New Weird America
New Weird America describes a psychedelic musical movement started in the mid 2000s. The term is generally believed to have been coined by David Keenan in the August 2003 issue of The Wire, following the Brattleboro Free Folk Festival organized by Matt Valentine and Ron Schneiderman. It is a play on Greil Marcus's phrase "Old Weird America" as used in his book Invisible Republic, which deals with the lineage connecting the pre-war folk performers on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music to Bob Dylan and his milieu. Read Full BioNew Weird America describes a psychedelic musical movement started in the mid 2000s. The term is generally believed to have been coined by David Keenan in the August 2003 issue of The Wire, following the Brattleboro Free Folk Festival organized by Matt Valentine and Ron Schneiderman. It is a play on Greil Marcus's phrase "Old Weird America" as used in his book Invisible Republic, which deals with the lineage connecting the pre-war folk performers on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music to Bob Dylan and his milieu. The musical style described as New Weird America is mainly derived from psychedelic rock and folk groups of the 1960s and 1970s, including American performers Holy Modal Rounders and English group The Pentangle and other psychedelic groups, but it also finds inspiration in such disparate sources as metal, free jazz, electronic music, noise music, tropicalia, and early and mid-20th century American folk music. Another primary inspiration is outsider music, often played by technically naïve (and often socially estranged) musicians, such as The Shaggs, Roky Erickson, and Jandek.
Other genre classifications of similar period and aesthetics are psychedelic rock, acid folk, psychedelic folk, free folk, freak folk and freakbeat.
Many works of the genre are issued in small editions and distributed independently. The music has been covered extensively by L.A.-based Arthur, which ran in-depth pieces on Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, CocoRosie, Animal Collective, and Six Organs of Admittance, released the definitive New Weird America compilation The Golden Apples of the Sun, and curated the ArthurFest (2005) and ArthurBall (2006) and events, featuring a variety of artists from the movement.
Although many artists record and/or perform with multiple bands, New Weird America is not a unified movement; the associated artists are often classified as such by journalists and the press.
Other genre classifications of similar period and aesthetics are psychedelic rock, acid folk, psychedelic folk, free folk, freak folk and freakbeat.
Many works of the genre are issued in small editions and distributed independently. The music has been covered extensively by L.A.-based Arthur, which ran in-depth pieces on Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, CocoRosie, Animal Collective, and Six Organs of Admittance, released the definitive New Weird America compilation The Golden Apples of the Sun, and curated the ArthurFest (2005) and ArthurBall (2006) and events, featuring a variety of artists from the movement.
Although many artists record and/or perform with multiple bands, New Weird America is not a unified movement; the associated artists are often classified as such by journalists and the press.
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Should Have Known Better
Sufjan Stevens Lyrics
I should have known better
To see what I could see
My black shroud
Holding down my feelings
A pillar for my enemies
I should have wrote a letter
And grieve what I happen to grieve
My black shroud
I never trust my feelings
I waited for the remedy
When I was three, three maybe four
She left us at that video store
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
I'm light as a feather
I'm bright as the Oregon breeze
My black shroud
Frightened by my feelings
I only wanna be a relief
No, I'm not a go-getter
The demon had a spell on me
My black shroud
Captain of my feelings
The only thing I wanna believe
When I was three, and free to explore
I saw her face on the back of the door
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
I should have known better
Nothing can be changed
The past is still the past
The bridge to nowhere
I should have wrote a letter
Explaining what I feel, that empty feeling
Don't back down, concentrate on seeing
The breakers in the bar, the neighbor's greeting
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination
Don't back down, there is nothing left
The breakers in the bar, no reason to live
I'm a fool in the fetter
Rose of Aaron's beard, where you can reach me
Don't back down, nothing can be changed
Cantilever bridge, the drunken sailor
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination
Illumination
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
𝔻𝕩𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕒 ℝ𝕩𝕚𝕟
LYRICS:
I should have known better
