Kansas...The Land of Ah's

Prolific singer-songwriter and 50-state balladeer Sufjan Stevens has just released his follow-up to the great Illinois titled The Avalanche, consisting of outtakes and extras from the Land of Lincoln. Though I am excited by the prospect of listening to his latest effort, this release begs the question "Why not devote your creative energy to Kansas?" An album about The Sunflower State (or Jayhawker State) would be a nice addition to his "50 States" project. I even have a title for him, courtesy of a late eighties initiative to promote the state (tough to do when you're sandwiched between Missouri and Colorado), which simultaneously pokes fun of and embraces it's Wizard of Oz imagery. Who wouldn't buy an album titled "Kansas...The Land of Ah's"? The promotion even created controversy when the state of Connecticut tried to rip off the slogan. Typical of the East Coast to try to impose it's supposed superiority over anything west of Appalachia. Who knew that state tourism boards could be so cutthroat? But, I digress.

The point is Kansas would provide a far superior backdrop for Sufjan's music to anything else he's done. I have a few suggestions that could help ease the burden of research and produce voluminous material for the album. For instance, John Brown and Ossawatomie. Everyone's favorite abolitionist created quite a stir on the prairie when he decided to take the law into his own hands and punish those mean pro-slavery ruffians living on the wrong side of the Kansas border. Massacre and mayhem always provide good fodder. Other interesting characters include temperance queen and axe-wielder Carrie Nation. Or perhaps a sad ballad about Amelia Earhart and her doomed flight. I mean, there are dozens and dozens of Kansans to sing about. But please, no songs about BTK. Sufjan already explored that territory on Illinois with John Wayne Gacy.

Plenty of cities to choose from, too. Imagine riding along with windows down, a summer breeze blowing through the Flint Hills to the tune of Wichita, Air Capital of the World!!! Or maybe an homage to the State Capital. Or maybe a little ditty about my hometown, Augusta. There are plenty of oddities in some of these towns such as The Garden of Eden in Lucas. It's not the Taj Mahal, but does involve a husband's strange devotion to his dead wife.

In other words, the possibilities are endless. I'm barely scratching the surface. I could quite possibly spend the next several weeks writing about everything that could and should be sung about the 34th state. There are buffalo roaming and a rich Native American history, cattle drives and cowtowns, and much much more. All the elements are there to create a rich tapestry of history that values the prairie as an inspirational mecca. Sufjan should consider this an introduction to what surely would be his next masterpiece, perhaps the crowning achievement and creative pinnacle of his career. Consider this. Consider Kansas.