Sufjan Stevens — Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois
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Total ratings: 657
Length: 2:06
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When the revenant came down
We couldn't imagine what it was
In the spirit of three stars
The alien thing that took its form
Then to Lebanon, oh God
The flashing at night, the sirens grow and grow
Oh, history involved itself
Mysterious shade that took its form
Or what it was, incarnation, three stars
Delivering signs and dusting from their eyes
We couldn't imagine what it was
In the spirit of three stars
The alien thing that took its form
Then to Lebanon, oh God
The flashing at night, the sirens grow and grow
Oh, history involved itself
Mysterious shade that took its form
Or what it was, incarnation, three stars
Delivering signs and dusting from their eyes
Comments (130)add comment
What a shameless ripoff of Tupac.
This song is part of an outstanding album. Now that we live in a singles world, i haven't listened to it in awhile. But as part of a whole, the songs on this album form a beautiful experience. One of the most open, confessional, beautiful albums out there. Very few missteps.
I credit my getting loose in the 70s to being open to this
What a strange and intriguing title. It's a shame that the song doesn't live up to its billing. Aural Mogadon 
Peter_Bradshaw wrote: 
I don't know why I like this!!!
...... me to!
I don't know why I like this!!! ...... me to!YAY Sufjan on RP!!
I don't know why I like this!!!urk
Short but sweet..
I understand about 10% of everything he says. I can't explain why I find Sufjan and this album in particular so affecting. He makes me cry.
Very glad to hear Sufjan on RP and this is one of my favorite songs. Thank you so much for playing it!
Intriguing to listen to if it's your thing.
Easy to ignore if it isn't your thing.
All good, either way.
Easy to ignore if it isn't your thing.
All good, either way.
vandal wrote:
I disagree with your opinion of the song, but the pic you posted made me laugh!
I disagree with your opinion of the song, but the pic you posted made me laugh!
peter_james_bond wrote:
That's exactly what came to mind for me. Haha.
That's exactly what came to mind for me. Haha.
cdhutzler wrote:
Thanks Carl, that was pretty cool!
This song was used in a pretty cool stop motion movie made a few years back.
Thanks Carl, that was pretty cool!
This song was used in a pretty cool stop motion movie made a few years back.
I love this song. I love Sufjan. Great stuff!
andsoitgoes wrote:
sigh. Troll
Great song. I'm glad to hear more Sufjan on RP. Keep it up!
"troll" - right. . . nice job of quickly pigeon-holing a guy because he posts something with which you disagree.
SS is a twee poseur (I have seen SS in concert, and I did pay for an SS CD or two) and is a perfect example of the kind of weak drivel often thought of as thought provoking, or creative, but really is just sort of novel in a fleeting way. . . I've done my best to like this stuff, to think of it as art, but the best I can do is see it as a failed attempt at Dadaism. . .
sigh. Troll
Great song. I'm glad to hear more Sufjan on RP. Keep it up!
"troll" - right. . . nice job of quickly pigeon-holing a guy because he posts something with which you disagree.
SS is a twee poseur (I have seen SS in concert, and I did pay for an SS CD or two) and is a perfect example of the kind of weak drivel often thought of as thought provoking, or creative, but really is just sort of novel in a fleeting way. . . I've done my best to like this stuff, to think of it as art, but the best I can do is see it as a failed attempt at Dadaism. . .
vandal wrote:
sigh. Troll
Great song. I'm glad to hear more Sufjan on RP. Keep it up!
sigh. Troll
Great song. I'm glad to hear more Sufjan on RP. Keep it up!
chyk5 wrote:
Agreed! His song titles and their content always amuse me. Can't say as I'd listen to his records over and over again, though...
What a wonderful freak this man is. The world needs more like him.
Agreed! His song titles and their content always amuse me. Can't say as I'd listen to his records over and over again, though...
Prettiest, strangest song, I ever did hear.
Got any Shakin' Stevens? 
i always turn up the volume when this get played.
This time I also checked the comments, with pictures of people throwing up.
