When Sufjan Steven's Chicago came on in episode 7 with that loving montage to the city of Chicago, I knew that that show was catapulting into my favorite of all time, and then the rest of the episode happened and yeah it is definitely one of my favorite shows of all time.
"Sufjan may not have written songs about Sean from "Hot Ones", which would not exist for another 11 years, so instead he had to settle for songs about the Bible." - that could be something taken straight out of philomena cunk lol love it as always, great episode
Yup, it won for Best Choreography! Illinoise the Musical is choreographed/directed by Justin Peck, who is associated with the NY City Ballet. (assuming that the reply isn't sarcasm)
DOZENS OF US! (but seriously, I remember my first listen, on a plane, and him caterwauling and pleading for mental health and swearing hit me like a truck)
The first time I listened to Carrie and Lowell in full was about 6 months after my dad died. I was an absolute mess at the end. It will absolutely destroy you, gently hold you, and encourage you to cry until you’ve completely run out of tears in your body. It’s a masterpiece and one of my favorite albums of the 2010s, but I’m still afraid to listen to it ever again.
I’m still extremely depressed Sufjan hasn’t made Ohio yet… is a joke I would’ve made a year ago. However, today I am a changed man. I am no longer the silly child from back then. Thank you
Javelin is Sufjan's most recent album, yet I'd say it's his best one if Illinois never happened. It's just unbelievable that someone like Suf can pull a masterpiece at a still-high point in his career and, simultaneously, probably his lowest point in life (paralysis & his husband's passing). And I find it bamboozling that an artist like Suf, who already owns a vastly robust catalog filled with so many genres and subgenres, has the capacity of showing growth and sometimes returning to form, along with a desire to seek out for more. The day Sufjan drops a bad album, indie music society will fall off p. s. With The Greatest Gift existing, I thoroughly believe that Sufjan was making a full Oregon concept album before settling on C&L. This thesis is mostly carried by songs like "The Hidden River of My Life" & "City of Roses"
I'm surpsried you didn't mention "my Rajneesh" which was a b side from the ascension. In my opinion it's one of Sufjan's best works. It's so sprawling and has pieces of just about every style sufjan has ever attempted.
It’s not even in the Ascension, it was the B side of America when it came out as a single. Which is probably why I missed it for 3 years and was blown away when I finally listened to it.
One of my favourite needle drops of “Chicago” was in the first season of the bear as the demo version was used to start the seventh episode. A show actually set in Chicago! Very fitting
@@1203fildyes !!!! carrie and lowell is genuinely one of my favorite albums of all time, if you like singer songwriter / indie folk / lofi / just generally melancholic music you're in for a treat, tho it does take a couple listens to fully grow on you in my experience. check out fourth of july if you want a sampler if you're looking for smth more upbeat and varied then illanoise is good for that, with the song chicago being a good sampler -- however it's also a longish album so if you want smth a bit less intimidating check out a beginner's mind, with the song back to oz being a good sampler and quite possibly the catchiest song in sufjan's entire discrigraphy. and if you like weird electronic stuff then check out age of adz (with the title track being a good sampler), if you find you can't quite get into that but still want smth with a similar feel then check out planetarium (with jupiter being a good sampler) hope this helps ! :)
Carrie and Lowell is one of my favorite albums of all time. I found it when my mother was in the hospital battling Guillon Barré syndrome. She was paralyzed from the eyes down, on a ventilator in the ICU for weeks. There were moments where I’d leave her room and think I’d never see her again. That album in a weird way helped me process that fear, and be there with her through her slow but eventual recovery. “We’re all gonna die…”
I'm going to be coming back to this video regularly for a long time, I think. I fell into Sufjan Stevens' discography back in April of 2020, following the passing of my grandfather. I inherited his modest record collection, and upon arriving with my family after the day-long drive to the small town in southern Alabama where he had lived, I went to the small record store in town. Aside from a couple of tracks from Illinois, I didn't have much exposure to Sufjan's music yet, but I knew I loved the sound. The record store only had one Sufjan record: 'Michigan,' which I had never heard. I listened in full, to both it and then Carrie & Lowell, on the drive back home, and I felt fully and completely understood in my grief and in my confusion. I found Redford and Romulus and Vito's Ordination Song and The Fourth of July and No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross and Should Have Known Better and many others to be both emotionally stripping, and also deeply, deeply comforting. I've loved his music ever since. You've managed to capture so much of what drew me to Sufjan's work initially and what has kept me listening since. Amazing writing on this. I have so much more to say, but I'll leave it at 'bravo.'
following his albums in real time was such a rollercoaster ride lmao "oh sweet, new record in a completely new but surprisingly successful genre, let's go suf"
I did the biggest irl POG face ever when I saw this video in my recommended feed. I have been waiting for this dive for so long, BIG day for my fellow "suf the snare" heads out there
Sufjan Stevens and I have the same birthday. As I was born in 1987, I was also a Year of the Rabbit baby. Illinois came out three days after I turned 18. Some things are just fate, and Sufjan being my favorite musician of all time is one of them. A couple of core Sufjan memories for me: I took my little sister to see him on the Age of Adz tour when she was 12, and she recently told me what a thrilling and formative musical experience that was. I'm just so glad I was able to share that with her. Carrie & Lowell came out just over a year before my mom died. For months after her passing, it was the only music I could listen to. It didn't make me feel better, per se, but it felt like a truly honest reckoning with what I was feeling that no other album could achieve. Today, I can only really listen to individual songs from that album, and only sometimes. It's so transporting to that time and place and I don't always want to go there. But I am so grateful that I had that album to listen to after my mom's death, as it helped me feel connected to the world in a time when I felt otherwise unmoored.
