How Sufjan Stevens Writes a Song
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Examining the two components that make up all of Sufjan Stevens' music -- Complexity & Honesty.
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MISC. FOOTAGE IN THIS VIDEO:
"Colorful Bokeh Lights"
"Music Notes Floating From The Side (White Background)"
"Sufjan Stevens - Death With Dignity (Live in Bristol)"
"Sufjan Stevens - No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross (Live in Edinburgh)"
"Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans, Eindhoven 21-05-2011"
MUSIC IN THIS VIDEO:
"Black Heat" by Ross Bugden - Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
Link: • ♩♫ Intense and Upbeat ...
"Casimir Pulaski Day" by Sufjan Stevens
You aint a real man unless you've cried to Sufjan
+1
WORD
I never cry during TV shows, movies or songs...but CPD gets me every time. It's a total heart wrencher of a song.
DEADASS
i do love sufjan been listening to him everyday for 7 years. I will say iv done lots of thinking
Oh man how has this video not been made yet...Sufjan Stevens is the boy
Karsten Runquist Agreed!
Sufjan will be always underrated no matter how famous he gets eventually
karsten!!
... it has been made?
Karsten is Sufjan fan?? yeah yeah alright
Saw him in concert, it was the best concert I've ever been to. It was small and everyone was quiet so as to not disturb the performance. People were hugging each other at the end, it was magical.
Very cathartic.
is this sufjan steven's song gay or about god?- a spotify playlist
imogen the wasp of the palisades
both u dingo
yeah it's weird that this video says that this song is definitely about a girl, when it's deliberately ambiguous
it's deliberately ambiguous whether it's about a girl or a guy. Notice the lack of *any* gendered pronoun referring to the subject of the story and the navy reference which makes "blouse" ambiguous as it can refer to a military uniform
Uh, why do you think he's straight? Sorry but he's almost certainly not, just listen to All For Myself
The friend who died of cancer could have been a boy or a girl. The lyrics are purposely ambiguous. When he sings about the friend's blouse it could mean a regular blouse or that on a navy uniform. This is reinforced by the line about the father driving his car into the Navy yard.
That's interesting. A lot of people like to go out of there way to assume that Sufjan might be homosexual. I wonder how that rumor got started. Other songs?
Id say this is the most compelling example of Sufjan's lyrics that might indicate that he's gay or bi: genius.com/Sufjan-stevens-the-predatory-wasp-of-the-palisades-is-out-to-get-us-lyrics
The lyrics seem to be about an experience at summer camp where he and a male friend had some sort of sexual and romantic experience together.
The same experience at summer camp is also discussed in the lyrics of 'Venus' but Venus keeps the genders more ambiguous than predatory wasp does.
Oh, also Futile Devices. The lyrics are about having deep feelings of love for a friend. How "saying it out loud is hard".
I think interviewers have asked him about it before in one way or another but he's never come out as anything so it's all speculation.
There's no real reason to make so many songs that are so deliberately ambiguous if there wasn't something there, but Sufjan all but admits it in All For Myself: "hairy chests," "bathing boy." He also has a lot of songs about reconciling his actions with his faith that become pretty clear through this interpretation, and most recently wrote music for the soundtrack of a very gay movie. It's not 100% clear but there's a lot of material for it to be a coincidence
so am i to presume, based on your logic, that armie hammer is homosexual too? i mean, after all, he did play the lead in a very gay movie.
I fucking love Sufjan.
Tim, the Enchanter Agreed!
I'd love fucking Sufjan Stevens ;)
One of the best singer/songwriters of his generation.
Kevin King One of the best singer/songwriters ever*
what about elliott smith ;w;
You know it, Lenny
*of all time
No doubt.
More recent interviews have implied that "Casimir Pulaski Day" is largely fictional (that Sufjan didn't actually have a friend who died of cancer, and certainly not on Casimir Pulaski Day). But this is part of what makes his songwriting interesting, I think. After all, it doesn't really matter if Sufjan was literally at a Tuesday night bible study praying over a dying girl's body, does it? (And who knows, maybe he was--is it important for us to know either way?) The honesty we're connecting with here is in the kind of personal struggle with grief and faith that that detail is being used to convey, and that's what he's good at.
Arqueete Totally agree. It’s hard going into Sufjan’s past because he’s not really an open book. The most we have to go off of us his lyrics, like his album Carrie & Lowell. But his wrestling of faith and his mother are definitely big themes throughout.
