Is Built to Spill the best thing to come out of Idaho?
Spencer, Idaho
Spence let's be honest. I know that you live in Chicago, that you don't own a car, you only own one sweatshirt and that you really like the word, "urban." But I also know that you are from Idaho so I will answer your question.
Built to Spill for those of you that are not familiar is the greatest indie rock band of the 90's and is still making music today (yes its even still good). They are famous for beards, awesome guitar stuff, very long songs and being very polite. I've seen them in concert several times and own all of their music (once I saw them twice in about an 18 month span and the lead singer was wearing the same sweater both times. it wasn't a nice sweater.).
But what else does Idaho have to offer? I think the answer is pretty clear. Potatoes. I once spent significant time with a potato farmer and his natural love for the potato only infused me with a love for potatoes as well. I think the most interesting thing that he explained to me is that the price of potatoes varies greatly year to year so most conservative farmers plant about the same amount of potatoes each year while rotating in other crops such as barley. The varying price of potatoes sometimes makes the farmer take a loss on growing the crop or sometimes brings in a lot of money. So from time to time a farmer may decide to take a gamble and plant as many potatoes as they can. If this happens to coincide with a year of higher potato prices the farmer can make a ton of money and basically retire from farming. Idaho potato farmers can potentially gamble on their crops. I'm all for this practice because I really enjoy Idaho potatoes.
So really the question is what's better Built to Spill or Potatoes? The thing to keep in mind is that potatoes can also come from other sources. Sometimes I prefer a red potato or a sweet potato or even a yam to the standard Idaho potato. Washington potatoes are nearly as good. So if I had to give up one thing. I'd give up the Idaho potato because I think Washington could just pick up the slack. But a life without Built to Spill would seem a just a little bit empty.
My top 10 Built to Spill songs are as follows.
Else
Broken Chairs
She's Real (its a cover song)
Car
Stop the Show
Stab
The Weather
Still Flat
Goin' Against Your Mind
Carry the Zero
But what else does Idaho have to offer? I think the answer is pretty clear. Potatoes. I once spent significant time with a potato farmer and his natural love for the potato only infused me with a love for potatoes as well. I think the most interesting thing that he explained to me is that the price of potatoes varies greatly year to year so most conservative farmers plant about the same amount of potatoes each year while rotating in other crops such as barley. The varying price of potatoes sometimes makes the farmer take a loss on growing the crop or sometimes brings in a lot of money. So from time to time a farmer may decide to take a gamble and plant as many potatoes as they can. If this happens to coincide with a year of higher potato prices the farmer can make a ton of money and basically retire from farming. Idaho potato farmers can potentially gamble on their crops. I'm all for this practice because I really enjoy Idaho potatoes.So really the question is what's better Built to Spill or Potatoes? The thing to keep in mind is that potatoes can also come from other sources. Sometimes I prefer a red potato or a sweet potato or even a yam to the standard Idaho potato. Washington potatoes are nearly as good. So if I had to give up one thing. I'd give up the Idaho potato because I think Washington could just pick up the slack. But a life without Built to Spill would seem a just a little bit empty.
My top 10 Built to Spill songs are as follows.
Else
Broken Chairs
She's Real (its a cover song)
Car
Stop the Show
Stab
The Weather
Still Flat
Goin' Against Your Mind
Carry the Zero
