Age of Adz is a masterpiece
sorry if there's already a thread on this but it's taken me about 10 listens (and only one so far of the final track) to realise this.
At the moment it's really reminding me of Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus because of the OTT production but I honestly think it'll come to be regarded as his Trout Mask Replica. It's mind-blowing.
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doesn't come close to illinoise for me, sorry
lots of lovely OTT production as you say but very few ideas, and each one is repeated much more than it needs to be.
ILLINOIS
Come on
feel the Illnoise init
you're new here aren't you
:D
It does take a few listens....
...but I totally agree....
A fantastic album. So much going on.
A game changer (as the cliche goes)
lovely stuff
where's the tour?
Different venues, I imagine
As is the nature of a "tour".
I'm really enjoying the 2 free tracks
I'll buy it once I'm finished with All Delighted People.
it's
taking me a while i have to say. while keep on persisting
Can't agree with that at all
especially that second statement which is just ridiculous.
'But the concept of a 'grower', which has crept into use, seems to be the equivalent of mediocre.'
To you (and seemingly only you) maybe.
"The job of an artist is to communicate their ideas to you and if they can't get through to you then they are doing a bad job."
Putting aside the nonsense in that sentence about what an artist's "job" is supposed to be, why should an artist be obliged to communicate ideas in the most accessible and obvious way? By your logic if the ideas were complex and you as a listener didn't make the effort or otherwise manage to comprehend it then the artist is a failure, where in reality it is you who is the thicko.
"You can have ideas which are presented in a complex way and still don't take ages to enjoy on an emotional or intellectual way. "
You *can*, but you can also have ideas which *do* take time to figure out and appreciate, and I can't see any justification for your claim that a lack of immediacy is therefore necessarily a mark of poor quality.
Your Peter Brotzmann example doesn't really illustrate your point, in fact the converse really.
"No one goes to the cinema then starts saying "phew, I thought it was ok but I might have to spend a few weeks appreciating it before I decide whether it was good or not"."
I don't know about phrasing it that way but are you really suggesting that everyone's opinions gestate fully-formed the first time they hear/watch/see something and don't change after that? People frequently comment that they'd need to watch a film again to appreciate the nuances or figure out the plot, and similarly people frequently watch something again and claim a different/new/refreshed/etc perspective on it. I'm fairly sure this tendency is even more pronounced with music which doesn't tend to hold on a plot (which we find easier to recall as storytelling humans than melodies or lateral structures etc), and therefore is more prone to changing perspectives, especially over the course of the first few weeks / dozen listens or so of exposure.
I'm going to agree with grouchland.
Basically, if you listen to a mediocre album long enough you're going to come up with some bullshit excuses for why you did.
Grouchland have you got two log-ins like Chupabracas now?!?
Mediocre albums are more often then not the ones I REALLY enjoy the first couple of listens
then quickly wear think OR are bland the first time I listen to them and are still bland after the 3rd listen
People really should know if they should stick with an album after the 3rd listen or not.
I can think of a lot of albums that took a lot of listening before I "got,"
If I play a mediocre album lots of times It is still going to be mediocre.
Yes ok.
I keep seeing these kind of statements from grouchland in threads. I'm guessing he's just on the wind up?
you wish
thats 100% Grouchland
Blimey
Luckily as soon as I see a comment like that these days I check to see who it's from before I get angry. EVERY time it's been from him!
By the way, Age of Adz - Masterpiece? Yes. I need a few more week with it to decide just how great.
usually I tend to agree with Grouchland
anyone who uses a Brotzmann analogy to make a point is ok with me.
On this occasion however (and the new Wyatt album) I really couldn't disagree more if I tried.
It is utterly incredible
i can't imagine anyone else even being capable of making something like this
it takes a couple of listens because there's just so much to take in - it's overwhelming
my favourite album by him so far
and it makes me think that he must be a lovely bloke, somehow.
I've only just got my head around All Delighted Peoples
and have come to the conclusion that it's incredible, so I'm expecting something similar (in terms of effort to understand) from this but on first listen I'm not that impressed.
The electronic sounds feel like he's just dabbling to me. Like he's just trying out a sound without mastering it fully. Hopefully it'll click.
