History YMMV / SufjanStevens

** "Chicago" also plays over the title card in the Creator/RyanMurphy Netflix series ''Series/ThePolitician'', and will likely come to be associated with the show for a new generation of fans.

** From ''All Delighted People'':
*** "Djohariah"

*** "Death with Dignity"

*** "Chicago"

*** Ditto "Oh to see without my eyes" from "Mystery of Love", which became a bonafide meme even outside the Sufjan fandom due to the song's association with ''Film/CallMeByYourName''.

** The line "You checked your texts while I masturbated" from "All of Me Wants All of You" comes off this way to some listeners, while others like the way it succinctly evokes a relationship with intimacy issues.
*** The phrase "like a Judas in heat," used twice in "America", has proven to be similarly divisive.
*** ... and "I shit my pants and wet the bed" from "Ativan".

*** Ditto "Oh to see without my eyes" from "Mystery of Love."

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Apparently, ''Carrie & Lowell'' was at one point conceived as an Oregon-based follow-up to ''Illinois'' and ''Michigan'', and many of the album tracks and several songs written or released around the same time include references to the state. (See OrphanedReference on the Trivia tab for specific examples.)

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some have not been receptive towards the drastic sound change exhibited on ''The Age of Adz'' and, now, ''The Ascension''. In general, his synth-heavy endeavors inspire a lot of backlash from those who either don't know he's been releasing electronic music since ''before'' most of his folksy albums came out do know but would prefer he stick to the acoustic stuff.

** A whole subgenre of Sufjan memes concerns his failure to finish the Fifty States project, to the point that there are even t-shirts for sale demanding he release the remaining 48. Many fans have decided to fill in the gaps by making up their own parody tracklists or even recording new state-based songs.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some were not receptive towards the drastic sound change exhibited on ''The Age of Adz''.

* BrokenBase: "Which Sufjan album is his best", with absolutely every single one of his main releases in between ''Michigan'' and ''Carrie & Lowell'' inspiring a near equal number of fervent arguments from fans. With critics the competition is mainly between ''Music/{{Illinois}}'' and ''Music/CarrieAndLowell'', [[http://www.metacritic.com/person/sufjan-stevens which are currently tied on Metacritic]] (with the ''C&L'' LiveAlbum actually beating them both by a single point).

** ''Music/TheAgeOfAdz'' 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".

* HarsherInHindsight: The autobiographical ''Carrie & Lowell'' adds context to some of Stevens's earlier songs; e.g. "Romulus", about a child ashamed of his MissingMom, can now be assumed to have a RealitySubtext.

** ''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".

* GeniusBonus: Knowledge of American geography, history and literature, and of Greek mythology and Christiniaty, really enhances the listening experience. Some examples:

* BrokenBase: "Which Sufjan album is his best", with absolutely every single one of his main releases in between ''Michigan'' and ''Carrie & Lowell'' inspiring a near equal number of fervent arguments from fans. With critics the competition is mainly between ''Illinois'' and ''C&L'',[[http://www.metacritic.com/person/sufjan-stevens which are currently tied on Metacritic]] (with the ''C&L'' LiveAlbum actually beating them both by a single point).

* BrokenBase: "Which Sufjan album is his best", with absolutely every single one of his main releases in between ''Michigan'' and ''Carrie & Lowell'' inspiring a near equal number of fervent arguments from fans. With critics the competition is mainly in-between ''Illinois'' and ''C&L'', the latter being his most critically acclaimed album to date ([[http://www.metacritic.com/person/sufjan-stevens albeit by one measly point]]).

* BreakthroughHit: "Chicago", which has remained his SignatureSong.

*** The phrase "like a Judas in heat," used twice in "America," has proven to be similarly divisive.

*** The phrase "like a Judas in heat" from "America" has proven to be similarly divisive.

** There's a whole subgenre of Sufjan memes about his failure to finish the Fifty States project, to the point that there are even t-shirts for sale demanding he release the remaining 48. Many fans have decided to fill in the gaps by making up their own parody tracklists or even recording new state-based songs.

** Though he'd long been a critical favorite with a devoted fanbase, "Mystery of Love"--his contribution to the ''Film/CallMeByYourName'' soundtrack--was his first true mainstream success. The song earned him an army of new fans, his highest charting single to date, and an Academy Award nomination with an accompanying Oscars night performance.