Michigan is Cooler than You Thought, Pt. 1: It's About the Music

Sufjan Stevens is uncommonly cool for many reasons, but the main reason is because he hails from a little city known as Petoskey, MI. Petoskey is located near the most-northern tip of the mitten (also known as the lower peninsula.) Petoskey is known for its medical facilities, there is a popular ski resort nearby, and maintains a small-town charm.. There is not much to say about it other than that there are some really great, laid-back friendly people up there and I think it’s a pretty happy place to live. I believe Steven’s music reflects the nature of the Northern Michigan lifestyle very well. The second best reason that this musician is so uncommonly cool is that he recorded an entire album about Michigan! Go listen to “Say Yes! to Michigan!” and get inspired to plan a summer trip to come see our cherry orchards and glistening blue lakes.

Maybe you love her or maybe you hate her, but we can all agree on one thing: Madonna has definitely kept things interesting during the last 25 years of pop music history. Madonna grew up in Rochester Hills and I am going to have to brag about the fact that my brother-in-law went to high school with Madonna’s brother! Madonna herself was out of the house at this point, but come on, it’s still cool by association. The material girl’s father operates a winery up on the Leelanau peninsula in Northern Michigan. Madonna attended the dance program at the University of Michigan before she moved away to New York and made it big. I have reason to believe that Madonna has long since forgotten her Michigan routes, but she did make an appearance at this year’s Traverse City Film Festival. Frankly, I think her latest album is horrible and the last five or so have been hit or miss but I did have a Madonna cassette playing in my walkman just about every day during my 1980’s childhood.

Jack White is a rock music phenomenon. There is no doubt about that, and his wife Meg White isn’t so bad herself. Together they make The White Stripes, and I don’t think that Detroit could have produced any band more promising than this one. The unfortunate thing is that this lovely duo relocated to Nashville a few years ago, and I don’t know if many people realize that they originated in Detroit. Why they left I don’t know but I can say that they definitely raised the bar for local talent across all genres. 

Great Places for Live Music:

There is such an abundance of pure, heart-felt good music and talent that came out of this era that it is completely intimidating to attempt to write about it. If you saw the movie Dreamgirls then you got a glimpse into the career of Berry Gordy and the infamous songbird (Diana Ross) he made a star. Stevie Wonder (not necessarily motown, but I’m not sure), Aretha Franklin, and of course The Temptations all came out of Motown as well. But my favorite motown artist by far is Marvin Gaye. The feeling you get when he so poetically expresses either his dismay at social unrest or his lust for love is nothing short of chilling.

Like Madonna, Eminem is another one of those controversial Michigan artists who most people either love or hate. I can’t say that I love Eminem- I don’t own a single album of his or listen to his music on a regular basis. But I can’t deny that the guy’s got talent and I am always a bit intrigued by artists who are capable of creating such an emotional response in their listeners- whether it is the angst-ridden teens who idolize him, the nervous mothers who loathe him, or anyone in between who happened to think that 8 Mile was kind of a cool movie and can’t help but be moved by the hit “Lose Yourself.”

Held downtown near Hart Plaza, The Detroit Electronic Music Festival happens every year on Memorial Day weekend. Thousands of people will show up from all over the world to get sweaty and dance around together, or just head-bob along quietly to some of the more ambient sounds of the weekend. The festival began in 2000 and past line-ups have included Superpitcher, Richie Hawtin, Matthew Dear/Audion, Mark Farina and Moby.

Ann Arbor-based record company Ghostly International is continuously releasing more and more exciting new artists each year. They recently collaborated with the Adult Swim TV channel to produce Ghostly Swim, a free collection of songs from Ghostly artists, available at www.ghostly.com. The compilation is an eclectic mix and includes a good number of local Detroit and Ann Arbor-based artists, including Dabyre and Osborne. This past September Ghostly released Adrian Michna’s first full-length album, which is the most exciting album I’ve bought all year. Michna isn’t a local act but we have to thank Ghostly for picking him up and bringing him to us. Their Spectral label represents local techno darling Audion, who also produces music with a different sound under his real name, Matthew Dear.

He was born in Mississippi, and spent a lot of years in Memphis. He was a drifter and eventually drifted his way into Detroit, later in life. He took a job working at Ford Motor Company in 1948 and found himself a home in the Motor City. I love that in his music you can hear his Detroit influences mixing deliciously with his southern influences. “Boogie Chillen” is a classic and probably his most famous song.

More proof that Michigan-based bands come jam-packed with personality and unapologetic character. Really, it must be in the water.