sufjan is a hack

i'm just home from the premier of DANIELSON: A FAMILY MOVIE {OR, MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE HERE} that was celebrated with an appearance, performance and reunion of sorts, of the Danielson Famile at the Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival. and yes, you know who Danielson (Daniel Smith) is because Pitchfork just gave him a 9-point-something for his latest and greatest record (and certainly deserving of the high-marked review), SHIPS. the film was great- fun, funny, informative, and of course included brief moments featuring everyone's favorite folky christian interstate love song writer and former danielson protege, sufjan stevens. the audience seemed to hang on suf's every word, which is unfortunate because if youve ever heard sufjan speak you know he is not nearly as eloquent nor poetic as he is in lyric and song. and while i knew Smith and his label Sounds Familyre did a lot for sufjan (they were the first to publish Michigan and Seven Swans, and Sufjan recorded Swans with the help of Smith, in Smith's parent's basement), i had not ever realized the extent to which ol' suf had bogarted Danielson's gig. from taking Smith's ideas of performing in costume, singing loud choir-like celebratory choruses, to writing orchestral-pop records with wide artistic concepts and allegorical spiritual themes tied to often arcane and obtuse references, Sufjan stole it all. or maybe danielson gave it to him. i'm certainly leaning one way, but the film doesnt actually push the audience to either conclusion. instead, its left open to interpretation or guesstimation or supposition or whatever you want to call it. and so, despite how great the film was or how much fun the exculsive danielson post-film concert was or how daniel smith seems to not be affected by sufjan's popularity, i am kinda bummed because not only have i missed out by overlooking danielson's music for a number of years, but i have instead been enamored by his prettier, more appealing, better marketed, easier to digest doppleganger.

oh well.