Category Archives: Lists

by | October 2, 2015 · 7:00 am

Taking You Back to Those Friday Night Lights

Its Friday afternoon, (in my case) around 3:30, and the final school bell rings. You run out to your car, roll down the windows, plug in the auxiliary cord and its time to jam on the ride home and get ready for some of the most unforgettable nights of high school. Country music is the first thing I think of when I remember the flashy bright lights of Friday night football. Here is a playlist that I hope will help you reminisce on some of the best times of our lives.

Of course “Boys of Fall,” by Kenny Chesney is first on the list. Every lyric gives me the chills, but the beginning really stands out, “When I feel that chill, smell that fresh cut grass/ I’m back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads/ Standin’ in the huddle listenin’ to the call/ Fans goin’ crazy for the boys of fall.” I am sure everyone remembers either being on the field, or supporting your team to victory. The end truly encompasses the aspect of team when it says, “You mess with one man, you got us all/ The boys of fall.” Coming from a high school where our athletic teams were such a big deal, this song takes me back to the track where we stood in our cowboy boots and football jerseys watching our friends out on the field. This is the song that most likely was played in a graduation video that immediately brought tears.

“Fireworks” by Hudson Moore is a song that really hits home. This song is one that would be played at max volume the whole way home. Coming from Fort Worth as well, Hudson Moore does a great job in honoring Fort Worth high school football. “football/game on a Friday night/ the whole town came just to watch us fight/ i’ll never forget the last game we played/ they turned out the lights but everybody stayed.” This song gives an image of the whole school celebrating a win.

“Red Dirt Road” by Brooks & Dunn. This song highlights some of the memories of high school for example, “It’s where I drank my first beer/ It’s where I found Jesus/ Where I wrecked my first car/ I tore it all to pieces.” Although this song doesn’t directly mention high school football, it brings us all back to the memories of those crazy and unforgettable four years.

“If I Could Do it Again” by Corey Smith is another song that instantly makes us nostalgic. This song contains many lyrics that eventually become senior quotes and words to remember when you are in the middle of high school. It says, “If I could do it again/I’d do it the same/ Not one regret/ I wouldn’t change a thing.” This song is all about living with no regrets and making the best of the time we have.

“Friday Night” by Eric Pasley is a song about finding that high school first love and wanting to be that Friday night that everyone looks forward to. “I wanna be your Friday night sweet ride/Summertime sunshine barefoot in the moonlight/ I wanna be your jackpot hot spot/Wide open road in a candy apple rag top/I wanna set you free, I wanna take you high/I wanna be, wanna be your Friday night/ Oh your Friday night.” It makes me think of that high school boyfriend and looking forward to getting to be around them at the football games Friday night.

So if you are ever in the mood to roll down the windows and turn the volume on max, I hope these songs will make you think of the past and those Friday night lights.

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Filed under Blog Post 2, Lists, Reflection, Texas

by | September 14, 2015 · 7:00 am

Have You Met My Texas Yet?

What exactly does it mean to be part of a community? It means feeling like you are a part of something that makes a whole. It means contributing to something others can relate to. Luckily for me, my sense of community is strong. I am born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas and if someone were to ask me who I am, the first thing that comes to my mind is Texan. Yes, I take that very seriously. Being a Texan is something that people think of as the southern hick stereotype. For example, I grew up going to summer camp in Missouri and every year without fail I would be asked, “Oh you’re from Texas? Does that mean you ride your horse to school?” No, I drive a car because there are roads in Texas!

When people think of Texas, they usually imagine deserts and horses and not much else. However, if non-Texans listen to “My Texas” by Josh Abbot Band, it is obvious that Texas has much more to it than cowboys. Josh Abbot Band lists events and destinations that a true Texan should complete within their lifetime. One could say that real Texas pride can be determined by the amount of things you can check off from Josh Abbot Band’s list. I can say for myself that I have successfully completed 16 items off the Texas bucket list. Some of these include, “floating down the ole Rio, been to the Houston rodeo, sang ‘Carry On’ at a Pat Green show, seen an Abilene sunset, [and] been somewhere where they call you friend” (Josh Abbot Band). I encourage anyone who doesn’t completely understand what it means to be a Texan to listen to this song and give me your feedback.

