Hello Monday! I hope everyone getting excessive heat so far this summer has been able to stay cool! We’ve been lucky here in the Pacific Northwest so far this year – no excessive heat and no excessive rain…it’s been awesome this far! Of course now I probably just invoked Murphy’s Law, so I better stop now.

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

Let’s start with the first charting song by this new (to me) artist. His performing moniker is Latvian for “lion” and he adopted it as a nod to his mother’s heritage and the fact that Ari means “lion”‘ in Hebrew. In addition, his own zodiac sign is Leo.

This song was inspired by a relationship that he started two months after he had first moved from San Francisco to the music technology program at New York University’s Steinhardt school. He was quoted as saying:

“It’s just that feeling of [when] I was a freshman in college and didn’t really know who I was or who I wanted to be. But I knew that with this person, I just liked myself better. I can be, honestly, very self-critical, and she brought out the stuff in me that was good – stuff that I didn’t even realize about myself.”

“It’s like when you’re around somebody and they’re like, ‘You look awesome when you do this’ or ‘You have this really amazing quality,’ and you’re like, “Really? I didn’t even realize that.'”

For your listening pleasure, here’s Lauv with “I Like Me Better”:

Next up is a song that finds this artist singing about a relationship with an unreliable guy. He makes promise after promise but never ever keeps them. The tune takes its title from the popular maxim, “If I had a dollar every time…”

The chorus of the song ends with an expletive from Morris. (Naturally, the radio version is edited). The singer said that she is simply being true to herself:

“I just try to write how I would say it. I’m only shooting myself in the foot if I write it in a way where I wouldn’t speak like that. I don’t get this whole glossing over fun little tidbits of people’s personalities. That’s not how we talk … But it’s also just fun to throw in colorful language, whether it’s a cuss word or not. I want people to listen to this and feel like it’s their friend saying it to them.”

The song’s Western-themed video was filmed in Tucson, Arizona. There are several cameos throughout the clip including the artist’s husband, Ryan Hurd, as well as members of her management team, band, and crew.

Enjoy the fun, compliments of Maren Morris with “Rich”:

Next is a duo who have loving on their minds in their sizzling new song with these lyrics:

Girl I know you had a long day / You ain’t feeling them downtown lights / But I got a bottle at your favorite place / It’s waiting for us in a bucket on ice.

The narrator manages to talk his lady love into getting ready to hit the town, but once he sees her in the dress she chose, his intentions change:

Now you’re looking like a line from a Vandross song / I’m looking at that fine little dress you got on / Don’t get me wrong, girl, I love it / Now I just wanna talk you out of it

This is the third song us fans have heard from their highly-anticipated upcoming fourth album. While the duo have not yet revealed any details about their much-anticipated fourth album, they have announced that fans should expect it sometime in early 2019.

Until then, here’s Florida Georgia Line with “Talk You Out Of It”:

Last, but certainly not least, is a multiple Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter who just unveiled this song, the third track off his forthcoming album. The track comes accompanied by an official music video featuring footage from his wedding to wife Christina Carano. This album is his first full-length studio recording in over four years.

The artist will give a special release day performance on the TODAY Show’s Citi Concert Series on Friday, August 10. That concert will be preceded by a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!’s Outdoor Stage on Wednesday, July 11th.

Without further ado, here’s the talented Jason Mraz with “Might As Well Dance”:

That’s a wrap for this week – have a great Monday – 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! And, for the month of July, Michelle is also our Honorary Conductor and  Dancer!

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!



8 Comments

  1. Great selection my friend! Thank you for the introduction to them all actually… Love the last tune the best.. Jason Mraz with “Might As Well Dance”: Too cute! YOU HAVE ROCKED THE HOUSE ONCE AGAIN MY FRIEND! WOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! I know you’ve been busy lately… but I’ve been thinkin’ about you & you & yours are always in my prayers! BIG HUGS… and keep on rockin’ my friend… you’re dam good at it so never stop! BIG HUGS & hugs to the kiddos!…

  2. With the first one (Lauv), I liked the video a whole lot better than the song. The Maren Morris song was okay, but again, I liked the video better, especially the first part where she asks for a light, ostensibly to light her cigarette, but comes up with a bundle of dynamite. Somehow, with the Florida-Georgia Line song, I thought it was going to be fast-tempoed, so I was a little disappointed, but I like the line about “looking like a Vandross song.” HAHAHAHAHAHA! And, sorry, I don’t like Jason Mraz’s voice, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Good set nonetheless!

  3. I so adore the video with Lauv’s “I Like Me Better”. It’s a good song. And I love his quote about how he came to write the song. Such a sweet video. I love seeing an old couple that still has that young-in-love spark.
    I think my second favorite here is Jason Mraz’s “We Might As Well Dance” — that’s my motto too! 🙂
    I’ve never heard of Maren Morris: that was a cool song and video too.
    I wasn’t too keen on Florida Georgia Line’s song — it was too slow for me, at least right now I’m not in the mood for it. I think sometimes one has to be in a mood for certain tempos. Maybe after I take my shower and kick back in the recliner and play it again, I might like it better. 🙂

    Thanks for the intro to so many new-to-me songs!
    have a great week,

    Michele at Angels Bark

  4. Stacy,

    I appreciate Lauv’s inspiration behind your first song pick. I think it’s important to have a significant other regardless courtship or marriage who sees the best in us and brings it to the foreground to make us better people for it. I loved the mewsic video “I Like Me Better”! The sentiments are so sweet. I think it’s charming and delightful to see older people holding hands and carrying on like sweethearts. That’s the way we should be as we grow together through the years. Realistically I see very few couples who actually do, though. DH and I still act like teenagers in love. I hope we never lose that feeling or shy away from openly showing our affections for one another.

    I didn’t exactly care too much for Maren Morris’s vocals and I have to disagree with the use of curse words in song lyrics (or anything else), it doesn’t add any value to my listening pleasure. In fact, it does the opposite, it takes away the enjoyment. However, the video was a lot of fun.

    Florida Georgia Line always harmonize well together. Today’s song was a bit too slow to suit me but any other day I’d probably like it better.

    “We Might As Well Dance” feels a little laid-back and playful. I like reading about relationships that totally captivate the couple’s hearts. I hope Jason and Christina have a long successful marriage for many, many years!

    Thanks for sharing the dance floor with me, my friend. Have a summertastic week! 😉

  5. Thanks for the introductions. Any song about NYC is alright with me. I’m a little too old to take in a lot of new music at once but I liked those first two.

  6. These were all new to me. My favorite of the set was “Might as Well Dance”; I’m glad you explained that was his actual wedding footage, which made the video even more special. Florida Georgia Line, was OK but not anything special, I thought. Maren Morris I did enjoy – we all have had those “if I only had a dollar” kind of relationships be it with a friend, a loved one, or someone else in our lives.

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