Blown Away: a Tornado creates an Eternal Flame Mother Earth won’t douse with Water

For those of you keeping track (you know who you are), there are only 51 days until spring.   Mother Nature is obviously still trying to figure out her menopausal medication, since we’ve been in frozen mode the the last week after her random hot flash – and it appears she’ll have yet another hot flash midweek to keep us on our toes. 

At least Princess Nagger was able to have an early dismissal on Friday because of the little bit of snow we got, and later this morning we’ll find out how today will shape up (late start or snow day) because there’s another system coming in that will be depositing a couple of inches of snow – which in and of itself would be cool, but Old Man Winter wants to have his say, too, so the snow will end up encased in ice, compliments of freezing rain. 

It’s Monday, and regardless of the weather we can keep things enjoyable with fun music, right?  This week’s theme was chosen by one of our previous Spotlight Dancers, Naila from Just The Stuff Ya Know – she suggested we share music based on the four Elements – Wind, Water, Fire and/or Earth.  I’ve decided to share something from each Element, because it is a fun theme to explore.

Let’s start off with Wind – and one of my favorite artists whose song fits right into that element of nature.  From her fourth studio album released in May 2012 that debuted at number one on Billboard 200, and became the third-largest opening of 2012.  With this song reaching number one, this artist became the third female to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 with three country albums, tying her with Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill.  The album remained at number one for a second week on the Billboard 200, becoming her first album to spend more than one week at the top.  And rightly so, since she really is all that.

The artist took her time working on this particular album, since she “wanted to change things up”, and she needed to step away from the “celebrity bubble” to “have real things to write about and real things to sing about.”  Those of you familiar with her will have noticed that this album contains material that is different from her previous efforts.  She has stated that she “isn’t trying to impress people with what [she] can do” and she doesn’t “have to sing to the moon with every single song” with this project.  The album itself combines country, pop and rock genres.

Here’s Carrie Underwood with “Blown Away”:

Keeping with the Wind element, another tornadic song I recently shared needs its revisit as well.  This group caught my attention with their boat song, and with this new one they jumped out of the boat and into the storm.   The song is about a woman’s fury turning a house upside down – the lead singer had this to say about it:

Here’s Little Big Town with “Tornado”:

Next we’ll move on to the element of Fire – this song is the first one that came to mind, from the inimitable 80’s.  I’m betting it will be on the minds of many of you, too.  It became a hit single when released in 1989, peaking at number one in the charts in nine countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  Unlike the rest of the more uptempo pop songs on their album, this one is a ballad.

The song was inspired by two eternal flames: one at the grave-site of Elvis Presley that they saw when the band visited Graceland, and one at a local synagogue in Palm Springs which one of the members attended as a child.

Give a listen (and sing along) to the Bangles with “Eternal Flame”:

Next element up for grabs is Earth – when searching for a good song to represent Earth, I ran across this Dutch Symphonic Metal/Rock band and was impressed.  Founded in 1996, their music is described as symphonic metal, although their earlier material was described as Gothic metal.  In an interview, one band member said they fell into a symphonic rock genre with various influences, and consider themselves more a symphonic rock band, not a Gothic band.

After the release of their first album, the band became prominent in the Dutch underground scene. It was not until 2001 that they became known to the general public, with a single that reached No. 2 on the Dutch charts.  Their fifth studio album was released in March 2011, alongside both a comic book series and a series of short films that together encompass a story.

On November 13, 2012 they celebrated their 15th year birthday with a huge live event, called Elements, at the Sportpaleis, Antwerpen.  The song I’m sharing is the third single from their second studio album that peaked at number 14 on the Germany Singles Top 100.

I know you will enjoy Within Temptation with “Mother Earth”:

Last, but certainly not least, we finish up with the element of Water.  Thankfully one of my all-time favorite artists made this choice a no-brainer.  The song and video covers various situations involving water: playing in a kiddie pool as a child, jumping from a rope swing with friends on a riverbank, and later wet t-shirt contests on spring break and skinny dipping with a girlfriend.  The artist describes each situation as beginning a “love affair with Water.”

Here’s my boy Brad Paisley with “Water”:

 Now I have the urge to go jump in a pool.  Have a great Monday!

 

 

Now on to the particulars of Monday’s Music Move’s Me:

I have the supreme honor and privilege of being a co-host with the inimitable Xmas Dolly and her cohorts in crime, Lorie of The Shewbridges of Celebration, Florida, Callie from JAmericanSpice, and Cathy from Cathy Kennedy’s Blog.

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!

 

 

 

 

The awesome Run DMT also hosts Music Monday (who graciously helps out with our hostessing every time we need it, and who I had the privilege of meeting in person at BlogHer – she’s even more adorable than I imagined):