All Good Naysayers - A Sufjan Stevens Site

S-M2: Abyss In B Minor

one good naysayer — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:58:27 +0000

Serena-Maneesh are releasing their first album since their 2005 self-titled album. Sufjan again makes a guest appearance playing vibraphone, flute and piano on S-M2: Abyss In B Minor. On March 22/23 (date varies depending on country), 4AD will release S-M2: Abyss In B Minor on CD, vinyl and MP3. Serena-Maneesh will tour North America immediately following the release, then return to Europe for the spring/summer festival circuit.

Release Date: March 22/23, 2010

Preorder at Insound w/ FREE 12″ or Amazon

Tracklist

Listen to sound clips and view tracklist…

Sufjan On The Influence Of Jazz Singer Jimmy Scott

one good naysayer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:03:26 +0000

In an interview last year, Sufjan briefly mentioned Jimmy Scott. The Observer posted a longer piece by Sufjan about the influential jazz singer for their American legends series: “There’s this joy that he has, a joyful presence. When he’s singing he’s so grateful to be there, and so alive.. He’s just beautiful and unique.”

Eef Barzelay Gets High With A Sufjan Stevens Fan

one good naysayer — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:42:18 +0000

Today Clem Snide release their latest album, The Meat Of Life, which includes the song “I Got High.” It starts off with the lyric, “I got high with a Sufjan Stevens fan in Normal, Illinois…”

Clem Snide’s singer/guitarist Eef Barzelay explains the song to Magnet:

I think for me “I Got High” was a way to alchemize some nasty old-man bitterness I was starting to feel playing alone in boomy gymnasiums to mostly indifferent college kids. But the show that night in Normal was one of the best I’ve ever had. It was in a beautiful theater with great sound and the crowd just hung on my every sweet and tender note. Also, some local Sufjan fans may have hooked me up with a smoky treat that night as well. I secretly want “I Got High” to play like a classic-rock anthem, cell phones waving the air.

Buy “I Got High” at Amazon OR iTunes

Listen to “I Got High” at Last.fm

OK, ‘fess up… which one of you was this?

Sufjan Joins Clogs At Big Ears Festival

one good naysayer — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:14:09 +0000

Pitchfork news: “this year’s Big Ears Festival [Knoxville, TN - Mar 27] will host a special performance of the new Clogs album The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton in its entirety. In the only currently scheduled performance of the album with all of its guest vocalists, Clogs will be joined by Sufjan Stevens, Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner of the National, and Shara Worden aka My Brightest Diamond.”

Luv And Peanut Butter Cookies

one good naysayer — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:05:14 +0000

On her portfolio site, Vesper recounts the story behind “the dream-fulfilling, the ecstasy inducing.. LuvInIdleness.. produced by Sufjan Stevens.” Stereogum has the video premiere for “Singing Swords.” And the downloadable lyric sheet and instructional video are available on Ben+Vesper’s official site.

The Creatures In The Garden Of Lady Walton

one good naysayer — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:38:27 +0000

As previously reported, Sufjan Stevens and Shara Worden make guest appearances on the upcoming Clogs release. Shara sings on six songs while Sufjan and The National’s Matt Berninger each appear on one song. Brassland has scheduled release of The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton for March 2.

Release Date: March 02, 2010

Preorder at Insound or Amazon

Listen to “We Were Here” featuring Sufjan Stevens and Shara Worden on Asthmatic Kitty’s AKRadio

Watch a video of We Were Here and view tracklist…

Sufjan’s Weird Little Backing Vocal Melodies

one good naysayer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:08:52 +0000

The National’s Matt Berninger tells Pitchfork about cameos on the band’s upcoming release: “Sufjan did something that we are going to keep on a song. He sang some weird little backing vocal melodies — no words. It was on a song that had just the right sort of odd, creepy vibe… I’m pretty sure that the little Sufjan vocal thing is going to be in there. It really did something special with that song.”

Release Date Set For Ben + Vesper’s LuvInIdleness

one good naysayer — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:49:53 +0000

At the end of last summer, Ben + Vesper played a series of shows to debut songs from their new EP, LuvInIdleness. Only a few handmade copies of the Sufjan-produced EP were available at the shows. On February 9th, Sounds Familyre will release the EP on CD and MP3.

Join Ben + Vesper on March 8th at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY for the EP release party. The show is part of A Familyre Drive Spring 2010 Tour with Ortolan and Danielson.

