By Haley Walker
Nov. 16, 2009
(Editors note: Make your case for a Great Lakes song in the comments and we’ll update this map.)
Becoming a successful musician didn’t require Timothy Monger to move to Los Angeles or New York.
Brighton, a southeastern Michigan city of 6,000, is where he was first inspired. It is where he grew up and the place he stayed near. The dream of musical fame often pursued on the East and West coasts was not as great an influence as the Great Lakes – the Third Coast.
Michigan’s Keeweenaw Peninsula, childhood trips to lakes and a northern “mystique” he finds trouble putting into words inspire his music. Today, Monger shares these feelings with his brother and three other Michigan natives who perform as the folk rock band, the Great Lakes Myth Society.
They are not alone. A variety of new artists find that the Great Lakes make great lyrics.
“We didn’t have a penchant for classic love songs or social issues,” Monger said. “We just wanted to write about things we knew.”
The Great Lakes are an increasingly common muse for new artists, particularly in the indie and folk-rock genres. The 1976 Gordon Lightfoot song, the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which told the story of that tragic sinking in Lake Superior 34 years ago, is perhaps the most well-known Great Lakes song.
But in the map accompanying this story you’ll find 16 more recent songs or groups inspired by the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Myth Society’s 1999 album is titled H.O.M.E.S. after the acronym representing Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. The group’s lyrics are characterized by references to shipwrecks, maritime culture, sea shanties and even the sea lamprey – an invasive species.
“What was just a natural tendency, is now an intention and is part of our greater body of work,” Monger said.
They’re not alone.
The Canadian folk rock band, The Great Lake Swimmers, named their group in honor of their home region
“I grew up swimming in Lake Erie,” said Tony Dekker, the group’s lead singer. “I think the sort of natural and rural environment around the lakes is something I find very inspiring.”
Dekker and most of the band members are from Wainfleet, Ontario. The group represents its connection to the lakes in a variety of ways. “I think that there is a lot of water imagery running throughout our music and many environmental undertones,” Dekker said. “We try to have a respect for our natural environment, and being around the Great Lakes has been pivotal to that line of thinking.”
Regional inspiration is a growing theme with musicians, Monger said. “The goals are different now and you can have a career recording in your bedroom or a cabin in the woods. You can write about where you are from, and it is accepted.”
The Sufjan Stevens album cover of Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State.
In 2003, Sufjan Stevens, an indie folk musician from Detroit, released a 15-track CD titled Michigan. Each song recognizes the people, places and natural features of the state. Titles include, “Holland,” “Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie,” “The Upper Peninsula,” and “Tahquamenon Falls.”
The front cover of the album reads, “Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State.”
Stevens also released an album dedicated to the state of Illinois in 2005.
Indie artist Bon Iver recorded his first album in a remote cabin in Wisconsin for inspiration. His songs, “Flume” and “Brackett, WI” are two examples of his connection to his home state.
More than just the natives have recognized the appeal of the Great Lakes. California bands such as Rogue Wave and the Red House Painters have both written recently released songs referring to Lake Michigan.
Monger attributes the attention that the Great Lakes have received to a certain characteristic feeling of the region. He describes it as a combination of the “piney north,” the natural features and the people of the Midwest.
“Maybe it’s part of the globalization of art and music,” Monger said. “However, it’s home, and that is the mystique for me.”
(Editors note: Make your case for a Great Lakes song in the comments and we’ll update this map.)
(Map last updated Tuesday, November 17.)