Inspiration
THINGS THAT INSPIRE ME (and blessed is he,
whosoever shall not be offended)
gives me hope that American artists are still out there doin it.
My manboy Suf closes out the program on National Public Radio's Live From Here in NYC with Chris Thile. When's the last time a public theater full of New Yorkers sang a sacred prayer to Jesus Christ in earnest solemnity? Magic.
The moment was too holy, it seems the host forewent the usual end credits to lead all in singing the hymn's fifth verse.
Who has the courage to sing of Jesus's rejection and passion in a mixed audience that would certainly include Jewish people? A prophet. A Christian trying to find his way to the Truth, and to stay in the Truth. For all of us.
stop motion animation music video by Sufjan Stevens of a recently released short, using cut out Jehovah's Witness pamphlet illustrations. Ridiculous, tongue-in-cheek, exuberant, restrained, and also completely earnest.
Single just released from Sufjan's upcoming EP The Greatest Gift: outtakes, remixes, and extras from his Carrie & Lowell album.
Who else writes a song about cannibalism, addiction, self-hatred, holy Communion, shame, rejection, and love for enemies - under the guise of being about a planet in our solar system? Nobody.
and this little gem from the same album.
"Perhaps we don’t like what we see: our hips, our loss of hair, our shoe size, our dimples, our knuckles too big, our eating habits, our disposition. We have disclosed these things in secret, likes and dislikes, behind doors with locks, our lonely rooms, our messy desks, our empty hearts, our sudden bursts of energy, our sudden bouts of depression. Don’t worry. Put away your mirrors and your beauty magazines and your books on tape. There is someone right here who knows you more than you do, who is making room on the couch, who is fixing a meal, who is putting on your favorite record, who is listening intently to what you have to say, who is standing there with you, face to face, hand to hand, eye to eye, mouth to mouth. There is no space left uncovered. This is where you belong."
--Sufjan Stevens
as sung by PS22 Chorus