I pronouce it Sooof-jaahn. I have no idea how it's really pronounced though.

soof yan

Definetly Sufjan.

sufjan has a few absolutely amazing songs like "Chicago", "I Walked", "Concerning the UFO Sighting", etc...

but i could not deny how much i love Iron & Wine.

This is how I've always heard presenters and interviewers on the radio pronounce it.

Anyway I picked Iron & Wine simply because he appeals to me more and I don't really know why... I listen to Iron & Wine much more than Sufjan Steven's. His songs are just so heartbreakingly pretty.

Sufjan for me. I listened to Iron & Wine quite a lot for some time, and while I liked his music... It didn't stand out particularly for me, and his songs began to sound the same over time. Sufjan Stevens ranges ridiculously within albums, and incorporates all sorts of crazy stuff while still maintaining the same overall feel on the whole. Come On, Feel The Illinoise! is an album that i will come back to repeatedly, and every time I listen to it, I find something else that I hadn't heard, or hadn't noticed before.

Sufjan probably, on the grounds of versatility.

Sam. It's the beard man, I just can't resist ;D.

I would say Sufjan, mainly because of his versatility as well. I have to admit though that I'm definitely not a fan of either, and while I agree Sufjan is a decent musician, I think he has been way over-hyped by Pitchfork and the like.

Iron & Wine. I don't like Sufjan all that much... I was on a big Chicago kick for awhile but beside that none of his songs really spoke to me. Both artists seem too sweet and god-loving for my taste now though. But in the end Sam Beam has the better beard.

Have you heard the Age of Adz?

I have not.

I'm for Iron & Wine, the reason being is that no matter what type of day I'm having if i turn on Iron & Wine on my ipod, it gets better.

Also his work has been such a help to me in getting better with guitar

plus that beard is so epic that it deserves the respect of all, even chuck norris gotta recognize

It's a completely different experience. I can't even explain. I got to see Suf live about a month ago, and my brain exploded when he played some of those songs.

I'll check it out because I trust your judgement.

You, my friend, are a wise human being :D.

Don't like either really. But Iron And Wine are much better.

I love both, but I also think both bands tend to go with one sound for all of thier songs, making most songs indistinguishable from each other.

If you're a Sufjan fan, it might be worth your while to check out Chris Greene, who cites Sufjan as an influence, although his music is quite different. He did do a very good cover of John Wayne Gacey, and for his own music, a song like Lotus Seed will provide the hook.

I haven't really heard Iron & Wine's stuff but I LOVED his Gwar cover!

I've got the most recent Surfjan albums and feel somewhat of a connection to his music, so I vote him....for now at least

oohh!!! The epic, "Impossible Soul"!! :love: