Soundtrack Update

It's time to add some more songs to this thing.

The Giant of Illinois - by Andrew Bird

This song is part of a compilation album released just this week titled Dark Was The Night. The compilation is a benefit for the Red Hot Organization – "an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture." The album was produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National.

You can listen to The Giant of Illinois, plus a couple other songs I like from the album, just because I can, on this customizable (cool) widget.



Uff Dah Minnesota - by Roy Holdren

This is one my mom sent me. It's a silly country parody. I found it online here.

Roy Holdren's website

The soundtrack listing to date:
The playlist so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (or Heavy D & the Boyz)
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
An Ear For Baby - The Thermals
Minneapolis - That Dog
Minnesota - The Push Stars
Minnesota - The Mountain Goats
Say Shh... - Atmosphere
We Got as Far as Minnesota - Kind of Like Spitting
Minnesota Moon - The Big Wu
Minnesota - Northern Light
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead
Big Fish - 3 Minute Hero
Spin The Globe - Reel Big Fish
Please Come Back - Catfish Haven
Fishing For a Dream - Turin Brakes
Big Chair - Travis
Tallest Building in Hell - by Jared Mees & the Grown Children
The World at Large - by Modest Mouse
The Giant of Illinois - by Andrew Bird
Uff Dah Minnesota - by Roy Holdren

The Soundtrack

The World at Large - by Modest Mouse

The World at Large comes off of Modest Mouse's breakthrough album "Good News for People Who Love Bad News". It's included in my Big Stuff Soundtrack listing for obvious reasons; 1)the word "large" in the title and 2)I like Modest Mouse. You can hear the song on their MySpace page if you know how to use the new fancy music player with the playlists and such. You can also listen to it once for free on LaLa. Or you can watch it performed live on what appears to be Austin City Limits below.



You can see the other songs on the soundtrack by clicking the little soundtrack label at the bottom or way over on the left.

The Soundtrack: Tallest Building in Hell

I think it's about time I added another song to the Big Stuff soundtrack.

Tallest Building in Hell - by Jared Mees & the Grown Children

I've never been to hell, but I would imagine that the tallest building there would be rather big. Right? I mean, they do have cheap labor for all eternity down there, so that's not an obstacle.

Regardless, the song's pretty good and with the use of a superlative like tallest, it's good enough to make this list.

The song is currently up on their myspace page.

You can see the other songs on the soundtrack by clicking the little soundtrack label at the bottom or way over on the left.

Soundtrack: Big Chair

It's time to add another song to the growing Big Stuff Soundtrack. The newest addition is "Big Chair" by Travis (it's a band, not just 1 guy). It makes perfect sense for the soundtrack, plus we've already been to a big chair.

Here is a YouTube video of the song. Well it's not so much a video as it is the lyrics of the song as the song plays.


The song is also currently up at their MySpace page.

The playlist so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (or Heavy D & the Boyz)
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
An Ear For Baby - The Thermals
Minneapolis - That Dog
Minnesota - The Push Stars
Minnesota - The Mountain Goats
Say Shh... - Atmosphere
We Got as Far as Minnesota - Kind of Like Spitting
Minnesota Moon - The Big Wu
Minnesota - Northern Light
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead
Big Fish - 3 Minute Hero
Spin The Globe - Reel Big Fish
Please Come Back - Catfish Haven
Fishing For a Dream - Turin Brakes
Big Chair - Travis

Minnesota Map Update...and more

I added three new attractions to the Minnesota Big Stuff Project map thanks to a tip from fellow Flickrite, anglerove. He stopped at these attractions on a recent fishing trip to Baudette. The new additions are:

Bald Eagle - Remer, MN
Muskie - Deer River, MN
Giant Canada Goose - Squaw Lake, MN

I also added an attraction to the Iowa map. Thanks to advcomp2019 who informed me about it in the comments for my post on the Princeton Happy Chef. There is a head of a Happy Chef on a hill somewhere near Turin, IA

I am going to take this opportunity to add a song by Turin Brakes (I know, if it were Breaks then it would be perfect) to the soundtrack. I didn't know which song to pick, so I am going with Fishing For A Dream, partly because I can post a video and partly because of the whole fish thing.



The playlist so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (or Heavy D & the Boyz)
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
An Ear For Baby - The Thermals
Minneapolis - That Dog
Minnesota - The Push Stars
Minnesota - The Mountain Goats
Say Shh... - Atmosphere
We Got as Far as Minnesota - Kind of Like Spitting
Minnesota Moon - The Big Wu
Minnesota - Northern Light
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead
Big Fish - 3 Minute Hero
Spin The Globe - Reel Big Fish
Please Come Back - Catfish Haven
Fishing For a Dream - Turin Brakes



There are links to all the maps on the left.

