Midwest music mix list #2: Ohio

Ohio has an amazingly diverse musical scene, with artists everywhere from Doris Day to Marilyn Manson having at least some sort of Ohio connection.

So, here the first in what I hope to be a series of Midwest music mix lists featuring music from, and about, the Buckeye state.

• Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be Will Be)-My mom and two of her sisters once sang together as a trio, and I remember this as being one of the songs they occasionally sang together when I was quite young. Cincinnati-born Doris Day began singing with Big Bands during the late 1930s, moving on to a career as a movie and television star, and becoming well known for her animal welfare activism. This particular song debuted in a 1956 movie, The Man Who Knew Too Much, starring Doris Day and James Stewart.
  
• Sweet Dreams are Made of This-Marilyn Manson (born Brian Hugh Warner in Canton, Ohio) did his own unique cover of this early 1980s Eurythmics song. Manson's cover of it in the mid-1990s, and accompanying  video, left the dreamy synthesizers and harmonies of the original Eurythmics' track far behind in the wake of a nightmarish world that certainly didn't inspire serene sleep!
  
• Cannonball-The travels of a cannonball throughout the video for this song from The Breeders always fascinated me, although I don't think it had a lot to do with the lyrics. Dayton-born twins Kim and Kelley Deal were part of the foursome who hit with this 1993 song.
  
• Lonely Boy-This is a cut from the latest album from Akron's Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, a.k.a. The Black Keys. The band seems to be all over the place lately, including on the cover of the  Rolling Stone magazine in January of this year.
  
• A Little Bit O' Soul-This is a great 1960s garage rock track from The Music Explosion of Galion, Ohio. The band was basically a one-hit wonder, but the song has lived on in covers by the likes of The Ramones and in sampled bits by 2 Live Crew.
  
• Go All the Way-This is one of the best known songs from Cleveland's early 1970s "power pop" band, the Raspberries. The group took a lot of its inspirations from the 1960s British Invasion bands and had a clean-cut image that appealed to young fans.
  
• All By Myself-The Raspberries broke up in 1975, and the band's vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Eric Carmen found himself...well... all by himself. I can't say I particularly care for this track, but it makes sense in a listing following the Raspberries hit above, don't you think?
  
• Cleveland Rocks-Cleveland took Englishman Ian Hunter to heart when he performed there, so he has a special affection for the town. Hunter said that folks often made fun of the city years ago, saying that it wasn't cool like Los Angeles or New York City. Hunter begged to differ and wrote this song for a city he said had a lot of heart. A 1997 cover version of the song by Seattle band The Presidents of the United States of America served as the opening of Cleveland comedian Drew Carey's television sit-com set in Cleveland. Carey, incidentally, is quite the music fan and has a monthly radio show on Sirius XM Radio's "Underground Garage" channel.
  
• Vanilla Twilight-This is another track that doesn't come from an Ohio musician, but the video of this song from Minnesota singer-songwriter and electronica multi-instrumentalist Adam Young under the moniker Owl City prominently features one of my favorite places in Ohio. Shots of Lake Erie's Marblehead lighthouse open the video, which also features one-time Cleveland Cavalier, basketball great Shaquille O'Neal (who incidentally just earned his doctorate in Education earlier this month, earning a 3.8 GPA in the process!).
  

Be sure to check out my first Midwest music mix list focusing on Michigan music and artists.

Are there other Midwest songs/artists you feel I should check out to include on a future Midwest music mix list?

© Dominique King 2012 All rights reserved

Comments

[Roger Barker]

I knew this was going to be a great post, and it certainly lived up to my expectations! How can you go wrong when the first two selections reflect such amazing diversity: Doris Day and Marilyn Manson?

Of course, we all know Cleveland rocks. But all of Ohio is filled with great sounds all year long. Be sure to check out www.DiscoverOhio.com for great music venues, festivals and events taking place throughout the state.

Thanks,
Roger

[Nicole at Arrows Sent Forth]

Well, of course I'd vote for an Indiana list! Anything Mellancamp, naturally. Small Town and Pink Houses always seem particularly inspired by his life growing up in Seymour, Indiana. I also love "Back to Indiana" by the Elms. I have no idea the history of the song or if they have any ties to the state, but it's one of my favorites to run to. And Michael Jackson, too!

[Dominique King]

Roger-Glad you liked this one :)
I should have at least enough to do one more Ohio music mix list at some later date.

Nicole-Thanks for the Indiana suggestions! How could I forget that Michael Jackson was from Gary? I had I've got Mellancamp on my list already...and I'll be sure to check out The Elms.

[Jools Stone]

Cannonball- such an indie disco classic! Had no idea they were from the Mid West. Black Keys rock too, big time. Not so sure about Ms Manson & Day though, but each to their own! :)
I'd also add Chris Bathgate from Ann Arbor (oh, but is that Michigan though?), a sadly underrated folky rocker, somwhere between Ray LaMontagne, and Bonnie Prince Billy. Kings of swoony, string drenched country-soul, Lambchop, (from Nashville) released an album called (Oh) Ohio recently. I've not listened to it much yet.
Great stuff all round, there should be more msuic n travel overlap blog posts out there!

[Dominique King]

Jools-I always liked Cannonball! It was one of the first ones I thought of when putting together this particular list.
Added Bathgate and Lambchop to my lists as possibilities for future Midwest music mix lists (yes, there will definitely be more!). Minnesota and Indiana look like the most likely lists I'll do next--probably in a month or so. And there will be at least one more Michigan list, and one more Ohio list sometime later :)