Day 29: Reflections on States and Songs

It warmed my heart greatly to see the comment that Amy Ellison posted on yesterdays blog.  From the time I was 10 till I was about 18 our families would go up to Hubbard Lake and vacation for a week in a group of cabins sitting on the edge of the lake, and those memories are incredibly precious to me.  The goal of the song was to try and capture the experience of growing up in Michigan and the connection that one can feel with the land.  I remember growing up and my parents would call the trees in our backyard my "best friends" because of how much time I spent under their branches and climbing their magnificent trunks.  I'm sure many people have these experience where they grow up, but there is something uniquely romantic about Michigan.

Because of this, I love music that connects with the state.  I remember I fell in love with my wife all over again when we went to Michigan for the first time and were listening to Sufjan Steven's "Michigan" CD on a long drive and she said that she didn't fully understand or appreciate the CD until she listened to it in Michigan.  I also remember listening to that CD when driving up to Hubbard Lake the last year we went and my friend Adam went with Josh and I.  On the way we showed that CD to Adam for his first time and I remember him saying, "Woah...this sounds like Michigan...that's incredible!" 

This sounds like Michigan. Amazing.