'I cried myself to sleep last night ...'

Whitebait has been working his way through one of those ritual 'best albums of 2005' lists helpfully posted at Scratchin' the Surface. While Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine leaves him cold, he is absolutely blown away by Sufjan Steven's Illinois (listen to some brief samples here). Words fail the Whitebait in trying to describe how good this album is and how long its melodies and lyrics resonate in his mind. It is one of those albums that while being brilliant in itself also somehow inspires you to go out and read/make your own creative histories of the world or whatever it is that takes your interest.

Stevens is a new find for Whitebait. Evidently he made a Michigan-themed album last time around and plans to do one for every American state in future. How can you not love that ambition? Not everyone will be into the 'literary' qualities of this album but even if you are usually suspicious of such praise of pop music (idiots!) you should listen to this for the beautiful combinations of piano, banjo, strings, choir, flugelhorn, etc and the singer-songwriter's engaging voice. Damn it is good. Check out the selection of reviews here at the useful metacritic site.

And it gets a special plug here at Whitebait because it contains a suitably epic and wonderful song about The World's Columbian Exposition/The Chicago World's Fair held in that magic city in 1893. And Stevens calls it 'Come On! Feel the Illinoise!: The World's Columbian Exposition / Carl Sandburg Visits Me In a Dream'! And he appears to slot in a quick Cure reference in the instrumental bridge.The lyrics alone don't really catch its excellence but W. will quote an extract from this jaunty track just for the hell of it:

Oh great white city

I've got the adequate committee
Where have your walls gone?
I think about it now

Chicago, in fashion, the soft drinks, expansion
Oh Columbia!
From Paris, incentive, like Cream of Wheat invented,
The Ferris Wheel!

Oh great intentions
Covenant with the imitation
Have you no conscience?
I think about it now

Oh God of Progress
Have you degraded or forgot us?
Where have your laws gone?
I think about it now

Ancient hieroglyphic or the South Pacific
Typically terrific, busy and prolific

Classical devotion, architect promotion
Lacking in emotion. Think about it now.

Chicago, the New Age, but what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?
Oh Columbia!
Amusement or treasure, these optimistic pleasures
Like the Ferris Wheel!