Music, The Girl, and Me aka I Must Confess

Ed Sheeran (Photo credit: Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer)

This isn't all that juicy, but sort of embarrassing. I'm 35 years old and actually like some of the music my 14 year old listens to. Yes, I said it out loud. Typed it. whatever. It's true. I actually like it. I'm not talking about a case of you hear it so many times that the next thing you know you're singing That'sWhat Makes You Beautiful while folding laundry. (As an aside, that has happened, but I don't like those boys. No, no, no!) I mean truly like it. Does this make me crazy?

For instance, Taylor Swift. I dig Taylor Swift. There are some songs I cannot handle because of massive overplay on the radio, but some of it is great. 22. It's my jam. Yep, I said it. I turn it up in the car and sing my head off while The Boy rolls his eyes and plugs his ears and The Girl looks on in horror. I can't help it, it makes me feel 22. This singing phenomenon gets worse when you get me in the car with my friends because we all apparently like to feel 22. I thought this made us cool. Perhaps not.

Ed Sheeran I found before The Girl did. Go me! Him I like. Loads. I'd go see him in concert anyday. The dude can just melt me. I hope that's not creepy.

What is creepy is that I lave a One Direction song on my phone. The Girl and I listened to it yesterday. Multiple times in a row. Until I could tell her which dude was singing which part. And I can now do this consistently. Not only is that creepy, but it gets worse. I like the song. Little Things. Again with the swoon inducing lyrics. I hope my daughter eventually finds a guy who loves her that way. I like Harry's voice the most. I also really think he needs to comb his hair. I cannot believe I'm typing this right now. I have clearly lost my mind.

It's really pretty good. Or I'm crazy. One of the two.

 

Do any of you listen to some of the same stuff your kids do?

I Love Country!

Image via Wikipedia

One of the few times I miss having TV is during the CMA Awards. Reading about it the day after is just not the same. And from what I've read, I missed some cool stuff!

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood did a great job of hosting! Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Kayne and Swine Flu are sure to be hits! They were funny as can be and I think they are a nice team.

Can I talk about the men of country music? Could they be more gorgeous? George Strait looks better all the time! And talented, my goodness! I was excited to see Darius

Image via Wikipedia

Rucker win an award. Back in the day, Hootie sang mine and Dan's song. And Brad Paisley? I like to think Dan loves me with the kind of love that man sings about and he is so gifted with a guitar. I could go on and on about the sexy men with amazing voices, but I think ya get the point.

I was sad to hear about Brooks & Dunn calling it quits. They are one of the best duos around. I will really miss their musci.

Taylor Swift, wow! Entertainer of the Year, that's amazing! She beat some amazingly talented performers. George Strait, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, and Keith Urban that's stiff competition! Taylor pretty much swept the awards, I am sure it was an amazing night for her! When I watched the video of her winning performer of the year, I actually cried. It is so cool to see a kid have all her dreams come true!

Anyway, I just love country music. It is music I can relate to, dance to, and see along with. It reminds me of people I know, things I enjoy, and just how life

Image via Wikipedia

here is for us in Podunk. I hear Cowboy Cassanova and think of Dan's friend 'Cowboy". Alright reminds me of our life together. 15 makes me remember being a teenager. The King of Country sings about Twang I think about how good old country music can instantly lift my mood.

-The Winners Are-

Entertainer of the Year - Taylor Swift

New Artist Of The Year - Darius Rucker

Female Vocalist of the Year - Taylor Swift

Male Vocalist of the Year - Brad Paisley

Vocal Group of the Year - Lady Antebellum

Vocal Duo of the Year - Sugarland

Album of the Year - Fearless, Taylor Swift

Single of the Year - Lady Antebellum

Song of the Year - In Color, Jamey Johnson

Musical Event of the Year - Start A Band, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban

Music Video of the Year - Love Story, Taylor Swift

Musician of the Year - Mac McAnally

And you have to check out this performance by the Zac Brown Band. Tell me, does he really look like a country star to you? I see him and think good old boy I'd love to hang out with. I really enjoy his music. I wasn't so sure about his cover of this country classic, but the performance blew me away!

Name That Tune

This is one of our favorite games. Dan will usually be the DJ, playing random tunes from our music collection and the kids and I try to guess song title, artist, or both. Tristen has an almost scary knowledge of classic rock, I can bat the classic country out of the park, and Ashley just enjoys dancing about and singing while we play. This is a game we all enjoy and it's cheap! Nothing like frugal family fun!

I was recently given a 3 month subscription of Slacker Radio Plus to review. I have had a free Slacker Radio account for quite awhile and was excited to try the plus service. I have not been disappointed! With the Plus service you get no ads, unlimited song skips, unlimited song requests, and complete songs lyrics. They have over 2 million songs and real live DJs programing the stations. No matter what your taste in music, you will most likely find a station you will enjoy. They offer kids stations, big band, classic rock, new country, and more!

I am most impressed by the unlimited song requests and number of songs available. One of my favorite songs ever is You're My Jamaica by Charley Pride, a song most people have never heard of and that is nearly impossible to find. They have it! They have also had every other song I have thought up so far. That is a big plus with me. I also love that when you put in a song request, then you end up listening to that song title radio, like You're My Jamaica Radio is my current station of choice. This station plays songs that are similar to the one you request; I've been treated to George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, and most of my favorite country greats. You can ban songs you don't like or favorite songs you love.

I have listened to Slacker Radio everyday for almost a week now and just love it. If you read any of my blogs very often, you will know that we are a family that loves our music, so this service is a perfect fit for us. Plus, it gives us so many more songs to play our family name that tune game with! We have discussed it and will definitely be keeping it after our review period is up.

Slacker Radio Plus is great for families, especially those with teens and college kids who are really into music. With the unlimited song requests, they can here whatever they want, whenever they want for much cheaper than buying or paying to download the songs. I think it is a great fit for the older teen set. Or just anyone who, like us, really enjoys music.


Guess what? I have 3 month subscriptions to Slacker Radio Plus for three of my lucky readers! All you have to do is go check out Slacker Radio, then come back and tell me what feature you like the most. That's it!

Bonus Entries:

• Follow me on Twitter & tweet about this giveaway (leave a link to the tweet)
• Follow my blog
• Subscribe to my blog via RSS
• Go over to my other blog, Livin' Our Love Song and look around, then come back here and tell me one song title I've written about over there. (3 extra entries)
• This one may be the easiest ever - Tell me your favorite song and/or artist.

Be sure you leave me a comment for each entry. Also be sure to leave your email so I can contact you. Giveaway ends at 8:00 pm CST August 23, 2009. Winners will be selected and contacted via email on August 24th. If they have not responded within 48 hours new winners will be selected.

Good luck y'all!