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Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State | 
| Artist: Sufjan Stevens
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
Category: Music
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $9.92
You Save: $5.06 (34%)
New (36) Used (10) from $8.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 5078
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.8 x 0.5
MPN: 55510
UPC: 656605551029
EAN: 0656605551029
ASIN: B00009V7TZ
Release Date: July 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW Factory Sealed - Ready to be shipped within 24 hrs from California - Average 5 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence!
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| Tracks:
| • | Flint (For The Unemployed And Underpaid) | | • | All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace! | | • | For The Windows In Paradise, For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti | | • | Say Yes! To M!ch!gan! | | • | The Upper Peninsula | | • | Tahquamenon Falls | | • | Holland | | • | Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!) | | • | Romulus | | • | Alanson, Crooked River | | • | Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie | | • | They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For The Homeless In Muskegon) | | • | Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?) | | • | Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou) | | • | Vito's Ordination Song |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 77 more reviews...
 Pro & Cons. The Pros Win September 8, 2008
Turning on the HD TV without cable or satellite, & scanning through the many PBS stations I came across the show "Austin City Limits" where a large band with brass instruments were wearing butterfly wings. I clicked the information button & the name Sufjan Stevens came on the screen. Is this Cat Stevens with his Islamic first name? No, everyone including the lead singer on the piano are too young, & Cat Stevens would never do anything this avant-garde. Wait, I know the name Sufjan Stevens from somewhere...he played with Rosie Thomas on some of her CD's. He is one of her "3 Friends".
After reading everything I could get my hands on, I read that many people either like or dislike his music. Many call him a pretentious repeater of words & themes, while others consider him a multi instrumental genius. I check out all of his CD's & some of the songs maybe a little weird for my taste, for example on the "Illinoise" CD the songs "John Wayne Gacy Jr" & "They are Night Zombies" the title & words (I went to a lyrics web site) are songs that I would avoid. Reading the Amazon reviews I came to the conclusion that "Illinoise" was not the place to start. "Michigan" seems to fair better with the music press & Amazon reviewers.
My impression is it's too bad that Sufjan Stevens lives in the 21st century. He would have made a bigger impression in the late 1960's because there is nothing new under the sun these days. There is always some influence that can stand out. For Sufjan Stevens these are: 1.The basic repetitive percussion background for some songs sound like 1970 to 1980ish minimalist classical music from Steve Riech. 2. The banjo & some of the brass arrangements come from home spun folk music. At times the folk music can sound rather child-like, under practiced, or rough. I normally like music either very refine as in classical music or very rough like Bob Dylan. Some artists can never reach these extremes & therefore sound rather amateurish. Some songs of Sufjan Stevens do approach this forbidden middle ground because either the main musical theme or main lyrics repeat too often. Yet I will give Sufjan Stevens a lot of credit for taking a gamble to express himself & at least reach those of us that need a little something different to refresh ourselves from the over played commercial pop music. "Michigan" will always keep you guessing & interested due to its many styles & questionable uses.
I find the song "Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)" dancing in my head. Right now its a good thing. I hope I can sleep tonight.
 Michigan Lived Up to It's Reputation June 20, 2008
I recently bought a car and drove across the country with a friend, and as we entered the state of Michigan, he pulled out the Sufjan Stevens CD, with which I was not previously acquainted. What an amazing performance! This recording is a truly artistic endeavor - drawing on the inspirations of traditions ranging from rock to folk to minimalist art music, these songs are very original, heartfelt, beautiful, fun... the adjectives are never-ending. Driving through the state for the first time, this CD honestly impacted how I viewed my surroundings, and I thank it for that. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in hearing something new, something that once energetic and mellow.
Good for old and new Sufjan fans April 6, 2008
You won't take this out of your cd player for days. Good quality Sufjan at his best. This would be good for newer fans as well; it's a good album to get acquainted with his sound and discover why so many love his music.
This man has made music wonderful again.... February 21, 2008
I listen to a lot of music, some hard and some soft. Sufjan Stevens does it for me every time. This album is simply magical and I would suggest it to anyone!
Michigan December 26, 2007
My favorite Sufjan album so far, it has the perfect mix of poignant lyics and solid music. Making a lot more sense, and not as bizzare, as Illinoise, I really enjoyed listening to the entire album without wanting to skip ahead to other songs. I highly recommend this album for first time Sufjan listeners.
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