Sufjan Stevens is one of those musical anomalies where every breath heard, every note played feels like a gift from something ethereal and golden. Best known for his unique lyricism and colorful stage costumes, Stevens music evokes themes of religion, space, and the wonder of underdogs, which is what makes his most recent track “Tonya Harding” so very “Sufjan”.
Stevens’ new song and video is simple, beautiful, and chock-full of emotion as you can watch Tonya Harding skate fiercely to song that uses itself in a way that allows the incredible skater to be the star.
In the description of the video, Stevens reveals in an essay the whole story for this song and video. He states that since his first glimpse of her at the 1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships he had to write a song about her. He says that he has been fascinated with her “dramatic rise and fall [that] was fiercely followed by the media. She was a reality TV star before such a thing even existed. But she was also simply un-categorical: America’s sweetheart with a dark twist.” Looking back at Sufjan Stevens music, one can see how Harding’s story fits perfectly within the world and headspace of Stevens. When listening to the lyrics and music, one can hear how perfectly this can fit in with the themes from Sufjan’s Carrie & Lowell, an album about love, heartbreak, and family. Like the subjects from the aforementioned album, Harding is, too, an American underdog; growing up working-class in Portland, Oregon, fighting “classism, sexism, physical abuse, and public rebuke” while still following her dreams and coming out just purely happy in life. The track is currently out on cassette and will soon be released on vinyl as well.
Although the song is a short five minutes, Sufjan Stevens successfully tell the tale that is Tonya Harding; discussing her life in Oregon, her feats in figure skating, as well as her competitive, strong, and proud demeanor. “Tonya Harding” is a song that quietly celebrates and laments the hero. Stevens’ even attempted to submit the song for the upcoming biopic I, Tonya which stars Margot Robbie. Unfortunately, it did not make it into the film. Check out the video and the accompanying essay below.
Sufjan Stevens most recent album album Carrie & Lowell was released in 2015 through his co-founded label Asthmatic Kitty Records which covers the saga of his mother and step-father (who also co-runs the label with Sufjan). More recently, though, Stevens released collaborative album titled Planetarium in which he works with composer Nico Muhly and Bryce Dressner (The National) through 4AD. Two singles were released in support of the album and were titled “Saturn” and “Mercury”, released respectively.
Almost a year ago, It was also announced that Sufjan Stevens will have part in the soundtrack for the critically acclaimed film “Call Me by Your Name” in which Stevens wrote and recorded two original pieces for the film which was released this past November. Both the movie and the soundtrack were released through Sony Pictures Classics, Sony’s “indie” film sub-group. Check out our review of the soundtrack here.
photo credit: Sharon Alagna
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