All Good Naysayers - A Sufjan Stevens Site

Symphony Magazine Article

heather — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:00:11 +0000

The cover story in the Jul/Aug 2008 issue of Symphony examines the convergence of rock bands and orchestras. Sufjan is among the artists featured. “I no longer distinguish between classical and rock forms… Music is not a monologue, after all, but a chattering of conversations.” The entire article is available as a free PDF download.

Thinking Cap World T-Shirts

heather — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:46:14 +0000

Tom Eaton has designed a t-shirt featuring the “Young Artist” character (voiced by Sufjan) from his 2004 cartoon Thinking Cap World.

Watch Thinking Cap World…

A Thousand Shark’s Teeth

heather — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:00:42 +0000

Sufjan is credited as the rhythm guitar engineer for the songs “Goodbye Forever” and “Black and Costaud” on the recently released album by My Brightest Diamond. A Thousand Shark’s Teeth is available now on CD, LP, or MP3. Go to the Making Shark’s Teeth photo album on MBD’s new web site to view (mostly) everyone hard at work.

Create Digital Motion Interviews Deborah Johnson

heather — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:14:17 +0000

Deborah Johnson has been working with Sufjan for the past year or two creating the videos and animations that are projected on the screen during his concerts. Create Digital Motion has recently posted an in-depth interview with Deborah about her work with Sufjan as well as visual creativity and performance in general.

Well my favorite parts are the ones where video and animation are mixed. Like ’snowbird’ the flying bird is actually a video of a bird, it’s just been cut out. So I can just take something in footage, make it all, and drop it into the algorithm…

The little boy for ‘predatory wasp’ is Sufjan’s nephew, so it’s fun to have his hyper-personal, home movies and bring this in to computer programming and, you know, layers. Those are the moments where I feel the most relieved. I get a little nervous about the ones, like with the lines drawing on the screen. I feel that for the song it’s fine and it’s appropriate, but it feels very predictable to me.

View Deborah’s work at Vimeo as well as on the Encyclopedia Asthmatica DVD.

Watch the UFO/Black Hawk War and Majesty Snowbird Live Visuals…

Sufjan Reviews Dig That Treasure

heather — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:47:13 +0000

Sufjan reviews Dig That Treasure, the debut release from fellow Asthmatic Kitty labelmate Cryptacize.

Sufjan On Dessner-curated Red Hot Compilation

heather — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:32:13 +0000

Sufjan is among the list of contributors to the next Red Hot compilation titled Red Hot & Indie. David Byrne, Feist, Grizzly Bear, and many others are also on the charity disc. The compilation is curated by Bryce & Aaron Dessner of The National . While there is no current release date set, the 25-30 song collection may be released as early as this fall or by early 2009. More details will follow as this project develops.

Read more: Billboard, David Byrne’s journal.

Videos Of Sufjan At Schubas - April 23, 2004

heather — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:40:39 +0000

Andrew Gill has uploaded some videos he shot at Sufjan’s April 23, 2004 show at Schubas in Chicago.

Watch To Be Alone With You…

Sufjan At MusicNOW Festival

heather — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:06:15 +0000

Sufjan makes a surprise appearance at this year’s MusicNOW festival and plays a solo piano piece accompanied by a Super-8 film.

Imeem And Microcinema Sponsor Encyclopedia Asthmatica DVD Contest

heather — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:40:32 +0000

Imeem and Microcinema are sponsoring an Encyclopedia Asthmatica DVD contest. “All you have to do to enter is to sign up for the Microcinema listserv in between March 24th and the end of the online screening on Saturday.” Five signed copies of the DVD will be given away on March 31st. Selections from the DVD, including Sufjan’s Calvin College performance of Jacksonville, are streaming on Imeem for the duration of the contest.

To Be Alone With You Remix

heather — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 02:40:27 +0000

Earlier this year Pocketknife and Cousin Cole (collectively known as Flagrant Fowl) released Tambourine Dream, an album of classic and indie folk song remixes. Favorites from Beirut, Devendra Banhart, Feist and others were remixed for this project. They are offering “To Be Alone With You (Pocketknife’s Considerate Eagle Scout Remix)“, an outtake from Tambourine Dream, as a free download. Listen to the remix below or download it here.

The original version of “To Be Alone With You” is on Sufjan’s Seven Swans release. In case you missed it, last Christmas “Put The Lights On The Tree (Pocketknife’s Radioshack Remix)” was offered as a free download.

Download To Be Alone With You (Pocketknife’s Considerate Eagle Scout Remix)

Buy Tambourine Dream CD (note: the CD does not include “To Be Alone With You” remix)
Listen to an iMix of the original versions of the songs

Encyclopedia Asthmatica DVD Giveaway

heather — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:31:39 +0000

Each Note Secure is giving away copies of Encyclopedia Asthmatica. To enter the contest all you need to do is send in a photo of yourself reading an encyclopedia. Photos are due by March 14th.

Watch the Encyclopedia Asthmatica trailer…

Happy Casimir Pulaski Day

heather — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:00:30 +0000

In case you missed it last year, Asthmatic Kitty still has a downloadable mp3 of Sufjan’s home demo of “Casimir Pulaski Day” with alternate lyrics about hair-pulling and kicking faces.

Wonderful Video Contest Runner-Up: Decatur

heather — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:06:00 +0000

Said The Gramophone is posting the winning entries in their Wonderful Video Contest. The objective of the contest is for “people [to] make films for their favorite songs.” Coming in at eleventh place is the stop motion video interpretation of Sufjan’s song “Decatur” by Ainsley Wallis.

