| Enjoy Your Rabbit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 17, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2000–2001 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 79:04 | |||
| Language | English, Chinese | |||
| Label | Asthmatic Kitty | |||
| Producer | Sufjan Stevens | |||
| Sufjan Stevens chronology | ||||
| ||||
Enjoy Your Rabbit is a 2001 electronic music album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It is a song cycle inspired by the animals of the Chinese zodiac. The album was reworked and rearranged for string instruments and released in 2009 as Run Rabbit Run .
Each song on the album corresponds to a different part of the Chinese zodiac, with the exception of "Year of Our Lord" which, like many of Stevens' songs, references his Christian faith. In an interview with Delusions of Adequacy, Stevens revealed that he "wanted to create an aural environment for each animal: a movie soundtrack (without the movie)." He also described the relationship of imagination in listeners to the instrumental nature of the album, saying "Many people say the same thing: that they inevitably end up visualizing a place or a picture when listening (carefully) to the album. Maybe this is the purpose of instrumental music in the first place. There are no lyrics (or narrative) to encourage the listener. Therefore you are free to imagine what you like."
The process of creating the album "required tremendous patience and self-abnegation" with Stevens noting that he "amassed hours (months, years) of raw material" until he "was left with the most minute sample of something ... which might somehow, in some abstract way, resemble an ox, or a rooster, or a horse". Like much of Stevens' music, Enjoy Your Rabbit had a religious component in its conception, with Stevens describing how he "put together argumentative essays, stanzas of free verse poetry, persuasive dissertations and assertions ... to prove the existence of God based on the 12-year lunar calendar." [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10 [2] |
Enjoy Your Rabbit received generally positive reviews. Michael Crumsho of Dusted described it as "a great record", noting Stevens' ability to "produce melodies that are uplifting, catchy and memorable" but critically remarking that it "remains to be seen, however, if Sufjan will learn that the most elaborate path from Point A to B is not necessarily the best". [6] Jason Nickey of Pitchfork referred to Enjoy Your Rabbit positively as "a fully realized piece of work" and noted he is "looking forward to seeing where [Stevens] goes from here". [2] Writing for AllMusic, Nickey also commented on how the album "maps out a wide musical territory ... in the process, evoking a surprising array of moods". [5]
All tracks are written by Sufjan Stevens
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Year of the Asthmatic Cat" | 0:24 |
| 2. | "Year of the Monkey" | 4:20 |
| 3. | "Year of the Rat" | 8:22 |
| 4. | "Year of the Ox" | 4:01 |
| 5. | "Year of the Boar" | 3:55 |
| 6. | "Year of the Tiger" | 4:24 |
| 7. | "Year of the Snake" | 6:47 |
| 8. | "Year of the Sheep" | 3:34 |
| 9. | "Year of the Rooster" | 6:24 |
| 10. | "Year of the Dragon" | 9:26 |
| 11. | "Enjoy Your Rabbit" | 4:47 |
| 12. | "Year of the Dog" | 4:52 |
| 13. | "Year of the Horse" | 13:18 |
| 14. | "Year of Our Lord" | 4:30 |
| Total length: | 79:04 | |
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released ten solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nominations.
Michigan is a concept album by American indie folk songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released on July 1, 2003, on Sounds Familyre, Asthmatic Kitty and Secretly Canadian in the US, and on Rough Trade in Europe. It is Stevens' third studio album and features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Michigan.
Seven Swans is an indie folk album by Sufjan Stevens, released on March 16, 2004 on Sounds Familyre Records. It is Stevens' fourth studio album and features songs about Christian spiritual themes, figures such as Abraham, and Christ's Transfiguration. The songs are primarily "lush acoustic compositions" with Stevens' banjo. It was recorded and produced by Daniel C. Smith, Sufjan's close friend. The album was released on compact disc by Sounds Familyre Records and vinyl LP; the vinyl was released by Burnt Toast Vinyl.
A Sun Came is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released in 2000 on Asthmatic Kitty. It was reissued four years later. Among Stevens' back catalog, A Sun Came is notable for being recorded on four-track.
Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His fifth studio album, it features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. Illinois is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a joke. It was adapted into a musical, Illinoise, in 2023 and, after playing smaller venues, opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway in April 2024.
Rounds is the third solo album by British electronic musician Kieran Hebden, released under his alias Four Tet on 5 May 2003 by Domino Recording Company. Wanting to make a more personal record, Hebden recorded and produced the album in his North London flat over ten months using a desktop computer and a home hi-fi system. Its ten tracks feature elements of hip hop, jazz and folk; apart from a guitar part recorded for "Slow Jam", the music is composed from between 200 and 300 samples, many processed beyond recognition.
