Inspired by the iTunes library of my co-worker Krissy, I listened to and, this weekend, purchased, Sufjan Stevens's "Illinois" (or as the cover—and CDDB—would have you believe, "Come On Feel The Illinoise"). Which I, never having heard Sufjan Stevens before, find fantastic.
Musically it reminds me of a mix between Mercury Rev's "See You on the Other Side" (without all of the feedback) and the community theater productions in Waiting for Guffman. Which I mean as high praise indeed, as I really love the songs in Waiting for Guffman. And thinking about it, there's another similarity, in the sense that I can't possibly imagine that an album all about Illinois would be that good, just as I spent most of Waiting for Guffman dreading how awful the production would be. And yet, both are inexplicably much, much better, warmer, funnier, sweeter, etc than I could've imagined.
It's funny, because a couple of years ago I got it in my head that I wanted to make a giant mix CD of songs about all 50 states. Some of the states were really easy, of course—and John Linnell's "State Songs" could've provided fodder for a number of, frankly, the more difficult states.
Where the whole operation fell apart was in Vermont. I couldn't find any music about, or mentioning, or even vaguely implying, Vermont. Then, Mena half-heartedly suggested Willie Nelson's version of "Moonlight in Vermont." She cautioned me that the song itself was awfully boring, but I figured, hey, it's Willie Nelson, so he'll make it interesting, right? So I listened to it, and halfway through listening I got discouraged, and pretty much gave up on the whole project. [1]
But anyway, in part because of my own half-finished experiment, I must applaud Sufjan Stevens for even undertaking such a project, and on a much bigger scope: an actual album for each of the 50 states, that he actually has to write, perform, etc. It's enough to make me tired, just thinking about it. But also kind of excited, just for the possibilities.
[1] Seriously: that song is fucking boring.
