Hello Monday! My household has a three-day weekend, which means everyone is home today – how about you? The rain has thwarted the hubby’s self-induced list of things to get done around the house, but he’s making some progress on reorganizing the garage. Good thing, because there are quite a number of boxes in the garage that should be in the house, so once the rain stops falling, we’ll be able to relocate them. More boxes for me to unpack!

Which I took a break from this past week, since I had errands and doctor appointments and whatnot, so unpacking had to take a back seat, but I’ll be getting back to it again this week, with more fun to share later. I know, you’re all atwitter with anticipation, right?

Meanwhile, being that it’s Monday, it’s time for some music! This week is a freebie week, so grab your favorite tune(s) and dance along, won’t you? Let’s start with this single that opens this groups seventh (7th!!) studio album. The feel-good track is full of wisdom about what it takes to be happy people:

Happy people don’t cheat / Happy people don’t lie / They don’t judge, or hold a grudge, don’t criticize / Happy people don’t hate / Happy people don’t steal / Cause all the hurt sure ain’t worth all the guilt they feel

I think this song is the perfect sentiment for what’s going on in the world right now, and the things that are important. The artists hope it brings some happiness to people right now in what feels like a very chaotic time.

LittleBigTown

Give a listen to Little Big Town with “Happy People”:

Next up is a song that premiered over the 2015 summer (I might have shared it then, but it’s worth sharing again – I was reminded of it by the extra air play it’s been getting on the radio lately). The artist was quoted as saying:

“The standards that we have to kind of face as young women in everyday life just to feel, or look a certain way, or act a certain way, because there’s a lot of pressure being a young girl, and just girls and women in general. So I wanted to make a reminder to just love yourself and appreciate yourself no matter what.”

The video shows various corners of society testifying to how they learned to recognize their individual beauty. The song was inspired by a traumatic experience in the artist’s early teenage years when she started losing her hair in chunks in the shower. The Canadian recalled in an essay for Glamour magazine:

“It was one of the scariest things. It got to the point where it was visibly gone. I struggled with that a lot, especially going into high school. You have so many pressures – what people are going to think of you – and I was going into it losing all my hair. I had, like, nothing left. It was patches of missing hair that people would point out, because people are mean in high school.”

The artist had to learn to accept her hair after her upsetting experience.

AlessiaCara

Here’s the cutie Alessia Cara with “Scars To Your Beautiful”:

Next up is a song I’ve definitely shared before, but this time it’s accompanied by the official music video. The song was first performed live by this group during the summer of 2016, the studio version of this upbeat number was released as the lead single from their album on September 29, 2016.

The song is built around the melody of the much covered classic “Heart and Soul” written by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser in 1938. American band leader Larry Clinton recorded the most successful version in 1939, reaching #1 on the chart. Modern listeners probably best known it as the song that Robert Loggia and Tom Hanks play and dance to on a giant foot-operated electronic keyboard in the 1988 movie Big.

The video shows the lead singer dancing around a sunny Los Angeles as he listens to the song. There is a nod to Big as we see him at one point moving back and forth on a giant keyboard. His attitude and energy is so infectious, everybody else joins in the fun.

Train

Without further ado, here’s Train with “Play That Song”:

Last, but definitely not least, is a new upbeat song from one of my favorite artists. In the lyrics, the song finds the country star playfully listing off some of the qualities and quirks she looks for in new friends:

If your mind’s as cluttered as your kitchen sink / If your heart’s as empty as your diesel tank / If all your white t-shirts have stains / If you’ve got some goods and got some ink / Well then, we should be friends

Potential new recruits for this artist’s social circle don’t need to worry about keeping a tidy house or dressing stylishly when she visits.

The video was shot at a beauty parlor in Watertown, Tennessee. We see the artist making friends and getting a makeover at Wanda’s House of Beauty. The artist’s friend and longtime songwriting partner Natalie Hemby can also be seen with Miller Lite cans rather than curlers in her hair. Another collaborator Waylon Payne gets a shave that leaves him with a 5 o’clock shadow.

MirandaLambert

Let’s have some fun with Miranda Lambert‘s “We Should Be Friends”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday!

Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:   PhotobucketI have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and our musical cohort, Callie from JAmericanSpice., as well as the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy has been such a wonderful help picking up the slack while I’ve been buried in boxes – she’s always a welcome co-host!

Want to join in the fun? It’s easy – just find a tune that rocks your boat, post it and link up – don’t forget to grab Xmas Dolly…er, um, I mean her button…over at her place here. Check out Xmas Dolly’s sidebar for the random themes we sport each week – and you can always ask for a specific theme of music you like, too. Check out the other music lovahs and let’s jam!



12 Comments

  1. Wonderful song choices. Losing hair must be tough for a young person. I love the beautiful song with the added stories. I saw this artist on the tonight show, and she was a lot different in her performance. Making strong faces, doubling over, really odd body language–not like this clip. I really love the Train song, too.

    I’m so jealous that you have a three day weekend. Today, is Presidents’ Day, and we have to go to school. So wrong!

    1. Thank you, Joyce – yeah, I’d probably not handle losing hair at a young age as well as she did.

      That is not fair you guys had school on President’s Day! The only time I remember having to go to school on President’s Day was a snow make-up day so we wouldn’t have to go an extra day in June. Thanks for coming over to dance with me! 🙂

  2. Stacy, DH was off yesterday and then I had an enormous sinus headache, so I’m behind on visits. I enjoyed your freebie picks this morning, especially Train “Play That Song”, so upbeat and fun! Thanks for the morning dance and have a good week, my friend! BTW, I forgot to mention in comments on today’s post that I like the new hair color. I like the various shades! Makes the hair a bit more dimensional. 🙂

    1. No worries, Cathy – I seem to be always behind lately! I sure hope you’re feeling better – sinus headaches are so not fun! Glad you liked the tunes! And thanks for the compliment – I do like having dimension! 😉

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