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'''''The Avalanche''''' is an album by ] singer/songwriter ], consisting of outtakes and other recordings from the sessions for his album '']''. It has been released on the ], and copies are available on the website for ], Stevens' record label. '''''The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album''''' is an album by ] singer/songwriter ], consisting of outtakes and other recordings from the sessions for his album '']''. It has been released on the ], and copies are available on the website for ], Stevens' record label. The title song "The Avalanche" was also a bonus track on the ''Illinois'' vinyl and iTunes release.


The cover features a cartoon depiction of Stevens wearing a cape and costume held aloft by strings, a likely reference to the image of ] from the cover of early editions of ''Illinois'' He wears a shirt with the "Block I", the symbol of varsity athletics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Block I appears several times in the album art. The cover features a cartoon depiction of Stevens wearing a cape and costume held aloft by strings, a likely reference to the image of ] from the cover of early editions of ''Illinois'' He wears a shirt with the "Block I", the symbol of varsity athletics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Block I appears several times in the album art.
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A press release on the Asthmatic Kitty website reported that the ''Illinois'' album was supposed to be a double record (with somewhere near 50 songs), but the idea was eventually scrapped. After the success of the album, Stevens returned to his analog 8-track recorder in late ] and began the process of finishing 21 of the previously abandoned songs, which would eventually become ''The Avalanche''. A press release on the Asthmatic Kitty website reported that the ''Illinois'' album was supposed to be a double record (with somewhere near 50 songs), but the idea was eventually scrapped. After the success of the album, Stevens returned to his analog 8-track recorder in late ] and began the process of finishing 21 of the previously abandoned songs, which would eventually become ''The Avalanche''.


Stevens has stated during interviews that although he doesn't like ''The Avalanche'' as much as ''Illinois'', he felt it was important to release the songs in light of the success of his most recent album. He has also said that he decided to release the album in order to buy time until his next "50 States Project" release. The album cover jokingly makes reference to the partially commercial reasons for the album's release, declaring that its contents were "shamelessly compiled by ]" Stevens has stated during interviews that although he doesn't like ''The Avalanche'' as much as ''Illinois'', he felt it was important to release the songs in light of the success of his most recent album. He has also said that he decided to release the album in order to buy time until his next "50 States Project" release. The album cover jokingly makes reference to the partially commercial reasons for the album's release, declaring that its contents were "shamelessly compiled by Sufjan Stevens"


In May ], ] was given permission to leak the second track from ''The Avalanche'', titled "Dear Mr Supercomputer", on their website in ] format. The song is about the ] at the ]. In May ], ] was given permission to leak the second track from ''The Avalanche'', titled "Dear Mr. Supercomputer", on their website in ] format. The whole album was ] on May 9, 2006.

The whole album was ] to the Internet on May 9, 2006.

The title song "The Avalanche" was also a bonus track on the ''Illinois'' vinyl and ] release.


The album debuted at #71 on the Billboard Top 200, making it the highest charting Sufjan Stevens release to date . The album debuted at #71 on the Billboard Top 200, making it the highest charting Sufjan Stevens release to date .


==Tracklisting== ==Tracklisting==
#"The Avalanche" – 3:14
#"Dear Mr. Supercomputer" – 4:20
#"Adlai Stevenson" – 2:34
#"The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies" – 1:49
#"Chicago" (Acoustic Version) – 4:40
#"The Henney Buggy Band" – 3:16
#"Saul Bellow" – 2:53
#"Carlyle Lake" – 3:15
#"Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair" – 4:17
#"The Mistress Witch from McClure (Or, the Mind that Knows Itself)" – 3:24
#"Kaskaskia River" – 2:14
#"Chicago" (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version) – 6:06
#"Inaugural Pop Music for Jane Margaret Byrne" – 1:25
#"No Man's Land" – 4:45
#"The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake" – 1:38
#"The Pick-Up" – 3:23
#"The Perpetual Self, or What Would Saul Alinsky Do?" – 2:24
#"For Clyde Tombaugh" – 3:43
#"Chicago" (Multiple Personality Disorder Version) – 4:34
#"Pittsfield" – 6:51
#"The Undivided Self (For Eppie and Popo)" – 4:59


