Illinois

Very interesting?? Definitely not my muisc very theatrical and not exactly to my taste but it’s still a good album just not my music highlights: Chicago, casmir pulaski day

Tried and tired. I tried to listen to this, but quickly tired of it. This wasn’t my first attempt to listen to sad sack white boy music, but it will be my last.

Meh

I may need to give this a closer listen.

Ok

Min första tanke när jag satte på denna var ”fy fan allt låter precis om ett Wes Anderson-soundtrack”, vilket också var det bestående intrycket efter att ha lyssnat klart. Roligt att sen upptäcka att en av de första recensionerna sa precis samma sak och att man inte var ensam om den slutsatsen. Det är förstås imponerande att han spelar instrumenten själv och han är ju uppenbart talangfull, men den här stilen är inte min grej. Det låter bara så…fjantigt? Det blir heller inga pluspoäng för längden, de pretentiösa låttitlarna och de poänglösa mellanspelen. Jag kanske skulle omvärdera om jag lyssnade mer och ”vande mig”, men jag orkar inte.

Some I enjoyed but for the most part wasn’t to my taste

That’s a no from me dog. I know Chicago but the rest felt exhausting. Also those song names, kind of glad we left that in the 2000s. Even the description of the album is exhausting. “Sufjan Stevens has a secret to share: There are moments in his life—particularly when he’s posing, and finds himself playing a role he does not momentarily believe—when he might as well be a serial killer”

It was alright but dragged on for a lot longer than I'd like. If it was 45 minutes, I'd give it a 3. Couldn't really groove with it.

I like the album's cover art, but the music isn't for me.

Boring.

Neither hot nor cold is how I feel about this album.

Nothing really too it. Perhaps good backgfround msuic

I have tried to like Sufjan - like seriously tried - but this album is just like nails on a chalkboard to me - everything about it - his voice, the lyrics, the song titles, much of the music just irks me. I gave it an honest try again, but I just can't.

Num gosto tanto

Not my jam. I listened, but it isn't something I will start either.

I’d heard his music previously, but couldn’t remember much about it. I appreciated this for what it is, but isn’t really my thing. I could tell this was an album that would benefit from multiple listens (as is the case for a lot of albums, obviously) but I’m not sure I enjoyed it enough to give it more time. The songs just went over my head and didn’t keep my attention. I felt it needed it should have been more varied and challenging, but I appreciate I might have missed the entire point. Either way, just not for me.

bored, liked one song

At times this sounded like low rent Arcade Fire, which is the most generous thing I can think to say.

Needs understanding... Not sure one listen does this justice.

This is the musical equivalent of bread sauce. It’s boring (in that all tracks are kind of the same), it’s uninspiring (in that it’s all just a wee bit dull) and it’s unnecessary. It’s also far far too long, and the vibe feels more like Iowa than Illinois.

Mediocre Millennial Cat Stevens impression

# Album Name: Illinois # Artist: Sufjan Stevens # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: A one hit wonder. Album is way too long. # Top Tunes: Chicago # Would I listen to it again? No

If I was from a small town in America, gay, and currently a teenager I would love this. I'm none of these things. The best songs were the ones which had a stronger choir presence. Not the worst, just kind of same-ish. There's two whole songs on this album. Where's the variety in a 22 song album? Also so American... boring. 2/5 stars.

na trenutke ko neki koldplej za hipstere, na trenutke okej. ima fora momenata, al ono, većinom je dosadno. predugo, ništa posebno sve u svemu. usto najodvratniji omot albuma dosad, čak nije ni na neki kemp ili ironični način smiješan, samo je treš. slično vrijedi i za naslove pjesama (ha ha, baš si smiješan)

It is just too long for me and so are the names - they give me Fall Out Boy vibes lol. I know there is definitely a hidden meaning behind these names, but I'm to lazy to research it. I probably wouldn't guess the decade of the release right, as it tries so hard to sound like much older bands. 22 songs and almost 75 minutes was too much for me though and I'd expect something more due to its length. It's just bland and not my cup of tea tbh. 3.7/10

A 2005 atom bomb of pretentiousness and twee, this has maybe 12 good minutes of folk melodies and a massive load of faux Steve Reich and 12 Musicians-style orchestrations that pads out the time to an excruciating 75 minutes. Did need to strip it all down and have some relatives die on Carrie And Lowell to make some actual great music.

Musically it had its interesting parts layering all the different instruments but I can only take that style of singing for so long.

Nah

Insufferable indie noodling by the artist held above all others in insufferable indie circles. Bland is an understatement.