I first listened to Illinois back in 2020 and it completely blew me away and to this day it’s one of my all time favorites. It took me awhile to really get into the rest of his catalog. It wasn’t until last that I really got in deep for multiple reasons. I never really saw the appeal of Carrie and Lowell. In early 2023 I really made an effort to get more into it and it was growing on me. And then my mom died in May and now every song made complete and total sense. Age of Adz was getting a vinyl reissue so I was listening to that a lot more. I was struggling with certain things so that album really helped. And we also had Javelin coming out that year. The songs on that one hit me hard as the relationship that I was in (my first one by the way) was slowly deteriorating. Before I knew it Sufjan Stevens was in my top 5 listened to artists at the end of the year. I didn’t realize I had listened to him that much.
You think you're too deep when you decide to check out the 5 hours of Christmas music, you're actually too deep when you frantically try to explain to your friends that no actually Silver & Gold has some of Sufjan's best work I swear listen to the 2008 leak where are you going (appreciate the sisyphus/run rabbit run shoutouts, the sun came/enjoy your rabbit appreciation, and the somewhat defense of the ascension. listen to landslide and the title track! Majesty Snowbird and My Rajneesh are also essential sufjan)
I wish there was an official release of Majesty Snowbird. I keep hoping that he would put together a Bird album of songs by him about birds with Majesty Snowbird, The Lord God Bird, Barn Owl, Night Killer/The Owl and the Tanager, Sevens Swans, etc.
Latest Sufjan health update, provided by Justin Peck in May 2024: "It’s been a very long road for him and a very trying road, but I think he’s doing relatively well and he seems to be in good spirits. ... And his health is on the mend. He’s back to walking and he just wants to be physical again. He kept saying “I just want to be able to run again,” and I know he’ll get there." Sufjan was also in the studio with Mina Tindle in March.
What you said about Carrie & Lowell is so true. I used to love the album before but a few years ago I lost my mother and listening to this album broke me so bad… and stitched me up after. 100% recommend, I love to cry to it.
I’ve been WAITING for this one! Another piece of Sufjan lore not mentioned in the DDD: In 2019, he released two singles titled “Love Yourself”and “With My Whole Heart”, with “Love Yourself” having an additional two renditions. The song “Love Yourself (Short Reprise)” ended up appearing in Season 1 of Bridgerton.
i have a weird fear of all of carrie and lowell and cashimir pulaski day- i listened to them as my grandmother was in hospice, and as my dad was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. they both died in spring 2023, and i haven’t listened to either since.
I can confirm that the Illinoise musical is an absolute triumph. I saw it in Chicago before they moved to New York. Peck’s choreography works so well with the music and the interpretation of loss, and the band is so tight as well. It is definitely not a jukebox musical and feels more like a ballet set to a 2000s indie album
What makes Sufjan such a fascinating artist is that he truly has explored and will probably explore so much more. Just making wild concepts for an album and making it work. Even if it can vary from insane electronic music to quiet folk music and it’s so so awesome to have an artist that just does his thing and does it good!
"Christmas in the Room" got my wife and I through our isolated covid Christmas in 2020. Such an incredibly prescient song so many years before the pandemic, and I know others probably had much, much worse Christmases that year.
I remember finding a copy of Illinois in a box of over a hundred CDs labelled 'free to take' someone left at work. It ended up being in mine and my wife's 'road trip' selection of albums we listened to in our car. This was the first way I ever heard him, and I fell in love with the sound straight away
This is a wonderful video about one of my favorite artists, BUT, what perked my ears up was the use of the Paper Mario TTYD music at 14:08 and for that, it instantly became an all timer video for me. bless you
fantastic video, sufjan was always an artist i felt a connection with throughout highschool and now in college. age of adz hits me like a truck every time and i can’t even listen to carrie and lowell because it is guaranteed to make me sob. thank you for covering this legend.
Age of Adz is one of my most played albums of all time. So I’ll support your hot take. Impossible Soul is structured like a symphony. It absolutely blew my mind the first time I heard it.
Will just add that shortly after Michigan, NPR challenged him to write a song for Arkansas, and he came up with The Lord God Bird. Also has a beautiful cover of Lakes of Canada, so for those keeping track we got Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, NY (in the form of the BQE), New Jersey (by way of Seven Swans), and... Saskatchewan?
