By most accounts, Sufjan Stevens has abandoned his “50 states” concept. Following 2003’s Michigan album and 2005’s massively successful Illinois, Stevens apparently dropped his grand overarching idea of writing and recording a series of 50 albums, each devoted to a specific state. And who can blame him? It was a ridiculously gargantuan-sounding project, one that would take a lifetime to complete. 2010’s The Age of Adz had no ties to the theme, and his upcoming Carrie & Lowell album seemingly doesn’t either.
Or does it? The advance review copy of Carrie & Lowell—whose title refers to Stevens’ mother and stepfather*—reveals a trove of Oregon tie-ins. First of all, a chunk of it was recorded here in Portland at Flora Studio with Tucker Martine; Laura Veirs appears on some of those tracks. Other portions of the album were recorded on an iPhone in a Klamath Falls hotel room.
The album itself reveals a lot more. There’s a photo in the liner notes that is quite obviously the Oregon Coast (see above). And the Beaver State references within the lyrics are myriad. Here’s what we’ve found so far (special thanks to Andrew Tonry for his help).
The song “Should Have Known Better” contains the line “I’m light as a feather/I’m bright as the Oregon breeze.”
Additionally, “All of Me Wants All of You” mentions Spencer’s Butte, which is on the southern outskirts of Eugene. If that weren’t enough, there’s an entire song called “Eugene.” That song mentions that city’s Emerald Park, and also includes a line about a Subaru, which surely is an Oregon reference.
The title track, “Carrie & Lowell,” includes the lyric: “Cottage Grove shade, invite me in.” This is one of the more obscure songs on the album, also containing non-Oregon-related references to Erebus, Valentine, Opal, and Thorazine, which I think are all elements of Hellenic mythology.
Another song, “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross,” mentions the Dalles, and “Fourth of July” has the lyric, “Tell me, what did you learn from the Tillamook burn?” This is most likely a reference to some cheddar cheese that didn’t go down the right way. And “The Only Thing” mentions some “sea lion caves,” no doubt the famous ones located on the Oregon Coast.
UPDATE: Here’s one I missed: The opening track is titled “Death with Dignity.” That surely is an Oregon reference. (Thanks, Bri Brey, for point that out!) Perhaps Stevens has commented elsewhere, or someone else has diagrammed it, but the album appears to contain connected themes of death and loss and parents. I hesitate to comment on Stevens’ biography without any concrete facts, but just going from the lyrics, it does seem like he’s spent a lot of time in Oregon over the years, and recently had to deal with the death of a loved one.
SECOND UPDATE: There’s a lot more about this in a Pitchfork interview. Stevens spent some formative summers in Oregon with his mother and stepfather; his mother, Carrie, passed away in 2012.
Even putting all these connections aside, it’s clear Stevens is no stranger to Oregon. He recently scored a film called Round-Up which was shot at the Pendleton Round-Up and contains arty, slo-mo footage of the rodeo. Here’s the trailer, which is pretty gorgeous:
Carrie & Lowell comes out on Asthmatic Kitty on March 31, and Stevens plays a Portland show on June 8 at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
* and not to former Bond girl Carey Lowell**
** although with Sufjan, who can say for sure? I’m sure the Carey Lowell tie-in crossed his mind at one point***
*** or maybe I’m just reaching with the whole Carey Lowell thing. I just think about Carey Lowell a lot in general. Licence to Kill is totally underrated. Have you seen it lately? It’s kind of amazing. It’s a Bond movie trying to imitate those hard-boiled ’80s action movies of the era with kind of hilarious results. Wayne Newton is in it! And Carey Lowell, too. I think I mentioned that.****
**** I LOVE YOU CAREY LOWELL
Can’t tell if you’re kidding about the Tillamook burn thing but its a reference to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillamook_Burn
Also the two videos he’s put out are made up of video of Cape Perpetua and the Umatilla Bridge.
Thanks ACW! Yes, the Tillamook burn thing was a joke. (So was the Thorazine bit.) Thanks for the link!
There’s nothing “gorgeous” or “classic” about rodeos. It’s adults abusing animals while trying to pass it off as “sport.” Michael Vick went to jail for participating in dog fights; how is this any different? As a culture, we must constantly address forms a abuse that are considered normal during one period, and abusive during a future period. Artists who want to promote social justice should be on the side of the victims, in this case, nonhuman animals who are forced to live under the domination of humans. At the very least, animals deserve to be treated humanely, and at the best, they should be left unharmed. In the Jain religion, the entire faith revolves around the concept of nonviolence and how it impacts the way we treat other living thing. Members of this faith start with vegetarianism, not having jobs that revolve around animal cruelty, and end by renouncing all forms of ill-will toward other living creatures. Here is a full lenght documentary film about it on You-tube called “Ahimsa Nonviolence.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYahUST8Lbg
HI ..two things.
In a recent interview in UNCUT magazine, your theory is basically confirmed. As Sufjan originally considered calling the album Oregon, but his label manager (who is also LOWELL, aka his stepfather, and specifically sung about on the song Eugene”). talked him out of it, as the album seemed to personal to be named after the State and obviously compared to the other State projects.
ALSO…you missed Blue Buckets of Gold..which is a referenece to the Lost Blue Bucket Mine in Oregon Legend. So yes, he is comparing the love of his mother to a lost or possibly non-existent gold mine. It helps you realize why this was the last track on the album. in the end, what he’s searching for (his mothers love), may not have really ever exisited, even if he tried harder to find it.
Deep, I know.
the album is amazing by the way…