Do you like American music? (I like all kinds of music)

At our house the other day, Joel was trying to name all 50 US states. He just about managed to do it, with the help of a few generous clues. During this spontaneous, geographical quiz (not nerdy at all), it occurred to me how familiar all of the names of these places were. Even for someone that's only spend 4-5 days in the USA, these place names trigger some significance, because they are so often mentioned in the songs we listen to and the movies we watch. Thanks to modern cultural history, hearing the name of an American state in a song gives it a form of romanticism; it gives a folk song instant authenticity. This cannot be said of Australian place names, at least, it's much harder to name-drop an Australian town without sounding like John Williamson or be taken seriously. Not many would bother writing a song like "Launceston Blues" or "Love in Maribyrnong" (Paul Kelly probably has written these songs, I'm not sure).

Songs about European cities don't have the same effect either. Perhaps it's too pretentious to write about a weekend you spent in Rome or Prague. Or perhaps these places come laden with too long a history; connotations that would override the song itself.

Given that so many people have written songs about America, I've decided to find a song for each US state. The song can either be about a state or it can simply mention it in passing (which should make it a bit easier). Stay tuned for my first state dedication.