Song of the Day - Something In the Water - Carrie Underwood

Every once in awhile I rely on other people to help me out in choosing a Song of the Day, and this morning it is my friend Kyle, who shared with me Carrie Underwood's newest, Something In the Water, and unwittingly helped me with my selection.  Now I am in no way, shape or form a country music fan of any sort, but I did find this song pretty amazing and video equally great.  Carrie Underwood is so beautiful and so talented, I am sure this one will get at least a few clicks.  Enjoy and Happy Sunday!

Roller Coaster Road Trip 2014: The Grand Ole Opry

After our short jaunt to Mammoth Cave National Park, it was on to the next state on our trip, one which I'd never been to before but always wanted to visit.

Let's take a trip to Tennessee...find a spot by a lazy tree...

Yes, Tennessee, more specifically Nashville, was a place I'd always wanted to see.  It was actually the one destination on our itinerary that did not involve an amusement park and we were all just as excited to check it out as we were for any of the theme parks we visited. 

Since we arrived in Nashville late in the day, we decided to hold off until the morning to explore, and our first destination was Nashville's most famous of landmarks,, the Grand Ole Opry.  Now I've never been a big fan of country music, but being in Nashville and especially at the the Opry, you can't help but be excited to be there for its significance to the music world in general.   The experience was one which I'll remember for a long, long time.  

*Just an FYI for anyone out there thinking of visiting Nashville and the Opry...the place is not actually within the limits of Nashville proper, but about a 20-minute drive outside of the city.

It was Rich's idea to book the backstage tour.  His sister, mom and niece had done it a couple of years ago and they told him how good it was.  And it was probably the best introduction to all the history that is the Opry and country music itself that we could have had.

We booked our tour for 11:30 a.m. and waited around for about a half-hour, checking out the gift shop and surrounding area, which included a shopping mall and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel (stay tuned...).  While we waited, there was this nice local girl working a lunch menu from the entrance to the tour, and I asked her about something I'd been noticing ever since we had arrived in Tennessee.

Practically everywhere we went, there was this sign in the front window indicating "no handguns allowed."  I though it was odd, and since the girl was so friendly I thought I'd ask her about it...

Do that many people really carry around guns?

Well, no, not around here in Nashville, but yeah, in the surrounding areas.  Sure. 

Coming from New York, where we probably have more reason to carry a gun than anywhere else, but don't, this was a little disconcerting.  Wait a second, we were in the Bible Belt!  (Things that make ya go hmmmmm!!!!)

Back to the Opry...

Anyway, that half an hour went by quickly and before you knew it, we were in an anteroom getting our introduction, via video, from country music superstar and Opry member Blake Shelton.  Once the video intro was complete, it was time for our tour.  I actually got goosebumps as we walked by the backstage door where the singer's enter the Opry, all of the dressing rooms and the lounge.  We saw the front desk and the wall where all of the Opry's members were posted in little gold plates.  We got to see the sound stage where the show Nashville is often filmed, and all of the stars' personal mailboxes.  The whole thing was hella cool!

The piece die resistance, though, had to be the stage itself.  This was the culminating stop on the tour, the place where so many great country artists have performed, from Dolly Parton to Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Garth Brooks and so many more.  We even got to stand on this famous little wooden circle, that has been a part of the Opry stage since its inception, the very spot where all of the greats stood and sang their hearts out over the past almost 90 years.  Now that's history! 

  

The Grand Ole Opry is a must if you ever get to Nashville, and if you're really into country music, catch a live show (yes, they still happen all the time!) in addition to the backstage tour.  You don't have to be a country music fan to really, really enjoy it.

Stay tuned for some more places we visited on our Roller Coaster Road Trip 2014.

