This is not Oregon

When I was planning the trip for our 15th wedding anniversary, Portland Oregon was on the short list of places @mrsbozz and I were thinking about visiting. I had been talking to someone who lives out that way, and he mentioned that the area isn't quite what it used to be. It seems that is the case with a lot of places these days. We eventually ended up going to Burlington Vermont which had its own share of problems, but I'd still like to get over to Oregon one day.

That being said, I have no photos to share with you of Oregon for this #threetunetuesday post sponsored by @ablaze. Instead, you are going to have to settle for Vermont photos which I will probably use again when we actually get to Vermont as we work our way alphabetically through the states in our great union.

It was a cool rainy day in Vermont when I took these photos, which I think probably fits in well with that whole Pacific Northwest vibe that you often hear about. Whether or not that is really the case about it being rainy and dreary, I'll let others speak to that. I don't know about you, but I kind of feel like this series has been going on forever. The truth is, it hasn't even been a year yet, but it feels like five.

I'm not complaining. I'm just saying, this series has been a bit more of an endeavor than I initially imagined it to be. As we move out of the "O's" today and usher in the remaining states in future weeks, I'm wondering how hard it will be to find new material to share once the states are all done. Probably not much harder than finding three songs with Oregon in the title or lyrics has been.

Actually, Oregon wasn't too bad. I'm not sharing any of them with you today, but believe it or not, there is a rap song for just about every state. A multitude of rap songs actually. It's impressive the way rap artists work geography into many of their rhymes. You should check it out sometime.

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Steely Dan is no stranger to this series I have been doing for around 40 weeks now. In fact, "Don't Take Me Alive" might not even be a stranger to this blog. Then again, I could be wrong. I would have loved to see Steely Dan in concert while Walter Becker was still alive. I'd still go see Donald Fagan, but it's not quite the same.

This video was recorded at Pine Knob Amphitheatre which is quite familiar to me. In fact, I was just there a couple weekends ago to see a couple artists with @mrsbozz. The funny thing about this song, is up until yesterday when I was doing the research for this post, I never actually realize they were saying Oregon in the chorus of the song.

If you listen to the studio version, it doesn't really sound like Oregon due to the way Fagan says it. Of course now that I know what he is saying, I can't really hear it any other away, but I seriously though he was saying something like "Aragon" up until now.

I was this many days old when I learned it was "Oregon".

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I'm not sure if I have ever shared a Grateful Dead song in this series, but here we are. "Pride of Cucamonga" fits the bill perfectly. It isn't right away, but if you listen closely, you will hear the reference to Oregon in the song. It's actually right at the beginning of the second verse. Given my age, I was never really into The Dead, I was a bit more of a Phish fan, but I do appreciate the Grateful Dead and I wouldn't shut them off if they came on the radio. Though if it was on the radio the song would probably be Touch of Gray, which is probably one of their most famous songs for a variety of reasons.

In any event, if you are a Dead Head, you should really enjoy this selection.

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Al Stewart is a bit of an interesting fellow to me. Up until today, I never really knew much of his work beyond "Time Passages", and "The Year of the Cat". Being able to share "Katherine of Oregon" with you is a surprise for me probably as much as it is for you. It's not that I never assumed Stewart had more material out there. It's possible he was even quite popular outside of the few hits he had in the states, but I just never really dug into him.

I think what I find most interesting about Stewart is his voice. I think it's the sort of lisp that gets me. All that being said, it's cool to see that he was still performing as often as 2011. I might have to give him a second look.

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Finally, I'm going to give you a bonus this week with Kacey Musgraves "My House". I still remember when Kacey released one of her first singles back in they day. There was something about her that was very different. I wanted to say ahead of her time initially, but I think it actually fits more into a wise beyond her years sort of thing. This is actually one of her more upbeat songs, which is different from her songs that have become hits over the years. Her big hits are more mellow, slow, and methodical. I think what I love about Musgraves the most is her song writing ability. She's just amazing. If you don't believe me, check out her latest hit "Dry Spell". It's just clever and amazing in so many ways.