Wow. Oh wow wow wow. This particular DDD made me feel so many emotions I didn't even know I had. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. To touch on the feelings you mentioned during Ascension--can I just say that my life has become immeasurably better since I started watching your channel? I can actually connect with my older brother so much more than I ever could before since I can finally connect with him on music. I always thought music was "his thing," seeing as that's what he studied in college, but now I see it can be both of our things. Because we were raised by parents who both deeply valued music and shared it with us any chance they could. And I love that so, so much. Also... yeah, you're 100% right about Carrie & Lowell hitting so much harder after losing a close family member. I lost almost all of my mom's side between 2018 and 2021 and let's just say this album will never simply pass over me again. But perhaps it's for the best--after all, isn't grief what makes us human? On a lighter note, I am LOVING this era of you doing DDDs you're truly excited about. Life is too short to not indulge in your passions whenever possible! Speaking of... I have a novel I should get back to outlining 😉 thank you thank you THANK YOU for this wonderfully thoughtful video. I cannot wait to immerse myself even deeper into Sufjan's music with this added context. Instant fave 😊
Javelin is the first Sufjan album I listened to apart from a few songs I'd heard and wow, he's changed my world. Thank you for this video, it's super helpful as a guide to navigate his work!
Just listened to Illinois in full for the first time a couple weeks ago (I'd heard the entirety of Carrie & Lowell as well as the song "Chicago" before this) and fell in love with it. Thought to myself "I'd love it if Mic covered Sufjan but God help him when he gets to the song titles" XD Thanks for granting my wish without knowing it lol
imo enjoy your rabbit is incredibly underrated-it's so vast and varied, and though i do think some of the songs overstay their welcome a bit, they each present something captivating
Don't know if you are going to read this, but the part where you talked about thinking that you've made no impact in the world really resonated with me, not because i feel the same way (at the moments, I mean), but because you are the person that has opened my eyes (or ears, i guess) to new music. Ever since I saw your Lana del Rey Deep Discog Dive I gained a different interest in music, which was so refreshing and made me wish I had found this channel earlier. Maybe I'm just one person, but even if you mean something to one person that can be worht it right? Even then, I am sure that I am not the only one who has been touched by your videos, educated by your knowledge and grateful that you decided to create this content. I hope it eases your mind a bit.
Istg I started humming “the man of metropolis steals our hearts” and then I picked up my phone to find this notification in ABSOLUTE DISBELIEF. Mic are you psychic???
Hey, Mic, can you do a video on the history of the guest rapper in pop music? I really want to know how that trope became so common, because it's weirdly specific when you think about it. It's like if most hair metal had a bagpipe solo, or if string quartets had a tendency to break out into yodelling
I love your DDD videos so much. They're always so informative and entertaining. Your snappy sense of humor ads to my enjoyment a lot too. This is one of my new favourites for sure, because I think it's a really well-done video and because I love Sufjan Stevens' music so much Honestly, I think you are singlehandedly carrying music discussion on your back, because,despite all of the silly bits in your videos, you're the only one who I feel like actually tackles these discussions with the nuance and grace they deserve
The Carrie and Lowell tour was the first (and only, so far) time i saw Sufjan, and I didn't know till this year that there was an album for it. I'm really glad to talked about it as in depth as you did, because those songs were absolutely breathtaking live. They didn't play Hotline Bling tho, but i think the Drake version wasn't even out when i saw Sufjan. If i remember correctly, Sufjan started covering Hotline Bling on that tour like IMMEDIATELY after that song dropped as if he knew he needed to seize the moment lol.
Im listening to music on the bus at one point and said to myself how nice it would be to get a micus the snarius video today, im so happy that it came true, especially with am artist i want to dig into one day.
Just an aside, but I would love if they got together a team of artists to finish the 50 states project. Maybe a country artist for Texas, grunge for Washington, etc. I think that there is a lot of potential there!
38:30 - Mic, I want you to know that you've made one person's life better for the work you've done. I'm confident I'm not the only one, but I know from my lived experience that you have changed the world around you. Maybe not the entire world, but part of it, is better for the work you've done. Thank you.
I think this might be the best DDD yet. The writing here is really good, the jokes land and you did a great job of maintaining levity while still letting the poignant subject matter be affecting. I think the Weezer and Maroon 5 ones are better stories but the script here is on another level. (Also I would NOT have had the courage to do that Drake joke WOW) I had only heard Age of Adz, now I need to check out the rest of his discography. Enjoy Your Rabbit next :)
sufjan was introduced to me when i was like 6 or 7 years old and ive never loved an artist more since. i remember the first song i heard by him was concerning the ufo and to this day, there is no other song i know that fills me with as much joy and nostalgia. his work has forever shaped my love for music and he is genuinely my favorite musician of all time.
