Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell (album) REACTION
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
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I kind of feel differently than Ryan about the mood: yes Sufjan suffered, but he is sings from an angelic distance, showing he is beyond that denial or despair stage and has come to terms with the whole nonsense, void and sorrow his mother's death caused him. Agree with Nathan: this LP is healing.
You guys have great voices - thanks for your great comments about this masterpiece album! Cheers
❤️🤟🙏🤟❤️
I would say Illinois is generally considered to be Sufjan's "peak," but he's one of those artists with quite a few masterpieces under his belt. People like Carrie & Lowell so much because it's very sad, but also it is excellent.
Well he just released another masterpiece, 😂
One of the best albums from one of the best musicians. This is stunnin'
I feel the chorus is what he *wanted* to hear from his mother. Not necessarily that he’s singing what was actually said.
I always assumed that Sufjan was queer, sometimes singing about male and sometimes about female lovers.
On this particular album the song 'Drawn to the blood' sounds like about an abusive relationship with a man and 'John my beloved' seems very intimate and romantic, perhaps a fleeting, intense love affair?
And the lines 'All of me pressed onto you, in this light you look like Poseidon' in the song 'All of me wants all of you' feel like they're about a male lover. Likening a woman to Poseidon seems unusual, though not impossible of course.
I just assumed these songs were about him seeking sexual and romantic relationships while trying to process his grief. Messy, raw and at times a bit self-destructive.
I'm wondering if I am just projecting since lots of people seem to read the songs quite differently...
Has anyone else felt these things in his music?
No I have always felt the same way about him. I've always thought that the ambiguity was intentional and that his lyrics should be interpreted multiple ways, however there is something undeniably queer about his music. I know that he has never publicly spoken about his sexuality and is very private personally so I think endless speculation on his sexuality is pointless and a little rude, but that aspect of his lyrics can't ever be denied.
@@catika505 Yeah, I totally understand what you mean!
I've only gotten into his music recently-ish so I wasn't aware that there have been endless speculations about his sexuality. I didn't even think that his music was particularly ambiguous to be honest... It just seemed kinda obvious he was singing about men and women but it's possible I was projecting!
He sells rainbow shirts in his merch store and he posted a pride flag on pansexual pride day.
So to me it just felt like people where (unintentionally) straight washing his music but I am not aware of all the history, it's possible I just misread the situation.
@@alexandrareuter327 ah sorry, I meant the lack of distinction between his spiritual and personal lyrics. He is a Episcopal Christian and references faith very frequently, but this interplays with lyrics that can also be read as homoromantic. As a result of the subtlety he does get straight washed a lot, and it's a running joke in indie music circles "is this Sufjan song gay or just about Jesus?", and it always gets brought up in threads when talking about interpretation of his lyrics. Undoubtedly he is part of the community, although he has never actually said so. But I also think the ambiguity is purposeful, as he writes about his spirituality from the point of view of a two person relationship, and uses romantic language, whilst in his more explicitly personal songs he uses religious imagery.
@@catika505 Thanks for the context, that's super interesting! I'd noticed some Christian themes but hadn't really realised this spiritual and romantic/sexual ambiguity. I'm excited to listen to some more of his music with this in mind.
I’m very late to this conversation, but I think Sufjan’s lyrics have become more and more explicitly gay/queer with every release. As someone who has been listening to him since Illinois came out, it’s been fascinating seeing him evolve from the ambiguity of “The Predatory Wasp” and much of Seven Swans, to writing songs like “Futile Devices”, “All of Me Want All of You” and “John My Beloved”.
This whole album has been one of my most frequent listens in the past few months. Really good.
For some help with Drawn to the Blood, the lines about dragons are likely referencing drugs (that motif is used later), and the lines about his male lover hitting him he did confirm was about an actual abusive relationship of his. Multiple listenings should help with the rest!
Where did he confirm the abusive relationship ? I’d like to check it out
I don’t know how you all are keeping it together doing this album. It’s cool to watch a reaction like this because I feel more inclined to really dig into it… like I also have a responsibility to analyze each song and think about how it applies to me.
“I feel like I suck as a son” hit home. Thanks for being real about it. I love my mom. I’m so lucky she’s around. We’re in the same city. I avoid opportunities to spend time with her sometimes. It’s Mother’s Day right now as I watch this. Man this is ripping me up, and I think I needed it.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
@@WelpHereWeAreOnRUclips btw, I’ve been in Montreal since Monday (first time visit-also traveling with my parents so getting mom-time in) and loving your country! Idk where in Canada you are, but this city feels a lot like DC where I lived for eight years. Hope all is well!