I was pulling for Sufjan around the time this came out. Gimmicks weren’t an entirely foreign concept - 69 Love Songs still felt recent - so coming up with an album for every US state, sure, why not? That and indie rock was in what would turn out to be several year rut, so having anyone with ambition and talent to match come along with a novel project was worth celebrating. Alas. While Michigan tipped his hand as being a bit on the twee/precious side of the spectrum, Illinois felt like a Wes Anderson score, Vincent Garibaldi and high school orchestras its guiding aesthetic lights. Even the song titles could be taken straight from a Max Fischer notebook. Which is fine, but what does that have to do with a state with as much musical variety as Illinois? There are moments of beauty and awe here, perhaps befitting a film score, but throughout the marriage of this musical aesthetic with smart liberal arts kid lyrics (hey I’m on one of those) becomes cloying. Sufjan did find a few modes here - acoustic singer-songwriter, chiefly - that found favour later in his career, but both any interest I had in him and he in this project ended with Illinois.

This was boring as fuck. Also corny as fuck.

Oh my god, it’s still going It’s not bad. Some really nice, catchy songs but they’re too long, as is this album. Way too fucking long.

Music for people into acapella groups

No thank you

Meh

I can understand why this album is so important and recognized. It’s unique and very well executed. The composition is perfect, the overall theme is consistent, and the production is great. I respect it and I do think is a great album, it’s just not for me. I got bored after 6 songs. I wouldn’t revisit it. I think this is more of an album to analyze and listen to for educational purposes than to “feel like” listening, at least for me.

fuckin whatEVER dude. I never listened to this artist when I first heard about them, mostly because I felt I already had good enough Folk-Rock artists and didn't any more. Also the people that really liked this also really liked Jack Johnson and crap like that so I just assumed it sucked. It is better than I thought, mostly just due to interesting instrumentation. That being said, after 7 songs I looked down and realized there are TWENTY TWO tracks on this album. C'mon son.

I wasn't feeling the love.

Meh, had some okay songs but not my cup tea

I like Illinois but this album sucks!

Not my style. 2 stars.

First time hearing this artist. It's a no from me. I think I'm too old, cranky and cynical for this happy-go-lucky hipster art pop creation.

Ajoittain kivoja saundeja

If the length and pretentious song titles didn't set your alarm bells ringing, then the over an hour long runtime will. When will artists learn that if you're going to make a long album, it had better be filled with something worth listening to.

Eh

experimental album, not really my cup of tea

is aight kann man zu chillen

Well played instrumentally. My favorite track: The Geico ad between the pseudo hipster babble. Am I on track 4 or 6? Thank god most of these songs are under three minutes

Conflicted. Parts were pretty nice but the vocals through a lot of the arrangements off. 4.5/10

Its definitely a trip/journey of an album, with a decent bit of variety. The singing wasn't too appealing.

It was ok. Nothing great, nothing terrible. I wouldn’t listen again.

16/04/2025 What even was this album?!

I've always liked the odd bit of Sufjan, but yes, this album is very much the muchness and gets samey quite quickly. However, a few songs I really like and it is a product of its time. I'm a sucker for indie folk rock of the mid-00's but this doesn't do much for me really. I don't know, It's fine. 2 seems mean but 3 too generous

This album felt hours long, and it's twee bullshit wore thin much earlier.

Been awhile since I've listened to this one. Love the premise. Not a fan of most of the songs. Chicago and Decatur stick out the most. 2/5.

Nie echt mijn type muziek

Kinda boring but nice trumpets?

Nee, de chli brüeder vom Cat Stevens und sini Illi-noises hend mi uf e spezielli Art chli gnervt. Ned so my type of bread. 2 mal en koffeinfreie latte macchiato mit Hafermilch bitte

Kept waiting for it to get interesting, it never did

The John Wayne Gacy song sent me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole about that clown monster, ruined my productivity, and left a stain I can’t unhear—now unfortunately all the pleasant melodies feel like they’re masking a serial killer.

Idk but I only really liked Chicago because of the signal runners remix lol the rest of the album was like shut up man.

reeks of millennial cringiness but it’s ight

Not my cup of tea. This was boring and very repetitive. Too long. At 30 minutes in I wanted to simply stop but pushed through. Musicianship and production were pretty solid.

Nothing exciting and at a loss as to why it would be 1 of the albums I must hear before I die.

Correcto

Not a fan of this album

Downgraded to a 2 after subsequent listens...just don't really like the musical storytelling that this fella does. Still would be worth more spins and reconsideration though.

An example of how an incredible amount of work by a large group of super talented people can add up to a solid “meh.”

I’ve tried and tried but just can’t turn the corner on Sufjan Stevens. It’s too much for me though. I can never shake the feeling that I’m caught up in the soundtrack to a Wes Anderson fever dream.

Nich so arg geil, ziemlich fad, überhaupt nicht mein Geschmack…

Wife liked it, mum likes him. I'm bored

Reading this list, if you knew nothing about popular music, I’m pretty sure you’d think that nothing after 2000 was good. Or let’s be fair, little after 2000. I’ll be fair, the album as a concept is less popular with streaming. As is the concept album. So it’s a struggle getting must hear albums. Must hear songs? Definitely. So maybe I’m too harsh on this. But Where are the great acts with great albums? Vulfpeck? Punch Brothers? Guthrie Govan? Pharrell? Ok maybe not snoop or Diddy or Kanye. Pink. Taylor Swift. Dua Lipa. Billie eilish. Daft Punk. This album is white nerd boy trash. Some interesting stuff. But completely inessential. 2 stars.