Lovedddd your analysis of Javelin!! I've seen a few video essays on it that position it solely as a breakup album without really considering the context of his partner's illness so it was interesting to consider that!! (also hello from a fellow college/uni radio nerd!!)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COVERING SILVER AND GOLD ON THIS FOR ONE PARTICULAR REASON. I'VE RECENTLY FALLEN IN LOVE WITH SUFJAN'S MUSIC, BEEN DIVING INTO A LOT OF HIS STUFF FOR THE PAST 4 MONTHS AND I'M ALSO A MASSIVE PRINCE FAN. Recently, Alphabet St. has been on repeat for me, I love that song to death, SO I WAS OVER THE MOON WHEN I FOUND OUT SUFJAN COVERED IT HAHAHAHA, OF ALL SONGS THAT ONE?! THE ONE I HAPPEN TO LOVE SO MUCH! LOVE THE CONTENT!
Thank you. I always felt a bit confused by his discography, some I clicked with, others I just didn't understand and couldn't comprehend why it was released under the same artist name ; yet this clears up a lot for me.
I was so delighted to see you gave the debut the time of day. It may be my favourite by Sufjan. it's so gleefully creative, like a more low-key album by a maximalist band like Mr. Bungle or Ween
Who else remembers when MicTheSnare had a huge Google form with dozens of artists for us to choose the next Deep Discog Dive video? I remember always filling that form out as soon as a DDD was uploaded, and I would always select Sufjan Stevens, then The Mountain Goats, then submit. I’m super stoked to see this DDD got made! I’m loving it so far :)
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
HUGE DAY FOR ME IN PARTICULAR
*US
@@CirclingTheDead*THEM
@@OwainCynanRobertsAnd after allllll we’re only ordinary them
No but me as well
im choosing to believe this is an early birthday present to me specifically
Sufjan being older than Pitbull has to be some kind of time travel mess up or something
You forgot to mention an acoustic version of chicago was featured in "The Bear". A show actually based in Chicago.
When Sufjan Steven's Chicago came on in episode 7 with that loving montage to the city of Chicago, I knew that that show was catapulting into my favorite of all time, and then the rest of the episode happened and yeah it is definitely one of my favorite shows of all time.
was the demo!
You hit the nail on the head. As a huge Sufjan fan. Hearing that in that beautiful montage made me feel like it was made for me.
That was my first exposure to him, like I knew his name but it was the first song of his I ever heard
That song and montage was such a perfect overture to the absolute chaos that occurred in that episode.
Dude, the carrie and lowell part was brutal. Phenomenal writing and editing
what the hell are YOU doing here????
You used to call me on my cellphone 😔✋
dude for real, i got goosebumps at multiple points during that section. fantastic fantastic work
omggg coucou
tu fais quoi là ? of course you have a good music taste
"Sufjan may not have written songs about Sean from "Hot Ones", which would not exist for another 11 years, so instead he had to settle for songs about the Bible." - that could be something taken straight out of philomena cunk lol love it as always, great episode
Seeing how the Illinois musical just won a Tony for Best Choreography, this is perfect timing.
Wait, it won?
Yup, it won for Best Choreography! Illinoise the Musical is choreographed/directed by Justin Peck, who is associated with the NY City Ballet. (assuming that the reply isn't sarcasm)
*Illinoise ❤
Absolutely deserved. I went to see it earlier this month and it’s incredible
i walked AND feel this moment mashed up? you've made marsona 5 and you now must make a full sufjan and pitbull mashup album
Michael Snare I'm sorry but if William tells you to make a mashup album, YOU DO IT
I don't make the rules
Nah he should make a Sufjan/RHCP mashup album called California
carrie & lowell crushed me so fucking much to the point where I start tearing up if I hear even a couple of seconds of any song from that album
AGE OF ADZ IS HIS BEST ALBUM THANK YOU FOR BEING CORRECT!!!!
DOZENS OF US!
(but seriously, I remember my first listen, on a plane, and him caterwauling and pleading for mental health and swearing hit me like a truck)
@@mattduffyw99 DOZENS!!!!!!!!!
How awesome of you to dedicate a whole video to my favorite Bowie song, Suffrajette Stevens!
The first time I listened to Carrie and Lowell in full was about 6 months after my dad died. I was an absolute mess at the end. It will absolutely destroy you, gently hold you, and encourage you to cry until you’ve completely run out of tears in your body. It’s a masterpiece and one of my favorite albums of the 2010s, but I’m still afraid to listen to it ever again.
I’m still extremely depressed Sufjan hasn’t made Ohio yet…
is a joke I would’ve made a year ago. However, today I am a changed man. I am no longer the silly child from back then. Thank you
Shit he called me out
It’s not a joke because now I think it in sincerity
change is good, you should be proud
Hey, I am waiting for Wisconsin. After Michigan and Illinois, Wisconsin seemed like an automatic. We have our serial killers too.
most normal Sufjan album in Ohio 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
Javelin is Sufjan's most recent album, yet I'd say it's his best one if Illinois never happened. It's just unbelievable that someone like Suf can pull a masterpiece at a still-high point in his career and, simultaneously, probably his lowest point in life (paralysis & his husband's passing).
