Marie" Which Implores "Oh Lamb Of God! Tell Us Your Perfect Design And Give Us The Rod" "Lamb Of God" Being A Biblical Name For Jesus Christ . The Song "Oh God Where Are You Now?" Asks God To "hold Me Now" To "save Somehow" Searching For God In The Midst Of Personal Turmoil. "There's No Other Man Who Could Save The Dead " The Song States. The Album Closer 'Vito's Ordination Song' Was Apparently Originally Written For Sufjan's Friend Vito Aiuto And Its Lyrics Allude Directly To Psalm 139 "I Always Knew You. In Your Mother's Arms I Have Called Your Name" "I've Made A Crown For You" . The Song Speaks Of "When The Bridegroom Comes" - The New Testament Speaks Of Jesus Christ As Being The Bridegroom And The Church His Bride Finally Being United Together At The End Of Time. Come On Feel The Illinoise! Features The Song 'Chicago' With Its Refrain Of "You Came To Take Us To Recreate Us" And 'Decatur' Has The Chorus Of "It's The Great I Am" "I Am" Being The Name The Lord Reveals Himself By To Moses In Exodus 3 14 . "Casimir Pulaski Day" Speaks Of "All The Glory That The Lord Has Made" In The Midst Of Personal Pain And Loss. "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" Has The Lyrics "Lamb Of God We Sound The Horn. Hallelujah!" One Instrumental Passage Has The Title Of "In This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man For Whom He Saved The Earth". "The Seer's Tower" Speaks Of Emanuel "With His Sword With His Robe He Comes Dividing Man From Brothers" An Interesting Side Note Is That "Sufjan" Actually Means "comes With A Sword" . Indeed The Vast Majority Of Songs Of Come On Feel The Illinoise! Contain Lyric Lines Which Can Be Readily Identified As Having A Basis In Stevens' Faith In Christ. Sufjan's Second Electronic Album Enjoy Your Rabbit Contains A Song Cycle Based On Of The Animals Of The Chinese Zodiac Culminating With The Song "Year Of Our Lord". Stevens Released The Original Christian-Themed Song "God'll Ne'er Let You Down" On The "To Spirit Back The Mews" Compilation On Asthmatic Kitty. The Officially Unreleased Christmas Albums Sufjan Stevens Made And Then Compiled Into Songs For Christmas Feature Suitably Christmas And Christian Themed Music Both Originals And Covers Of Hymns And Traditional Songs. Trivia On Snow Patrol's 2006 Album Eyes Open There Is A Reference To Sufjan And The Song "Chicago" In The Song "Hands Open" - "Put Sufjan Stevens On And We'll Play Your Favorite Song/"Chicago" Bursts To Life And Your Sweet Smile Remembers You." Sufjan Has Twice Been Featured On The FOX Television Show "The OC". "To Be Alone With You" And "For The Widows In Paradise For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti" Can Be Heard On Episodes 202 And 315 Respectively. Sufjan Stevens' Music Has Appeared Twice On The Showtime Dark Comedy "Weeds". "All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands" Appears On S1E02 Over The End Credits And "Holland" Appears Near The End Of S2E10. Two Of Sufjan's Songs Appear On The Soundtrack To "Little Miss Sunshine" "Chicago" And "No Man's Land" The Song "John Wayne Gacy Jr." Appears On The 3rd Season Of The Tv Show "Nip/Tuck". Several Songs Can Be Heard On The Movie "Driving Lessons" You Can Also Hear Snippets In Between CSI Shows On 5US In The TV Show "Austin City Limits" He Mentioned That When He Was A Kid He And His Best Friend Saw Something In The Sky Which They Couldn't Figure Out. They Thought It Was A Spaceship Or UFO First Then An Eagle Or A Dragon. Finally They Realized It Was A Giant Wasp. He Wrote The Song "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" About The Incident And Mentioned That The Reason They The Band All Have Wings On Stage Is To Overcome His Fear Of Flying Things. The Song "Redford For Yia-Yia & Pappou " Is Heard In The 2012 "World Of Red Bull" Television Commercial. He Is Quoted As Saying "selling Out Never Looked So Good." And "somebody Had To Pay For All Of That Christmas Confetti." Referring To His Recent Christmas Album And Supporting Tour. In 2017 Stevens Wrote Two Original Songs To Be Featured In The Gay Drama Film “Call Me By Your Name” Entitled “Mystery Of Love” And “Visions Of Gideon”. He Also Made A Reworked Version Of His Song “Futile Devices” Which Is Also Featured On The Soundtrack.
