I know I'm past fashionably late to this party, but how about Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise? Am I right (both on being late to the party and the fact that said party is delightful)? I thought Michigan was alright, but maybe not as deserving of the praise it got. But now that I've sat down with Illinoize I'm starting to understand the devotion his fans have for him. I mean, I don't like to throw the word around, but this is some rapturous music. I think it's going to keep me company through the blizzards due this week. That, and the Spaghetti-O's and Cherry Coke I just picked up from Walgreens.

One disappointment: there's no song about a scared 32-year-old in Humboldt Park worrying about teenagers riding BMX bikes and wearing oversized white t-shirts at 2 in the morning. It could be called "For Michael, Who Has to Pay Extra for Cabs to Drop Him Off in the Alley Behind His Apartment". I'll leave it to Sufjan to decide whether to end that in an exclamation point or four.