Not my thing

This album was the musical equivalent of eating a scone. I don't really like scones.

At times nice but overall I found this too vastly boring to take any serious interest in and revisit. Bits of reminded me of times I've been making music and thought I was king of the world, only to return to it with fresh ears and realise the music wasn't very interesting, just the making it was.

I found the album to be okay and not at all what I would've expected. It's challenging to categorize by genre with the extensive orchestration. I never heard of this fellow so I searched the interweb and found his website. Apparently, he turned this album into a musical. I guess it makes sense that way.

Recorded in New York, this tribute to Illinois achieves the dubious feat of being naand boring at the same time While all the elements (and there are a lot) are beautifully arranged, they are thoroughly predictable and the songs all blur into one. Its hard to really pick out anything as special. Whether its a happy song or a sad song it still kind of all feels the same. I suppose you could argue that this is the intention of a good album, that it takes you 'on a journey', but in this case the journey is very long (its only a day's drive to Chicago!) The Blues inflected Jacksonville is the highlight with cascading banjo and countered by string. Do I need a song to learn about the town of Jacksonville, Illinois (pop. 17,616)? No. Poppier moments like Chicago feel trite and over-done nowadays, and I don't think would have actually been that exciting back in 2005 either. My last album was Incredible String Band which I think suffered from the same problem in terms of baroque virtuosity and self-indulgence. I singled it out for having nonsense lyrics but now I realise that the alternative is even worse, the didactic stories about Chicago make it clear just how far away from the ground Stevens is here. In 20 years Stevens has managed two states from his 50 States series. I'm not going to reward failure.

Some of this was fairly enjoyable, would have given 3 stars but disliked the constant references to Christianity. 2/5.

I'm not sure why it got so many accolades.

Not a fan. D+

I really tried to get into this album in the late 2000s or early 2010s. My friends all thought it was an album that I would love. I listened and listened and for some reason I couldn’t stand it. Maybe it was his whispery voice? Maybe the album was too long? Maybe it was the gimmicky Illinois schtick? Maybe it was all the choral bits that go on forever? Maybe it was all the hype? Whatever it was, it made me really annoyed anytime it was mentioned or listed on “best of” lists. I think I wanted to like it but it just never clicked. I was ready to give it the 1/5 I so long felt alone in knowing it deserved. I’m glad this project made me revisit it. It’s better than I remember. I still don’t think I’m going to end up a big fan, but it was a pleasant surprise this morning. His voice still annoys me. Chicago still slaps tho

I listened to this shit in high school but I think it was just because I got put onto him and had nothing else to listen to. At the time, I thought a few of the songs were good and to some extent still do but this did not age well for me. I don't know if it's the horns but a lot of sections are just so annoying.

So boring. Chicago was ok.

Artiste inconnu. L'instrumentation est un peu originale, mais l'album est beaucoup trop long et finit par perdre ses auditeurs. Aucune envie d'y revenir. =>2/5

This has just passed over me, not finding it particularly engaging

честно не смогла даже дослушать целиком, как-то мне все это очень медленно, однообразно и скучно. в общем все это очень миленько, вроде даже и музыка хорошая, но меня вообще не зацепило.

Not a huge fan have to be honest

It's so long and boring that you just start to give up half way through.

Couldn’t quite get into it , will have it down for re- listens down the road … like the moody calm jazzy vibes for sure , see it as something I could def work too or pop into a vinyl on a winter afternoon

I should like it. But I dont. Background (Illi) Noise

2.5/5

This is on par with the Decemberists for that boring mid 2000s indie hipster sound that usually features a unnecessary horned instruments, dull stringed instrumental flourishes and a banjo. Total snoozefest but at least the singer doesn't have an annoying voice like the Decemberists guy . I don't think this should be on the list

Overly long, not very distinct song to song.

Some interesting songs and great melodies, but entirely too long to the point of being obnoxious.

hmm, tja, ist ganz ok

first Sufjan Stevens album and pretty difficult to get through for me chicago - OH so thats why this album is on the list. heard this one. was it in a movie? multiple? its giving indie movie breakthrough protaganist looking wistfully out the window of a bus ok am i done now? should i even listen to the rest of this after chicago.. ? "to the workers of the rock river valley region..." - finally interested in this album by this point "they are night zombies.." - also cool musicality here, like other tracks, sprinkled in

I gave this a second chance over the weekend, thinking that a different scene might help me enjoy it more; it didn't. Felt like I was being dragged through an uncomfortable montage of indie films. Some upbeat stuff but still felt dreary.

I really disliked this, it’s long, dull and found his tone irritating. A song also seemingly empathetic towards Gacy? Bed wetters music

2/5 just didn't care for it

Not my style. Weird early 2000's experimental stuff. Interesting arrangements and talented musicians but not my kind of music.

Not sure why this guy made it so huge? Maybe I'm just not in the right demographic for this, but I don't hear any strokes of genius here.