Website Http //sufjan.Com read less
read more
Sufjan Is Also The Plural Form Of Sufi In Persian . Sufi Is A Practitioner Of Sufism .This Word Is Frequently Used In The Old Persian Literature Specially Sufi Poetry . His Brother Marathonist Marzuki Stevens Has Trained To Compete In The 2008 Olympic Trials And Has Played On Two Of Sufjan's Albums. A Multi-Instrumentalist Stevens Plays The Banjo Guitar Drums And Several Other Instruments Often Playing All Of These On His Albums Through The Use Of Multi-Tracking. While In School He Studied The Oboe And English Horn Which He Also Plays On His Albums He Is One Of The Few Musicians In Popular Music To Use These Instruments. Career Sufjan Stevens Began His Musical Career As A Member Of Marzuki A Folk-Rock Band From Holland Michigan. He Also Played And Continues To Play Various Instruments For Danielson Famile. While In School At Hope College Stevens Wrote And Recorded His Debut Solo Album A Sun Came Which He Released On Asthmatic Kitty Records A Record Label He Founded With His Step-Father In 1999. He Later Moved To New York City Where He Was Enrolled In A Writing Program At The New School For Social Research. While In New York Stevens Composed And Recorded The Music For His Second Album Enjoy Your Rabbit A Song Cycle Based Around The Animals Of The Chinese Zodiac That Ventured Into Electronica. Stevens Followed This With The First Of His 50 States Albums A Collection Of Folk Songs And Instrumentals Inspired By His Home State Of Michigan. The Result The Expansive Michigan Included Odes To Cities Including Detroit And Flint The Upper Peninsula And Vacation Areas Such As Tahquamenon Falls. Melded Into The Scenic Descriptions And Characters Are His Own Declarations Of Faith In God Sorrow Love And The Regeneration Of Michigan. Following The Release Of Michigan Stevens Compiled A Collection Of Songs Recorded Previously Into A Side Project The Christian Folk Album Seven Swans Which Was Released In March 2004. Next He Released The Second In The 50 States Projects Entitled Come On Feel The Illinoise!. Among The Subjects Explored On Come On Feel The Illinoise! Are The Cities Of Chicago Decatur And Jacksonville The Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy The Poet Carl Sandburg And Mississippi Palisades State Park. He Has Contributed To The Music Of Denison Witmer Soul Junk Half-Handed Cloud Brother Danielson Danielson Famile Serena Maneesh Castanets And Liz Janes. He Played Piano On For Fellow Brooklyn Musician's The National's Album 2007 Boxer. A Cover Of "She Is" Is Included On The Album Dream Brother Released In The United States On January 31 2006. Sufjan Contributed A Lot To The Sound Of The 2001 Liz Janes Album Done Gone Fire As He Engineered Recorded Produced And Arranged It As Well As Playing Many Addition Instruments. Sufjan Recently Recorded With Rosie Thomas And Denison Witmer Playing Banjo And Providing Vocals. It Is Unknown How This Record Will Be Released. In April 2006 Pitchfork Erroneously Announced That Stevens And Thomas Were Having A Baby Together But Were Forced To Print A Retraction. Witmer And Thomas Later Admitted It Was An April Fools' Prank. The Fifty States Project Beginning With Michigan Stevens Announced An Intent To Write An Album For Each Of The 50 U.S. States Although In Interviews He Wavers Between Utter Sincerity And Self-Deprecating Irony When Describing The Idea. Stevens Spent The Second Half Of 2004 Researching And Writing Material For The Second Of These Projects This Time Focusing His Efforts On Illinois. As With Michigan Stevens Used The State Of Illinois As A Leaping-Off Point For His More Personal Explorations Of Faith Family Love And Location. The Widely Acclaimed Illinois Was The Highest Rated Album Of 2005 On The Metacritic Review Aggregator Site Based On Glowing Reviews From Pitchfork The Onion A/V Club Spin Billboard Entertainment Weekly Rolling Stone The New York Times And The Guardian. The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards Awarded Stevens With The Album Of The Year Best Album Art/Packaging And Male Artist Of The Year. Pitchfork Media And Paste Magazine Named Come On Feel The Illinoise! As The Editors' Choice For Best Album Of 2005 And Stevens Received The 2005 Pantheon Prize Awarded To Albums Selling 500 000 Copies Or Fewer For Come On Feel The Illinoise!. In April Of 2006 Stevens Announced That 21 Pieces Of Music He Had Culled From The Come On Feel The Illinoise! Recording Sessions Would Be Incorporated Into A New Album Called The Avalanche. The Album Was Released On July 11 2006. While There Were Other Projects Rumored To Be Released Following 2005's Illinois By 2009 And His Live Album The BQE He Was Seemingly Finished With The Project Calling It "Such A Joke" And Accepting That The Project Was Too Massive And Too Cliché To Ever Reach An End. Religious Themes Many Of Stevens' Songs Have Religious And Spiritual Allusions But His Album Seven Swans Has The Most Direct Religious References. Stevens Has Expressed That He Is Christian But Does Not Overtly Advertise This Aspect Of Himself In His Music. Stevens Has Also Stated That He Does Not Try To Make Music "with A Message" Or Music For The Sake Of Preaching. "I Don't Think Music Media Is The Real Forum For Theological Discussions " Says Stevens. "I Think I've Said Things And Sung About Things That Probably Weren't Appropriate For This Kind Of Forum. And I Just Feel Like It's Not My Work Or My Place To Be Making Claims And Statements Because I Often Think It's Misunderstood." The Songs 'Abraham' 'Seven Swans' 'To Be Alone With You' 'We Won't Need Legs To Stand' And 'The Transfiguration' Directly Address Christianity On The Album Seven Swans. In 'Abraham' Sufjan Recounts The Old Testament Story In The Book Of Genesis When Abraham Ordered By God As A Test Of Faith Leads His Son Isaac Up A Mountain And Prepares To Kill Him As Commanded But Before God Sends An Angel To Intervene . The Lyrics Of 'The Transfiguration' Follow The Biblical Accounts Of Jesus' Transfiguration In Matthew 17 1-8 Mark 9 1-8 And Luke 9 28-36. Michigan And Come On Feel The Illinoise! Are Packed With Christian References And Metaphors. Michigan Contains "Sleeping Bear Sault Saint Marie" Which Implores "Oh Lamb Of God! Tell Us Your Perfect Design And Give Us The Rod" "Lamb Of God" Being A Biblical Name For Jesus Christ . The Song "Oh God Where Are You Now?" Asks God To "hold Me Now" To "save Somehow" Searching For God In The Midst Of Personal Turmoil. "There's No Other Man Who Could Save The Dead " The Song States. The Album Closer 'Vito's Ordination Song' Was Apparently Originally Written For Sufjan's Friend Vito Aiuto And Its Lyrics Allude Directly To Psalm 139 "I Always Knew You. In Your Mother's Arms I Have Called Your Name" "I've Made A Crown For You" . The Song Speaks Of "When The Bridegroom Comes" - The New Testament Speaks Of Jesus Christ As Being The Bridegroom And The Church His Bride Finally Being United Together At The End Of Time. Come On Feel The Illinoise! Features The Song 'Chicago' With Its Refrain Of "You Came To Take Us To Recreate Us" And 'Decatur' Has The Chorus Of "It's The Great I Am" "I Am" Being The Name The Lord Reveals Himself By To Moses In Exodus 3 14 . "Casimir Pulaski Day" Speaks Of "All The Glory That The Lord Has Made" In The Midst Of Personal Pain And Loss. "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" Has The Lyrics "Lamb Of God We Sound The Horn. Hallelujah!" One Instrumental Passage Has The Title Of "In This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man For Whom He Saved The Earth". "The Seer's Tower" Speaks Of Emanuel "With His Sword With His Robe He Comes Dividing Man From Brothers" An Interesting Side Note Is That "Sufjan" Actually Means "comes With A Sword" . Indeed The Vast Majority Of Songs Of Come On Feel The Illinoise! Contain Lyric Lines Which Can Be Readily Identified As Having A Basis In Stevens' Faith In Christ. Sufjan's Second Electronic Album Enjoy Your Rabbit Contains A Song Cycle Based On Of The Animals Of The Chinese Zodiac Culminating With The Song "Year Of Our Lord". Stevens Released The Original Christian-Themed Song "God'll Ne'er Let You Down" On The "To Spirit Back The Mews" Compilation On Asthmatic Kitty. The Officially Unreleased Christmas Albums Sufjan Stevens Made And Then Compiled Into Songs For Christmas Feature Suitably Christmas And Christian Themed Music Both Originals And Covers Of Hymns And Traditional Songs. Trivia On Snow Patrol's 2006 Album Eyes Open There Is A Reference To Sufjan And The Song "Chicago" In The Song "Hands Open" - "Put Sufjan Stevens On And We'll Play Your Favorite Song/"Chicago" Bursts To Life And Your Sweet Smile Remembers You." Sufjan Has Twice Been Featured On The FOX Television Show "The OC". "To Be Alone With You" And "For The Widows In Paradise For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti" Can Be Heard On Episodes 202 And 315 Respectively. Sufjan Stevens' Music Has Appeared Twice On The Showtime Dark Comedy "Weeds". "All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands" Appears On S1E02 Over The End Credits And "Holland" Appears Near The End Of S2E10. Two Of Sufjan's Songs Appear On The Soundtrack To "Little Miss Sunshine" "Chicago" And "No Man's Land" The Song "John Wayne Gacy Jr." Appears On The 3rd Season Of The Tv Show "Nip/Tuck". Several Songs Can Be Heard On The Movie "Driving Lessons" You Can Also Hear Snippets In Between CSI Shows On 5US In The TV Show "Austin City Limits" He Mentioned That When He Was A Kid He And His Best Friend Saw Something In The Sky Which They Couldn't Figure Out. They Thought It Was A Spaceship Or UFO First Then An Eagle Or A Dragon. Finally They Realized It Was A Giant Wasp. He Wrote The Song "The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" About The Incident And Mentioned That The Reason They The Band All Have Wings On Stage Is To Overcome His Fear Of Flying Things. The Song "Redford For Yia-Yia & Pappou " Is Heard In The 2012 "World Of Red Bull" Television Commercial. He Is Quoted As Saying "selling Out Never Looked So Good." And "somebody Had To Pay For All Of That Christmas Confetti." Referring To His Recent Christmas Album And Supporting Tour. In 2017 Stevens Wrote Two Original Songs To Be Featured In The Gay Drama Film “Call Me By Your Name” Entitled “Mystery Of Love” And “Visions Of Gideon”. He Also Made A Reworked Version Of His Song “Futile Devices” Which Is Also Featured On The Soundtrack.