Tnx RP for keep playing this kind of stuff. My record collection would be
a bit smaller without the UFO sightings I often do here.
Take the chance to see this guy on stage, with his incredible band.
It's like Donovan meeting Frank Zappa...
superfido wrote:
Indeed, My god this is as pukish as it gets. 
what stupid stupid repulsive lyrics
you just have to recognize that it is actually in a foreign tongue - I think it is Gibberish.
what stupid stupid repulsive lyrics
This song doesn't sound quite right unless ...
"The Black Hawk War, Or, How To Demolish An Entire Civilization And Still Feel Good About Yourself In The Morning, Or, We Apologize For The Inconvenience But Youre Gonna Have To Leave Now, Or, I Have Fought The Big Knives And Will Continue To Fight..."
is played right after.
Where does he come up with these song titles? The title is longer than the song!
My friend made a cool video out of stock footage and this song for a stock footage film festival. Check it out if you like this tune.
Has this song started or are they still tuning their instruments?
Cool. Fun to play on the piano.
What a wonderful freak this man is. The world needs more like him.
vandal wrote:
Indeed, My god this is as pukish as it gets.
what stupid stupid repulsive lyrics
what stupid stupid repulsive lyrics
Nuvola_Rossa wrote:
How much i love your voice, Sufjan...
Same here...amazing.
Man has a sense of humour you have to appreciate that.
Another artist introduced to me by radioparadise who I will love forever.
Exquisit!
Bought the album just to have this available in high fidelity.
Note to self - avoid swamp thing.
If this goes on, I'll increase my "beat" frequency... 
crowhog2000 wrote:
s 
u f y a w n
yup. I just don't get the degree of adoration heaped on this guy. Not bad, but a little too odd to ever be truly great in my book.
u f y a w nmattt wrote:
Not sure of the official music term, but in physics it's called the beat frequency.
=
trekhead wrote:
Anyone know if there is a term for the effect of a note , or suggestion of a note being created between two notes?
Not sure of the official music term, but in physics it's called the beat frequency.
I saw him for the first time on Austin City Limits, and I just LOVE this man. Beautiful.
How much i love your voice, Sufjan...
It is so nice to hear his voice. Like them a lot!
Too ambient and freeform.. *snooze*
s u f y a w n
u f y a w nI like a lot of his stuff, but this is absolutely dreadful.
This is one situation where the sound and the influence of the title lead me to an immersive visual scene...an empty field and a sky with eerily bright stars.
GAH! happy happy happy I love this song and you're playing it and I'm ignoring the comments on here because none of them are about this song which did i mention I like quite a lot and i KNEW there was a reason I insisted on defending sufjan.....
happy. and slightly incoherent, apparently.
Anyone know if there is a term for the effect of a note , or suggestion of a note being created between two notes? He seems quite good at that. Other tunes on this disc too.
Right at the opening of this track. The piano.
Curious.
(or just obsessed)
Sufjan is apparently the apple tree everyone throws sticks at to get the high ones down...?! And when they fall, you can eat them or throw them at your fellow listeners! Okay, it breaks down, like any metaphor, and I can see this is pretty talked out so I won't try to add anything new. Except my opinion - I like apples. I am just as afraid of being vulnerable and sensitive as the next person. And maybe so is Sufjan Stevens. And he does it anyway, and it's beautiful. But I guess one man's wormwood is another man's turpentine. I enjoy both, myself. When soaked in apples, preferably.
jah_blessed wrote:
Well, boo hoo! Start a support group already! If you get upset over some anonymous comments on a web site then I wish you the best of luck in real life.
IIRC, it was you who started the "guess what PG looks like" thread. Now that is mean-spirited.
bravo!
passsion8 wrote:
We've all known people like this who, just when you've revealed some personal preference or feeling, mock you, or what you hold precious, in front of other people and act like they didn't do anything.
It's mean spirited and done as a means of garnering attention without accountability and spurring reaction. This faceless forum allows those with that propensity to attack and remain blissfully unrepentant.
Well, boo hoo! Start a support group already! If you get upset over some anonymous comments on a web site then I wish you the best of luck in real life.
