Who knew that mud was such a fun medium to play in? Or that blowing up watermelons was... a thing? Or that people brought babies and tiny goats to backwoods tailgate parties? Apparently everybody Chase Rice knows does.
The Second: Goin' Goin' Gone by George Strait
We are so lucky that this man legend is still making new music, and so here is his latest. Enjoy it, savour it, learn it, sing it, love it. It's no Run, which will always be my favourite George Strait song, but it's a good one for a Friday nonetheless.
The Third and Final: I Do All My Dreamin' There by Luke Bryan
So Luke released a new album. And it's just a notch less bro country than the usual. So that's nice. He talks about peanut butter sandwiches in this one, so you know I had no choice but to share. (It's good beyond the peanut butter reference, in case you were wondering or perhaps are allergic to peanuts and/or sandwiches).
Sidenote: do we think Luke has ever seen a huckleberry bush? Because I really don't think that a "huckleberry limb" would be able to support the weight of any clothing without collapsing. They're feeble little wonders of nature.
I hope your Friday flies by! I'm hoping mine does so that I can go home and sleeeeeep. Je suis exhausted. On the plus side, Thanksgiving (my favourite!) is just a week away! Eek!
He actually has a really interesting story. He was adopted when he was a baby to a family that loved music, but had no real musical talent. He had toyed around with learning guitar, but it wasn't until he was older and met his biological family that he learned that musical genius was in his blood. From there he started practicing and playing more and more which, of course, eventually led to a record deal. You can read more about it on his website. Pretty neat if you ask me.
It's not yet available on Youtube, but the title song on his current EP, Tougher Than Love, is great. I wish I could have featured it today but, alas, it will just need to be kept for a Friday post once it's released.
The First: Show Some Respect
Oh man. I love this song, this message, and this music video. Reminds you to keep things in perspective and, most importantly, recognize and appreciate the people and things that have come before you.
The Second: Somebody Will
Mostly I just like this song because it's a really sweet story about a father-daughter relationship. Also my love for music videos that feature dance numbers is satisfied with this one. Oh, also, the song is great.
The Third and Final: Crazy Enough
Don't know why, but this song often comes on during my morning commute and I (of course) belt it out. My favourite part is the laugh at 3:00. Do enjoy.
Thanks for listening!
Karla
In my never-ending search for a post title, John suggested that I title this "I had no help making this title." As uninspired as that is (I mean, he tries) it made me think about the weird things teachers must hear from children throughout the year when submitting their homework. And then it led me to remember that for about two weeks of my life when I was in grade 4 I had decided that I would be a poet. Here, I will regale you with an excerpt (aka what I can remember) from one of my many non-prize-winning works:
The Dog Ate My Homework by Karla Carreras
The dog ate my homework. I swear, it's true.
He gobbled it up, two by two.
And that's all I can remember. In case it's unclear, I no longer write poetry.
The First: Forever Country by Artists of Then, Now and Forever (aka... just... everyone)
Unless you haven't been on Facebook this week, you probably knew this was coming. Now, I get that the CGI at the end could probably use some touching up, but the song is epic regardless. It's simply a wonderful celebration of music.
On Sunday nights a few of my friends and I have dinner together which typically leads into a bit of a jam session. We try out new songs each week, but we also have a list of "standards" that we tend to come back to week after week. One of those standards is Country Roads and I love singing it. First off, it's just a fun song to sing with other voices because you can (attempt to) harmonize to it really nicely. But in addition to that, it was also a song my mum loved. The first time I heard it we were watching some movie and it started playing in the background. She gasped (out of excitement) and then immediately started singing along to it. It wasn't too long until I knew all the words myself. And I just think she would really love to sing along with this medley too.
The Second: Bush Party by Dean Brody
Once in a while we need to just not take ourselves too seriously, you know? And I think Dean Brody really embodies this philosophy in both this song and in this music video. There are some genuine eye-rolling bits, but I think he's kinda going for that. Like he's in on the joke. I don't know how else to describe it. Just watch.
The Third and Final: Kill A Word by Eric Church
Wordplay. Catchy chorus. Eric Church.
What's not to love?
I plan on spending my weekend recovering from a cold (cold meds = magic), perhaps doing some fall things, and watching movies. Big plans, I know.
Yesterday a friend and colleague, Erin, rudely pointed out that October is in two weeks.
Two. Weeks.
On the one hand, I'm excited because Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays and there are exciting things happening in October. On the other hand... WHAT?! It was just August. And there's still so much that needs to happen before October gets here.
Needless to say I internally screamed and panicked while pretending to laugh along with the rest of the room.
Thanks, Erin.
(Don't let this story ruin Erin for you. She's actually really great.)
