Props to the Queen

May Long is HERE!! And we all get Swiss weeks next week, courtesy of the Queen. So lovely of her.

I don't really have that much more to say other than I hope these songs help you get through whatever's left of your workday and that you've got some great plans in store for how you'll spend this long-weekend gift.


The First: Heart Break by Lady Antebellum

I kind of think this is the country version of John Mayer's Perfectly Lonely and I'm super pleased about it. I love that song and I love country (a shock to all of you, I'm sure), so this works for me on several levels. Three levels, in fact.


The Second: You'll Accomp'ny Me covered by Frankie Ballard

I realize there's a lot of new stuff out right now that I could be featuring, but this one has been on repeat because it's got a strong beat that's oh-so-perfect for a sunny (fingers crossed!) long weekend. Plus there's snapping, which is like second best to clapping, which we all know I love incorporated into my music.


The Third and Final: Happy People by Little Big Town

Beyond the fact that these four really can't do wrong with their song choices, I'm really loving this one. I get that it's not the most country-sounding in a hoedown kinda way, but I think the message is positive and true and that's pretty country unto itself. Don't forget to be a happy person this weekend.

And with that, I hope your day passes quick and that you're swiftly ushered into a weekend of relaxation and sunshine (fingers double crossed)!

Thanks for listening!
Karla

Music and Lyrics

I started off wanting to do a week of sweep-you-off-your-feet lovey dovey lyrics and I had no idea what to call it. I've now somehow landed on this homage to a Hugh Grant movie that I am only 43% sure I've seen. In summary, these are three songs that have lines in them that make me swoon just a teeny tiny bit whenever they come on.

The First: Could It Be by Charlie Worsham

"Who knows we might go down in flames, then again I might just change your name"

Now, even though I am definitively confident that I do not ever want to change any part of the name my incredible mother spent nine months picking out for me (Karla-Christina Theresa Pratt? No. Karla-Christina Theresa Reynolds? Also no. Those all sound terrible*. Karla-Christina Theresa Carreras? Yaaassss.), I still do really like the idea behind this line. He's basically saying, then again I MIGHT JUST MARRY YOU SO LET'S SEE WHERE THIS GOES. Which is just a really sweet thought to have at the beginning of something. On the other hand, you might be thinking, "HECK NO that's not a sweet thought at all, you're crazy!" and to that I would say, "Clearly this is not the person for you since you're having such an extremely negative reaction. Why are you two even dating?"

(*Yes, I was just imagining myself married to either Chris Pratt or Ryan Reynolds, thankyouverymuch. And to be clear, I wasn't saying no to them. I was just saying no to their last names.)

The Second: Don't You Wanna Fall by Frankie Ballard

"Don't you wanna fall?"

Just super straight to the point here. A few months ago I spent a weekend listening to nothing but this album from Frankie Ballard. I don't know how it happened, or why, but the fact is that it did. And this was the song that I kept on falling back to. 

(Did you catch that?)

I hope you like it too.

The Third and Final: Ours by Taylor Swift

Don't you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine... 

The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours.

CONTROVERSY. I've selected a tswift song. I will argue that this song still has enough of a hint of country, even if there is no country twang. Anyways, these lyrics. I unabashedly love them. And this song. And Taylor Swift. 

It's fine. Don't worry about it. Everyone has a guilty pleasure, right? Mine is chocolate. And also mini fruit marshmallows. And popcorn. 

Oh, and also Taylor Swift.

If I was allowed to feature songs more than once, then you better believe Sundy Best's Until I Met You would be on here. But unfortunately, I make the rules around here. And I say I can't feature a song more than once outside of Top Tens. 

I'm the worst.

Thanks for listening!

Karla

Mo' Titles, Mo' Problems.

This week has actually ended up being a really lovely one full of some much-needed down time and fully launching myself back into the regular routine of fall, my favourite season! And apparently I used none of that downtime to come up with a half decent title for this week's CMF. For that I am sorry. I struggle with titles, clearly. But! I did have time to do things like cook, read and exercise again, which has been just swell. So cheers to fall and all the great things it brings! (Right, David?)

The First: Sober Me Up by Frankie Ballard

I've listened to this one so much this week that I think I heard my phone audibly sigh when I hit repeat just now. Mostly I just feel that a lot of the songs we typically hear from Frankie are more upbeat and summery, and this one is a refreshing change for him. It also has a really lovely melody for you to sing along with. Because we all know that I've already done that approximately 53 times in the last 24 hours.


The Second: On Top of the World by Tim McGraw

I've gone from basically no Tim McGraw to double Tim McGraw. I call it making up for lost times.
When I first heard it, I really didn't think I would ever feature this song simply because I thought it was rather plain. But then the subliminal force of radio infiltrated my brain and here we are: I love this song.
Story time: I was picking up my friend Kanaiya a few weeks ago and had this song going with the windows down. The moment he got in my car he exclaimed, "why are you listening to rock music?!" Now, I haven't yet decided if this speaks more to Kanaiya's music sensibilities or Timmy's, but it still cracks me up. You're welcome for yet another riveting story from my car.


The Third and Final: 500 Miles by Haley & Michaels

Controversial, I know, but I quite like this cover! And it's about time we hear this song again, outside of weddings or spontaneous jam sessions or midnight viewings of Benny & Joon (so good). On a related note, I think the addition of a female's voice - especially one as beautiful as Haley's - really works for this cover. If you're interested in another beautiful (read: full of emotions and feelings-y stuff) song by these two, I suggest Giving It All (To You).
And just because someone is guaranteed to bring it up, I do know that 500 Miles is not the actual title of the original song, but that's what H&M (the artists, not the clothing store) are going with, so I've followed suit in this case.


As always, thanks for listening!
Karla

It's Country Music Friday, once again!

Hello from the end of a very exciting week! I started my new job on Monday and let me tell you, it has been awesome so far and I’m eager to start diving into my projects! But we’re not here to talk about me, we’re here to talk about country music.

This week I had my CMF selections all picked out but was shocked and disappointed (An overreaction? Perhaps.) to find that one of the songs isn’t on Youtube yet. GASP. So I’m saving those selections for next week with the hopes that there will at least be some sort of lyric video released so that I can share it with all of you wonderful people!

So instead here is a completely random selection of songs with no rhyme or reason other than that they’re all great. 

Warning: All the music videos this week are awful. You are excused from watching them.

The First: Young and Crazy by Frankie Ballard

Poor Frankie doesn’t know that if I wrote this song it would be about how I would be telling my grandbabies that wild Saturday nights for me in my youth (because apparently I think I’m old now?) meant separating my laundry into not just lights and darks but five subcategories and watching Trading Spaces on TLC. Boy, those were the days. On second thought, it’s probably good that Frankie doesn’t know any of that.


The Second: Lie a Little Better by Lucy Hale

Remember 13 year old Lucy? (More than anything, I just remember really wanting her high-heeled sneakers and also wondering if I could convince my mom to first let me buy them and then let me wear them to school… I decided the answer would probably be “no” to both of those items, but I never stopped dreaming about them.) She’s 25 now and still singing strong.


The Third and Final: Wrapped Around by Brad Paisley

This was the inspiration for Beyoncé’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), in case you didn’t know… Additionally, please know that Microsoft Word just prompted me to correct “Beyonce” to “Beyoncé”. Clearly this woman is as amazing as everyone says she is if she now has power over the dictionary. Brad Paisley is great too.

Thanks for listening!
Karla