IIRC, it was you who started the "guess what PG looks like" thread. Now that is mean-spirited.
jah_blessed wrote:
Physicsgenius is just the resident court jester. Don't take everything he says literally. I actually enjoy reading some of his comments and the follow-ups they generate. One needs a sardonic sense of humour to appreciate them, though.
Sardonic = mocking.
We've all known people like this who, just when you've revealed some personal preference or feeling, mock you, or what you hold precious, in front of other people and act like they didn't do anything.
It's mean spirited and done as a means of garnering attention without accountability and spurring reaction. This faceless forum allows those with that propensity to attack and remain blissfully unrepentant.
Hearing this here made me go out and actually purchase. I really like it alot. I enjoy the song titles as much as the songs.
getting to rate Sufyawn ( ) a solid "1" twice in one day has absolutely made my day!!
) a solid "1" twice in one day has absolutely made my day!!
Physicsgenius is just the resident court jester. Don't take everything he says literally. I actually enjoy reading some of his comments and the follow-ups they generate. One needs a sardonic sense of humour to appreciate them, though.
hcaudill wrote:
I swear this will be my last response to physicsgenius, but here goes.
Here's what really annoys me about your posts. You come across as the kind of person who thinks that disliking lots of different kinds of music is evidence of sophisticated musical taste. You're like those movie critics, often found at alternative weeklies, who hate every movie they see (and feel so superior to the rest of us because of it). The reason you seem so out of place here at RP, I think, is because most listeners really like music, quality music of all different sorts. There's probably not a single listener who's into 100% of the playlist (I could do with a lot less Ani DiFranco, for example), but I'm not sure what would be left of this radio station without Sufjan Stevens and U2 and Bob Marley and Suzanne Vega and Miles Davis and the dozens of other artists you're so scornful of.
Who said anything about doing without these artists? There are a few I'd kick off (U2, for instance, gets plenty of mainstream play) but mainly I'm glad that Sufjan and Marley are in the mix and I'm even glad I hear them once in a while. Why are only earnestly adulatory reviews valid? No sense of humor? No sense of moderation?
reminds me of the Eels . . .
GChevy410 wrote:
that much talent true...multiplied by the fact that its about Illiniois, I mean seriously why start here for 50 states. JUst to get the hard ones out of the way first and then coast through the rest? (I still gave it an Eight I like this guy too)
He started with Michigan. It's where he is from. Illinoise is better...(the album I mean)
rah !!
randomprime wrote:
My, clever indeed. Mercifully, the song is short.
pianocomposer wrote:
Larger version.
Saw him in Champaign-Urbana doing a show. He and his band were dressed up as fighting Illini cheerleaders (sans the chief logo). It was beyond amazing.
Larger version.
I've had this disc for a while now and every time I listen to it I like it even more. And I listen to it daily now.
trekhead wrote:
Since buying this disc, the songs only increase my enjoyment when I hear them on RP.
Nowhere else.
Since buying this disc, the songs only increase my enjoyment when I hear them on RP.
Nowhere else.
10 and going strong.
He taught me what musicianship is all about.
His use of instrumentation, voice, whole package.
I like his choice of themes and his ability to evoke parallel emotion from the tone of the song.
You go.
This is what I thought the previous song was. Nice comparison!
physicsgenius wrote:
Oh for the love of cheese--ENOUGH ALREADY!
Nope...For the Love of Cheese is a song off of his forthcoming album "Where in the He11 is Wisconsin?"
Sorry...couldn't resist. By the way...count me as a fan! I love this album!
pianocomposer wrote:
Sufjan Stevens is my favorite new artist of the last couple of years...this stuff is art. You either love it or hate it. This is the first song on the album...it's about a confirmed UFO sighting in Illinois. That state is the topic of his entire concept album. Can you imagine the kind of TALENT it takes to write something this complex, sensitive, and sublime? I am in awe.