I know what you mean
I was disappointed with the beats at first. A lot of them sound like Mark Bell outtakes from Homogenic - ie. a bit 90s. Using electronic beats to signal a change in direction feels a bit old-hat these days but in my opinion the electronic element has been over-played in the reviews and is certainly not the most controversial thing about this awesome record.
The last track is a notable exception - it seems to tie in nicely with stuff like Dam Funk, FlyLo, Zomby, Joker etc. Perhaps the fact that since discovering Sufjan 5 years ago I've got into those acts makes the whole thing a more acceptable listen.
best thing I've heard this year so far
wonderful record
So anyway
Lots of love for Age of Adz on here. So how come it's not been recognised as a really special album in the media? Even the very positive Pitchfork and DiS reviews weren't 'OMG' amazing.
Is it because the media weren't given months to hype it up? I'd love to know how many times a reviewer listens to an album on average. Or maybe because it's a less commercial sound? I don't remember Kid A getting many incredible reviews at the time, whereas the ultra-hpyed Merryweather Post Pavillion was the sound of a once-experimental act meeting the mainstream. I'd say both records are probably as 'listenable' as Age of Adz.
yes mmp was such a mainstream album, it did brilliantly in the top 40.
26 apparently
Plus a Brit Award nomination.
Bandcamp, obv.
http://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/album/the-age-of-adz
He's not fucking around.
If by the fifteen minute mark of Impossible Soul you're not totally pumped for the next ten you should probably check your pulse.
Even a 25 minute song has no place for FUCKING AUTOTUNE!
Still, other than that I'm enjoying this album more each time I listen.
STUUUPID MAAAN
IN THE WINDOOOWWWW
I COULDN'T BE ADDDRESSSSEDDDD
I LOVE the autotune on that song. I love everything about it.
The album has some breathtakingly beautiful moments...
but some of it sounds like a mess. If it were not Sufjan Stevens I would even call it amateurish. But then I have only heard this, maybe, thrice.
I have no doubt that grouchland is a pimply 14 year old.
It's one of the few recent albums that is more than just a collection of songs
In that it works completely as a piece, and demands to be listened that way. Even something like The Suburbs, which is meant to have this thematic continuity, doesn't hold together anywhere as near as well this. This will sound like wanky hypberole, but when you finish it, you feel like you've gone through/survived something with Sufjan - found it quite powerful.
All The Delighted People is also one of the best songs of the year. That is all.
I'll never ever ever understand
why All Delighted Peoples got such shitty reviews, both versions of the song are masterpieces.
This one is still slowly sinking in...
amazing, amazing, amazing.
i think this album has ruined music for me. everything else seems so anemic and blank now...
if it's not a stretch of pulsing thuds and whirrs and whistles and swells, punctured by intermittant scraps of fragility and grace...i'm not really that bothered.
people talk about getting lost in music, but starting up the first track on this album feels like tucking the duvet under your chin and knowing that your about to drift of to somewhere almost completely ineffable, that is, if you're wanting to capture or describe it's complete scope in conversation...and trying to get a grasp on it and dilute it down for description only ruins the experience...so i'm gonna stop talking about it and just go listen again.
bof. what a record. an album. a proper ALBUM. got good gods on some ALBUMSS.
OK everyone
I've listened to this loads now, the more I listen the more I want to.
The problem I have with the electronics being sorta poorly executed remain, but mainly just on Too Much.
And occasionally the pep-talk lyrics weird me out.
But I don't care what anyone says in, this is his best record.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR.
really a masterpiece? Really?
REALLY?
Really.
YES!
good god it is a fucking masterpiece. album of the year by a mile.
Well, at first it doesn't appear to be.
There's a lot 'wrong' with it. But if it clicks (not guaranteed) it gets better and better.
Also, the vinyl edition seems to be mastered a little bit grittier which I quite like.
WHEN HE DIES
WHEN HE DIES
HE'LL ROT BAA DA BADADADA BADADA
This album is stupidly good. Despite all the incredible intstrumentals though I think my favourite thing on it is his vocals. Fucking ace.
The vocals on 'I Walked'
I knew he could sing, but... blimey.
Pretty great stuff
Though in terms of mega-long songs I vote for Djohariah over Impossible Soul.
I still think the electronic elements of the album sound a bit amateur in places
in places it works well but sometimes it just doesn't seem to gel like it should.
