i stopped coming to /mu/ like three years ago, but i'm wondering what people thought about this album. i think it's trash. the sensitive dude playing nice tunes on a guitar act has been done to death. it's really boring and stupid
fuck right off
>>61201716
is this spammed here or you don't agree with me?
its Hospice #2
>>61201800
it's pink moon #19827481273
>>61201822
no, scratch that. it's songs of leonard cohen #198274812730
>>61201706
To me, I think you have to appreciate this album in the context that it was released. We are all used to Sufjan's robust and heavy instrumentation in his past albums, and I think it was a direction that most people weren't expecting. The purpose of this album is to honor the life and death of his detached mother, and I think the stripped down guitar with minimal instruments conveys the sadness and melancholy nature of the whole album to a T. In a time with many artists producing generic singer/ guitar albums, this one really showed that it can be done properly without sounding generic.
listened to it a couple times when it came out, never went back to it. doesn't even touch my top 50 this year. barely touches my top 5 for sufjan records.
Aoty
>>61201706
>the sensitive dude playing nice tunes on a guitar act has been done to death. it's really boring and stupid
No it isn't, you mongoloid.
>>61201948
it sounds generic. if i didn't know it was a sufjan stevens album i would have thought it's just some nyc retard with a guitar
>>61202140
this
>>61202033
16 year old detected
>>61202140
that's exactly it. Sufjan Stevens IS generic. i never understood why he gets so much love on this board. well, besides everyone here loving a lot of bad music.
who cares dude its just music
>>61202576
So you've literally never listened to Age of Adz
It's not being made as an act. His mother died and that's the music that genuinely came out of him.
I don't like it as much as Illinois but it's not shit either
>>61202616
I think the people a lot of people are facing with this new album is that you actually have to be capable of empathy to find it enjoyable. I imagine this rules out a lot of 4chan.
>>61202615
hahaha actually yeah, it came it when i was a teenager. i grew up and grew out of the white guy w/ guitar thing
>>61202639
the problem a lot of people*
i just woke up
>>61201706
everythings been done to death dude music is fucking over
music that tries to be good by making an appeal to (or expression of) emotion is the worst.
all of your moms are going to die someday. Sufjan is not a special snowflake because of that.
>>61202576
he said as he extended his grubby finger to give Art Angels another spin
>>61202615
>>61202654
and i don't mean to say it's exclusively all garbage. i'm just agreeing with OP's claim that it's dumb, boring, and overdone
>>61202654
....so you literally never listened past the first song on Age of Adz. Everyone that has knows that you haven't.
>>61202639
Pretty much this. It's a beautiful album with a lot of soul and intimacy. The funny thing is it's actually generally liked here, this thread seems to be an exception.
>>61202689
I'd say Art Angels is about on par with Carrie & Lowell, if not a little better.
>>61202689
don't play with me dude i hate Grimes too. do you honestly believe i even like music?
>>61202719
>soul and intimacy
doesn't make an album good.
>>61202678
I bet you are a technical metal fan. Music is all about emotions and what the sounds the musician produces make you feel
>>61202738
If you lack the ability to make an emotional connection with music, then yeah, I'd imagine it would suck
>>61202718
...so you were literally born in 1997?
>>61202738
yeah, there's a lot of very emotional music that's totally horrible. it's just about the approach
>>61202678
That is literally the point. It's a very personal recollection of a pain that everyone experiences. It's an expression of grief meant to bring cathartic release to people.
>>61202745
What does that even mean?
You're saying that Age of Adz is generic guitar music or whatever when that is clearly, demonstrably wrong by simply listening to the first 10 minutes of the album. You've revealed that you're full of shit.
>>61202738
When done right, it does make it good. Music that expresses stronger feelings and emotions coming straight from the songwriter adds definite meaning, especially if you can relate to it. I imagine the case is that you can't. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't make the album suck.
>>61202742
I hate metal. Also there's much more to music than emotion. Fuck emotion, give me something that's actually unique and interesting and challenging and exciting. Not "sad white man with a guitar" album no. 198739623849628946823797692.
>>61202744
I can make emotional connections with music but not dumb shit like grief over a relative's death or regular love between two average people.
