You thought I forgot but GUESS WHAT? I didn’t.

I was just super tired, that’s all. Hence this post being a tad bit late. Who knew I could sleep for 13 hours straight? I sure didn’t. But now I’m perfectly poised to fully enjoy this long weekend before we all get back into the August rush* to get things ready for back to school. So let’s make the most of it, okay?

The First: Here Goes Everything by Petric

Let me tell you how many times I’ve had to explain this band name as “Metric but with a ‘P’” in this last week. I think four times. So not actually that many now that I think about it… Moving along, I think these Canadian boys are trying to be the next High Valley before High Valley even really has their day in the sun. Looking forward to how this Canadian battle plays out. Please note that I chose the acoustic version here because I just love a good acoustic performance.

The Second: Gonna by Blake Shelton

I can’t tell you how happy I am to usher in another Blake Shelton song right now. I was not a fan of his last single, Sangria, and so I’m really looking forward to hearing something different on the radio for a while. And this one is so good! Well done, Blake. Well done.

The Third and Final: Buy Me A Boat by Chris Janson

Okay. So this is the fifth song I’ve chosen for this last selection. Apparently I become very indecisive after an extended nap. But I’m going with Chris Janson and that’s the end of it! (< that statement was more for me than anyone else.) To me, Chris Janson is one of the funniest guys in country music. This is based purely on the fact that I find his dance moves wonderfully goofy paired with the fact that his guitar always looks too big for him and he doesn’t seem to care about any of it. Many CMFs ago I selected this song by Chris, which I think it supports my argument pretty well.

Have a fantastic long weekend! Mine will be filled with friends (including my close personal friend, TSwift), some beach time, and hopefully a patio or two.

Thanks for listening and I promise to be back in your inbox next Friday morning!

Karla

*August Rush is an excellent film.

Find me and the CMF playlist on Spotify @karcarr8.

Love, circa 1999

In honour of the upcoming nuptials of my incredible friends, Tiffany and Kanaiya, I would like to dedicate this week’s CMF to them and how gosh darn adorable they are together. All the time.

SO. In order to do so, I thought I’d take you back to my 11-year-old self and the country love songs I was listening to back when I still hoped to become a country music star. This was, of course, before my dad let me use his audio recording devices and I fatefully learned what I actually sounded like. We can all give a big thank you to my father for saving us many years of torture and instead speeding up that dream’s inevitable demise. Regardless, these were the years that young Karla-Christina couldn’t get enough of Jessica Andrews, Shania Twain, and their contemporaries.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane together, shall we?

The First: I Love You by Martina McBride

Classic. Even if you weren’t (this is me assuming that by now I’ve converted all the non-country lovers who receive CMF) a country music lover in the very late 90s, I am still confident that you have heard this song. This is because it is great. Also, who doesn’t love a green screen in music videos?

Awkward moment alert: I just realized that Martina’s first outfit is eerily similar to the one I have chosen for the wedding next week... I don’t know if this makes me happy or very, very upset.

The Second: This Kiss by Faith Hill

We’ve all also heard this song. But have we all watched the James and the Giant Peach/Thumbelina-inspired music video? I assume not. So for all those out there desperately waiting for someone to give you permission to do so, please take this as your official invitation to allow it to permeate your life. I bet you a dollar that this video is what swept Mr. Tim McGraw off his feet all those years ago.

The Third and Final: When I Think About Angels by Jamie O’Neal

Up until my very intense research for this week’s CMF (as per usual, research = copious amounts of browsing the Youtube), I always thought this song was titled “When I Think About Rain.” I’m actually quite upset that it’s not. I don’t want to talk about it.

Instead, I’ll talk about her glorious GOLD lipstick. Because… what? That was allowed? I tell you, they had way more fun with their makeup 15 years ago. Tiff – any interest in trying out this look on your wedding day? No? You want me to stop making jokes that freak you out? Sorry, can’t do that; it’s part of my charm.

  

Thanks for listening!

Karla

Find me and the CMF playlist on Spotify @karcarr8.

Say hello to these annoyingly talented people

Last night, my friend Tiffany told me that she likes it when there is some sort of theme to my CMFs and so that’s kind of what I’m doing this week. I say “kind of” because the ‘theme’ of this week’s selections is in highlighting the artists who contributed to the BEAUTY that is…

The First: Life In A Northern Town by Sugarland, Little Big Town, and Jake Owen 

Okay. My goodness. I love this performance. Definitely in my top 3. Part of me is disappointed that they never recorded this for real, and the other part of me knows that I’ve listened to it so many times that it just wouldn’t sound as good without the screams and the inflections and all of what happened on stage that night. So for this week’s selections I would like to highlight the outrageously talented Little Big Town and Sugarland because CMF has not yet done them justice…

The Second: Sober by Little Big Town

Oh these wonderful human beings. They are just so technically gifted with those vocals that they really do blow my mind. Those harmonies. Oh my. I recently got tickets for their concert in Vancouver (it’s actually in Abbotsford, but we’re trying to downplay the long drive after work to get there) in November. I’m already trying hard to mentally prepare. Sober is probably my favourite song of theirs because it just hits my heart real hard. I hope you enjoy it too. (Also they play at Red Rocks in this video which I just think is the world’s coolest venue and I hope to see a concert there one day).

