"It is a Song for Sesame Street, I Hope!"

Danielson recently released a 2 cd retrospective of its first ten years (1994-2004). It is called "Trying Hartz" (a review here). If you like your music quirky and creative and you can get away from listening to mainstream sounds, then Danielson may be a group that you will enjoy. Or maybe not! I like the sound. My family thinks I am nuts! I also like the lyrics that can tend to be weird as well as honest and direct; if you can figure out what direction they are coming from!

Idiot Boxsen is a song about the evils of television. Here is a creative video melting the mindset of Sponge Bob, the Veggie Tales and who knows what else done in a Danielson Familie type sing-a-long. The song first appeared on "Tri-Danielson- Omega".



Here they are live doing the same song in 1999 at the Cornerstone Festival and having a bunch of fun!


Another song on the retrospective is "Good News for the Pus Pickers" and what a wild title for a song! It is a strangely energetic song.



Lyrics to Good News For The Pus Pickers:
Seven flowers on the hour cry
"We are groaning for the sons,
Of the One who makes us sing,
To reveal themselves this spring"

We just got outta jail today
And we all are here to say,
All us speaking for the band,
Airplane faith is in your hand

Through the fire and the river
But never ever all alone,
When He set the broken bone,
Hell the grave fell overthrown

On heals Kingdom Come
Comfort creme pours out
On the limb there is the children
Opposite of doormat
So tip your hat and wait on that
And that is that

The last kick
In the teeth
Is the first
Of the blocks
Set to song,
Hum along
And poisons peeved
Double minded me off
Of myself
Dust the eyes
Of my heart
That's on the shelf

We have all picked our noses tall,
Pitfalls and black holes have robbed,
But thanksgiving was our sail,
In three shakes of the lamb's tail

Seven flowers on the hour cry
"Balance seems to be the key,
Join into the famile,
Singing let us a.b.c."

They call me chief, they call me hoss
"You call me son, so I am son"
We live in two worlds, unseen and seen
"Kingdom squeaky clean, resting squeaky clean"
Join into the ships, when your mind is wild
"You call me child, so I am child"

Then there is "Rubbernecker" another song on the compilation.



The critics talk about a Bruce Springsteen song and Danielson's "Rubbernecker" in this video clip. "It is a Song for Sesame Street, I Hope!"



If you have hung in this far then you can download some of thier songs at the Secretly Canadian website.

Danielson and Sufjan Stevens

I received the March/April edition of Relevant magazine today and was happy to see an article on Danielson. I discovered Danielson' music a couple of years ago and found myself strangely enjoying the quirky singing and style that make Danielson a group that most people just don't get. I was looking into Sufjan Stevens at the same time. I had heard wonderful things about his music, but I didn't add his cds to my favorites list.

If you read a bit into their history. Sufjan became a sometime member and contributer to Daniel Smith's many projects: Danielson, Danielson Famile, Brother Danielson, and Tri Danielson. Smith even produced Sufjan's "Seven Swans" album. If you ever watch Danielson: A Family Movie you will see the role Sufjan played and then the poignant moments at the end where Daniel Smith keeps working himself in a state of creative frenzy as Sufjan begins receiving wide acclaim by using many of the Danielson elements in his own music and shows. That would include a family atmosphere, interesting uniforms, an artistic vision and definitely original music.
Here is a preview for the movie:

Some great quotes from the article include:

At first we thought it (Daniel Smith's demo tape) was bad, then we realized it was a joke, but the more we listened to it we realized it was brilliant. It was some of the most unique music I have ever heard. His lyrics were mind blowing, his vocals like noohting I have ever heard, and the overall orignality in his art was very powerful and intentional. It is clear that his work was not the chaotic result of a mind in mayhem, but of a carefully crafted and methodically approached creative process." Branden Ebel (president of Tooth and Nail Records)

"It is something to occupy your eyes while listening to the music to put all the parts together." Daniel Smith on his use of costumes in concert. The members of the band could all be in nurses uniforms or Smith can perform dressed up as a giant tree (fruit of the spirits).

"I always liked big concepts, and I find his comprehension of the "big picture" pretty fascinating. He works it out with songs, and drawings, and costumes. It's a beautiful and odd world that he creates, and its constantly expanding... The faith of his music is unflinching love, about presuming the best. He's a man of deep convictions. The rest of the world is caught up in petty, whimsical fashions, but Daniel's got a vision of his own and he's sticking with it because its a vision of the heart of God." Sufjan Stevens on Daniel Smith

On Saturday I was driving to a snowshoe race that I was going to compete in. I grabbed the "wrong" cd to listen to on the ride and ended up with Sufjan Steven's "Illinoise" cd. I ended up listening to it, but it seemed a bit too mellow when I wanted to get pumped up for a race.

As it turned out a lot of fast racers didn't show up and I won the race. Later that day on a running message board I saw a thread on Sufjan's "Illinoise" cd. It turns out the Sufjan has a brother named Marzuki. Marzuki finished fifth among Americans at the 2004 Chicago Marathon, 20th overall at the 2006 Boston Marathon, and qualified for the 2008 USA Olympic Marathon Trials.




Maybe I will check out Sufan's music a second time. A brother who is a vey good runner. A brother who creates music. Two things I wish I could be better at.