And before you accuse me of being a sociopath, I lost one of my best friends last week and I cried multiple times and didn't show up for work for a couple days, but that doesn't have any bearing on the kind of music I enjoy.
>>61202801
>but not dumb shit like grief over a relative's death
...Oh yes, because you say grieving a relative's death is dumb shit, it's automatically dumb shit. Best change those RYM ratings to 0.5 everyone! You heard it here first, Carrie & Lowell's lyrical theme is utterly invalid.
>>61202742
>>61202775
i don't think he means it that way. i agree with him because he means it's being used as a gimmick (which is generally is). it's like those commercials with the fucking dogs or the skeleton kids in Africa. they play some stupid music and they show you those pathetic scenes, specifically to abuse your basic emotions.
this kind of dramatic music is the same way. it's cheap and it's easy and often it's fake anyway.
>>61202616
>It's not being made as an act.
>Sufjan
>not an act
>>61202896
Ding dong, the whole reason this album is special is because it's Sufjan Stevens NOT putting on an act. It's a comedown from the spectacles of things like Illinoise and Age of Adz and lets us see some heartfelt, barebones Sufjan. That's the draw. The point has gone quite spectacularly over your head.
there is nothing special about this album. It is a voice and a guitar and nothing else really. I feel like this album offered nothing new or interesting or even entertaining.
>>61202556
>>61202678
>tips fedora
>>61202639
>>61202719
Where is the beauty in art if it does not express emotion? It becomes cold and mechanical otherwise.
>>61202949
I love Carrie & Lowell but I disagree that art requires emotion. Some art can acquire meaning through technicality, such as Music For 18 Musicians.
>>61202949
>hurr durr art needs an emotional element to be good
Art just needs to evoke some sort of mental reaction. It is just a stimulant really.
>>61202976
>>61202990
Well, not all of art is meant to be beautiful.
In any case, art is meant to affect culture, it can do that through being emotionally-resonant, or it can be innovative, but if it is neither of these then it is nothing more than porn for robots.
>>61202949
>art is supposed to be beautiful
please, please, just off yourself
>>61201855
>>61201822
It's Hank Williams Greatest Hits #1982748127309082458, actually.
>>61202801
What about a human with an instrument album no. 99999999999
Wait, you people are really hating on this album?
What's wrong with /mu/ today?
>>61201706
Fuck right off
>>61201706
Pretty good album.
The minimal electronic that kicks in halfway through Should Have Known Better is amazing.
>>61201706
Im more into Foo Fighters
what was /mu/ like in 2012?
>>61202616
yeah dude. it was so "genuine" and intimate that he decided to publish it and commercialize it
>>61202639
empathy? is this the result of going through a horrible thing? everyone's moms die. most of us are going to feel more or less equally bad. i'd like to hear an album made by a yemeni whose family was killed by a us drone strike. i'd feel empathy towards that, not towards some wealthy american whose mom died..
>>61202928
this is my point. it's been done to death. if that's someone's response to losing their mom, well that's okay. but why would you publish it and make people more stupid and mediocre?
>>61203345
As if one person's suffering is greater than another. Way to completely miss the point of what being truly empathetic means.
>>61203345
Wait, so you're literally saying that any music from the heart should never be made public?
...Wow. I don't even know how you come up with your logic.
>>61203345
>it was so "genuine" and intimate that he decided to publish it and commercialize it
would you say this about every intimate piece of art on display in a museum? or autobiography that writes about tough periods? bloody hell, you are one soulless individual
>>61203345
>yeah dude. it was so "genuine" and intimate that he decided to publish it and commercialize it
Yes.
>>61203316
really excited about death grips. this was before people knew death grips, and they'd spam the ex-military cover over and over again
actually i think i stopped coming here frequently before that. i didn't listen to any of these albums so probably i stopped coming here in 2011
>>61203422
>As if one person's suffering is greater than another
lmao. i'm sure you having your 80 year old mom dying is as bad as losing your eyesight and siblings in a bomb strike
>>61203425
>any music from the heart
really?
i don't see the point in publishing it if, as you're implying, he just did it to cope with his mom's death
>>61203506
>>61203585
i feel like there's something really slimy about acting as if you did something out of grief and then going and selling it, unless you really need the money
>>61203625
This is the kind of viewpoint you have with a really prejudiced, superficial idea of the album. It chronicles a period of Sufjan's life. It's musical output. And he's a musician by day job. You do the math.
