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Sufjan Stevens continues to be all over the place with The BQE | Arsenio Orteza

Denny Renshaw

Just what is one to do with Sufjan Stevens? Like Ani DiFranco, the only other semi-popular musician of his generation to whom he can be compared, Stevens is a '70s child with as much talent as energy and more of both than he knows what to do with. Also like DiFranco, Stevens invented a small pond to ensure his becoming a big frog.

The small pond DiFranco invented was Righteous Babe Records, a label she founded in 1990 and through which she has released all of her albums. Not surprisingly, she gets to release whatever she wants, so she releases a lot. Stevens' small pond is Asthmatic Kitty Records, the label he founded in 1999 and through which he has released all of his albums. He pretty much releases whatever he wants to as well—not as much as DiFranco, but a lot nonetheless, and its stylistic diversity makes it seem like more.