Though Stevens had announced plans to make an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, beginning the series with the albums 'Michigan' (2003) and 'Illinois' (2005), he has since then somewhat retracted the statement. "Sufjan Stevens is not going to write a record for each of the 50 states after all" was the original text included on the online liner notes for 'Mews Too: An Asthmatic Kitty Compilation' , a disc released on February 7, 2006. This statement was possibly included as a joke, as the text has since been removed and the current liner notes related to Sufjan Stevens reads: "Sufjan Stevens can fold a fitted-sheet (he once worked as a professional folder in a commercial Laundromat)."
Background
Stevens was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in the city of Petoskey in that same state. He attended Hope College on the west coast of Michigan.
The name Sufjan is an Arabic/Persian name that predates Islam and most famously belonged to Abu Sufyan, a figure from early Islamic history. It has been mentioned in the press that the name was given to Stevens by the leader of Subud, a spiritual sect to which his parents belonged when he was born. Stevens has stated that the name is of Armenian origin and means "comes with a sword," and that it is "a charming militaristic Muslim name." In fact the name is not Armenian, and Armenia is a predominantly Christian country.
Sufjan is also the plural form of Sufi in Persian . Sufi is a practitioner of Sufism .This word is frequently used in the old Persian literature ,specially Sufi poetry .
His brother, marathonist Marzuki Stevens, has trained to compete in the 2008 Olympic trials, and has played on two of Sufjan's albums.
A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens plays the banjo, guitar, drums, and several other instruments, often playing all of these on his albums through the use of multi-tracking. While in school, he studied the oboe and English horn, which he also plays on his albums; he is one of the few musicians in popular music to use these instruments.
Career
Sufjan Stevens began his musical career as a member of Marzuki, a folk-rock band from Holland, Michigan. He also played (and continues to play) various instruments for Danielson Famile. While in school at Hope College, Stevens wrote and recorded his debut solo album, A Sun Came, which he released on Asthmatic Kitty Records, a record label he founded with his step-father in 1999. He later moved to New York City, where he was enrolled in a writing program at the New School for Social Research.
While in New York, Stevens composed and recorded the music for his second album, Enjoy Your Rabbit, a song cycle based around the animals of the Chinese Zodiac that ventured into electronica.
Stevens followed this with the first of his 50 states albums, a collection of folk songs and instrumentals inspired by his home state of Michigan. The result, the expansive Michigan, included odes to cities including Detroit and Flint, the Upper Peninsula, and vacation areas such as Tahquamenon Falls. Melded into the scenic descriptions and characters are his own declarations of faith in God, sorrow, love and the regeneration of Michigan.
Following the release of Michigan, Stevens compiled a collection of songs recorded previously into a side project, the Christian folk album Seven Swans, which was released in March 2004.
Next he released the second in the 50 states projects, entitled Come On Feel The Illinoise!. Among the subjects explored on Come On Feel The Illinoise! are the cities of Chicago, Decatur and Jacksonville, the serial killer John Wayne Gacy, the poet Carl Sandburg, and Mississippi Palisades State Park.
He has contributed to the music of Denison Witmer, Soul Junk, Half-handed Cloud, Brother Danielson, Danielson Famile, Serena Maneesh, Castanets, and Liz Janes. He played piano on for fellow Brooklyn musician's The National's album 2007 Boxer. A cover of "She Is" is included on the album Dream Brother, released in the United States on January 31, 2006.
Sufjan contributed a lot to the sound of the 2001 Liz Janes album Done Gone Fire as he engineered, recorded, produced and arranged it as well as playing many addition instruments.
Sufjan recently recorded with Rosie Thomas and Denison Witmer playing banjo and providing vocals. It is unknown how this record will be released. In April 2006, Pitchfork erroneously announced that Stevens and Thomas were having a baby together, but were forced to print a retraction. Witmer and Thomas later admitted it was an April Fools' prank.
The Fifty States Project
Beginning with Michigan, Stevens announced an intent to write an album for each of the 50 U.S. states, although in interviews he wavers between utter sincerity and self-deprecating irony when describing the idea.
Stevens spent the second half of 2004 researching and writing material for the second of these projects, this time focusing his efforts on Illinois. As with Michigan, Stevens used the state of Illinois as a leaping-off point for his more personal explorations of faith, family, love, and location.
