Just some great tunes, okay.

Well we may not have a long weekend to look forward to but we do at least have a weekend (and if you're in BC like me, sunshine!) and that's something to celebrate regardless. Wouldn't you agree?


The First: All About You by Josh Turner aka The Best Looking Guy in Country Music

Josh Turner has been sharing some stuff from his new album on the Youtube which means we can all enjoy it together! And it's good. This particular song is mostly just super catchy and, as you know, I think a catchy song is a pretty good start to the weekend.

Catchiness, exhibit a: the lyrics for this song may include "friggin' diggin' livin' in your world" which is almost as ridiculous/wonderful as Brett Eldredge's "flip flop flippin'" (which we already know I approve of).

I'll also take this opportunity to go ahead and share another *bonus* song that I really love off Josh's album, called Never Had A Reason. It's got a similar message, but is a bit slower, sweeter, and he doesn't say "friggin' diggin' livin'" in it, on the off change you weren't super into that.


The Second: Losing Sleep by Chris Young

I mean, we had one deep-voiced crooner, so might as well add his apprentice*, Chris Young, to the lineup too I suppose. I like the stop and start beat thing (that was obviously a technical term) that's going on during the verses of this song. It pulls me and gets me on the edge of my seat. Did the song just abruptly end? Will it stop again? Will I fall off this chair I'm precariously sitting on? Who knows!

*There is no evidence to suggest that Chris Young is actually Josh Turner's apprentice. I don't even know if they know each other. I mean, they probably do since the country music world is small enough to make that a very real possibility, but I just can't be absolutely positive about it - you know?

The Third and Final: Makin' Me Look Good Again by Drake White

Closing it out with some blues-y country to get you coasting into the weekend on some feel-good mellow vibes. (I'm so sorry I just used "feel-good" and "mellow" and "vibes" all at once. It won't happen ever again, you have my word. Please don't judge this song off my lack of sophisticated vocabulary. The song's still good, I promise). 

The end of May brings with it a lot of birthdays for friends and family which means I get to celebrate some really great people this weekend. Bring on the birthday cake!

Thanks for listening!

Karla 

Artist of the Week: Chris Young

If you've been around for any period of time, you may already know that I love Chris Young and his deep, twangy, Josh Turner 2.0 voice.

Chris Young got his start by winning the reality tv show competition, Nashville Star, ten years ago. Unlike so many people who have won televised singing competitions (what percentage of American Idol stars are still putting out new stuff?) he has been able to maintain that success over the years.

He also seems charming as all heck, so I'm sure that's worked in his favour.

The First: You

This one is a fun one to sing along to, mostly because I like the way he changes up the rhythm of the melody throughout the song. That, and I can practice my horrible attempts at a bit of country twang.
Because practice makes perfect. Sometimes.
(Turns out this is not one of those times).


The Second: Neon

I'm actually quite certain I've featured this one before, but it was right at the start of CMF, back when it was just an email and there was no blog to properly archive stuff on. SO WE'RE LISTENING TO IT AGAIN! I like this song solely because of his perfect crooning. It's not too fast, it's not too slow. It's the goldilocks of lazy listening country.


The Third and Final: Voices

What I like about Chris is that he balances his more lovey dovey songs with tunes about other stuff that don't have anything to do with love or your typical country clichés. Like this one, for example.

Thanks for listening!
Karla

K & P

My incredible friend Kali (yes, the one we chatted about not too long ago) and her hilarious partner, Paul, are getting married tomorrow. So obviously we're celebrating their loOoOoOove in this week's CMF.

This will either make them very happy or very embarrassed... but we won't know until we try, will we? (Jk, I already know it's going to be the latter. Ha ha ha.)

The First: Love's Lookin' Good On You by Lady Antebellum

It's lookin' real good, you two. Almost as good as head-to-toe Star Wars costumes. Almost.

The Second: Save Water, Drink Beer by Chris Young

This is a selection for so many reasons. Here are just a few:

One: there's going to be a wedding, so... 

Two: Kali always talks about the California drought and yells at people for not finishing their water before they leave a restaurant.

Three: You just know that this is going to be a real fun song to dance to.

The Third and Final: All Nighter by Dan + Shay

These boys are back with their usual wonderful musical ways. This song seemed like an appropriate choice for tomorrow's highly anticipated, likely lengthy celebration.

And an extra special shout out to Dan Davidson's Found, which I've featured before but they really like so we might as well all be reminded of how great it is.

Have a wonderful weekend, whatever you're up to! And don't forget to tell your dad all the reasons he's so great this Sunday. I'm lucky enough to get to have lunch with mine because we'll be in the same town this year!

Thanks for listening!
Karla

It's A Country Party Up In Here

But I mean, when is it not? Amirite?


The First: Are You Ready For The Country  covered by Hank Williams Jr. ft. Eric Church

Sheesh. So much Eric Church lately. Instead, let us enjoy a teeny tiny Hunter Hayes and a somewhat younger Hank Williams Jr. back in the mid 90s... what were you doing in 1995? I was busy learning Spanish and forgetting my English. And then inevitably forgetting my Spanish when I had to relearn my English. I was not performing an adorable rendition of Jambalaya on stage for thousands of people. Were you?


The Second: Underdogs by Chris Young

NHL Playoffs and such. That's happening, right?

Yes, I know that the video features football and not hockey, but the lyrics are still applicable.


The Third and Final: Cool With That by Brett Kissel

In case you were wondering, Brett Kissel would like everyone to know that he's still sticking with the traditional cowboy hat look. You do you, Brett. In other news of equal if not greater importance to Brett's headwear, that drummer may be my favourite part of this video. Evidence can be found at 1:22. And 1:33.... and 2:06. Hope that guy just made your day like he made mine. :D


I realize he's not country at all, but I would be remiss if I finished off this week without a moment of dedication to Prince. As anyone who has ever played music bingo with me will know, I love Prince. (If you don't know what music bingo is, seriously what are you doing still reading this instead of googling "music bingo pubs near me" right now?). This is one of my favourites.


Thanks for listening,
Karla

Good Ole Boys

Hello CMF lovelies!

I hope you've all had a fantastic week and are gearing up for an exciting weekend! I don't know what your plans are, but I'm sure they're good ones. If you're in need of assistance in making your weekend particularly festive, please note that I shared a list of Country Christmas songs earlier this week, for your listening pleasure. You are most certainly welcome.

The First: Maybe It's The Moonshine by The Washboard Union

These wonderful men and their beards are at it again! I haven't shared a solid sing-along-in-the-car song in a while, but here you go. Hopefully it makes you feel a little sunshine-y, especially for those of you who have had the pleasure of experiencing this lovely sideways rain Vancouver's been conjuring up lately.


The Second: Fire Away by Chris Stapleton

Rough and gravelling and glorious. That's what this song is.
Those also happen to be the three words I typically use to describe myself, in case you were wondering.


The Third and Final: Think Of You by Chris Young (feat. Cassadee Pope)

Chris Young's voice will never get old.
On a side note, I do realize that Cassadee's vocal presence in this song kind of contradicts the title for this week, but the truth is I'm much too lazy to change it at this juncture. I'm afraid we're all just going to have to live with it.


That's all from me this week! Enjoy this collage of selections - I didn't really know what I was sitting down to write but can honestly say that I'm rather pleased with how this week shaped up. Hope the feeling's mutual.

Thanks for listening!
Karla