History YMMV / SufjanStevens

** Even Sufjan can't quite make "Embrace the [[EpicFail epic fail]] / of my exploding whale" sound right as the chorus of an otherwise heartfelt and moving song about life's regrets. (All the more so considering that "epic fail" was already pretty dated internet slang by the time the song was released.)
* NarmCharm: Sufjan has made an art of combining deliberately narm-y elements (baroque musical compositions, odd instruments, obsessively rigorous album concepts, intentionally silly song and album titles, elaborate stage costumes...) with his disarmingly sincere--and just plain brilliant--songwriting. The juxtaposition is a big part of his appeal for many fans.

** NarmCharm: Sufjan has made an art of combining deliberately narm-y elements (baroque musical compositions, odd instruments, obsessively rigorous album concepts, intentionally silly song and album titles, elaborate stage costumes...) with his disarmingly sincere--and just plain brilliant--songwriting. The juxtaposition is a big part of his appeal for many fans.

* {{Narm}}: Despite the song's overall tenderness, the couple of lines "Well, this world is a bitch, girl / Don't end up in a ditch, girl" from "Tonya Harding" sound pretty narmy, thanks to RhymingWithItself, the PrecisionFStrike and the uncharacteristic bluntness of the lyrics.

* PainfulRhyme:
** "The Avalanche" has Sufjan rhyming "Virg''inia''" with "you had it ''in ya''".
** "Impossible Soul" has "feather" rhymed with "however".
** "Decatur" thrives on this. The first verse rhymes "Decatur" with "hate her," "take her," and "alligator."
** "Peoria! Destroy-a!" from "Prairie Fire That Wanders About." (If you can't tell, the ''Illinois'' / ''Avalanche'' era saw Suf doing a lot of lyrical gymnastics in order to accommodate the many, many [[ShoutOut Shouted-Out]] place names.)

* AscendedMeme: He has parodied the frequent butchering of his name (Surfjohn, Sufjohn, Sirfjam, etc.) in infomercials and the name of his 2012 Christmas Tour (Surfjohn Stevens Christmas Sing-A-Long).

* LGBTFanbase: He has a rather sizeable one, thanks to the homoerotic content of some of his songs and his own ambiguous sexuality. (Him scoring ''Film/CallMeByYourName'' in 2017 didn't hurt, either). As an article on Jezebel put it:

* MemeticMutation: Just about every aspect of Sufjan's music and persona have been subject to affectionate meme-ing from the fanbase. Popular targets include his uncommon first name (see Ascended Meme, above), his lengthy ''Michigan'' and ''Illinois''-era song titles, his frequent use of the banjo, and his unique blending of Christian spirituality with frank explorations of grief and sexual identity.

** "Is this song gay or just about God?" (The typical answer: yes.)

** The titular state holiday in "Casimir Pulaski Day" always falls on the first Monday of March, which means that the events of the song take place over a week.

* AmbiguouslyBi: While Sufjan has never spoken publicly about his sexuality, there is plenty of evidence in his music to suggest that he may be bisexual. Some songs ("Casimir Pulaski Day," "The Dress Looks Nice on You") seem to be addressed to female love interests, some ("Drawn to the Blood," "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades"--though the romantic nature of the latter is disputed) are pretty clearly about men, and some ("Impossible Soul") could go either--or both--ways. In general, listeners tend to read into these lyrics whatever they want to see in them. See also the HoYay page.

* AscendedMeme: He has parodied the frequent butchering of his name (Surfjohn, Sufjohn, Sirfjam, etc.) in infomercials and the name of his 2012 Christmas Tour.

* CreatorBreakdown: ''The Age of Adz'' happened as a result of a depression / neural illness that Stevens suffered from, which explains the album's atmosphere of what Stevens described as "hysterical melodrama".

* FridgeHorror: Listeners who aren't familiar with Illinois history and/or don't pay close enough attention to the lyrics may have this kind of reaction when they realize that "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." is a song about a serial killer.

* PainfulRhyme: "The Avalanche" has Sufjan rhyming "Virginia" with "in ya".

-->I believe regarding the distribution of my work that the music is no longer mine anyway, it’s an experience that I participate in.

