Do any of you with inside contact in the Indie world have any clue what is going on with Sufjan Stevens? Is he recording? Has he gone all Dave Chappelle on us? Or is he just holed up making the best record of the decade?

I was wondering the same thing just this afternoon.

I bet you anything he's hidden somewhere writing and recording probably 80 songs about Delaware or something.

If I had to follow up Illinois, I'd be terrified too. He put out a few b-side and holiday albums to make us forget how good he is, and mid-08 he'll come out with something great. Least, that's what I hope will happen.

He must've been working on Illinois for a long time, but nobody got wind of it until fairly close to the release, so I'm assuming he's been hard at work, maybe even close to being finished with a new one. It is frustrating going this long without new though.

His most recent released recording was "In the Words of the Govenor". If you haven't heard it, you should check it out. It's very similar to old style Sufjan. And it rocks.

He is playing an orchestra thing in November. Something about a musical tribute to a highway or something. And there was rumor he was working on an album about birds, but I think that just stems from his NPR song "Lord God Bird" and his live epic "Majesty, Snowbird".

I sure hope that he hurries up and releases some stuff soon. I know that making an album for every single state is highly ambitious but if he ever pulled it off, it would be glorious. I am a big fan of his music and am highly anticipating his next, official, release.

I agree. At this rate he will finish when he is *does some math* a little over 150 years old. And just his luck they will annex in another ten states when he is 120.

And I'm so infatuated with his musical abilities that I'm seriously convinced he could record an album every week and it would be amazing.

.. but that is probably the weight he is having to carry.

I would be okay with him doing mini albums for the rest of the states. Six or seven song EPs for new Hampshire, Rhode Island, Utah, etc times sixteen.

Yeah, I agree with you. He should do shorter albums for the states where there really isn't much history involved. People that live there will disagree but how much can you write about Idaho, North Dakota and Montana?

Can you imagine how much time he would need to take into writing the albums for California, Florida, Texas and New York? If Illinois had 22 tracks, would the aforementioned states have double that much material?

Florida has the weirdest of the weird history and (esp.) news stories.. he could have so much fun with us.

Personally I think Alaska would be epic and deep in good story material.

... and cold ...

... and dark most of the time ...

wonder if he ll change his palette of sounds for his upcoming stuff

He's never really seems content staying where he is at musically. I think he would get bored if he wasn't experimenting with new sounds and musical styles.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:
Personally I think Alaska would be epic and deep in good story material.

... and cold ...

... and dark most of the time ...

Hey there Shadrach, I'm from Juneau.

Awesome, L.R.. I'm up around Anchorage (hence the Peters Creek). I've never made it to Junea before, although I've grown up in the state. It's common of course because it's so inaccesible, but I've always really wanted to get there.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:
Awesome, L.R.. I'm up around Anchorage (hence the Peters Creek). I've never made it to Junea before, although I've grown up in the state. It's common of course because it's so inaccesible, but I've always really wanted to get there.

I bet Sufjan could write some funny songs about Uncle Ted.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:
Personally I think Alaska would be epic and deep in good story material.

... and cold ...

... and dark most of the time ...

I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being more electronic based, like Enjoy Your Rabbit

My theory for awhile now about Sufjan:

Sufjan's homestate=Michigan

My homestate=Ohio

Ohio and Michigan=Heated rivalry in everything

Sufjan choosing Ohio for his 50 states project=Dead last on the list...

Me=

A friend of mine sent an e-mail to Sufjan, telling him how much he likes his work, and asked what state Sufjan was going to be doing next. In his reply, Sufjan said that Oregon would be the next state, but this exchange took place probably about a year ago. So it's anyone's guess as to where he stands now. He seems to be content guesting on other albums, and writing a review or article every now and then.

quote:

He seems to be content guesting on other albums, and writing a review or article every now and then.

As far as I can tell he doesn't seem to enjoy doing music all that much. I'm sure he never had any intention of becoming a "star". Based on a couple of interviews I've read from him it seems that he's pretty burnt out. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he never does any other solo work.

Sufjan covers Bob Dylan

He covers Ring Them Bells. I guess that's what he's been doing in his free time.