Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out

[TheSunCountry]

Hey guys and gals. We're an underground, idie-folk band looking for some love. If you've got the time, give us a listen and I hope not to waste your time

[Everywhere404]

just sayin...who the hell cares if the dudes gay haha. it's not even our right to speculate. I just hope he's a happy man.

[seikalym]

WHY HAVE I JUST SEEN THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME??

[zachi033]

I think a lot of people are misinterpreting the whole "touching his back with my hand, I kiss him" lyric. I think the story is being told by a really young boy whose brother was the one who was stung by the wasp. At the age of about 4, it's perfectly acceptable for brothers to give each other kisses to make them feel better.

[blackjack207207]

The song is telling a story. The main character in this story is female. he is singing from a female perspective.

[edzekiel101]

@blackjack207207 not necessarily. no need to be heteronormative. it could just as easily be a male, considering how Sufjan is one.

[MrDsmalls]

this song is so stunningly beautiful and the struggle of the two voices is just so passionate

[iattackenemy]

psychology majors make me want to vomit

[harmoniclove23]

i think that if people are more concerned about his sexual orientation over his music your really not a fan and fucking everyone's a psychology major nowadays aren't we everyone needs to shut the fuck up and enjoy a beautiful song because that's all this video is made for..not to discuss someones sexuality cause its none of our fucking business..you people make me sick

[brothersun87]

Does anyone else want to see that home video that's just on the left side of the frame?

[calico992]

Your absolutely wrong. people do not choose to be gay or not gay. Did you know many animals have homosexuals in their species? Its natures birth control. And I prefer it to war anyday...

[Girly2869]

my comment was a response to jko1992

[PhistelRocks]

@Girly2869 I am a Psychology major, and there is just as much evidence supporting what jko1992 than every other theory. There is more facts supported through both neo freudian and neo erikson theories to all but discredit the idea of peoples genetics deciding orientation.

[BrightLights916]

@PhistelRocks Psych major at Wyotech or what?

[OminousInsomnia]

Being Christian has nothing to do with not being gay. :/

[SufjanStevensWannabe]

An image fit for a Christmas Card! :D

[hopeforrain]

This is breathtaking.

[srikamaraja]

Hallelujah.

[absterz00]

I love sufjan.

[jteich31]

Goosebumps at 2:06

[jko1992]

Goosebumps throughout!

[splashgirl13]

such a beautiful song, x

[benegeseritwhore]

the song is about him and his friend in summer camp- explains it in one of these youtube videos.

"we were in love" means what you think it means.

has hard as if for many of you to comprehend, Christianity and homosexuality often come bound up and conflicting in a person. I just hope he has found his way and is being true to himself.

I also got the gay vibe from jesus anyhow.

[muzzilaneous]

No it isn't, he said it was a childhood memory with his brother.

That's not interpretation that's what he himself said.

Gay vibes aren't something you should look for when you read about people. Idiot.

[AsoulDivided]

Dude People are born Gay People are made into Christians

[SkotNewbower]

Geigh PPL

[jko1992]

Actually, I think people are born without a sexual preference. That's something that develops with adolescence.

[Girly2869]

have you ever studied psychology? you are totally wrong.

[MarcusMett]

This is one of the greatest songs I have ever heard! And this performance gives it the right space.

[beckstraordinary]

I believe this video gives me express permission to wear wings whenever the heck I want.

It is awesome. Thanks for taking it.

[Vin2241]

This song is more than beautiful.

[200FuckingPonies]

ok i just posted somewhere else that i didn't think he was great live, this has changed my mind! Epic!

[apanhadordearrepios]

very nice!

[soflainternational]

this is awesome.

check out our music vid to this song!

[Jerrysebo]

this man is a musical genious... I would love him to come to spain

[griffinthecity]

sufjan isn't a genius. he has a genius.

[FierceSwitters]

Kill yourself, or at least learn some proper and intelligent grammar.

