Well let me tell you, no one is more surprised you're reading this right meow than yours truly. This week has been something else. Between work, and life, and trying to drink eight glasses of water a day (I'm tryingy'all) and remembering to call my father on his birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!), I really didn't think this was going to happen. And yet, here we are.
What a world.
The First: I Hate Love Songs by Kelsea Ballerini
We haven't had a Grand Ole Opry performance around here in far too long, so I think it's about time. Why have a regular music video when we could instead pretend that we are all hangin' out at the Opry on this Friday morning, enjoying Kelsea's performance? Alternatively, we could all just move to Nashville and exclusively listen to live music for the rest of our lives.
Either/Or.
The Second: Castle On The Hill covered by Thomas Rhett
Umm... are you kidding me?
Thomas Rhett? Big fan.
Ed Sheeran? Love him.
Covers? Bring 'em.
Country covers? Excuse me while find a paper bag to hyperventilate into.
The Second: Shoot Me Straight covered by Brothers Osborne
Glad to have another great one from the brothers, their guitars, and their moody twangy voices. Just try not to tap your foot while you listen to this one. I dare you.
Cheers to an exciting and busy weekend. Let's see if we're able to stretch this ~very impressive~ streak to three weeks in a row, shall we?
I am blessed with some really wonderful friends. Friends who are supportive and generous and make me laugh erryday. One of the things that I love about my friends is that they tell me what they really think and the really close ones don't even feel the need to edit their thoughts/streams of consciousness before delivering them to me. Which as you might imagine, can sometimes turn into a sort of tough love approach.
I'll share an example:
My really lovely and super gentle friend Kali recently found out that online CMF playlists are a thing. Kali's immediate reaction, of course, was to tell me that she "would punch me in the throat" if I didn't share the following links/reminders with everyone this week... so in case you are like Kali and didn't know, you can listen to past CMF selections on Youtube and on Spotify. Apparently she felt it was her duty to ensure everyone else was appropriately informed.
I'll leave the "Thank you" flower orders and fruit basket arrangements to all of you.
The First: Rock On by Tucker Beathard
If you're not a fan of country twang, you may not love Tucker. In fact, I've actually been in an argument with myself for the past few weeks about whether Tucker's voice is even considered twang at all, or if it's in an entire category all on its own. Jury's still out, to be honest. But whatever the verdict, this song is clever and I dig it. The video, of course, is meh.
The Second: I'm The Rule by Kelsea Ballerini
I intended to feature Peter Pan but the video started with a silly little monologue (which we know I hate - it's not a movie, it's a music video people) and I could almost overlook it but then she was wearing a very flowy Carrie Underwoodesque jumpsuit thing with unnecessarily long bits of fabric blowing in the artificial wind and I just couldn't do it. So instead I picked this one partially because it's catchy, but mostly because she hasn't yet made an awful music video out of it yet.
The Third and Final: Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under by the incomparable Shania Twain
This song is a shout out to my good friend Lawrence because it's his favourite country song. Apparently as a child this song was played in the car by his friend's mom on the way to school enough that it stuck. Back when we used to live in the same city, Lawrence and I would sing this song in the car with slightly altered lyrics. Ahh the memories. Now I just send him snapchats of me lip-syncing it whenever it comes on. Our other car song is Forget You by CeeLo Green and he always rolls his eyes when I try to put it on as if he doesn't like it even though I know he secretly loves our sing-a-longs. (You're not fooling me, Lawrence). Also, this video could not be more classic Shania.
Enjoy your weekend, CMFers! I have no plans and could not be more delighted at the prospect of sleeping in and then doing nothing unless I feel like it for two full days.
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
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.
