Virtual Best Of: Sufjan Stevens

[Brenden]

Nominate as many Sufjan songs as you'd like (album cuts, covers, B-sides, whatever) for our best-of mix. Whoever gets the most votes after everyone appears to be done nominating will make the cut; those on the borderline will undergo an elimination round to make sure we stay with the 80-minute time limit for a CD.

From A Sun Came:
We Are What You Say
A Winner Needs A Wand
Dumb I Sound
A Loverless Bed (w/o Remission)
Wordsworth Ridge

From Enjoy Your Rabbit:
Year of The Dog
Year of The Ox
Enjoy Your Rabbit
Year of The Tiger

From Michigan:
Flint (For The Unemplayed And Underpaid)
Romulus
For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
The Upper Penninsula
Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)

From Seven Swans
All The Trees of The Field Shall Clap Their Hands
Seven Swans
Abraham
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
The Dress Looks Nice On You
He Woke Me Up Again
In The Devil's Territory

From Illinois:
Come On! Feel The Illinoise!
John Wayne Gacy Jr.
Jacksonville
Chicago
Casimir Pulaski Day
The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
They Are Night Zombies!
The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders

From The Avalanche:
The Avalanche
The Henny Buggy Band
Adlai Stevenson
Dear Mr. Supercomputer
Pittsfield
The Mistress Witch From McClure

Other Songs:
Woman At The Well
Borderline
That Was The Worst Christmas Ever
Opie's Funeral Song
Damascus

Results

5 Votes:

Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!
Chicago
Adlai Stevenson

4 Votes:

Seven Swans
Come On! Feel The Illinois!
John Wayne Gacy Jr.
Jacksonville
They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!
The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders
Dear Mr. Supercomputer
The Henny Buggy Band
No Man's Land

3 Votes:

The Dress Looks Nice on You
For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
He Woke Me Up Again
In The Devil's Territory
Casimir Pulaski Day
The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
The Avalanche
The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!

2 Votes:

To Be Alone With You
Super Sexy Woman
A Winner Needs A Wand
A Loverless Bed (W/O Remission)
Dumb I Sound
Flint (For The Unemployed And Underpaid)
Romulus
Say Yes! To Michigan!
They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless in Muskegon)
Abraham
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
All The Trees Of The Field Will Clap Their Hands
Pittsfield
Sister
The Transfiguration
Decatur, or a Round of Applause....
The Perpetual Self, or 'What Would Saul Alinsky Do?'
The Mistress Witch From McClure

1 Vote:

Jason
We Are What You Say 
Wordsworth Ridge
Year of The Dog
Year of The Ox
Enjoy Your Rabbit
Year of The Tiger
Oh God, Where Are You Now?
Holland
Say Yes! To Michigan!
The Upper Penninsula  
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or,....
To the Workers of the Rockford River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament
The Seer's Tower
Prairie Fire that Wanders About 
Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair
The Pick-up
Saul Bellow
Woman At The Well
Borderline
That Was The Worst Christmas Ever
Opie's Funeral Song
Damascus
O Come O Come Emmanuel
Amazing Grace
What Child Is This Anyway?
The Friendly Beasts
The Lord God Bird
What Goes On
Vito's Ordination Song
Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run

[RedcoatJones]

Well, after going back and listening to some old stuff (pre-states project), here are my nominations:

A Sun Came:
A Winner Needs a Wand
A Loverless Bed (Without Remission)
Jason

Michigan:
Say Yes! To Michigan!
Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!
They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black

Seven Swans:
All the Trees of the Field WIll Clap Their Hands
In the Devil's Territory
The Transfiguration

Illinois:
John Wayne Gacy Jr.
Decatur, or a Round of Applause....
Chicago
The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders

The Avalanche:
The Avalanche
Adlai Stevenson
Saul Bellow
No Man's Land

[murlough23]

From Michigan
All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
Say Yes! To Michigan!
Holland
Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless in Muskegon)
 
From Seven Swans
The Dress Looks Nice on You
In the Devil's Territory
A Good Man Is Hard to Find
He Woke Me Up Again
Seven Swans
 
From Illinois
Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
Jacksonville
Chicago
Casimir Pulaski Day
The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
Prairie Fire that Wanders About
The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!
They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Our Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! AHHHH!
The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders
 
From The Avalanche
Dear Mr. Supercomputer
Adlai Stevenson
The Henney Buggy Band
No Man's Land

[Josh Powell]

From "A Sun Came!":
Dumb I Sound
Super Sexy Woman

From "Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State":
Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
Flint (For The Unemployed And Underpaid)
Romulus
Oh God, Where Are You Now?
All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!

From "Hark! Songs For Christmas Volume 1-3":
O Come O Come Emmanuel
Amazing Grace
What Child Is This Anyway?
The Friendly Beasts

From "Illinois":
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or,....
Come On! Feel the Illinoise! - Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition - Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream
John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Jacksonville
Chicago
Casimir Pulaski Day
To the Workers of the Rockford River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament
The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!
They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!
The Seer's Tower

(What can I say? I really liked this album.. )

From "Seven Swans":
To Be Alone With You (I can't beleive nobody else had this song on their list.. it was the first song I heard by Sufjan and it had me hooked.)
Abraham
Sister
Seven Swans
He Woke Me Up Again

From "The Avalanche":
The Avalanche
Dear Mr. Supercomputer
Adlai Stevenson
The Henney Buggy Band
Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair
No Man's Land
The Pick-up
The Perpetual Self, or 'What Would Saul Alinsky Do?'
Pittsfield

Other:
The Lord God Bird
What Goes On

I see I like a different side of Sufjan that a lot of you pholks do

NP: Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans "Seven Swans"

[Brenden]

Come on, more people must want to vote!

[murlough23]

Come on, more people must want to vote!

bloop and Original Recipe Josh must have an opinion on this. Maybe they're just not aware of the thread's existence.

Or maybe people are just tiring of the game.

[NinjaRob17]

A Sun Came!:
"Super Sexy Woman"

Michigan:
"All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!"
"For The Windows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti"
"Say Yes! To M!ch!gan!"
"Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)"
"Vito's Ordination Song"

Seven Swans:
"The Dress Looks Nice On You"
"To Be Alone With You"
"Sister"
"Seven Swans"
"The Transfiguration"

Illinois:
"Come On! Feel The Illinoise!: Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition/Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream"
"John Wayne Gacy, Jr."
"Jacksonville"
"Decatur, Or, Round Of Applause For Your Stepmother!"
"Chicago"
"The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!"
"They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!"
"The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders: Part I: The Great Frontier/Part II: Come To Me Only With Playthings Now "
"Out Of Egypt, Into The Great Laugh Of Mankind, And I Shake The Dirt From My Sandals As I Run"

The Avalanche:
"Dear Mr. Supercomputer"
"Adlai Stevenson"
"The Henney Buggy Band"
"The Mistress Witch from McClure (or, The Mind That Knows Itself)"
"No Man's Land"
"The Perpetual Self, or "What Would Saul Alinsky Do?""

[Brenden]

Ok, so, I guess nobody else is interested, so if by 8 PM tommorow no new votes are gathered, we'll go from there.

[murlough23]

I updated mine to include Adlai Stevenson, since I recently decided I really like that one.

NP: "What If I Stumble?", Sarah Kelly

[Brenden]

Ok, voting is closed, but not having access to my sufjan library with my laptop on the fritz, it may be a little bit before I get the next phase figured out.

[Brenden]

Now that my laptop is finally back, here are the results.

These songs made the cut.


Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!
Chicago
Adlai Stevenson
Seven Swans
Come On! Feel The Illinois!
John Wayne Gacy Jr.
Jacksonville
They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!
The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders
Dear Mr. Supercomputer
The Henny Buggy Band
No Man's Land
The Dress Looks Nice on You
For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
He Woke Me Up Again
In The Devil's Territory

Those add up to just under 80 minutes, so I think we can go with that, since it's about as balanced as we're gonna get. Now it will need to be mixed, unless someone wants to vote about changing a few songs.

[murlough23]

Those add up to just under 80 minutes, so I think we can go with that, since it's about as balanced as we're gonna get. Now it will need to be mixed, unless someone wants to vote about changing a few songs.

I think that's a very good list of songs. I was actually just going to inquire the other day about how this game was going, but I guess you've answered my questions.

