Songs: Ohia

Feb 4, 2009 at 12:18 AM
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Saw Chrissie Hynde play with her Pretenders last night at the 9:30. Not a lot to say about the show, except that she still rocks and she's about the only woman her age who pretty much looks today like she did in the 1970s. Maybe it's all the veggies she eats. I dunno.

The Pretenders didn't play "Middle of the Road." And they didn't play "My City Was Gone," a song about paving old farms and putting up parking lots in Ohio. It got me thinking about songs that either feature Ohio in the title or have lyrics about Ohio. The Jayhawks have a song about making calls from "deep in Ohio." A Modest Mouse song repeats the name of the state over and over again. Liz Phair shoehorns it into a rhyme about Cinco De Mayo. I'm just scratching the surface. Don't make me raise the specter of Les Nessman, livin' on the air in Cincinnati, WKRP. What gives? Why so many songs about Ohio? Here's another to add to the list:

I am obsessed this week with Sun Kil Moon's Carry Me Ohio, and Mark Kozelek's lyrics specifically.

Carry Me , Ohio - Sun Kil Moon

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2 posts in one day. Putting some of us to shame.

I try, I try. I plan to exploit a weakness in Rock Club...

What are we doing up? You should be in bed. I should be in bed. We should be in bed.

Do or do not.

Bed? Yes. You are smrt.

By some stroke of awesomeness, did they play "Mystery Achievement" or "Night In My Veins"?

Do not dis Les Nessman. The man is a FIVE-TIME winner of the Buckeye Newshawk Award.

It's probably because:

a) it represents a certain narrow-minded Middle America mentality to many people (whether or not that's accurate); and
b) it rhymes real good.

And this, of course.

Sadly, no.

FS, my lasting memory of that song is a group of people who tried to get a chant going of "four dead in O-HI-O" during the OU time change "riots" of the late 90s. Because, you know, they fired rubber bullets at us. You must love a state school...

And I would never dis the late great Les Ness, winner of the Buckeye Newshawk Award.

I've never cared for the Pretenders. My negative feelings toward them stem entirely from the video for "I'll Stand By You" which (if I remember correctly) featured Chrissie Hynde engaging in the sensual art of foot washing. I accidentally saw the band open for the Who a couple years back. They were a lot better than I thought they'd be, but I still wouldn't want more than a half hour of them. They played both of the songs you mentioned...and "Brass in Pocket", which was the only other Pretenders song I knew going in.

Lambchop's new album is called OH (ohio) and Scott Walker has a song called "The Lights of Cincinnati". And let's not forget Will Oldham's "Ohio River Boat Song". I like that one.

"I'll Stand By You" is a terrible song...curse you for putting it in my head.

Songs: Ohia

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