I am Kyle's self-indulgence

Ever since Luis raved about him, I've been interested in listening to Sufjan Stevens. I'm often reluctant to buy music from unfamiliar artists, though, so I never really got around to really checking him out. What really gave me the impetus to buy his latest album was the recalled cover. Apparently, Asthmatic Kitty Records didn't bother to get permission to use Superman's image, and shortly after the CD was released, it was recalled. Now fans are trying to buy up the rare recalled version where still available. I figured that Stevens has been hyped just enough that Kirksville's music store may have ordered several copies, but not popular enough that they would have sold all of them. I told myself that if the store had a copy of the Superman version of the CD, I would buy it. They had three.

I've only listened to the album twice so far, but I'm already in love with it. The music is sometimes bizarre, often emotional and personal, and totally brilliant. Illinois is the second of Stevens' series of tribute albums to US states. It mixes organic folk tunes with gorgeous string and choir arrangements seamlessly. The songs themselves range from simple and intimate to truly epic. Such a conglomeration should not work, but somehow it does. Marvelously.

As if it weren't enough that Sufjan Stevens is a brilliant musician, he's also apparently a wonderful poet. His lyrics are often playful and whimsical (the song "They Are Night Zombies!! They are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!" is particularly fun), yet they seem truly genuine. Stevens expresses an exuberant love for the land of Illinois that feels a little like a bizarre, postmodern Walt Whitman. From "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders, part II: Come to Me Only With Playthings Now":

Oh Great Fire of Great Disaster
Oh Great Heaven, oh Great Master
Oh Great Goat, the curse you gave us
Oh Great Ghost, protect and save us
Oh Great River, green with envy
Oh Jane Addams, sprit send thee
Oh Great Trumpet and the singers
Oh Great Goodman, King of Swingers
Oh Great Bears and Bulls, Joe Jackson
Oh Great Illinois

From what I've heard so far, Sufjan Stevens has the potential to become one of my favorite musical artists. Perhaps my next purchase will be Seven Swans, which apparently features his Christian faith more prominently.