elisabeth:

We know what you’re thinking. Why would Sufjan Stevens write a song about this guy? With one look at the lyrics, it’s clear that he isn’t just trying to sensationalize the topic. This song doesn’t make Gacy into a scary “other.” Instead, Stevens brings in Gacy’s troubled childhood, his respected place in the community, and a haunting lament for the people that he killed. Most importantly, Stevens compares himself with Gacy, suggesting that even such a terrifying figure has complexity and humanity. Or, to flip that around, maybe Stevens is trying to say that the rest of us are more complicated than we’d like to think.