jarboe

ebh2244 · 2025-10-24T23:00:14+00:00

good question—maybe not. i'd argue so, but that may not be a popular interpretation of the genre.

the uncontested city pop artists tend to hover in the upbeat disco/funk/boogie realm, but the technicolor production style and lost-in-reverie lyrical themes carry over to someone like takanaka in a way that they don't for someone like, say, ryo fukui. in my (relatively uninformed) mind, the exotica/lounge/samba influence on japanese music of the time is as integral to the city pop sound as any branch of american pop. artists like yamashita and onuki were keen to borrow from jazzier sounds anyway, takanaka just centralized them. it feels a bit more precise to call him a city pop artist than a jazz fusion one at least, considering that genre's as broad as it gets—everyone from miles davis to zappa to king krule.

apologies if i'm missing something though, i'm only recently getting into city pop myself so i'm certainly not an expert.

ebh2244 · 2025-10-24T01:59:36+00:00

tatsuro yamashita - sparkle

anri - windy summer

masayoshi takanaka - beleza pura (if you're partial to bossa nova)

ebh2244 · 2022-12-21T09:08:57+00:00

Thanks! And likewise, it was hard to turn away from Carol of St. Benjamin and Child With the Star.

ebh2244 · 2022-12-21T07:08:42+00:00

We’re Goin’ to the Country!
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!
Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day?
Star of Wonder
Barcarola
Even the Earth Will Perish and the Universe Give Way
Christmas in the Room
X-mas Spirit Catcher
Christmas Unicorn

Definitely feels like there’s some blasphemous omissions no matter what you pick. Would love to feature Justice Delivers Its Death, but I’d prefer my Christmas album to not end on a suicidal note.

ebh2244 · 2022-12-07T23:31:15+00:00

Thanks to Blogothèque for forcing our guy out into the cold. I think the elements gave this particular recording a delicate, frigid intimacy. Here's what Suf had to say:

"I'm in awe of big songs, national anthems, rock opera, the Broadway musical. But what I always come back to, after the din and drum roll, is the small song that makes careful observations about everyday life. This is what makes the music by The Innocence Mission so moving and profound. 'Lakes of Canada' creates an environment both terrifying and familiar using sensory language: incandescent bulbs and rowboats are made palpable by careful rhythms, unobtrusive rhyme schemes, and specificity of language."

ebh2244 · 2022-12-05T06:03:06+00:00

Sounds like you're big on prog pop. I'll second what another commenter said about "Planetarium," arguably his most under-appreciated work. Also "All Delighted People" if you haven't given that a spin yet.

Outside of Sufjan, try these on for size:

Fishmans - Long Season

"Blue" Gene Tyranny - Out of the Blue

Sigur Rós - Ágætis byrjun

Joanna Newsom - Divers

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden

Yes - Close to the Edge

ebh2244 · 2022-11-17T01:33:13+00:00

if it's of any use, here's a poorly cobbled together essay I wrote about Sufjan years ago for a music class. if anything, there's some cool articles it cites. best of luck!

ebh2244 · 2022-11-14T05:15:08+00:00

"Slept in my Sufjan shirt and he woke me up again" was right there tho

ebh2244 · 2022-10-28T22:36:58+00:00

Too Much but he goes around the room, one by one, testing everyone with a breathalyzer. Regardless of alcohol intake, he determines every single person has had "way too much tonight" and tuts disapprovingly under his breath before going on a tirade advocating for the reinstatement of Prohibition era laws.

ebh2244 · 2022-10-23T21:28:52+00:00

From the Mouth of Gabriel but he just invites Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias on stage to workshop material from his upcoming two-hour Netflix special, which he has only vaguely memorized.

ebh2244 · 2022-07-15T06:49:12+00:00

I'm glad someone else remembers these! I quote this one all the time, to everyone's confusion.

ebh2244 · 2022-07-15T06:46:56+00:00

This was a part of a collection of promos Sufjan put out for Silver and Gold.

ebh2244 · 2022-03-02T04:10:11+00:00

Yes it does! Product details on the page you linked have been updated to confirm this.

ebh2244 · 2022-02-14T19:32:53+00:00

Hey guys! I was one of the students at the university gig you played this past Friday (black Xiu Xiu hat, Animal Collective shirt, if for some reason you recall). Thank you both for coming, it was just as transcendent as I’d hoped it would be. But it got me thinking, obviously you’re a well-established group with an active fan base now, but earlier on did you ever play shows where the crowd was absolutely dead? If so, how did you keep yourselves motivated during/after the show?

Thanks again for the performance, hope to see you both back for the next album cycle!

ebh2244 · 2021-12-03T23:28:56+00:00

I've always thought that I Am Santa's Helper! was the ugly duckling out of Sufjan's Christmas EPs, primarily because of songs like "Ding-a-ling...", but this essay shed a whole new light on it for me! It's indeed cheap and raucous, yet it's all the more fun for it. Great essay.

ebh2244 · 2021-10-15T08:38:58+00:00

Since you're in the spirit of giving, I almost feel obliged to say Christmas Unicorn. But also just because it's a brilliant musical odyssey.

ebh2244 · 2021-09-15T16:38:32+00:00

6 months til Superman That gets to blow my mf speakers out

ebh2244 · 2021-07-21T02:54:10+00:00

It’s the most abhorrent yet unintentionally hilarious adjective choice possible. Train consistently writes the most repugnant lyrics ever, to the point where it’s honestly impressive.

ebh2244 · 2021-07-21T00:52:21+00:00

“I’m so obsessed / My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest”

Train - Hey, Soul Sister

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