One good song, a couple decent ones, and the rest are kinda stinky balls. Can MAYBE see how someone else could like it but I'm not a fan.

I didn't even finish it?!! I liked the vibes

trotos

Saw the point of some of it but no real songs, lots of twiddling.

Great song names. Not great songs. Maybe one or two that I liked, but overall not great.

I like Sufjan Stevens. He did Call Me By Your Name. Well, I think I like the idea of him. The titles of these songs were creative but it was easy to forget to listen.

Music to listen to when NPR goes to break. The grilled salmon of indie rock. Music to listen to while cleaning the kitchen with your wife. there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this album. It feels healthy - like I’m making a mature, responsible decision by listening to it. I wish I was the kind of guy this appeals to. I think I’d be a better, more thoughtful person. I’d have gone to grad school. I would compost. Unfortunately, I liked the Korn album better.

Not my vibe but pleasant enough

I just realized this is a different artist than Cat Stevens (Yusuf). I think I prefer Yusuf. It was ok.

Ok

Didn't mind this.

Too slow for me.

Awful

Not great, bit too dreamy for me

Nothing special at all

Not to my taste, this album really overstayed its welcome. I thiught the songs dull.

This was a real mixed bag - as most concept albums tend to be. This reminded me of Polyphonic Spree. There's too much Happy Clappiness going off for my liking. The folk elements work best. I still couldn't follow the narrative.

Not what I was expecting. Pleasant background indie music, kinda same-y, lost interest about half-way through. 2.5.

I tried to listen to Sufjan Stevens when I was 17 but got bored and never tried again, so this was my first time really listening to him. I don't think I was missing out on much. This album is fine enough, as it's fairly standard indie rock, which I generally love. However, I think the album is a bit bloated, bland, and repetitive, and some of the songs felt like they went on for too long. Overall, I don't feel the need to revisit this album in the future and it hasn't convinced me to listen to more Sufjan Stevens.

Not bad but boring and too long

it's another album that is interesting.....but will I ever seek it out to listen to again? no. it opened with some interesting sounds (the horns with guitar/banjo), and I appreciated use of different sounds, but then it just rambled on. not a fan of his vocals-the weird whisper/talk is not my style, and I just didn't get the lyrics 2.5

I get why people love this. I briefly did. Grew up and can't stand this twee nonsense anymore. Can't deny the man's talent as wussy as his output is. I remember someone describing this as macaroni art, the album. STFU Stevens, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire and the ilk all so highly rated by my contemporaries when I was in my indie 20s. Never really got it. This has no relation to Animal Collective and its still got me thinking about how much I dislike them. Tweeness was a stain on music in the 00's.

Meeh, fastna inte direkt för någon men helt ok bakgrundsmusik - tycker dock om hur de strävar mot att vara innovativa, fast tyvärr faller detta försöket lite platt. Bästa låt: Come On! Feel the illnoise

Hmm vet inte tyckte det var ganska mediokert Bästa låt: Come On! Feel the Illinoise!

Not so much a concept album and more of a contrivance album, burdened by irritating vocals and complicated arrangements.

Interesting change from the other albums. Not bad although it is not my prefered style of music. Some nice pieces but not enought to keep my attention for over 70 minutes. "The World's Columbian Exposition Part II...", "Chicago", "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" and "They Are Night Zombies!!..." are remarkable for me. 2,5

4/10

Jesus Christ. It’s writerly, high concept, really self-indulgent, and so long I started to resent it and turned it off.

I quite often enjoy stuff that is off-putting, but not for 70+ minutes.

Meh. Not worth the hours of listening. Did nothing for me

I just can't with this. 2 stars.

2 the album sounded fine but I just couldn’t wait for it to end. It’s art for arts sake made to fool hipsters

It had a few interesting parts but the rest was bland and forgettable background music. I probably would have liked it more in my Wilco days but my tastes have evolved.

I hadn't heard of this album before. By song two I thought “oh is this the music from some play?” Because that’s what our sounds like- a second-tier musical your kid’s high school is putting on, that you are struggling to sit through. Turns out it’s just an artsy pop concept album. A long one.

Cringe

It was ok, a couple of tracks were approaching good. I doubt I'd listen to it again willingly, but I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio. I think 2 or 3 stars is about right.

Odd stuff lately. This one is a gem… a poop nugget.

Ehhh this was pretty boring. I like the concept, maybe if it were 40 minutes instead of 80 I'd be more generous?

I can appreciate the concept but this type of music is just not for me.

Had never heard of this guy before. Interesting, but found it pretty average overall except for the album length (91 minutes!).

Never heard this album or really ever heard OF this album. Interesting concept album I suppose. Glad to be made aware of it, but I don't expect to ever listen to this again.

It's okay, just kinda boring. Chill background music though.

i did not care about this album. I did not like it. Pass

i feel like sighing to be honest

Pretty boring. Some melodious compositions but overall unremarkable.