Release Date: February 09, 2010

Pre-order LuvInIdleness at Insound OR Amazon

Tracklist:

Singing Swords
The Big Conversation
I Ask Because I Can
LuvInIdleness
Oarless Oracle

Hype Machine’s Illustrated Top 50 Artists Of 2009

one good naysayer — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:59:26 +0000

Hype Machine took a novel approach to their end of year list by inviting “50 visual artists.. to create a new piece of work inspired by and including the band name” of the Top 50 frequently blogged about artists of 2009. Sufjan came in #39 on the list and was illustrated by Patrick Moberg.

Purity Of Heart Is To Will One Thing

one good naysayer — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:52:57 +0000

The Welcome Wagon recently released a 4-song EP of songs that didn’t fit on their debut Welcome To The Welcome Wagon which was “recorded, produced and given sonic shape by their friend, Sufjan Stevens.” Purity Of Heart Is To Will One Thing is available now exclusively at iTunes. All proceeds will benefit Freeset, “a fair-trade business in India that helps to liberate and empower women escaping the sex trade in the largest red-light district in Kolkata (Calcutta), India.”

Buy the EP at iTunes

Tracklist:

O Christ, Our Hope
Up On A Mountain (demo)
I Am Not Skilled To Understand
There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood

Christmas Mysteries Of The Chicken McNuggets..

one good naysayer — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:52:25 +0000

..as explained by macrobiotic star people and Aunt Harriet’s magic Ouija board

Enjoy your Christmas with this story Sufjan wrote a few years ago for The Independent.

(click thumbnails for full-size images)

Articles And Interviews For 2009

one good naysayer — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:23:18 +0000

Over at the Sufjan Fans forum, kaleidoscope eyes has been diligently keeping track of the major interviews and articles of 2009:

Vish Khanna/Exclaim! Transcript
The Guardian (audio)
The Herald
The Quietus
Death + Taxes
WNYC Soundcheck (audio)
BOMBlog
Uncut
triple j: Mornings with Zan (audio) (scroll to the bottom)
NPR Morning Edition (audio)
Irish Times
Paste Magazine / full issue
AU Magazine
Bunyip Voodoo
Interview Magazine
Signal to Noise Pt. 1 / Pt. 2

Please let us know in the comments if you have come across any other recent articles, interviews, or reviews.

Cut Me Down & Count My Rings

one good naysayer — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:58:17 +0000

On November 3, Half-handed Cloud’s latest project is scheduled to be released by Asthmatic Kitty. Cut Me Down & Count My Rings is a collection of 46 songs “taken from seventeen different releases that came out between 2000 and 2009.” Most of the songs are rarities from various compilations and are being released on CD and MP3 for the first time. Contributors to Cut Me Down & Count My Rings include Sufjan Stevens, WHY? and members of Cryptacize.

Release Date: November 03, 2009

Buy CD from Insound

Tracklist

View Tracklist and more information about Cut Me Down And Count My Rings…

Sufjan Admits Fifty States Project Was A Gimmick

one good naysayer — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:35:37 +0000

Sufjan Stevens in a recent Guardian article: “I have no qualms about admitting [the Fifty States project] was a promotional gimmick.”

Super Teenage Hooper Heroes

one good naysayer — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:35:50 +0000

Super Teenage Hooper Heroes comic book, written by Sufjan Stevens and illustrated by Stephen Halker, is available now in the following formats:

Black and white version, with The BQE special edition vinyl package
Color version, paperback
iPhone/iPod Touch version (iTunes link), downloadable media via Panelfly mobile comic app

About Super Teenage Hooper Heroes:

Sufjan Stevens’ The BQE further extends its mythology by anthropomorphizing the expressway and its theoretical conceits into a 40-page comic book (cover by Matt Loux, masthead by Christian Acker), in which three extra-terrestrial superhero sisters (Botanica, Quantus, and Electress) use hula-hoops to combat the “the Messiah of Civic Projects,” Captain Moses, and his totalitarian social architecture. The comic book, written by Stevens and gorgeously drawn, colored, and inked by longtime friend and collaborator Stephen Halker, visualizes in graphic form many of the political motifs of the movie and soundtrack: mid-century urban theory, modernism, post-modernism, hoop dynamics, and the spiritual practice of Subud.

Description from: Asthmatic Kitty

All The Way From Michigan Not Mars

one good naysayer — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:45:33 +0000

All The Way From Michigan Not Mars a DVD featuring Rosie Thomas, with Denison Witmer, Sufjan Stevens and Sheila Saputo, will be released by Factory 25 on October 27th. Additionally, a limited edition package with the DVD and LP will be released which includes “never-before released Apartment Sessions with Sufjan Stevens and Denison Witmer that evolved into Thomas’ 2007 album, These Friends Of Mine.”

Pre-order the DVD or limited edition package at Insound.

The film is playing in select theaters and on tour with Rosie Thomas this fall. Check the events section for an up-to-date schedule.