Making this mix will be tricky due to how some of the songs bleed into other tracks on the source CDs. I'd suggest the following, if there's room:

Jacksonville

Tack "A Short Reprise for Mary Todd" onto the end so it won't end abruptly.

They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!

Tack "Let's Hear that String Part Again" onto the end - it's abrupt either way, but I consider this to be part of the song.

The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders

This one's tricky to find the right point to fade out. When I've put it on mixes I've cut it at about the 7 minute mark (when the flowing piano is bleeding into the jazz interlude thingy) and done a 10 or 15-second fade.

For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti

"Say Yes! To Michigan!" didn't make the cut, so this will need to be faded out as well.

I have all of these songs and I'm more than willing to help; just let me know.

[Brenden]

I don't have the know how or software to fade out songs, so if you could help there, that would be good.

I will try to fit the interludes on the ends of the other songs, but I might only be able to do one. It's close.

[Brenden]

As it stands, we're at 83 minutes and 10 seconds if I include the interludes.

I must have added wrong estimating the time. So the chioce is either cut off a song or use one of the alternate versions of Chicago (Acoustic or Multiple Personality Disorder version). We could even use the string remix.

[murlough23]

As it stands, we're at 83 minutes and 10 seconds if I include the interludes.

I must have added wrong estimating the time. So the chioce is either cut off a song or use one of the alternate versions of Chicago (Acoustic or Multiple Personality Disorder version). We could even use the string remix.

If msot people who voted for "Chicago" selected the original version, then I think we should keep that version. And it doesn't look like leaving out the itnerludes will make wrong for every song that we want here... so I vote that we have a run-off to eliminate one song from the lowest tier out of the songs that had enough votes to survive. You can choose how that should be done.

[Brenden]

Ok then, everyone should vote to kick off one of these songs,

The Dress Looks Nice on You
For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
He Woke Me Up Again
In The Devil's Territory

My vote goes to In The Devil's Territory.

Hopefully at least everyone who voted originally will participate.

[murlough23]

My vote goes to In The Devil's Territory.

Mine too, as much as it pains me to do that. It was the first Sufjan song that I ever heard.

NP: "Saturn", Skillet

[RedcoatJones]

I'll add a vote for Devil's Territory.

[Brenden]

That's a majority of the original people, so I'll just go ahead and cut it, since nobody else has seemed interested in voting since the beginning.

Now I just need mp3s of the faded versions of the two songs that needed it or info on software I can download to do the fading.

[murlough23]

That's a majority of the original people, so I'll just go ahead and cut it, since nobody else has seemed interested in voting since the beginning.

Now I just need mp3s of the faded versions of the two songs that needed it or info on software I can download to do the fading.

Give me a few days and I'll take care of it. We should work out a track order, too.

NP: "Enjoy the Silence", Anberlin

[Brenden]

Give me a few days and I'll take care of it. We should work out a track order, too.

NP: "Enjoy the Silence", Anberlin

I can get started on that, get one ready for suggestion without the fadeout, see how it looks with the fadeout.

[Brenden]

Here is my suggested tracklist.

The Henney Buggy Band
Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!
Jacksonville/Short Reprise
No Man's Land
He Woke Me Up Again
For The Widows In Paradise
Chicago
Seven Swans
John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
The Dress Looks Nice On You
The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders
Dear Mr. Supercomputer
They Are Night Zombies/String Part
Adlai Stevenson
All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace
Come On! Feel The Illinoise!

[murlough23]

I'll have to mess around with the WAV files and see if that order works. My gut instinct tells me that rather than starting with a B-side, we should go with something that's more of a staple for Sufjan, such as "Chicago". Having "Detroit" second also seems like it might be a momentum-killer that early on, due to the drawn-out outro. That's something I'd put later on.

NP: "Goodbye", Drive-By Truckers

[Brenden]

I'll have to mess around with the WAV files and see if that order works. My gut instinct tells me that rather than starting with a B-side, we should go with something that's more of a staple for Sufjan, such as "Chicago". Having "Detroit" second also seems like it might be a momentum-killer that early on, due to the drawn-out outro. That's something I'd put later on.

