Song of the Week - 2/26/07

Week 2 - Sufjan Stevens "Casimir Pulaski Day"

The first time I heard of Sufjan Stevens was on a bus full of high school kids headed to Colorado. Their enthusiastic endorsement was damning of course, as Figure 1 (What a student says = What it actually means) below illustrates:

That movie is awesome = This is the worst movie in the history of mankind
Taco Bell is the greatest restaurant of all time = I enjoy eating rancid garbage
I love this band = I find the sound of cats being tortured pleasant and relaxing
I understand what you said = Girls! Cars! Girls! Clothes! Sleep! Girls Girls Girls!

The chart is almost always right and I was led to believe that I would never listen to Sufjan voluntarily, but would probably catch his tune attached to some crappy dog food commercial. One year later I purchased Sufjan's album "Illinoise" and loved it instantly, which means I might be renting "Big Momma's House 2" very soon.

The song is hauntingly beautiful to me where heartbreak and hope meet faith and doubt. There are too many songs about faith in God that are all sunshine and lollipops and ignore the unimaginable pains and hurts that we all encounter. The last three lines devastate me as the the song finishes into a colossal wall of sound. Also the title of the album is funny. Illinoise. Ha ha ha.

As an added bonus to the song of the week, here are Sheridan's power rankings for this past week. These are the things that are ruling her world and giving her the most excitement.

Sheridan Power Rankings:

1. Cheese
2. Yelling
3. The master bathroom
4. Five Star Bunny
5. Eating her own socks