Since today feels like a Monday (though I feel really behind like it’s a Tuesday), let’s talk about Music!
This is a Sufjan-only Music Monday.
Though not the biggest Sufjan Stevens fan in the world, I do like him. And he’s back in action after many years lying dormant.
Sufjan is only for advanced indie-music lovers – he’s difficult to listen to sometimes (my wife hates him!). But for the brave, here you go:
- Get a free song, I Walked, from his upcoming album “Age of Adz”. The song is pretty legit.
- And get a song for free off his just-released EP “All Delighted People”, Heirloom, from Amazon.
- And you can get this “short” EP for 4.99 on Amazon.
And here’s why Sufjan matters.
He’s almost unanimously loved by indie-music bloggers. And as a Christian (strange as he might be), Sufjan is spawning God-conversations among these non-Christian bloggers. One of my favorite blogs had this to say:
“All Delighted People” is described in the liner notes as a “dramatic homage to the Apocalypse”. The Christian tradition of the world’s end is certainly a prominent theme within the lyrics, with references to the rapture, judgment day, and heaven.
The track concludes with two refrains, both sung by a celestial choir of voices. These, in my opinion, encapsulate the song’s theme. The first is fairly self-explanatory, “When the world’s come and gone shall we follow our transgressions, or shall we stand strong?” The second refrain, “Suffer not the child among you or shall you die young,” has a more cryptic message. Stevens hints at two different Biblical teachings, both from the book of Matthew: “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” and another which states “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven“. I believe he’s alluding to the choice that is at the foundation of the Christian tradition, whether to be bound by the things of the world or to enter paradise with child-like faith and innocence. It’s a choice which Stevens struggles with throughout the track. Like his previous spiritually-minded songs “Casimir Pulaski Day” and “John Wayne Gacy Jr.”, Stevens is not preaching or attempting to say he has all the right answers, but letting the listener in on his own spiritual dilemma, which makes the song all all the more fascinating.
I’ve been reading this blog for YEARS and have never heard them refer to God.
Kudos to Sufjan for engaging and shaping culture!