Incredible stuff
He plays the role of Dick Van Dyke and has both hands on all the knobs, bells and whistles of his own musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I'm loving the new sound.
I agree with Michael up there. After listening to it this morning I put a bit of No Age on, which I bought at the same time, and it's plainness was apparent. Don't get me wrong, I love that record too, but ADZ is such a multifaceted extravaganza of heart and thump with a bit of pomp thrown in.
I would expect to see it chart well in all end-of-year lists, as it deserves to.
exactly...
having bought age of adz, halcyon digest and the gold panda record at the same time, i think AOA is pretty much directly responsible for my tepid reaction to the other two. they feel decent for a spin, but oh so lacking in comparison.
I'm pretty sure the record is tied, for me, with Illinois for best.
So, I was pretty okay on all of it: I really loved it, but not all of it had quite sunk in, especially Impossible Soul, and who can blame me for that one?
But then I saw him live.
He played damn near every track from the record, and it all clicked into place. I'm just telling you all that now: if you don't get it, when he goes on tour over there, CATCH IT. If nothing else, the fact that all of the beats on the record are played by the twin drummers, and you get to see them MAKE THOSE BEATS, is worth it.
Even All Delighted People sounds better in open air. Almost a tear-jerker, to be honest.
Even Impossible Soul worked flawlessly. When the really dancy section started, people got the fuck out of their cozy concert hall seats and SHOOK THEIR ASSES. A thirty-something soccer mom next to my wife LOST HER MIND. It was fucking awesome.
The notion that records don't grow on you is a crock. Albums are multi-layered, and The Age of Adz might be the best example of it in a good while. Sufjan poured a LOT into the record, and it's going to take a lot of time for everyone to unearth all of it. The notion that a record of this expanse can be experienced, in full, after a singular listen, is horseshit.
I'm going to call it now. The Age of Adz is this decade's Kid A. In 10 years, everyone is going to be calling it the best. And we all goddamn know it.
FUCK YEAH!
This is the kind of post we need a lot more of.
Strong posting
I bought it today. One listen so far, and I actually came here to say that the experience was a lot like hearing Kid A for the first time. Looking forward to unravelling it further over the coming days/weeks/life.
FUCK YEAAAAAHHH
lord that would be a show, yes sir.
and it really is that fucking good...oof, what a record.
same...
let's go and watch him together and take our tops off and rub our nipples when it drops on 'i want to be well'...yup?
Steady on...
I'm all for a couple of "FUCK YEAHS" but nipple rubbing is taking it a step too far.
What about
some belly button fingering?
Uggghhh
Enjoyed this post.
Haven't heard the record yet though.
Seeing him in January
The thought of the point when I Want To Be Well drops with twin drummers and full backing has me salivating already
Keep finding new parts to the record with every listen, especially Impossible Soul which will probably take a few more months of daily listens to fully appreciate
I can't gush enough.
The venue couldn't have been better. I heard the lyrics clearer than I did on record, and I was sitting in Row N. It was an almost solely Age of Adz/All Delighted People show. He didn't do anything before All Delighted People until the very end...
...when he broke out Chicago, Concerning the UFO Sightings over Highland, Illinois, and Casimir Pulaski Day. I would be lying through my teeth if I said that I did not, in fact, weep like a baby when Casimir Pulaski Day came on. It was absolutely stunning.
There are a lot of shows I go to and think, "That was my favorite show ever." The Decemberists at a hometown show, Pavement's first US date. Sunny Day Real Estate's first reunion show. But I have to be honest with myself: Sufjan Stevens is the best songwriter working today. In fact, for most of us, he's definitely the strongest songwriter of our lives. With every record, he tops himself, and it's awe-inspiring. I feel privileged to have been in the same room with him, because he's also probably the best showman working today. Hands down, best performance I've ever seen.
Glad to see people responded well to me saying it's the best of the decade. Because, it's just plain and simple true. It may be amongst the first truly "classic" records of this century.
Has anyone mentioned how damn Christmassy the record is yet?
I maybe have a Sufjan=Christmas association going on, but listen to the bells on 'Age of Adz' (the song) and various choral vocals etc and you'll see what I mean...
I'm going to be listening to this a lot in a month's time, I reckon.
