Pitchfork

Over the weekend, we received a tip from reader Chris Steadman, who had discovered a PureVolume page allegedly belonging to Sufjan Stevens. It announced a new Sufjan album, titled Oregon, With the Wind, and contained the following message:

"This time around Sufjan decided to let all of his influences shine through, from straight-up nasty noise rock to glitchridden electronica to modern classical. As 'In the Words of the Governor' from the 2007 Believer Music Issue CD, showed, some of Oregon is going to be fun and simple, harkening back to his earliest experiments tinkering with transistors in his parents basement. Some will expand into bona fide orchestral moments, like live favorite and album centerpiece 'Majesty, Snowbird'. Others will tread familiar territory, like the chamber-pop barnstormer 'Three Sisters, Three Brothers'. The exclusive PureVolume preview track, 'Portland, or, Whistling Underwater', straddles more than a few of these boundaries.

"Above all, the goal of Oregon was to rediscover the joy of making music, free of self-imposed boundaries. Ironic, you might say, given the context of the 50 States Project, but Sufjan Stevens was never a man to shy away from contradiction. Recorded at record pace, with some tracks nearly improvised, it is a conscious attempt to capture the moment of creation, the warm glow of the live performance, an eclectic mixture of unforgettable songs blazing trails westward, reminding of home, encompassing all sounds and textures."

It all seemed pretty legit... until we actually listened to "Portland, or, Whistling Underwater". It sounded like really, really bad Animal Collective. Hopefully not the work of our Sufjan.

Turns out, it's not. The whole thing-- the song, the album, the entire PureVolume page-- is a complete fake. According to Sufjan's label Asthmatic Kitty, Mr. Stevens had nothing to do with any of it.

So to the people who took the time to invent a new Sufjan Stevens album and a new Sufjan Stevens song, we say: Wow, you sure have a lot of time on your hands. And yes, you fooled us. For about a minute and a half. Good job!