[griffinthecity]

ouch. you don't understand... maybe this will clear things up for you:

watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA

[Liiammm3]

No one would watch that. =/

[tiesthijsthejs]

are those garden gnomes? or weird santa puppets? friends of mine steel garden gnomes as a symbolic statement: "free the gnomes", a critique of the uptight middleclass and the lack of folk myths as culture popularizes... hehe, but something tells me sufjan is not really the critical person... love his music and lyrical potential, but as an atheist his sweet faith (humble to a superbeing) creeps me out sometimes

[dynamitewalls]

That really sums it up for me too, jonbash. I am Christian and is music makes me feel close to God. It's so angelic and majestic and beautiful. I admire your honesty. I really dislike what is so called "worship music". It is music that makes me feel cold, and almost hyprocitical at times. We should sing Sufjan's music in church. In fact I have once. My girlfriend, and friends of mine did The Transfiguration once, and it was great. I can't wait until I can finally see him live.

[ahkim87]

I wouldn't reduce down to "sweet faith." His music in large part does create a kind of feel good mood, but this is while he has a song like John Wayne Gacy Jr, which I think is largely reflective of his faith as well.

[madkaye]

I wouldn't say that is a song that has anything to do with faith or religion. He's illustrating the darkness of the human mind, particularly one of a most interesting, yet despicable human. That's what is so cool about him. He has religious undertones in a lot of his music, but he doesn't limit himself to that.

[nathandeming]

What is despicable about the person in the song? It's about a girl who hurt her best friend/love when she was a kid

[madkaye]

No I was replying to a comment about John Wayne Gacy, JR. The comment is on the next page. It moved my ccomment to the first page.

[etceteraretecte]

this is probably my favourite sufjan stevens song. i find it indescribably moving.

[rockoshmucko]

me too- in an incredibly profound, floating way deep inside me :)

[layourbattleaxedown]

wish i was there.

[TurtleSwords]

this song is so epic!

they should make fireworks go off at the built up part.

[adamschneider]

this is the most epic version of this ive ever seen, hes wearing (eagle?) wings, amazing!

[LeblaunkDeAlau]

butterfly

[uucat]

Nope. Falcon.

[ericrobertbritt]

Wish I had the violin sheet music for this. Also, this performance is just perfect.

[StevenJosephChrist]

Sault St. Marie - out

Romulus - out

Highland - out

Lincoln - in

Palisades, IL - in

[Hano4673]

what are you doing?

[StevenJosephChrist]

looking for my lover, C.

[StevenJosephChrist]

thanks!

Rochester

[StevenJosephChrist]

Ypsilanti - out Up. Penn - out Chicago- in Decatur - in Jacksonville - out Jackson - in Metropolis - out Holland - in Sturgeon's Bay - in Crystal Lake - in Detroit - out Flint - out

[youkaichick]

i must confess when i first heard this song i thought it... well, kinda sucked. but by the second time i heard it, i loved it. funny huh? i just, oh, i love it.

[FidelioRoo]

That's what happened to me with The Beach Boys' "Surf's Up". Heh.

[youkaichick]

ack. still don't like beach boys...

[KaryuuNoHaneKata]

How can you not like the Beach Boys? o.0?

[youkaichick]

*shrugs* just don't like them. from the few songs i've heard, they sound too goofy for me.

[ronoxQ]

You need to listen to the right stuff. Later Beach Boys is as close to divine as pop music gets. Try Pet Sounds if you want an album, or Good Vibrations as a single.

[youkaichick]

HA. i just listened to pet sounds for the first time last night! haha! what good timing you have. most of it made me want to scream, but i liked a few tracks. like the song "god only knows".

but i like this song a million times better than any beach boys song i've ever heard.

[TheCama]

omg that's beautiful!!!

[ericrobertbritt]

I like the violin better live than on the CD.

They should record this live, and release it.

Favorite Sufjan song.

[theatregirl221]

I agree ericrobertbritt.

[nick210186]

there has never been a sound more majestic. for me, this is the pinnacle of a one of the most formidable albums ever recorded

[06feebz]

i LOVE the wings. the wings are superb. I wonder what made him think to wear them?

this is one of the songs that i listen to more frequently than most.

[mewlink64]

maybe the wasps?

