Titles Are Hard

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)

Thanks for listening!
Karla

Be an Optimist Prime, Not a Negatron.

If I cut to the chase, this title was really just a not so round about way for me to share with you my secret love of transformers, the movie. Opinions of Shia Lebeouf aside, that first movie had me gasping for air at times because I was laughing so hard. Was it supposed to be as funny as it was? Probs not. Did I buy it on DVD anyways? You bet your bottom dollar I did, Annie. (PS the Tony's are this Sunday.)

Moving along, this week's selection has a little splash of optimism for you, because why the heck not?

The First: Lawn Chair Lazy by James Barker Band

Fingers crossed for a little bit of this over the weekend! Just kidding. It's gonna be real rainy. So it will probably turn into something more akin to couch time lazy which, sadly, has much less of a ring to it. Does anyone else feel like that guitar slide in this tune is very Dierks Bentley circa Drunk on a Plane? Because it is. It really, really is.


The Second: Old Boots, New Dirt by Jason Aldean

When was the last time we heard from Jason on here? A while ago, that's for sure. I stumbled upon this song (that came out a while ago) recently and love it! I think I can get on board with this whole whole Optimistic Country sub-genre. Especially since the entire reason CMF started was in an attempt to convince a colleague that Country wasn't "the most depressing genre of music."


The Third and Final: The Shape I'm In by Joe Nichols

I have so much love for this song. I love the message and the story and that it's just plain wonderfully uplifting. Because everyone can use a glass-half-full perspective at the end of a long week or some trying times. Right? Right.

Hope that was a nice way for all y'all to enter the weekend! And in the spirit of optimism, I'm going to spend my likely rain-driven couch time this weekend thinking about how wonderful it is that all the places that need rain are maybe gonna get some tomorrow. #optimistprimeftw

Thanks for listening!
Karla

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Dreams

I am currently being a lazy bones on my couch eating a peanut butter cup or two (okay actually three, if we're being honest), drinking a peppermint tea blend called "Christmas Eve" (which I drink 12 months out of the year because it's delicious,) and listening to country music (big shocker there). It's really nice be back home.

I feel it is important for you to know that I blame my extreme spike in peanut butter cup intake on the fact that you can find large quantities of individually wrapped ones in stores for Halloween and that I have an inherent need to exploit the convenience provided by this time of year. These lovely little wonders are essential to my happiness (because peanut butter and chocolate is the best flavour combination) and getting them in their current snack-sized state makes every day feel a little bit like Christmas (which makes the tea seem a little less out of place, doesn't it?).


The First: Ain't No Trucks In Texas by Ronnie Dunn

This may be a kind of sad song if you listen too closely to the lyrics, so I advise you to not do that if you are currently in the midst of some sort of lost love heartache. Personally, I'm just a big fan of Ronnie's voice and that's the reason I'm sharing. Because sharing, as we all know, is caring. (You're welcome.)


The Second: Rocket by Josh Dorr

Do I love the grainy-ness of his voice? Yes.
Do I like the melody of the chorus? Of course.
Am I super into the way he sings "rocket" like he's throwing it away? Absolutely.
I hope you do too.
And if, for some crazy reason, this song wasn't good enough for you, I strongly encourage you to listen to Save Your Breath which just might make you literally fall in love.


The Third and Final: Johnny Cash by Jason Aldean

I really don't have a reason for choosing to feature this song today other than it came on the radio yesterday and I just thought, "Why not throw some love at Jason Aldean?" (Yes, that's right. I sometimes throw love at people.) I like the run-on-sentence style of this song, which you may remember is not the first time I've been a fan of poor grammar in country music.


I wish you all a marvellous weekend full of chocolate and peanut butter! Unless you're allergic, in which case I am desperately sorry and certainly do not wish for you to have a peanut butter and chocolate-y weekend. Anaphylaxis does not seem like a good way to spend your weekend.*

*It's important for you to know that I fell asleep but continued to type here and instead wrote "anaphylaxis does not seem like it loved me" What? I don't know. It's a good thing we're at the end because my brain is clearly in need of some sleep. And probably some more Reese Cups, just for good measure.


Thanks for listening!
Karla

We need a little bit more excitement around here.

And what's more exciting than Country Music Friday?!

Answer: Nothing
Zip. Nada. Zilch. Goose Egg.

I know, I know, you're all so happy right now. Well, calm down. You're drawing too much attention to yourself waving your hands around like that.
Oh - and you look like a fool. Well done.
Just say, "Thank You" and I'll say, "You're Welcome" and then we'll just leave it at that and pretend none of it happened and you didn't actually embarrass yourself that much, okay?

Okay good.
MOVING ON.

The First: Get Your Shine On - Florida Georgia Line

What can I say? Florida Georgia Line is hot right now... so hot right now. They had their first hit last summer with Cruise and then proceeded to sell out concerts for their tour this year. On the first day I heard Cruise I proceeded to listen to it on repeat for about a week. And then I had to stop because I started to get sick of it... but I still sing along when it comes on the radio! Anways. I love this song too! Mostly, I just love the way they sing the "homemade jar lemon drop take a sip" parts. They are stellar. If you wish to explore them more, might I suggest taking a gander at Stay?


The Second: Get By - Tim Hicks

Okay. To begin: How do you name your son Tim Hicks and NOT expect him to become either a country music star or a barrel racer at the local rodeo? I will tell you something: you can't. His parents knew exactly what they were doing when they chose to call him that/chose not to change their last name. His fate was sealed. They must have known they were having a cowboy. Good job, parents. (< this is not sarcasm) When I listen to this song, I like to change the pronouns so that I'm singing to a boy because I feel like the attributes align with my personality better that way. Because i don't like to smoke, I like country, and I drive automatic. See how that works? I know, clever. Other things I enjoy: the fact that he doesn't always pronounce the 'S's at the end of his words because

Preach it, girl!


The Third and Final: Texas Was You - Jason Aldean

How witty that you've attributed States to states of being throughout your life, Mr. Aldean! So clever! So cute! Oh... you don't like being called cute? Okay, fine. Tough? Rugged? Yeah, those do seem to fit you better. Good call, Jason. Good call. Anyways, all I have to say is that listening to this song is like walking down someone else's Memory Lane. And I know we all want to do that. (If you just affirmed that statement then you're a creep. Why would you want to infringe on someone else's Memory Lane, dude? How rude. Get your own Lane of Memories. Sheesh.)

If you need me, I'll be singing country music and occasionally whispering "ain't nobody got time fo dat" to myself whenever I think about vacuuming.

Thanks for listening, y'all!
Karla