Macktronic: MUSIC: Everyone Loves Sufjan

Lots and lots of reasons to do this post......

ONE: Sufjan's new live track circulating the internet
I totally agree with a popular blogger opinion that the sheer amount of music Sufjan puts out is sometimes a bit daunting. But this new track is worth the hype.
::: Sufjan Stevens - Majesty Snowbird (live)
You can also check out lots of videos over at YouTube by clicking here.

TWO: Sufjan playing in Berkeley next week
Two sold out shows at Zellerbach auditorium (Oct 10 &11) on the UC Berkeley campus. He'll be playing with members of The Pacific Mozart Ensemble. Gonna be amazing.

THREE: Next album ready for pre-order
Insound has the next Sufjan release ready for pre-order now (including $2 off). It's set for a November 21st release. Here's a description of the 5CD (!) compilation of his Christmas-themed releases called Songs for Christmas:

In December 2001, Sufjan Stevens set out to create a Christmas gift for his friends and family. The result was a 7-song recording that he called, Noel Volume 1. Over each of the next few Christmas seasons Sufjan would create a new EP to add to the collection. As he was recording Peace Volume V (in the summer of 2006), he considered how best to 'officially' release this music in to the world. He said he was, "determined to present the EPs in their original form - flaws, blemishes, mistakes and all. A compilation would have been a cumbersome compromise. A 'Greatest Hits' would have been heartbreaking (How to choose?)." In addition to the music he wanted to add a 'lavish display of ornamentation' to coincide with the spirit of excess and overindulgence that is the hallmark of Christmas. Enclosed in the box you will find essays, a short story, song chords & lyrics, photos, a family portrait, and wishes for a Happy Christmas.

While we're at it, I definitely want to recommend these earplugs, also available at Insound. I'd been to a couple shows of late that were incredibly too loud so for the last couple of weeks I carried these suckers to shows and used as needed. They definitely perform as advertised, reducing the volume without distorting the quality of the music. So no more tinitus for me.

[FYI, if you use the code "ilovesummer10" at the Insound checkout, you get 10% off your order. And if your total is aobve $30, the shipping is free.]

For those of you who didn't download these songs yet, here are re-posts of the files from the song Sufjan did for NPR a while back. I still like this song, however biased I am due to my Arkansas heritage (next States record?).

::: Sufjan Stevens - Lord God Bird
::: Sufjan Stevens - Lord God Bird (NPR Story)

[Photo credit goes to Tom Eaton. I don't know who the other fellas are but the shot is cool.]

Monday, October 02, 2006

MUSIC: Everyone Loves Sufjan