And all of a sudden it's 2018

Well hello again!

Apologies on going a little AWOL... didn't quite plan for that to happen. And I certainly didn't plan to skip out on a Country Christmas 2017 playlist but sometimes life gets in the way, ya know? But! I have three peices of good news:
Good thing #1: With a new year comes new motivations.
Good thing #2: A delightful byproduct of my radio silence is that I now have a 👏  very👏  long👏  list of new country music that I'm so excited to share with all of you!
Good thing #3: I put a package of Reese's cups in the freezer two weeks ago, forgot about them, and just rediscovered them so we're all winning right now.

Anywho, I think I've made you wait long enough, so I'll just get to it now.


The First: Makin' Me Say by Brett Young

Here's the thing: I'm not ashamed. You may be bored of him by now, but I'm certainly not. I don't think I'll ever be bored of him. Not even after I meet him at a show and he instantly falls in love with me and we've been married for sixty years (daily serenades, of course), raised our children, travelled the world and retired in Stars Hollow. I still won't be bored. I just don't think it's going to happen.
~Also there's clapping in this song so I couldn't not share it.~


The Second: Holier Than Thou by Jillian Jacqueline

I'm honestly still on the fence about whether she's actually a country artist but there are definitely a few songs where Jillian's twang is on. point. The sass of this song is so subtle you don't notice until you actually pay attention to the lyrics and then it will just consumes you. I'm a fan. If you're looking for a more toned down and sweet take on Jillian then I would suggest you check out Sugar and Salt. Pun intended.


The Third and Final: Your Love Is The Drug by The Road Hammers

Not to be confused with another favourite of mine, Your Love Is My Drug by the wonderful unicorn also known as Ke$ha.
I'm really feeling the harmonies in this one. They remind me of old stuff from Alabama, which earns them gold stars in my book. I was initially going to apologize for the beginning of this music video. But then I watched the rest of it and realized there's legitimately just too much to apologize for. It's a lot. I'm sorry doesn't even cover it.
But the harmonies are nice, I swear.

Place your bets on whether there will be a CMF next week. Honestly, it's anyone's guess at this point.

Thanks for listening!
Karla

Awkward slideshows and Academic Awards

Have we not had a magnificent fall so far?? Like, this has been a fall out of the movies. Pretty sure hollywood produced and Mother Nature art directed this season. Crisp but sunny mornings, clear and relatively rainless skies (although I'll admit I'm looking forward to a rainy snuggly day inside this weekend for sure), and cold but not yet freezing temps. Who knew Vancouver had it in it? Plus, I've never seen so many trees gracefully lose their leaves in choreographed synchronicity in my 27 years on this earth. It's been glorious. If it were up to me, the Academy Award would go to fall, fo sho.


The First: Roots by Zac Brown Band

I mean. ZBB. What can I say?? There's a reason why they are and will forever be some of my favourite musicians and this song is a pretty clear summary of my argument as to why. Plus, in a charming twist of events, it seems that after years of getting flack for always wearing a toque, Zac has made a change. Perhaps this change is real. Or perhaps it's a way for him to take his hat game to an extreme with the hopes that we'll eventually start begging for his plain ole toques back. Who's to say? Zac, probably, but he hasn't responded to any of my fan mail demanding an answer to this very important question hat question so I guess we'll just never know. 

The Second: Diane by Cam

Cam! She's back! She's got more gold for us! I didn't realize I was in need of new stuff from this ray of sunshine until I heard this new single. Spoiler alert: turns out I needed new stuff from this ray of sunshine. There's also an acoustic version of this song which I feel captures the power of her voice, but we miss out on the beautiful harmonies so in a very unusual move on my part, I've opted for the recorded version instead. 

The Third and Final: Oklahoma Breakdown by Stoney LaRue

I really don't know what's happening with this seemingly random photo slideshow that's been put together for this YouTube video but it👏 is👏 something👏 else. Please enjoy it and enjoy it thoroughly. Since I haven't done this in a while, I figured this would be a great time for me to play a game I *just* named: The Weird Bits. The Weird Bits is a game in which I just casually draw your attention to the weird bits of the video. It's like easter egg hunting but with a very clear and detailed map of where to find only the strangely decorated eggs.
0:09 - Whose puppy is that?
0:38 - Who are these women? Why are they trapped in a funhouse mirror?
1:21 - Did that woman want to be in the photo? Did she sign a photo release form?
2:20 - Ah. Return of the clipart, I see.
3:22 - ???
And then I stopped watching.

I hope you all take the time to remember and honour those who have been lost in war - not just from Canada but all over our shared planet - this weekend and consider the freedom we enjoy as a result of a sacrifice from countless others. 

Thanks for listening!

Karla

Better late than never.

