Summer Update

Hello music lovers everywhere!

There was a storm so we had to take shelter in the
Cold Spring distribution center. Lucky us, we got
stuck with the LoCash Cowboys!

Today I was lucky enough to get my hours cut at work so I got to leave 5 hours early!! Then again, I really need the money, but with working at the rink AND at the fabric store last week, I got in over 45 hours. Along with working at the magazine this week, I'm okay with a little break! What did I do with 5 extra hours you ask?! I was on YouTube!! I watched a lot of concert videos of the LoCash Cowboys because after seeing & meeting them on Saturday, I am definitely now a big fan of theirs! They're kind of like a weird blend of Justin Moore, Jason Aldean, and Love and Theft. Their music is country-rock, but they also have some really heartfelt songs that are quite emotional. Any band that can be both "bad" and emotional is quite talented and should be well respected, in my opinion. The LoCash Cowboys (Preston and Chris) are also two extremely nice and funny guys. I'm going to have to see them live again (and this time actually know some of their songs!). And uh... I kind of have a thing for Preston now ;)

Along with watching LoCash videos, I uploaded my own videos from past concerts this summer! I even created a new YouTube page just for my concert videos that coordinates with this blog. the URL is www.youtube.com/MyConcertPlaylist. Check it out for concert videos from Taylor Swift, NKOTBSB, and Ingram Hill! These are all three concerts that I still have yet to write about for this blog. I will get to it someday.

This summer has been the absolute BEST summer for concerts EVER! I have seen all of my all-time favorite bands and artists (minus two--Shania Twain & Justin Moore). I have even seen some bands and artists that I wasn't expecting to like, but now I'm a fan! I only have two concerts planned for the rest of the summer now; The Band Perry at the Iowa State Fair (we're going to make this concert into a mini-vacation because we're going camping afterward!) and then Hunter Hayes at Toby Keith's Bar & Grill in St. Louis Park! It's quite ironic that my first concert of the summer was Hunter and he will also be my last concert of the summer.

For the rest of this entry, I have some songs that are currently ON REPEAT in my iTunes:

1. "Home Life" - John Mayer
I heard this song play at my work one day and I had to have it! It's got such a cool sound and has very different lyrics. It's especially a good driving song.

2. "The Luxury of Knowing" - Keith Urban

Just... wow. Truthfully, I have yet to get Keith's "Get Closer" album, so I never heard of this song before until Hunter Hayes tweeted about it! This song just comes straight from the soul.

3. "Don't Stop Dancing" - Matthew Morrison

If you're down in the dumps and need a feel good song, listen to this! It really does make me want to dance. I love the high notes Matthew hits in this song. It sounds like a song from the 90's but with a current hip guitar. I think it's Matthew's former LMNT boy band voice that makes me feel like it could be from the 90's--but that's not a bad thing at all! It makes the song even sexier ;) I am also fond of this song because the first time I heard it was LIVE when Matthew opened for NKOTBSB (see the video I took below!) and at the end of his song, he did a dance tribute to his three heros; Gene Kelly, Patrick Swayze, and Michael Jackson. Matthew was able to capture the joy and magic of dance from three different genres. It doesn't get any better than that.

Summer 2011 Playlist

Today was such a wonderful day! For those who live in or near the Twin Cities, you know that Grand Old Day is a pretty big event. For my best friend Lynden and I, it has become a tradition to go every year and so it never truly feels like summer until this event. It is a mini-version of a state fair that runs down Grand Avenue in St. Paul with over-priced but scrumptious deep-fried food, companies giving away free stuff to advertise, games and family activities, and bands (which you have to be 21+ to get into so we just listened from outside the fence). This was our third year going and it was probably the best year yet! The weather was PERFECT and we took part in many fun activities that we have never done before. (Be on the lookout for a YouTube video that Lynden and I made for a contest to win tickets to the Cities 97 Basilica Block Party!)

On the drive back with blisters on our feet and burnt shoulders, we played songs from my summer playlist. Music makes summer even more enjoyable for me, especially songs that hold memories from past summers. If you need some additions to your new Summer 2011 playlist, here are my top picks for you! Some of them are quite obvious as to why they are summer songs, and others may seem quite random. The main thing I look for when choosing a quality summer song is that the lyrics are about having fun or being in the sun. It should also be upbeat and easy to sing along with. As a warning, country music is my favorite genre and is THE BEST kind of summer music, so you will mostly only see country songs. I will also try to avoid including cliché summer songs or songs with the word “summer” in them  (if I do include a song like this though, that means it’s a REALLY good summer song).

