Sufjan Stevens: Carrie & Lowell Live

I needed something to listen to/watch slightly, and I remembered Sufjan Steven's Carrie & Lowell Live being one of the best live performances I ever went to, so revisiting it as a concert film was nice. Granted, I'd listened to the live album so many times already, but the visuals here do help. The lights get especially crazy near the end, mirroring the rawness and overwhelming qualities found in that Blue Bucket of Gold outro very well.

I still question the Hotline Bling cover a little, but only when listening to the live album. When hearing the concert in person, it was honestly a nice reprieve from the heaviness that had come before.

Anyway, Carrie & Lowell was a remarkable album in the first place, but the way Stevens was able to take that music and make it more epic and suitable to a live performance - while remaining raw and heartbreaking - still blows my mind. He's one of the absolute greats who's still active today, as far as musicians go. No doubt in my mind about that.