A few days ago I was driving home, listening to All Things Considered on NPR. I really do enjoy my drives to and from work, paying the road less attention than I should and paying my radio slightly more. I mean, who’s going to feel worse when I ignore them? That’s right, me. When I’m sitting in my sad, broken car.
Anyway, I happened to tune into the last half of a report on the ivory-billed woodpecker and its reappearance in Arkansas. It had your standard NPR-interview sound bytes from local residents who were either incredibly mad that they could no longer hunt and fish in this newly protected habitat, or those that were already trying to make money off the situation.
But as the story went on, I started to feel quite sad for Brinkley, Ark. This tiny, dying town really had no hope before this bird appeared. And now this goofy bird is their very last chance.
Sufjan Stevens was invited by producers to come up with a song from these interviews. With albums on Michigan and now Illinois already out, Stevens gladly took on the role of adopting yet another state. The result was “The Lord God Bird,” named because of the “Lord God!” reaction to seeing the bird for the first time.
It just might be his best effort yet.
NPR: Brinkley, Ark., Embraces ‘The Lord God Bird’ The entire story, with interviews.
Sufjan Stevens – The Lord God Bird (MP3)
