May 13,311 Posted June 24, 2018 if a topic for this already exists please lmk! i couldn't find one in search.. if you haven't gotten into the glory of sufjan stevens yet, lay back and feast your ears sisters he's one of the biggest names in the indie music community, and most recently garnered fame for his oscar nominated additions to the 'call me by your name' soundtrack as well as his reject from the 'i, tonya' soundtrack. before that tho he's enjoyed almost 2 decades of having a very strong and consistent sfanbase. (including kanye west who went viral after being caught pirating one of sufjan's albums ) if this thread gets popular (however am doubting it) i'll organise it much better but for now i'll just post a few fan favourites from his discography as well as a few personal faves. also many of his lyrics are presumed to be about his gay relationships, with some being very very obvious while others not so. 1#: known amongst fans as one of the gayest songs in his discography. beautifully heartbreaking and a true journey of gentleness. you will cry by the end of the song. #2: this album (Planetarium) is more of an acquired taste, but is best listened to while high as f**k, it takes u to a whole new dimension and each song is named after a planet and the lyrics go into the greek/roman mythology behind where the planets got their names from. the entire album sounds like it was conceived in some sort of space vortex, and this one song specifically is BEAUTIFUL: #3: oscar nominated gay indie king #4: a hidden gem, you will want this song to play while you die, trust me. atmospheric, beautiful, enchanting, he did #that #5: known as one of his most heartbreaking songs, it repeats the conversation in which he and his mother had while she was on her death bed. (there's a big backstory to sufjan and his mother, she abandoned him at a very early age), the verses switch between sufjan and his mother's perspectives and them reflecting on their past relationship w/ each other. will make you cry, 10/10 i probs wrote too much lol love this guy (also his discography is HUGE, as well as a massive amount of unreleased/b-sides, if you decide to stan for him you are in for a huge treat. literally an almost endless stream of music) 8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AKASAKA SAWAYAMA 7,885 Posted June 24, 2018 oh yes legendddddd i love carrie & lowell also cmbyn songs. i've listened to a few songs in that chicago(?) album but haven't finished it. i have to check it out again. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Masochism 15,400 Posted June 24, 2018 a legend makes me cry like no other 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pluto 1,581 Posted June 24, 2018 i love my father 1 Quote karma drawn up in lines / baby it's a freebie you sure look deprived Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creyk 11,699 Posted June 24, 2018 I tried to get into his music but couldn't, too weird. Mystery of Love and that gideon song are great bedroom bops though 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cherryblossoms 10,418 Posted June 24, 2018 Should Have Known Better is my favorite song of all time I’ve been getting into ambient music for the past year so Planetarium was an immediate favorite for me Absolutely love him Also now I have people to appreciate this precious voice note with https://soofjan.tumblr.com/post/150870898954/zainyk-via-the-greatest-gift-rough-cut 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May 13,311 Posted June 24, 2018 I tried to get into his music but couldn't, too weird. Mystery of Love and that gideon song are great bedroom bops though yes it takes so long to actually get properly into him, it'd take me months to finally appreciate each album. i'd hate a song by him then 3 months later it'd randomly be stuck in my head for weeks, eurgh his power. if you like the cmbyn songs though you may like Age of Adz (most similar to viseons of gideon) and Seven Swans (similar to Mystery of Love) i'd post a seven swans song but tbh i'm yet to properly get into that album so i have no opinion of it yet i love my father https://open.spotify.com/track/5kZE87jkrA1RnrsGS3HfjX?si=fCB4ubQEQiOfdpBVFkg8sA he loves you too oh yes legendddddd i love carrie & lowell also cmbyn songs. i've listened to a few songs in that chicago(?) album but haven't finished it. i have to check it out again. Illnoise (the album with chicago on) was v hard for me to get into. start with They Are Night Zombies, The Seer's Tower, Predatory Wasp and Concerning The UFO! those are the most accessible imo Should Have Known Better is my favorite song of all time I’ve been getting into ambient music for the past year so Planetarium was an immediate favorite for me Absolutely love him Also now I have people to appreciate this precious voice note with https://soofjan.tumblr.com/post/150870898954/zainyk-via-the-greatest-gift-rough-cut holy shit this is beautiful at first i actually thought it was sufjan.. it's not, right? if not that guy sounds so much