But for the grace of God

OK, another quick post while I am still out of town.

Jenny and two life-size mannequins...um... I mean, the Watson twins.

GOOD SONG: Rise Up With Fists! by Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

So this song isn't exactly new (it's from her 2006 album "Rabbit Fur Coat"), but I think it is amazing. For some reason, I have it stuck in my head pretty much all the time. No joke. The lyrics are in my head all the time. It's strange. The lyrics are great though-- pointed without being bitter or cruel. And the chorus "There, but for the grace of God, go I" is a great line. I would be as bad as you, if it wasn't for the grace of God. Not my own goodness or abilities or what have you.

Jenny Lewis, in case you didn't know, was the lead singer of the band Rilo Kiley, and is now currently recording songs with Johnathan Rice (Fun Fact #1: I met him years ago in NYC at The Living Room, well before he was famous, thanks to a cool friend. Fun fact #2: for those of you from the DC area, he is also from the DC area- Alexandria, specifically- and went to Gonzaga. Small world.).

If you liked this song, you might also like:

Jenny & Johnny (Jenny Lewis & Johnathan Rice duo)
Rilo Kiley
Neko Case (I LOVE HER)
The Elected
She & Him
Bright Eyes

Over and out,
Anna

Dostoevsky's So Hot Right Now

So as an Art History major, I don't always get the literary references that surround me. I'm just not as well-read as I would like to be. But, when I first heard of the band Ivan & Alyosha, I thought, "Hey! There is a literary reference that I *actually* get!" Ivan and Alyosha are the names of two of the main characters in Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov," which is one of my favorite books of all time.

Look at that beard!

Ivan & Alyosha is a band from Seattle. It began as a solo project for Tim Wilson, but eventually expanded to include Ryan Carbary, Tim Kim, and Pete Wilson. So far they have released one EP entitled "Fathers Be Kind" (Tim Wilson is a new dad, by the way) and another full-length album entitled "The Verse, The Chorus." Both are great, and should definitely be checked out. 

Their band website claims that they "are not nihilist indie rockers but a new brand of tender dreamers." 

Sounds good to me!

Sorry guys, you just can't beat Dostoevsky's facial hair. 

GOOD SONG: Living For Someone by Ivan & Alyosha (the video is very simply but beautifully shot, methinks).

The song includes the lyrics:

"Draw the line between 

what you want

and what you need."

I was reminded of a section from my all-time favorite part of The Brothers Karamazov, when the wise old monk speaks about the "isolation" that plagues modern man:

"He heaps up riches by himself and thinks, 'How strong I am now and how secure,' and in his madness he does not understand that the more he heaps up, the more he sinks into self-destructive impotence. For he is accustomed to rely upon himself alone and to cut himself off from the whole; he has trained himself not to believe in the help of others, in men and in humanity, and only trembles for fear he should lose his money and the privileges that he has won for himself... 

But...we must keep the banner flying. Sometimes even if he has to do it alone, and his conduct seems to be crazy, a man must set an example, and so draw men's souls out of their solitude, and spur them to some act of brotherly love, that the great idea may not die."

If you liked this song, you might also check out:

Magnet

The Head & The Heart

Joseph Arthur

Margot & the Nuclear So-and-So's

Sloan

Oakley Hall

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Ivan & Alyosha

Over and out,

Anna

Love and the Lack Thereof: February Post #6

Hey all!
I'm back, and so are the love songs.

This time the GOOD (LOVE) SONG is (drum roll please):

I'll Be Your Mirror by The Velvet Underground and Nico

The original hipsters.

A little bit about the Velvet Underground & Nico, for those who don't know:

They were a NYC-based band managed by Andy Warhol (you know, that artist). Lou Reed and John Cale were the most famous members of the group, I'd say (note: one of the Christmas songs I posted was by John Cale). Nico was a German fashion model/singer who collaborated with them on their famous first self-titled album (otherwise known as "The Banana Album"), but later parted ways with the band (for personal and professional reasons). Although they only released a few albums together, the band has been incredibly influential in the rock 'n roll world and their music is still relevant... and beautiful, like "I'll Be Your Mirror."

The first time I heard this song it was actually a live version of Lou Reed singing it instead of Nico, and surprisingly enough, it works quite well both ways. The lyrics are really moving. It's about a lover who sees the real beauty and worth of their loved one, and wants them to see it, too.