>>61203625
You sound EXACTLY like I did when I was in high school, holy shit.
>>61203680
what's funny is that you can't even know if he's faking it. according to you, the merits of the album are that it was done out of grief and that's really "emotional". well you can't know if it was made out of grief, and people can make "emotional" music just for profit, not out of having intense emotions. soundtrack composers do this for a living
>>61203686
i don't
>>61202654
haha yeah sufjan being white affects how interesting the music is.
tumblr is that way, bro. -------->
>>61203800
>well you can't know if it was made out of grief, and people can make "emotional" music just for profit, not out of having intense emotions.
If I were to go by this logic, what would be the point of listening to any kind of emotional music at all? Am I to live the rest of my life constantly doubting the sincerity of its backing? No, I'd rather enjoy the music itself, and get a lot out of it. Fucking w-o-w.
>>61203345
You've been guilted into becoming so cynical that I simply pity you.
>>61203843
>what would be the point of listening to any kind of emotional music at all?
not taking into account whether it's "emotional music" at all
this is just a dude playing a guitar and singing sad lyrics sounding like he's sad. which is what leonard cohen and bob dylan were doing in the 60s and i suppose many other people were doing before that. you might like that kind of stuff, but don't act as if isn't mediocre and uncreative
>>61203925
i pity you for being manipulated by a bunch of shit musicians and advertisers into liking shit music
>>61204053
>i pity you for being manipulated by a bunch of shit musicians and advertisers into liking shit music
You are literally Stan in that South Park episode, you are not impressing anyone by pretending to not care about anything and trivializing everything.
When you'll grow out of your teens I'm sure you'll be able to actually enjoy music.
>>61204088
actually i enjoyed a lot of shit music when i was a teenager. but i don't anymore. this is why, as i said in the op, i stopped coming here a few years ago
>>61202597
damn...
#perspective
>>61204053
Well, not only are you totally drifting away from the point, but how can you apply so much gravity to how original a style of, or approach to, music is? If anything, one could argue that it's even more impressive that someone can come along and captivate people using that "safe" formula.
>>61203625
you are a cynical piece of shit. the dude had a largely absent schizophrenic and alcoholic mother, grew up being passed around. can you even imagine the kind of complex that comes with that, and then she dies prematurely and you realise that all your confusion will never be truly resolved. unless you think he's literally a psychopath, i don't understand how you can think this album isn't a genuine expression of emotion.
>>61204327
>one could argue that it's even more impressive that someone can come along and captivate people using that "safe" formula.
not at all. most people have listened to very little music. you can obviously captivate them easily by using a "safe" formula
in the case of /mu/ users, if you have listened to a lot of dudes playing an acoustic guitar sounding sad and you still support people that do that, i'm not sure what to tell you. i guess it's okay if you enjoy listening to the same stuff over and over again
>>61204452
i can't know if he's a psychopath so i'd rather not take into account any of that
also i don't know how you know all of that about him. i really hope he didn't talk about that as he was promoting the album
>>61201706
pretty accurate desu
>>61204452
>unless you think he's literally a psychopath
Very few people are actual psychopaths, and this term along with sociopath are thrown around a lot these days for manipulative people.
>>61201948
SKM did it better on his past two albums though
>>61204053
>"YOU'RE ALL SHEEP": the post
>>61203345
Jesus. Even by 4chan's standards, you're a soulless fuck.
>being incapable of enjoying something sincere
Sasuga Public.
>>61204648
yeah. advertisers don't influence us and make us like stuff
>>61204729
i'm really sorry that most of you only speak about how sincere this piece of shit album is, when you can't even know whether it's sincere or not
>>61204843
>you can't even know whether it's sincere or not
how can you tell whether any music at all is sincere or not? it goes for all music. but some music does a better job of conveying sincerity than others, which takes skill and songwriting ability in itself.