I dislike that song
for that very reason. Keep Christmas bells out of non-Christmas songs.
I thought this.
It just gets better with every single listen.
I find a lot of his stuff quite Christmassy
including the All Delighted People EP (Djohariah especially) but I'm not getting much of a Christmas vibe off Adz. Other than maybe Now That I'm Older and the horns on Bad Communication.
I like the Kid A comparisons a lot
but what about comparing it to Digital Ash in a Digital Urn? Obvioulsy it's a more ambitious and expansive record but they share quite a similar 'indie boy explores electronics' aesthetic.
it sits very nicely alongside Actor by St. Vincent too, i've found.
I found myself thinking about that last night
Pipped to the observational post yet again though!
There are similarities, especially in the places where it sounds like a more traditional Sufjan/Conor [delete as appropriate] song that's just been covered in high-production bells and whistles. Oddly, despite Digital Ash getting far less critical acclaim (and probably rightly so), it did make me want to return to that album.
Also, the joyous middle section of 'Impossible Soul' reminds me a little of Rilo Kiley's 'With Arms Outstretched', complete with Oberst-laden backing vocals.
Not for me.
I like Sufjan, but I think he's at his best when he's keeping it simple. He writes brilliant melodies, and they are obscured on this album. I always appreciate it when people try to do something new though, he's just not Flying Lotus unfortunately.
I think you might be mashing together two separate points here (possibly)
1) He's best when he keeps it simple:
totally disagree. I love the ambition, the scope, the breadth of ILLINOIS and Adz. If you want humble, pleasant, unambitious guitar music then listen to the Acorn.
2) He's not Flying Lotus:
Totally agree. As people have mentioned his electronics sound 'amateurish'. I personally think it's part of the charm of the record, but yeah, he's obviously not as at home as he is with banjo and clarinet.
i hate this whole, 'amateur' electronic thing
'OH...THEZE BEATS AREN'T VURY UNIQUE AND FORWARD THINKING ENUF ARE THEY'
silly.
It's not so much the lacking of a unique flavour.
In a way it's that they're OVER-unique, if that makes any sense.
They don't have a particuarly fluid or 'smooth' feel to them, though, there's a lot of sonic 'mess'. Don't get me wrong - I love it - but it's easy to see why the 'amateur' tag gets thrown around.
Yeah, I feel that
they don't quite cut through, they're a bit fluffy. They're certainly unique as you said.
He would definitely have benefited from working with someone who knows what they're doing. The messiness is a cool aspect tho.
Funnily enough it's not really detracting anymore when I listen, if anything it just feels like he missed the opportunity to make it even better.
Lord alone knows what his new one will sound like.....
It's either be recorded in a circus tent with lions and tigers and bears - oh my!
or just him and a ukelele for 79mins.
In which case he'd seriously
better consider dropping his weird independence and hire in a specialist tiger/bear trainer...
I love Illinois,
the songs are more focussed and they fit perfectly into an ambitious framework. My point is that when Sufjan piles on layer after layer of electronic sounds, it adds nothing to the song (eg the end of 'Too Much'). He is obviously capable of pulling it off spectacularly though (eg 'I Walked).
Suephyarn
Is Sufjan gay?
I've never really thought about it before but the exuberance with which he sings 'BOY! We could do so much together!' in the last track makes me think it might be possibly sexual in nature.
nah, he's got a wife and KIDS
they're in the little poster on the Songs For Christmas boxset.
Oh ok.
It's pretty damn lazy anyway to go from 'spurious thought about lyrics' to 'conclusion about songwriter's sexuality'. But he just does seem to say 'BOY!' like he means it.
Wonder what the heck the whole song's about. Anyone?
I think it's more 'Oh Boy' a la Sam Beckett
I don't wanna be funny or nuffin guvnor
but having a wife and kids =/= not being gay.
Yeah,
but you know what I mean.
Not rrrreally
but I don't wanna get all internet crusader about it!
Anyways I read somewhere that the song was about him trying to get with some lady, unsuccessfully from the sound of it but I dunno.
Theres no reason at all why the "boy" bit couldn't be sexual, tho it sounds more like it's more "oh boy" to me too.
