History Music / SufjanStevens

* DreamTeam:
** He collaborated with musician/producer Son Lux and rapper Serengeti (under the group name Sisyphus) to record an experimental hip hop EP and album, of all things.
** He collaborated on ''Planetarium'' (an album inspired by the Solar System) with Music/TheNational guitarist Bryce Dessner, drummer James [=McAlister=], and contemporary classical music composer Nico Muhly.
*** He has recorded and performed with Music/TheNational on a number of occasions.
** The backing band for his 2018 Oscars performance included his longtime friend and collaborator [[Music/StVincent Annie Clark]], Punch Brothers frontman/''[[Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion Live From Here]]'' host Chris Thile, and singer-songwriter Music/MosesSumney.
** He has worked with labelmate and fellow folk musician Angelo de Augustine on a number of occasions, culminating in the collaborative album ''A Beginner's Mind''.

-->-- From the ''Illinois'' liner notes

Early in his career, he was most famous for his albums about the states of UsefulNotes/{{Michigan}} and Illinois -- featuring a mix of FolkMusic, BaroquePop, and PostRock -- and for claiming that he planned to release similar albums for the other 48 states (a project he eventually scrapped and admitted was a "promotional gimmick"). Nowadays, he's at least as well known for ''Music/CarrieAndLowell'' -- a deeply personal and highly acclaimed album commemorating the death of his absent mother -- and for his Oscar-nominated contributions to the soundtrack of the 2017 film ''Film/CallMeByYourName''.

''[[TheStinger ...and I shake the dirt out]] [[LongTitle of my sandals as I run.]]''

* PerishingAltRockVoice: His typical vocal delivery, although he occasionally goes for a more energetic sound (notably on ''The Age of Adz'').

* VillainSong: "A Good Man is Hard to Find".

*** There now also at least five versions of "Fourth of July" spread across his discography: the album version, the live version, the PPD remix (B-side to the "Exploding Whale" single), the 900X remix (from ''The Greatest Gift''), and the April Base and DUMBO versions (demo recordings released as part of a special single in 2022).

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Not just him, but most of his family. See SesquipedalianSmith below.

* NotChristianRock: Several of his songs deal with his faith, but it's debatable whether he actually qualifies as a Christian rock artist. Stevens himself doesn't seem to consider himself one, although he acknowledges some of his earlier music could be considered Christian rock, saying, "I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions. I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of forum. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements, because I often think it's misunderstood."

** There is now [[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pi2yt--GjqgAq1hdJHGpV92G0ED0N1ITtPHrXRlpjQU/edit?usp=sharing a list]] of ''every'' animal referenced in Sufjan's music.

** Implied to be the case for the father of the ill hirl from "Casimir Pulaski Day" ("...and he drove his car into the Navy Yard".)
** The narrator of "The Only Thing" comes close to this, fantasizing about slitting his arms in a bath, but decides against it after surveying the beautiful things he still sees in life.

** Implied to be the case for the father of the IllGirl from "Casimir Pulaski Day" ("...and he drove his car into the Navy Yard".)

* "Fourth of July" (2022) (single with two previously-unreleased versions of the ''C&L'' track)

* ''Songs for Christmas: Volumes I - V'' (2006)

* ''Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols. 6 -10'' (2012)

* MrFanservice: While Suf himself doesn't go out of his way to flaunt it (give or take the occasional sleeveless shirt), he's strikingly handsome man with a surprisingly muscular physique. A ''sizable'' portion of the fanbase views him this way, and many casual listeners are surprised to discover what he looks like after hearing his [[PerishingAltRockVoice singing voice]].

* NiceHat: He is known for wearing trucker hats (sometimes [[https://bandcampblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/sufjanstevens-600-1.jpg?w=600&h=400 more than one at a time]]).

Early in his career, he was most famous for his albums about the states of Michigan and Illinois -- featuring a mix of FolkMusic, BaroquePop, and PostRock -- and for claiming that he planned to release similar albums for the other 48 states (a project he eventually scrapped and admitted was a "promotional gimmick"). Nowadays, he's at least as well known for ''Music/CarrieAndLowell'' -- a deeply personal and highly acclaimed album commemorating the death of his absent mother -- and for his Oscar-nominated contributions to the soundtrack of the 2017 film ''Film/CallMeByYourName''.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: People often refer to Sufjan as "folk" or "indie folk", presumably either because (a) they think his straightforward folk songs are his best material, or (b) they'd rather not deal with the headache of figuring out what genre he really fits into.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sufjan_Stevens.jpg]]

-->''To be alone with me, [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} you]] went up on the tree.''

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: Generally at around 4-6 (sadness, sexual metaphors), but can drop to as low as 0 (for the instrumentals) or 1-2 ("To Be Alone with You", "Majesty Snowbird", "The Dress Looks Nice on You", "Greatest Gift") or climb as high as 8-9 (the songs on ''Carrie & Lowell'' are quite explicit about suicidal urges, corpses, usage of hard drugs, and abusive relationships).

* UncommonTime: Quite common in Sufjan's world. Too many examples to name, but "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders" deserves a special mention.

* SequelSong: "Goodbye to All That" (from ''The Ascension'') can be read as one for "Chicago" (''Illinois''). The earlier song is about the narrator searching for freedom by driving to New York City, "in a van, with my friend." The later piece is based on Sufjan's move ''out'' of New York, and starts with the narrator "alone in my car." (Worth noting that "Goodbye to All That" takes its title from a Joan Didion essay of the same name, which is ''also'' about the author's disillusioned departure from New York.)

* QueerRomance: The most common interpretation of "The Owl and the Tanager" is that it's about an unhealthy and/or emotionally painful gay relationship (the two main characters are explicitly male in the original iteration of the song, but the genders are left vague in the version that made it to the ''All Delighted People'' EP).

** "The Upper Peninsula" (at least if you count "times" and "some''times''" as the same word):