>>61204843
>i'm really sorry that most of you only speak about how sincere this piece of shit album is, when you can't even know whether it's sincere or not
I haven't even listened to it because it's Suffy, and I hate Suffy, regardless of what he does.
>>61204843
>>61204926
>you can't even know whether it's sincere or not
What is the point in writing music that is insincere and not a genuine expression of self?
This is a serious question.
>>61204638
Mark Kozelek is a talentless hack and his music sucks
>>61204960
See >>61202976 but I think you read the post wrong, nobody said that sincerity doesn't matter
>>61204926
>how can you tell whether any music at all is sincere or not? it goes for all music.
of course
>but some music does a better job of conveying sincerity than others, which takes skill and songwriting ability in itself.
i think doing the same thing other people have done for decades is the shittiest way. in my opinion, people should try their best to do this in a way that hasn't been done before. not coming up with some "melancholic" melody, playing some chords gently on the guitar and singing softly, because as i've said before, it's mediocre and uncreative
>>61204960
profit
>>61205098
that's a terrible outlook to have though, you're asking for uniqueness and freshness in a musical venture that doesn't need it. i personally feel that the album's singer-with-a-guitar format adds to how effective it is as it creates a feeling of familiarity and comfort as he sings about some stories that are close to heart.
>>61205098
oh and just to add to my post, don't judge something based purely on originality because that just closes off so much music that is written really well but then passed off for not being completely new or game changing.
>>61205098
>profit
There is more to it than this.
If a musician really wanted to make something for profit, it would be fairly easy to tell.
I can tell that by reading what you've wrote that you're not a musician and you have a very limited view on what creating art entails.
Making music or any art that is a genuine expression of that person's psyche is far more difficult than imitating those emotions for profit or because their record label or whatever told them to.
Say you write music that isn't genuine, with words you don't feel, with emotion you don't feel, and you still have to go up on stage every night to play it. What is the point in doing that?
For some hooker money from your pimp? I don't think so, not all of us are great actors.
>>61204638
SKM's music barely qualifies as talking/mumbling over a stringed thing he probably picked up from a thrift store.
>>61205650
>SKM's music barely qualifies as talking/mumbling over a stringed thing he probably picked up from a thrift store.
And he's on a label for shit like this!
>>61203197
its an assembly of sounds #∞
It won /mu/'s AOTY tournament lol http://strawpoll.me/6282851/r
>it's really boring and stupid
Oh god, I bet you say this about dialogue-heavy, slower-paced films too, right? Have fun with your hip-hop and EDM.
>>61202654
>white guy w/ guitar thing
So not Age of Adz then?
I'm pretty sick of this idea that "dude with a guitar" is a valid criticism for music. You can tell somebody can't articulate his thoughts well when his only complaint is that it's generic or boring. There's not only one way to make music with just a guitar and voice.
>>61202678
>music that tries to be good by making an appeal to (or expression of) emotion is the worst.
Are you literally autistic?
>>61201706
>i stopped coming to /mu/ like three years ago
>only coming back to shitpost
Just go back to whatever hole you lurked out of, pleb.
as a Sufjan fan I love it.
Outside of my attachment to him though, I could see it being uninteresting.
>>61205794
>It won /mu/'s AOTY tournament lol
Oh shit it did? Fuck yes, I was hoping for this. Ayyyy.
>>61205794
>won /mu/'s AOTY
that's a real indication of poor quality t b h f a m
also, I'm glad you only mention aesthetics of movies and music rather than any actual content. just because a movie is slower paced and is heavy in dialogue doesn't mean it's better than an action movie. there are a ton of movies out there that perfectly fit that description and are universally reviled for being empty. but I guess if you are a Sufjan fan you are all about the image anyway ;-)
>>61206115
>just because a movie is slower paced and is heavy in dialogue doesn't mean it's better than an action movie
Right, and it doesn't make it inherently worse either. OP's complaint wasn't about the content, it was about the aesthetic. Were you confused at who I was addressing?
>>61206174
I only read your post in this entire thread so probably lol
i agree with op actually
>>61206115
>implying long and boring equals lofty and intellectual
>>61206174
shit, meant to reply to >>61205794