Release Date: October 27, 2009

Limited Edition LP Tracklist

Watch The One I Love and view tracklist…

Stevens v. Stephens

one good naysayer — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:17:00 +0000

Sufjan interviews Shannon Stephens: “Back in my collegiate days.. I was in a band called Marzuki.. Our striking lead singer was a local songwriter named Shannon Stephens.. who had a gorgeous alto voice like Judy Collins and a penchant for writing catchy folky songs about love and heartache. Having lost touch with Shannon all these years, I decided to use the release [of The Breadwinner] as a means of catching up.”

2009 Tour Reviews And Media

one good naysayer — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:23:30 +0000

I had the pleasure of attending the first night of the Sufjan/Cryptacize tour at Johnny Brenda’s in Philly. A few brand new songs were interspersed between selections from Seven Swans with “Romulus” as the encore.

I have more than a little information overload when trying to keep up with all of the photos, blog posts, tweets, and reviews about the first week of the tour. Rather than trying to keep track of everything myself, let’s do this the web 2.0 way: add your tour photos to the All Good Naysayers Flickr Pool, add setlists to Setlist.fm, add links, reviews and anything else to the show pages listed below. The forum at Sufjanfans.com is also a great place to find media and reviews.

View tour pages…

Pre-order The BQE Or Run Rabbit Run With 10% Off Coupon

one good naysayer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:13:11 +0000

The BQE and Run Rabbit Run are now available for pre-order at Insound. Use the links and coupon code below to get 10% off. The coupon code is good for the rest of 2009, so use it any time you order from Insound.

The BQE:

Run Rabbit Run:

Coupon Code: naysayer10

Sufjan To Perform Seven Swans At ATP Festival

one good naysayer — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:57:28 +0000

ATP New York: “We’re very excited to announce that Sufjan Stevens will perform his album Seven Swans in its entirety at ATP New York this weekend.” Tickets are still available.

Great Comfort Records Launches With Release Of Come O Spirit!

one good naysayer — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:25:37 +0000

This week, Lenny, Marian, Elin and Daniel Smith launch Great Comfort Records, a new label that promises to deliver “unique and wonderfully fresh” worship music. The label’s inaugural release is ‘Come O Spirit!’ Anthology of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Vol.1 by Bifrost Arts, a sacred music non-profit organization. The compilation features Dave Bazan, Damien Jurado, Rosie Thomas, Denison Witmer, Leigh Nash, Liz Janes, Shara Worden, and others. The Welcome Wagon contribute their song “He Never Said A Mumblin’ Word” from their debut album, which was produced by Sufjan. ‘Come O Spirit!‘ is available now.

Tracklist

Listen to Come O Spirit and view the tracklist…

LuvInIdleness

one good naysayer — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:13:20 +0000

Ben + Vesper will soon release a new EP, LuvInIdleness, and kick off a month-long residency at Brooklyn’s Sycamore Bar and Flower Shop. LuvInIdleness was recorded in Sufjan’s studio in August. Homemade copies of the EP will be available at the shows:

8/28 w/ Dan Zimmerman
9/4 w/ Sebastien Schuller
9/11 w/ Ortolan
9/18 w/ Kurt Weisman
9/25 w/ The Welcome Wagon

Tracklist:

Singing Swords
The Big Conversation
I Ask Because I Can
LuvInIdleness
Oarless Oracle

Read More About LuvInIdleness: Asthmatic Kitty

Update: The following blog posts are actually referring to the recording of Ben + Vesper’s 2010 full-length release.

Stereogum Premiere Osso’s Enjoy Your Rabbit

one good naysayer — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 03:40:26 +0000

Stereogum has the premiere of Osso’s version of “Enjoy Your Rabbit.” Run Rabbit Run, Osso’s string re-arrangement of Sufjan’s electronic album Enjoy Your Rabbit drops on Oct 6. Catch Osso on tour in Oct/Nov with DM Stith and screenings of The BQE.

Pitchfork Ranks The Top 500 Tracks Of The 2000s

one good naysayer — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:47:36 +0000

This week Pitchfork incrementally released their list of The Top 500 Tracks Of The 2000s. Three of Sufjan’s songs made the list:

#49 – Chicago
#154 – Casimir Pulaski Day
#441 – For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fathers in Ypsilanti

Asthmatic Kitty Issues Note About Ticket Sales For Upcoming Tour

one good naysayer — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:32:25 +0000

“Sufjan and Cryptacize wanted smaller venues for a variety of very good reasons, but one of those reasons is because of a lower ticket cost.. We tried our very best to make [ticket sales] as equitable and accessible for everyone, but there is no perfect solution to make sure fans get the tickets and scalpers do not.” (read entire note)