Saw him in Champaign-Urbana doing a show. He and his band were dressed up as fighting Illini cheerleaders (sans the chief logo). It was beyond amazing.
that much talent true...multiplied by the fact that its about Illiniois, I mean seriously why start here for 50 states. JUst to get the hard ones out of the way first and then coast through the rest? (I still gave it an Eight I like this guy too)
torturedpotato wrote:
this album has taken over my life. I could listen to it 17 times in a row.
Maybe that's why you're feeling tortured, Ms Potato. My advice? Seek treatment. (exorcism?)
this album has taken over my life. I could listen to it 17 times in a row.
SyntheticJoy wrote:
short but very sweet
Sufyawn. Treacly and not short enough. Well, here comes Pink Floyd, so the mute will be short.
Sufjan Stevens is overplayed on RP!
pianocomposer wrote:
Sufjan Stevens is my favorite new artist of the last couple of years...this stuff is art. You either love it or hate it. This is the first song on the album...it's about a confirmed UFO sighting in Illinois. That state is the topic of his entire concept album. Can you imagine the kind of TALENT it takes to write something this complex, sensitive, and sublime? I am in awe.
Saw him in Champaign-Urbana doing a show. He and his band were dressed up as fighting Illini cheerleaders (sans the chief logo). It was beyond amazing.
Lucky you - I'd love to see Sufjan.
Wonder when he's gonna cross the pond?
What I enjoy about Steven's work is that he actually made the effort to investigate the odd little corners that lay tucked away in almost any state and then worked with the material he found there.
Quirky is easy, intelligently quirky.....not quite so much.
I think Sufjan needs to blow his nose. Someone get this guy a tissue or a decongestant or something. He sounds pretty stuffed up.
Sufjan Stevens is my favorite new artist of the last couple of years...this stuff is art. You either love it or hate it. This is the first song on the album...it's about a confirmed UFO sighting in Illinois. That state is the topic of his entire concept album. Can you imagine the kind of TALENT it takes to write something this complex, sensitive, and sublime? I am in awe.
Saw him in Champaign-Urbana doing a show. He and his band were dressed up as fighting Illini cheerleaders (sans the chief logo). It was beyond amazing.
physicsgenius wrote:
Oh for the love of cheese--ENOUGH ALREADY!
one of your best comments P.G., not that I'm encouraging you, just love the cheese reference!
I put Mr. Stevens in the highly overrated category myself, not bad, but not all that good.
File under "Cheese Curd"
miahfost wrote:
Woah dude! Maybe try a decaf latte.
*sigh* Go read the vitriolic garbage PhysicsGenius spews out in 90% of his song comments and then tell me that isn't worth a very level-headed and well written "you are getting on my nerves and here's why..." post.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, apparently become critics.
hcaudill wrote:
Here's what really annoys me about your posts . . .
*snip*
Woah dude! Maybe try a decaf latte.
well said
hcaudill wrote:
I swear this will be my last response to physicsgenius, but here goes.
Here's what really annoys me about your posts. You come across as the kind of person who thinks that disliking lots of different kinds of music is evidence of sophisticated musical taste. You're like those movie critics, often found at alternative weeklies, who hate every movie they see (and feel so superior to the rest of us because of it). The reason you seem so out of place here at RP, I think, is because most listeners really like music, quality music of all different sorts. There's probably not a single listener who's into 100% of the playlist (I could do with a lot less Ani DiFranco, for example), but I'm not sure what would be left of this radio station without Sufjan Stevens and U2 and Bob Marley and Suzanne Vega and Miles Davis and the dozens of other artists you're so scornful of.
A few years ago, Dave Eggers wrote a very insightful rant about people like you (mostly in reference to literary critics, but it all applies). For the whole thing click here; here's an excerpt:
The worst sort of critics are butterfly collectors - they chase something, ostensibly out of their search for beauty, then, once they get close, they catch that beautiful something, they kill it, they stick a pin through its abdomen, dissect it and label it. The whole process, I find, is not a happy or healthy one. Someone with his or her own shit figured out, without any emotional problems or bitterness or envy, instead of killing that which he loves, will simply let the goddamn butterfly fly, and instead of capturing and killing it and sticking it in a box, will simply point to it - "Hey everyone, look at that beautiful thing" - hoping everyone else will see the beautiful thing he has seen. ... Criticism comes from a dark and dank place. What kind of person seeks to bring down another? Doesn't a normal person, with his own life and goals and work to do, simply let others live? Yes. We all know that to be true.
physicsgenius wrote:
Oh for the love of cheese--ENOUGH ALREADY!