The widely acclaimed Illinois was the highest rated album of 2005 on the Metacritic review aggregator site, based on glowing reviews from Pitchfork, The Onion A/V Club, Spin, Billboard, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and The Guardian. The 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards awarded Stevens with the Album Of The Year, Best Album Art/Packaging, and Male Artist Of The Year. Pitchfork Media and Paste Magazine named Come On Feel The Illinoise! as the editors' choice for best album of 2005 and Stevens received the 2005 Pantheon prize, awarded to albums selling 500,000 copies or fewer, for Come On Feel The Illinoise!. In April of 2006, Stevens announced that 21 pieces of music he had culled from the Come On Feel The Illinoise! recording sessions would be incorporated into a new album, called The Avalanche. The album was released on July 11, 2006.
While there were other projects rumored to be released following 2005's Illinois, by 2009 and his live album The BQE, he was seemingly finished with the project, calling it "Such a joke", and accepting that the project was too massive and too cliché to ever reach an end.
Religious themes
Many of Stevens' songs have religious and spiritual allusions, but his album Seven Swans has the most direct religious references. Stevens has expressed that he is Christian, but does not overtly advertise this aspect of himself in his music. Stevens has also stated that he does not try to make music "with a message", or music for the sake of preaching. "I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions," says Stevens. "I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of forum. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements, because I often think it's misunderstood."
The songs 'Abraham', 'Seven Swans', 'To Be Alone With You', 'We Won't Need Legs To Stand' and 'The Transfiguration' directly address Christianity on the album Seven Swans. In 'Abraham', Sufjan recounts the Old Testament story in the Book of Genesis when Abraham, ordered by God as a test of faith, leads his son, Isaac, up a mountain and prepares to kill him, as commanded (but before God sends an angel to intervene). The lyrics of 'The Transfiguration' follow the Biblical accounts of Jesus' Transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9: 1-8, and Luke 9:28-36.
Michigan and Come On Feel The Illinoise! are packed with Christian references and metaphors. Michigan contains "Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie", which implores "Oh Lamb of God! Tell us Your perfect design and give us the rod" ("Lamb of God" being a Biblical name for Jesus Christ). The song "Oh God, Where Are You Now?" asks God to "hold me now", to "save somehow", searching for God in the midst of personal turmoil. "There's no other man who could save the dead," the song states. The album closer, 'Vito's Ordination Song', was apparently originally written for Sufjan's friend Vito Aiuto, and its lyrics allude directly to Psalm 139 ("I always knew you. In your mother's arms, I have called your name", "I've made a crown for you"). The song speaks of "When the bridegroom comes" - the New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ as being the Bridegroom and the Church His Bride, finally being united together at the End of Time.
Come On Feel The Illinoise! features the song 'Chicago' with its refrain of "You came to take us, to recreate us", and 'Decatur' has the chorus of "It's the great I Am" ("I Am" being the name the Lord reveals Himself by to Moses in Exodus 3:14). "Casimir Pulaski Day" speaks of "All the glory that the Lord has made" in the midst of personal pain and loss. "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" has the lyrics: "Lamb of God, we sound the horn. Hallelujah!" One instrumental passage has the title of "In This Temple as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth". "The Seer's Tower" speaks of Emanuel, "With His sword, with His robe He comes dividing man from brothers" (an interesting side note is that "Sufjan" actually means "comes with a sword"). Indeed, the vast majority of songs of Come On Feel The Illinoise! contain lyric lines which can be readily identified as having a basis in Stevens' faith in Christ.
Sufjan's second, electronic album, Enjoy Your Rabbit, contains a song cycle based on of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, culminating with the song "Year of our Lord". Stevens released the original, Christian-themed song "God'll Ne'er Let You Down" on the "To Spirit Back the Mews" compilation on Asthmatic Kitty. The officially unreleased Christmas albums Sufjan Stevens made and then compiled into Songs for Christmas feature suitably Christmas and Christian themed music, both originals and covers of hymns and traditional songs.
Trivia
On Snow Patrol's 2006 album Eyes Open there is a reference to Sufjan and the song "Chicago" in the song "Hands Open" - "Put Sufjan Stevens on and we'll play your favorite song/"Chicago" bursts to life and your sweet smile remembers you."
Sufjan has twice been featured on the FOX television show "The OC". "To Be Alone With You" and "For The Widows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti" can be heard on episodes 202 and 315, respectively.
Sufjan Stevens' music has appeared twice on the Showtime dark comedy "Weeds". "All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands" appears on S1E02 over the end credits, and "Holland" appears near the end of S2E10.
