My brain

[kiya]

The radio played "Sweet Home Alabama" on my way to the shrink and now I've got a process running trying to figure out whether I can compile a list of Songs Of The Fifty States, which is rather complicated because what rules are required to make it work? I mean, "California Dreamin'" is easy, but does "Gone to Carolina in my Mind" count for both? And is "Walking in Memphis" good enough, or ... well, I suppose "Memphis, Tennessee" actually does fill in that gap, which means I'm left wondering if "Rock and Roll Band" (which mentions Boston in the first line) will do for Massachusetts, or something similar with "House of the Rising Sun" though "City of New Orleans" is at least closer and....

... so that's what my brain was doing up until the same station played "When I Come Around" at which point I got stuck on DOOKIE IS NOT CLASSIC ROCK and augh, what the hell, radio.

Comments

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it can be done. For extra fun, throw in Lou and Peter Barryman's classic, Your State's Name Here.

[ivy]

I think Carolina counts for both. People who live there call it "Carolina", so that's pretty much my standard, arguments about governance in 1710 notwithstanding.

[frozencapybara.livejournal.com]

I did this for all the states we drove through on our way cross country last month! I think my rules were slightly different, though - it had to be a song that mentioned either the state, or a city in the state (not necessarily one we drove through), in the lyrics. Did not have to be about the state, per se. Songs from John Linnell's State Songs album did not count (except if we couldn't find anything else, in which case they did, but we managed to avoid that). Also I decided that the instrumental Brokeback Mountain theme counted for Wyoming because there is NOTHING except obscure country songs that mentions Wyoming.

[starfrosting.livejournal.com]

I love this idea! "Southern Man" for Alabama, "Anchorage" (Michelle Shocked) for Alaska, "Greensboro Woman" (Townes Van Zandt) for South Carolina, "Make It Hot" (Mirah) for PA...

[brooksmoses]

But Greensboro is in North Carolina!

[starfrosting.livejournal.com]

damn, yankee slip-- was I thinking of Greenville? (in which case, Lucinda, obviously ;))

[starfrosting.livejournal.com]

also, "Laramie" by Amy Ray is an excellent Wyoming song. Which reminds me that "Nashville" is also a good Indigo Girls song...

[brooksmoses]

It's an interesting question whether "City of New Orleans" is closer, I think. It's really about the train named after the city, rather than the city itself.

In any case, there's certainly John Denver's "Country Roads" for West Virginia, and Eddie from Ohio's "Old Dominion" for Virginia (and now I'm trying to remember where the strange place I heard that recently was)....