Sound Garden State

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As far as I know, I have only ever been to New Jersey once in my life. It's possible that we traveled there when I was a kid for something, but I honestly don't know what it would have been. It's a bit too far out of the way to have been part of our New England trip. The time I do remember was for work and while it had the potential to be pretty awesome, it ended up being just kind of "whatever".

I used to work for a computer company that had a pretty big contract with a major global chemical company. When that chemical company would buy other businesses they would send us to the sites to switch their desktops and other devices over to the new corporate network. It was an interesting if not boring job, but it gave me the opportunity to fly for the first time, so it will always be a bit special to me.

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One of those businesses just happened to be in New Jersey, so my boss and I made the trip out there and spent a couple days doing our work. On the last day, we finished a bit early, so the boss decided it might be a fun time to drive over to Atlantic City. I don't remember much about the trip, but I do remember we went to the Trump Taj Mahal and that my boss spilled his drink all over the roulette table. That kind of thing is frowned upon, so it was kind of a big deal. We promptly left and that's all I really remember from the trip.

As you might have guessed, our #threetunetuesday post this week sponsored by @ablaze focuses on the garden state of New Jersey. This one was almost too easy given how many great artists there are from New Jersey and reference it in their songs.

Oddly enough, some of the most specific examples actually shout out the New Jersey Turnpike, but I tried to include songs that also reference just the state as well.

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Of course given @mrsbozz and I's love of Bon Jovi, it was only right that I include them in this post. In addition to that, I also felt the need to include Bruce Springsteen as you will see in a second. I usually try to avoid some of the obvious references in these posts, but in this case it was just too iconic to pass up. There is simply zero way I could write a post about New Jersey without talking about The Boss and Bon Jovi.

Since I clearly don't have any photos from the actual state, I am using images I took at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year in Cleveland, OH. They had a special exhibit on the top floor that was all Bon Jovi. We had no clue when we decided to visit, but it ended up working really well for us.

So let's get to the music.

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Direct Link

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I didn't own any Bon Jovi records growing up, and this song didn't get a lot of mainstream airplay (if any), so the first time I remember hearing it was many years later at one of their live shows. "Raise Your Hands" is just a banger of a tune. It has some amazing guitar work, a driving beat, and a great chorus that gets the crowd singing along every time. It's probably one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs, not to be confused with "Lay Your Hands On Me", which is also one of my favorites.

If you listen closely, you can hear the reference to New Jersey in the chorus when he says "New Jersey to Tokyo". This live version actually does a pretty good job of capturing the energy of the song, but if it sounds a bit off to you, feel free to dig up the album version and listen to that.

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Direct Link

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Since we are talking about rock and roll today, I decided it would be a good idea to include one of the fathers of rock and roll in this post. I honestly don't know a lot of Chuck Berry's work outside of "Johnny B Goode" and "My Dingaling", but "You Can't Catch Me" highlights some amazing guitar work and some fun lyrics that if you listen closely include New Jersey.

Personally, when I watch this video I can't help but wonder if it was one of those cases where the artist was pretending to play and sing. It seems like back in the day that might have been a more common thing due to the limitations of live television. Then again, it seems just as pervasive now at times too, so who really knows.

If this video hadn't been posted 13 years ago I might almost think it was AI generated, but that likely isn't the case. I think the thing that gets me the most is there is no cord going to his guitar. I'm guessing wireless connections weren't that common back in 1956, so I can't help but guess this is definitely a lip sync situation.

Either way, it's still a great song with a reference to New Jersey in it.

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Direct Link

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Finally, we have The Boss. Bruce Springsteen. I've has some conversations with a few people who absolutely can not stand Bruce. They think he is overrated and that his songs just aren't that good. While I can see their point of view, I absolutely disagree. He is one of the greatest storytellers of our time, no question. He also did a great job of surrounding himself with amazing artists in the way of the E Street band. That will help.

"Open All Night" is a fun jangling rolic of a tune that actually surprises me Bruce can keep up with the lyrics at time. Especially at his age. Although it was seven years ago, when you consider his catalog of work, it's honestly impressive that he can do all of this without some kind of teleprompter.

There you go, New Jersey is in the books. Next week we head off to New Mexico. I'm a bit worried about that one. It might be a little country. Perhaps some John Mellencamp in there...?

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All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or @mrsbozz unless otherwise sourced