My 5 all-time favorite summer songs

»   “All I Want To Do” – Sugarland
My best friend Lynden and I sang this song when we drove to Valley Fair together after our junior year of high school. We consider it “our” song :)

»   “Wild at Heart” – Gloriana

Other than getting the most severe
sun burn of my life, Florida
treated me quite well.

This song holds a lot of memories from my trip to Florida 2 years ago. Unfortunately, I am no longer friends with the person I went on this trip with, but that hasn’t changed my love for this song! “Stick your hand into my back pocket, light me up like a bottle rocket” is my favorite lyric from the song. It’s all about being young and lovin’ life!

»    “Perfect Day” – Lady Antebellum

This song talks about blue skies, country music, driving in a “jacked-up jeep,” a lake, the hot sun, swimming, losing track of time, being with friends, bonfires, dancing, and being “wild and free.” I say “Perfect Day” is the perfect summer song!

»   “Amarillo Sky” – Jason Aldean
This was the first Jason Aldean song I fell in love with. The song reminds me of the people I talk to when I visit my family in their small town of 310 people in the boondocks of Minnesota.

A perfect day at the beach! We
 were in Albert Lea, MN to see
 Love & Theft and Justin Moore
at the Freeborn County Fair.

»   “Santa Monicas Smile” – Stephen Barker Liles of Love and Theft
Unless you’re a thefthead, you probably have never heard this song before. It is unreleased, but is on Stephen's myspace. You can also listen to it on YouTube here. (I have heard that this song may be on Love and Theft’s next album, but there were some lyric changes. I hope this rumor is true!) This song I played on repeat when Lynden and I went down to southern MN for a music festival last summer. I specifically remember lying on the beach as this song was playing. All I can say is that it was pure bliss and set the mood for a great day at the beach.

Other COUNTRY songs I recommend for your summer playlist
Chattahoochee – Alan Jackson

Sounds So Good – Ashton Shepard

Ticks – Brad Paisley

Sideways – Dierks Bentley

Up On the Ridge – Dierks Bentley

Fishing in the Dark – Emerson Drive version

Smoke a Little Smoke – Eric Church

Storm Warning – Hunter Hayes (my favorite new artist!)

Groovy Little Summer Song – James Otto

Hicktown – Jason Aldean

Found – Josh Gracin

All Over Me – Josh Turner

Hank It – Justin Moore

Backwoods – Justin Moore

Somebody Like You – Keith Urban

Days Go By – Keith Urban (I have about 10 Keith songs in my summer playlist, but these are my 2 favorites)

Country Standard Time – Matt Haynes (He's not a well known artist, but I have some friends who found him through twitter & they shared his music with me! This song has a lot of plays on my iPod. Check out Matt's myspace with more music.)

My Kinda Country – Randy Houser

Summer Nights – Rascal Flatts

Mayberry – Rascal Flatts

Man I Feel Like a Woman – Shania Twain (Men, please don’t put this in your summer playlist. You can add “I’m Still a Guy” by Brad Paisley.)

Something Like That– Tim McGraw

Rollin’ Through the Sunshine – Trailer Choir

Skinny Dippin’ – Whitney Duncan

Non-country songs for your summer playlist (this list represents the wide-spectrum of music I like)

Thunderstruck – ACDC

Bass Head – Bassnector (If you’ve never heard of dubstep music, you HAVE to check this song out! I literally threw my neck out while I was jamming out to it in my friend's car & I had to go to the chiropractor the next day. Sad story, I know.)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club – The Beatles

Headlight Disco – The Click Five

Beauty of Letting Go – Green River Ordinance

Here (In Your Arms) – Hellogoodbye

I’m Yours – Jason Mraz

Body Language – Jesse McCartney

Love Stoned/I Think She Knows Interlude – Justin Timberlake

Whine Up – Kat DeLuna

Day & Night – Kid Cudi

Everything’s Right – Matt Wertz (For those of you with summer loves!)

Room On the 3^rd Floor – McFly

Time to Pretend – MGMT (I know this is a weird song, but I included it in this playlist because of the memories I have associated with it…and it does have a good beat you can bob your head to)

Here It Goes Again – Ok Go

Shut Up and Let Me Go – The Ting Tings

Roundabout – Yes (My father would be proud of this choice)

What do you all have on your summer playlist(s)? Are there any songs that you associate summer memories with?