Detour Ahead
As far as I was concerned we were heading to Massachusetts this week for the continuation of our auditory excursion for #threetunetuesday sponsored by @ablaze. Then I thought you know what, I better check the alphabetical list of states to make sure I am right and wouldn't you know it, I was totally wrong. Somehow along the way I had totally forgotten about the great state of Maryland. I'm not sure I have ever been to Maryland, and I don't really know too much about it besides the fact that they have probably one of the coolest state flags in the country.
In fact, I like their state flag so much that I used to have one hanging in my bedroom back when I had a bachelor pad. It covered up the dark wood paneling, so it was a vast improvement. It's not like I am from the state or I have any connection to it directly, I just thought it was a really cool flag. Look it up for yourself and see what you think.
So yeah, now you have to wait another week for a post about Massachusetts and instead this week you are going to get three songs that all have Maryland in the title or lyrics of the song. Besides the first song that I am going to share with you, this was a little harder than some of the other states I have done in the past. Additionally, I ran into a few surprises as I was doing my research for this post. You will have to wait a bit to see what that means exactly.
One day I hope to make it to this state, probably when @mrsbozz and I finally do that East coast trip that we have been talking about for a while now. I think she wants to see some of the bigger cities along the coast, but I am more of a small town guy. Plus, I haven't heard many good things about Baltimore, but who knows how accurate that is. After that aforementioned surprise I was talking about, it's possible there is a bit of bias involved in that stereotype.
It shouldn't be surprising to you that Counting Crows is one of the first bands that came to mind when I was trying to think if I knew any songs with the state of Maryland in the title or lyrics. The line from "St. Robinson in his Cadillac Dream" that specifically mentions Maryland is etched into my head pretty clearly. It's actually one of my favorite songs of theirs, if I had to pick some. Definitely in the top 25, probably not in the top 10, but it's still a really good song. Anyway, this one wasn't much of a stretch to find the reference.
It's pretty clear in the second verse or so and I feel like it fits really well.
I'm not ashamed to say that I am a huge fan of the show Ally McBeal. If you have never seen it, it was a lawyer show back in the 90's I think that mixed a bunch of different genres. If you took a tiny bit of The Office along with your average lawyer show, Sex and the City, and maybe a bit of Friends along with some awesome music, you would likely get Ally McBeal. In fact, the music was part of what made it so great, and Vonda Shepard was a key piece of that.
She never had a lot of commercial success beyond her title song for Ally McBeal, but as soon as I saw she had a song called Maryland, I knew I had to include her in this post. In fact, the video shares some scenes from the show as well. I have a feeling Ally McBeal hasn't aged well, but I haven't honestly gone back and watched too much of it. For a while it was really hard to find on DVD or basically any streaming platform. I think that has changed a bit now, but I don't know for sure.
It's one of those shows that I always say I want to go back and watch, but I never get around to it. Plus, I know there are some really heartbreaking moments in it that I am not sure I could handle a second time.
Finally, I am going to share with you the song "Seen It All" by Young Jeezy featuring Jay Z. You see, when I was looking for songs with Maryland in the title or lyrics, I couldn't find many traditional songs that fit the bill, but there were a ton of rap and hip hop songs that did. I never really realized that Maryland was such a hotbed for the hip hop scene, but apparently that must be the case.
The reference in this song is a bit into it, and it doesn't come until the part where Jay Z is rapping, but it is there. Right along with some references to crystal meth and some other stuff that you wouldn't be surprised to find in a rap song. I can't say as though I have ever heard this song before and while it certainly isn't my favorite of the three I shared here, it definitely meets the criteria of the post for today.
I hope you enjoy them! Next week we are definitely heading to Massachusetts, I promise!
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Nice post bro. I like how you caught the Maryland mix-up and still made it interesting. The part about you having the Maryland flag in your bachelor pad was interesting, and I agree it’s one of the coolest state flags out there. The Counting Crows reference stood out also. Well done bro for the good work.
Thank you,
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Don't know any of the music but yes Ally McBeal was a great show!