The Third and Final: Want To by Sugarland

Pretty sure this song was my first introduction to Sugarland. The summer after our first year of university one of my friends from high school and I took to driving around our little hometown for hours late in the evening because why not. We loved this song and would listen to it on repeat for hours while entertaining each other with stories from our year apart (we had gone to different schools). So when I hear this song I just think of my friend Melissa and I BELTING out the lyrics on the quiet road up to Quest University or down the highway and getting lost in the conversation. We would also always stop at Tim Hortons for French Vanillas, even after swearing that we weren’t going to. Thank you for listening to that story from my very wild youth. Great song, great memories.

Sadly for Jake I’ve run out of formal selections for this week. I will share an oldie Keepin’ It Country because I haven’t yet decided if I’m a fan of his current single, Real Life.

PS If you are like me and can’t get over this collaboration, I’ll do you a favour and leave this nugget of gold here. Song starts at 2:45. You can thank me later.

Thanks for listening!
Karla

Find me and the CMF playlist on Spotify @karcarr8.

Country Catchall

My goodness. This province/country/land mass is in desperado need of rain! I say that with a deep understanding that my voice isn’t always the most authoritative, so I’ll let Luke Bryan tell mother nature about how rain is a good thing instead.

Now while he does that, we can explore a few other country hits.

The First: Run by Blackjack Billy, The Road Hammers, and Doc Walker 

Turn it up, turn it up. Both a lyric and a practical instruction of how to listen to this song.

This song is by no means new. In fact, it was the song from last year’s Bands on the Run Tour which, shockingly, featured Blackjack Billy, Doc Walker, and The Road Hammers. Kind of a smart/cool move to perform a song together that pays homage to your tour title. Or perhaps the song came first. Who knows… it’s a chicken and egg situation, really. Either way, the woman at 0:39 was quite clearly not impressed enough by this song. Odd choice to include her in the music video, if you ask me but hey, #creativedifferences

The Second: Just Like Love by Steven Lee Olsen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCV7bIpEKPI

Unfortunately for him, though perhaps fortunately for us, he is not a part of the multi-billion dollar corporation run by the Olsen twins. Having said that, it is my opinion that little Stevie may not actually need them. Do you remember one of his first singles Make Hay While The Sun Shines? Probably not since I know that for a large number of you, these emails are the only dose of country in your life. Well guess what: it was a decent start, even without Mary-Kate or Ashely’s creative direction. Shocking.

The Third and Final: Yeah Boy by Kelsea Ballerini

Just give this song a chance. It might surprise you, like it surprised me with its rather catchy chorus.

Warning: you might get this song stuck in your head and unknowlingly sing it while passing other humans on the sidewalk. This will likely not turn out in your favour because, in my experience, the boys who think you’re singing about them are definitively not the boys you would consciously choose to sing about. So sing with caution. Please.

Thanks for listening!

Karla

Find me and the CMF playlist on Spotify @karcarr8.

Fireworks and beards and love.

Welcome to Tuesday? Friday!

I hope you all had a wonderfully patriotic Canada Day and enjoyed a BBQ hot dog and some fireworks!! I, of course, did neither of those things. Why?
   a) I’m vegetarian.
   b) I was so exhausted from the day that I was in bed by 10pm which meant I missed the fireworks. I did hear them, however. I also heard the choir of dogs in my neighbourhood barking at the fireworks (and the resulting humans yelling at said dogs, because that’s apparently necessary) until well past 11pm. Charming.

Let’s listen to some country music, shall we?

The First: It’s All Good by Jojo Mason

This guy. Who is he? Where did he come from? It doesn’t really matter because he rocks this tune and I look forward to many other wonderful and oh-so-fittingly-Friday jams from him in the future. Apparently Tim Hicks co-wrote this song, which I find interesting because I think it would sound quite different if he was the one singing it. Either way, it’s aaaaall good.


The Second: Some Day by The Washboard Union 

All the beard. All the banjo. What else could you want in a country music video? A truck? Some hay? Oh don’t you worry, they’ve got you covered there too. My favourite part of this video – and I think what really speaks to the goofiness of this group – happens nice and early on at 0:24, in case you were wondering (don’t lie, you were).


The Third and Final: Everyday Love by Rascal Flatts

Taking us back to this lovely oldie in honour of my friend David’s wedding this weekend. I have no doubt you and Kim will share a life no less wonderful than the one described in this song. Thanks for being my country music buddy for those years in Victoria when I so desperately need one – wishing you both the best! (P.S. Specifically linking the lyric video here because the real music video is too Y2K for my liking.)

Thanks for listening!
Karla

Find me and the CMF playlist on Spotify @karcarr8.