litlover12: (PV)
This is an AWESOME couple of months for us weirdos who are opera, Broadway, and country fans. :-) Midland just released their debut album (and it is GREAT), Anna Netrebko, Patti LuPone, and Shania Twain have new albums out Friday (on my birthday, squee!), and Juan Diego Florez and Chris Young in October. It's like someone designed the season just for me!
litlover12: (CY)
For once in my life, I'm happy about multiple Grammy nominations! (Seriously, this NEVER happens!) Some of my favorite artists and albums and songs this year actually got nominated. Like these:
Read more... )

Hodgepodge

Nov. 6th, 2014 11:02 am
litlover12: (WC_P&N)
--Luke Bryan, who sounds like a Muppet with adenoids, wins CMA Entertainer of the Year, and Chris Young, with the most gorgeous voice in the business, gets no CMA nominations at all. Such is the state of country music.
Read more... )
litlover12: (Ed2)
I've got a review here of a new song that strikes back at the awful "bro country" trend. About time, too. If the country music scene doesn't change pretty darn quick, I'm not sure I can even come up with a top 20 this year.
litlover12: (CY)
It was a weak year for country music, my friends. A weak, weak year. I won't go into all the reasons again -- you've heard me rant about 'em often enough (and you can click on my country music tag if you want to revisit the rants). All I'll say is, I had to search hard just to find 20 songs for this list. There were some good songs released this year, even some great songs . . . but there weren't very many.

Let's hope 2014 is better.

Same rules as always: Where I can't choose between an artist's singles, I list them as a tie. For the first time ever, there's a tie for first place. I really do like this Hayes kid -- he's a bright spot in a musical landscape that doesn't have very bright spots right now.

(Note: The video for #18 is a little racy.)

20. The Heart of Dixie, Danielle Bradbery
19. Sunny and 75, Joe Nichols
18. That Girl, Jennifer Nettles
17. Better, Maggie Rose
16. It Ain't the Whiskey, Gary Allan
15. Wagon Wheel, Darius Rucker
14. You Can't Make Old Friends, Kenny Rogers feat. Dolly Parton
13. I Believe, George Strait
12. When I See This Bar, Kenny Chesney
11. Little Bit of Everything, Keith Urban
10. Goodbye Town, Lady Antebellum
9. Highway Don't Care, Tim McGraw feat. Taylor Swift and Keith Urban
8. Stripes, Brandy Clark
7. Bruises, Train feat. Ashley Monroe
6. Done., The Band Perry
5. Little Bit Gypsy, Kellie Pickler
4. Aw Naw, Chris Young
3. Mama's Broken Heart, Miranda Lambert
    I Want Crazy, Hunter Hayes
1. Everybody's Got Somebody but Me, Hunter Hayes feat. Jason Mraz
litlover12: (PV)
Jen Fulwiler has a fun suggestion over here: theme songs for personality types. (Here's her follow-up post on the subject.) Her commenters thought up a lot of good ones. I came up with these for INFJ . . .
So we're a little idealistic )
litlover12: (PV)
I just don't get it. I do not get Luke Bryan and his ilk at all, and I TRULY don't get his monster success. All I know is that suddenly country music seems to be all about mindless, mediocre party anthems. It's like the big craze is for music that just lets you turn your brain off, where you're not supposed to think or feel or genuinely engage at all.

And it's really starting to bug me.
litlover12: (Roses)
Comment on this post and I will choose six interests from your profile. You will then explain what they mean/why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

I got this from [livejournal.com profile] charleygirl a couple weeks ago, and am just now getting around to it. And I still have yet another meme I'm supposed to do, but I can't remember who gave it to me. I am the world's worst at keeping track of memes. But anyway, now for this one! Here are my interests that she chose.

Read more... )
litlover12: (CY)
Ashley Monroe is really growing on me. And it's nice to see a video that actually has something to do with the song. That seems like a rare phenomenon these days. :-)

litlover12: (CY)
I've taken my own sweet time getting to this, haven't I? I don't know what it is, but I've been a little behind on everything, ever since Christmas break. I think my brain stayed on vacation without me.

Anyway -- for the new folks, here are the 2011, 2010, and 2009 lists. (It's taken me how many years to actually make a tag for this? Maybe I've been behind for longer than I thought.) Same rules as last year: Where I couldn't choose between two of an act's songs, I put them in as ties. This year, for the first time, we have an unprecedented three-way tie. What can I say, Rascal Flatts had a really good year!

(Also, wow, do we need more women in country music.)

So here we go, from #20 up to #1:

20. Fly Over States, Jason Aldean
19. Hard to Love, Lee Brice
18. Somebody's Heartbreak, Hunter Hayes
17. You Go Your Way, Alan Jackson
16. Even If It Breaks Your Heart, Eli Young Band
15. Better than I Used to Be, Tim McGraw
14. The One That Got Away, Jake Owen
13. For You, Keith Urban
12. Tornado, Little Big Town
11. Why Ya Wanna, Jana Kramer
10. Did It for the Girl, Greg Bates
9. Lovin' You Is Fun, Easton Corbin
(tie) Changed
      Banjo
6.   Come Wake Me Up, Rascal Flatts
(tie) Postcard from Paris
4.    Better Dig Two, The Band Perry
3. Too Good to Be True, Edens Edge
2. I Can Take It from There, Chris Young
1. Find Me a Baby, Josh Turner

Runners-up:

Better in a Black Dress, Katie Armiger
Sound of a Million Dreams, David Nail

Honorable Mention: Pistol Annies were going to release Takin' Pills as a single, but for some reason it never happened. However, they would have made the list if they had. So here's their video for the song.

