Well, here it is Labor Day weekend, which technically marks the end of summer. Little Dude starts back to school on Tuesday, and Princess Nagger starts Wednesday. Where did the time go? Although fall is my favorite season, so I’m looking forward to the air being crisp and clean and the leaves changing to vibrant colors, so I’m not sad to see the summer exit and take the excessive heat with it…heh!

Meanwhile, it’s Monday, and Monday means music! For the month of September, our Honorary Conductor and Spotlight Dancer is our very own Cathy from Curious as a CAThy! This week is a freebie week – grab your favorite tune(s) and dance along with us, won’t you?

Let’s start with a song this artist wrote with others at a writing camp set up by his publisher. The boot-stomping anthem captures the energy and spirit of being lost in music at a show or being at the center of a party. He was quoted as saying:

“Those three guys were mixing up some sort of various cocktail environment figuratively and literally upstairs, and there was just such a great thing happening up there. I had this drum beat that I had carried around for a bit, and I presented that, and we started building on that. It really started with a tribal rhythmic feel.”

The video takes place mainly in a club and follows a shy and awkward young man, who after getting dropped off there by the artist, gains confidence on the dance floor. The director explained:

“In casting, we took the people that were happiest to be themselves – whatever that was. We brought in voguers, break dancers, hip-hop dancers – line dancers – everybody’s dancing together for this one song, on this one night.”

You might feel like dancing to Keith Urban with “Never Comin Down”:

Next up is a brand new song from one of my favorite artists, which is her apparent commentary on the sense of divisiveness consuming the United States.

Politics and prejudice, how the hell’d it ever come to this / when everybody’s gotta pick a side / it don’t matter if you’re wrong or right

The artist was quoted as saying:

“I do think that we as humans are inherently good and we need to remember that. Because we’re different, that doesn’t make somebody else bad, it just makes us different. We wanted that song to be hopeful and to maybe make somebody stop and think about that.”

Listen to the gorgeous and talented Carrie Underwood with “Love Wins”:

This next artist may have millions of record sales and five Grammy nominations under his belt, but as evidenced by this new song, the well-accomplished singer has the same struggles with self-confidence and acceptance as all of us.

The song is an achingly personal study of self-doubt, presented in a prayer-like format to God:

Why does my life have to hurt so much? / Why can’t I find any piece of love? / And why do I feel like I’m not enough? / Dear God, are You sure that You don’t mess up?

The artist doesn’t reach any conclusions by the end of the song, except to confirm (seemingly reluctantly) that God has reasons for everything and nothing is a mistake. The open-ended non-resolution adds another layer of deep personal introspection to the composition. The artist was quoted as saying:

“I had just gotten back from a TV performance in New York and was exhausted but excited to have an evening hang/write booked with Andy Grammer. We started by talking for an hour for his podcast. We covered a lot of topics but one of the big things I took away from it was the human condition of never feeling ‘good enough.'”

“I had written a letter on the plane that was at first [called] ‘Dear World’ before I realized I was actually writing to God.”

“The song’s description of the nights when I question my world couldn’t be more vulnerable. We all face the question of being good enough for the world around us and sometimes we just need a reminder that we are.”

Give a listen to Hunter Hayes with “Dear God”:

Last, but certainly not least, this upbeat synth-pop track finds this duo taking a nostalgic look back at a more innocent time as they wish they were just kids again.

No shame, no fame, no worries / The king of wiffle ball / Without a care at all

They were quoted as saying:

“There’s this sense of ‘anything is possible’. There’s this freedom and this fearlessness that we lose as we get older…so when we wrote this song, we were just trying to hang on to that spark.”

Give a listen to A Great Big World with “Younger”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday – see you on the dance floor! 

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, the awesome Cathy from Curious as a CAThy, and while our beloved Callie of JAmerican Spice is taking a break, our friend Michelle from Musings and Merriments with Michelle is helping out with hostess duties! And, for the month of September, our Honorary Conductor and Spotlight Dancer is our very own Cathy from Curious as a CAThy!

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!

9 Comments

  1. A couple of my favorite artists here. Keith Urban is a stellar musician and showman. He loves to perform and it shows. Carrie Underwood will one day assume the crown of Queen of Country Music. Her vocals are flawless. Thanks for sharing your music with us today. Have a blessed Labor Day.

  2. I can really, really relate to younger – things are always so much more hopeful when you’re younger. I didn’t think I’d ever lose that anything-is-possible feeling, but I finally did. I may not be 100% happy with where I currently am in my life, but I am 100% happier than I was a few years ago…and even though I don’t see a lot of possibility left in it when it comes to certain things, I’m still open to all the good that can come along – and hope I’m strong enough to deal with the not so good.

    Great choices today!

  3. P.S. Sorry I’m commenting again…but my computer somehow auto-filled my website link in wrong, and if I don’t fix it now while it’s fresh, I’ll never, ever remember to! Oh…and I saved a bunch of Juke contenders on Facebook! I still don’t plan to buy for a while so none of them will be available by the time I do, but I still like looking, and saving, and seeing about what I can get, no matter what budget I have!

  4. Stacy,

    Your song features are introductions. I like Carrie’s message in her new song. We are different. Love for oneself should be enough to extend to others respectfully keeping things in perspective for humankind instead of this out-of-control, hate raged people that populate social media, roadways, or next door.

    “Younger” is a tune many of often wish for but I’m not sure if I truly want to relive those days. It would be nice to revisit those days but then I guess that’s where memories come in. Thanks for sharing these new tunes with me and the dance floor. Have a pAwesome week, my friend!

  5. Not sure I’ve told you this, but I love your blog titles. Now, for the songs: Keith Urban; great bass line and loved his guitar (mosaics?). Carrie Underwood’s song (although I’m not a big country fan I love her) reminded me of a news feature I saw on a Sunday morning show about a woman whose heart changed totally around from hate to love after she suffered a heart attack and what she did as a result of that change of heart. But my fav was the song “Younger” – both the song and the video.

Comments are closed.