And I find it bamboozling that an artist like Suf, who already owns a vastly robust catalog filled with so many genres and subgenres, has the capacity of showing growth and sometimes returning to form, along with a desire to seek out for more. The day Sufjan drops a bad album, indie music society will fall off
p. s. With The Greatest Gift existing, I thoroughly believe that Sufjan was making a full Oregon concept album before settling on C&L. This thesis is mostly carried by songs like "The Hidden River of My Life" & "City of Roses"
i feel like i have been waiting my whole life for this
I'm surpsried you didn't mention "my Rajneesh" which was a b side from the ascension. In my opinion it's one of Sufjan's best works. It's so sprawling and has pieces of just about every style sufjan has ever attempted.
Finally someone else who appreciates My Rajneesh as much as I do!!! Absolutely one of my favorite works of Suf’s
It’s not even in the Ascension, it was the B side of America when it came out as a single. Which is probably why I missed it for 3 years and was blown away when I finally listened to it.
There were a couple of B-sides he glanced over. Wallowa Lake Monster was also sadly skipped over :(
I was wondering whether I should make this comment lmao, I love My Rajneesh
@@Zeugnimodms IMO yet another terribly under appreciated masterpiece by Sufjan, the composition is just incredible
GIVE IT TO ME GIVE IT TO ME MICTHESNARE GIVE ME THE THE DEEP DISCOG DIVE
One of my favourite needle drops of “Chicago” was in the first season of the bear as the demo version was used to start the seventh episode.
A show actually set in Chicago! Very fitting
No Light in the Crazy of the Frog
this is literally perfect timing, I only just discovered Sufjan’s music last week
wish i could rediscover his music all over again x)
I am so jealous of you! I would love to fall in love with him all over again. Enjoy your rabbit!
I have never even heard his name, do you think I should check out his music?
@@1203fildyes !!!! carrie and lowell is genuinely one of my favorite albums of all time, if you like singer songwriter / indie folk / lofi / just generally melancholic music you're in for a treat, tho it does take a couple listens to fully grow on you in my experience. check out fourth of july if you want a sampler
if you're looking for smth more upbeat and varied then illanoise is good for that, with the song chicago being a good sampler -- however it's also a longish album so if you want smth a bit less intimidating check out a beginner's mind, with the song back to oz being a good sampler and quite possibly the catchiest song in sufjan's entire discrigraphy. and if you like weird electronic stuff then check out age of adz (with the title track being a good sampler), if you find you can't quite get into that but still want smth with a similar feel then check out planetarium (with jupiter being a good sampler)
hope this helps ! :)
Carrie and Lowell is one of my favorite albums of all time. I found it when my mother was in the hospital battling Guillon Barré syndrome. She was paralyzed from the eyes down, on a ventilator in the ICU for weeks. There were moments where I’d leave her room and think I’d never see her again. That album in a weird way helped me process that fear, and be there with her through her slow but eventual recovery.
“We’re all gonna die…”
Heard there was a another Great Lake before Sufjan filled it in when he invented Illinois
A bit disappointed you didn't bring up My Rajneesh during the video because man is that song stellar
I'm going to be coming back to this video regularly for a long time, I think.
I fell into Sufjan Stevens' discography back in April of 2020, following the passing of my grandfather. I inherited his modest record collection, and upon arriving with my family after the day-long drive to the small town in southern Alabama where he had lived, I went to the small record store in town. Aside from a couple of tracks from Illinois, I didn't have much exposure to Sufjan's music yet, but I knew I loved the sound. The record store only had one Sufjan record: 'Michigan,' which I had never heard. I listened in full, to both it and then Carrie & Lowell, on the drive back home, and I felt fully and completely understood in my grief and in my confusion. I found Redford and Romulus and Vito's Ordination Song and The Fourth of July and No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross and Should Have Known Better and many others to be both emotionally stripping, and also deeply, deeply comforting. I've loved his music ever since.
You've managed to capture so much of what drew me to Sufjan's work initially and what has kept me listening since. Amazing writing on this. I have so much more to say, but I'll leave it at 'bravo.'
following his albums in real time was such a rollercoaster ride lmao "oh sweet, new record in a completely new but surprisingly successful genre, let's go suf"
I did the biggest irl POG face ever when I saw this video in my recommended feed. I have been waiting for this dive for so long, BIG day for my fellow "suf the snare" heads out there
Sufjan Stevens and I have the same birthday. As I was born in 1987, I was also a Year of the Rabbit baby. Illinois came out three days after I turned 18. Some things are just fate, and Sufjan being my favorite musician of all time is one of them. A couple of core Sufjan memories for me:
I took my little sister to see him on the Age of Adz tour when she was 12, and she recently told me what a thrilling and formative musical experience that was. I'm just so glad I was able to share that with her.
