| Sufjan Stevens – Impossible Soul Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I love it _despite_ the autotune. I compare autotune today to moog in the 70s--it's a novel "instrument" but it is gonna sound dated once the music world moves on to something else. It will sound like an artifact of the early 2000s. In general, I have found Sufjan's music to be timeless. However, I suspect that 20 years on autotune will sound cheesy, like a product of its time. Something our kids will listen to and giggle at. I do love that at the end he gives us a snippet of the Sufjan of yore. Maybe a sign he's not quite done with acoustic instruments and hushed ballads yet. |
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| Sufjan Stevens – Djohariah Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I think that the lyrics of this song are pretty self-explanatory, but I just have to comment that I think this is the most beautiful, touching song Sufjan has done thusfar. It gives me chills every time. I guess I relate somewhat because even though my sister's not married to some "heart grabber, double cheater, wife beater" I'm still protective of her and think she's an amazing person who doesn't think enough of herself. I'm always trying to build her up and tell her how much she means to me because even though he's a decent guy, her husband doesn't do that. So when Sufjan's telling his sister that she's the "glorious victorious the mother of the heart of the world" and "Go on" "the world is yours" his words really resonate with me. I know women have made great strides (at least in our society) but those who become mothers often sacrifice a great deal and tend to get very little appreciation for it. You could argue that the urge to make those sacrifices comes naturally, but that doesn't change the fact that they are still sacrifices and deserve more recognition and gratitude than they get. To end this on a note that's actually Sufjan-related, I think it's very interesting to contrast Djohariah with Sufjan's songs dealing with (what I presume to be) his own mother--Romulus and Pittsfield spring to mind. He can appreciate the good mother his sister is because--to whatever extent--he was deprived of having one of his own. That's my take on it anyway. He exults his sister (naming the song for her and chanting her name in the chorus) whereas he was literally afraid and ashamed of his own mom. |
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