Sufjan Stevens in new Tape Op is that a joke?

timcoalman · Post by **timcoalman** » Fri Mar 27, 2009 8:05 pm

I'm glad this article got mentioned here, I just kinda skimmed it in the mag.

surest sign I am rank amateur - I still read every article, all the letters, gear reviews, and ads. When waiting for next issue to arrive will re-read ads and try to discern what the thing being sold actually does. Sometimes difficult; the gear all starts to look like various configurations of rectangular prisms with knobs, sliders, buttons, and occasional levers (though the levers seem to be more prevalent on vintage gear - I miss them).

bannerj · Post by **bannerj** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:45 am

I've only talked with Sufjan for 5 minutes, but I know a couple people who do know him. I don't understand all the conjecture. He's an artist. Artists do what they do. You like it or you don't. A discussion about his music would make more sense.

He is actually a very shy person. He never thought his music career would take off. He does all the props mostly as a distraction...to not take himself so seriously. I saw him at a show where he threw dozens of inflatable superman dolls out into the crowd and then later threw out as many of santa claus. He gets really nervous when he performs. What may seem like being smug or pretentious is probably how he manages on stage. When i saw him at Richard in Vancouver, I was above him in the balcony and could see him shaking. He kept pulling his pants up and at one point his guitar fell off of his strap. He was fidgety.

That being said. I do know he can be really intense to work with.

I initially did not like Michigan. It sounded like he was trying to hard to be clever. Then I fell in love with it, introduced it to my wife and she has played his stuff so much that I can't handle it. Yet, I know he's still had an impression on my music...for better or for worse.

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:08 am

bannerj wrote:He does all the props mostly as a distraction...to not take himself so seriously. I saw him at a show where he threw dozens of inflatable superman dolls out into the crowd and then later threw out as many of santa claus. He gets really nervous when he performs. What may seem like being smug or pretentious is probably how he manages on stage. When i saw him at Richard in Vancouver, I was above him in the balcony and could see him shaking. He kept pulling his pants up and at one point his guitar fell off of his strap. He was fidgety.

That being said. I do know he can be really intense to work with.

This explains a lot and the obversation is very helpful.

Trust me, after working for 10+ years off and on in theater, I know both about stage fright and people (not) coping well with it. But wearing goofy outfits to ward off stage fright is about as effective as resorting to chemicals.

The artists that I respect and tend to have longer careers have two things in common: they are absolutely committed to their material/craft (songs, scripts, medium, etc.), and they are committed in connecting with their audience on an emotional level. I doubt he has trouble with the craft part of the equation, but obviously the audience is another story. If it's any comfort, he's in pretty good company. Heck, one of my greatest heroes is Andy Partridge (of XTC fame), and he's legendary for not wanting to perform live because of stage fright.

And not that I'm compeltely opposed to costumes. The Flaming Lips obviously does it too, but for whatever reason I buy it more because they go all out, and their songs and performances are emotional too.

For Sufjan Stevens, I didn't see the wings as anything other than a prop (and a largely irrelevant one at that), and I'm not connecting with the music, but that's just my opinion. YMMV, and if he's connecting with you then you're probably a more discerning audience/fan than I am.

Still, you won't be catching me wearing wings or bunny suits

creature.of.habit · Post by **creature.of.habit** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:12 am

is the story in issue #69 (dog with headphones)? i really can't find it anywhere..

bannerj · Post by **bannerj** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:33 am

kayagum wrote:
bannerj wrote:He does all the props mostly as a distraction...to not take himself so seriously. I saw him at a show where he threw dozens of inflatable superman dolls out into the crowd and then later threw out as many of santa claus. He gets really nervous when he performs. What may seem like being smug or pretentious is probably how he manages on stage. When i saw him at Richard in Vancouver, I was above him in the balcony and could see him shaking. He kept pulling his pants up and at one point his guitar fell off of his strap. He was fidgety.

That being said. I do know he can be really intense to work with.
This explains a lot and the obversation is very helpful.

Trust me, after working for 10+ years off and on in theater, I know both about stage fright and people (not) coping well with it. But wearing goofy outfits to ward off stage fright is about as effective as resorting to chemicals.

