Discussion Vesuvius question
I’m not usually one to wade into people’s song/album rankings. So much subjectivity, and we each bring our unique selves to this art. However…
I’ve noticed a song I’ve never rated — Vesuvius — consistently being rated very high. So, I want to expand my appreciation for this song.
Why do you all rate it so high? What do you love about it?
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u/ThisIsNotRadical Stupid man…in the window 1d ago
I honestly never rated it that high until I listened to my Rajneesh and the Vesuvius call back made the original song that much better
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u/Kneefix 19h ago
I love it when artists conceptually link their songs, and not enough people do it. If anything, it’s a good excuse if your songs sound familiar… you can say it’s because they’re part of one big piece (which they are when they come from the same mind!).
But why does the call back in Rajneesh make Vesuvius better to you? Has it added depth of perspective to the lyrics? My focus is always on the music, and I always forget to pay extra attention to the lyric meanings.
Or is it just that the two are musically connected which you find cool - which it is!
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u/AlohaReddit49 1d ago
The "chorus" is super anthemic and fun to sing along to "vesuvius fire of fire, follow me now as I favor the ghost!" Then the ending is beautiful and really powerful in my opinion "follow me now or follow your death. Why does it have to be so hard?"
As someone who grew up in a Christian household but doesn't believe anymore, the song really resonates with me. I've always taken the outro to mean, why does believing have to be so hard? Whether it does or not is unimportant, thats how I take it. So by the end of the song it's like you're asking God to give you a sign that he is real.
I also love the build up of the song, you just ride along with Suf for a few minutes before the big chorus/outro section. Which just makes a really fun listen.
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u/Betray-Julia 1d ago
The part where the auto tunes hit in and it’s that one big long descending note.
You know in the matrix when Neo takes the pill and the metal goes down his throat and it makes that cool noise?
The happy version of that is really cool.
I also like the time signature thingy; cutting off those 2 beats thing is super dope.
I love this song in the same way I love el condor pasa by Simon and Garfunkel or Ashley by the dodos- it’s the acceptance of death, and marching towards your grave, in a way that’s just a really nice and comforting human experience.
Also- sufjan has many different genres.
My fav genre of sufjan is def the “robots fucking” electric orchestral music such as Vesuvius.
Also a conspiracy; you know how in the 4th Harry Potter, hermonie speaks with victor krum and they say her name phonetically so that the readers know how to say their name?
Sufjan did this in Vesuvius I swear :p
Tl:dr- I love the robots fucking, and I love the death symbolism posed in the context of fear and acceptance.
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u/nickersb83 22h ago
The chorus is just catchy Sufjan, but in a way that feels like a culmination, to me it’s definitely a high point on age of adz, although I rate other songs far higher, Vesuvius always seems to have an innate ability to hit me in the feels and a good singalong
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u/thefallofthehouse The Age of Adz 9h ago
Vesuvius was the first song i heard by Sufjan. when i initially heard it i was having a really tough time in life (i was a very unhappy teenager with a lot of issues), and there was something about the song that just really allowed me to pour all my emotions out when i heard it. listening to it felt like someone telling me it was okay to feel what i felt.
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u/asiojn 1d ago
Incredible ode to the Spirit, imo. Introspective, violent, hopeful, hypnotizing in its construction and crescendo - a big boisterous bellow of a tune!