Being a Texan makes you feel like you belong to an exclusive group. No one truly understands Texas until they live there. That being said, the majority of people within the United States are naïve as to what being a Texan is all about. Each person’s identity belongs in his or her specific city, county or suburb within Texas, but all of these areas make up one big state of mind. Part of my identity belongs to Fort Worth. No, not Dallas, not Dallas-Fort Worth but just Fort Worth. If you listen closely to Josh Abbot, you will notice that Dallas is not mentioned. That is a whole different story.

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Filed under Blog Post 1, Lists, New Country, Texas

by | May 10, 2015 · 8:00 am

Country Music Summer Survival Guide

Summertime has become a country song cliche. But it’s no wonder there are so many songs about sunshine, sand and bikinis. Summer is great time of year! Country artists sing about reality and true feelings. Well, the joys of warm weather and vacation are real and worth singing about! This summer soak up the country music! Get your fill of country at a country music festival. I was surprised to see how few summer country music events are held in Texas. I found 3 Lone Star State festivals that sound awesome! For the Texas Country Crowd, Crudefest is in Midland may 14-16th. 3 full days of country! Audience members can set up camp on the grounds in a tent or RV. Lots of attendees bring 4 wheelers to sit in and watch the concert. Jason Boland, Josh Abbott, Whiskey Myers, Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen and Casey Donahew will be performing there.

Crudefest-630x4201

Another Texas Country Festival is Homer’s Backyard Ball in Amarillo, Texas. It will be held May 16th. Performers include Granger Smith, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers Band, Hayes Carl and Kimberly Dunn. This festival also hosts a cook off and activities like mechanical bull riding. For those who like pop country The Texas Thunder Festival is August 21-23 on farmland in Glendale, Texas. Brad Paisley is the headliner! Some other the names playing are Florida Georgia Line, Big & Rich, Joe Nichols Thomas Rhett. This festival also gives the option of camping on the festival grounds. Another 3 full days of country.

If you can’t make it to one of Texas’s few festivals. I’ve come up with a few summer playlists that will do the trick. Hottest country songs for this summer for pop country listeners according to XM channel 56 and Vevo are:

Dierks Bentley- Say you do

Keith Urban- Raise em up

Tyler Farr- A guy walks into a Bar

Billy Currington- Don’t do it

Kenny Chesney- Wild Child

Sam Hunt- Take your time

Florida Georgia Line- Sippin on Fire

For my personal summertime jams I’ll be listening to something far less commercial. I love country songs that fly under the pop radar. They have to have a good beat, meaningful lyrics and more traditional country instruments. Absolutely no rapping. If a song has a bass, fiddle or even acoustic guitar, count me in! Here is a list of recent summer country song for listeners like me.

Kacey Musgraves- Biscuits

The Damn Quails- Fool’s Gold

Whiskey Myers- Anna Marie

Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen- In the Next Life

Granger Smith- Silverado Bench Seat

Turnpike Troubadours- 7&7

Josh Abbott Band- Oh Tonight

Then there are the songs that are so precious because of the memories they carry. Songs that raised my generation during the summertime when school was out and so were the popsicles. A 2k summer playlist for those who love the memories from 5-10 years ago:

Alan Jackson- It’s 5 o’clock somewhere

Kenny Chesney- When the Sun goes Down

Tim McGraw- Something Like That

Deana Carter- Strawberry Wine

Zac Brown Band- Toes

Brooks and Dunn- My Maria

Keith Urban- Days Go By

Brad Paisley- Mud on the Tires

The kindest blessing I can think to leave with you is this: I hope each day this summer is like a summertime country song.

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Filed under Lists, Live Music, Texas

by | May 8, 2015 · 8:00 am

The Most Important in Country Music?

johnnycWith this being my last blog post of the school year, I wondered what I would write about. After doing quite a bit of brainstorming and still coming up with nothing I decided to search the internet for a topic that might catch me by surprise. While searching, I came across a post that listed “The 10 Most Important People in Country Music.” This was something that caught my attention because I feel that an argument can be made as to who the most influential or most important people in country music are.

raycI remember at the beginning of this course Dusty gave us a list of several artists and bands and asked us to list the top ten people who we thought were most influential to the genre of country music. When we did this exercise I was actually pretty surprised to find out that artists such as Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Aerosmith had such big influences on country music (according to CMT). There were also artists on the list who I would’ve guessed to be higher up and artists who, in my opinion, should’ve been a bit lower.

One of the things that the AXS article mentions which I agree with is the fact that the sound of country music has changed so much over the course of the years. Their inclusion of George Strait, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash as some of the greatest contributors to country music is also something that I can easily agree with. However, there are some artists who I question why they are considered the “most important” in country music.

The list of artists doesn’t seem to have an order as to which artist is most and least important on their list. A short description is given about each artist and/or their music as to why they are considered to be important or to have made significant contributions to the genre. The artists noted for being the most important in country music include: Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Merle Haggard, The Judds, Dolly Parton, Luke Bryan, Faith Hill, George Strait, and last but not least Hank Williams.

While I’m not trying to be mean, I feel that Luke Bryan and Taylor Swift could easily have been replaced by someone who has been around longer and has made a bigger impact on country music such as Willie Nelson, Reba, or even Elvis. I actually found it rather amusing that the reason AXS provided for Luke Bryan’s importance to country music was because of his “signature booty shake” and his ability to “make grown women swoon” with his song lyrics. This might just be my personal opinion but I think it should take more than booty shaking in order to make it onto a list of country’s most important figures.

luke bryan shake it lukebryan women

Feel free to let me know what you think of the list compiled by AXS. Who do you think should’ve been included in this list and who do you think should’ve been left off?

Bailey, Tiffany. “The 10 Most Important People in Country Music.” AXS. 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 3 May 2015.

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Filed under Lists, Reflection

by | May 7, 2015 · 8:00 am

Country Songs from Movie Soundtracks

After watching Country Strong, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, again for my Country Music Experiences project, my obsession with the movie’s soundtrack quickly came back. I love all the songs so much, particularly “Give in to Me,” “Coming Home,” and “Me and Tennessee.” It got me thinking, what are some other great country songs that came from movie soundtracks? After looking through my music, I found a lot that I love that I didn’t realize or forgot were from movies. Here are some of my favorite country songs that come from movies.

I love this song because it showcases Gwyneth Paltrow’s surprisingly amazing voice. Before seeing Country Strong, I had no idea she had such a great voice and was capable of singing a ballad like this one. It’s a beautiful song, and in the movie, it is Paltrow’s Kelly Canter’s final performance before she commits suicide. I would like the song on its own, but the context in which it is performed in the movie gives it a more special quality, because of the emotion with which Paltrow sings.

This is another song from Country Strong that I really like, and it is a duet performed by Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund. It is a love song, and is sung with a lot of emotion. In the movie it is the beginning of the twos’ characters finally getting together after tension throughout the whole movie, so it is a great song in the context of the movie.

This is a song released by the Charlie Daniels Band in 1979, but was also featured in the 1980 movie Urban Cowboy starring John Travolta. I have loved this song for a long time, because I grew up listening to it because my dad loves it. I had no idea it was in Urban Cowboy until we watched it in class, and that adds something to the song because I can see how people would dance to it at rodeos and dance halls.

This is a duet by Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix from the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line of a song that Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash sang often. I really like their cover of it, it is more upbeat and fun the original, and I really like Reese’s voice as June. When reading the comments on YouTube, I found that some viewers even like this movie version more than the original.

Finally, I really like Blake Shelton’s cover of Footloose from the 2011 version of Footloose. His voice is deeper than Kenny Loggins’s original recording of the song, and since Shelton is a country superstar this was a hit song. This version of Footloose is much more current and country than the original song from the 1984 movie, which makes it better in my opinion.

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Filed under Lists, Movies and TV