"When you think the night has seen your mind,

that inside you're twisted and unkind,

let me stand to show that you are blind.

Please put down your hands

'cause I see you.

I find it hard to believe that you don't know

the beauty that you are.

But if you don't, let me be your eyes,

a hand in the darkness, so you won't be afraid."

These are the words of not just a GOOD love song, but a GREAT one. Real love needs both people to be mirrors to each other, to witness to the beauty and dignity of the other (and also, I would say, to be mirrors of the greatness of Another...). 

If you liked this song, you might also check out:

older stuff like:

Lou Reed's solo stuff

The Stooges

The Kinks

The Pixies 

Patti Smith

and new stuff like:

The Secret Machines

Razorlight

Shearwater

Yo La Tengo

and many more...

Over and out,

Anna

Love and the Lack Thereof: February Post #3

Let the love-themed songs continue!

I've been asking around about what people consider good "love songs" (which I am leaving as a very loosely defined idea here, folks), and been getting some interesting suggestions. 
For instance, this one, which my friend Everett recommended to me:
GOOD (LOVE) SONG: Volver  by Carlos Gardel.


Again, here I am venturing into musical territory that I am not very well acquainted with, but oh well. Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead! 
Carlos Gardel was one of, if not the, most famous of the tango singers in history. He had an incredible baritone, and was famous for being super-guapo (that's my Spanglish for you). Unfortunately, he died in a tragic plane crash at the height of his career. I like the fact that apparently even though this guy has been dead for longer than I've been alive, people still say that "Gardel canta cada dia mejor" (Gardel sings better every day). There is clearly a real love for this man and his music. Apparently he was also pretty badass, too, because he was shot in the lung at the beginning of his career. The bullet stayed in his lung. Dag.  

See, this is why I wish men still wore hats.

Anyhoo, this particular song is one of his most famous. Understandably. The lyrics are quite poetic. An old man sings about his first love, and returning to the town where it all happened. It's a beautiful song filled with longing for the past and for a love that one cannot forget. I know that doesn't make it the most upbeat, cheerful of love songs, but hey, I warned you I liked healthy doses of realism.  Here is the last stanza translated from the original Spanish (thanks Everett!)-- I like the last line: 


"I fear my encounter with the past, 
which returns to confront my life.
I fear the nights, which, 
populated with memories,
chain my dreams.
But the traveler that flees
sooner or later ceases his goings.
And although time has destroyed my old hope,
it holds, hidden, a humble expectation,
which is my life's entire treasure."


Another line from this song became a famous saying in Latin America: "Veinte años no es nada"--Twenty years is nothing.  
That, friends, is a real love song. 


If you liked this song, you might also check out:
(according to my research)
Roberto Goyeneche
Julio Sosa
Juan D'Arienzo


Or maybe you should just move to Argentina. 


Over and out,
Anna 

Love and the Lack Thereof: February Post #2

And now for something completely different (no, not that):

Sorry boys,  she's taken.

So my brother's friend's family runs a jazz music label, called MaxJazz. They have some really great artists on the label, including a gal named Erin Bode (pronounced Bo-dee).  Through the label, my brother (and then me) discovered her music, and I have to admit, I've been pleasantly surprised. As I have mentioned before, I am not normally a huge jazz fan, and I know little about it, but some of her stuff is great. She's released six albums, so if you like her, then you should be happily perusing through her catalog for a while.

I especially love her GOOD (LOVE) SONG Don't Take Your Time.

Her voice is jazzy and light, and even though I am not always a fan of that sort of vocal style, it works fantastically. I like that the lyrics are pretty simple. It's a very common thought amongst those who are in love and wanting to be with their loved one: Don't take your time!
Also, the sax and piano are great. Apparently, she's married to her bassist (aw).

If you liked this song, you might also check out:

Norah Jones (obviously)
Carla Cook
Gretchen Parlato

I wish I could name more but I just don't know this genre very well.

Hope you enjoyed! More GOOD (LOVE) SONGS on the way...

