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Sufjan Stevens Quotes

I always hated ‘O Holy Night.’ It’s so operatic and overwrought Picture Quote #1

I wouldn’t mind being popular in other ways, but not with music Picture Quote #1

I should have known better Nothing can be changed Picture Quote #1

The spiritual ambiguity growing up made me really latch onto a faith - Protestantism - that was somewhat conventional. Everyone else was rebelling against traditions and institutions, whereas I was rebelling against the upheaval and uncertainty in my family Picture Quote #1

Morals, principles and laws are when faith is reduced to standards and those standards basically just bind us, and we become prejudicial, racist, self-serving when we’re guided by these laws... When a developed country uses Christianity in its policies, in government, in maintaining corporate wealth, that’s a bastardized rendering of a faith Picture Quote #1

I have a love/hate relationship with Amy Grant, but I do go back to her Christmas albums once in a while. They’re dated and sentimental and the production is nearly unlistenable, but there’s something about her vocal performance that just feels really true. I would take her Christmas albums over Mariah Carey’s or Destiny’s Child’s any day Picture Quote #1

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It’s hard to reconcile my personal beliefs with an entire institution like the Church or the Republicans. Or with people within those political persuasions who have such different ideologies but confess the same things I confess spiritually Picture Quote #1

The best fiction is geared towards conflict. We learn most about our characters through tension, when they are put up against insurmountable obstacles. This is true in real life Picture Quote #1

We live in a world that is cruel to the earth itself. Man is a biological terrorist Picture Quote #1

I still describe myself as a Christian, and my love of God and my relationship with God is fundamental, but its manifestations in my life and the practices of it are constantly changing. I find incredible freedom in my faith Picture Quote #1

My anxiety level of my own work and what I’m doing and focusing on my art and all of that stuff? That’s fundamental Picture Quote #1

I was sort of born into a Subud cult that has ties to Islam and Indonesia and Middle Eastern spiritualism. My parents were kind of trial-and-error when it came to religion Picture Quote #1

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Everyone suffers; life is pain; and death is the final punctuation at the end of that sentence, so deal with it. I really think you can manage pain and suffering by living in fullness and being true to yourself and all those seemingly vapid platitudes Picture Quote #1

I was feeling privileged and self-conscious about my life as a musician, which feels self-absorbed. I can’t help it, I am a musician. This is what I do Picture Quote #1

Fiction has always been a thorn in my side, because I’ve always wanted to be a writer but I can’t seem to really do it Picture Quote #1

Musicians are often asked to answer for an entire culture, or for an entire movement. It’s a process of commodification. It becomes packaged and summarized in a word like ‘emo’ or ‘grunge’... or ‘folk music.’ I think that’s just language itself, trying to understand the mysteries of the world Picture Quote #1

Audacity is central to everything I do. A lot of times I think my work is about just seeing if I can get away with it Picture Quote #1

There’s a sense of urgency in understanding that your body is not really your own. We can control it to a certain extent through habits and good behavior, but there’s so much we don’t have control of Picture Quote #1

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I’ve always been a visual person, I’m formerly a graphic designer. I’ve always seen myself as an observer. I like to maintain objectivity and don’t get too intimately involved in my subjects Picture Quote #1

Life is all about toiling and labor. But obviously I get great joy in confronting challenge and taking risk Picture Quote #1

I’m always hearing music in terms of what I can take out of it, and I think I’ve always listened like that. I have a hard time just listening for pleasure. I’m much less about instinct, and more of a utilitarian listener Picture Quote #1

You know, I don’t think my music is important, I don’t think it’s changing the world, I don’t think it’s art. I just think it’s music. It is what it is Picture Quote #1

I think musicians should stay off television generally Picture Quote #1

I’m a very self-conscious person, I think we all are, but I’m especially not very comfortable in my body. I always feel really weird and awkward on the street or on the stage. It has nothing to do with circumstances, it’s just an ongoing psychological state, like white noise Picture Quote #1

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I feel like the Internet needs to be disarmed in some way. There needs to be a philosophical undermining of the Internet. We take it too seriously and too literally. For a reference we go to Wikipedia, which is full of inaccuracies and misinformation. It’s kind of beautiful - it’s all the product of imagination; it’s not reality at all Picture Quote #1

I remember Detroit feeling really unsafe, feeling scared a lot. Our house was broken into, our car was stolen, we had to get a watchdog, we would get beat up in the street, I had my bike stolen. There was just a lot of real anarchy on the streets and sidewalks Picture Quote #1

A musician’s attempt to summarize his or her work leads to all this prescriptive chatter, or what I call the ‘Modifier’s Madness.’ A lot of adjectives working overtime Picture Quote #1

One of my strongest memories is my father playing bongos in the living room in Detroit listening to Motown radio. He was this skinny white bald guy, but he was really moved by blues and Motown and funk Picture Quote #1

Public school felt like prison - cinderblock walls, fluorescent lights, metal lockers. It was so sterile and unstimulating Picture Quote #1