Also if you ever get the time. There is an amazing live version of this album in full. It's very different to this finger picked acoustic album feel. Much more grandiose synth filled, but an awesome re-imagining of each song!
john my beloved is him essentially comparing himself to jesus in that both he and jesus face something horrible (for sufjan, his mothers death; for jesus, the betrayal) and suddenly they can no longer continue to be with the men they loved (for sufjan, his boyfriend; for jesus, john). sufjan has a fun habit of making some of his most outwardly gay songs also very based in his religious beliefs, and often this duality can be confusing
This is one of the most interesting songs in terms of poetry on this album. Exactly, he creates the metaphor with John, the disciple that Jesus loved (he is even known as John the Beloved). But understanding his lyrics for the first time is difficult, Sufjan likes to confuse us
The song ‘The only thing’ BROKE ME. No truer words came from a song was ever written for a grieving person.
Thanks Mr Anonymous! Love your guys takes on sufjan. Had such fun listening along with you guys :)
❤️🤟🙏🤟❤️
@@WelpHereWeAreOnRUclips quick question. Love your videos and this one in particular was awesome.
Out of curiosity, towards the end of the video, what do you guys mean when you say it's unresolved? Do you mean the album itself is unresolved as a work of art, and "lacking" something to it, or that the feelings expressed by Sufjan are unresolved?
I cannot listen to this album without sum cry-cry
The live version of All of me Wants All of You really does pick it up at the end like you were talking about.
Love that you went to
Through all his discography
I know you guys listen albums after donations but if I may suggest one maybe Magnolia Electric Company by Songs: Ohia
A return to his 'classic' acoustic sound, well even more stripped down than usual, paired with heavy subject matter. It is a very good album, but I find myself rarely in the mood for this. Kudos to you going through this all the way through. Your channel/approach really is different 🙂
4th of July always makes me choke up😅😊
i just started the video, I've been excited for this, great content guys❤️
❤️🤟🙏🤟🤟 enjoy
@@WelpHereWeAreOnRUclips i had subscribed to you guys but none of your guys videos showed up on my home page especially this video and i just saw this right now😔❤️
Hey there guys love your videos! I’d be really interested to see you guys do a reaction video to Mount eerie “a crow looked at me”. Devastatingly beautiful album I think you guys would both appreciate.
Thank you 🙏
Great, more crying:)
Just found you guys recently, love the videos! re: John My Beloved, I believe he's interrogating his faith. Jesus was the beloved of John the Baptist, and he spends the song having a back and forth with Jesus about his worth and whether there really is anything that comes after. While he's still alive, "before the mystery ends" and he learns what really happens after his death, how does he engage with his faith and with the fossils of his loved ones? That's my take at least, there are others out there who have analyzed it more eloquently.
Great insight! And welpcome !
Jesus' beloved isn't John the Baptist, but his apostle John. ruclips.net/video/kwvguW8xBx0/видео.html (skip to 36:37)
He uses fossils as a metaphor. He is specifically referring to the fossils of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, which is in Oregon. “I paint the hills blue and red” refers to The Red Painted hills and The Blue Basin that are along the trail. In the park there are fossils that are exposed and you can see them along the trail. This is a brilliant use of a metaphor. His mother is now dead and he has to deal with her ghost. The beginning deals with going on a date, meeting someone at a bar. He admits he is emotionally empty and knows the relation will be empty. The reference “two baby teeth “ refers to the age when the Carrie left him, about one years old. “I took you as some kind of poem” refers to the book of John or the Bible in general of which he was knowledgable but viewed the Bible as a literary piece and not something practical. He now ask Jesus to protect him from “fossil that fall on his head” . He doesn’t know how he will carry on. When you go to the song “Should of known better” he seems to found redemption or at least perspective. The album has to view in its entirety. I can answer specific questions , I don’t pretend understand everything, but have been able to figure out a lot. Would like help figuring out the rest and would like dialogue.
I downloaded this album the day it came out and listened to it without knowing the story behind it, but was able figure it out. You have to listen to the whole album. The order is not that important, though the song “should of know better” seems to sum up the story.
transcedental communication of sufjan, we can only get a few bits, or if you have been trough psychedelic experiences you can get some more
I gotta say, of the directions I anticipated this going, a discussion of the relative stinkiness of burps and farts wasn't very high on the list.
Glad we can keep you guessing
listen to “Javelin”