Over and out,
Anna

Ice Day

So while putzing around on the internet today, enjoying my day off from school because of insanely icy roads (thus an "ice day" instead of a "snow day"), I discovered a fantastic singer. And her last name is Ices! Ice day! Ices! Get it?
I like that.
To tell the truth: her real last name isn't Ices. I don't know what it is. Her name, Lia Ices, is a pseudonym, and she keeps her real name under wraps.
Turns out she and I have something in common-- we both went to NYU. That's where our similarities start and end, though, I think.
She has this unbelievably beautiful voice-- haunting, achey, sort of angelic. And she is incredibly beautiful, to boot. Some people get all the luck, right?

She's like Giselle's more artsy, talented sister. 

Her album, entitled Grown Unknown (on the Jagjaguwar label, which is almost always spot-on), isn't actually out yet. It will be released on January 25th. But you can still listen to her music here:

GOOD SONG #1: Grown Unknown by Lia Ices. The title track. Has fun hand-claps, her amazing vocals, violin, and beautiful guitar. Definitely worth a listen.

On her upcoming album, she collaborates with Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), who is also hyper-talented. Their voices meld really well. The collaboration is kinda a no-brainer, since they have a similar sound/musical aesthetic.  Check it out.

GOOD SONG #2: Daphne by Lia Ices with Justin Vernon.

Talented, but definitely not related to Giselle.

If you liked these songs, you might also check out:

Feist
My Brightest Diamond
Cave Singers (they're touring together soon)
Bon Iver
Volcano Choir
Cat Power
Nouvelle Vague
Bat for Lashes

BUY HER MUSIC HERE: lia ices

Over and out,
Anna

I guess now I'm a Bond(y) Girl

Ok, so Palenville, NY is this tiny and quite random town in upstate NY near my house in the Catskills.  There is almost nothing going on there. And yet, it produced the fantastic Felice Brothers, who I posted about earlier. 
Turns out Palenville is also where A. A. Bondy (originally from Birmingham, Alabama) went to record his second album entitled When The Devil's Loose.

At first, I just thought to myself, "Oh, that's odd. I wonder what the connection is." I figured it was just a random coincidence. BUT...

I noticed that a bunch of photographs of A. A. Bondy on Last. fm were taken by a certain "Clare Felice." Hmmm.... Felice. Sounds familiar.

Yup, looks like Palenville. 

Turns out it's his wife. And I'm betting you a billion dollars that she is related to the infamous brothers of the same name.

So there's your connection. I feel like a veritable SLEUTH. (Although brooklynvegan knew all this way before I did. Oh well.)

Anyway, A. A. Bondy is great. I stumbled across him while on Last.fm, and haven't regretted it. He's originally from 'bama (like I said), and became mildly famous for singing in the band Verbena, although he was known as Scott back then. I have no idea why, when his real name is Auguste Arthur Bondy, which is a great name. Verbena sounded much more like Nirvana than anything that A. A. Bondy makes now, which is cool by me. His first album entitled American Hearts came out in '07, and his sophomore album came out in '09. Let's hope he keeps them coming.

With no further ado, here is today's GOOD SONG:
When The Devil's Loose by A. A. Bondy.

Enjoy!

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: A. A. Bondy!

If you liked this song, you might also check out:
a lot of stuff I've already told you to check out, like:
Deer Tick
The Avett Brothers
The Felice Brothers
Bob Dylan (ha!)
Ryan Adams (& the Cardinals)/ Whiskeytown
Justin Townes Earle
Adam Haworth Stevens
Forest Sun
and also:
Benjamin Fitton
Cass McCombs

Over and out,
Anna

Strong Love, Weak Hearts

So a few years ago (November 2007 I think) I saw Dr. Dog live in NYC with a friend of mine. This fantastic band opened for them- the Delta Spirit. I was completely blown away by their energy onstage.
When they came onstage at the end of Dr. Dog's set, to help them sing/play the
GOOD SONG GREAT SONG "Heart It Races"
(originally by Architecture in Helsinki), I knew they were awesome. I eagerly got their album and then even more eagerly awaited more of their stuff. I have not been disappointed. Since then, they've gotten a lot more press but they haven't "sold out" or any of that sort of thing (what does that even mean anyway? Who cares?). This June they released their second album entitled "History From Below," which is fantastic. It's darker than their debut, but they work that quite well.  And I think it's high time their made their debut on AGSIHTF.

What most apartments in Bushwick look like.
Hence the blues. 

The band is originally from San Diego, and they still reside somewhere in Cali, I believe. It's comprised of Mathew Vasquez (vocals), Jon Jameson (bass), Brandon Young (percussion), and Kelly Winrich (other schtuff). Although they may hail from lighthearted SoCal, their songs deal with some heavy stuff. Example: the song "Streetwalker" on their debut album, which dealt with the subject of child prostitution. And the song on "History From Below" entitled "Ballad of Vitaly," which is about a Russian man who kills an air-traffic controller in revenge because... well, it's a long story. A true one. Super dark. But a FANTASTIC ballad.

Anyway, on their new album, I really like this GOOD SONG:  Bushwick Blues

FYI, Bushwick is a neighborhood in Brooklyn. It could easily give one the blues. 

I love the lyrics: 

Because my love is strong/

and my heart is weak/

after all

Anyhoo, if you like these songs, you might also like:

Dr. Dog

Dawes

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Cold War Kids (they toured with them)

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (they also toured with them)

Ra Ra Riot

Kelley Stoltz

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Delta Spirit

Over and out,

Anna

P.S. Merry Christmas!!!

"No One Ever Does It Like That Anymore"

Despite the fact that Mark Ronson was born in London, I think of him as being a New Yorker. Considering that he went to Collegiate High School in NY, then New York University (my alma mater!) and began his career in my glorious hometown, I don't think that this is a stretch.  He is such an enormously talented DJ/turntabelist/producer, I want him to be a New Yorker. The way he combines different musical traditions/band/sounds in his songs is just plain genius. Granted, his work can be a little hit-or-miss (or mostly miss, if you don't like hip-hop that much), but the stuff of his that DOES work is great.

Ronson, hard at work. 

His new album "Record Collection" just dropped a little while ago, and is a ton of fun. Ronson features of some of the songs, but an insane number of people are involved too, as usual. The record is technically by "Mark Ronson & The International" so I guess "The International" includes all those other folks.
The two best songs on it, that both have amazing videos are:

GOOD SONG #1: Bang Bang Bang (odd mash-up of old commercials, weird Japanese TV-show, and 80's style "futuristic" fun... oh yeah, and Q-Tip!!!)

GOOD SONG #2: The Bike Song (feat. Spank Rock)

One thing that I find interesting about him, though, is that as much as I love a lot of his fun singles (like the ones above), some of my FAVORITE songs of his are his short little instrumental bits that come in between songs on his album, like "Missing Words"  and "Selector" (from this latest album) and "Inversion" and "Diversion" from his previous album "Version."  Inversion is competing with "Can't Hardly Wait" by Justin Townes Earle as my #1 played song.

Anyhoo, hope you enjoy.

If you like these songs, you might also like:

(Note: OK so, since Mark Ronson has no particular style, these rec's run the gamut)

Calvin Harris
A Tribe Called Quest
M.I.A.
Adele
Lily Allen
Duran Duran

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: MR & the Int.

Over and out,
Anna

Bang Bang Bang!

So Recommendation month continues on the AGSIHTF... This week, though, I'm kinda cheating. I know Last.fm isn't really a friend of mine, but I just had to give this website credit for introducing me to so much good music.

The GOOD SONG for this week is FRANKIE'S GUN by the Felice Brothers (I know, I know I just posted about another brothers group, but this one is different I swear).
I don't remember exactly how I came across them on Last.fm, to be honest, but at this point it doesn't matter. They are FANTASTIC!
And what's weirder is that they are from Palenville, New York, which is about 20 minutes from my own house in upstate NY. Palenville is pretty much a nothing little town, so I give it kudos for producing these badasses.

Ok boys I know you're from the sticks, but
it's not THAT hard to find a shower.

How are they badasses, you might ask? Ok, example of their badassery: in 2008 they played at the Newport Folk Festival (of Bobby D infamy) and a huge rainstorm cut off their power. Instead of wussing out and waiting for the power to come back or just cancel, they played a totally acoustic show, jumping off the stage, and mud-puddling it out to the soaking wet and happy crowd.

The band consists of David Turbeville on drums/vocals, Christmas (that is his real name... he used to be a traveling dice player) on bass, and the two brothers Ian (vocals/guitar/piano) and James Felice (accordion/piano/organ), with occasional additions of washboard, horn section, and fiddle. Another brother, Simone Felice, used to be part of the band as well, but left amicably to start his own thang called The Duke and the King (characters from Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn). Although they hail from the Catskills, they moved to NY a few years ago and started playing their ramshackle music in the subway stations. Since then, they've made it big(ger).

