I owe Wilco

"Hotel in Arizona, made us all want to feel like stars." That's the first lyric from the song "Hotel Arizona," from which this blog derives its title, by the band Wilco (pictured at right). That's a pretty straightforward take on how the cool resorts and wide open beautiful spaces here have made people feel over the years. One cannot help but be affected by the unique treasures and sense of place that can be found. Separated by relatively few miles, Tucson has a dramatically different sensibility from Phoenix (to which many Tucson inhabitants cry "thank goodness!"). Sedona is a world away from both. Ditto Flagstaff.

The song continues. "Hello? Can you here me?" Well, can you? We have an opportunity to value these places and we hold the gift of our collective future in our hands. Let's be intentional about that. Together we'll make something real, affecting and attractive.

And at the tune's conclusion: "I guess all this history is a mystery to me, One more worried whisper right in my ear." Many of us come here fresh from other locales. We often speak of what's not here that we had in our former hometowns. Well, this is our town now. Take your "I'll always be a New Yorker-Chicagoan-Bostonian" personalized license plate and turn it back in to the MVD.

Ironically, the lineup of Wilco that recorded "Hotel Arizona" in 1997 is nothing like the one pictured above. The band's membership is a lot like the famed Arizona transience. (Does it still hold that two leave for every three that arrive?) And yet, people keep on coming. Like Arizona, there are more people in Wilco now than there used to be.

By the way, the band will release its new album titled "Sky Blue Sky" on May 15. Buy it.