I swear this will be my last response to physicsgenius, but here goes.
Here's what really annoys me about your posts. You come across as the kind of person who thinks that disliking lots of different kinds of music is evidence of sophisticated musical taste. You're like those movie critics, often found at alternative weeklies, who hate every movie they see (and feel so superior to the rest of us because of it). The reason you seem so out of place here at RP, I think, is because most listeners really like music, quality music of all different sorts. There's probably not a single listener who's into 100% of the playlist (I could do with a lot less Ani DiFranco, for example), but I'm not sure what would be left of this radio station without Sufjan Stevens and U2 and Bob Marley and Suzanne Vega and Miles Davis and the dozens of other artists you're so scornful of.
A few years ago, Dave Eggers wrote a very insightful rant about people like you (mostly in reference to literary critics, but it all applies). For the whole thing click here; here's an excerpt:
The worst sort of critics are butterfly collectors - they chase something, ostensibly out of their search for beauty, then, once they get close, they catch that beautiful something, they kill it, they stick a pin through its abdomen, dissect it and label it. The whole process, I find, is not a happy or healthy one. Someone with his or her own shit figured out, without any emotional problems or bitterness or envy, instead of killing that which he loves, will simply let the goddamn butterfly fly, and instead of capturing and killing it and sticking it in a box, will simply point to it - "Hey everyone, look at that beautiful thing" - hoping everyone else will see the beautiful thing he has seen. ... Criticism comes from a dark and dank place. What kind of person seeks to bring down another? Doesn't a normal person, with his own life and goals and work to do, simply let others live? Yes. We all know that to be true.
Posted 18 years ago by hcaudill [ Reply ]
Oh for the love of cheese--ENOUGH ALREADY!
ooo, beautiful. enjoying that simple piano refrain, along with everything else.
A glimpse of beauty. 
poo
short but very sweet
david_d wrote:
so what actually happened near Highland, Illinois? what did they see? who saw what? please tell all...
classic sufjan. love it.
The event occurred on January 5, 2000, and because of the wealth of witnesses--mostly law enforcement officers--has gained cachet in the UFO community. A fairly comprehensive account can be found at the ufoevidence.org web site: (click here).
Stevens likens it to a resurrection ("the revenant") with interesting allusions to the trinity ("three stars"), the Middle East (fortuitously the craft was also sighted over Lebanon, IL), and messages from on high ("delivering signs"). I agree, tho'. Great stuff. This guy's the real deal.
ColdBear wrote:
This is very confusing. I hate whatever is close to religions, but this is the best things I heard lately.
how is close to religions? unless you mean a UFO cult?
AliGator wrote:
Bought the album.
Love.It.
This is very confusing. I hate whatever is close to religions, but this is the best things I heard lately.
Dahnyul wrote:
"Worst album cover ever".
You obviously haven't yet seen this little beauty:
https://www.radioparadise.com/content.php?name=songinfo&song_id=35052
nailcmyk wrote:
I to can't get enough. The first time I heard this album. I didn't know what to think. But every time I hear you play it Bill. I get so happy. Thank you
To each his own. I get sad. So sad that I have to just leave.
I to can't get enough. The first time I heard this album. I didn't know what to think. But every time I hear you play it Bill. I get so happy. Thank you
i love this guy! thanks bruce...
can't get enough.
can't get enough. This album just gets better the more I listen to it.
And I have the Superman cover .... 
Bought the album.
Love.It.
smilestoomuch wrote: icon on...
Can't say that this guy isn't interesting. But yeah, hasn't truly clicked with me either.
At least this song is the first one that I haven't used the icon on...