Frankie's Gun in particular is a great song. Sounds like the story of a guy in an old-school Mafia drug or booze run, who is taking money off the top to buy his mom and sweetheart nice things. I like the line:

"I saw a man hit my mom one time, really
I hurt him so damn bad
I had to hide in Jersey."


Here is a link to a great live version as well: Frankie's Gun Live. Yay for accordions! I am going to go see them play live at the Rock n Roll Hotel here in DC this coming Friday (the 22nd), along with Adam Haworth Stephens. Nice! Anyone in the area is welcome to join me.

BUY THEIR MUSIC HERE: Felice Bros

If you like them you might also like:

Bob Dylan
Pete Molinari
Avett Brothers
The Duke & The King
Old Crow Medicine Show (they toured with them!)
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band (they also toured with them!)

Over and out,
Anna

Tales of Yore and Country Lore

On continues Recommendation Month on AGSIHTF!

This week's shout out goes to Jessie K. for her awesome recommendation of Seth Lakeman.

How he manages to play the fiddle so well with cold hands,
the world will never know.

Seth Lakeman is a pretty sweet (read: fantastic and award-winning) fiddler from Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England (read: middle of nowhere, English countryside). He originally made it relatively big on the British folk scene while performing with his brothers Sam and Sean (c'mon Mr. and Mrs. Lakeman, you couldn't have picked Gilbert or Theodore or something?).

In 2004 he released his album "Kitty Jay" which was a big success in England, and earned him a Mercury Prize nomination. Many of the songs on the album are folk songs based on stories, legends, and songs from his native Devon. Some of them are a bit morbid/spooky. In fact, the album gets its title from a local legend about a young servant girl who killed herself. A bit depressing, yes, but hey! perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit (ha! spirit! no pun intended).

The pleasant British countryside,
dotted with picturesque suicide graves.

Here is a link to the audio of today's GOOD SONG on youtube, but there are plenty of cool live versions to check out, too. --------- >  Kitty Jay

If you like this song, you might also check out:
(OK, so I wasn't sure what to write here, and so I checked Last.fm to see what it had to say.
Apparently, the following bands are closely linked to Seth Lakeman musically)

The Imagined Village
Peatbog Faeries
3 Daft Monkeys
Shooglenifty
Roddy Woomble


!!!!!!

CLEARLY, Seth has to get a cooler band name, because these freaking blow him outta the water. I think Shooglenifty is my favorite.

BUY HIS MUSIC HERE: Seth Lakeman

Over and out,
Anna

Good Advice

So I've decided this month is recommendation month. Meaning GOOD SONGS that were recommended to yours truly by some of the cool cats I know.


So the GOOD SONG  for today is Spanish Pipedream, originally by John Prine, but covered here by The Avett Brothers (one of my favorite groups EVER). It's from a John Prine tribute album called Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows. Here's the link to the song: Spanish Pipedream
Kudos to Dan C. for recommending this whole album to me.

John Prine: the other "Man in black."

It includes some of the best advice I've seen in a long time:


"Blow up your T.V., throw away your paper
Go to the country, build you a home,
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches,
Try an' find Jesus on your own."

The Avett Brothers: Man in black. And man in Mickey Mouse.

John Prine was a pretty cool dude, a fantastic country/folk singer-songwriter in the best way. He was almost (but not quite) a contemporary of Bob Dylan's. He co-wrote "You Never Even Called Me By My Name," which is truly one the best and funniest country songs ever written and includes what is quite possibly my favorite country verse ever:


"Well, I was drunk the day my Mom got outta prison.
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But, before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got runned over by a damned old train."


Ok, not good advice. But still funny. 
Anyhoo, Prine is great. And the Avett Brothers are, too. They have a *huge* cult following, especially down south. Their blend of country-folk-rock-bluegrass-amazingness gets me every time.
Listen to the song. It's a lot of fun. And check out the rest of the tribute album, too. All the songs are covers of Prine songs, by various different bands, so there are a lot of musical styles and genres on there (although there is a definite focus on country/folk, especially the Nashville type), so even if you don't love Prine's style, you might like it anyway.


