I’m in Hotel California singing The Authority Song – well There’s Your Trouble, it’s too Easy!

I cannot, in good conscience, not start off this week by doing a happy dance because the Seahawks woke up towards the end of yesterday’s playoff game and won.

We are going to the Super Bowl again!  

So excuse me whilst I dance a little jig…

We now return to our regularly scheduled program…

We seem to be speeding through January already, don’t we? But at least it doesn’t seem to be in the blink of an eye – yet. Just no one touch that fast forward button, please.

It’s Monday, which always seems much better when there’s music, don’t you think? This week’s theme is to post songs of bands and/or people with animal names in them (the band or the artist, not necessarily the title of the song). Let’s have some fun!

There are so many to choose from! Let’s start with a group who happens to have lots of songs I love, this one included. This song, from 1977, was the title track of their album named the same.

It is one of the best known songs of the album, and has been given several interpretations by fans and critics alike, but the group has described it as their “interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles”.

In a Documentary from 2013, one of the band members explained that the song was about “a journey from innocence to experience…that’s all”.

It’s been a concert staple for the band since its release. The first working title, the name they originally gave it, was ‘Mexican Reggae’.

Here’s the Eagles with “Hotel California”:

http://youtu.be/_p4JbbcfmX8

Next up is an artist who became particularly identified with blue-collar causes in the mid-to-late ’80s, thanks to his involvement in Farm Aid and a string of populist hit records. But he was always a feisty friend to the working man, and for proof, one need look no further than this 1984′s Top 20 hit.

This happens to be the third single from this artist’s triple-platinum album, and is an updated take on the Bobby Fuller classic ‘I Fought the Law’. Figured out which one I’m talking about yet?

Given the famously elastic drawl this artist favored on his first few records, plenty of casual listeners may not even realize that what sounds like a simple good-time anthem is really more of a bitter admission that power and wealth are always held by a chosen few — and that no matter how hard you might fight for change, it won’t have any lasting effect on the status quo.

Give a listen to John (Cougar) Mellancamp with “Authority Song”:

Next up is a trio with a song that was their first #1 single on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in August 1998. They were awarded a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for their performance of this particular song.

Give a listen to the Dixie Chicks with “There’s Your Trouble”:

Last but not least is a song by another favorite artist, a song about a staycation. With the chorus “But you make it easy, easy / Easy to get away / Sit in the sun and drink beer all day / Because it’s easy, easy / Easier here anyway / Who needs Mexico / Baby let’s stay home,”  entices you to make plans to stay home and have fun.

More than anything, her voice feels like summer, so those lamenting the cold winter weather, you can dream of summer.

Here’s Sheryl Crow with “Easy”:

That’s a wrap for this week! Enjoy your 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 our musical cohorts, Callie from JAmericanSpice, Naila Moon from Just the Stuff Ya Know, and Becca of Everyday Life.

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!

FOR TUNES:

But wait! There’s More!

We’re doing something a little different/new for the new year – everyone likes to gain more followers, right? So in addition to our usual music linky, we’re also adding a new linky so you can link up where you’d like to be followed. Pretty cool, no? We’ll be rotating the type of following to link up, this week it’s all about Instagram. Link up and let’s have some fun!

FOR FOLLOW LINKS: