Not in the sense of having an agenda or a message, but I was impressed that he dealt with these topics at all (the first song is about Flint, and nicely covers the same ground as Roger & Me without Michael Moore's mugging). In another version of my blurb I namechecked John Dos Passos' U.S.A. Trilogy, which is a far greater work but had some of the same themes of describing ordinary lives and mimicking the pace of industry or lack thereof to tell a deeply American story.
Mostly I'm impressed that Sufjan would make a - let's not say political, but cultural - statement at a time when so many musicians (outside maybe rap?) seem oblivious to the nation around them, a few immediate post-9/11 shockwaves aside. In fact, it's a bummer the music wasn't more ... I dunno ... original or varied or whatever, to keep up with the lyrics.
― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 19:02 (twenty years ago) link
― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 19:53 (twenty years ago) link
Thanks for saving me some time, chuck.
― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 19:53 (twenty years ago) link
Did anybody hear about the trouble with the new Michigan Commemorative Quarter? Apparently they had to recall a bunch of them because the tape kept unwrapping the cluster holding one nickel and two dimes.
― christoff (christoff), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 20:09 (twenty years ago) link
This might actually be ok if it was the original 13 states, though.(Or the 13 that start with the letter "A," assuming that's how many start with the letter "A," or whatever.)
― chuck, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 20:37 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 14:39 (twenty years ago) link
Well, having lived most of my life in Michigan "below the tree line" from Benton Harbor to Ann Arbor to Detroit, I'm not willing to accept the contention that I lack "Michigan" credibility. Detroit may not be the sum total that "Michigan" represents, but it's a pretty damn big part of it.
― webcrack (music=crack), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 14:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Erick H (Erick H), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 15:25 (twenty years ago) link
― webcrack (music=crack), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 20:20 (twenty years ago) link
― Erick H (Erick H), Tuesday, 6 April 2004 23:46 (twenty years ago) link
― Dave Amos, Wednesday, 7 April 2004 08:09 (twenty years ago) link
― AaronK (AaronK), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 11:28 (twenty years ago) link
― Baaderoni (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 14:31 (twenty years ago) link
― Nick Sylvester, Wednesday, 7 April 2004 15:34 (twenty years ago) link
― AaronK (AaronK), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 17:45 (twenty years ago) link
― kephm, Wednesday, 7 April 2004 17:51 (twenty years ago) link
― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Thursday, 8 April 2004 02:50 (twenty years ago) link
― egon krenz (slaytrack), Thursday, 8 April 2004 22:01 (twenty years ago) link
/asshole music snob
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Thursday, 8 April 2004 22:06 (twenty years ago) link
Still love this album. What the hell's he up to these days? His states project seems to have stagnated.
― sam500, Saturday, 1 May 2010 02:02 (fourteen years ago) link
I will still rep for this album even though I don't think anything else he's done quite measures up
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Saturday, 18 October 2014 03:37 (nine years ago) link
ok I can't really say that since there's a bunch of shit he did I haven't even bothered to listen to, got real tired of him years ago, but I'm revisiting Michigan and still like it
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Saturday, 18 October 2014 03:38 (nine years ago) link
all good naysayers is such a great song, flint too, vito's ordination song...i prefer illinois, and both records are bloated (like the song titles), but yeah it's great, and i wonder where he's been the last four years..
― ET sippin the wig (spazzmatazz), Saturday, 18 October 2014 04:53 (nine years ago) link
apparently he put out a single this year called "A Little Lost" so that seems to answer your question
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Saturday, 18 October 2014 04:56 (nine years ago) link
it is an arthur russell cover
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Saturday, 18 October 2014 04:58 (nine years ago) link
oh and I guess it's actually on a comp about to come out: red hot + arthur russell
― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Saturday, 18 October 2014 04:59 (nine years ago) link
I should revisit this one over the winter (but not before)I wonder if there's as much vibraphone as I remember
― Vomits of a Missionary (bernard snowy), Saturday, 18 October 2014 16:00 (nine years ago) link