SING THE STATES #19: Indiana

This is a very special post in our SING THE STATES series. You see, on Friday I'll be moving away from Utah forever, and after spending a month in Europe with only my wife and a backpack, I'll be moving to our new home... in Indiana!

So you can see why this is a big deal.

Indiana was the 19th state to the Union, and of the lower 48, Indiana is the smallest state west of the Appalachians. Indiana is pretty well known for its sports traditions - the Indianapolis 500, the Indianapolis Colts (NFL), the Indiana Pacers (NBA). According to wikipedia, "Residents of Indiana are known as Hoosiers. Although many stories are told, the origin of the term is unknown". The mystery! I can't wait!

Considered the "Cross Roads of America", Indiana has more miles of Interstate Highway per square mile than any other state. Its name means "Land of the Indians", even though there are less than 8,000 Native Americans living there today. And did you know that the Saturday Evening Post is published in Indianapolis? I sure didn't.

To be honest, I've only been to Indiana once, and that was only for a weekend. I really don't know what to expect, but a lot of my feelings can be summed up in this post by my wife (especially the part about the popsicles everywhere). It's going to be an adventure. And to celebrate, Indiana is the only state so far that gets two tracks awarded it. One is Tom Waits' "Gun Street Girl" because it was on my original list and I love it. The other is "Indiana" by the absolutely fantastic Cymbals Eat Guitars, because I couldn't not post such a great song. Look for more on them soon. Viva la Indiana!

Also considered: Tom Petty - Mary Jane's Last Dance; Sonny Marshall - South Bend, Indiana

mp3: Tom Waits - Gun Street Girl
from the album Rain Dogs (Amazon/iTunes)


mp3: Cymbals Eat Guitars - Indiana
from the album Why There Are Mountains (Amazon/iTunes)


Check out the rest of our SING THE STATES posts!