It’s a mystical quality of music, that music isn’t really concrete, and it’s communicating abstractions about imaginary worlds. At least, my music’s like that. It’s not real. It’s unreal, it’s all fabrication. To write a song about Obama would suddenly break the spell Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

I always hated ‘O Holy Night.’ It’s so operatic and overwrought. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I wouldn’t mind being popular in other ways, but not with music (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I should have known better Nothing can be changed (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) The spiritual ambiguity growing up made me really latch onto a faith - Protestantism - that was somewhat conventional. Everyone else was rebelling against traditions and institutions, whereas I was rebelling against the upheaval and uncertainty in my family. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) Morals, principles and laws are when faith is reduced to standards and those standards basically just bind us, and we become prejudicial, racist, self-serving when we’re guided by these laws... When a developed country uses Christianity in its policies, in government, in maintaining corporate wealth, that’s a bastardized rendering of a faith. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I have a love/hate relationship with Amy Grant, but I do go back to her Christmas albums once in a while. They’re dated and sentimental and the production is nearly unlistenable, but there’s something about her vocal performance that just feels really true. I would take her Christmas albums over Mariah Carey’s or Destiny’s Child’s any day. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) It’s hard to reconcile my personal beliefs with an entire institution like the Church or the Republicans. Or with people within those political persuasions who have such different ideologies but confess the same things I confess spiritually. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) The best fiction is geared towards conflict. We learn most about our characters through tension, when they are put up against insurmountable obstacles. This is true in real life. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) We live in a world that is cruel to the earth itself. Man is a biological terrorist. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I still describe myself as a Christian, and my love of God and my relationship with God is fundamental, but its manifestations in my life and the practices of it are constantly changing. I find incredible freedom in my faith. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) My anxiety level of my own work and what I’m doing and focusing on my art and all of that stuff? That’s fundamental. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I was sort of born into a Subud cult that has ties to Islam and Indonesia and Middle Eastern spiritualism. My parents were kind of trial-and-error when it came to religion. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) Everyone suffers; life is pain; and death is the final punctuation at the end of that sentence, so deal with it. I really think you can manage pain and suffering by living in fullness and being true to yourself and all those seemingly vapid platitudes. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I was feeling privileged and self-conscious about my life as a musician, which feels self-absorbed. I can’t help it, I am a musician. This is what I do. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) Fiction has always been a thorn in my side, because I’ve always wanted to be a writer but I can’t seem to really do it. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) Musicians are often asked to answer for an entire culture, or for an entire movement. It’s a process of commodification. It becomes packaged and summarized in a word like ‘emo’ or ‘grunge’... or ‘folk music.’ I think that’s just language itself, trying to understand the mysteries of the world. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) Audacity is central to everything I do. A lot of times I think my work is about just seeing if I can get away with it. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) There’s a sense of urgency in understanding that your body is not really your own. We can control it to a certain extent through habits and good behavior, but there’s so much we don’t have control of. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I’ve always been a visual person, I’m formerly a graphic designer. I’ve always seen myself as an observer. I like to maintain objectivity and don’t get too intimately involved in my subjects. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) Life is all about toiling and labor. But obviously I get great joy in confronting challenge and taking risk. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I’m always hearing music in terms of what I can take out of it, and I think I’ve always listened like that. I have a hard time just listening for pleasure. I’m much less about instinct, and more of a utilitarian listener. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) You know, I don’t think my music is important, I don’t think it’s changing the world, I don’t think it’s art. I just think it’s music. It is what it is. (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I think musicians should stay off television generally (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I’m a very self-conscious person, I think we all are, but I’m especially not very comfortable in my body. I always feel really weird and awkward on the street or on the stage. It has nothing to do with circumstances, it’s just an ongoing psychological state, like white noise (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I feel like the Internet needs to be disarmed in some way. There needs to be a philosophical undermining of the Internet. We take it too seriously and too literally. For a reference we go to Wikipedia, which is full of inaccuracies and misinformation. It’s kind of beautiful - it’s all the product of imagination; it’s not reality at all (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) I remember Detroit feeling really unsafe, feeling scared a lot. Our house was broken into, our car was stolen, we had to get a watchdog, we would get beat up in the street, I had my bike stolen. There was just a lot of real anarchy on the streets and sidewalks (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) A musician’s attempt to summarize his or her work leads to all this prescriptive chatter, or what I call the ‘Modifier’s Madness.’ A lot of adjectives working overtime (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) One of my strongest memories is my father playing bongos in the living room in Detroit listening to Motown radio. He was this skinny white bald guy, but he was really moved by blues and Motown and funk (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) Public school felt like prison - cinderblock walls, fluorescent lights, metal lockers. It was so sterile and unstimulating (Sufjan Stevens Quotes) It’s a mystical quality of music, that music isn’t really concrete, and it’s communicating abstractions about imaginary worlds. At least, my music’s like that. It’s not real. It’s unreal, it’s all fabrication. To write a song about Obama would suddenly break the spell (Sufjan Stevens Quotes)

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