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Wednesday 23 October 2019

State of the Union - Alaska


George writes:

This week it’s Alaska. To me that means a huge freezing cold state covered in snow and pine trees, an abundance of oil, grizzly bears, salmon, bears eating salmon, that dangerous cretin Sarah Palin, and the TV series Northern Exposure, the boxed set of which we own and are probably the only people on the planet to have watched every single one of the 110 episodes. Still, it’s no Stargate. But I would rather re-watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer than re-watch Northern Exposure.


Alaska can supply plenty of songs e.g. Anchorage by Michelle Shocked, there’s a John Denver song, and Johnny “Honky Tonk Man” Horton has two songs about Alaska, the Bee Gees, in 1972, had a song called Road To Alaska (which includes the idiotic lines of I’m on the road to Alaska, it’s nowhere near Nebraska, and the music contrives to be even worse than that inanity suggests), there’s one by Wanda Jackson, and Jethro Tull and Joe Walsh both have songs with Alaska in the title. So here are two songs, the first one has some fine fluting, so it has to be The Tull:


And some fine bendy, twangy guitar in this cover version by Dwight Yoakam, far far superior to the Johnny Horton version:


There is an album by a bloke called Andy Miller, from Juneau, Alaska, called 15 Juneau Songs. Lots of out-of-tune plaintive wailing and whining,accompanied by a piano: It has not joined the collection.

It comes as no surprise to me that are no famous people born in Alaska. 

And that’s it. Another one next week.

CC writes:
Short and sweet this week from George for a pleasant change. I have the two Johnny Horton songs and Anchorage and this track from the If Looks Could Kill single:

Camera Obscura - Alaska

No blog tomorrow in attempt to get rid of the spammers
.

6 comments:

  1. Slow traffic today.
    I blame Jethro Tull

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    Replies
    1. You do realise that my mission is to lose you as many readers as possible........

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  2. If any one clicks on any of viviene's links let me know what happens. Especially if you are at work, say teaching a class........

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  3. Accidentally deleted Alison's comment when trying to get rid of the spammers

    Gosh CC, you really were bombarded yesterday which meant so were we! One of the pitfalls of having such a successful blog I suppose.

    As for this post, as ever I am impressed that George has got to states I never reached but my pick would have been Anchorage by Michelle Shocked - I still remember her performing it on that Friday tea-time show The Tube hosted by Jools and Paula Yates - long time ago that.

    I think we watched all the Northern Exposure episodes as we really enjoyed it and recorded and we might have missed on the VCR. Some really original characters in that one and some really original storylines like when the bar owner's young girlfriend could no longer speak but had to sing everything. Again, a long time ago.

    Hope you got rid of the spammers CC.

    Think they may have moved on now - sorry SA

    Thanks for all the helpful advise

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