...thats actually a fake family portrait though
and there has been massive debate about his sexuality for ages with other interpretable lyrics as well
not that it matters obviously
It's hard to ignore all the gay subtext in his songs.
I mean... there's The Predatory Wasps of the Palisades are Out To Get Us! and Casimir Pulaski Day (because why else would there be complications he could do without?), and even at the beginning of the album, on Futile Devices, when he's talking about loving this other person, and then says "I think of you as a brother."
I don't really like to impose sexuality on musicians, but the "we were in love" section of Predatory Wasps is a LITTLE fishy.
YAY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20101111_sufjan_tour.shtml
C'mon Fuckin Yay.......
I was thinking....
I make a 'best of the year' type mix-cd for a couple of friends (who make me one, it's a great way of picking up on stuff from other genres we may each have missed).
What song am I gonna put on my 'best of 2010' from Adz???
I mean 'impossible soul' is CLEARLY the highlight, but it's far too long, it'd take up a third of the whole CD.
So... which shorter song do you think would be best?
I've been having this dilemma too
'Get Real Get Right' maybe?
I Want To Be Well
feels like the album-end proper before the massive epilogue that is Impossible Soul. The 'I'm not fucking around!' refrain is the highlight of the whole record for me.
Actually I thissed that^
but now I think about it "Age of Adz" sorta encapsulates the whole album, it's either that or "I Want to be Well"...
But out of everything he's put out this year I'd put on "All Delighted Peoples"
I Walked
Best track by a mile.
I do love that song
I Want To Be Well.
Deffo.
Or, Age Of Adz.
God, I don't know.
After a month it's still my album of the year..
..doing a radio show and going to be playing Impossible Soul in full about 11..looking forward to it.
that's just lazy
^This
I hope you at least did a bit of MCing over it. Thinking some 'Ah yeh!'s would work quite nicely on top of the 'Boy, we could do much more together's.
Rather than starting a separate Sufjan thread, I'll keep my enquiries here:
I've basically, somehow, only just got into Sufjan Stevens with this album. A good friend once gave me a mix CD with 'Come on! Feel the Illinoise!' on it about three years ago, and I remember absolutely loving that song then, but for some reason he remained one of those artists I kept meaning to 'get around to' but never did.
So, I've since checked out Illinois, but not heard anything else. I am eager to here the EP he released earlier this year. What else should I really not be missing out on? KTHX
HOMONYM FAIL
You should listen to the mashup some guy did.
"Zombies Walk!!"
I almost want to spoil the surprise of what the mashup is, but it's so god, I don't want to tell you.
http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=206092&song=Zombies+Walk!!
'This link appears to be broken'
YouTube?
Hmm
I have listened to this now and I just don't hear it. It's nothing special at all and it just sounds like Merz. The general pace and sound is very boring.
Sorry, I wanted to like it, I really did. It's just not good enough.
thanks
that was great, and just makes me want him to come over to the UK again very soon please.
hahaha
:)
wings?
for gods sake.
It's like he's actually trying to make me hate it.
It's still great.
its good
its not a masterpiece though.
True.
Illinois is his masterpiece.
compleatly diff sound
After seeing him perform it live
I'm just about thinking it might be. What a performance! Seeing it live really filled in the gaps for me with this album and I'm starting to think it may be just a bit special. Nice one Suffy.
pretty much this
i had to buy it on vinyl after seeing him (and because it was only £10 for heavyweight twins) i lopve this album a lot, i think i'll listen to it again after lunch
Very much this
I always liked it but found it a bit of a difficult listen, particularly in the second half. I'm finding it much much more enjoyable since seeing him.
nice to see the old thread dusted off.
still a masterpiece BTW. Wish I could have seen the show.
Yes it is
and it grows and grows and grows with each listen. I can't get enough of it.
I'm sure I'm repeating everything above...
... but what the heck, I'm bored...
... and on my lunch-break, with a dodgy Enter key apparently... I was majorly disappointed in this on my first listen. For some reason I dusted it off recently and gave it a second listen. I was intrigued but not convinced. The real moment of revelation came about a month ago when I listened to the last track in its entirety on an early morning misty/sunny bus-ride to work and was blown away. And that was that, I was won over. I don't think it's the album he'll be remembered for, but it's a fascinating chapter in a career that never ceases to astound...