And just to be fair, it doesn't necessarily have to be the same kind of grief or faith that he implies. As humans, that's kind of built in. His music connects with us on a human level, somewhere lower than the details. But I guess that's just another way of saying your point.
Exactly. The connection I am looking for is in an artist skilled enough to project grief, or any emotion really, in a _real_ way. They do not need to have actually suffered.
I actually really detest the idea of the Depressed Artist. I think it romantices suffering in a way that is dangerous, not poetic or artistic.
@@MrJosh6889 agreed!
my esp tells me it is exaggerated; I won a writing contest with a similar story once...
"And he takes, and he takes, and he takes" makes me tear up every time. Great video!
me too...takes my breath away every time...
I was listening to Concerning the UFO Sighting by Sufjan and I broke down and started crying and I couldn't figure out why. The lyrics aren't anything spectacularly sad, but I realized after this video that it was the complexity of the melody and tone that touched me. Such an amazing artist.
Aaron Pietsch I feel like we’ve all had our crying while listening to Sufjan moment. :)
Oh boy, I love Subaru
And I wanna be near you.
you said he was in love with a girl. i always thought it was a boy. i think that is why the father freaked. and it seems they had spent the night together. most parents don't let boys and girls that are the age i would think they are in the song spend the night together.
pallenk thank you
I have never thought that this could be about a boy, I always imagine the song is about a girl cause he sings "I almost touched your blouse" which is usually referring to a feminine piece of clothing, but I guess it is just that, a piece of clothing
Sufjan Stevens is gay. He sings about being in love with a boy in the same fucking album.
@@EmileFeik "Often people don't realise they have homosexual feelings when they are young."
Brah. No. How about you hop in a time machine and go see Kid Me in the past. See how gay she was.
Sufjan's sexuality doesn't fucking matter just interpret it how you want
It helps that the first song I heard was Chicago, but I instantly fell in love with Sufjan's music. So it was a nice surprise to see a video documenting his style. Although I've heard quite a bit of his music now, I still think Night Zombies is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
Illinois is without a doubt my favorite of his albums.
MrJay6889 Illinois is so damn good. I might lean towards Michigan but only because I heard it first. I recently got both on vinyl. Soooo good.
Dang, I'm gonna have to check this dude out. Excellent video, you must have spent forever editing this one!
Also, lately I've been really getting into this album called "The Party" by Andy Shauf, it's got a similar feel to Sufjan and he also approaches lyric writing from a fiction writing perspective. The whole album is a concept album of various different people's experiences at a party, and I'm absolutely addicted to it.
Sufjan is great. Check out his albums Michigan and Illinois. Carrie & Lowell is fantastic too. Btw, I'm listening to Andy Shauf right now. Never heard of him before but I'm enjoying it! How are you? How's the channel?
I'll be sure to do that! My brother showed me him a few weeks ago and I can't stop listening to him! I'm doing well! Hard at work on the new video, with full tunnel vision blinding me from literally everything else, but I'm ALMOST finished with it, as soon as the new video's finished it'll be back to work looking for freelance/commission gigs and hopefully getting a new video done quicker than two months from now :P How about you?
What did you think of Age of Adz? I also appreciate how you highlighted his being religious; as someone who is not spiritual at all, I tend to forget/ ignore that aspect for my own convince. It's important to remember what inspires the artists that we love. I tend to associate my own values with the musicians I love for better or worse. Thanks for the great video.
The Party is a beautiful album!
The Party is fuckin excellent.
Was literally tapping my toe when you mentioned it. Great video!
Thanks buddy!
My favorite songwriter. Great job!
Thank you!
Very well done. I'm a big fan of Sufjan Stevens.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it.
A best friend of mine of about 15 years is finally making an album. He loves Sufjan. I haven't ever been into his music that much. THIS HELPED ME tremendously because I will be helping my friend produce some songs and Sufjans influence is clearly in his music. So yes thank you for making this video! Blessings
John Wayne Gacey, Silver and Gold and all of Carrie and Lowell. These plus Camir Pulaski day...just utter emotional genius. Would love to hear your thoughts on Richmond Fontaine or Mount Erie...
I haven't heard of these artists. Now you've given me some homework assignments!
The songs aren't all complex musically. In fact, your example, Casmir Pulaski Day, is remarkably simple.
I think the author is referring to the complexity of using the simplified elements to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. It's the way the song structure and dynamics of the instruments and his voice, coupled with the words, can have such a profound effect.
Music isn't just the instruments.
