In this age of small
things, it’s refreshing to hear of an artist doing something big. When I found
out in 2006 that Sufjan Stevens was planning a 50-album project dedicated to every
American state – I thought my God, this is amazing. Of course, he also had to
say the project was doomed to failure and there was no chance in hell he would
complete it. Even if he drank all the right juices and lived to be a hundred. Fair
do’s.
But when Michigan was followed by Illinois, practical issues seemed
irrelevant. After all, here was a man with a big idea. 50 albums. It’s not that
he was ever going to do that. It’s about defying reality and defying
expectations. It's about breaking the fucking fish bowl.
Now, in 2015, it’s
depressing to think that Carrie and
Lowell might just be enough.
