the shadow of sufjan has lingered long and heavy on my mind for the past year. my first encounter with his music was the gentle Seven Swans, the sounds of which can assuage the asperity of the most tired soul. this album is comprised of soft folk spirituals, with nods to the Kierkegaardian (to use a word that likely does not exist) existential struggle of Abraham, as well as Flannery O' Connor--an author i'm sad to say i have not had the pleasure of reading. (think Christmas, i say!). it also contains the best song with a block quote of Scripture i have ever heard, "The Transfiguration." actually, this song wins the prize for "best song other than a hymn which uses Scripture, ever."
sufjan is best known for his 50 States project, in which he plans to record an album for every state in the union while searching for "the true america." he's already recorded two, one for michigan and one for illinois. Seven Swans was released between these two. he is gaining in popularity, and often times that would disparage me, as i am a bit of a musical elitist. but with sufjan, i celebrate his recent celebrity with alacrity. it is well deserved.
please note the following GRE study words, which have been used in this blog entry:
alacrity
disparage
assuage
asperity
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