I would recommend you to listen Impossible Soul, if you want. I don't know much, but, for me, it seems like quite a complex song, lyrically and musically. So, yeah. Hope you have a nice day.
@@nifa.9929 The arrangements and production are fancy, but it sounds like a pretty simple tune to me.
That's the wonder of Sufjan. He does a lot with a little. I remember reading once that Philip Glass was an influence. You can hear the minimalism, the repetition, the simple loops that gradually build on each other.
I remember this song playing on my pandora station in middle school and being lulled by the gentleness of his voice! It was the first song by him I ever heard! Could you do and analysis of “Visions of Gideon”?
I would definitely love to explore Sufjan more!
I discovered Sufjan Stevens through a little Life is Strange spin-off game called The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit by DONTNOD entertainment. Instantly fell i love with Sufjan Stevens’ song used in the game. Death With Dignity.
Damn, what a great video!
Thank you! :)
Never been a Sufjan Stevens fan but I always love hearing about how artists' songs are constructed. Great video!
I'd love to see more music based videos if you have plans to do others. :)
What's So Great About That? Thanks so much! I’ll definitely do more music related vids in the future :)
this is legit the only song u can interpret as him being with a girl too
pleasure principle?
When u subscribe because of the family guy death video and the next video is a sufjan steven song
Lil TooShy Yesssss!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
illinois is one of my all-time favourite albums
good video
Thank you! And I agree. I finally just bought Illinois on vinyl and I've been enjoying it all over again.
Same
“ a girl “
hahhh
Always liked him as an artist, but never loved him. This gave me a new appreciation, thank you for the upload.
Glad you liked it!
Good video, but it's not clear if this song is about a girl or a boy, and I think that's a pretty important point that you glossed over
1.20 was it a girl tho, WAS IT?
Great channel, dude. Keep up the fantastic work. I have been a Sufjan fan for a long time and this video really resonated with me.
Matt Paulson Thanks so much! Really glad that you enjoyed it. :)
My birthday is March 1 and this always fucks me up
Great video, for me, the most amazing part of this song in terms of songwriting is the fact that for the entire song it goes D-C-Am-G, and just for the final section with the trumpet melody it goes D-C-Am-Em. It makes it end on a sadder note than when the song started, in a very subtle way
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed the video.
Excuse me sir that song is about a boy
KiraldoTheGreat. It doesn't matter
Matters to me kiddo
@@rupe99 Actually it does
@@pleasedt0welcome Ok cool, i really just meant i think its a beautiful song with love in it. The dynamics, components or recipients of that love dont matter, to me at least, I am just happy it adds to the sum total of love in the universe.
@@rupe99 Omg I was messing with you sorry, I'm glad you like the song too. It's very beautiful, I hope we can all be open minded and embrace love wherever we can find it!
Fantastic video, Sufjan is one of my favorites. You are probably the best youtuber out rn
BluReviews Whoa, thank you so much. I really appreciate that!
fuck that song is so much more sad now
I'm so happy someone else appreciates Sufjan's work.
I'd argue the chorus of this song is the sections without the singing / with the 'aas'. The rest are all verses with repeating hooks
Well done, and clear. Maybe odd, but I found the construction paper background to be comforting.
What an excellent video.
Man, thank you for reminding me how much I love this song. So much of my own writing has been influenced by how simply, beautiful, and open this song is
So glad you enjoyed the video. :)
Thank you. Just thank you so much for making this video. I'm a pastor irl and I am consistently inspired by Sufjan's honesty and vulnerability in his faith and music.
From one Christian to another, glad you enjoyed the vid! :)
It is hard to remain a Christian in the mist of hardship. I can really relate to Sufjan in this way, as we are both believers.
That's awesome! As a Christian myself, I think I'm trying to find the beauty in the struggle. Thanks for watching/commenting!
Entertain The Elk
Most of the time I don't subscribe unless they're Christian, and now that I know I'm totally subscribing. ✝
YEEES, My favorite musician!
:)
I consider Sufjan (and Chant) the best example of Christian Music... "Praise and Worship" fails to live up to their standards.
0:28 "they are all complex musically..."
0:45 "he plays the same four chords over and over again throughout the whole song"
I've never considered the lyrics to be anachronistically arranged. What's your reasoning for suggesting this? Also, you plotted the chords upside down at the beginning. The image is of a left-handed guitar, but the chords appear as though on a right-handed guitar.