Two of Sufjan's songs appear on the soundtrack to "Little Miss Sunshine": "Chicago" and "No Man's Land"
The song "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." appears on the 3rd season of the tv show "Nip/Tuck".
Several songs can be heard on the movie "Driving Lessons"
You can also hear snippets in between CSI shows on 5US
In the TV show "Austin City Limits", he mentioned that when he was a kid, he and his best friend saw something in the sky which they couldn't figure out. They thought it was a spaceship or UFO first, then an eagle or a dragon. Finally they realized it was a giant wasp. He wrote the song "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!" about the incident and mentioned that the reason they (the band) all have wings on stage is to overcome his fear of flying things.
The song "Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)" is heard in the 2012 "World of Red Bull" television commercial. he is quoted as saying "selling out never looked so good." and "somebody had to pay for all of that Christmas confetti." referring to his recent Christmas album and supporting tour.
In 2017 Stevens wrote two Original Songs to be featured in the gay drama film “Call me by your Name”, entitled “Mystery of Love” and “Visions of Gideon”. He also made a reworked version of his Song “Futile Devices” which is also featured on the soundtrack.
Website:http://sufjan.com
Beginner’s Mind
Sufjan Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shotgun shell, cannon fire
Baby, we've got nothing to loose
An ex-president, L.A sure has been changing
Living off the last of my loot
Hedonists in 909, trailer park Columbine
Tina taken by FBI's
Life was just a new way to die
Will you let yourself unwind?
Put your soul on the line
Striving for a beginners mind
My heart wasn't there
Couldn't be bothered to care
Now we're drowning in the moonlight
Oh, my love, I can explain
I was only a child in search of my own name
A rider of the storm
A mystic self-proclaimed
The glider of the air
A creature in its cage
Now won't you send me home
To my point break?
The lyrics to Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine's song "Beginner's Mind" are full of imagery and symbolism, taking the listener on a journey through different themes and emotions. The first verse begins with a reference to the Bodhi tree, which is significant in Buddhism as the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. This image is contrasted with violent imagery of a shotgun shell and cannon fire. The next line, "Baby, we've got nothing to lose," seems to suggest a reckless abandonment, a willingness to take risks and live fully in the moment. The reference to an ex-president and the changing nature of Los Angeles gives a sense of the passage of time, and the feeling of fleetingness and impermanence that comes with it. Finally, the line "Living off the last of my loot" could be interpreted as a comment on aging, and a sense of having squandered opportunities in the past.
The second verse takes on even more intense themes, with mentions of hedonism, trailer park Columbine, and FBI investigations. These lines create a sense of chaos and destruction, and suggest that life can be a constant struggle against forces that are beyond our control. However, the refrain of "Will you let yourself unwind? Put your soul on the line / Striving for a beginner's mind" suggests that there is still hope for growth and self-discovery, even amid the chaos. The final lines of the song seem to call for a return to simpler times and a sense of grounding, represented by the "point break" referred to in the last line.
Overall, "Beginner's Mind" is a powerful and evocative song that explores themes of impermanence, risk-taking, and the struggle for self-discovery. Its lyrics are full of vivid imagery and symbolism that engage the listener's imagination and emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Bodhi tree grows in the light
The Bodhi tree commonly gains prominence by how it provided shade for Siddhartha Gautama during his enlightenment.
Shotgun shell, cannon fire
An escalation of violence from small arms to larger artillery.
Baby, we've got nothing to loose
There is nothing stopping us from taking risks.
An ex-president, L.A sure has been changing
Los Angeles has been undergoing significant change since the time of a former President of the United States.
Living off the last of my loot
I am running out of money and can only afford to maintain my living expenses.
Hedonists in 909, trailer park Columbine
An allusion to a tragic event where hedonistic behaviors in combination with lack of support led to the Columbine High School massacre.
Tina taken by FBI's
A mention of Tina Turner's abuse at the hands of her former husband and bandleader Ike Turner and the FBI's involvement in investigating this issue.
Uncut kilograms, two dead in the ambulance
Drug trafficking and overdose can be deadly.
Life was just a new way to die
Life became synonymous with risking and gambling.
Will you let yourself unwind?
Can you allow yourself to relax and let go?
Put your soul on the line
Take a leap of faith and go all out with your passion.
Striving for a beginners mind
Persevere to keep an open mind and seek understanding as if you were new to what you are experiencing.
