Blue Notes

As lucky Kentucky fans, we find the world full of things to appreciate.  7 National Championships, 13 Final Fours, 3 straight number one recruiting classes, majestic Appalachia, and beautiful blue grass serve as great examples. However, if we dig a little deeper, we discover more than meets the eye/ear in our beautiful state and on our airwaves.

Let’s take some time to appreciate the commonwealth’s music, from past to present (along with some other tunage that may cause you to think of Big Blue):

*–The University of Kentucky Fight Song – What better way to start this list. On, On, U of K.

*–Bill Monroe – “Blue Moon of Kentucky” – In the Bluegrass State, there is no better musician to mention than the man given the majority of credit for developing bluegrass music. Bill Monroe and the “Blue Grass Boys” changed the world of music in their own manner. His mandolin stylings are a work of art that any UK fan can admire, as it represents a culture and tradition like no other in the country.

*–My Morning Jacket – “Lay Low”,  “Dondante”, and “One Big Holiday” – Yes, they are from Louisville, but we can’t hold that against them. This band melts your face while simultaneously hearkening back to their old Kentucky roots, which is a rare combination. The videos attest to the fact that they are one of greatest live acts performing in America today. Lead singer and state-wide hero, Jim James, attended the University of Kentucky for a short stint, in which he studied art.

*–Loretta Lynn – “Portland, Oregon” with Jack White – Everyone’s favorite ‘coal miner’s daughter’ will never leave the music consciousness of America, so she shouldn’t leave yours. Ironically, Terrence Jones is from Portland, of which Loretta croons about here. Rumor has it that TJ listens to this song before every game, ever since Bill Keightly’s ghost mysteriously uploaded the track to Jones’ iPod (sounds unbelievable on the Beats by Dre).

*–Cage the Elephant – “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” – As Beisner recently noted, these Bowling Green boys are making an even bigger name for themselves after experiencing nationwide success with this song. Supposedly, Rick Pitino and Steve Massielo inspired the ‘wicked’ aspect of this song after attempting to rob Cage the Elephant of their gear one night. The tussle started after lead singer, Matt Shultz, stole the two bleach blondes the evil Italian duo had their sights set on.

*–Montgomery Gentry – I can’t name one song by them, but I know they love UK, and that’s enough for me. These guys represent a vast majority of our fan base.

*–Prince – “Computer Blue” – The title says enough. I am currently on a computer, along with many of you. We bleed blue, often times while surfing the web. Prince’s stage presence is unbelievable, along with his music. He really reminds me of the singer in A Goofy Movie. Enjoy this masterpiece. Also, he wears the mask of the ‘lost’ Ninja Turtle, so that’s cool. (Bonus video of Kentucky band, Wax Fang, covering this song in full Prince regalia). This song title is also the answer to the question, “What happened when the Kansas fan tried to download a Samantha Ryan video?”

*–Elvis – “Blue Suede Shoes” – The world calls Elvis the ‘King of Rock and Roll’, and we recognize our university as the ‘king’ of college basketball. Elvis took the world by storm, just as the Wildcats have year after year, going down in the record books as the greatest college basketball program of all time (thanks, Jeff Sagarin). Also, anytime you mention the color blue, you have a better chance of being liked by UK fans.

*–Troop 41 – Do the John Wall – The video says it all. Choreography originally inspired by this.

*–Daniel Solzman – “Lazy Tuesday” – This is what happens when we UK fans get a hold of the world wide web… S. M. H.

*–Blue Oyster Cult – “Don’t Fear the Reaper” – This, obviously, was a band of rampant Cat fans. Or not. But they do have blue in their band name. Mostly, I am just looking for a reason to post this:

Feel free to add more options and ideas in the comment section. There will be further Blue Note posts that bring more sounds to the forefront for Kentucky fans to explore. Even sports fans needs a little music in their lives.

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