Watch the Decatur video by Ainsley…

Kite Song Video

heather — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:53:15 +0000

In early 2006, Denison Witmer had this to say about taking a break from recording Rosie Thomas‘ These Friends Of Mine:

When the recording got the best of us and we needed a break from wearing headphones, we went to Prospect Park and flew a kite. I have now discovered that kite flying is indeed the best reset button (aside from playing chess) someone can do during a break from recording.

That same year Sufjan and band debuted their Majesty Snowbird and Butterfly Kite Brigade costumes.

It is now 2008 and even though These Friends Of Mine has been out for well over a year, Rosie has recently released a video for “Kite Song” featuring, appropriately enough, home videos of herself with Denison and Sufjan flying kites. Watch the video below or on Rosie’s site. There is also an animated video for “Say Hello” on her site as well.

Watch the Kite Song video…

New Jersey, The Musical?

heather — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:43:33 +0000

Sufjan jokes to New York Magazine that his next project will be New Jersey, the musical: “I’m obsessed with the Jersey Turnpike right now… it’s very expensive. I like the tolls. I like that you have to pay to drive.”

Diamond Girl Talks To Indie Ear

heather — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:17:26 +0000

Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond explains to Indie Ear how she met Sufjan and became captain of his cheerleading squad:

I met Sufjan six years ago. We were playing a variety show on the Lower East Side, and we had mutual friends that were like, “Hey, you guys should hang out.” The rest is history…

Sufjan hadn’t done a lot of extensive band touring. When Michigan came out he was trying to do some tours and put together a band, so he called up all his friends…

Every choirgirl has a fantasy of being a cheerleader, but you’re not allowed to be a cheerleader when you’re a choirgirl because it will ruin your voice. It was a secret fantasy of mine.

In the interview she goes on to claim that her ice skating and clown outfits are her favorite stage costumes, not the Fighting Illini outfit. (Our favorite is the Diamond Girl outfit.)

Fans will be delighted to hear that her next album, A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, should be out this summer.

Photo by Murat Eyuboglu

Photos Of Rosie And Friends

heather — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:38:05 +0000

Rosie Thomas posts photos of herself with friends Denison Witmer and Sufjan Stevens from their spring 2007 tour.

Listen To Osso On WNYC

heather — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:18:39 +0000

Osso’s recent Spinning On Air appearance is now archived at WNYC.

Annie Hearts Sufjan Fans

heather — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:48:44 +0000

Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) told the Santa Barbara Independent that the recent Australian tour with Sufjan “was like an awesome vacation.” She went on to say that “as far as Sufjan, in all my experience, the fans are just über-sweet. He doesn’t bring out the shitkickers or anything, you know? Everyone is sweet and respectful. He’s really talented and an honest guy.”

Osso Quartet On Spinning On Air

heather — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:35:43 +0000

Osso Quartet perform string arrangements of Sufjan Stevens’ “Enjoy Your Rabbit” in the WNYC Studio on Spinning On Air with David Garland. Listen live on Sunday, February 17th at 7PM EST. The audio will be archived the week following the broadcast.

Osso is currently recording their debut, a reinvention of Sufjan Stevens’ electronic ode to the Chinese Zodiac cycle, Enjoy Your Rabbit.

Photo by David Garland. View more photos.

The Penny Loafers Cover Predatory Wasp

heather — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:51:39 +0000

“The Penny Loafers were founded in 1986 as a co-ed a cappella group from the University of Pennsylvania focusing on current pop and rock music.” On their latest release, Prophets and Pawns, the group takes on songs by Etta James, Evanescence, Regina Spektor, and others. The last track on the album is an a capella rendition of Sufjan’s “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!”

Listen to more songs on their official web site, myspace page, or facebook page.
Buy the albums on their official site.

Listen to the a capella rendition of Predatory Wasp by Penny Loafers…

Pre-order Encyclopedia Asthmatica Vol.1

heather — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:04:34 +0000

Encyclopedia Asthmatica Vol.1, the first DVD from Asthmatic Kitty featuring videos from all of their bands and artists, is now available for pre-order. As previously mentioned, Sufjan’s Calvin College peformance last March was filmed. A live version of “Jacksonville” from that show is included on the DVD. View the trailer and a selection of videos from the DVD at YouTube. The video for Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake is playing at Vimeo.

Watch the trailer and Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake video…

Feast Of Music Reviews Osso At Barbes

heather — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 03:16:39 +0000

Feast of Music has photos and a review of Osso Quartet’s Jan 28 performance at Barbes: “Year of the Snake was full of glissandos that cellist Maria Bella Jeffers turned into the sound of a record scratching. Year of the Ox had lead violinist Rob Moose playing a fast and pretty theme, with dissonant shreiks and growls surfacing like feedback underneath. Year of the Tiger jumped around with trills and arpeggios, requiring violist Marla Hansen to play at breakneck speed. Year of the Boar sounded Glass-like, with violinist Olivier Manchon playing the wrong side of the bridge over a repeating theme.”

Quiet Mouth

heather — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:23:33 +0000

“In the end, it’s more about what is done with the sample than what was originally sampled.” So says the press release for electronic/experimental duo Oh Astro’s latest release Champions of Wonder. This is indeed the case with track 10, “Quiet Mouth,” in which they slice and dice Sufjan’s “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” in a completely unique way. File this one under: most unrecognizable cover/remix ever. Not that that’s a bad thing.

The album is streaming on the Champions of Wonder ecard so have a listen and judge for yourself. You will undoubtedly need a cheat sheet while listening to the rest of the songs so head over to Oh Astro’s myspace blog for a complete list of samples used on the release.

Listen to Quiet Mouth here…

Metropolis Article

heather — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:52:30 +0000

Japanese press: Metropolis, January 18, 2008 - “Most rockers prepare for their trips to Japan by learning how to say arigato. Sufjan Stevens is boning up for his first visit by reading The Japan Journals, 1947-2004, the latest book from noted critic Donald Richie.”