The 2012 Presidential Election is a wrap.  Whether you were hoping for another four years of Obama or felt a change was needed (I will leave my opinions out of this post), election time always brings a sense of patriotism out of us Americans.  Sufjan Stevens, clearly feeling patriotic himself, just yesterday released a very timely take on our national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner."  The cover has everything you would expect out of a Stevens tune, who has been  frequent to this feature as of late tune these days.  Gentle, whispering vocals leading to harmonic choruses, Crazy Horse like guitar freak outs, and building, orchestral whimsiness, all Stevens staples, give the interesting take on the long time tune a fresh look.  By the way, is it possible to write about Sufjan Stevens without mentioning something being whimsical?  Not today it looks like.