Website Http //sufjan.Com read less
16 Similar Artists To Sufjan Stevens - Frogtoon Music
Angelo De Augustine Fleet Foxes AdriAnne Lenker Joanna Newsom Bon Iver Big Thief Nick Drake Perfume Genius Iron & Wine Bright Eyes Andrew Bird Angel Olsen Father John Misty The Mountain Goats The Microphones Phoebe Bridgers.
Sufjan’s bandcamp describes the sprawling song as a ’17-minute guitar jam-for-single-mothers,’ but it is really so much more than that. Sure, the actual lyrics don’t come until 12 minutes into the song, but the elegiac nature of the song is apparent almost from the first note. The bass line just screams ‘apology’ in the first few bars. As the lead guitar begins to solo, it takes on the role of a silenced, stifled creature. The western ‘twang’ of the muted electric is not common in Sufjan’s pieces, and the dynamic interplay between the choral ‘ooh/ahhs’ and the guitar suggest that it has something to say, but can’t get it out above the background noise. Most of the time, the guitar goes quiet when the chorus becomes loud – but in those intervals when it breaks free, it soars over the rest of the music, and shows off what it is capable of. Eventually the chorus takes over, mesmerizing the listener with chants of “Djohari Djohariah.” This chant introduces the character of Djohariah to the music, but giving nothing more to latch on to.
As the guitar reenters, it takes on a more alien sound, scratchy and electronic, more noise than raw emotion as before. Here, the chorus continues its chant of “Djohari Djohariah,” lending more power and transforming the meaning of the guitar. The weakening guitar is Djohariah, fighting a losing battle against everyone else’s voices. It yearns to be unique, but never achieves the triumphant glory it once had. At times it conforms to the swells of the chorus, at other points, it seems to completely lose control and move nowhere but in circles. Around 11 minutes, the guitar dies off completely. The tempo increases, and the chorus begins to morph how it says Djohariah’s name – instead of enunciating the last few syllables, it becomes a question, “are ya?” questioning where the guitar’s presence has gone.
Finally, Sufjan’s vocals break free from the chorus, initially coming off as pessimistic: “I know you won’t get very far.” Sufjans modifies this insult after a short pause, blaming this lack of success on the “back seat driver carpetbagger” who stole Djohariah’s heart. The song gets very specific to Djohariah, rather than single mothers in general – she spends her money on a car in a twisted plot line that I still haven’t been able to unravel. Sufjan then proclaims that Djohariah doesn’t need the man who left her for dead in her life and that he is a “heart grabber back stabber double cheater wife beater.” Whether this laundry list of horrible things is actually the truth or just something lyrical is besides the point – the level of devastation is very salient and apparent. Either way, I wish to extend my apologies to Djohariah.
It is at this point that Sufjan changes his tone to an encouraging one: Djohariah works hard a single mother, and shouldn’t listen to the neighbors because they don’ t know what is best for her. Sufjan tells her to not be ashamed “For the woman is, woman is the glorious victorious/ The mother of the heart of the world.” This chorus transforms, and eventually a female voice joins Sufjan in repeating “Go on! Little sister! Go on! Little sister!/ For your world is yours, world is yours.” All in all, the song seems extremely personal. It seems as though it is addressed right to Djohariah, and I’m almost tempted to think that much of this EP is an attempt at making amends with her for something. Perhaps Sufjan feels as though he didn’t help her enough in her time of need, as she raised a daughter as a single mother, or perhaps he simply wants to encourage her to make a name for herself.
So much of me wants to believe that the female singing at the end is Djohariah – that she joins in with Sufjan, rising again and becoming the dominant voice as the EP comes to a close, but I really can’t do any more than hope. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.