Not for me - one or two tracks were okayish, but the rest was dull dull dull

2 stars. One for Chicago and one for trying something different.

Stand out track Chicago aside, this album is dull and derivative. Lyrics appear to have been written by a 5 tear old.

Fine. Nothing special.

Not saying this album is unlistenable, but holy hell was it hard to get through. I have a disliking for singers with a high, whiney voice and Sufjan Stevens fits the bill. The instrumental parts were good at points but largely overshadowed by his annoying voice.

Merke: Bei der sich dem nächsten Film-Noir-Fest anschließenden Diskussionsrunde wäre dieses Album eine passenden Hintergrundmusik: Experimentell - Abwechslungsreich - nervt nicht - lenkt nicht ab.

The music was pretty good, but nothing in the lyrics really got me going.

Far too precious and self-satisfied to be enjoyable.

Bizarre

So boring. At least didn't do all 50 states.

Maybe if I had been in the right mood this could have been better, but as it was this was mediocre at best

Da fuck. That song about the serial killer had the completely wrong vibe and should be stricken from the annals of music.

71/1001 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

I got the invite, shame I took it up. Skipped almost all of the tracks, other than the short ones, to the end. The algorthym threw up Massive Attacks after which was much more to my taste. Yet another I didn't really enjoy.

Waaayyy too long, couldn't even finish. Not into this over done pop music.

Too many songs. Some of it was fine, most of it was like the soundtrack to a movie I didn't like or understand

Sort of bland folk-pop, not my thing

I don’t really like this. His voice is too weak

Pretty bland and boring and so it’s just very average for me.

this is not very good.

snoozefest... goes on for far too long, especially considering the songs all have the same sound. some of them are good tbf.

Always loved Chicago but rest unmoving and a bit god bothery.

Great instrumentals, horrible singing... 2.5?

Not for me. I just can't get into Sufjan.

Not for me.

Too long. Didn't enjoy it, but on a positive note it could have been worse

Not my style but I appreciate the musicianship nonetheless.

Not my style,

Ok

Omituista lausuntamusiikkia, jonka kaikilla kappaleilla miljoonia kuunteluita Spotifyissa. En oikein ymmärrä. Loppulevystä tuntui kuitenkin jo ihan jammailtavalta.

it can be hard to know where to draw the line on dark subjects in art. I feel comfortable saying that using John Wayne Gacy's sexual assaults & murders for a sad boy folk song is completely tasteless. there's ways to show empathy for the grotesque and this ain't it. this album condenses down a lot of things I hated about being part of my generation at college age. in Ulysses there's a bit where the young Joyce stand-in viciously rips on his younger self for having an idea as dumb and pretentious as writing books with letters for titles. it's a perfect little summary of the youthful arrogance of imaging the praise you'll get for completed works for which you have no content, & one of the great things about art is that you can experience this vicariously without having to be such a twit. hearing that this stuff was 'genius' was right about when I stopped believing my generation was going to be any emotionally stunted than the boomers/Gen Xers we were supposedly learning from the mistakes of. it's the sound of ironic moustaches becoming an unironic(?) norm. it's feminism getting cool but relationship norms staying the same, men with ironic(?) moustaches expecting their girlfriends to take care of them, imagining praise for work that got halfway through coming up with titles. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

I didn’t get it at all. I kept waiting for some sort of awakening in the album. Something I could grab on to. But it was more of the same time and again. The songs are boring and lack any type of hook that would remotely qualify as exciting. I’m not giving it a one simply because I felt the artist at least made an attempt at laying down some decent lyrics at times.

Slow and long some good parts

I have heard many songs on this and owned this album in the past. I remember liking a previous album of his and listened to it repeatedly (Seven Swans), but this one never stuck. Musically, it’s well done and yes the lyrics are “smart” but listening to it this time i just found it disturbing (the Gacy song) and…I just could not get through the whole album. Another one I can appreciate but don’t really like.

me he quitao los auriculares y no me he enterao pero pianito chill, no me enamora pero dins de lo que es no ta mal

Tranquilo pero muy aburrido

Technically stellar and endearingly folksy. Require a particular mood though, because it's slow, soft, and wants your full attention. Not for me, but I respect it a lot.

Dude shut up

Discount Bon Iver...

Who sings about John Wayne Gacy? That's so weird.

Meh.

Oddly discordant notes mixed with good ones.

Pretty tough to just enjoy. I know that it’s like an amazing poetic experience but I don’t think Stevens really fleshes out his think points very well. Even for spoken word, it’s a little too artistic to be listenable. I kind of just wish he’d orchestrate some songs with no lyrics and just write orchestral stuff cuz I found that to be very interesting

Märkligt album. Förstår inte vad den gör på listan.

Boring

Not my vibe

My daughter loves Stevens and gave me a CD of his for my birthday. But I have never been able to get into his rather formless and inartful pieces.

I can't really explain why but this album came off as ultra pretentious to me. I've never heard anything else by Sufjan Stevens and likely never will after this album. With that being said it wasn't the worst thing I've heard from this list so it gets 2 stars.