Hi sir, I really like your channel, I found it really interesting thanks, I wonder if you can help to survive a program, last year they played a show is called time after time, the first rating or second rating possibly the show didn't go too well, I think it was in the wrong time slot in America it was a really good show I quite enjoyed it and many people did,as I see on the comments, do you think it deserves a second chance, I reckon I do, please respond thanks😊
John borg Time After Time, the show about HG Wells and Jack the Ripper? It seemed like a cool concept but I never watched it. Was it good?
This is for me the most perfect song ever written, lyrically. There aren't any lines (except perhaps the last) that would be stunning, but put together they all are a perfect picture.
I love these lyrics. They make me think of my favorite lyricists Craig Finn and John Darnell.
I haven't heard of them. Are they also in the folk genre?
John Darnell is the lead singer/songwriter for The Mountain Goats, and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Craig Finn was the lead singer for The Hold Steady, which is an absolutely amazing group. He also has several solo records.
Based on your video here I would bet that you would like these guys a lot.
Great video by the way, I always get excited when I see your stuff in my feed.
bravo! thank you! most appreciated!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it.
Brilliantly written commentary. Thank you.
I wish I know you
Whoa. great video, I love the Christian take. As a man of Faith myself I've tried to wrap my head around Sufjan's Relationship with Christianity in his music. Thanks for outlining it so well. Sufjan is the only Christian music I can listen to outside of church without cringing
Nice work! This has always been one of my absolute favorite Sufjan songs. So devastating.
One if the best videos on UA-cam at the moment! Please, do more of these analyzing, of other artists songs as well :)
Thank you so much! Any particular artists you'd like to see?
ok but i never thought the lyrics were out of chronological order? they make sense to me in the order they're in....
Thanks for doing this! This has been my favorite song for 10+ years
damn.. the quality of this video is next-level. keep it up!
Xavier Thanks so much!
This is my favorite of Sufjan's songs; great video man!
Thanks!
where are the Sufjan Stevens quotes from? What is the source? Anyone know?
I would call Seven Swans christian music.
MediocreZone Abraham?
Beautiful video. I love his lyrics, Sufjan is one of the most creative singer/songwriters out there.
_A childhood romance with a girl_ ...hahah you sweet summer child
damn why you have to play casamir pulaski day right at the start
Mk so now I'm gonna need one for ever sufjan stevens song now! Really great video man!
As another christian song writer I love how he addresses God and suffering, as I deal with both frequently, so I listen to him a lot to try and create a similar setting, not so much in how it sounds (i.e. Instruments) but the lyrics and poetic nature of his music.
Thanks so much! I think that raw honesty speaks to all of us, but it's definitely counter-culture in a world where we want to look like we have it all together.
Was with you til your summation. The stuff on Sufjan was great though.
i loved your video thank you for it
Thank you!! :)
Great work man, I’d love to hear what you think about my video essays on pop culture. When you get the chance search for Ill Minded Media in UA-cam and feel free to hit me up! Cheers
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video.
The Perfection of this song, and my relationship with it means that at exactly 1:40 I started to bawl. I'm 35, got into this when I was about 23/24, it is painful and great. Thank you very much for the video.... As you can see I had a very personal relationship with the song that I actually never knew what it was about specifically. Though I do remember the image of 'almost touching her blouse' very distinctly as well as many other images and motifs from this, epic and masterful album (actual nonhyperbolic praise. Few musicians can do what he does...)
Love your thoughtful comment. So glad the video resonated with you! :)
Also lyrically, I think he creates this feeling that what he talks about is real and dreamy at the same time.
I always said his name like as Soo-fyahn. Is it really Soofy-ahn?
I say Soof-yahn. Not 100% sure though. I've heard it pronounced that way in interviews.
Bold of you to try and break down his work flow in a 7 minute video.
Honest and complex thoughts about faith from a pop-culture UA-cam channel? As a pastor, who is used to just having religion misunderstood and dismissed by intelligent people, this was really refreshing! Subscribed.
As a Christian myself, I'm glad that you enjoyed it. :)
Very interesting. Glad to make contact on here. I try to make sharp content about life and faith on my page, so please feel free to check it out and subscribe if you dig. Hopefully we'll connect someday irl.
The more of your stuff I watch, the more I can tell you're going to end up one of the bigger 'review' style channels. Keep up the good work my dude.
Mr Fats Thanks so much! I really appreciate that. I hope you’re right. :)
I am just discovering this guy. His music sounds simple but profound. Worth listening with attention…
I'd suggest his earlier albums Michigan and Illinois.
