Theme by nostrich.
Video
Because there is nothing better on a lazy Saturday morning then some Jim Croce. Prove me wrong.
Text
Honorable Mention
I do intend to finish my top 10 list of my favorite albums- I promise. I only have one more to go and I will get around to it eventually.
In the meantime here are a few honorable mentions (In no particular order)
In a Safe Place-The Album Leaf, Life of David-Michael Knott, All Understood-Buchanan, Dog Problems-Format, Water & Solutions-Far, Till We Have Faces-Noise Ratchet, The Animal Years-Josh Ritter, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill- Lauryn Hill, The Carnival-Wyclef Jean, Come On Feel the Illinoise!-Sufjan Stevens, Deloused in the Comatorium-Mars Volta, Surprise-Paul Simon, The Moon is Down-Further Seems Forever, Dear Science-TV on the Radio, Nighttiming-Coconut Records, Return of the Aquabats- The Aquabats, Songs to Burn Your Bridges By-Project 86, Robbers and Cowards-Cold War Kids, S/T- The Fire Theft, World Waits-Jeremy Enigk, Off the Wall-Michael Jackson, Pinkerton-Weezer, Relocation-Plankeye, Im Wide Awake It’s Morning- Bright Eyes
Audio with 19 plays
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]BANJO! A song from my number two selection. He Woke Me Up Again- Sufjan Stevens
Text
My top 10 “Desert Island” albums- number 2
#2 Seven Swans- Sufjan Stevens
“Abraham, worth a righteous one.
Take up on the wood,
put it on your son.
Lake or lamb.
There is none to harm.
When the angel came,
you had raised your arm.
Abraham, put off on your son.
Take instead the ram
until Jesus comes”
Sufjan Stevens - Abraham
It wasn’t until Sufjan released his next album entitled Come on Feel the Illinoise that he garnered all of the critical attention he deserved. In fact, Illinoise was named the album of the year in 2005 by the snobby blowhards over at Pitchfork, and the top album of the decade!!! by Paste Magazine. But Illinoise is only my second favorite Sufjan album, while my favorite is Seven Swans.
Seven Swans is a stripped down folk album, especially compared to Illinoise. The standout instrument on the album, beside Sufjan’s voice, is the banjo, and the two work brilliantly together to give the album a “rootsy” feel. And even though I absolutely loathe the use of this label for art, it is certainly the most “Christian” of Sufjan’s albums, containing several biblical allusions and images (see the lyrics from the song Abraham typed out above).
I think the reason I favor this album over his others is because it served as my introduction to Sufjan. I remember first hearing of Sufjan from a top albums of 2004 list from Relevant Magazine. Shortly thereafter I headed to Fingerprints and picked up Seven Swans and before I had even finished driving back down 2nd street I was hooked. There is something so satisfying about buying an album on a whim or hunch that turns out to be brilliant. It makes you feel like a musical explorer, discovering uncharted territories.
Since that time I have seen Sufjan live two times and bought up everything he has recorded, spending countless hours enjoying his music. Like a few other albums on my top 10 list, this album was really a watershed moment in my music appreciation career, shaping my musical tastes over the last half decade. As a gift to our wedding attendees, Mariah and I created two mix CDs of music that had been significant to our relationship, and each of the CDs had a song from this album (To Be Alone With You and The Dress Looks Nice on You).
If you haven’t familiarized yourself yet with Sufjan Stevens, you are missing out. If you know Sufjan but only own Illinoise, pick up Seven Swans and thank me later.
You can buy Seven Swans on iTunes or here.
Text
My delayed New Year’s resolution
Mariah and I spent a few minutes looking through my old blog last night and it hit me that I used to be a lot better at this, or at least had a bit more energy for this when I first started. There were actually some original thoughts rather than a bunch of posts saying “hey check out this link” (although there was still plenty of that before).
So my delayed NYR is to be a better blogger. I want to complete the following four posts in the near future (not necessarily in this order):
1) I need to put down some thoughts I have been having about spirituality in the suburbs, spawned by my finally getting around to a book I have been meaning to read called Sidewalks in the Kingdom. Look for a photo of about 10 satellite TV dish receivers on the side of a building to accompany this post (it will all make sense when I finally get around to this).
2) I have been meaning to write a post explaining my blog title. Creativity and Apathy are two words that describe a lot as it relates to the interweb, blogging, my generation, and my own life. More to come.
3) and 4) I need to finish my top 10 desert island album list. I think I finished #3 so I have #2 and #1 to go. I also want to list out some honorable mentions. Heck I will give you an honorable mention now- Dog Problems by The Format. It is a great break up record that sounds like the band Queen taking a trip to the Circus. Deal with the contradictions! One of many great records just outside my top 10. Again more to come.
Quote
All hell breaks loose when your heart changes your mind.
Page 1 of 4
