Despite the lack of another "state" record (or any other album, really), Sufjan's been putting out some great material in the form a single MP3s, contributions to compilations, etc; some of his best, forward-thinking material comes in the form of these one-offs. I've posted three examples of "new" (non-album anyways) Sufjan songs below.
This track is circa 2005 and is a pretty healthy demonstration that Sufjan's still got it (and creatively growing) despite his album sabbatical. It's off of the compilation record This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul and shows Sufjan structurally reworking the Beatles' track of the same name.
A 2007 track off of The Believer CD compilation from the literature magazine of the same name, this one's worth posting because of the radical approach (read: departure) Sufjan takes; it's more fuzzed-out, over-sustained, and distortion-saturated than anything Sufjan's done so far. And in what could be a bonus for some, Sufjan lyrically abandons his stereotypical storyteller approach for more simplistic punk-inspired lyrics.
So far, this track's only seen light at Sufjan's live shows (click for the Pitchfork-approved photos of the Sufjan show I attended). It's more epic and outstanding than anything Sufjan's attempted thus far, even on Illinois, and despite the mediocre sound quality, it's easy to hear.
So c'mon Sufjan, we know you've got the talent, record a new album already, "state" or otherwise.
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