Can't say that this guy isn't interesting. But yeah, hasn't truly clicked with me either.
Still waiting for something from this guy to click with me.
Dahnyul wrote:
"Worst album cover ever".
I'll second that.
okay, this guy gets WAY too much airtime here.
coentje wrote:
This might become my favourite album of the year! Love it.
Unless something blows my socks off between now and December 31st, its my favorite, hands down.
coentje wrote:
This might become my favourite album of the year! Love it.
I can't get it out of my cd player.
This might become my favourite album of the year! Love it.
Al_Koholic wrote:
Damn! I am into UFOs, sorry I missed this song. The sighting was across a couple of counties and witnessed by many cops from the various townships that it passed over.
Finally heard it-I like!
Dahnyul wrote:
A much better song than I would've expected based on what I'd nominate as "Worst album cover ever".
I love this cover - though it was better before Superman was PhotoShop-ed off.
A much better song than I would've expected based on what I'd nominate as "Worst album cover ever".
th3boon wrote:
haven't heard a song i don't love on this, will buy this.
You should. Its great.
ploafmaster wrote:
I wonder where Bill heard/read that it's pronounced, "Soofyan"? I trust him, but I read an interview with the fella, and he said his parents were involved in some Arabic cult when he was born, and that's how he got his first name. I'm pretty sure the "J" sound is pronounced like soft G in Arabic, and not like a Y in Germanic languages...
Can anyone point me to a source confirming what Bill said?
Anyway, I love this song :-)
That would probably be the Sufis- pretty cool people compared with the ignorant, rabid and psychopathic fundamentals we're hearing so much from at the moment...
Sufi is pronounced 'soofy'
www.sufistudies.net
Love that piano melody on the background 
HelloPhoto wrote:
This is a beautiful sounding album. Full of "soundtrack worthy" songs.
Absoooooluutely .... brilliant album ....
ploafmaster wrote:
It's called curiosity. It's harmless. Yeah yeah, "killed that cat" and all...but I'm not a cat, and I'm not trying to hurt anyone. I'm one of those people who likes to know the truth, even if it's as simple and mundane as pronouncing somebody's name.
You're pretty mean.
Here, Here!
I like it too!
Gonna hafta check this guy out just based on his Illinois refs alone.
8.
This is a beautiful sounding album. Full of "soundtrack worthy" songs.
Zygomatic wrote:
who gives a shit?
Don't feed the trolls.
ITF wrote:
It is pronouced soofyan, at least it was on Steven's NPR piece a couple weeks ago.
That I'll buy...exactly the type of answer for which I was looking. Thanks for your insight!
It is pronouced soofyan, at least it was on Steven's NPR piece a couple weeks ago.
Zygomatic wrote:
who gives a shit?
It's called curiosity. It's harmless. Yeah yeah, "killed that cat" and all...but I'm not a cat, and I'm not trying to hurt anyone. I'm one of those people who likes to know the truth, even if it's as simple and mundane as pronouncing somebody's name.
You're pretty mean.
ploafmaster wrote:
I wonder where Bill heard/read that it's pronounced, "Soofyan"? I trust him, but I read an interview with the fella, and he said his parents were involved in some Arabic cult when he was born, and that's how he got his first name. I'm pretty sure the "J" sound is pronounced like soft G in Arabic, and not like a Y in Germanic languages...
who gives a shit?
This sounds somewhat like a track from the Peter Gabriel "Plus from US" disc -- Down by the River, David Rhodes.
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000000HOP/102-1748365-0662517?v=glance
Commanding tenor, just about a falsetto. Wayne Coyne would approve, on several levels.
I wonder where Bill heard/read that it's pronounced, "Soofyan"? I trust him, but I read an interview with the fella, and he said his parents were involved in some Arabic cult when he was born, and that's how he got his first name. I'm pretty sure the "J" sound is pronounced like soft G in Arabic, and not like a Y in Germanic languages...
Can anyone point me to a source confirming what Bill said?
Anyway, I love this song :-)
Absolutely beautiful!! And what a great album, can't wait for the next state.