Sufjan Stevens follows up "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" with another heart-wrenching track off his upcoming album about his late mother, Carrie & Lowell. Stevens' mother suffered from schizophrenia and left his family when he was a boy, which he discusses in this recent Pitchfork interview, and "Should Have Known Better" recalls an incident when his mother left him at a video store when he was three. In other words, have some tissues nearby. As devastating as the first half of the song is, there's real hopefulness in its second, as Stevens describes the past as "the bridge to nowhere" and turns to the beauty and possibility of the present. Turns out it's not his mom who should have known better, but Stevens himself.
Sufjan Stevens follows up "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" with another heart-wrenching track off his upcoming album about his late mother, Carrie & Lowell. Stevens' mother suffered from schizophrenia and left his family when he was a boy, which he discusses in this recent Pitchfork interview, and "Should Have Known Better" recalls an incident when his mother left him at a video store when he was three. In other words, have some tissues nearby. As devastating as the first half of the song is, there's real hopefulness in its second, as Stevens describes the past as "the bridge to nowhere" and turns to the beauty and possibility of the present. Turns out it's not his mom who should have known better, but Stevens himself.