It's November.
It snowed yesterday.
Daily Savings ends on Sunday.
Red cups have made their debut at Starbucks.
The countdown to Country Christmas 2017 is on.
I'm hoarding mini Reese's Cups like it's my job (I wish. Could you imagine??)

These are just a few updates from the last few days that I felt were specifically important for me to share in case you've been living under a rock and didn't realize how close we are to the most wonderful time of the year. Because we're so close.


The First: Jackpot by Nikki Lane

That raspy voice though 👌. I haven't listened to much Nikki Lane in the past, but this song caught my ear earlier this week so I made a note and as it turns out I really like it. Hope you do too!


The Second: Dang If We Didn't by The Cadillac Three

This seems like an appropriate song to lead us into the weekend. Slow and steady but with a strong beat and a chorus that easily gets stuck in your head just like the small world song or that avocado lady. I'm really selling it now, aren't I?


The Third and Final: Kill Your Love by Jess Moskaluke

Weird and storyline-less music video (unless you're new here you know this is true for 40% of the videos I share) but the song is pretty catchy and you can't deny the power of Jess' voice.

Sorry this is rather short and sweet (and late) but I just couldn't keep my eyes open last night and it's honestly a miracle I'm getting this out at all. I'm off to snowy Whistler for the weekend and among other things I'm looking forward to catching up with a close friend I haven't seen in weeks. Hope yours is equally wonderful!

Thanks for listening,
Karla

Cold meds and make-up

Real talk: the only thing keeping me looking and acting like a real human right now are cold meds and make-up. So apologies in advance for the shorter CMF this week but... at least I tried?


The First: Dear Hate by Maren Morris feat. Vince Gill

So Maren Morris. AND Vince Gill. Together. What a recipe for success. This song is so heartbreakingly good and there's really not much more I can say, just listen to it.


The Second: Doin' Fine by Lauren Alaina

If you've been reading CMF for any amount of time, you can probably guess that I'm not super into this music video because it's... a lot. BUT I like the song and that, unlike so many others, it's not about getting over her own romantic relationship but that there are other layers to it. Like an onion, as Shrek would say. Weird reference? Probably.


The Third and Final: The Long Way by Brett Eldredge

If I'm being honest, I'm really just counting down the days until I can reasonably be listening to Brett's Christmas album without getting weird looks. So I'm settling for this song in the meantime because I do love it... and because if I just play all Brett Eldredge's songs on shuffle then sometime Spotify does me a solid and sneaks in one or two holiday ones. Because it knows that's what I really want.

Hope you all cozy up this weekend and enjoy the rainy days from inside some place warm. I intend to do just that with a little hot tea, a good book and some final trip planning mixed in too. Enjoy the last few hours of this work week!

Thanks for listening!
Karla

On repeat.

Here's the current state of things over in my apartment: In the last two hours I've made not one but two cups of tea and forgotten about both of them, causing them to over-steep and get all bitter and gross. I've sorta been trying to pack, write emails, put together CMF, and make a simple cup of tea simultaneously which is really the root of the problem. I threw out the first cup, but I'm forcing myself to drink the second one. Partially because it feels like a waste if I don't but mostly because it seems like an appropriate punishment.

All that to say: unlike my tea-steeping mistakes, this week's songs have been welcome repeat offenders in my apartment lately.


The First: Asking For A Friend by Devin Dawson

I was so torn between two Devin Dawson songs this week. I heard this one first though and it kind of makes me melt so it ultimately won out. But the other song is a groove-worthy winner too so I'm sneaking it in here anyways - it's called I Don't Care Who Sees and it's very good.


The Second: Hide The Wine by Carly Pearce

You already know that my love for these kind of country/blues-y numbers has consistently been on the rise since the summer and I just felt the need to remind you that it's still a thing. I blame my parents for taking me watch to jazz band concerts when I was younger, and also Michael Buble and Maren Morris for my obsession. Oh and by "blame" I really mean "thank".


The Third and Final: Bittersweet Company by Kip Moore

Kip just gets cooler and raspier with every song he puts out, doesn't he? Like, his sound has genuinely changed and matured from his days of hanging out in a truck in a farmer's field, don't you think? Am I only asking leading questions so that you agree with me? Yes. The answer to all of the above is yes.


On a different but important note... my heart breaks over the consistent events of senseless harm happening in this world - most recently in Las Vegas. It's really hard to consider the good that humans can do for one another when we're constantly hearing about those who choose to hurt instead of love. But I suppose these are the times when it's most important to keep love and goodness close to our hearts. If you're celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving - or if you aren't - my hope is that the weekend offers you moments to pause and remember the boundless good that there still is in this world, to give thanks for all that you have and perhaps think of how you can support those who aren't as fortunate, and finally, to hug your loved ones close.

Thanks for listening,
Karla