Holy Shit, now i understand everything about Casimir Pulaski.. Dude, poor Sufjan.. Please, make a video about “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!”, because a lot of people say its about a gay relationship he had, but it could be a song just about friendship.... Well, we’ll never know, i guess, haha.
I love Predatory Wasp! Such a phenomenal song.
found this video from a youtube recommendation and it was really inspirational. great analysis and dissection! subbed!
Thank you so much!
Thank you very much I really enjoyed the video. Sufjan's music is incredibly powerful and evocative. Like a dark cloud raining happiness down on everyone.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Do a video called how mtv died
Quentin Feezy Oooo. Interesting! Adding it to the list!
I think everyone can somehow relate to Sufjan Stevens and his songs. I, myself, am a Christian and also lost a loved one, though not romantically. And the difficulty of coping up was great. Questions were disturbing my head but in the end, I still understood why God made it happen and just continued to seek comfort in Him amidst the struggle and pain.
His songs have a beautiful tune yet a somehow depressing lyrics and that's what makes it wonderful because even though not all of his listeners are Christians, they can still relate to the pain and difficulties in life.
Thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment. I too am a follower of Christ. We're promised that we will suffer at points in our life, but at least suffering doesn't have the last word, and He is with us through all of it. :)
That'd be tight if you did one on Conor Oberst!
BGM Live! Yesss! Lover I Dont Have to Love???
This is the saddest song I can think of. Gets to me every time I hear it, honestly turns me off listening to Illinois sometimes
Dean It’s definitely tragic but also beautiful. What about John Wayne Gacy Jr? 😳
Wow sir. You really get the nuance of this song - faith and fear, death and hope. Good stuff.
Thanks much for your thoughts here .
Thank you for the kind comment. I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
i feel you on that coding stuff. Verry stressfull to learn
Because your channel had been mostly film and tv so far, this was a very pleasant surprise! I look forward to watching this channel grow.
Thanks Logan! I definitely want this channel to widen its focus and explore all genres of art/entertainment. I'm gaining more confidence to step outside my comfort zone as my channel grows and I learn more editing techniques. Thanks for the kind comment. :)
very interesting and thoughtful analysis of a modern genius. however, at the beginning, you claim that his music is generally reducible to "two unifying factors that bond his entire discography together: musical complexity and lyrical honesty," with the supposed prototypical example being "casimir pulaski day." yet the remainder of the video is almost entirely focused on the lyrical honesty and motifs, with no support for the musical complexity claim. this track is not musically complex, but rather a repetitive, minimalist folk song, with the same four chords and repeated melody. some of his music is complex, but "casimir pulaski day" is not an example.
I mean, I went on to explain how the musical arrangement layers instruments until the music and lyrics converge and he cries the melody. I'd argue that the theme from Jaws is complex, even though it's two notes over and over again. Difficulty doesn't always mean complexity.
My favourite Sufjan Stevens song.
Thank you for this, I never paid much attention to this song being the "ah so Chicago ended", and now I feel I have to listen to it more carefully.
postwage Yes please do! The entire album is incredible.
A perfect dive into song-writing. Riveting!
I swear the chords are D# C# A# min G# not D C Am G
whoa, i've been subscribing to you since you were around in your 20k subscribers, now i come across your video again bc i have been listening to sufjan songs and i come across you again and you're now on 107k! you're awesome. i love your channel and you really put hard work and awesome content. great work.
Thank you so much! Don't leave for such extended periods. Keep watching new vids. I need loyal supporters like yourself! :)
Entertain The Elk oh wow thanks for replying. will visit vids regularly, then :) i don't comment much, but i'll be there.
You should do a video on John Darnielle. In my opinion, he's one of the greatest song writers of our generation.
Great video by the way. Haven't listened to Sufjan since high school. Brings me back! Going to have to get back into him.
Watching this because nerdwriter isn't posting enough anymore
Welcome home. I'll try my best to fill the massive void.
Man I just want to let you know that the editing in this video is amazing. This is a very beautiful video.
Thank you so much! Appreciate the kind words.
How did you get the stems for this
im not sure why but this video and the way it sounds, sounds exactly like christian bale/patrick bateman in american psycho when hes talking about huey lewis and the news
on purpose? or just an awesome coincidence
Hold on a sec while I lay this plastic mat down behind you...
haha omg it totally does!
Well done
Thanks!
Much love to you for posting this. Thank you. It's one of my favorite videos now
Wow, thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it!