We’re only halfway through May, so it seems weird that this next weekend is Memorial Day weekend already, doesn’t it? It’s time for me to start planning our camping trips for this year – I better get on that!

Meanwhile, it’s Monday, and Monday means music! This week is a freebie week, so grab your favorite tune(s) and dance along with us, won’t you? Let’s get this party started!

Let’s start with an honest, piano-driven ballad that was recorded for the HBO documentary film Foster about the foster care system. The artist was quoted as saying:

“[The song is] about overcoming something standing in your way, when sometimes it can look very small, but only you know how important the victory is.

“‘[The song]’ encompasses every truth we have and I hope it speaks to the subject matter of this powerful film – that triumph comes in all forms; it’s all meaningful, it’s all a victory.”

The song’s music video includes scenes of the families and children featured in Foster. 

Here’s Christina Perri with “Tiny Victories”:

Next up is a song from an artist who dropped out of school in his teens so that he could concentrate on his music. The young rapper started to live with his sister as he was getting grief from his parents because they didn’t feel he had a realistic future as a musician. However his sister was ready for him to go.

When the artist found YoungKio’s beat on YouTube in October 2018, he penned this song with a “loner cowboy kind of vibe” in which he’s “running away from everything.”

He later changed the song’s meaning “from a runaway type of story to Old Town Road being a symbol for a path of success, where you’re just staying on it.” He explained that in the first verse, he’s “getting everything packed up and ready to go.” The second verse finds him “in that lane now where everything’s going right.”

The song’s hook of “Can’t nobody tell me nothin’, “is a sort of jab to the artist’s parents who wanted him to get back into school.

In the week ending April 11, 2019, this song smashed the one-week US streaming record previously held by Drake’s “In My Feelings.” This song earned 143 million US streams compared to 116.2 million for “In My Feelings” back in July 2018. It was the first tracking week since the release of the remix.

Chris Rock, Vince Staples, Rico Nasty, Diplo, Ha Ha Davis, Jozzy all make cameo appearances in what is a slick take on country western movies (with a slanted modern-day twist).

Without further ado, here’s the unconventional duo Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus with “Old Town Road”:

Next up is a song where this group’s video takes on a pack of bullies with dance. I know, right? The new single and video were released Friday, and features Cody Bingham from Dancing with the Stars: Juniors as a kid being chased by a pack of masked, letterman-jacket-wearing bullies on bicycles. Luckily for Cody, his dance talents are more than meets the eye, and he fends off the bullies with a combination of choreography and an unlikely superpower. The group’s lead singer was quoted as saying:

“‘[This song]’ was written very quickly, 10 minutes or less almost a stream of consciousness. It was me telling Brent, our bass player and cellist, ‘I wanna write a song with a concept I had started a few years ago (called “Rescue Me”).’ He started playing this lonely sounding guitar riff and the first thing out of my mouth was the chorus as it is now. The concept: In every friendship there’s a give and take, but sometimes you have to wonder if the love you give is the love you’ll get.”

This is the group’s first single since “Connection” was released in June 2018.

Give a listen to OneRepublic with “Rescue Me”:

Next up is a group that advocates for reaching out with their new song. The lead singer was quoted as saying:

“This world teaches us to try to do it all on our own and not rely on anybody else. Life is hard and sometimes you just gotta ask for a little help.”

Without further ado, here’s Fitz and the Tantrums with “I Need Help!”

That’s a wrap for this week – 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!

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!



6 Comments

  1. Staycy,

    Your choice song selections are all new2me tunes. Hooray! 😉 The Billy Ray Cyrus mewsic video was a whole of fun. 🙂 I nearly didn’t recognize him. I’m really digging OneRepublic ‘Rescue Me’ track! Your playset has a general theme here motivated no doubt spurred for a need to get going on your summer itinerary. We were just talking about that ourselves last night how we’d like to take a vacation. That would be pAwesome but we haven’t set anything in stone yet. There’s just so much going on that it’s hard to get a handle on. We’ll see how things go. Thanks for sharing the dance floor with me, my friend. Have a boogietastic week!

  2. The One Republic song wouldn’t play for me, but i will look it up. Great songs, happy Monday!

  3. Hi Stacy,
    This was a fabulous playlist (as usual!). Christina Perri blew me away with her voice. Wow! She’s incredible. “Tiny Victories” is really good and I’m looking forward to checking into more of her music.

    “Old Town Road” was interesting. I didn’t even recognize Billy Ray Cyrus! It took me awhile to get into the song but by two-thirds of the way through, I was starting to get into it, grooving a bit in my chair. It was fun to see and hear Chris Rock; he has that unmistakable unique voice.

    I LOVED the next song too and the video was fantastic. One Republic’s “Rescue Me” is going to go in my special playlist of new-to-me songs that I really like. The video story is very satisfying to anyone who has ever been bullied. That fantasy of gaining the upper hand in a big way is one that is a common theme among victims of bullying. I think my favorite revenge on the bullies movie is Stephen King’s “Carrie”. It goes a little far (ya think?!) but I know a lot of folks who can relate.

    Hope you have a great holiday weekend Stacy. Thanks for bringing yet more new music for me to enjoy.

    Michele at Angels Bark

  4. These were all good listening but two of these videos really stood out – the Old Town Road video, as a SF fan, I absolutely loved and I could have listened and watched it for another 15 minutes, I think. The surprise for me was the One Republic song – the first minute or so I really didn’t like the song but suddenly it all changed – and that Cody, does he have Moves! The Rescue Me song is now an earworm. How am I going to get rid of it?

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