Naaaa

Light and fluffy with some horns

Ok for background listening.

Gave it a couple of listens but it really didn’t grab me. Nice orchestration and variety of songs but all in the pleasant easy listening style that just passes me by. 2 rated as not inoffensive!

I get what he was trying to do...but not my bag!

I've never been a fan of Sufjan Stevens, it's too "soft" and the songs know no climax. There's so much you can do with a mandoline. Yet, for Sufjan, it only makes his songs more mellow.

No me ha llegado el disco. Tiene sonidos muy agradables, pero otras partes me parecen estridentes. No estaría entre mis favoritos, sin duda

I gather he was trying to make a great point, but never seemed to quite get to it. As for the music, he seemed to think adding quirky noise would make it interesting and it just didn't.

2.0 per track. Yawn.

Interesting music. Lyrics were a little off.

Doesn't get much more pretentious, but I like some of the Steve Reich/Philip Glass influenced pieces

It was okay. Not my cup of tea.

My first exposer to this music. While I appreciate the art, and believe it to be Phillip Glass influenced, I don't care for the thin voice work or the lyric. I would listen a second time to possible undo a first impression, but I can barely mark this as a 2. I'd rather just listen to Phillip Glass.

i can see why this album is rated so well, sufjan manages to deliver a wide variety of instruments beautifully brings his alternative folk style to life telling deep stories about the state of illinois. however, i can't rate it highly from a perspective of enjoyment as its simply not for me

#69 (nice). This album sucks. I have never heard nor even heard of this guy beforehand. The album cover is pretty cool, I thought, but it misled me. There's nothing good inside. Just uninteresting hipster-folk trash start to finish. The song titles are more stupid than Fall Out Boy Songs. Nothing about any of this did I enjoy in the slightest bit. I seriously considered giving this one star, but then I went back and skimmed through some Tom Waits songs [the true bar of what is a one star album] and thought OK, maybe it's not that bad. But it's borderline almost one star though. Trash 2/5

It was ok. I don’t know why he thought he could make 50 albums like this…but I’d be excited to hear a Nebraska one

Interesting album/artist. Knew the name from the OC soundtrack. Won’t be listening again

His schtick ain’t for me

haha er macht funny langi liedtitel. ich ha das album vor 10 johr oder so mol glost und mega guet gfunde. aber mol luege. oeff s dritt lied en 5/4. ok s isch sehr introspective musig, möstmer worschinli im ligge am stuck lose. Wayne Gracy Jr. meega schön. a chicago magi mi erinnere findi super schön. Casimir Pulaski day (?) chli jesus time. banjo nice, aber s tönt mit de ziit alles chli ähnlich. mir sind ide peak indie langi titel ära. Ich find sini melodie ide strophe sind immer sehr ähnlich vorallem hends immer die glich kadenz. de gitarrepart bi the man of meteopolis isch aber no cool. das album isch leider sehr gueti hintergrund musig und songs gönd inenand übere. bin immer wieder abglenkt und vergiss dasi am lose bin. predatory wasp de trompeterdogg schono nice. they are night zombies ouuu cleani e-gitarre mit bass wo dopplet? count me in. ok byebye gitarre. mer muesem aber geh dass d instrumentierig extrem divers isch.

Hey also ähm abgseh vo John Wayne Gacy, Jr. und The Seers tower wo mega schön gsi isch und One Last 'Whoo-Hoo!' for the Pullman!! wege funny han ich nüt chönne mit dem ahfange. Nöd dass ich d musig schlecht fänd, im gegeteil, es git parts wo mich au überrascht hend und ich cool gfunde han, aber für mich isches eifach echt langwilig gsi sorry. iwie schwebts für mich zwüsche film- und werbigmusig. titelnäme sind funny und bass bi night zombies hani gern. s outro hetmer iwie au gfalle, het zum album passt. wiso heter nöd midwest emo gmacht wenner scho illinois als albumtitel nimmt? 2/5 sorry suuf-jan

The music had its moments, the half whispered lyrics just got a bit too tiresome.

Definitely didn’t hold up to the hype it has when it came out.

Only made it halfway through, I feel like if Iistened to it a few times maybe I’d get it but I didn’t have the patience. Default 2

The hipster in me wanted to like this more, but I just can’t do a whole 75 minutes of Sufjan. If I’m in the mood I’ll stick to Carrie and Lowell which is a far superior album and about half the length

2.4 there was some interesting sections but overall not my cup of tea

Fín plata. Róleg bakgrunnstónlist en stundum missir hann sig í einhverju of framúrstefnulegu. Að listamanna yfir sig smá.

honesty, i just don’t get this guy…

Musically there are some interesting bits, but it is far too much riffing, self indulgent nonsense.

Sounds like coffee shop music in a hallmark movie

Did not like it. Not my cup of tea.

Decent, but more odd than good.

Not my cup of tea

Didn’t like this one. Too random and quirky for my liking.

