Vote the Lips in ’08
The state Senate unanimously approved today House Concurrent Resolution 1047, which will allow the people of Oklahoma to choose the state’s official rock ‘n’ roll song.
”This resolution truly promotes and celebrates the history and influence of music in Oklahoma,” said Sen. John Ford, Senate author of the resolution, who represents Craig, Nowata and Washington Counties, in a news release. ”What’s really exciting is that the public will be able to nominate their favorite tunes and choose from the finalists to select our official rock and roll song.”
People can go online to www.oklahomarocksong.org to submit their nominees. According to the site, any song written or performed by an Oklahoman is eligible.
Apparently, they do really mean any, since the nominees list already includes such rocking tracks as Woody Guthrie’s “Oklahoma Hills,” Vince Gill’s “Oklahoma Swing” and Merle Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee.”
Um, guys, wake up and smell the genre. None of those are rock songs. According to the release, the state already has an official folk song and an official country and western song. So, we don’t need our rock song to cross over into those categories.
The release says that the Oklahoma History Center will celebrate the state’s rock heritage in an exhibit called “Another Hot Oklahoma Night,” scheduled to open in 2009. Under HCR 1047, the Oklahoma Historical Society will host www.oklahomarocksong.org and have polling locations at special events and the History Center.
People can nominate their favorite ROCK songs (Apparently, the emphasis is indeed necessary) on the site until August, when a panel of experts selected by the governor, legislative leaders, the Oklahoma Film and Music Commission and the Oklahoma Historical Society will pare the nominations to 10 finalists.
The public will get to vote from Sept. 1 to Nov. 15 on the official Oklahoma rock ‘n’ roll song, which will be presented to the legislature in ’09.
Several songs by Oklahoma City’s own Flaming Lips have already made the nomination list. Other worthy nominees include Wanda Jackson, Leon Russell, All-American Rejects and Three Dog Night.
But I have to agree with my colleague, George Lang, who has already begun championing this song on his StaticBlog:
Be sure to nominate your favorite ROCK song and vote this fall.
-BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
I love this song… I’ll vote right now.