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State of Stasis

Posted at 2:30 PM on January 15, 2009 by Mac Wilson

I don't want to give away too much of next week's Musicheads, but one of the things we'll be talking about is new releases in 2009 that we're looking forward to. I approached the question by thinking about particular albums or projects that have already been announced and have release dates, but an article I read got me to thinking more about a particular artist I'd like to hear from as soon as possible.

About two years ago, we had a discussion on the Current Music Blog about artists who were true geniuses. I offered up Sufjan Stevens' name, writing:

Sufjan. He makes Bird, Ward, LaMontagne, Oberst (who I never cared for to begin with) et al. look like child's play. Maybe not a genius per se quite yet (maybe something like "Wake Up! And Feel The Delaware!" would cinch it) but I think he's two steps above [the other artists mentioned in the thread].

It's been three-and-a-half years since his last entry in the "50 States" project, Illinois, and aside from his yearly Christmas albums, he's been frustratingly quiet on the new release front. He's stayed busy, though, doing production work, collaborating with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, playing piano on the National's Boxer, and writing at length about his religious beliefs, which are being chronicled on the Asthmatic Kitty blog. But come on, dude, your talent is too vast for you to be quiet this long. It doesn't even need to be a state; I'd be perfectly happy with a collection of thoughtful folk tunes like Seven Swans. Maybe the fact that Illinois was so big (both in critical terms and in sheer scope) has made any prospect of a follow-up all the more daunting. After all, how does one follow up one of the most enormous (musically and lyrically) releases of the decade -- an album that was 78 minutes long and still supplied an outtakes collection the next summer? I'm ready to find out.

With apparently bottomless talent when it comes to songwriting, production, and intellect, it's time for Sufjan Stevens to get rolling again. The mere prospect of a new release is truly what I anticipate the most in 2009.

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