I must first note that I primarily judge albums (and look at music) in terms of good songs - a good album is one which delivers one great song after another, so I won't enter the debate about who's "revolutionary", "groundbreaking", or "ambitious" (though, I must admit, the arrangements and instrumentation on Illinoise is impressive and contributes to its charm.) I think Illinois (or Illinoise) is overlong and in need of a good edit, but there are some really great songs on there. I think In Rainbows sounds good, and its an enjoyable enough listen, but there aren't any songs that stick in my mind, i.e. I don't think it has any really strong songs on there, and I have this opinion in regards to the band in general. I mean, Thom Yorke has done a cover of Neil Young's After the Goldrush. I don't think Radiohead have ever written a song as strong as that (in regards to melody, emotion, lyrics etc.). Basically, I think Radiohead are an overrated band, though many would obviously disagree with me. So, my vote goes to Sufjan.

Everybody, make sure you vote. Check the first post of the thread to do so. Sufjan should be dominating thus far.

quote:

Originally posted by hudson the pumpkin king:
Everybody, make sure you vote. Check the first post of the thread to do so. Sufjan should be dominating thus far.

Just to be difficult, I refuse! HAH! Take that!

How many times can I vote?

Illinoise is great, but bloated, I always found trying to listen to it straight throught became tired and boring. In Rainbows, to me, is a masterpiece that reveals itself more and more with successive listens. Everysong is beautiful with a SLIGHT dip in quality with "House of Cards" The length (45min) is nice too, as I do enjoy sitting down with entire albums. So, in short; Great songs + well paced, moderate album length = In Rainbows = Masterpiece

I haven’t voted yet but I did want to say that I don’t think Illinois is “bloated” at all. I think that he has smooth transitions and he spreads out the long songs (five minutes or more) pretty sparingly. I have been listening to it this past week and I have been able to sit down and listen to it about five times. Sure the Radiohead album is faster to get through but both are pretty great.

I also wanted to say that I hope Sufjan Stevens continues to make music and that he does it soon. I do find his music to have a certain endearing charm to it. This might be partly because he is a classically-trained musician and he ties that in to his music well. I was playing some of the songs off of Illinois to my kids in class and they really responded well to it. They like to name the instruments and state what they picture a song is attempting to depict. Their favorite ones were probably “The Black Hawk War, or…” or “Prairie Fire that Wanders About.”

quote:

Originally posted by A7sus4:
Illinoise is great, but bloated, I always found trying to listen to it straight throught became tired and boring. In Rainbows, to me, is a masterpiece that reveals itself more and more with successive listens. Everysong is beautiful with a SLIGHT dip in quality with "House of Cards" The length (45min) is nice too, as I do enjoy sitting down with entire albums. So, in short; Great songs + well paced, moderate album length = In Rainbows = Masterpiece

Masterpiece? Wow, thats' a strong word. You sure about that? Oh, and don't forget to post in my "masterpiece thread" in the Best of 2007 section.

I haven't really had much of a chance to listen to "Illinois" as I've never really bothered to listen to anything by Sufjan Stevens (don't know why).

This thread compelled me to check it out and I after 1 listen I'm really digging it. "Chicago" is an amazing song.

Otherwise I posted how I didn't really understand the hype around In Rainbows so this poll was easy. I can understand if In Rainbows had a score of 82-85...but I guess I'm the square.

Sufjan Stevens Covers "Ring Them Bells" by Bob Dylan

In case anyone hasn't seen this, it's what I think is Sufjan's latest work.

This is OT, but I was watching the Danielson Famile movie last night on DVD, and I finally learned how Sufjan Stevens' name is pronounced. I feel like such a dope, calling him "Suff-jin" all these years. Kind of like when I saw the first Harry Potter movie, and realized how Hermione is really supposed to be pronounced.

Since a lot of people are posting here, I decided to ask this here.

I've been gone for a bit, did everybody change their screenname or did a lot of people just join? I sure see a lot of long screennames that I don't remember.

What gives?

quote:

Originally posted by Besttasteinmusicever:
Since a lot of people are posting here, I decided to ask this here.

I've been gone for a bit, did everybody change their screenname or did a lot of people just join? I sure see a lot of long screennames that I don't remember.

What gives?

Start here.

"in rainbows"

wow In Rainbows made the big comeback to take the lead

That's because it has revealed itself as a grower with about a gestation period of 4 good spins with one or two in the car driving.

Wow, 28-27 and In Rainbows is in the lead, that’s pretty cool. Like I said, a lot of it has to do with people simply not liking Sufjan Stevens. And yeah, there’s the fact that Radiohead’s new albums is pretty great…I guess.

quote:

Start here.

Where do you go to change your name?

Never mind, I figured it out.

I'll admit, this thread came too soon. I should've waited a year, then posted it. Right now it seems there's just too much widespread infatuation with 'in Rainbows'. That's to be expected though. Once it wears off, people will vote with a bit more perspective.

I've worn 'in Rainbows' out already. Maybe I wore it out because I've listened to it about 20 times in as many days or maybe it's worn out because it suddenly stopped connecting with me. I don't know.

I listened to 'illinoise' at work today. It was beautiful, just like it is everytime I listen to it. In my mind it far surpasses 'in rainbows' in originality, warmth, and emotion.

quote:

Originally posted by hudson the pumpkin king:
I listened to 'illinoise' at work today. It was beautiful, just like it is everytime I listen to it. In my mind it far surpasses 'in rainbows' in originality, warmth, and emotion.

i think i just puked a little bit