a present from sufjan!

my sufjan elf that i dressed up here.

Asthmatic Kitty, the record label home of several indie darlings such as Sufjan Stevens, has put up an adorable Christmas-themed website.  Activities include playing dress-up with Sufjan, printing Christmas ornaments and listening (free) to select tunes from Songs for Christmas.  Oh, and the best part - an amazing 8-bit Christmas video game, which makes Sufjan look like he's trapped inside a floppy disk on your Commodore 64.  Brillz!

Sufjan, how do you do it?

It's funny how those who collaborate with Mr. Sufjan Stevens -- be it on a single track or a full-length record, end up with a finished product that sounds as though Sufjan put in 98% of the creative effort.  The debut LP from The Welcome Wagon, a duo comprised of a preacher and his wife, should prove to be no different.  

The first available track off the album, entitled Sold! To the Nice Rich Man, is full of jingle-jangle background instruments, purposefully bland vocals, and an overall minimalist sound.  While the band is attempting to produce "plain" church music, the song should really be characterized as "what Sufjan would do if you asked him to create church music."  Nonetheless, it's a rather cute song with an (obviously) awesome Sufjan-esque sound.  Listen to the track here.  

Welcome to the Welcome Wagon is scheduled for release on December 9th.

photo credit: 1