  

Meanwhile check out some more pictures from the Grand Ole Opry and also my previous entries on our road trip:

Hitting the Roller Coaster Road

New States

King's Island and The Beast

The Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster

Holiday World

The Coasters of Holiday World

Louisville, Kentucky: Big Four Bridge and Waterfront Park

Zip Lining at Louisville Mega Cavern

Kentucky Kingdom and the Louisville Highlands

Weezie Tries to Stop Smoking

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Mammoth Cave National Park

Song of the Day - Islands In the Stream - Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

Good morning and Happy Sunday!  Today is a day I've been waiting for for a long, long time. Ever since I first heard that country superstar Dolly Parton opened up Dollywood in 1986, I've always wanted to check it out. Dolly is one of those country stars that I admire so much not only because of her musical and acting talents, but she seems like a genuine person too, and she happens to like amusement like me.

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Today's song wasn't a difficult one to choose.  This is one of my favorite country songs of all time, and I just happened to see a video clip of this performance at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville yesterday. Kenny Rogers was an assured part of my musical youth and this beautiful song is still a favorite.  So sit back, click play and relive this classic as I go off to enjoy my day at Dollywood.  I am so excited!

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Crazy - Patsy Cline

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Good Friday morning from Nashville, Tennessee.  This is my first time in Nashville, or Tennessee for that matter, and of course country music must be the theme of our Flashback Friday.  Here's a classic by old-time country crooner Patsy Cline.  Still one of my favorite oldies of all time...

Song of the Day - Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn

Well, today is Thursday and we are leaving Louisville, Kentucky and heading south towards Nashville, Tennessee.  Since we're going to the country music capital of the world, how could I not post some country music?  Since I'm not really a country music person, there's not a whole lot in my repertoire to choose from. I wanted to post something that was a country classic and it doesn't get much more classic than "The First Lady of Country Music."  God, I remember watching Coal Miner's Daughter over and over when I was younger on HBO.  What a great movie!  And who could forget those Crisco commercials, lol?  Anyway, if you know the movie or even just Loretta Lynn (in which case you probably definitely know the movie), click play and take a listen to this flashback...

Song of the Day - Not Fair - Lily Allen

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Oh he treats me with respect

He says he loves me all the time

He calls me fifteen times a day

He likes to make sure that I'm fine

In this day, with Avicii's Wake Me Up making it so big using countrified music in his dance/club song, I think it's a good a time as any to resurface Lily Allen's Not Fair.  Lily is one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time and I've always loved how she mixes simple, sweet sounding styles of music and melodies to her very adult lyrics.  Here, she effectively uses a country banjo background to mask a very serious, yet very amusing subject.  Catchy and singable, this one's one of my favorites.

It's not fair and I think you're really mean

I think you're really mean

I think you're really mean

Oh, you're supposed to care,

But you never make me scream

You never make me scream

You never make me scream...

Lily Allen - Not Fair from Selen Silver on Vimeo.

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Song of the Day - Wake Me Up! - Avicii, featuring Aloe Blacc

Here's a song by Swedish house music producer and deejay, Avicii, who is best known his reworking of Flo Rida's hit Good Feeling into his own house music hit, Levels.  It's from his forthcoming album, TRUE.  I discovered the song through a website/blog called ClubWill, which I will mention again in the near future, but for now let's say it's a great site for learning new music.

Upon hearing this song via that web page, I immediately downloaded it, and it instantly became a favorite.  The voice of singer, Aloe Blacc, reminds me very much of Tracy Chapman, so much so that at first I thought this was a remix of an old Chapman song I didn't know.   Aside from that familiar-sounding voice, the tune's also got a bouncy, countrified feel to it, and I picture a whole slew of dancers swinging around to it, square dance style.

The lyrics to Wake Me Up are also very good, and they also remind me of something Chapman would have written.  Check them out below the video. And in the meantime, click play and enjoy this fun song!

 
Avicii ft Aloe Blacc Wake Me Up [HQ] from FSL Media Studios on Vimeo.

