Chicago (Sufjan Stevens song)

Production

In the process of making the second album in his ambitious Fifty States Project, which involved recording an album for each of the states of America, Stevens had committed a large amount of time to researching the people and history of Illinois. However this track is one of the most autobiographical on the album. Sufjan Stevens stated the following in an interview around the release: "I've had quite a few exceptional and traumatic experiences in Illinois, a few times when visiting Chicago at a particularly difficult time in my life or driving cross country and being pulled over by the cops just outside Peoria," and also added that he had seen his first rock show there.

Alternate versions

The year after the track was released on Illinois, three further versions were included on the outtakes album, The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album, these being an acoustic version, the "Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version", which is a baroque pop version of the original track, and a "Multiple Personality Disorder Version", of which Stevens stated: "James, my drummer was in town, and we decided it would be kind of fun to deconstruct the song".

Reception

The track was well received as the centerpiece of the acclaimed album Illinois. Allmusic described the track as having "an expansiveness that radiates with the ballast of history and the promise of new beginnings", and the track was included as one of the Pitchfork 500 most important tracks since punk broke.

In other media

The track was sampled by Chiddy Bang on their single "All Things Go" as well as featuring a shortened version as the opening theme for the Netflix show The Politician.

The demo version of the song is featured in The Bear episode "Review". In the episode, the song is introduced by WXRT DJ Lin Brehmer and is played over the opening credits.

"Chicago" was also featured in the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine and 2014 film Veronica Mars.

The annual All Things Go Music Festival takes its name from the song.

The song and Stevens are named in the third verse of Snow Patrol's 2006 song "Hands Open".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Illinois:

• Julianne Carney – violin
• Tom Eaton, Jeniffer Hoover, Katrina Kerns, Beccy Lock, Tara McDonnell – choir
• Maria Beller Jeffers – cello
• James McAlister – drums
• Craig Montoro – trumpet
• Rob Moose – violin
• Sufjan Stevens – vocals, wurlitzer, bass guitar, vibraphone, piano, sleigh bells, tambourine, shaker, arrangement, production
• Alan Douches – mastering

Certifications

References

References

1. Matthew L. Peck. (July 4, 2005). ""Illinois seems like a dream to me now": An Interview with Sufjan Stevens". Gapers Block.
2. Asthmatic Kitty. (February 25, 2016). "Chicago (Demo) Sufjan Stevens". Asthmatic Kitty.
3. Jason Crock. (May 15, 2006). "Sufjan Stevens, ''The Avalanche'' interview". Pitchfork Media.
4. Michael Cramer. (2005). "National Anthems". Dusted Magazine.
5. "The Pitchfork 500". Pitchfork Media.
6. Gallucci, Nicole. (July 13, 2022). "'The Bear' Episode 7 Delivers 'Uncut Gems' Levels of Anxiety".
7. Hadadi, Roxana. (2022-07-29). "'Holy Shit, Have They Not Cut Yet?' How The Bear captured 18 frantic minutes at The Beef in one take.".
8. Baltin, Steve. (2023-09-27). "Q&A: All Things Go Founders On Their Sold-Out Indie, Female-Driven Festival".
9. "Illinois Credits on Allmusic.com". Allmusic.