* LGBTFanbase: He has a rather sizeable one, thanks to the homoerotic content of some of his songs and his own ambiguous sexuality. (Him scoring ''Film/CallMeByYourName'' in 2017 didn't hurt, eother). As an article on Jezebel put it:

* LGBTFanbase: He has a rather sizeable one, thanks to the homoerotic content of some of his songs and his own ambiguous sexuality. As an article on Jezebel put it:

** The "demogorgon" referenced in "Wallowa Lake Monster" is the two-headed prince of darkness — an apt metaphot for someone suffering from bipolar disorder.

* AmbiguouslyBi: While Sufjan has never spoken publicly about his sexuality, there is plenty of evidence in his music to suggest that he may be bisexual. Some songs ("Casimir Pulaski Day," "The Dress Looks Nice on You") seem to be addressed to female love interests, some ("Drawn to the Blood," "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades"--though the romantic nature of the latter is disputed) are pretty clearly about men, and some ("Impossible Soul") could go either--or both--ways. In general, listeners tend to read into these lyrics whatever they want to see in them. See also the HoYay entry below.

* HoYay: Many of his songs could be interpreted this way.
** Some of his faith-themed songs, such as "He Woke Me Up" and "To be Alone with You", are clearly about Jesus or God, but they can also come across as expressions of romantic longing.
** "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades" is frequently cited as an example, but [[WordOfGod Sufjan has been pretty upfront about the real meaning]] and it has nothing to do with romance.
** "Futile Devices" is a gentle ballad addressed to a male object of affection; the chances of it being a FriendshipSong are slim, especially now that it has been used in the soundtrack of ''Film/CallMeByYourName''.
** "All for Myself": the narrator and his presumed significant other both have hairy chests, so it's safe to say the song is ''not'' about a heterosexual relationship.
** "Drawn to the Blood", about [[DomesticAbuse an abusive romance]] with a man, is a [[TearJerker dark and sad example]] of this. (In an interview, [[WordOfGod Stevens confirmed]] that the song is autobiographical).
*** The preceding song, "All of Me Wants all of You", describes the distant, neglectful lover as reminiscent of Poseidon.
** "John My Beloved" is simultaneously a) about the relationship between John and Jesus and b) about a hookup at a bar, almost certainly with another man.
** "The Owl and the Tanager" reads like a description of a romantic/sexual relationship between two teenage boys, one of whom "cheats" the other.
** "Jason" could probably make the list as well. The lyrics sound like they're from the perspective of a scorned ex, and Jason is far more likely to be a boy's name than a girl's. Many people though will try to frame it in the context of a narrative centering on the eponymous hero from Greek mythology. It's difficult to call either way.

* CreatorBreakdown: ''Age of Adz'' happened as a result of a depression / neural illness that Stevens suffered from, which explains the album's atmosphere of what Stevens described as "hysterical melodrama".

* GrowingTheBeard: His first two albums — ''A Sun Came'' (indie rock) and ''Enjoy Your Rabbit'' (electronica) didn't make any much of a splash with either critics or audiences; but his third album, ''Michigan'', finally put him on the map, thanks to its narrative-driven songs, more overt folk influences, and a [[ConceptAlbum geographical concept]] worn proudly on its (album) sleeve.

** The titular state holiday in "Casimir Pulaski Day" falls on the first Monday of March, which means that the events of the song take place over a week.

* CreatorBreakdown: ''Age of Adz'' happened as a result of a depression / neural illness that Stevens suffered from, which explains its atmosphere of what he desrcibed as "hysterical melodrama" and an obsession with "sensation".

* ThrowItIn: Ambient noises (like the sound of the air conditioning) can be herad in the background of many of his recordings.

* CreatorBreakdown: ''Age of Adz'' happened as a result of a depression / neural illness that Stevens suffered from.
--> "The Age of Adz, is, in some ways, a result of that process of working through health issues and getting much more in touch with my physical self. That's why I think the record's really obsessed with sensation and has a hysterical melodrama to it."

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: ''Age of Adz'' happened as a result of a depression / neural illness that Stevens suffered from, and ''Carrie & Lowell'' was a means for Stevens to cope with his mother's death.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: While ''Michigan'' was well-received when it came out, ''Illinois'', with its more grandiose and maximalist sound and its more complex lyrical content, absolutely outdid the earlier album critically, and is in fact the highest-rated album of 2005 on Metacritic.