The artists that I respect and tend to have longer careers have two things in common: they are absolutely committed to their material/craft (songs, scripts, medium, etc.), and they are committed in connecting with their audience on an emotional level. I doubt he has trouble with the craft part of the equation, but obviously the audience is another story. If it's any comfort, he's in pretty good company. Heck, one of my greatest heroes is Andy Partridge (of XTC fame), and he's legendary for not wanting to perform live because of stage fright.

And not that I'm compeltely opposed to costumes. The Flaming Lips obviously does it too, but for whatever reason I buy it more because they go all out, and their songs and performances are emotional too.

For Sufjan Stevens, I didn't see the wings as anything other than a prop (and a largely irrelevant one at that), and I'm not connecting with the music, but that's just my opinion. YMMV, and if he's connecting with you then you're probably a more discerning audience/fan than I am.

Still, you won't be catching me wearing wings or bunny suits

The interesting thing is that he still does manage to connect very well. That show at Richards, his nerves only served to endear him more to the audience (at least for his fans). You could hear a pin drop in that venue and Vancouver is not known for being a good audience. I've been to noisy shows at Richards and seen Jeff Tweedy give his speech to a Vancouver audience offering their money back. But a pin drop. Sufjan has a mesmerizing affect on people if they are willing and into it.

Oh, another thought about his stage props: I think they are also inspired by his friendship and time playing with the Danielson Familie. Their costumes (Daniel in a full tree getup, his brother and sisters wearing nurses uniforms) were meant to be fun but also very meaningful, so I wouldn't say that Sufjan's costumes are completely a silly distraction. It is pageantry too making the music a definite event.

Anyhoo, there's my two cents.

Regarding recording techniques, his new labelmate DM Stith records the same way as him: an mbox and one mic, some groove tubes version, a pair of headphones and some Alesis monitors....and his record sounds amazing. But Rafter Roberts did mix it though.

These guys are just consummate musicians--accomplished multi instrumentalists-- who have the patience to get what they want even with such limited resources.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:44 am

bannerj wrote: These guys are just consummate musicians--accomplished multi instrumentalists-- who have the patience to get what they want even with such limited resources.

And that's the inspiration that I got from this article... work on songwriting.

Jeff

saint360 · Post by **saint360** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:06 pm

I think Sufjan is a lot less pretentious than many much more revered artists/bands. I think most worthwhile, serious art has an element of pretention. I'm not a fanboy by any means, and have never seen him live, but I think he's a very talented songwriter and musician, and each time I listen to his music, I "get" him more. There is a theatricality to his albums, so it makes sense that there would be a conceptual aspect to his shows, with costumes and props and whatnot. But all that stuff takes a backseat to the songs, which for the most part are quite arresting creations. Listen to his albums before you form an opinion.

Yeah, maybe he could have trimmed a few songs from some of his albums to make them more instantly likeable. But then I'm sure the stuff that doesn't grab me is somebody else's favorite, and I'm sure some folks hit the "skip" button on songs I love, so what do you cut? Another aspect I find interesting about Sufjan is his religous life, which, although he does not usually like to talk about much, seems to often inform his songwriting--though not in a dogmatic way. And I still can't get over how good his albums sound, especially now that I know how they were recorded.

Plus one of his backup singers is really hot.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:58 pm

saint360 wrote: Plus one of his backup singers is really hot.

+1

Teacher's Pet · Post by **Teacher's Pet** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:41 pm

Ok, fine, but what about Missy Elliott?

Is that true or not?

Brian Brock · Post by **Brian Brock** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:42 pm

my favorite part of the article is the photo where the curtain is being held up by a chair.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:47 pm

I guess that you found the article interesting, then.

jckinnick · Post by **jckinnick** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:32 pm

Teacher's Pet wrote:Ok, fine, but what about Missy Elliott?

Is that true or not?

Yeah that he had to be joking there right.

Jeff White · Post by **Jeff White** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:36 pm

jckinnick wrote:
Teacher's Pet wrote:Ok, fine, but what about Missy Elliott?

Is that true or not?
Yeah that he had to be joking there right.

I took it as fact.

Jeff

less_cunning · Post by **less_cunning** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 12:10 pm

i would have liked to know more about the (use of) Microkorg in the photo on page 48.

Artifex · Post by **Artifex** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 7:37 pm

What I don't understand:

Where were these photos taken? He spent so much time about recording without monitors or expensive equipment, in room with comprimised equipment. Were those photos his current setup?

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Sufjan Stevens in new Tape Op is that a joke?

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