==Thematic elements==
# "The Avalanche." – 3:14
As a pseudo-sequel to Illinois, this album follows the theme of Stevens' fifty states project: one album for each ] of the ]. Explicit and implicit references are made to Illinois persons, places, and institutions throughout the songs. Note that the song Chicago originally appeared on the Illinois album. The following list may not be complete:
# "Dear Mr Supercomputer" – 4:20
#"The Avalanche"
# "]" – 2:34
#*], "my home"
# "] Are Visited in the Night by ] and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies" – 1:49
#*]
# "]" (Acoustic Version) – 4:40
#*]
# "The ] Band" – 3:16
#"Dear Mr. Supercomputer"
# "]" – 2:53
#*]s housed at ]'s ]
# "]" – 3:15
#*]
# "], or Bobby Got a ] Caught in His Hair" – 4:17
#*] and ]
# "The Mistress Witch From ] (Or, The Mind That Knows Itself)" – 3:24
#*] and the ]
# "]" – 2:14
#"Adlai Stevenson"
# "Chicago" (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version) – 6:06
#*], former ] to the ] and ]
# "Inaugural Pop Music for ]" – 1:25
#*]
# "No Man's Land" – 4:45
#*A possible reference to Stevenson shooting a man in his younger years
# "] Hits ]" – 1:38
#"The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies"
# "The Pick-Up" – 3:23
#*The children's books and artwork of ]
# "The Perpetual Self, or 'What Would ] Do?'" – 2:24
#"]" (Acoustic Version)
# For ] – 3:43
#*]
# "Chicago" (] Version) – 4:34
#*]
# "]" – 6:51
#"The Henney Buggy Band"
# "The Undivided Self (For ] and ])" – 4:59
#*], an automobile manufacturer from ]
#*] ]
#*]
#"Saul Bellow"
#*]
#*], which borders Illinois
#"Carlyle Lake"
#*], a ] in ]
#"Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair"
#*Shadfly, a colloquial name for the ]
#*] ]
#*]
#"The Mistress Witch from McClure (Or, the Mind that Knows Itself)"
#*] in ]
#"Kaskaskia River"
#*]
#"Chicago" (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version)
#*] and ] ]s
#"Inaugural Pop Music for Jane Margaret Byrne"
#*]
#*], former ]
#"No Man's Land"
#*], although there is none currently in Illinois
#*]
#*]
#*]
#*]
#*]
#*]
#*]
#*Mississippi River
#*]'s "]"
#"The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake"
#*]
#*]
#"The Pick-Up"
#*]s
#*Possible reference to Abraham Lincoln
#"The Perpetual Self, or What Would Saul Alinsky Do?"
#*]
#"For Clyde Tombaugh"
#*]
#"Chicago" (] Version)
#*], or multiple personality disorder
#"Pittsfield"
#*]
#*]
#"The Undivided Self (For Eppie and Popo)"
#*Identical ] sisters ] (born Esther Pauline Friedman Lederer) and ] (] of ] for the ] ]
#*] (ISBN 0877848424)


Although less explicitly ] than other albums, Stevens' ] faith is evident in The Avalanche, with explicit references to ] in the title track, "The Perpetual Self, or What Would Paul Alinsky Do?," and "The Mistress Witch from McClure (Or, the Mind that Knows Itself)." "Dear Mr. Supercomputer" is apparently about a ] about the shortcomings of ] ], and the inability of ] to give ]. "] John" is a character in "The Henny Buggy Band."
== U.S. Chart History ==


==U. S. chart history==
{| class="wikitable" {| class="wikitable"
!align="center" bgcolor="white" colspan="43"|"The Avalanche" - The Billboard 200 !align="center" bgcolor="white" colspan="43"|"The Avalanche" - The Billboard 200
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| <center><small>20,366 | <center><small>20,366
|} |}



{{Sufjan Stevens}} {{Sufjan Stevens}}

Revision as of 23:38, 20 August 2006

Untitled

The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album is an album by indie rock singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, consisting of outtakes and other recordings from the sessions for his album Illinois. It has been released on the iTunes Music Store, and copies are available on the website for Asthmatic Kitty, Stevens' record label. The title song "The Avalanche" was also a bonus track on the Illinois vinyl and iTunes release.

