Added: Dec 6, 2006
From: jymdavis
Duration: 2:10
This is my video for Sufjan Stevens song "Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois" (the first track on his wonderful "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!" album). The video is primarily shot with a Fisher Price PXL 2000 Pixel-vision (a toy camera made in the '80s). This early digital format helped me achieve the ghostly grainy images. Besides shooting "live" footage with the PXL I also transfered "real" UFO footage to the camera. The sharper images are transfered stop-motion images taken by NASA on the planet Mars. I re-edited, tinted, and zoomed around the images to make them my own. check me out: www.jymdavis.com and www.myspace.com/jymdavis
Channel: Music
Tags: aliens art asthmatic asthmatickitty camer illinoise kitty nature paranormal prank sky stevens strange sufjan ufos video
Kapowo Says:
Nov 27, 2008 - I got this from a comment a few pages back. 65/16 (three times) 64/16 70/16 74/16 73/16 78/16
greensidhe Says:
Nov 29, 2008 - beautiful : )
starsfallmute Says:
Nov 30, 2008 - really? that seems a bit ridiculous...
nubbs Says:
Dec 2, 2008 - i saw jupiter, venus and the moon tonight and it made me think of this song. when i found out that some people believe these "three stars", which appeared, like tonight, very closely together in 2 bc, i wondered if that's what sufjan meant by the three stars, seeing as how the alien in the song is supposed to be jesus
PHAER Says:
Dec 7, 2008 - One of the most intense musics I ever heard! Can't find more words to describe... it's not enough [] from Brasil! =)
Kapowo Says:
Dec 9, 2008 - It does, but it also seems genius.
starsfallmute Says:
Dec 10, 2008 - yeah sufjan is incredible
earmuff56 Says:
Dec 11, 2008 - This song is about a ufo sighting. He even uses the picture of the ufo. The three stars are the three lights the the cops and man from highland saw in the sky. It was all very big news when it happened. I remember the paper well...
nubbs Says:
Dec 11, 2008 - all songs on Illinois, according to sufjan, have three levels of meaning: the literal, journalistic; the personal; the spiritual/religious. in terms of this song, he uses the case of a ufo sighting to question if we would recognize jesus - "the reverend" mentioned in the song - when he comes back ("we couldn't imagine what it was") and the "the stars" is an obvious analogy to the three stars seen at jesus birth - the first time he appeared. ps. "man of steel"... not just about superman. shock
nubbs Says:
Dec 11, 2008 - "then to lebanon, oh god ... history involved itself ... mysterious shape that took it's form, or what it was incarnation, three stars, deliversing signs" not exactly a stretch to make the connection between jesus' return and the ufo. hence "concerning" the ufo sighting, not "the actual ufo sighting"
earmuff56 Says:
Dec 12, 2008 - That's fine is you want to look at the song symbolically. I have no argument against that and in fact I applaud you. I just wanted to point out the literal side as well because sometimes people lose the meaning of an object,song, etc because they analyze it too deeply.
Jlewis83 Says:
Dec 12, 2008 - The opening line is when the revenant came; so this does not necessarily mean 'jesus'. It would imply more of a personal loved one. This is deliberately ambiguous. and what hangs me the most is this beautiful line: Oh, history involved itself. what does it mean? In contrast to what came before? a continuity? or a break of the past life and three-star spirit into possessive shades...the lines push you back. a thing that has no hinges but holds golden treasure inside...
nubbs Says:
Dec 12, 2008 - revenant is a term often used for jesus, who is described in several gospels as being unrecognizable in his first revenant incarnation, just like the song says. there is no reason to think this song implying more of a personal loved one, unless that personal loved one is jesus, which works for sufjan, since most of his songs have a jesus subtext and "three stars" did appear when jesus was born, or was first incarnated, an alien thing that took it's form
holitic Says:
Dec 16, 2008 - this song, whatever the lyrics mean, is one of the most beautiful songs ever written/recorded. i hate to be a sap, but i almost cry every time i hear it. so beautiful!!!!!
KentuckyGiant Says:
Dec 17, 2008 - Then I was a kid I thought the aliens had already come to Earth. haha silly me. PingPanther =^.^=
KentuckyGiant Says:
Dec 17, 2008 - I hear that our current communications could be used to help aliens find us. I heard a disturbing report where we could potentially attract a violent race of aliens. I like to think that they would be friendly. PingPanther =^.^=
KentuckyGiant Says:
Dec 17, 2008 - If Earth were the only place where life existed, wow how lucky would that be? Imagine the odds!
ilaughindoors Says:
Dec 20, 2008 - beautiful song, beautiful video. awesome job.
wickedspork Says:
Dec 21, 2008 - this is probably the best fan vid ive ever seen since it goes perfectly with the song. giving it 5 stars doesnt do it enough justice. very very good job.
michaeldty Says:
Dec 26, 2008 - beautiful imagery to go with a beautiful song, great work
matthashotcakes Says:
Dec 31, 2008 - My jaw hit the floor. This video is beautiful on all levels.
Yubutub Says:
Jan 3, 2009 - perfect nearly crying.. so beatiful
lifeisgreen Says:
Jan 6, 2009 - Wow, this is almost exactly what I pictured when I first heard the song. And that is really saying a lot, because this song is one of my favourites and it means so much to me.
squazz Says:
Jan 7, 2009 - Absolutely perfect!!! nice job
oDRUMCIRCLESo Says:
Nov 23, 2008 - Does anyone know what time signature this is on?