Oh I see what he's doing.....I didn't know what you guys were talking about. Hasn't Ken Burns been working on a documentary about each state for years? When did this Sufjan guy come up with the idea?

Michigan came out in 2003, so Sufjan probably came up with the idea in between that album and making Illinois. I don't know when exactly. I think it's a great idea even if it never happens with all 50. The albums come with neat artwork and a little map...He's quite prolific, too....There are now two Illinois albums, and there was Seven Swans in between Michigan and Illinois (so it's not like he copped out, per the comment above--he's still writing non-state-related songs).

1982. He wasted no time.

Wow, so he came up with the idea when he was 7.

Yep. Actually, one of the reasons I like Enjoy Your Rabbit is because he's 12 years older than me and thus has the same zodiac thing, and that's what it's dedicated to. So he does have other themes.

Might just be my favorite year:p

Sufjan is good. Makes me feel like a pansy listening to it.

i'd like his music if he just didn't seem so damn pretentious.

Why does he seem pretentious? I like that cute little robin picture in the cover art for Michigan. It's so cute!

i don't know. he rubs me the wrong way. (oh god, insert rim-shot here.)

HE IS A PRETENTIOUS CUNT. I don't mind. My friend saw him and said he was the biggest dick he'd ever seen play. Sufjan just seems so... Stuck-up.

I guess I'll find out. Megan Slaboda is not pretentious at all and I loved her vocals on the Sufjan records. Did you get to visit with her or any of the other members of Danielson?

No. We left right after the show. They didn't seem pretentious though.

I love Sufjan, but I do think that he got a little pretentious after the success of Illinois because he's just been doing a bunch of concert hall performances since then, and maybe a festival here and there.

Yeah--the concert that I am going to be seeing is in an historic theater...but it's not as expensive as the last Belle and Sebastian tour was (which I skipped--I saw them on the Storytelling tour though).