50 States/50 Bands: South Dakota to Wyoming

Suffering from insomnia one night, a vision came to me. It was, of course, not particularly useful. It was a vision of me recommending a musical act from each of the 50 states. More motivated than I have been in years, I sat down and hammered it out. Eons came and went. Civilizations rose and fell. Now I'm ready to share my baby with the world in five easy to digest posts. Naturally, the list reflects my own personal biases, so bring on the arguments. In some cases, there was no band or artist I liked from a particular state, and you can generally tell which ones those are.

Those download recommendations with an * can be heard on TMS Radio - so tune in and have a go.

*Note - TMS Radio appears to be fucked at the moment. These will be uploaded at a later time.

South Dakota - Native American Indian Elder Joseph Flying Bye - Thunder Matt would listen to this if he were into Native American music, which I’m sure he is.

*Download - The Night is Sacred

Tennessee - Isaac Hayes - Hello Children, I’m a scientologist loon.

Download - Chocolate Salty Balls

Texas - Willie Nelson - Where is this guy’s Realm of the Red? Willie credits pot with saving his life.

*Download - Pancho and Lefty

Utah - The Used - Ah yes, the unbathed, foul mouthed products of Mormon oppression. Take a look at the lead singer and think twice before you force your son to go to church against his will.

*Download - The Taste of Ink

Vermont - JoJo - Who? 17 years old and more accomplished than I will ever be. What a bitch.

Download - Too Little, Too Late (if you really must)

Virginia - Missy Elliot - The only big time rapper on the list. There are better ones, but they have the misfortune of hailing from states that had better music to offer.

*Download - Work It

Washington - Nirvana - The band that almost single handedly resurrected rock after the synthesizer era deserves a place in any serious music fan’s collection. Did you know Kurt Cobain killed himself?

*Download - Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam

West Virginia - Brad Paisley - One of the other decent modern country artists I mentioned in an earlier post. Old school style, but modern subject matter.

*Download - You Need a Man Around Here

Wisconsin - Garbage - Sure the singer is Scottish, but the band formed in Wisconsin. Its for the best, the backup candidate was Liberace.

*Download - #1 Crush

Wyoming - Chris Ledoux - Wyoming is a beautiful state, but a dry hole musically. Rodeo star/country musician Chris Ledoux lived there for awhile. He died.

*Download - Western Skies