Sufjan & Superman

I finally succumbed to the hype surrounding Sufjan Stevens’s Illinois and got myself a copy. It’s excellent. I especially like the level of existential/theological questioning that Stevens pursues.

While I might at some point more carefully review Illinois, this post is more an excuse to pursue a few thoughts about the trouble with copyright law and intellectual property. Nich Maragos was one of the lucky people to obtain a copy of Illinois with Superman on the album’s cover art. Stevens’s record label got in trouble with DC Comics (I assume) for using the image without their permission and ended up having to recall the initial run.

I understand the legal reasoning behind the move by DC. After all, it seems like Superman is only worth as much to them as the cash that they can milk from that venerable franchise. But isn’t there something bigger about Superman than the amount of capital he sends DC’s way? I’d think that he’s as mythic a figure as we can have in a multicultural, multireligious society. He’s an embodiment of the American Civil Religion — or at least a sort of messianic figure who embodies the potential goodness of humanity. And in Stevens’s “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts,” that salvific promise leaps to the fore. Besides, as the above image attests, Superman watches over Illinois, or at least over the intersection of Chestnut and State in Chicago. Let Sufjan evoke his culture!

Oh and that thing about the Berghoff? Shawn, Abbey, and I went on Saturday night. German food (and beer) warms the soul — especially when it’s cold and rainy and one has been waiting in line for almost three hours. Why the wait? Well, the Berghoff, which has Chicago’s first post-prohibition liquor license, is closing in February. I guess people really want to go, before it’s too late. And yes, the wait really was worth it.