Sufjan Stevens Band • Page 9

Lucas27 · Nov 22, 2017

zmtr said:

dang I can't believe I missed the rankings a few pages back :(

Ranking Chorus.fm posters in order of swiftness:

1. Us

2. You

jkauf · Nov 25, 2017

Wonder what made them decide to use a bunch of Jehovah’s Witness illustrations for this, haha.

Contender · Nov 28, 2017

https://themuse.jezebel.com/searching-for-queerness-in-sufjan-stevenss-call-me-by-y-1820646846

sonder · Nov 29, 2017

I love the album version of John My Beloved, but the live version just blows me away....

Drewski · Dec 2, 2017

Sufjan's delivery of "I was ashamed" in Romulus guts me every. damn. time.

sonder · Dec 4, 2017

Drewski said:

Sufjan's delivery of "I was ashamed" in Romulus guts me every. damn. time.

I love going to concerts in Detroit because then I have an excuse to play that song everytime that I drive past Romulus.

sonder · Dec 5, 2017

Contender said:

https://themuse.jezebel.com/searching-for-queerness-in-sufjan-stevenss-call-me-by-y-1820646846

Thought this was a super interesting read coming from the perspective of a cis-male. I've definitely gotten the "queer" vibes in some of Sufjan's songs and never gave much thought to his sexuality because it just wasn't that important to me, but I can empathize with that yearning to identify yourself in a song. Either way, I was excited to find two (three if you count the remix) new Sufjan songs from that movie's soundtrack!

awakeohsleeper · Dec 6, 2017

So... Sufjan Stevens has just released two tracks based on Tonya Harding...

Tonya Harding, by Sufjan Stevens

TONYA HARDING, MY STAR
by Sufjan Stevens
I’ve been trying to write a Tonya Harding song since I first saw her skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1991. She’s a complicated subject for a song partly because the hard facts of her life are so strange, disputable, heroic, unprecedented, and indelibly American. She was one of the greatest figure skaters of her time, and the first American woman to perform a triple axle in an international competition. She was an unlikely skating star, having been raised working class in Portland, Oregon. Being a poor outsider, her rise to fame in the skating rink was seen, by some, as a blemish on a sport that favored sophistication and style. Tonya’s skating technique was feisty, fierce, and full of athleticism, and her flamboyant outfits were often hand-made by her mother (who was abusive and overbearing). (They couldn’t afford Vera Wang.) And then there was the Nancy Kerrigan incident. In January 1994, Tonya’s then-boyfriend Jeff Gillooly hired an assailant, Shane Stant, to break fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan’s leg at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Cobo Arena in Detroit, so that she would be unable to compete at the upcoming Winter Olympics. The after-math of the attack was recorded on camera and ultimately set off a media frenzy (and an FBI investigation). Gillooly and Stan were eventually found guilty, and Tonya pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution, and was subsequently banned for life from the U.S. Figure Skating Association. Nancy Kerrigan recovered from her injury and won a silver medal at the Winter Olympics. Tonya Harding finished eighth.
But that’s not even half the story. When Tonya and Gillooly got married, they filmed themselves having sex on their wedding night and produced one of the first-ever celebrity sex tapes (which they sold to Penthouse for $200,000 each). Tonya also had a brief career as a boxer, and is most famous for her bout with former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones (whose sexual harassment suit against Bill Clinton precipitated his impeachment in 1998). Tonya was also (very briefly) in a band called the Golden Blades (they were allegedly booed off the stage during their first and only performance). She also raced vintage automobiles (setting a record by driving a Ford Model A over 97 miles per hours on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah). And in 1996 Tonya used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive an 81-year-old woman who collapsed at a bar in Portland while playing video poker. That’s a lot to accomplish before the age of 30!
Tonya Harding’s dramatic rise and fall was fiercely followed by the media, and she very quickly became the brunt of jokes, the subject of tabloid headlines and public outcry. She was a reality TV star before such a thing even existed. But she was also simply un-categorical: American’s sweetheart with a dark twist. But I believe this is what made her so interesting, and a true American hero. In the face of outrage and defeat, Tonya bolstered shameless resolve and succeeded again and again with all manners of re-invention and self-determination. Tonya shines bright in the pantheon of American history simply because she never stopped trying her hardest. She fought classism, sexism, physical abuse and public rebuke to become an incomparable American legend.

I admit, early drafts of this song contained more than a few puns, punch lines and light-hearted jabs—sex tapes and celebrity boxing make for an entertaining narrative arc. But the more I edited, and the more I meditated, and the more I considered the wholeness of the person of Tonya Harding, I began to feel a conviction to write something with dignity and grace, to pull back the ridiculous tabloid fodder and take stock of the real story of this strange and magnificent America hero. At the end of the day, Tonya Harding was just an ordinary woman with extraordinary talent and a tireless work ethic who set out to do her very best. She did that and more. I hope the same can be said of us all. - Sufjan Stevens

zmtr · Dec 6, 2017

holy shit this is great

Horrorca · Dec 6, 2017

awakeohsleeper said:

So... Sufjan Stevens has just released two tracks based on Tonya Harding...

Tonya Harding, by Sufjan Stevens

I love you, Suf

(I haven't even played the song yet)

tucah · Dec 6, 2017

Beautiful tracks

It's been a great year for Sufjan, between the mixtape, stuff like this and the Call Me By Your Name tracks, Planetarium, felt like a pretty constant stream of music.

awakeohsleeper · Dec 6, 2017

He has been very prolific this year. I love it.

Horrorca · Dec 6, 2017

tucah said:

Beautiful tracks

It's been a great year for Sufjan, between the mixtape, stuff like this and the Call Me By Your Name tracks, Planetarium, felt like a pretty constant stream of music.

Planetarium was dope AF

mesi · Dec 6, 2017

Also available on 7'' via Asthmatic Kitty:
Sufjan Stevens - Tonya Harding

irthesteve · Dec 6, 2017

I like the Eb major version a lot more, but both are really cool. Love you Suffy

Inna Selez · Dec 6, 2017

Both versions are good, can't decide which one I prefer more.

SmashRipsaw · Dec 7, 2017

Why is this so good?

chhholly123 · Dec 7, 2017

I grew up under a rock so I legit have never heard of Tonya Harding but this song is amazing.

brandon_260 · Dec 14, 2017

The Tonya Harding songs are gorgeous. Maybe my favorite song(s) he’s released this year.

Inna Selez · Dec 26, 2017

Video: Sufjan Stevens – “Life With Dignity”

Inna Selez · Jan 4, 2018

Watch Sufjan Stevens’ New Video for Call Me By Your Name Song “Mystery of Love” | Pitchfork

zmtr · Jan 23, 2018

Soofie is nominated for an Oscar

irthesteve · Jan 23, 2018

yayyyy

Inna Selez · Jan 23, 2018

Congratulations for nomination and good luck!

mad · Jan 23, 2018

go suffy

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