Sufjan Steven’s second installment in his ‘states’ series of albums, Illinoise, was supposed to be released today, but unfortunately due to some legal complications it’s been delayed until they can produce new sleeve art.
But never fear!
Independent radio producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister were curious about how Stevens writes his songs, which, much like their own work, are filled with stories of places and people. So, they introduced Stevens to the Arkansas town of Brinkley.
The result was an entertaining piece on this afternoon’s “All Things Considered,” and an NPR-exclusive MP3 that you can download right here. Hopefully it’ll tide over those fans who didn’t score an advance copy or (like us) find a kindly shopkeeper who’d put the CDs out early.
UPDATE: It seems Asthmatic Kitty have solved some of the copyright issues. According to Pitchfork the CDs so far shipped can now be put on sale.
Tags: NPR | Sufjan Stevens | Brinkley