My heart wasn't there
I was not emotionally invested in what I was doing.
Couldn't be bothered to care
I was indifferent and had no concern in what was happening.
Now we're drowning in the moonlight
We have lost our way and the situation is dire.
Oh, my love, I can explain
I have an explanation for what happened.
I was only a child in search of my own name
I was lost and trying to define myself.
A rider of the storm
I braved many a circumstance.
A mystic self-proclaimed
I consider myself a self-declared spiritualist and some sort of a seer.
The glider of the air
I am a glider and a flyer.
A creature in its cage
I am free but trapped in the situation I am in.
Now won't you send me home? To my point break?
Can you take me back to my origin, where I came from?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Angelo De Augustine, Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gwenbregegere8426
Dear sufjan stevens
Mais qui es tu donc merveilleux Sufjan toi qui est loin de moi les lettres de ton nom sont un puzzle que je tourne et retourne sans les comprendre pourtant ta musique m'envahit et tout semble si simple.
La lumière douce du matin et cet air violent d'une journée qui recommence embrasent mes veines je lève mes yeux vers le ciel si doux et me dis oui ; je le vois le monde je le sens, je suis à l'orée du bois et me aimés m'accompagnent.
Là, devant moi, un grand big bang, les rayons du soleil s'étalent , dans ma tête la course effrénée des mots qui cognent et toujours au fond qui bat le rythme de mon coeur qui dit vas, vas, vis souris , prend, rend, partage, cours, vole.
Je vais attraper tout ce que pourrais de cette ronde folle autour de mon souffle et me remplir de ces énergies.
Puis,
Fatiguée, lourde, remplie des bourdonnements de tant de questions de si je pouvais et si j'avais su je prendrais le temps de m'assoir pour m'affranchir de toute la poussière du fracas du monde.
Le ciel couleur pourpre et rose invitera la plus belle des étoiles à venir lentement.
Sans que je m'en rende compte il fera nuit.
Je me draperai dans la caresse sourde d'une nuit pailletée.
Je pourrais alors me transformer en qui j'étais, en qui je suis , en qui je veux être afin d'aller puiser au plus profond de mes vérités de mes peurs de mes émotions à fleur de peau.
Dans mes rêves les plus fous et passionnés je me découvrirai encore pour me réveiller au matin toujours la même dans la peau d'une autre.
Gwénaëlle.
@rafaelgarcez8889
1. Wings of Desire(1987) - Reach Out
2. All About Eve(1950) - Lady Macbeth In Chains
3. Return to Oz(1985) - Back to Oz
4. Hellhaiser 3: Hell on Earth(1992) - The Pillar Of Souls
5. Night of The Living Dead(1968) - You Give Death a Bad Name
6. Point Break(1991) - Beginner's Mind
7. Clash Of The Titans(1981) - Olympus
8. Mad Max(1979) - Murder and Crime
9. The Thing(1982) - (This is) The Thing
10. She's Gotta Have It(1986) - It's Your Own Body And Mind
11. The Last Wave(1977) - Lost In The World
12. Bring It On Again(2004) - Fictional California
13. The Silence Of The Lambs(1991) - Cimmerian Shade
14. Lacrimae Rerum(1962) - Lacrimae
@gabrielledennis549
00:00 Reach Out
03:45 Lady Macbeth In Chains
07:29 Back To Oz
11:43 The Pillar Of Souls
14:55 You Give Death A Bad Name
19:04 Beginner’s Mind
21:22 Olympus
24:31 Murder And Crime
28:03 (This Is) The Thing
30:54 It’s Your Own Body And Mind
33:23 Lost In The World
36:35 Fictional California
39:28 Cimmerian Shade
43:49 Lacrimae
@snacklofter
REACH OUT
I have a memory
Of a time and place where history resigned
Now my apology
All the light came in to fulminate my mind
Reach out, reach out
To all the ones who came before you
Ponder what is right
You and I, in defiance
Speak out, speak out
The conversation may afford you
Wisdom of the wise
You and I, in defiance
And I come from conscience where there is no conjugation
I would rather be a flower than the ocean
And I held myself as something of an innovation
I would rather be devoured than be broken
All my life I tried so hard
To separate myself from all
That is and was and will be torn apart
You were running unafraid
I know you, but I've changed my way
You know I take it all to heart
Home is where you've called my name
I've gone as far as the eye can blame
You said love may have lost its way
Now my life has been erased
And what I gave, I gave for you
And for myself and for the holy name
You were running unashamed
And yours is mine and all remains
As nothing ever stays the same
Reach out, reach out
To all the ones who came before you
Reach out, reach out
To all the ones who came before you
Reach out, reach out
And all at once the pain restores you
Reach out, reach out
And all at once the pain restores you
All at once the pain restores you
I have a memory of a time and place where history resigned
Now in my reverie
For the guiding light that opened up my mind
@posslart
Such a fun stream - loved the energy and excitement and positivity of all the fans. Wherever and whenever you're listening to this album, I hope some of that goodness can be carried your way.