Run Rabbit Run is an album by the Osso String Quartet, which was released on October 6, 2009. It is a re-working of the 2001 instrumental album Enjoy Your Rabbit by Sufjan Stevens. The songs, originally performed with electronic instruments, were arranged by New York composers Michael Atkinson, Olivier Manchon, Maxim Moston, Nico Muhly, Rob Moose and Gabriel Kahane and performed by the Osso String Quartet. All of the original sounds—glitches, white noise, etc.—are reproduced by these string instruments. In contrast to Enjoy Your Rabbit, live musicians are used; live musicians weren't present on the original album—something Stevens thought it lacked.. Despite the name of the album being "Run Rabbit Run," a hare is depicted on the cover.
All Delighted People is an EP by Sufjan Stevens, released online by Asthmatic Kitty Records on August 20, 2010. It is centered around two versions of Stevens' ballad "All Delighted People". According to the official release webpage it is an "homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon's 'Sound of Silence'". It debuted at #48 on the Billboard 200 and jumped to number #27 the week after.
The Age of Adz is the sixth studio album by American singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens, released on October 12, 2010 by Asthmatic Kitty. It was Stevens' first song-based full-length album in five years, since the release of Illinois in 2005.
American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens has released thirteen studio albums, three compilation albums, three soundtracks, two mixtapes, thirteen extended plays (EP), twenty singles, eight promotional singles, and eight music videos. Through his record label Asthmatic Kitty Records, Stevens released his first two albums A Sun Came and Enjoy Your Rabbit in 2000 and 2001, respectively. For his next two releases – Michigan (2003) and Seven Swans (2004) – the singer partnered with Sounds Familyre Records for the distribution of both releases. Seven Swans was supported by Stevens' debut single "The Dress Looks Nice on You". The same album was reissued in 2009 and included the new single "I Went Dancing with My Sister". His fifth album, Illinois, was his first release to enter record charts, where it reached the lower positions in several countries and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 500,000 copies. The Avalanche, a compilation album consisting of outtakes from Illinois, was released in 2006 and also reached various charts internationally.
"Chicago" is a track from Sufjan Stevens 2005 concept album Illinois, released on Asthmatic Kitty. The song tells the semi-autobiographical story of a young man on a road trip, and his youthful idealism. The track is one of Stevens' most popular songs, and he usually ends his live shows with a version of this song. The song has been recorded in five different versions by Stevens himself, the versions not on Illinois being included on the collection The Avalanche, and one demo released digitally on Stevens' website, later released as a 12" single bundled with the Illinois: Special 10th Anniversary Blue Marvel Edition.
Carrie & Lowell is the seventh studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on March 31, 2015, by Asthmatic Kitty. It was produced by Stevens, and features guest contributions from Thomas Bartlett, Sean Carey, Casey Foubert, Ben Lester, Nedelle Torrisi, and Laura Veirs.
"No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" is a song by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. It is the tenth track and lead single from his seventh studio album, Carrie & Lowell, and was released digitally on February 16, 2015 on Asthmatic Kitty and as a one-track 7" on March 3, 2015 on Joyful Noise Recordings.
Planetarium is a collaborative album featuring Bryce Dessner of the indie rock band The National, drummer James McAlister, contemporary classical music composer and arranger Nico Muhly, and singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. The album was released by 4AD on June 9, 2017. The group announced the recording on March 26, sharing the album's track listing along with the song "Saturn".
"Mystery of Love" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and produced by Thomas Bartlett. It was self-released digitally, under license to Madison Gate Records and Sony Classical, on 1 December 2017. Luca Guadagnino, director of the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, approached the singer to contribute to the film as a narrator, but Stevens declined and agreed to record an original song instead. Stevens was granted full creative control during the songwriting process and received inspiration from the film's script and André Aciman's novel of the same name. An acoustic ballad, the lyrics describe romance and allude to the relationship between film characters Elio and Oliver. They also make several references to the state of Oregon, birds, and Christianity.
The Decalogue is a 2017 soundtrack album to the Justin Peck ballet of the same name, by Timo Andres and Sufjan Stevens. The album was released by Asthmatic Kitty to mixed reviews. The ballet debuted in 2017 with the New York City Ballet.
"Futile Devices" is a song by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens. Originally a track from Stevens' sixth studio album, The Age of Adz, remixes of the song were released in 2012 and 2017, respectively. It was also featured in the 2017 film Call Me by Your Name.
Year of the Rabbit is a ballet choreographed by Justin Peck to music from Sufjan Stevens's album, Enjoy Your Rabbit. The ballet premiered on October 5, 2012, at the David H. Koch Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.
Everywhere We Go is a ballet choreographed by Justin Peck and scored by Sufjan Stevens. The ballet is plotless, danced by a cast of 25 and features nine sections. This is the second collaboration between Peck and Stevens, following Year of the Rabbit (2012). Everywhere We Go was created for the New York City Ballet (NYCB), and premiered on May 8, 2014, at the David H. Koch Theater, during NYCB's spring gala. The success of the ballet led to Peck's appointment as resident choreographer of NYCB, as the second person to hold the position.
Javelin is the tenth studio album by American musician Sufjan Stevens. It was released on October 6, 2023, through Asthmatic Kitty. It received widespread critical acclaim on release.
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