Un hommage à l'état de l'Illinois. Un concept album. Du bon soffty pas dérangeant, mais ça vient peu me chercher. Va falloir j'aille à Chicago.

Hint av kult, men først og fremst irriterande

Great to nap to.

Far too long and far too twee. He's never been for me.

good but not my vibes

Mellow and slightly boring album

2/5 Best: Chicago Worst: Prairie Fire That Wanders About

What the fuck is this? This is one of the weirdest albums I've ever heard... and yet it's not bad.

Idk why this listening experience irked me so much when Andrew Bird and others in this space don't provoke the same reaction. I haven't listened to much Sufjan Stevens in general, so I didn't have much of a bias one way or the other going into this, but today for some reason he really got under my skin. The honeyed vocals, cutesy arrangements and swelling strings added up to a cloying atmosphere that, in his hands, never struck me as entirely earnest, and I'll say it, his voice annoyed me. Listening to this felt like chewing one of those old timey fudge candies that tires out your jaw. I recognized individual noteworthy elements but it never came together in a way that made me feel anything besides impatient. This felt like style over substance in a 2020's era Wes Anderson kind of way. If anyone else feels similarly, Gabriel Kahane (who often collaborates with Sufjan) put out an album called the Ambassador in 2014 that does this sort of thing but for LA, and IMO he used that decade to blow the former record out of the water. There's a poignancy to his work, imbued with more variety in mood, texture, and tone within a single song than you get on all of Illinoise. Listening to it again after today's pick made me also realize how much more easily I could pay attention to the lyrics in the hands of another artist. The Ambassador feels authentic and substantive where Illinoise feels contrived and packaged. Maybe if I hadn't ever heard The Ambassador I would rate this album more generously, but it's hard to go back to store brand when you've had the real thing. Confession - I could not make myself finish the entire hour and 16 minutes.

This is just meh, piled upon more meh, with a side helping of meh.

Not really enjoyable. Boring music with some annoying repetitive noise. Also quite long

Underwhelming and overstays its welcome.

I never could get into Sufjan. Much of this is whimsical but humorless, and it is off-putting for me. I do like when he goes stripped down, but there isn’t much of that here outside of “John Wayne Gacy Jr.” Definitely not one of my favorites, but a lot of people seem to like it.

Makes Illinois sound like the whimsicallest place in the world. Somehow, I doubt it is.

Совсем не в мем вкусе, да и голос не нравится

- 1 kinda calming. it would be good background - 2 noisy off putting sounds, no lyrics - 3 long, also off putting - 4 eh - 5 meh - 6 short instrumental 20 secs - 7 I'm not enjoying this album very much I think it's pretty political but I want to try new things :) - 8 5 seconds of applause - 9 i dont know any more I guess from now on I'll only write the ones I really like or really don't like I listened to it. Not life changing. probably won't ever listen to it again

te langdradig

I was really expecting more from this album, but I kept getting distracted and it was really hard to finish. I made it eventually, but it really didn’t feel worth it. It’s still not a 1 star album because there were some moments I liked, but from an artist that I hear about a lot, I was pretty disappointed.

értem mitől népszerű, háttérben elmegy, de odafigyelve hallgatva meguntam a felénél

Average, if you wanted to make a play list for "Music To Play In Elevators" Illinois would have to be on it!

Well no me gusto musho la verda, lo tendía de fondo pero no amé la ambientación, más bien me puso nerviosa haha Calificare con 2 estrellas por su titulo y su arte y los títulos de canciones.

I listened to this album several times in the past, but it never really resonated with me. This time was no different. It is not terrible, but mostly quite boring, apart from one or two tracks.

I don't know why, but I really want to like Sufjan's music - I'm guessing it's something I heard (or read) once that I really liked. This has moments, but never emerges. I would rather listen to something like The Polyphonic Spree or The Shins or The Weakerthans than this.

Soft and whimsical listening. Not really my style.

I’m not sure how sincere these songs are about Illinois. Sufjan wrote the prior ‘Michigan’ as a joke, so it’s hard for me to take the music writing seriously. It seems performed and recorded well, but seems this musician is sarcastically insincere in its outward seriousness. In one 2023 word: Sus. 2.7/5.

One and done for me.

2,5

Oh, God of Progress Have you degraded or forgot us?

Boring. To stjerner.

This quickly became background noise and the album went on way too long.

Very odd. Il give it a 2 for creativity but a strange listen this

It was ok. I couldn't make it through the whole record, but the first half or so is decent 2/5

Never got in to this cat, always seemed like a little much. I'm not sure if I ever gave one of his song more than 40 seconds of my time before dismissing it and switching it off. This record was fine, overwrought and way too long surely. I get why people like it so much, but not for me.

Slightly too far out there without enough substance. They Are Night Zombies is a particular favourite and stands out

My favourit song/album that tell a story is Rush's 2112 because it feels like i'm watching a 2h sci fi film in 20 min. This feelt like a 3+ hour slow art drama film and im doing the equivalent of falling asleep halfway through.

Meh... it was fine. Background music, nothing jumped out at me at all.

