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Information AboutIllinois (album) |
''Illinois'' ( and Quiet Riot . The album was included on many "Best of 2005" lists. The website Metacritic , which compiles reviews, ranks ''Illinois'' as the best album of the year. It was ranked "Album of the Year" by Pitchfork , Amazon.com 's Editors, Entertainment Weekly 's Chris Willman, and Los Angeles Times ' Richard Cromelin, among others. OVERVIEW Lyrically, the album is dense with allusions and references. Among the towns and places mentioned on the album are Highland , Lebanon , Columbia , Jacksonville , Decatur , Chicago , Metropolis , Peoria , Bushnell , the Sears Tower , the Great Godfrey Maze, and the Rock River Valley. Among the historical figures named are Frank Lloyd Wright , Carl Sandburg , John Wayne Gacy, Jr. , Andrew Jackson , Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln , Casimir Pułaski , and a number of influential Jazz musicians. Some of the songs and titles contain specific historically accurate content, so ''Illinois'' could also be associated with the Historical Album category. Other Illinois figures are referenced more obliquely, like the 8'11" Robert Wadlow in "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders". Many of the songs use real locations and historical events as settings for fictional accounts or jumping-off points for ruminations on more universal subjects such as family and faith. While ostensibly a record about the people and places of the eponymous state, ''Illinois'' has also been noted for its religious overtones, which occur in greater frequency and explicitness than is typical for the indie rock genre. Nearly all of the songs address Biblical imagery or themes in one way or another, from track 1, in which a 2000 UFO sighting is related in terms that echo the Resurrection, to track 22, whose title evokes the biblical Flight Into Egypt , "Out of Egypt I called my son". Other examples include the refrains of "Decatur" ("it's the Great I Am") and "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders" ("the Spirit / the Carpenter"); the explicit references to "the glory that the Lord has made" in " Casimir Pulaski Day "; the Scriptural allegory informing "The Seer's Tower"; and the apparent absolution Stevens finds in the final verse of "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." Due to legal issues regarding the artwork, Asthmatic Kitty Records had stopped sales of the album and asked retailers to do the same. Though not stated explicitly in the label's notice, the image of Superman on the album cover is assumed to have been the source of the legal problems. On the vinyl edition released in November, Superman's image is covered by a balloon sticker. The balloon sticker cover was also used on the CD album cover. Asthmatic Kitty were allowed to sell the first print. However, because big-box retailers such as Best Buy did not comply with the order, Asthmatic Kitty allowed continued sales of the album. The label distributed new versions of the album, with updated artwork. The version currently on sale lacks the picture of Superman in the artwork, but is otherwise unchanged. Despite, or perhaps because of the issue, the album sold briskly on iTunes in its first week, ranking among the top five albums sold. The song "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." can be heard on an episode of FX 's '' Nip/Tuck '' entitled "Frankenlaura," which originally aired October 25 , 2005. "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois" was used on an episode of NBC 's '' Conviction '' entitled "The Wall," which originally aired April 28 , 2006 . The vinyl edition of 'Illinois' contains inscriptions within the run-off groove which read: 'Land of Lincoln' (which is the state slogan), 'Tribe of superior men' (the English meaning of the Algonquin word 'Illinois'), 'By the rivers gently flowing, oe'r the prairies verdant growing' (a line from the state song of Illinois) and 'Hog butchers for the world, toolmaker, stacker of wheat, player with railroads' (a line from the poem 'Chicago' by Carl Sandburg). TRACK LISTING # "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL" - 2:09 # "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!'" - 2:14 # "Come on! Feel the Illinoise!" - 6:45 ## "The World's Columbian Exposition" ## "Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream" # " John Wayne Gacy, Jr. " - 3:19 # "Jacksonville" - 5:24 # "A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good Reasons" - 0:47 # "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother!" - 3:03 # "One Last 'Whoo-Hoo!' for the Pullman" - 0:06 # "Chicago" - 6:04 # " Casimir Pulaski Day " - 5:54 # "To the Workers of the Rockford River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament" - 1:40 # "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" - 6:17 # "Prairie Fire That Wanders About" - 2:11 # "A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze" - 0:19 # "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is out to Get Us!" - 5:23 # "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhhh!" - 5:09 # "Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All the Way out in Bushnell" - 0:40 # "In This Temple, as in the Hearts of Man, for Whom He Saved the Earth" - 0:35 # "The Seer's Tower" - 3:54 # "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders" - 7:03 ## "The Great Frontier" ## "Come to Me Only With Playthings Now" # "Riffs and Variations on a Single Note for Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, and the King of Swing, to Name a Few" - 0:46 # "Out of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I Shake the Dirt from My Sandals As I Run" - 4:21 THEMATIC ELEMENTS ''Illinois'' alludes to many things, events, people and places (notably Illinois itself), some of which can be further explored in this encyclopedia or on the Internet. Here is a list of references from each song. Note that this is surely not a complete list, as many references are very subtle. Also, subsequently, some references could be incorrect, as many lyrics are not entirely specific. 1. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL 2. 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 3. Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
4. John Wayne Gacy, Jr. 5. Jacksonville 6. A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good Reasons 7. Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step Mother!
8. One Last 'Whoo-hoo!' For The Pullman 9. Chicago 10. Casimir Pulaski Day
11. To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, And It Involves Shoe String, A Lavender Garland, And Twelve Strong Women
12. The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
13. Prairie Fire That Wanders About 14. A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze 15. The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is out to Get Us! 16. They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhhh!
17. Let's Hear That String Part Again, Because I Don't Think They Heard It All the Way out in Bushnell 19. The Seer's Tower 20. The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders
21. Riffs and Variations on a Single Note for Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodds, and the King of Swing, to Name a Few 22. Out of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I Shake the Dirt from My Sandals As I Run SAMPLES RELATED MUSIC
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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