like him also Planetarium is my fave album of his too! this is a hidden gem which would fit perfectly on Planetarium, it has that whole trippy, space-y vibe https://open.spotify.com/track/1j8mm6oBpVyyED858rZL7F?si=09d1sP8KTESqezBC4ZcbIA 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cherryblossoms 10,418 Posted June 24, 2018 yes it takes so long to actually get properly into him, it'd take me months to finally appreciate each album. i'd hate a song by him then 3 months later it'd randomly be stuck in my head for weeks, eurgh his power. Me with Carrie and Lowell. That’s the album I tried getting into first but it just didn’t click with me for like a year until one night when Should Have Known Better came on and I fully immersed myself in the lyrics and understood the song for what it was (because of some things that happened that year). It’s really touching. Ugh the power of music! Doesn’t help the production during the second part of the song just makes me break down 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cherryblossoms 10,418 Posted June 24, 2018 @@May That makes so much more sense LMAO. Like at some points I was like “this doesn’t really sound like him” but I chalked it up to vocal editing/reverb on the final version of the song Anyways I’d literally kill to hear raw vocal stems 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cherryblossoms 10,418 Posted June 24, 2018 Oops, double posted. Ignore this! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May 13,311 Posted June 24, 2018 @@cherryblossoms i think the site is playing up bc it wont let me make posts that have quotes in them suddenly? idk but .. it's actually fascinating how his melodies so slowly creep into your mind over the period of months and then before you know it you're crying on your kitchen floor at 3am to a song you thought you hated also i initially really thought that cover was sufjan too, i only clocked on bc i went to the soundcloud source page and whew their voices are so good, he could pass as a sufjan impersonator! i also got told by another little sufster on this fanpage im in on fb that there was an interview around the Planetarium era where sufjan said he wanted to experiment with more dance-y clubbish music .. imagine the slayage. i'd hope it wouldn't be a whole album of it though. if anyone has the interview please link me 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrFameKills 11,093 Posted June 24, 2018 Love Sufjan this underrated gem being one of my favorites 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
expandableclitoris 9,091 Posted June 24, 2018 closeted icon 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edelweiss 183 Posted June 24, 2018 Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream is one of his best pieces ever 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
May 13,311 Posted June 24, 2018 Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream is one of his best pieces ever !!!!!!!! yes i have the best story to go w that song. i fell asleep once with sufjan's entire discography on repeat, i hadn't heard about 90% of it by this time and had only heard maybe 2 songs off illnoise. at a really weird time in the morning i woke up and the first thing i heard was that soft, sweet yet dark 'i cried myself to sleeeeep last night', i just lay in bed in the pitch black waiting for the song to finish, it was such an ethereal and heavenly experience, and after that i HAD to get out of bed and listen to it again 5+ more times. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kitschesque 9,882 Posted June 24, 2018 Should Have Known Better is my favorite song of all time Should Have Known Better & Futile Devices are THESE songs 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Creyk 11,699 Posted June 24, 2018 yes it takes so long to actually get properly into him, it'd take me months to finally appreciate each album. i'd hate a song by him then 3 months later it'd randomly be stuck in my head for weeks, eurgh his power. if you like the cmbyn songs though you may like Age of Adz (most similar to viseons of gideon) and Seven Swans (similar to Mystery of Love) i'd post a seven swans song but tbh i'm yet to properly get into that album so i have no opinion of it yet You did not lie, this is really good and has that same vibe as mystery of love 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Solar Fields 4,163 Posted June 25, 2018 Love love love Suf Age of Adz and Carrie and Lowell have impacted me so much 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Formation 4,192 Posted June 25, 2018 How was this not already a topic? My favorite male artist atm 0 Quote ✨ God bless America—and all the beautiful people in it ✨ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beautifulandbad 692 Posted June 25, 2018 Haven't listened to a lot of his stuff but Fourth Of July makes me cry every time I hear it. So hauntingly beautiful. 0 Quote death grips is online ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites