Music magic

Yesterday, I picked up my best friend before we headed to the movies, like we’ve been doing since sixth grade. And like sixth grade, she got the in car and whipped out CDs from her purse. But this time, instead of another mix (she bangs out playlists & mixes like it’s her job, and it’s awesome), she pulled out some old pop music. “It’s S CLUB 7!” she yelled. And then “MORE S CLUB!” … “And if we get S’Club’d out, I got us some N*SYNC.” I can’t explain the joy I felt looking at those old CDs. We loaded them into the CD player and off we went, wailing along to “You’re My Number One,” “Everybody Wants Ya,” and other wonderful old pop songs from the first S Club 7 album.

I miss this pop music. It’s just good old-fashioned group pop songs. S Club 7 was really good at having cute, retro songs that weren’t obviously retro or trying too hard. They were cute, peppy songs from a fun group. Try listening to the songs without a smile on your face.

I really loved this group growing up, and I watched their TV show all the time. They were just a fun bunch, and I loved their songs. They were simple and cute, and it was good music. I miss that nowadays. My favorite was Paul. He had a great voice, even though he wasn’t solo on too many songs. But in the car yesterday, my friend and I screamed “PAUL!” each time we heard him. Good fun. I was so sad when he left the group. It just wasn’t the same. But my favorite S Club 7 song is his song “Love Train” from their second album, 7. It’s simple and sweetly romantic, and his voice makes everything that much better.

All these songs are just wonderful fun pop songs that make for a fun car ride or jam session (or both! 🙂 ) I think I enjoyed the group so much because they were all silly and goofy and just genuinely having fun during each song. And that made each song more fun to listen to later. The lyrics were simple and joyful, but still ring true today. That says a lot.

So excited I can’t think straight

A little less than 10 minutes ago, I found out Lady Antebellum was coming to Philadelphia as part of their Own the Night Tour May 19. I’ve been literally bouncing off the walls since. MAY 19!!!!! This is the first time I’ve been remotely near a Lady A concert venue…the closest one to me last time they toured was in northern PA, about five hours away. This time, they are coming to my city, at a venue that I hope to goodness is nearby. Even if it isn’t, it’s in my city, which means I’ll be there. Someway, somehow. I’M SO EXCITED. I know that’s like 7 months away. But I will have a post-it on my wall reminding me of the date, so that I’ll remember to check when tickets are out. I just hope tickets don’t cost an ungodly amount *cough*JOSHGROBAN*cough* But either way, for now, I am soincrediblystoked for this 😀 Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Hillary, Charles & Dave for coming my way!!

Music: Lady Antebellum and Hunter Hayes

I’m going to put it out there, in case you couldn’t tell by the title of my post: I’m a huge country music fan. It took me a while, but I started listening to it a while back and finally fell in love with a lot of the artists.

Lady Antebellum was the main catalyst for my venture into country music. I loved Need You Now (like everyone else in the world) so freakin’ much that I started to look more into the band. I fell in love with the first few songs on their album, especially American Honey and Our Kind of Love. But as I played the CD in my car on my way to work, I slowly fell in love with the other songs also. It was an album that sort of creeped up on me. I didn’t think I liked some of the other songs, and then the more I listened to them, the more I went, “damn, this is good!” And I love when that happens. Some songs were just fun, and most had beautiful lyrics too. I also listened to their first, self-titled album. Run to You is one of the most romantic songs ever. Last Night Last, a gem I found on youtube, is also a great song. But from Need You Now, When You’ve Got a Good Thing is in my top 5 romantic songs. I just love it so much. So thank you, Lady A, for making me love country music.

Their new single just came out: We Owned the Night, from the upcoming album Own the Night. Superexcited for that. Their first single, Just a Kiss, was just the sweetest song ever. I just love them. Anyways, before I end up gushing about that song, I want to talk about We Owned the Night. It’s not a typical song, or at least I feel like it’s not. It just has a really different feel to it. There’s a really cool guitar melody (I don’t know the technical term) throughout that just gives it a really unique chord sound. I love that. The chorus itself is interesting; I know it’s going to take some time to grow on me, but a lot of their songs have done that and are now my favorite, so I have a feeling I’m going to grow to love it pretty soon 🙂 I love all their voices, but I especially love the songs where Charles takes most of the lead vocal. His voice just makes me melt and swoon everywhere. I could just listen to it all day. Love it. So I know he’s going to win me over with this song also. And I’m totally okay with that.

The cover for his single, Storm Warning.

The other new music I found today was thanks to USA Today. I usually can’t go a day without reading this paper. I love it exactly for reasons like this. I read this article about one writer’s playlist of the week and was immediately interested in a few of the songs I read about. I know, I know. Country again. I’m in that mood. Anyways, I looked up this young kid he was talking about, Hunter Hayes. He’s super interesting. Apparently he’s been a musical kid all his life, experimenting with different instruments and songwriting from a young age. Then I listened to his single Storm Warning, recommended by said writer. Hello! This boy has a voice. It’s a really nice country voice. I’m picky about some country singers. Blake Shelton is just not for me. I like the guy, and I love Miranda Lambert too. But his voice is a bit strong for me. (For now, at least. Never know.) But Hunter! Loveee his voice. It’s like a young Keith Urban/Rascal Flatts tone. The Rascal Flatts bit came from my best friend, but she’s totally right. I just like his voice a lot. This is a good single too. It’s very catchy, definitely has get-stuck-in-your-head potential. He has a few other songs out; Wanted is very sweet. The lyrics are exactly what any girl would want to hear. Somebody’s Heartbreak is also great, I absolutely love the chorus lyrics. I can definitely relate. But Storm Warning is my jam for the next two days as I attempt to bang out my English papers back-to-back.

Good old country music gets the job done.