For the last three years, once Christmas starts to roll around, there is only one album I want to hear. Sufjan Stevens is one of those artists who, every time I find myself re-listening to his music, I am literally stopped in my tracks. He amazes me every time.
There is a magical quality to his music which I love, and a purity that just seeps under my skin. I cannot think of anyone else who creates music like this.
But it is also, at times, tongue in cheek, and often humorous with song titles such as 'They Are Night Zombies! They Are Neighbors! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhhh!'
In 2006 he released Songs for Christmas, a 5 cd box set of Christmas Carols and original compositions recorded between 2001 and 2006. And it is this that has made Christmas for me over the last three years.
A stunning collection that I am still getting to know, even after repeated listenings.
And once I start listening to it I find myself getting my Sufjan Crush all over again and I cannot stop listening to his other music too.
Until the kids ask me to stop...
My poor, long suffering friends on Facebook have been quietly putting up with my Christmas Countdown with Sufjan' that I've been doing each day since the 1st of December. A song a day. My kind of advent countdown!
I wanted to include a favourite song here, but it's been incredibly difficult to choose just one. But I think, given the time of year I will share one with you from the above album.
This was recorded in Dublin a few years back. I remember it well because I didn't get tickets to it and was sorely peeved about that! I heard after it was amazing.
And I love that they are all wearing wings!
4 comments:
Ciara - I loved this. I wrote about Sufjan the early morning that I took my pregnancy test. His song, Casimir Pulaski Day, holds extra special meaning for me to this day. I just wrote you about how similar our musical tastes are but my link didn't work - it's www dot myspace dot com forwardslash nainsi_bansidhe if you want to see a clip of the bon iver concert i attended in toronto. i also caught Sam Beam (iron and wine) the previous autumn. you might like hannah georgas. do you know coconut records? joanna newsom is someone an ex-boyfriend introduced me to. but i love sufjan. i love a man who isn't afraid to get up and sing wearing beautiful wings on his back. what a special spirit he is! thanks for this post.
You've no idea how happy I am to find someone who loves all the same music as me! Music defines me more than anything else, and it defines my day, my year, everything about my life. I cannot live without it. But, as is evidenced by the number of comments on this blog, fellow fans are few and far between!! So I'm doubly delighted to meet you!
I do have to refrain here from gushing too much about the likes of Justin Vernon and Sufjan Stevens, but these guys mean so much to me. Some days the beauty of their music gives me wings and I soar, some days it clutches at my heart so tightly I could (and do) cry from the pain of it. Can something be too beautiful?
As it happened I did read your Casimir Pulaski Day post last night! So beautiful, and so moving. Thanks for sharing. What an incredibly sad song. But what an incredibly happy association you now have!
Looking forward to future music sharing! Off now to check out your recommendations and video's, thanks!
Ciara, I, too, love Sufjan Stevens, and I don't own his Christmas set yet, so you know I will be asking for it for my birthday this year, which falls in October, meaning I'll get to listen to his Christmas songs from mid-October all the way through the holidays. That will be so amazing!
I have Casimir Pulaski Day on my shuffle right now, and it's one of the songs I listen to more than any others. You know, of course, that I tend toward the melancholic!
xo Gigi
Gigi,
There are some of his most exquisitely beautiful songs on the Christmas albums. Ones that go beyond Christmas and are on my playlist all year. Something for you to look forward to!
Yes, melancholia is my middle name too LOL!
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