I still feel like I have a lot to learn in the realm of sound experimentation, and I think I would like things to get noisier and weirder and more distressed and more aggressive, but I don't know if that's something that would be suitable for public consumption.
I feel like the Internet needs to be disarmed in some way. There needs to be a philosophical undermining of the Internet. We take it too seriously and too literally. For a reference we go to Wikipedia, which is full of inaccuracies and misinformation. It's kind of beautiful - it's all the product of imagination; it's not reality at all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that we need to approach the Internet with a more critical and less literal mindset.
Sufjan Stevens expresses a concern about society's serious and literal interpretation of the Internet, advocating for a philosophical reevaluation of its impact. He highlights the inaccuracies present in sources like Wikipedia, suggesting that while the Internet may be a beautiful product of human imagination, it should not be mistaken for an ultimate reality. This reflection calls for a more nuanced understanding of online information and its role in shaping perceptions.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on digital literacy, I might quote Stevens to highlight the need for critical thinking online.
More from Sufjan Stevens
All quotes →I believe that music is a spiritual language. My everyday self is pretty mundane and boring, but when I'm making music it allows for me to communicate a kind of transcendence that I can't communicate otherwise.
Every time Jimmy Scott sings, it's the same but slightly different. I don't know how he does that or where he gets that from. I think it's instinct. Nothing he does is by chance; he's in complete control of what he's doing. He's just beautiful and unique.
Musicians are often asked to answer for an entire culture, or for an entire movement. It's a process of commodification. It becomes packaged and summarized in a word like 'emo' or 'grunge'... or 'folk music.' I think that's just language itself, trying to understand the mysteries of the world.
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Religion is one of the most important forces in the world. Whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew, or a Hindu, religion is a great force, and it can help one have command of one's own morality, one's own behavior, and one's own attitude.
Earth has one angel less and heaven one more, since yesterday.
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Let it be henceforth proclaimed to the world that man's conscience was created free; that he is no longer accountable to his fellow man for his religious opinions, being responsible therefore only to his God.
To say revelation is to say, 'the Word became flesh...'