It’s ok but too long.

Esta experiência de escutar os discos indicados no livro é também uma tentativa ouvir diferentes perspectivas e aprender com novas experiências. Porém, ainda não consegui superar a ideia que a maioria dos discos indies funcionam no máximo como música para não incomodar o ambiente. Até mesmo que quase todos têm algum conceito envolvido. Mas para perceber alguma coisa deste só se tivesse interesse em estudar ou viajar para Illinois.

Not someone I'd heard before, and the first 15 minutes had me thinking I might want to listen to more. After Jacksonville I was constantly looking to see how much more I had to endure before it was over.

pajero

I tried listening to this several times in the past few days, each time I just can't be arsed with it. Rest of our group seems to like it, I must be missing that hook in. 2.5

too noisy for me, meh I prefer simpler music

sufjan stevens' illinois is very dense. i get that's kind of the standard for his indie folk music, but i can't really say i enjoyed much of it. i did find it varied. "jacksonville" started off with the most beautiful violins, but then we have a banjo quickly thrown into the mix. quite a lot of instruments were included. it's lyric heavy in the sense that it's so hard to focus when stevens is coming at you with so much. while i enjoy concept albums, it's just *too much* at the end of the day.

First time hearing this one. Never heard of Sufjan Stevens before. The album is fine. I think it will take time to get to know it better. For now, it's a 2.5

Didn't hold my attention enough to want to finish it, but I did. Started with some fairy promising tracks but it kind of devolved into stomp stomp clap banjo Mumford and sons early 2010s "indie" sounding shlock.

This a very generic and bland album. Some songs can stand alone for a while, but as an album, everything just drips to the ground at the speed of molasses.

A bit slow and meandering for my tastes, but Chicago remains an extremely powerful song

Jacksonville er en klar fav hitill. Banjoklimpring er jo noe. Vel... det er nok en grunn til at dette har vært så mye eksponert for meg, men aldri ble lyttet på. Det er helt allright etter min mening.. men ikke noe jeg kommer til å kjøpe eller lytte mer på. Tror jeg. Hvem vet med slike album.

I wish I could find the proper words to express why this album rubbed me the wrong way, but I can't—potentially because Stevens used all the words for song titles like "The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, 'I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!'" and "To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, and It Involves Tube Socks, a Paper Airplane, and Twenty-Two Able-Bodied Men." If those titles elicit an eye roll from you, then there's a decent chance you'll find his music similarly tiresome. It's not all bad; there are some great musical arrangements, with strings and woodwinds and some brass peppered in. But the lyrics (and eye roll-inducing song titles) that accompany the music often feel like they're coming from a newly-minted college student home for the holidays and eager to show off their expanded consciousness—a bit pompous and somehow simultaneously self-aware and oblivious at the same time. I guess I can see why some people might be into that, but it's all just a bit much for my taste.

Indy rock that reminds me of a cheesy version of Vampire Weekend. I'm not a fan of polished overly produced soft rock. A miss for me.

pussy album

Meh not my vibe

Much like the composer Philip Glass, you either have the patience to bear the music out and be rewarded, or you don't and move on to other stuff. I'm moving on.

Not for me

Big meh

Too many instruments, too many songs, not enough interesting ideas to back it up.

Calming

Kind of sad, didn't really know what was going on

I can appreciate the talent it takes to do this. But my wheelhouse doesn’t go this deep. It’s to shallow to have room for this. I made it half way through. Most highly acclaimed album of 2005. I don’t get it personally.

Meh

Very different from what I’m used to listening to but it still has some cool moments. The “John Wayne Gacy” song is interesting.

Rating: 4.3 Best Track: They are Night Zombies!! They are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!

I not really like this stuff

Pff heel filmisch maar een beetje hitchcock-vibes, maar dan vrolijk. Wel duidelijk oud, rijk maar poeh wel chaotisch en ik kan de stem niet zo goed waarderen, zo beatles-zangerig. Net iets te hoog wat mij betreft. Je moet het een keer ervaren hebben, maar een beetje herkenning ervan in de toekomst is goed, ik ga hem niet uit mezelf nog eens luisteren.

I'm so confused. 2/5

Way too long, boring hipster garbage

Nothing good to say, parts of the album sounded like a children's musical.

Samey. Unpleasant to listen to, the up tempo version of a discordant noise. It drones whilst smiling at you

At first it really wasn't my thing, but after I listened to a few songs I started to enjoy it more. Very "American" music and lyrics which I suppose is the point, although I don't really see why it was so well acclaimed other than just being an ode to the USA/illinois

This one hurts: I respect-but-don't-love Sufjan and Illinois is clearly a grower album, one ill-suited for the way I go through this list. It's the string arrangements that I repeatedly bounce off. Classical inclusions of this kind rarely work, and this music is far too twee to go for quiet-loud contrast.

Groovy tunes, however I didn't find it very grabbing. Nice music to have playing in the background.

Not really a fan. Songs we're surreal but far too long of an album regardless