Wake Me Up

Feeling my way through the darkness
Guided by a beating heart
I can't tell where the journey will end
But I know where to start
They tell me I'm too young to understand
They say I'm caught up in a dream
Life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes
Well that's fine by me

So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost
[x2]

I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands
I hope I get the chance to travel the world
But I don't have any plans
Wish that I could stay forever this young
Not afraid to close my eyes
Life's a game made for everyone
And love is the prize

So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost
[x2]

I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost
I didn't know I was lost

AZLyrics

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Song of the Day - All American Boy - Steve Grand

It's not often that I would put up a country song here, but this one is special.  Once again, a relatively unknown recording artist, this time 23 year old country singer Steve Grand, has taken his music the independent route and hit the big time.  And what's so special about this story is that Grand is openly gay and the tune puts it all out there.

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The video for the song All American Boy was released independently on YouTube just last Tuesday and already has garnered over 600K hits. The tune has a familiar ring to it for anyone
who's grown up a gay man in this world.  Our hero, a young gay man, misreads signals from another man and ends up left in the dust with that unsatisfied longing for what could have been.

The video, which cost Grand $7K of his own money to make, adds an effective visual to the story told in the song, and the result is an indie smash from a genre not known for being so open about the topic.  The song is decidedly country, but like fellow indie artist Macklemore & Lewis, I am rooting for Grand.  You go boy!

All American Boy

Ripped Jeans, only drinks whiskey

I find him by the fire while his girl was getting friskey, ohh

I say we go this road tonight

He smiles, his arms around her

but his eyes are holdin me, just a captive to his wonder, ohh

I say we go this road tonight

now I know that that’s your girl, I mean no disrespect

The way that shirt hugs you chest boy, I just won’t forget

I’ll be sittin her, drinking my whiskey

I won’t say goodnight unless I think ya might miss me, ohh

Be my All-American boy tonight

where everyday’s the 4th of July

and its alright, alright

And we can keep this up till the morning light

and you can hold me deep in your eyes

and its alright, alright

be my, be my

my All-American boy

Ripped jeans, tight shirt

he lights a cigarette you know I’m glad that she can’t stand it, ohh

I drink the moonlight from his eyes
Now hold there, just a moment

I want to take this in now we don’t need no photo of it, no

we should go this road tonight
now I know that that’s your girl, and I don’t give a damn

she’s been cusin and cryin, she don’t know what she has

so I’ll be, sittin here, tryin hold down my whiskey,

you tell your girl good night cause somebody’d like to kiss me, ohh

Be my All-American boy tonight

where everyday’s the 4th of July

and its alright, alright

And we can keep this up till the morning light

and you can hold me deep in your eyes

and its alright, alright

be my, be my

my All-American boy

Of all the girls and boys to look my way

Ain’t no body ever hit me this way

so won’t you come back with me

and lay with me a while

I’m gonna wrestle you out of them clothes,

leave that beautiful body exposed,

and you can have my heart and my soul and my body…

just be mine

Be my All-American boy tonight
baby you light my fire

its gonna be alright, alright!

Be my All-American boy tonight

where everyday’s the 4th of July

and its alright, alright

And we can keep this up till the morning light

and you can hold me deep in your eyes

and its alright, alright

be my, be my…

just, be my, be my…

my All-American boy

Read more: http://www.lyricsprint.com/out/all-american-boy-steve-grand/#ixzz2YYIRCvRS

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Music News Bytes: Mariah's New Song; Gaga Cancels Tour; R.I.P. Mindy McCready

Music News Bytes is a collection of short news items that I follow on the Web.  If you're into the same type of music I am, that is pop, dance, R&B, and such, check it out...

There hasn't been too much going on in the world of pop music this week, but here are a couple of stories that piqued my interest:

Neon Limelight

Mariah's Got a New Song

Mariah Carey has released a new song, which is the first single from the soundtrack to the upcoming film, Oz The Great and Powerful. The tune is called Almost Home and it's an inspirational mid-tempo track that I actually liked the very first time I heard it.  The song was released this morning on iTunes and you can check out an audio preview of it at Neon Limelight. Carey is currently working on the video for the song, as well as her 11th studio album, which is due out later this year.