[riffsandvariations23]

Majesty Snowbird Tour

[Molly718]

Whyyy didn't he stop in Boston on this tour? WHY?!

[theatregirl221]

I think im in love

Thi smusic goves me a natural high

thank you sufjan

[yemmaa]

ahh i just bought sufjan tickets this morning, i am so very excited!

i hope that he sings this song, it makes me happy, sad, lonely, nostalgic and hopefull all in one.

magnificent he is

[nilsV12345670]

Exactly the same what I felt, when I went seeing him.

Sufjan is magic.

[dance689]

I love that he wares wings

[sos022]

heaven

[lpluss]

I can't believe he was at Zellerbach and I didn't go. Ugh.

Good comment about the album woodwinds though--the oboe makes it sound like a wasp, somehow. I like to think the final "cacophony" he adds live is something like having all these happy memories flash before his eyes like a whirlwind.

[titichman]

c'est vreiment beau !! <3

[waldohants1962]

He makes me cry - the purity of his songs!

[puppyofwrath]

wow... I wish I was there!

And btw- the wings are cool too. I just heard that song "We won't need legs to stand" for the first time and it made me think of those wings he wears.

[konstantine39]

hes from my hometown

[honeybee220]

I love him for wearing wings and singing and playing with all of his heart and soul. I love him for the beautiful melodies and textured layers of sound he creates, and the raw emotion of his lyrics. Thank you Sufjan!

[alara123]

ohhhhhhh my gosh. i have to see this man live, i've been dying to. this must've been so great.

[highcoldstar]

it changes all the time, but i think this is my fav off illinois. especially with the album's woodwinds. hooba dooba.

[lightbulbneurosis]

Wow the strings are a great touch, this is my favorite song ever. Sufjan is amazing.

[MaxChaplin]

These wings are GAY!! Why on earth does such a gifted musician try to be Peter Gabriel 2?

[stankywhore]

he is our walt whitman! sing the joyous songs of our land sufjan! sing the songs of our land and our fellow human beings!  its the "song of myself" for our generation...

enjoy it while we got it folks...

[folktales]

oh my.

i'd loooove to see him live! if only he comes to my city! :(

[droctagon17]

He struggled to hit the high notes on "I can tell you..." Other than that, great song. Can't wait to see him live.

[robbjk9]

I think that's the bad sound. He nailed them when I saw him live.

[inlovewithtuna]

so amazing. the strings and the choir are the icing on the cake.

[kaylalemmons]

Sujan and Andrew are both talented, but in different ways. Andrew Bird, who I've seen in concert, finds beauty in music by simple sounds: whistling, a violin, some drums, a guitar or two, and his voice. Sufjan creates a large masterpieces, using orchestras and bands and background singers (though sometimes just his voice and a banjo). Both performances are equally pleasing, just in different ways.

[vanceoliver]

Unfortunately.. though..

Sufjan is much more talented than Andrew.

[masona88]

I'm disappointed in this performance. I'd expect much more from Sufjan. He's great on his CD's, but he lacks in person. Andrew Bird doesn't get as much publicity, however he's twice as talented.

[patriampacis1]

Are you kidding me? I'm not saying Andrew Bird isn't talented, but this is beautiful.

[ejanejarr]

Joder, qué exquisitos somos ¿no?

[5taleCoffee]

were you there? have you seen him live, or just on youtube?

[lovemusiclife02]

beautiful beautiful beautiful...my favorite illinoise song after casimir and chicago

[gabeissosohot]

My poor mother :(. Sufjan is just... amazing.

[abercrombiecutie89]

love this song so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[freestyle101]

i love the song chicago by him

[julesschaafsma]

ahhh!! i was so blessed to have seen this concert last fall.... awesome... too bad we don't get to hear the cute story that he told about this song....

[FTFDrummer7]

my favorite songs are the tallest man the broadest shoulders and come on feel the illinoise

[jeffreyharrell]

Yeah this song is amazing....great video and audio!

[ahkim87]

my favorite song as well on that record. casimir comes second.

[jenhbrown]

I loved the concert so much... my favorite song on illinoise.