International Spotlight

I realize that I haven't been posting as often. I will try to change that. It takes a little more time and effort to research for posts about "Fallen Heroes" or music than it does for posts about places we have visited, because, for the stuff we have visited, I have done most of the research beforehand. We are working on plans for a little Big Stuff trip in March, so stay tuned folks. I also would like some more variety than Fallen Heroes, music, music, Fallen Heroes, and the occasional map in my posts between visits. That brings me to my newest addition, International Spotlight.

I will be featuring various big stuffs from outside of the U.S. We aren't the only ones that love big stuff. Just look to our north. Canadians are quite big stuff crazy. While a lot of these posts may come from Canada, there are other nations as well that enjoy their big stuff like Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. So let's get it started.

Chuck the Channel Cat
Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada


Photo by ehmeelu

Chuck is a catfish, is 25 feet tall, and was built in 1986 out of fiberglass. Chuck was built in an attempt to promote tourism to the town. Selkirk is located just north of Winnipeg on the Red River. Selkirk is also home to a large ox cart. Crookston, MN claims to have the World's Largest Ox Cart. The World's Largest Catfish is also on the Red River in Whapeton, ND.



Time for a perfect cross-over post. I am going to add a song to the soundtrack list. I had meant to include it in the fish theme post, but forgot to, and it ties in perfectly with this post.

Please Come Back - by Catfish Haven

The band name alone warrants a spot on the soundtrack. Plus, they are pretty good, so I couldn't deny them. I chose this song because I'm sure the towns that build big stuff would like you to come back again for another visit. I also considered Crazy for Leaving. This is the perfect cross-over post because of the fish theme of the last music post, the catfish thing, and the fact that Catfish Haven are signed to the Simply Canadian record label (even though they are from Chicago).

You can hear both of these songs at Catfish Haven's MySpace page.

The Soundtrack: Fish Tales

There are a lot of oversized fish on the dockett for The Big Stuff Project. We have not been to any yet, but they are out there and they are numerous. Here are some fish themed songs/bands for your Big Stuff mix.

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - by Radiohead

Radiohead just released a new album, In Rainbows, in October, you may have heard of it, where you could buy the download for whatever price you wanted. The CD is now available in stores. I really like this album. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" is one of the songs off of it.



You can listen to the song on Radiohead's MySpace page.

Big Fish - by 3 Minute Hero

3 Minute Hero was/is a ska band out of Moorhead, MN. It's unclear to me whether or not they are actually still playing together. You can hear some of their other songs at their MySpace page.

Spin the Globe - by Reel Big Fish

No fish theme is complete without Reel Big Fish. Reel Big Fish is another ska band. Their biggest hit was the song "Sell Out". They have also written such classics as "Everything Sucks", "Beer", "I Want Your Girlfriend to Be My Girlfriend Too", and "Why Do All Girls Think They're Fat". "Spin The Globe" is their most appropriate song for this compilation. They have a lot of music and videos on their MySpace page.

The playlist so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (or Heavy D & the Boyz)
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
An Ear For Baby - The Thermals
Minneapolis - That Dog
Minnesota - The Push Stars
Minnesota - The Mountain Goats
Say Shh... - Atmosphere
We Got as Far as Minnesota - Kind of Like Spitting
Minnesota Moon - The Big Wu
Minnesota - Northern Light
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead
Big Fish - 3 Minute Hero
Spin The Globe - Reel Big Fish

The Soundtrack: Another Song About Minnesota

My mother has informed me that Northern Light had recorded "Minnesota" and that it reached #88 on the top 100 in 1975. You can listen to the song here. There is some other information about the group on that page too. Apparently, they have been inducted into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame.



The playlist so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (or Heavy D & the Boyz)
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
An Ear For Baby - The Thermals
Minneapolis - That Dog
Minnesota - The Push Stars
Minnesota - The Mountain Goats
Say Shh... - Atmosphere
We Got as Far as Minnesota - Kind of Like Spitting
Minnesota Moon - The Big Wu
Minnesota - Northern Light

The Soundtrack: Minnesota

I decided to include some songs about (sometimes loosely) Minnesota. Here are a few that I like.

Minneapolis - by That Dog

A song by this now defunct Los Angeles indie band about a long distance relationship. The guy is from Minneapolis, she is not. I found a fan video posted on their MySpace page. They also drop the name of the Duluth indie band Low in the song.

Here is the direct link to the video.

Minnesota - by The Push Stars

A fun, upbeat song. The best audio I could find is this incomplete live radio clip. If you really want to hear the song for free and don't mind watching a photo slideshow of kids you don't know, you can search for it on Youtube. There is a senior video from some Catholic school that starts with this song.

Minnesota - by The Mountain Goats

I really like this song. Unfortunately, I can only find 30 second sound clips of it on sites like Amazon.com.

Say Shh... - by Atmosphere

Minneapolis's Atmoshpere, masters of DIY indie hip-hop, "wanted to make a song about where they're from". Say Shh... is a tribute to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the whole Midwest.