BUY THE ALBUM HERE: Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows



If you like this song, you might also like:


Neil Young
David Allan Coe
Bob Dylan
The Felice Brothers
Justin Townes Earle
Old Crow Medicine Show
Deer Tick


Over and out,
Anna


P.S. This quote from an Avett Bros. interview will give you an idea why I love them:
" 'I hope truth exists,” says Scott.
Seth looks over with a hard, no-bullshit firmness.
“Music without honesty or hope will leave you empty. We try to avoid that emptiness.' "

Ferraby, Houdini, and Me

So lately I've been listening a lot to a dude with a great name: Ferraby Lionheart. There is no way that is his real name, but I couldn't care less.

The Lionheart himself. I don't think he went
on any Crusades, though.

He's a California native, who lived in Nashville for a while, picked up some alt-country-folk-pop-whatever vibes, and then moved back to Cali.
His music is pretty catchy and it makes me wish I had bothered to look him up while the summer was still young.
The GOOD SONG of his that I am posting here is called "Harry and Bess."
Instead of just an audio file, I'm giving you the link to the video. Why? H'okay, so Ferraby IS his real first name. He's named after John Ferraby, a famous Baha'i leader. So, whatever, right? BUT his new music video for this song has guess who in it? A fellow member of the Baha'i faith that you probably HAVE heard of.

You guessed it!

Rainn Wilson from The Office!

Check out the great song/goof-tastic video here: Harry and Bess Video

By the way, that's Harry and Bess as in Harry and Bess Houdini. The song is about how during an almost-failed-escape-attempt, Bess Houdini came and slipped a key to Harry... in her kiss!
Pretty romantic and awesome.

Nice underpantaloons, Bess. 

"Kiss me, one, two, three, pass the magic key, and get me outta here!"


I have to admit, though, I had a hard time deciding between three songs of his to post: Harry and Bess, My Name, and Holdin' Me Back. Do yourself a favor and check em out as well.


You can buy his music here: Mr. Lionheart

If you like this song of his, you might also, perchance, like:

Andrew Bird

Elvis Perkins

Luke Temple

Dr. Dog

Paul Burch

(Note: this was supposed to be my fourth post, not my third. But I'm having some technical issues, so I had to post this one. If anyone has any advice about how to deal with quicktime audio files simply showing up as a question mark, let me know.)

A Long Time Coming

Greetings, friends and neighbors!
I've joined the blogging bandwagon.
Well, let me explain.
I love music. A lot. More than some, less than others, but a LOT. So I have decided to create a blog where I try to bring people to good music. As the URL says, a good song is hard to find. Well, sometimes. If you're not constantly tapping into the inner workings of the music world, it can get frustrating, or boring, or whatever. My friends complain a lot about how they are tired of all their music, but they don't know how to find new stuff.
That is where I come in.
At least once a week, I will post a GOOD SONG. They will vary a lot in style, genre, age, etc. This is not a hipster-music blog. There are plenty of those. Besides, I am not quite hip enough. This is a GOOD MUSIC blog. Music from all over the world, past and present (future is a bit harder), famous, infamous, and barely-heard.


So, without further ado, here is my first GOOD SONG:


A Good Man Is Hard To Find


This blog gets its name from this song by Sufjan Stevens entitled "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" (harder than a good song? really!). Tom Waits also has a song by the same name. Very different sounds though. Apparently Sufjan's song is based on the story of the same name by the writer Flannery O'Connor, which I have never read. I'll get on that.

Mr. Stevens himself, looking quite the ARTEEST

Sufjan is an interesting character. Born in Michigan, he is a very practicing Christian who plays just about every instrument imaginable. He has a really lovely voice, kind of ethereal-sounding in this song, very soft. However, he can really rock out, too. His albums vary widely from each other, especially his early stuff. For a while he promised us that he would make an album for every one of the 50 states! Yes! So he wrote albums for Illinois and Michigan. Unfortunately, I don't think that he is really going to follow through on that promise.
Good news, though: he did just release a new EP entitled All Delighted People. You can buy it online for only $5! Here is the link:


http://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/




If you like this song by Sufjan, here are some other artists you might like:
Elliott Smith
Nick Drake
Iron & Wine
Horse Feathers
Bon Iver




Look 'em up on http://www.last.fm/> if you're curious. It's a great site. Similar to Pandora in that you can create your own little radio station tailored to your music taste.




Anyhoo, comments are appreciated.
Let me know what you think!


Over & Out
Anna