NP: "Goodbye", Drive-By Truckers

I'll play with it a little bit, Chicago is probably a better choice for an opener. I do think the transition between HBB and Detroit works really well, so I'd try to keep those together wherever they end up.

[murlough23]

I'll play with it a little bit, Chicago is probably a better choice for an opener. I do think the transition between HBB and Detroit works really well, so I'd try to keep those together wherever they end up.

I guess that works, because my suggestion was to move both a little farther back.

NP: "Wednesday", Drive-By Truckers

[Brenden]

Here's my next suggested track order. This one will probably work best with the fade outs.

Chicago
Seven Swans
Dear Mr. Supercomputer
The Dress Looks Nice On You
John Wayne Gacy Jr.
For The Widows In Paradise
No Man's Land
The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders
He Woke Me Up Again
Jacksonville/Short Reprise
Adlai Stevenson
They Are Night Zombies/String Part
All Good Naysayers
Come On! Feel The Illinoise
The Henney Buggy Band
Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!

[murlough23]

Sorry I haven't had the chance to work on this it's been a stressful week. Soon, I promise.

[Brenden]

Sorry I haven't had the chance to work on this it's been a stressful week. Soon, I promise.

Oh, that's quite alright.

[murlough23]

I used your order as a starting point and moved a couple things around that weren't fitting where you had originally put them. How's this?

1. Chicago
2. The Henney Buggy Band
3. The Dress Looks Nice on You
4. Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
5. Dear Mr. Supercomputer
6. Jacksonville
7. For the Widows in Paradise (no fade)
8. They Are Night Zombies!!/Let's Hear That String Part Again
9. Adlai Stevenson
10. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
11. He Woke Me Up Again
12. No Man's Land
13. All Good Naysayers, Speak Up!
14. The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders (with fade)
15. Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!
16. Seven Swans

I felt that it would make sense to have "Chicago" and "Detroit" at aopposite poles, but I didn't like "Detroit" as the very last song, so I let its drawn-out ending lead into "Seven Swans", which I think makes a stunning finale.

Elsewhere, I felt that "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" needed to come earlier, and not be too close to "All Good Naysayers" or "The Tallest Man" because the songs have very similar piano parts. "He Woke Me Up Again" into "Jacksonville" wasn't working because the former's organ part cuts out suddenly and the latter's string part fades in. "No Man's Land" starts up immediately, so that worked better.

I found it amusing to put "For the Widows in Paradise" right before "They Are Night Zombies!!" and not fade out the former. It makes for an abrupt, jarring transition into "Zombies", which is how it works on Illinois when "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades" leads into that track. (Shame that we lost that one!)

Overall, I tried to make it work so that no two songs from the same album were adjacent to one another. Not a hard-and-fast rule, but I like it when I can make that work without the contrasting styles being too jarring.

If you can envision this working, I'll go ahead and upload the mp3's.

[Brenden]

It works, in many ways better, I preferred Detroit as an ending, but Seven Swans works fine. Upload away.

[murlough23]

It works, in many ways better, I preferred Detroit as an ending, but Seven Swans works fine. Upload away.

If you really want "Detroit" at the end, we can try this:

1. Chicago
2. The Henney Buggy Band
3. The Dress Looks Nice on You
4. Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
5. Dear Mr. Supercomputer
6. Jacksonville
7. For the Widows in Paradise (no fade)
8. They Are Night Zombies!!/Let's Hear That String Part Again
9. Adlai Stevenson
10. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
11. He Woke Me Up Again
12. No Man's Land
13. All Good Naysayers, Speak Up!
14. Seven Swans
15. The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders (with fade)
16. Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head!

That puts a little space between "All Good Naysayers" and "The Tallest Man", so it works.

[Brenden]

I like that order, though if you want to do the other one, that's fine.

I didn't mean to sound like it was that big of a deal to me.

[murlough23]

I like that order, though if you want to do the other one, that's fine.

I didn't mean to sound like it was that big of a deal to me.

No, but it's a collaborative process.

[Brenden]

No, but it's a collaborative process.

True, ok, I think it's anti-climactic to have Detroit end and then go into another song. Which is something I didn't think about until my second try. After all that, it seems like a natural close to me.

That was my thoughts. I think your second track order would make for a most satisfying listen.

[murlough23]

Mix now uploading.