Sufjan Stevens' Christmas stuff is great (the arrangements of traditional songs especially, mostly in a folksy style; some of the cornier "Santa songs" and recent stuff aren't so great, so I just edited my collection down to the best couple hours). Though two new ones he wrote are fantastic - the shimmeringly beautiful "Star of Wonder" and "The Christmas Unicorn," which is 12:30 long and may be the most bizarre Christmas song ever, as the second half morphs into an homage to Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart").
That's cool - yeah, I think he's from Detroit originally, but hippyish parents also moved around a lot.
If you haven't heard much of his other stuff either, I think you'd really like his 2004 album "Seven Swans" (very folksy, lots of Banjo!; and very Christian but not in that cloying evangelical megachurch "praise & worship" music way), and his 2015 album, "Carrie & Lowell". "The Transfiguration" is my favorite track from "Seven Swans": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDnmO4cTUGc
He's sometimes hit-or-miss for me, such as when he veers into a lot of experimental-type electronic stuff, which doesn't do much for me, but when he's good he's exceptionally good.
"A Soalin" reminds us that these performers can capture another overtone that is not heard by the ear.
Sufjan Stevens' Christmas stuff is great (the arrangements of traditional songs especially, mostly in a folksy style; some of the cornier "Santa songs" and recent stuff aren't so great, so I just edited my collection down to the best couple hours). Though two new ones he wrote are fantastic - the shimmeringly beautiful "Star of Wonder" and "The Christmas Unicorn," which is 12:30 long and may be the most bizarre Christmas song ever, as the second half morphs into an homage to Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart").
Here's a representative folksy trad one, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cppww7NoOYM
And here's "Star of Wonder": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo6Ve077fzQ
And "The Christmas Unicorn": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kghR_O3-rdY
Haven't heard these--thanks! Believe it or not, for a few years Sufjan attended the Waldorf school where I worked, but before I started there in 1991.
I forgot. There's also a Sufjan Yule Log:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH9xbc4iPI4
Sit by the virtual fire accompanied by Sufjan's complete Christmas songs! :)
That's cool - yeah, I think he's from Detroit originally, but hippyish parents also moved around a lot.
If you haven't heard much of his other stuff either, I think you'd really like his 2004 album "Seven Swans" (very folksy, lots of Banjo!; and very Christian but not in that cloying evangelical megachurch "praise & worship" music way), and his 2015 album, "Carrie & Lowell". "The Transfiguration" is my favorite track from "Seven Swans": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDnmO4cTUGc
He's sometimes hit-or-miss for me, such as when he veers into a lot of experimental-type electronic stuff, which doesn't do much for me, but when he's good he's exceptionally good.