Gaga Cancels Remainder of Tour

As you've probably heard by now, Lady Gaga has cancelled the remaining dates on her Born This Way Ball Tour after announcing that she needs to have surgery to repair a damaged right hip.  The injury was caused by some of the repetitive and rigorous movements the singer does in the show.  The timing of this is ironic since I'd just penned a piece for Yahoo on the eccentric timing of Gaga's tours, noting that the album she had been currently promoting is now two years old and her next set, ARTPOP, is due out within months.  She'd been scheduled to appear at Madison Square Garden this coming weekend and I was hoping to catch it, but what can you do?  Here's to a speedy recovery and to hoping that the ARTPOP Ball will start out somewhere in this vicinity somewhat soon.

In the meantime, check out Gaga's Eccentric Timing as Born This Way Ball Draws to a Close.  The timing of this story turned out to be perfect, as the singer's announcement, which was not included in my original piece, was made in time for me to update before publication. Phew!

Angela Weiss/Getty Images

R.I.P. Mindy McCready

The country music world is mourning the passing of troubled star Mindy McCready, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday.  From initial reports, the incident seems to be related to the passing of her boyfriend David Wilson about a month ago.  Though I do not follow country music, I have heard of the singer and am deeply saddened by her tragic passing.  McCready was 37 years of age, and she and I shared the same birthday...Read more on the story at EOnline.


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I Love the 90's Song of the Day - Baby, Baby - Amy Grant

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There were quite a few "Baby" songs during the 90's. Yesterday we had a dance/club song by Italian singer Corona and now we have a sweet, countryish one from Ms. Amy Grant, circa 1991.
 Enjoy!

 

Amy Grant - Baby, Baby by AmyGrant-Official

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I Love the 90's Song of the Day - You're Still the One - Shania Twain

CMT

Country music had its moments during the 90's, too, especially for Canadian singer Shania Twain.  This song, from 1997, began a series of crossover hits for the beautiful country crooner that include "From This Moment," "That Don't Impress Me Much," and "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!"  The songs, from the album "Come On Over" were so good it was the first country album I'd bought since the days of Kenny Rogers.

"You're Still the One" is one of my favorite Shania Twain songs.  It's tender and beautiful, and her voice carries the whole thing well!  Enjoy!

 

Shania Twain - You're Still The One by bernynab

You're Still the One

Looks like we made it

Look how far we've come my baby

We mighta took the long way

We knew we'd get there someday 

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"

But just look at us holding on

We're still together still going strong 

(You're still the one)

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss good night 

Ain't nothin' better

We beat the odds together

I'm glad we didn't listen

Look at what we would be missin' 

They said, "I bet they'll never make it"

But just look at us holding on

We're still together still going strong 

(You're still the one)

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss good night 

(You're still the one)

You're still the one I run to

The one that I belong to

You're still the one I want for life

(You're still the one)

You're still the one that I love

The only one I dream of

You're still the one I kiss good night

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Song of the Day - Jolene - Dolly Parton

If you would've told me that I would post not one, but two Dolly Parton songs on this blog within a month of each other, I would've thought you were delusional. I mean, I like Dolly (she loves roller coasters, too!), but I've never been a huge fan of country music in general. I've heard this song a few times before, but I recently heard it again on an episode of Glee and for a few days afterwards I couldn't get it out of my head.



"Jolene" is such a sad song. The singer is begging Jolene, a beauty who can have any man she wants, not to take her man. Just take a look at the lyrics below...they fit well into the Glee episode where the, ahem, husky woman football coach sang to Sue not to take the one guy she ever really loved. Sniff, sniff. Great song!





Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene

He talks about you in his sleep
And there's nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name, Jolene
But I can easily understand
How you could easily take my man
But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

You could have your choice of men
But I could never love again
He's the only one for me, Jolene
I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do, Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you, please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him even though you can
Jolene, Jolene

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