Tag: christmas

Sufjan Stevens – My Personal Winter Soundtrack

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It should come as no surprise to you that Sufjan Stevens is my personal soundtrack to the colder months.  I can’t imagine a better backdrop to set the tree, sit by the fire, or read a good book under a blanket.  That being said – the 10 disc collection of Winter and Christmas themed music put together by Sufjan and his pals does have a few tracks that are harder to bear upon repeat listening.

And, if your audience isn’t really versed in Sufjan’s compositional tendencies, simply blasting through the entire discography might garner more than a few requests to push the skip track button.

To this end I’ve put together what I consider the best and most accessible distillation of both Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold.

Enjoy it to your heart’s content.  Be that with friends, foe, or in some cases a healthy does of heartache.  My Sufjan Winter Spotify Playlist

Sufjan Stevens – Silver and Gold – Gloria

Sufjan Stevens has quite simply done it again.  In 2007 he released a box set of Christmas (and winter, and seasonal, and etc.) songs that spanned multiple eras, references, and were all presented in the many various compositional styles preferred by Sufjan.  This time around he has dropped another 58 tracks filled with more of the same.  And more of the same is more of subtle genius we have come to expect from him.

The full box set is broken into five separate parts that collectively form Silver and Gold (bandcamp) (amazon) (itunes).  First on the list is the album Gloria which serves as a very effective jumping off point for those unfortunate few that are thus far uninitiated.  This first album has a healthy cross section of Sufjan Christmas.  There are original songs that would easily fit on his Michigan or Illinois albums interspersed with his take on classic tracks.  Below are my two favorite songs from the first album although I would encourage you all to listen to the entire album.

mp3 : Sufjan Stevens – Lumberjack Christmas / No One Can Save You From Christmases Past
mp3 : Sufjan Stevens – The Midnight Clear

Other standout tracks on Gloria include the sprawling 7+ minute Baracola and Sufjan’s interpretation of Silent Night.  I’ll be back later this week with highlights from the remaining four albums in the box set.  For those of you in the USA have a great Thanksgiving week / weekend.  For those elsewhere, enjoy the music.

+ more Sufjan Stevens @ twf hype elbows site asthmatic kitty amazonmp3 itunes

Sufjan Stevens upcoming album Silver & Gold has a free single entitled Christmas Unicorn

Sufjan Stevens has a new Christmas/Holiday album coming out this November. It is called Silver & Gold and will have a total of fifty eight songs.  If you head over to his streaming page you can download the last track from the compilation for free in high quality digital format.  Appropriately it’s entitled Christmas Unicorn and it sprawls for a full 12+ minutes.  I would expect nothing less from Sufjan at this point.  Take a listen below and then head over to his page to preorder the digital version or the vinyl limited edition if you have money to spare.

mp3 : Sufjan Stevens – Christmas Unicorn

+ more Sufjan Stevens @ twf hype elbows site asthmatic kitty amazonmp3 itunes

Sufjan’s Christmas


So while I wait to get my file host woes sorted out [currently working on a couple of fixes] I thought I would at least post something new. This is old news, but maybe old is the new new. I’m not sure, and yes I am confused.

Anyway, you all deserve to get in the holiday mood and listen to the magic that is Sufjan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas.

And it’s all free and streamable.

http://www.asthmatickitty.com/suf_xmas/suf_xmas.php

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