To see what I could see
My black shroud
Holding down my feelings
A pillar for my enemies
I should have wrote a letter
And grieve what I happen to grieve
My black shroud
I never trust my feelings
I waited for the remedy
When I was three, three maybe four
She left us at that video store
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
I'm light as a feather
I'm bright as the Oregon breeze
My black shroud
Frightened by my feelings
I only want to be a relief
No, I'm not a go-getter
The demon had a spell on me
My black shroud
Captain of my feelings
The only thing I want to believe
When I was three, and free to explore
I saw her face on the back of the door
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
I should have known better
Nothing can be changed
The past is still the past
The bridge to nowhere
I should have wrote a letter
Explaining what I feel, that empty feeling
Don't back down, concentrate on seeing
The breakers in the bar, the neighbor's greeting
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination
Don't back down, there is nothing left
The breakers in the bar, no reason to live
I'm a fool in the fetter
Rose of Aaron's beard, where you can reach me
Don't back down, nothing can be changed
Cantilever bridge, the drunken sailor
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination, illumination
Ellen
Carrie and Lowell is one of those albums that's rare today, a true album that is more than the sum of its parts. Sufjan has created a cohesive work with a consistent theme, more than just a collection of beautiful songs but rather all variations of his theme of loss and grief. The songs are meant to be listened to one after another, not separately. This is a true work of art and I only wish I owned it on vinyl.
And yes, any of us who have lost someone close to us knows the feeling of not knowing how to grieve. I still can't do it after my husband's death or my sister's death. Maybe some day.
I should have wrote a letter
And grieve what I happen to grieve
My black shroud
I never trust my feelings
I waited for the remedy
Lolilol Mimi
Lyrics
I should have known better
To see what I could see
My black shroud
Holding down my feelings
A pillar for my enemies
I should have wrote a letter
And grieve what I happen to grieve
My black shroud
I never trust my feelings
I waited for the remedy
When I was three, three maybe four
She left us at that video store
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
I'm light as a feather
I'm bright as the Oregon breeze
My black shroud
Frightened by my feelings
I only wanna be a relief
No, I'm not a go-getter
The demon had a spell on me
My black shroud
Captain of my feelings
The only thing I wanna believe
When I was three, and free to explore
I saw her face on the back of the door
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
Oh, be my rest, be my fantasy
I should have known better
Nothing can be changed
The past is still the past
The bridge to nowhere
I should have wrote a letter
Explaining what I feel, that empty feeling
Don't back down, concentrate on seeing
The breakers in the bar, the neighbor's greeting
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination
Don't back down, there is nothing left
The breakers in the bar, no reason to live
I'm a fool in the fetter
Rose of Aaron's beard, where you can reach me
Don't back down, nothing can be changed
Cantilever bridge, the drunken sailor
My brother had a daughter
The beauty that she brings, illumination
Illumination
ode
To all the new people here, this song talks about Sufjan regretting not letting himself grieve his mother properly. He uses various metaphors to depict his depression. However there is hope in the new generation, which is symbolized by his brother's daughter and the way the music turns happier at the end. "Illumination"!
Holly B. Me
Thank you for sharing this with us - truly beautiful and extremely relevant in my life
frankfinnsweenryan
thank you for this
Savannah M
Still waiting for myself to move on and be okay to hear that song/ending...
Richard Brook
Music talks to everyone individually.... sentiment is personal... but thanks for "Dadsplaining"
Rigo Arredondo
Amazing
R
The song refrain “my black shroud” resonates with me so much. I’ve been carrying a lot of emotional pain since childhood which I have kept hidden. This song really captures the ramifications of trauma at a young age. But it also implores us to grow as adults by feeling the pain we previously covered…with our shrouds…and to move forward with grace.
Luke
Same, it's so easy to keep it hidden for a while but it really just weighs on you. It's harder than it should be at times to move forward with grace as you said, but it's possible and definitely worth it. I do hope you're able to move on and I'm praying for you.
Meilia •
I really understand this feeling... I hope you are doing okay now. Greetings from afar :)
Mia Chandler
His voice will ALWAYS just make me go “✨OH to see without my eyes✨”