The First: Obsessed by Dan + Shay
I will be the first to admit that this one has a blues-ier rhythm, but sometimes you need to take a breather on Fridays and what better way to do that than with a jazzy country song.
"What is a jazzy country song?" you may ask.
"Click that link," I may reply.
The Second: Tin Roof by Gord Bamford
Oh man. The intro to this song immediately took me back to lying in bed in the house I grew up in. My bedroom was on the top floor and since we lived in BC, there were rainy nights aplenty. Our tin roof was an awful green colour that the previous owner had picked out, but when the rainy nights came along I didn't even care; I was so happy we had that tin roof. Those rainy nights were my favourite because the sound of rain hitting the roof was the most soothing lullaby you can ask for. Take me back to those days, Gord.
The Third and Final: A Little More Summertime by Jason Aldean
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that I don't think Jason Aldean is all that much of a Pumpkin Spice Latte kind of guy. If I were to guess, he's probably more of a strong black coffee even in the summertime kind of guy.
Enjoy your weekend, folks! Mine mayyyy include an IKEA trip so, you know, things could get pretttttty crazy (aka I may not perfectly follow the directional arrows through the store... #rulebreaker)
I assume you probably haven't had enough of the "Back To School" marketing stampede yet since they only started it in mid-June this year, so I figured I'd get my own back to school cool shout out in before it's too late. Or maybe I just couldn't think of a title so this is what you get instead. We'll never know, will we? (Yeah, no... I know you know.)
The First: Red Dress by Jojo Mason
It. Took. Four. MONTHS. For this song to be released on Youtube. Jojo! What were you doing for FOUR months that you couldn't throw even a lyric video online for us?? I swear I think I searched this song every week in the hopes that that would be the week that I could share it with all of you. But every week my hopes were dashed to pieces and I was forced to make a different selection.
I probably would have given up by now if I hadn't heard on the radio a few days ago that the music video was finally (finally!) uploaded. Thank. Goodness.
The Second: In Case You Didn't Know by Brett Young
Can't stop, won't stop featuring this man. Even if the live version begins with the disconcerting sound of the Skype app opening up when you least expect it. But I just think this is the sweetest song, so I'll put up with the bloooop sound anyway.
Did you know that Brett was on track to be a professional baseball player but after suffering an injury in college took the music route instead. Can you imagine?? "Well, I guess I can't make millions playing the sport I love and am really, really good at so maybe I'll just do it by picking up this guitar thing instead?" Somebody was clearly given a double dose of talent.
The Third and Final: Beer Weather by Cold Creek County
Okay hear me out. And by "hear me out" I really mean hear this song out. Because titles aside, it's catchy and almost fools you into thinking that fall isn't just around the corner. Speaking of autumn, has anyone seen large halloween packs of Reese Peanut Butter Cups yet? I've only come across packs of 12, which is basically like one movie's worth and obviously won't do. If you find some, please advise. This is important (to my happiness).
And in case you weren't already in a great mood because it's Friday, here you go. Enjoy your weekend!
I'll be honest. There's no rhyme or reason to this week's picks. Mostly because Friday kind of sneaked up on me this week. Then again it could also be because I've been listening to a weird mix of old school sing-a-longs and, what I refer to as, "music for the clubs" in an attempt to put together a pump-up playlist for the incoming first year students (who were born in 1998). Bieber and One Direction is involved. But then again, so is Stevie Wonder and Hall & Oates... so, all hope is not lost my friends.
The First: Grace and Grit by Meghan Patrick
I know I just featured a Meghan Patrick song a few weeks back, but I had so much fun singing this one (yes, in the car, of course) the other day that I figured I'd just share it. It helps when you make up the rules for your own blog, I suppose.
The Second: Out Of The Blue by Aaron Pritchett
Okay I have thoughts.
First off, add this one to the list of new age caribbean-inspired/Zac Brown Band-esque country songs. And I'm into it.
Secondly, Aaron. What are you doing. Fix your hat. Take off your sunglasses. Maybe do up a button or two. You're just a popped collar away from looking like an obnoxious 21-year-old dude who's still trying to ride the wave of being the popular guy in high school. You're better than that. Also please tell your friends to stop gawking like creeps.
Love the song though.
The Third and Final: Missing by William Michael Morgan
He's a crooner with a great Josh Turner-esque twang and earnestly wears a cowboy hat. So I think you'll like him as much as I do. His current single is actually Vinyl, which is also great but then I stumbled upon this gem and couldn't tear myself away.
I hope you all have a wonderful Labour Day long-weekend! I get to spend mine with some really cool student leaders getting ready for the kick-off to another school year.Because apparently it's September and there are beautiful leaves on the ground and I'm excited but also ohmygoodness where the heck did all the summer go!?