And there always manages to be a song that my dad and I claim as our special song for the year. This year's is Banjo by Rascal Flatts ('cause Dad plays the banjo!).
litlover12: (CY)
There's a lot of bellyaching among some country music fans because Luke Bryan got shut out of the Grammy nominations. As you might expect if you know me, however, I think it's fantastic. :-) Look, the guy's got the voice of a cartoon character, and his lyrics sound like they came straight from the brain (or other body part) of a hormonal 14-year-old boy. His massive sales have little or nothing to do with the quality of his music. He's the twangy version of 50 Shades of Grey, and that ain't winning any awards for quality any time soon.

(I can't say all this on the country music message boards. Though some folks there agree with me, most got tired of my Bryan-bashing after the second or third time. So I'm just saying it all again for you, you lucky people. :-) )

It's not like I care much for the Grammys as a rule -- far too many snubs of artists I do like, and too many "What? Who? Why?" nominations. But I am glad about Hunter Hayes's album nomination and best new artist nomination. (He also got a nomination for "Wanted," which is one of my least favorite of his songs, but it's still not bad.) Now there's a young man with a little originality, a ton of talent -- actual musical talent, not just "good at rotating his hips in skintight jeans" talent -- and an endless capacity for hard work. He deserves recognition, and I hope he's enjoying every second of it.

litlover12: (Ed2)
Because sometimes life's just too overwhelming for anything else.

I've seen this performance three times now. Goosebumps every time. The Band Perry really is something special.

litlover12: (CY)
. . . is teasing all the infuriated Carrie Underwood uberfans. :-D

(Don't get me wrong, I like Carrie. But her uberfans are SCARY.)
litlover12: (Ed2)
So, I saw the Nashville pilot, and my review's just been published. Short version: I like it. I like it a lot. If TV's going to tackle country music, I want them to get it right, and it looks like they're bending over backwards to do just that. It would be fantastic if this series could help country gain a little mainstream attention.

Of course, if this means that a couple of months from now, people will be walking around acting all knowledgeable about bands and singers that they've only just heard of for the first time, it'll be hard not to giggle. But I shall attempt to giggle in a kindly and encouraging manner!

As for the show itself, there are a lot of nice dramatic storylines to follow, and I like the characters just enough to be interested in following them, but not enough to be devastated when they do stupid things. (Because they will. This is a soap. Stupid things are a given.)

So, yep, I think this one's a keeper!
litlover12: (BA)
I shouldn't let award shows get to me. I know I shouldn't. But I always do.

I nearly went catatonic this morning over the news that Chris Young didn't get any CMA nominations this year . . . and Luke Bryan did. Bryan, you may or may not recall, is the one who sang these immortal lines on his newly award-nominated album:

Girl, you make my speakers go boom boom
Dancin' on the tailgate in a full moon
That kinda thing makes a man go mm-hmm
You're lookin' so good in what's left of those blue jeans
Drip of honey on the moneymaker gotta be
The best buzz I'm ever gonna find . . .

I mean, you just know that somewhere Johnny Cash is weeping with envy because he never came up with that.
litlover12: (POI)
I did it! I finally made a fanmix. (I actually have a couple others in various stages of development, but this is the first one I've actually finished.)

First of all, I have to give my profoundest thanks to [livejournal.com profile] bluewildfire, because I could not have done it without her. I mean I LITERALLY could not have done it without her. As many of you know -- graphics skillz: I haz none. So the pretty pictures you're about to see are all her work. All I did was pick the songs and suggest (in the very broadest and vaguest terms) a design. I had fun with this; some of the songs are a bit meta, as PoI fans will discern.

And yes, I chose country songs for a bunch of city-dwellers. Because that is the way my mind works.


So here we go . . . )

Whoops!

Jun. 13th, 2012 11:52 am
litlover12: (Ed2)
I waxed so enthusiastic about the new Edens Edge album on Facebook that one of my FB friends bought it based solely on my recommendation. I believe he's one of the stricter Christians at our church. Now, thanks to me, he owns an album that has one song called "Skinny Dippin'" and another called "Who Am I Drinking Tonight?"

I really must learn to tone down the enthusiasm.

(Wonder if I should warn him not to play it with the kids in the car?)
litlover12: (CY)


That smile is sending my temperature straight back up, just when I'd started to get it down.

Eureka!

Apr. 10th, 2012 12:21 pm
litlover12: (ATOTC2)
Just for kicks, and using a link provided by [livejournal.com profile] digne, I took the Myers-Briggs test. It says I'm an INFJ. Reading this description, I almost laughed out loud when I got to this part:

"They are highly private people, with an unusually rich, complicated inner life. Friends or colleagues who have known them for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise."

You guys, that is so me. I get this ALL THE TIME, sometimes from people who've known me for decades. "I'm so surprised that you like country music/thought that joke was funny/said that thing the other day," etc., etc., etc. Apparently I am constantly astonishing people, and I've never understood why. I always want to say, "Dude, I'm the same person I always was! What's the big surprise?"

(Which would probably draw a response of "I'm so surprised you said 'Dude'!")

I'm still not 100 percent certain I understand it, but hey, now at least I know there's a recognized personality type for it!

So now I want to try following [livejournal.com profile] digne's lead, and type some fictional characters. I wonder what type Sydney Carton would be . . . ? At first glance, I thought ISFJ, but on further examination, I'm not sure that's quite right.

ETA: I just took the test as Sydney . . . and got INFJ. Either I wasn't able to adopt his persona fully enough, or Mr. Carton and I are a lot more alike than I realized!

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