We Are Young Chasing The Sun so we’ll Live While We’re Young because It’s Time to Undo It and Turn On The Radio Good Girl!

We’re just about halfway through the month of January already.  How’s the New Year treating you so far?  I’ve found I’m just as busy as ever, but making do. 

This week’s theme for Monday’s Music Moves Me was suggested by a previous Spotlight Dancer, Time Out For Mom – Songs that are good to exercise to.  It’s a New Year and many people are determined to lose weight this year.  And by many people I mean me.  Part of that is I need to get up and move.  Let’s face it – some of us don’t get up and move every day like we should, particularly when we’re spending so much time in front of a screen. 

So here’s some music to put you in the mood to get up and move – starting off with a great song that will definitely get you moving.  The song came to fruition when the frontman met with a high-profile hip-hop producer in New York City.  Since the front-man was anxious about meeting with the producer, he arrived early at the bar and had a little to drink just to make sure he was “loosened up”.

The producer had just finished a long day in the studio with Beyoncé, and had decided to give the front-man 10 minutes – he had previously already canceled two meetings with him. The two began talking about music, and the front-man’s desire to merge hip-hop beats and electronic effects with pop rock intrigued the producer, who invited him up to his hotel room to show him some Beyoncé tracks he had been working on.

Slightly tipsy and feeling inspired, the frontman belted out the chorus of this song, which at that time was an unfinished composition.  The producer was taken aback and apparently “freaked out,” demanding he see the band for studio time “in the next few days.”  The very next day, they booked a New York studio and cut a version of this song, which was not far from the final version they released.

Without further ado, here’s Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe with “We Are Young”:

Next we have another great group that will get you moving – there are actually two music videos for this song, the first and official video begins on the roof of the Rosslyn Hotel in Los Angeles in the middle of the night. It then begins to intersect with scenes of them in a club with some mysterious women, all of whom have strange sun-shaped tattoos on their hands, arms, thighs or belly. Each of the band meets one of these women and, upon being touched by them, all suddenly have exactly the same tattoo.

They decide to leave the club with their women and start walking down the secluded streets. They soon enter a different club. At the bridge, the boys are back on the roof of the Rosslyn Hotel, but this time at sunrise. The scene then changes back to the second club, where the boys start to get close to their women, but it turns out that the women are actually vampires, and all five boys get their necks bitten. The video ends with the group walking out of the club into the bright sun.  Obviously they didn’t turn into vampires.

The second video was made specifically for the 2012 film Ice Age: Continental Drift.  It features the group performing on blocks of ice in the Arctic Ocean while characters such as Manny, Sid and Diego dance alongside them. It also contains footage from the film.  Have you figured out who the group is?

 Here’s The Wanted with the official music video of “Chasing The Sun”:

And here they are with the Ice Age: Continental Drift version:

Next up is a group and song I’ve shared before, but it’s definitely ‘workout worthy’ for this week’s theme.  The video features the band having fun outside splashing around in the water, enjoying sport activities, and dancing along to the catchy tune. It’s clear proof that their living while young.  And the song definitely gets you moving.

Get up and dance to One Direction with “Live While We’re Young”:

Next up is a video I ran across when I was looking for upbeat fun-to-workout-to videos.  From an American alternative rock band, this happens to be one of their most well-known songs.  It has such a catchy beat, when you hear it once, you’ll immediately want to hear it again.

As you listen to it, you might think it sounds familiar – it has been featured in various shows and commercials, like the trailer for the movie “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, plus it was the featured song in Apple’s promotion for the unveiling of the iPhone 5.  In addition to that, it was also on FOX’s hit TV series, Glee.  Give up? 

Here you go – enjoy Imagine Dragons with “It’s Time”:

And just for fun, here’s the version as seen on Glee:

Next up, we can’t have danceable workout music without including one of my favorite artists.  The idea for the song’s hook came accidentally – according to the artist, “The guys had their guitars and they were playing something kind of bluesy, and Kara’s got such a great R&B sense about her,” she said.

“And I started, ‘Na, na, na-ing’ to whatever they were playing. And they were like, ‘What if that was the hook?’ I said, ‘Aw, I don’t know?’ And before you knew it, we had ‘Uh, uh, uh undo it.’ I mean, who would have thought? How do you write that down on paper? It was something that it didn’t take that long to write and it’s so much fun to sing on stage, and people get into it.” 

If you guessed Carrie Underwood, you were right:

Here’s my girl Carrie Underwood with “Undo It”:

Next up is another favorite artist – the video for this song always cracked me up, because it’s polar opposite of the artist’s typical personality.  The artist had this to say about this song:  “I fell for the song immediately – I love that it’s an up-tempo, strong woman song about a woman who has been done wrong by her lover and is telling him to turn on the radio if he wants to hear from her through their favorite song. Dann Huff and the musicians did a wonderful job bringing the heartbeat out in the song. It definitely gets your attention from the very start of the song.” 

Here’s Reba McEntire with “Turn On The Radio”:

And last, but certainly not least – a second entry for the powerhouse favorite artist, because that’s how I roll.  Plus lots of her songs are definitely workout worthy tunes, don’t you think?  This particular song is a more recent release from her, and it’s about warning a good girl about her ex-boyfriend, saying that he is actually no good, and that she is better off without him.

Here’s Carrie Underwood with “Good Girl”:

 

Wasn’t that a great workout?  You did get up and dance, didn’t you?  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, Cathy from Cathy Kennedy’s Blog, and for the month of December, our Honorary Co-Conductor is none other than Santa Claus.

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):