Here is a live video from a performance at First Avenue.


There is another one here and a decent fan video here, although he cut off the end of the song.

We Got As Far As Minnesota - by Kind of Like Spitting

All I have for this one is an Amazon sound clip. You can listen to other songs at his/their MySpace page.

Minnesota Moon - by The Big Wu

The Big Wu were a Minneapolis jam band. They have a live version of Minnesota Moon on their MySpace.

Soundtrack: Two for the Price of One

I haven't been posting as frequently lately, so I am going to add two songs to the soundtrack list today.

Such Great Heights - by The Postal Service

Because big stuff are tall. And because it's a great song. Yes, it is the song from the UPS commercials, but try to get past that. It was a great song years before UPS got a hold of it.

You can hear it on their MySpace page.
The music video:


Some great covers:
Iron & Wine (set to a video someone put together)
Ben Folds


An Ear For Baby - The Thermals

After listening to The Thermals for a while, you may decide you would rather worship Rocky Taconite than God, that is if you are Christian. The Thermals write some politically and religiously (can't really seem to have one without the other) charged music. I chose The Thermals mostly because I like them and also because I can justify it based on my very loose guidelines. The song "An Ear For Baby" had the best title for the soundtrack. Exhibit A. World's Largest Ear of Corn For Baby?

You can hear other songs by The Thermals on their MySpace.

A live performance at NYU of "I Might Need For You To Kill" and "An Ear For Baby". "An Ear For Baby" starts at about 2:19.


The list so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (or Heavy D & the Boyz)
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
An Ear For Baby - The Thermals

The Soundtrack: Appropriate Band Names

I have found a few bands with names that are perfect for a mix like this. Unfortunately, I haven't found any songs by them that I care for enough to include on my list. But, if you are playing along at home, you may want to check these bands out. They are three bands from three different genres.

Big In Iowa - It is a perfect name for this mix. They have a honky-tonk sound and I'm not really a honky-tonk guy. They have some audio clips on their website. Oh, and they are from Ohio, not Iowa.

Giant's Chair - Ideal for visiting a giant chair. They classify themselves as an emo band. You can hear some of their songs on their MySpace page.

I, Colossus - These guys are a Minneapolis band with an electronica/indie/folk rock type of sound. I may change my mind about these guys with more listens. Their MySpace page.

The Soundtrack: Mr. Big Stuff

Mr. Big Stuff - by Jean Knight

I'm sure most of you know this one. I guess it's a classic. I think we all know what it's about too, Oreo cookies.



Here's a terrible video someone made to Mr. Big Stuff. I mean it's terrible. For some people it might be can't look terrible, others train wreck terrible, and yet for others hilarious terrible.

Here's something for you straight out of 1986. I don't know about you, but I could go for a Coke.

The list so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady
Mr. Big Stuff - by Jean Knight (or Heavy D & the Boyz)

The Soundtrack: The Hold Steady

Stevie Nix - by The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady are my favorite band right now, so I just had to find a way to fit them in. In their song Stevie Nix they reference the Thunderbird with the line "The carpet at the Thunderbird has a burn for every cowboy that got fenced in." That's good enough for me!

The Hold Steady are based in Brooklyn, NY but they have very strong ties with the Twin Cities, which is evident in their music. The lead singer, Craig Finn, is from Edina and played with guitarist Tad Kublar (of Janesville, WI) in their former band, Minneapolis's Lifter Puller. I believe the keyboardist, Franz, is also from Minneapolis.

theholdsteady.com
The Hold Steady on MySpace
Stevie Nix performed Live at First Avenue
The Hold Steady live might not be for everybody. Plus, his voice is extra scratchy in this video.

The list so far:
Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - Weird Al Yankovic
Stevie Nix - The Hold Steady

The Soundtrack of Our Big Stuff

Besides being totally dorky about these big things, I'm a little bit of a music dork too. And being a music dork, I make theme cd's from time to time, like a math & stats mix (since I'm a statistical analyst) and a pharmacy mix for my wife and a few ultimate frisbee mixes over the years, so I can't help myself but to make one about big stuff. I figure I have some time to build such a soundtrack, so I'll post a song or a band/artist here and there that have some sort of connection to big stuff. When I say "some sort of connection" I mean anything at all, no matter how thin, that I can construe to a relationship with this theme. Heck, I might even end up posting something that I am just really into at the moment. I'll try to avoid that though. I will also try my best to link to a myspace page or band website so you can at least hear something by the band, even if it isn't the song I posted about.

I'll start this list with the big obvious song that is actually about one of the big stuffs.

Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota - by Wierd Al Yankovic

There is a Youtube video of him performing it live HERE. He doesn't start singing it until about the 2:20 mark and I don't think they got the whole thing.
Somebody made a pretty good scrapbook type video for this song HERE.