Alright. My first music review is on a guy who’s music has been used in many movies and is well known in the Indie Music Scene: Sufjan Steven’s

Come On Feel the Illinois

Sufjan Steven (pronounced Soof-yawn) has been making music for several years now and is now considered a veteran in the indie and underground pop scene. But what is unique about Sufjan is that he isn’t your typical artist you would hear on the radio or even at a underground club. He is known for using all intrusments in his music. Anything from banjos, xylophones, trumpets, you name it and he has used it in his music. He has even has gone as far as to use a whole Orchestra in some of his songs.

Many of Sufjan’s songs have undertones and have meanings behind them. He writes a lot of his songs based on his life growing up and even on people. For example, the song “John Wayne Gacy Jr.’ Sufjan wrote about the notourious killer of the same name. In case you don’t know, the real John Wayne Gacy Jr. was jailed for the killing thirty-three young men and boys under the alias Pogo the clown.

Illinois are songs based from cities in the state in the same name. Chicago to Bloomington even Decatur Sufjan has written songs about them. Sufjan has been rumored to be writing either albums or song about all fifty states! North Carolina will be coming out soon, hopefully!

But I digress, Sufjan wrote this song because one, it happened while he was growing up and two, since he wanted his listeners to understand his meaning behind the song. If you were to listen to the song you would completely forget that the song was written about the a serial killer due to its very mellow and drone. But if you are looking for a historic and very light and poppy song then listen to “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!”  its historical reference to Zombies and Ronald Reagan and other dead presidents and how they come back to life are really noticeable to the listeners.

Whether you are in a mood for a slow and mellow song or a light and airy song. Sufjan provides it in classy not tacky way. He is not your ordinary folk artist. You will be seeing me write  A LOT about him in the near future. If you have any sense you will go out and download(legally, of course) his album.

Until Next Time…Stay Fly,

Courtney