Some of the movies called out in the stream that inspired the songs
all about eve
the wizard of oz
hellraiser 3
night of the living dead
point break
clash of the titans (1981)
mad max
@elsbethkoefer1666
I was listening to a recent interview that Angelo and Suf gave about this album, and Sufjan was saying therein how it is so easy right now to be depressed and down with this overall apocalyptic feeling couching so many of our days, but we as humans have a duty to fight through that feeling and to see the beauty in life. This album helps so much.
@ggfillmore5582
Oh how good this perspective is! Do you have a link to that interview by chance?
@jakobvanklinken
Oh yeah just like we have a duty to form parasocial relations with artists we actually don't know at all in real life, me and my bud "Suf" totally agree on that one
@robbe2350
@@jakobvanklinken calm down, buddy
@gwenbregegere8426
Dear sufjan stevens
Mais qui es tu donc merveilleux Sufjan toi qui est loin de moi les lettres de ton nom sont un puzzle que je tourne et retourne sans les comprendre pourtant ta musique m'envahit et tout semble si simple.
La lumière douce du matin et cet air violent d'une journée qui recommence embrasent mes veines je lève mes yeux vers le ciel si doux et me dis oui ; je le vois le monde je le sens, je suis à l'orée du bois et me aimés m'accompagnent.
Là, devant moi, un grand big bang, les rayons du soleil s'étalent , dans ma tête la course effrénée des mots qui cognent et toujours au fond qui bat le rythme de mon coeur qui dit vas, vas, vis souris , prend, rend, partage, cours, vole.
Je vais attraper tout ce que pourrais de cette ronde folle autour de mon souffle et me remplir de ces énergies.
Puis,
Fatiguée, lourde, remplie des bourdonnements de tant de questions de si je pouvais et si j'avais su je prendrais le temps de m'assoir pour m'affranchir de toute la poussière du fracas du monde.
Le ciel couleur pourpre et rose invitera la plus belle des étoiles à venir lentement.
Sans que je m'en rende compte il fera nuit.
Je me draperai dans la caresse sourde d'une nuit pailletée.
Je pourrais alors me transformer en qui j'étais, en qui je suis , en qui je veux être afin d'aller puiser au plus profond de mes vérités de mes peurs de mes émotions à fleur de peau.
Dans mes rêves les plus fous et passionnés je me découvrirai encore pour me réveiller au matin toujours la même dans la peau d'une autre.
Gwénaëlle.
@SensoriaMaRia
Dear Sufjan and Angelo, thank you for personally inviting us to drop what we know, and proceed as if we have A Beginner's Mind. LOVE
@AJE1111
The perfection of this duo and the beauty of this album is legitimately on the same level of any Simon & Garfunkel work.
This is a combination I have been waiting for since 2016. And I couldn't be happier with the result.
And, y'all, stop sleeping on Angelo!!! Check out his earlier work!!
@rafaelgarcez8889
1. Wings of Desire(1987) - Reach Out
2. All About Eve(1950) - Lady Macbeth In Chains
3. Return to Oz(1985) - Back to Oz
4. Hellhaiser 3: Hell on Earth(1992) - The Pillar Of Souls
5. Night of The Living Dead(1968) - You Give Death a Bad Name
6. Point Break(1991) - Beginner's Mind
7. Clash Of The Titans(1981) - Olympus
8. Mad Max(1979) - Murder and Crime
9. The Thing(1982) - (This is) The Thing
10. She's Gotta Have It(1986) - It's Your Own Body And Mind
11. The Last Wave(1977) - Lost In The World
12. Bring It On Again(2004) - Fictional California
13. The Silence Of The Lambs(1991) - Cimmerian Shade
14. Lacrimae Rerum(1962) - Lacrimae
@elsas.9460
THANK YOU
@mihikagupta6344
Thanks