Carrie & Lowell came out just over a year before my mom died. For months after her passing, it was the only music I could listen to. It didn't make me feel better, per se, but it felt like a truly honest reckoning with what I was feeling that no other album could achieve. Today, I can only really listen to individual songs from that album, and only sometimes. It's so transporting to that time and place and I don't always want to go there. But I am so grateful that I had that album to listen to after my mom's death, as it helped me feel connected to the world in a time when I felt otherwise unmoored.
I first listened to Illinois back in 2020 and it completely blew me away and to this day it’s one of my all time favorites. It took me awhile to really get into the rest of his catalog. It wasn’t until last that I really got in deep for multiple reasons. I never really saw the appeal of Carrie and Lowell. In early 2023 I really made an effort to get more into it and it was growing on me. And then my mom died in May and now every song made complete and total sense. Age of Adz was getting a vinyl reissue so I was listening to that a lot more. I was struggling with certain things so that album really helped. And we also had Javelin coming out that year. The songs on that one hit me hard as the relationship that I was in (my first one by the way) was slowly deteriorating. Before I knew it Sufjan Stevens was in my top 5 listened to artists at the end of the year. I didn’t realize I had listened to him that much.
You think you're too deep when you decide to check out the 5 hours of Christmas music, you're actually too deep when you frantically try to explain to your friends that no actually Silver & Gold has some of Sufjan's best work I swear listen to the 2008 leak where are you going
(appreciate the sisyphus/run rabbit run shoutouts, the sun came/enjoy your rabbit appreciation, and the somewhat defense of the ascension. listen to landslide and the title track! Majesty Snowbird and My Rajneesh are also essential sufjan)
I wish there was an official release of Majesty Snowbird. I keep hoping that he would put together a Bird album of songs by him about birds with Majesty Snowbird, The Lord God Bird, Barn Owl, Night Killer/The Owl and the Tanager, Sevens Swans, etc.
Yesssss!
Oh wow, Deathconsciousness: The Musical would be a sight to behold
I cannot wait for the sound of my depression and despair to get a musical.
ARRRRROWHEADSARRRRROWHEADSARRRRROWHEADSARRRRROWHEADSARRRRROWHEADSARRRRROWHEADS
When they post casting calls for the Giant Worm... I'll be there
Latest Sufjan health update, provided by Justin Peck in May 2024: "It’s been a very long road for him and a very trying road, but I think he’s doing relatively well and he seems to be in good spirits. ... And his health is on the mend. He’s back to walking and he just wants to be physical again. He kept saying “I just want to be able to run again,” and I know he’ll get there." Sufjan was also in the studio with Mina Tindle in March.
What you said about Carrie & Lowell is so true. I used to love the album before but a few years ago I lost my mother and listening to this album broke me so bad… and stitched me up after. 100% recommend, I love to cry to it.
Best TH-cam notification I’ve received in years
IVE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY TO SEE A DISCOG DIVE IN MY FEED
I’ve been WAITING for this one!
Another piece of Sufjan lore not mentioned in the DDD: In 2019, he released two singles titled “Love Yourself”and “With My Whole Heart”, with “Love Yourself” having an additional two renditions. The song “Love Yourself (Short Reprise)” ended up appearing in Season 1 of Bridgerton.
One of the most DDD worthy artists in my opinion. Such an interesting and diverse discography with some of my favourite albums of all time. Thanks Mic
I need to listen to more of his discography. Greetings from Michigan is my favorite from what ive heard so far
I remember commenting on here once asking for this and my prayers have been answered!! Thank you for listening
i have a weird fear of all of carrie and lowell and cashimir pulaski day- i listened to them as my grandmother was in hospice, and as my dad was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. they both died in spring 2023, and i haven’t listened to either since.
I can confirm that the Illinoise musical is an absolute triumph. I saw it in Chicago before they moved to New York. Peck’s choreography works so well with the music and the interpretation of loss, and the band is so tight as well. It is definitely not a jukebox musical and feels more like a ballet set to a 2000s indie album
Oh I have never been so sat in my LIFE
What makes Sufjan such a fascinating artist is that he truly has explored and will probably explore so much more. Just making wild concepts for an album and making it work. Even if it can vary from insane electronic music to quiet folk music and it’s so so awesome to have an artist that just does his thing and does it good!
always a fucking awesome day when a new mic video dropped. also congrats on the interview thing!
"Christmas in the Room" got my wife and I through our isolated covid Christmas in 2020. Such an incredibly prescient song so many years before the pandemic, and I know others probably had much, much worse Christmases that year.
I can't believe you shouted out Colby, Kansas, had to run it back to make sure I heard you right 😂
I remember finding a copy of Illinois in a box of over a hundred CDs labelled 'free to take' someone left at work. It ended up being in mine and my wife's 'road trip' selection of albums we listened to in our car. This was the first way I ever heard him, and I fell in love with the sound straight away
Christmas came early this year 🙏
Omg hey lola i love your work👋🏼
Man, 50 albums in THAT SHORT TIME??
Amazing Mic, Keep it up, Proud of you!
