Thanks, yo.

I think there are three things I can really count on each week when I sit down to write CMF.

First off, coming up with a title is legitimately half the battle. It also happens to take half the time. And the sad, pathetic reality is that they're never any good (as you all well know).

The second is that a minimum of one of the music videos will inevitably make me roll my eyes into the back of my head so hard that I sometimes get nervous they'll get stuck like that.

The third is that, despite these two minor annoyances, writing CMF and searching for new music is always something I look forward to doing. So mostly I just wanted to say thanks for reading. Because otherwise I'd just be rounding up country music and sending it to myself... which would likely be considered weird.

And we all know I don't need any additional help in the weird department.


The First: I Know Somebody by LoCash

Spoiler alert: that "somebody" he's singing about mayyy be himself. What a sneak, hey?


The Second: Somewhere On A Beach by Dierks Bentley

I'm not entirely sure what it is with Dierks always getting on planes and flying off to beaches as a form of breakup revenge, but apparently it's his M.O. All that said, I like this song. Unrelated: anyone else have the overwhelming urge to go on vacation now?


The Third and Final: Bow Chicka Wow Wow by Meghan Patrick

Mostly including this one because I think it's a little ridiculous in a humourous kind of way. I am also entirely aware that I think the two reasons I love this song are:
1) That twang (and from Ontario of all places).
2) Those glorious older women who are really just living it up in the video.

I wish you all an excellent weekend! I have the pleasure of celebrating two dear friends at their engagement dinner tomorrow night and am very excited.

Thanks for listening!
Karla

I have no witty title this week, I'm sorry.

Alright team! It’s Friday! FriYAY!!

Your weekend may still be a few hours away, but you don’t have to wait another second for Country Music Friday because it’s right here!

The First: Crash and Burn by Thomas Rhett

Not to be confused by the (excellent) Savage Garden song of the same name, Thomas Rhett’s Crash and Burn is certainly a current favourite of mine. And by that I do mean that it is one of the songs I’ve been enjoying on repeat ever morning whilst getting ready for work. I think my favourite part is the transition into the chorus. I could not tell you why. I just like it. When the beat drops (is that the right terminology? I don’t know. I’m sure one or ten of you will correct me if I’m wrong), I just feel like the music is basically saying, “Okay Karla, get ready, it’s about to get real good!”


The Second: I Love This Life by LoCash

To begin, let’s discuss these guys: The LoCash Cowboys. They are their own kind of cowboy, if you ask me. I can’t quite decide how I feel about them. In my very thorough research that you all know I do in preparation for each week’s CMF (< that was sarcasm, fyi. Unless you count watching YouTube videos “research”), I came across this gem of a video of them debuting this song at a country music festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCC8OFVV5m8. First of all, you’re welcome because your life was clearly incomplete without these six minutes of gold. Secondly, I wish to share a few of what I believe are the major highlights of their personalities in this particular performance:
- The fist pump and determined high-kneed strut up the stage at 0:16.
- The choreographed pose at 0:56 (which is actually one of my favourite lines in this song, in case you were wondering. I know you were.)
- The groovin’ by Mr. Red Hat at 1:40.
- The enthusiastic shoulder shrugs at 2:51. To be entirely fair, this is legitimately how I “dance” when I really don’t want to dance for real.
Those are all the gems I could find before I felt the need to stop watching.
If you wish to just hear the song and not watch the shenanigans, just click on the link I provided at the top there.

The Third and Final: I’m To Blame by Kip Moore 

Your time is valuable, my time is valuable, so let’s just cut to the chase and I’ll tell you that the music starts at 1:34. I don’t know what it is with country music videos these days and their need to delay and/or interrupt otherwise excellent songs with a storyline. Ugh. 

This song is good though. I always enjoy the roughness of Kip’s voice.

I do feel bad for the groom (see 2:17, 3:02, 3:15, 3:28, 3:34 for reference). While we’re at it, I also feel bad for the couple at 2:44.

Thanks for listening!
Karla