Missed Connections
I'm so bummed. Later this week I was supposed to be hopping on a jet plane to head down to North Carolina to watch our niece play softball. Unfortunately, the tournament they were playing in got cancelled (it's a long story), so last night I had to spend the evening scrambling to cancel all of the little pieces that make up a trip. Thankfully, we ended up getting pretty much all our money back minus about $50, which in the grand scheme of things isn't too bad.
@mrsbozz and I were really looking forward to this trip and the chance to add another state to the wooden map we have hanging in our hallway. We got it as a Christmas gift one year and it is a wire frame map of the United States with little wooden pieces you can stick in the appropriate place after you have visited the state. Right now much of the East Coast is blank although I have visited many of those states when I was younger, we have never visited them together.
Likewise, much of the West is also blank. With the exception of our trip out to Colorado a few years ago, we just haven't had much of a chance to explore that area aside from Nevada.
I took the photo above one morning when we were on our way home from Vermont. We had a connecting flight in Atlanta, so I'd like to think maybe this shot was maybe taken somewhere over North Carolina.
This post isn't really about North Carolina though. If you have been following along, you know that I have been taking a musical road trip of the United States for my #threetunetuesday posts sponsored by @ablaze. Today we finally make it to the "I"'s. Hawaii was last week, and that brings us to Idaho for today. As I said, I haven't been to much of the Western US with or without my wife, so Idaho is definitely a state we have never visited. However, I do love their potatoes.
Idaho actually turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it was going to be to find songs that have the name of the state in the title or lyrics of the song. Remember, it has to be the actual name of the state. It can't be a reference to a place in the state like "Boise". That would have been much too easy.
Of course, if you are like me, when I say Idaho, your mind automatically goes to one specific song. In fact, it has been stuck in my head since I realized Idaho was going to be the theme of this week.
Yep, that would be "Private Idaho" by none other than the B-52's. It's pretty clear they weren't the best lyricists in the world. In fact, I would argue they went more for rhymes than anything that made sense, but they were actually a quite talented group. Obviously, the females in the group were talented. Songs like "Love Shack" and "Roam" are proof of that, however, while unconventional, the male singers voice was pretty impressive too. Plus, they just had some great harmonies. I don't really know what the song "Private Idaho" is actually about, but it's a catchy toon with a nice beat and a boppy hook.
Next, we have the song "Idaho" from Train. It was one of their earlier works before the reinvented themselves for the third or fourth time. I actually don't remember this song, but I am pretty sure I had this album because I either ripped it from the Internet or someone burned a copy of it for me. This song is from a time when Train was more of a blues rock band than the pop rock band that we have ended coming to know.
This self titled album is actually before they dropped "Drops of Jupiter", but it does have the hit "Meet Virginia" on it. In fact, you might end up hearing Train again when we finally make it to the "V's"...
Sharing this song actually has me wanting to dig back into the earlier stuff by Train. It was actually pretty good and resonates well with me being a guy who spent his late teen and early adult years in the 90's. Plus, as I said, it's a bit heavier and harder than what we have come to expect from Train. I got the chance to see Train twice (I think) in concert and they always put on a good show.
Finally, I'm going to share another song that I can say without a doubt I have never heard before. Despite the theme of this post, the reason I am sharing this song is more about who is singing it verus what he is actually singing about. I remember a long time ago I was watching something on PBS and there happened to be a barbershop quartet on the show. They were singing a song called Istanbul (Not Constantinople). For obvious reasons, the song got stuck in my head and I happened to be singing it in front of my brother in law who immediately recognized it from a cover he had heard of the song by a band called "They Might Be Giants". He bought me the CD of their album Flood for Christmas one year and I literally wore it out.
The reason that is important, is because John Linnell is one of the singers in They Might Be Giants. This song "Idaho" is from is album called "State Songs". They Might Be Giants are a quirky band with some catchy toons if you can give them a chance. It might take a couple listens through to really appreciate them, but they are pretty cool.
Anyway, there you go. Idaho is now in the rearview. Next week we turn the car (or plane) towards Illinois I think. Wish me luck with that one!
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Was the tournament canceled because of the weather they received down there? A few inches of snow will shut that place down. And it did.
We lived in eastern NC for much of my military career. We loved it. Minus the humidity sometimes. And mosquitoes. We would have retire there, but I received orders elsewhere at the end.
We aren't really sure. I have a feeling that may have been the case, but there was never really any official word. I visited NC when I was younger. I remember going into the Smokies and doing the whole Clingman's Dome thing. I don't remember much beyond that though.
So you were in western NC. That is God's country for sure. We would travel through that part of NC on the way to Johnson City, TN area to visit family.
I hope you figure it out goodlucj
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Too bad the tourney got cancelled in NC, it's a beautiful state! At least you didn't lose too much money on the cancellations. As for Idaho I've been there more times than I can count! It's a really pretty place, in summer preferably. Winter is way too cold!
The B52's seriously rock out with Private Idaho, one of their great songs. They have produced some great music over the years! Idaho by Train I had heard before, a great selection there, but never heard John Linnell or the song. I love They Might Be Giants though, they were a cool band with fun music. They even sang the song for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I know that well from back in the days my son used to watch the show!
Some great choices today. You'll have to check out NC sometime, but Idaho and Wyoming make a great summer trip. Don't forget to check out the Great Tetons and Yellowstone!
I've been to North Carolina when I was a kid, but I was really hoping to explore a bit more of it with my wife. She is a bit more devastated about it being cancelled than I am. I was excited to go, but it was a lot of logistics in a short period of time too. My nieces loved the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We went and saw a live version of it when we were at Disney decades ago!