(Merzbow has entered the chat)
@@OwainCynanRoberts Buckethead
GODDAMN IT MIC NOW I NEED A SUFJAN AND PITBULL COLLABORATION
This is a wonderful video about one of my favorite artists, BUT, what perked my ears up was the use of the Paper Mario TTYD music at 14:08 and for that, it instantly became an all timer video for me. bless you
Been waiting for this one for sooo long...
was a big fan of sufjan for ages and slowly working my way through his discography
fantastic video, sufjan was always an artist i felt a connection with throughout highschool and now in college. age of adz hits me like a truck every time and i can’t even listen to carrie and lowell because it is guaranteed to make me sob. thank you for covering this legend.
the ascension as a song hit me so hard when i was deconstructing my faith in 2020. absolutely haunting song
Age of Adz is one of my most played albums of all time. So I’ll support your hot take. Impossible Soul is structured like a symphony. It absolutely blew my mind the first time I heard it.
why would you play the beginning notes of fourth of july like that, now i'm crying goddamn it
Love a Sufjan deep dive. Love the stock footage of Grand Rapids. Love the walking tour of Holland.
Will just add that shortly after Michigan, NPR challenged him to write a song for Arkansas, and he came up with The Lord God Bird. Also has a beautiful cover of Lakes of Canada, so for those keeping track we got Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, NY (in the form of the BQE), New Jersey (by way of Seven Swans), and... Saskatchewan?
Sufjan has been through so much, I want to give him a hug.
Would also be a way to say thanks for all the amazing music.
Wow. Oh wow wow wow. This particular DDD made me feel so many emotions I didn't even know I had. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
To touch on the feelings you mentioned during Ascension--can I just say that my life has become immeasurably better since I started watching your channel? I can actually connect with my older brother so much more than I ever could before since I can finally connect with him on music. I always thought music was "his thing," seeing as that's what he studied in college, but now I see it can be both of our things. Because we were raised by parents who both deeply valued music and shared it with us any chance they could. And I love that so, so much.
Also... yeah, you're 100% right about Carrie & Lowell hitting so much harder after losing a close family member. I lost almost all of my mom's side between 2018 and 2021 and let's just say this album will never simply pass over me again. But perhaps it's for the best--after all, isn't grief what makes us human?
On a lighter note, I am LOVING this era of you doing DDDs you're truly excited about. Life is too short to not indulge in your passions whenever possible! Speaking of... I have a novel I should get back to outlining 😉 thank you thank you THANK YOU for this wonderfully thoughtful video. I cannot wait to immerse myself even deeper into Sufjan's music with this added context. Instant fave 😊
This is a massive win for me, I was literally listening to Illinois on vinyl, a birthday present, for the first time yesterday.
Javelin is the first Sufjan album I listened to apart from a few songs I'd heard and wow, he's changed my world. Thank you for this video, it's super helpful as a guide to navigate his work!
I did not expect a sound byte from the Gametrailers Final Fantasy Retrospective in my Mic The Snare video
Same.
Took me by surprise, because I watched it few months ago
Just listened to Illinois in full for the first time a couple weeks ago (I'd heard the entirety of Carrie & Lowell as well as the song "Chicago" before this) and fell in love with it. Thought to myself "I'd love it if Mic covered Sufjan but God help him when he gets to the song titles" XD
Thanks for granting my wish without knowing it lol
imo enjoy your rabbit is incredibly underrated-it's so vast and varied, and though i do think some of the songs overstay their welcome a bit, they each present something captivating
Don't know if you are going to read this, but the part where you talked about thinking that you've made no impact in the world really resonated with me, not because i feel the same way (at the moments, I mean), but because you are the person that has opened my eyes (or ears, i guess) to new music. Ever since I saw your Lana del Rey Deep Discog Dive I gained a different interest in music, which was so refreshing and made me wish I had found this channel earlier. Maybe I'm just one person, but even if you mean something to one person that can be worht it right? Even then, I am sure that I am not the only one who has been touched by your videos, educated by your knowledge and grateful that you decided to create this content. I hope it eases your mind a bit.
I really want to see a 29-album Beach Boys Deep Discog Dive now. That would be a very interesting watch.
Istg I started humming “the man of metropolis steals our hearts” and then I picked up my phone to find this notification in ABSOLUTE DISBELIEF. Mic are you psychic???
33:38 As someone who has not heard any Sufjan outside of Illinois and C&L, this genuinely caught me off guard, and I mean GENUINELY.
This is sooo crazy!!! I just revisited Illinois after years of not listening to in in full for a couple years
this is huuuuuge for me i’m so excited to watch !! sufjan stevens is incredibly important to me
Hey, Mic, can you do a video on the history of the guest rapper in pop music? I really want to know how that trope became so common, because it's weirdly specific when you think about it. It's like if most hair metal had a bagpipe solo, or if string quartets had a tendency to break out into yodelling
I love your DDD videos so much. They're always so informative and entertaining. Your snappy sense of humor ads to my enjoyment a lot too.
