Monday has arrived! But you don’t need me to tell you that, do you? It’s the first full week of the kids’ summer break, and guess what we’re doing tomorrow? Driving 90 minutes for their doctor’s appointments. I know, I’m such a rock star kicking off their summer with some fun, right? (evil grin)

Meanwhile, it’s Monday – and this week our Spotlight Dancer is Mary from “Jingle Jangle Jungle” who has chosen the theme: “Summer is a time for vacationing, so how about songs that have locations in their titles!” Let’s do this!

Let’s start with one of my favorite artists, who, when she first received the demo for this song, was put off by the title. She was quoted as saying:

“My brain immediately went to, like, ‘It’s a cheatin’ song – you know, like, ‘affair’, so it actually took me a few days to listen to it.”

However, once she did listen to the tune, she fell in love with its “swampiness.” It wasn’t at all what she thought it was going to be, so she turned it up and got sucked into the story. The story-based song delves deep into the amorous adventures of a man and a woman, but with an air of mystery. You don’t really know what happened, there’s still a lot left to the imagination, which the artist liked because people are going to fill in the gaps in their own way.

Give a listen to Carrie Underwood with “Choctaw County Affair”:

Next up is a song named after the California beach community where this artist now resides., and is a love song about her fiancé.

I never would’ve believed you if three years ago you told me I’d be here writing this song / But here I am, next to you, the sky so blue, in Malibu

“They’re going to talk about me if I come out of a restaurant with [him],” the artist was quoted as saying. “So why not put the power back in my relationship and say, ‘This is how I feel’?”

It’s great to see her doing music like this again – here’s a brand new tune from Miley Cyrus, “Malibu”:

Next up, while the song title references the nickname of Los Angeles, the group frontman said that it could refer to any place where you go to fulfill your dreams. He explained:

“That was a very personal song, obviously, about a specific place: Los Angeles. But it could be … well, when I was a younger kid, it was New York City. That was the place where I went to make my dreams come true, at that time to be a painter, an artist. I was in art school and New York was the place where you went to make those things come alive. And as I got older, I started studying film and I came out to Los Angeles. But it could be Paris, it could be Shanghai, it could be San Francisco, Palo Alto, anywhere. A place where you go to realize yourself and your dreams.”

Give a listen to Thirty Seconds To Mars with “City Of Angels”:

Last but certainly not least, is a song from an artist I’ve been sharing a lot of lately. But he’s worth it. He wrote this love song for the Spanish city of Barcelona. The lyrics contain some cod-Spanish – the artist explained:

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s just the Spanish words I know put together. There’s one line where I say ‘Siempre Vivre La Barcelona,’ which is actually Latin I think, but it just sounded cool. It means ‘long live Barcelona.'”

Barcelona is Spain’s second-largest city, its largest port, and its chief commercial center. Here are some more fun facts about Barcelona from The Encyclopedia of Trivia:

  • Barcelona was founded by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century BC.
  • FC Barcelona, one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football, was founded by Swiss football pioneer Joan Gamper on November 29, 1899.
  • Work on Barcelona’s fantastical Sagrada Familia Roman Catholic church is expected to be complete by 2026 — 144 years after it was begun by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi in 1882. He joked that his client, God, was in no hurry to see it finished.
  • Barcelona has built around 300 playgrounds for senior citizens that are meant to improve fitness and decrease isolation.
  • Barcelona’s 197 foot Columbus Monument was built to mark how Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella after his first voyage to the Americas. The statue shows him supposedly pointing to the New World, but he is actually pointing south, to Algeria.
  • Barcelona attracts over one million visitors every week.

Without further ado, here’s Ed Sheeran with “Barcelona”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday!

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, Callie from JAmericanSpice., as well as the awesome 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!

INTRODUCING OUR “SPOTLIGHT DANCER”:



8 Comments

  1. Stacy,

    Great to hit the dance floor with ya this morning. I never was a fan per say of Miley Cyrus but I prefer her mewsic from her early years. Not only did she sound better but looked better, too. I like 30 Seconds to Mars’ “City of Angels” – very nice. I always enjoy the pop flavor of Ed Sheeran. “Barcelona” definitely put the groove in the move here at my computer this morning. Have a summertastic day, my friend!

  2. Great lineup today! I love that there are so many different songs that there very little overlap in the bloghop. Thanks for playing!

    ~Mary

  3. As much as I want to hate her, Miley Cyrus has a gorgeous voice that sounds like her godmother’s. I’m so happy she’s outgrown the “Wrecking Ball” phase. Maybe it’s all right to like her again…

  4. Believe it or not I’m still trying to catch up to when I was out…. so much to do. Finally, finally, finally got my email cleaned up!! Sheesh that was a mess. Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you for holding down the fort and also for introducing me to Carrie’s new tune… or is it an old tune I just never heard before, AND WOW I never knew she played the harmonica!!! She’s dam good too!!! So, my hubby was in a car accident this evening, but he’s okay, but his poor car…. his baby…. OUCH!!! NO BIG OUCH!!!! Hopefully they can put it back together again!!! Man, if it isn’t one thing it’s another… my granddaughter Tatyanna was in that car accidents last month remember and it was on the 20th too! I told her for July 20th I’m staying in bed all day!!!! Now personally Miley Cyrus needs to go back to the drawing board. The thing is I never really liked her stuff anyways!!! YOU ROCKED THE HOUSE THOUGH GIRLFRIEND!!! LUV YA & STUFF!!! BIG HUGS…….

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