Although this can be said for every state in the Union, Michigan seems to produce two types of people. Extroverts who are either pushing their backwards views on you or calling you names: Michael Moore, Ted Nugent, Eminem, the average Detroit citizen. Introverts are completely different. They move up north, avoid Detroit at all costs, and live their lives, content with yardwork. Maybe it's the fact that some Winters have you snowed in and you can't go anywhere and in the Summer, it's just too damn humid to do anything. Whatever it may be, Sufjan Stevens definitely seems to fall in the latter category and the landscapes have not only shaped this young man's personality, it has also helped shape his music.
Even though Sufjan holds the credits for over 20 instruments on this record, he starts it off with a simple piano/vocal song, emphazing quality over quanity. "Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)" reflects a story that Michael Moore told years ago in the film Roger and Me. Flint, MI suffered a huge economic slump when General Motors left the town. Many found themselves jobless, even homeless. Sufjan touches on this by assuming the role of a Flint resident, affected by all of this. His voice comes across as a man, uncertain of his future, and even more uncertain with what he is saying. You can just picture this man sitting upon his mattress, sans bed, with a gun in his hand, trying to convince himself things will get better. While the subject matter for this song is pretty heavy when you get down to it, Sufjan doesn't leave you down in the dumps for long...
"All Good Naysayers, Speakup! Or Forever Hold Your Peace" follows this with upbeat piano and vibraphone backed by equally upbeat drums. Sufjan alternates between the upbeat variety and the banjo-lead slower tunes for the next couple tracks before coming to "Tahquamenon Falls", which is a vibraphone-laden track that attempts to emulate the feeling each droplet of water has as it flows over the falls, ever so majestically. This is seen again later on with the song, "Alanson, Crooked River".
One of the absolute highlights of this record is the 8:20 song about Michigan's largest cityand emptiest city, "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!". Detroit has gone from having a population of 1.8 million in the 1950's to a number around 900,000 in 2003. Sufjan sings of how such an auto-empire has crumbled and moved from the States and how one of the biggest cities in the world has crumbled with it. More instruments are played on this song than any other. Layers upon layers of instruments blanket each other towards the middle of the song, only to see it all fall apart, much like the city that bares the songs name.
"Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)" comes up as the next memorable moment. Another long one, clocking in around 9 and a half minutes, this song finds a balance between piano, guitar, and Sufjan's most soothing vocals that is bound to send chills up your spine as he sings with one of his last breaths, "Oh God, where are you now?" This is one of the few religious moments on the record, but you definitely get the feeling that Sufjan is very passionate about his beliefs, when he does sing about them.
"Vito's Ordination Song" closes the record out. Using just his voice and a background organ, Sufjan lets this song build up by layering on instrument after instrument and vocal melody after vocal melody over the span of 7 minutes. The beginning signs of percussion are so well placed and well played, you'll find yourself wondering how this man learned so much in such a short life.
Even months after release, this record finds it's home on whatever sort of digital player I am using very often. This is one of the essential releases of 2003 and will continue to help him build steam until his next "State" release in late 2004. This is a must buy.