This is one of my new favourites for sure, because I think it's a really well-done video and because I love Sufjan Stevens' music so much
Honestly, I think you are singlehandedly carrying music discussion on your back, because,despite all of the silly bits in your videos, you're the only one who I feel like actually tackles these discussions with the nuance and grace they deserve
Thank you mic, I’ve actually been meaning to challenge my music taste and listen to sufjan and this’ll prolly be the perfect guide
the most intrigued i've been for something on the tl
don’t know why this missed my recommendation box yesterday but we’re here now !!
my favorite youtuber covering my favorito artist this is basically a national holiday to me
this one. I'm most excited for this one.
thank you so much for this video. I had chills for at least half the time but that's just what sufjan does
Another great video.
Also, doing my regular duty of suggesting/requesting/insisting on Deep Discog Dive: Porcupine Tree
Made my day seeing this one! Thank you
I like Surfjan Stevens. His music surprisingly kept me in a safe state to get through my deployments overseas while I was in the service. Respect 🙏
THANK YOU FOR SAYING WHAT MUST BE SAID. AGE OF ADZ IS HIS BEST ALBUM.
The Carrie and Lowell tour was the first (and only, so far) time i saw Sufjan, and I didn't know till this year that there was an album for it. I'm really glad to talked about it as in depth as you did, because those songs were absolutely breathtaking live. They didn't play Hotline Bling tho, but i think the Drake version wasn't even out when i saw Sufjan. If i remember correctly, Sufjan started covering Hotline Bling on that tour like IMMEDIATELY after that song dropped as if he knew he needed to seize the moment lol.
Not only do is it time for the Sufjan Stevens episode, but Mic the Snare pronounced Ypsilanti correctly. Good Monday vibes all around
Im listening to music on the bus at one point and said to myself how nice it would be to get a micus the snarius video today, im so happy that it came true, especially with am artist i want to dig into one day.
Just an aside, but I would love if they got together a team of artists to finish the 50 states project. Maybe a country artist for Texas, grunge for Washington, etc. I think that there is a lot of potential there!
38:30 - Mic, I want you to know that you've made one person's life better for the work you've done. I'm confident I'm not the only one, but I know from my lived experience that you have changed the world around you. Maybe not the entire world, but part of it, is better for the work you've done. Thank you.
I think this might be the best DDD yet. The writing here is really good, the jokes land and you did a great job of maintaining levity while still letting the poignant subject matter be affecting. I think the Weezer and Maroon 5 ones are better stories but the script here is on another level. (Also I would NOT have had the courage to do that Drake joke WOW)
I had only heard Age of Adz, now I need to check out the rest of his discography. Enjoy Your Rabbit next :)
Mic, The Run Away With Me bit has me 😂
Nice to see my recording of "I Walked" live in Dublin in there.. 👍
I have been trying to get into Sufjan Stevens since I found illinoise out, this is a great entry video for me
sufjan was introduced to me when i was like 6 or 7 years old and ive never loved an artist more since. i remember the first song i heard by him was concerning the ufo and to this day, there is no other song i know that fills me with as much joy and nostalgia. his work has forever shaped my love for music and he is genuinely my favorite musician of all time.
Lovedddd your analysis of Javelin!! I've seen a few video essays on it that position it solely as a breakup album without really considering the context of his partner's illness so it was interesting to consider that!! (also hello from a fellow college/uni radio nerd!!)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COVERING SILVER AND GOLD ON THIS FOR ONE PARTICULAR REASON. I'VE RECENTLY FALLEN IN LOVE WITH SUFJAN'S MUSIC, BEEN DIVING INTO A LOT OF HIS STUFF FOR THE PAST 4 MONTHS AND I'M ALSO A MASSIVE PRINCE FAN. Recently, Alphabet St. has been on repeat for me, I love that song to death, SO I WAS OVER THE MOON WHEN I FOUND OUT SUFJAN COVERED IT HAHAHAHA, OF ALL SONGS THAT ONE?! THE ONE I HAPPEN TO LOVE SO MUCH! LOVE THE CONTENT!
there are no words to adequately describe how much I adore suf
Mic I can promise u, you’ve changed the way I talk about music, and the way I consume it. U are my favourite piece of internet. Thank you
Thank you. I always felt a bit confused by his discography, some I clicked with, others I just didn't understand and couldn't comprehend why it was released under the same artist name ; yet this clears up a lot for me.
I was so delighted to see you gave the debut the time of day. It may be my favourite by Sufjan. it's so gleefully creative, like a more low-key album by a maximalist band like Mr. Bungle or Ween
Who else remembers when MicTheSnare had a huge Google form with dozens of artists for us to choose the next Deep Discog Dive video? I remember always filling that form out as soon as a DDD was uploaded, and I would always select Sufjan Stevens, then The Mountain Goats, then submit.
I’m super stoked to see this DDD got made! I’m loving it so far :)
Happy belated Father's Day from another guy who lost his dad around the time you did. Much love, Mr. The Snare.
As a LONG time fan of Sufjan’s work, I didn’t know how much I didn’t know about his discography and life.
Thank you for this. ❤