The cover features a cartoon depiction of Stevens wearing a cape and costume held aloft by strings, a likely reference to the image of Superman from the cover of early editions of Illinois He wears a shirt with the "Block I", the symbol of varsity athletics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Block I appears several times in the album art.

A press release on the Asthmatic Kitty website reported that the Illinois album was supposed to be a double record (with somewhere near 50 songs), but the idea was eventually scrapped. After the success of the album, Stevens returned to his analog 8-track recorder in late 2005 and began the process of finishing 21 of the previously abandoned songs, which would eventually become The Avalanche.

Stevens has stated during interviews that although he doesn't like The Avalanche as much as Illinois, he felt it was important to release the songs in light of the success of his most recent album. He has also said that he decided to release the album in order to buy time until his next "50 States Project" release. The album cover jokingly makes reference to the partially commercial reasons for the album's release, declaring that its contents were "shamelessly compiled by Sufjan Stevens"

In May 2006, Pitchfork Media was given permission to leak the second track from The Avalanche, titled "Dear Mr. Supercomputer", on their website in MP3 format. The whole album was leaked to the Internet on May 9, 2006.

The album debuted at #71 on the Billboard Top 200, making it the highest charting Sufjan Stevens release to date .

Tracklisting

  1. "The Avalanche" – 3:14
  2. "Dear Mr. Supercomputer" – 4:20
  3. "Adlai Stevenson" – 2:34
  4. "The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies" – 1:49
  5. "Chicago" (Acoustic Version) – 4:40
  6. "The Henney Buggy Band" – 3:16
  7. "Saul Bellow" – 2:53
  8. "Carlyle Lake" – 3:15
  9. "Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair" – 4:17
  10. "The Mistress Witch from McClure (Or, the Mind that Knows Itself)" – 3:24
  11. "Kaskaskia River" – 2:14
  12. "Chicago" (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version) – 6:06
  13. "Inaugural Pop Music for Jane Margaret Byrne" – 1:25
  14. "No Man's Land" – 4:45
  15. "The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake" – 1:38
  16. "The Pick-Up" – 3:23
  17. "The Perpetual Self, or What Would Saul Alinsky Do?" – 2:24
  18. "For Clyde Tombaugh" – 3:43
  19. "Chicago" (Multiple Personality Disorder Version) – 4:34
  20. "Pittsfield" – 6:51
  21. "The Undivided Self (For Eppie and Popo)" – 4:59

Thematic elements

As a pseudo-sequel to Illinois, this album follows the theme of Stevens' fifty states project: one album for each constituent state of the United States of America. Explicit and implicit references are made to Illinois persons, places, and institutions throughout the songs. Note that the song Chicago originally appeared on the Illinois album. The following list may not be complete:

  1. "The Avalanche"
  2. "Dear Mr. Supercomputer"
  3. "Adlai Stevenson"
  4. "The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies"
  5. "Chicago" (Acoustic Version)
  6. "The Henney Buggy Band"
  7. "Saul Bellow"
  8. "Carlyle Lake"
  9. "Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair"
  10. "The Mistress Witch from McClure (Or, the Mind that Knows Itself)"
  11. "Kaskaskia River"
  12. "Chicago" (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version)
  13. "Inaugural Pop Music for Jane Margaret Byrne"
  14. "No Man's Land"
  15. "The Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake"
  16. "The Pick-Up"
  17. "The Perpetual Self, or What Would Saul Alinsky Do?"
  18. "For Clyde Tombaugh"
  19. "Chicago" (Multiple Personality Disorder Version)
  20. "Pittsfield"
  21. "The Undivided Self (For Eppie and Popo)"

Although less explicitly religious than other albums, Stevens' Christian faith is evident in The Avalanche, with explicit references to God in the title track, "The Perpetual Self, or What Would Paul Alinsky Do?," and "The Mistress Witch from McClure (Or, the Mind that Knows Itself)." "Dear Mr. Supercomputer" is apparently about a crisis of faith about the shortcomings of atheistic humanism, and the inability of science to give meaning to human life. "Father John" is a character in "The Henny Buggy Band."

U. S. chart history

"The Avalanche" - The Billboard 200
Week 01 02
Position
71
138
Sales
13,625
6,044
Total
14,322
20,366
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