Album of the day (#4602): Illinois by Sufjan Stevens

[albummaster]

Today's album of the day

Illinois by Sufjan Stevens (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 2005.
Country:
Overall rank: 44
Average rating: 86/100 (from 1821 votes).

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Tracks:
1. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
2. The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But You're Going To Have To Leave Now, Or, 'I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue To Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!
3. Come On! Feel The Illinoise! (Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition – Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream)
4. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
5. Jacksonville
6. A Short Reprise For Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But For Very Good Reasons
7. Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother!
8. One Last 'Whoo-Hoo!' For The Pullman
9. Chicago
10. Casimir Pulaski Day
11. To The Workers Of The Rock River Valley Region, I Have An Idea Concerning Your Predicament, And It Involves An Inner Tube, Bath Mats, And 21 Able-Bodied Men
12. The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
13. Prairie Fire That Wanders About
14. A Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has An Existential Crisis In The Great Godfrey Maze
15. The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!
16. They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!
17. Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All The Way Out In Bushnell
18. In This Temple As In The Hearts Of Man For Whom He Saved The Earth
19. The Seer's Tower
20. The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders: Part I: The Great Frontier/Part II: Come To Me Only With Playthings Now
21. Riffs And Variations On A Single Note For Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, And The King Of Swing, To Name A Few
22. Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run

About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[HoldenM]

Few artists capture midwestern ennui as well as Sufjan Stevens, and Illinois is his magnum opus. A colorful epic as jubilant as it is haunting. You've got songs about aliens and road trips and zombies, but you also have songs about unrequited love and longing for God's mercy and at least one serial killer. All of it is of an immaculate piece, and is simply one of the best ever to do it.

Track picks
1. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
3. Come On! Feel The Illinoise! (Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition – Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream)
9. Chicago
10. Casimir Pulaski Day
15. The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!
22. Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run
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Inversion Verses
https://thesplitinfinitives1.bandcamp.c...ion-verses

[EyeKanFly]

Man I love this album. It's been in my top ten since probably the first time I heard it.

A dream of mine is a musical adaptation of the book The Devil in the White City set to Sufjan's music from Illinois (not necessarily all the lyrics, but definitely the music). "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" being the leitmotif for Daniel Burnham / the Chicago World's Fair (aka the White City), and "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." being the leitmotif for H. H. Holmes and his murder hotel.
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51 Washington, D.C. albums!