UPDATE Sufjan Stevens has yet to tire of virally promoting his latest Christmas collection, most recently releasing a series of faux infomercials and vignettes hawking the box-set. Pitchfork describes the byte-sized videos best: “They are very, very silly.” Check out “Silver and Gold Infomercial,” “Betwixt Two Furs,” “Monster Trucks,” “It’s Just Sheila,” “Law Office,” “Sheila Campaign,” and “Friendship Sleight Ride” all at Pitchfork’s website here.
UPDATE 11/13/2012
To celebrate the release of Sufjan Stevens’ holiday album today, here’s a look at the singer’s take on “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” In case you’d like to preview the collection before adding it to your own, Stevens has made the 58-song set available for streaming here.
UPDATE 10/12/2012
Sufjan Stevens has released a new song off his forthcoming Christmas album, entitled “Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling.” With most of the lyrics already handily included in the track’s title, you don’t need to be familiar with the Stevens original to join right in on the sing-along fun. Take a listen to the new holiday tune below:
Original Post
If you thought Fiona Apple’s latest album title was a mouthful, you haven’t mumbled through anything yet. Sufjan Stevens, he of the morose ballad seemingly made for the winter months, is once again bringing his folk sensibilities to bear on a new collection of Christmas songs, and a new cross-country tour: “The Surfjohn Stevens Christmas Sing-A-Long: Seasonal Affective Disorder Yuletide Pageant On Ice” tour. Try saying that five times fast, and you may end up looking as glum as Stevens’ Santa above. Or Fiona Apple.
The singer’s first box-set of seasonal tunes, Songs for Christmas, was released back in 2006. Classics such as “Oh Holy Night” and “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” as well as several tracks penned by the songwriter himself, were spread over five albums. This time around, 18 of the holiday offerings are Stevens originals. However, Silver and Gold: Songs for Christmas Vols. 6-10 is far from a solo affair: members of The National and Arcade Fire have also lent their vocal support to a package that includes stickers, temporary tattoos, a paper ornament, and other goodies that hope to rival in eclecticism anything else you might receive Christmas morning. As an early present, we suggest checking out Sufjan Stevens at one of his upcoming Sing-Along shows below:
