Music Blogs

I knew this was bound to happen and I'm still dreading the day I finally research Wisconsin. I've got a bad feeling about that. But Idaho comes pretty close. I'm sure every Built To Spill song references Idaho in some way, but that would mean listening to Built To Spill for hours and as much as I love staring at new albums, there's something inherently dull about a band named Built To Spill. I can't get excited about it. Much like how I can't get excited about Idaho as a concept. I drove through it briefly on my way to Glacier National Park. Seemed nice enough.

"I Miss You"--Randy Newman: When I took Randy Newman as my personal savior it was for times like these. He sings about his ex-wife and how she's up there in Idaho having the time of her life, having left Los Angeles and Randy behind. So, years later, he writes a song for her. Making his current wife wonder: What do I have to do to get a song written about me? Apparently leave.

"Idaho Potholes"--John Scooch Cugno: I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about Idaho road maintenance. I will tell you that in Vermont it's hard to find roads that are paved! And when you do the highway department is usually digging them up. I assume Idaho is like this as well. Maybe I'll write "Scooch" an email.

"Idaho Potato Man"--Corky Siegel: This is more along the lines of what I expected. What do most people think of when the word Idaho is mentioned? Potatoes! So it would stand to reason that an Idaho Potato Man would be the one in charge of looking after them. And some "funny folk" guy named Corky Siegel would write and sing about it. I'm not sure why people persist in the "Funny Folk" category, but they do. And they're always "local favorites." And no one outside the region can relate or care. Yet, they're always there in every community. Weird.

"Idaho Spud"--Faith Petric: From the album When Did We Have Sauerkraut? Another for the "Funny Folk" category? It's another potato song. Could some of the good readers of this blog from Idaho explain this all to me? Is Faith Petric successful? Is sauerkraut rare in Idaho? Is this the anti-Built To Spill coalition at work?

"Danny Says"--The Ramones: Danny, as in their manager Danny Fields, tells the boys they have to go to Idaho where they can't go surfing because it's 20 below. I'd also say they have other problems here. Idaho isn't coastal and I don't for a minute believe that any of the Ramones were capable of surfing. They were not that coordinated. I don't even think they were adept at video games. Probably crappy at cards. Probably cheated at solitaire. They do mention watching Get Smart on TV. Now that I believe. (And it sure is weird to have to refer to them in the past tense. But that's what happens when three of them are, gulp, dead!)