Upbeat Songs

“BEAUTIFUL” by Carole King

March 5, 2015

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It’s Throwback Thursday! Today’s #tbt song is from one of my all time favorite albums of all time – Tapestry by Carole King, released in 1971. 

I grew up on Carole King. I was only a very young child when Tapestry was released in 1971, but in my early youth it became one of my favorite albums and it has stayed on that list. I love every song off the album and I can sing the words to all of them.

I did not know until years later that Tapestry was one of the most highly celebrated albums of all time. The album won four Grammy Awards, including the biggest awards of the year – Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Carole King also won Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female and Record of the Year. In addition, the album is ranked #36 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. It definitely has staying power and is probably loved by even more people today than it was back then. Carole King is a music legend!

The album has been getting a lot of play time at our home after we went to see the musical, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” on Broadway a couple of weeks ago. Wow! What an incredible show. I was not the only one who was singing along as the show progressed through Carole King’s repertoire of fabulous music. If you get a chance to see the show, I would definitely recommend it. I loved it!

This is such an incredible song and I love the powerful message. I hope that it might spark you to crank those old Carole King tunes again too.

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“TAKE ME HOME” by Cash Cash, featuring Bebe Rexha

February 17, 2015

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I had a wonderful weekend with 3/4 of the family home. We missed my son who stayed at school for the holiday weekend, but I am sure he was happy to stay in warmer weather.

It was miserably cold outside this weekend! In fact, Monday morning registered at -17 degrees with the windchill. That is nasty! I don’t know how you feel about those kind of temperatures, but I have absolutely NO desire to step outside when it is that cold.

So, I got lots of indoor gym time this weekend and I am posting one of my current favorite workout tunes for you to enjoy today. It motivated me many times this weekend!

This song is by Cash Cash, an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) group from New Jersey. Their music has also been labeled as pop or house dance music. I label it as great “move me” music! 🙂 The group consists of two brothers – Jean Paul and Alex Makhlouf, and Samuel Warren Frish. The three men write, produce, and mix all of their music together. Bebe Rexha, who performs vocals for this song, is a young singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. This song is the group’s highest charting song thus far.

SONG OF THE DAY – “WELCOME TO NEW YORK” by Taylor Swift

November 3, 2014

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Well, I am sorry, but I am jumping on the Taylor Swift bandwagon with today’s song. I honestly have been singing this song since the first time I heard the sneak preview on October 20 from Ryan Seacrest. I love the sound (very 80s) and it just seemed like the perfect theme song for my current life adventure.

Almost a month ago we got an apartment in NYC. As you know, we had some major life changes over the past few months and quite unexpectedly my husband and I became empty-nesters a couple of years earlier than anticipated. (We keep saying that we are either doing something very right … or something very wrong. My daughter left home at 16 to attend college, and then my son left home at 15 to attend a golf boarding school. Holy cow!) Anyway, I realized that the sudden change was going to be more than I could stomach. I just could not imagine myself sitting out in our big, quiet home all by myself. Moving into the city seemed like the perfect plan for a new adventure.

The minute I saw our apartment, I knew it was where I wanted to be. I love the view and I love being in the thick of the action.

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I love New York City! I love the energy, I love the diversity, I love the chaos, I love the excitement, and, of course, I love the music. I guess that I would have to say I understand the thrill of the city that this song exudes.

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I went to visit my son for his 16th birthday a few days before we were scheduled to move into the apartment and his first comment to me was, “Well, it sure didn’t take you long to replace me!” Ouch! Obviously he understood my reason for heading into the city was in part due to the loss of having him at home. He wasn’t far off, but as it turns out, it has been much more than that. My husband and I have been having a fabulous time. We are certainly enjoying this new adventure together even more than we thought we would. We still have not exactly figured out the logistics of our life, but I am sure that will come. 😉

Taylor Swift’s new album, 1989, was just released a week ago today and it was forecast to sell more than 1.3 million copies in that first week. Love her or hate her, I don’t think there is anyone who cannot admit that she is an amazing young lady – talented and a savvy business woman. I am a fan! Oh, but her song will not be on Not Your Mom’s Playlist Spotify playlist as she pulled all her music off Spotify today.

SONG OF THE DAY – “SOMEWHERE ALL THE TIME” by Samantha Crain

November 2, 2014

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I have not been very good at keeping up with my blog over the last few weeks. Funny how life gets in the way of things.

Amazingly, I have been at this blog now for an entire year! It has been such an interesting adventure. What I thought would be an easy undertaking was not always quite as easy as I thought it would be. Sometimes it became overwhelming and I have to admit I avoided it, but mostly it has been a fun experiment, a great way to share and explore my passion, and an incredible learning experience. As I evaluate the blogging experience of the last year, I can now begin to set new goals and work on improving.

Thank you for sharing this adventure with me. I hope that you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have, and I appreciate you hanging in there with me. New things are on the horizon. I can’t promise how quickly they will come, but they are coming … just as soon as I get this thing called life under control. 🙂 Speaking of which … so much to share with you in my next blog posts.

I am sharing a fabulous song with you today. It is one that I have liked for a long time from Oklahoma native Samantha Crain‘s 2013 album, Kid Face. I love her voice and her natural sound with that guitar. The words to this song are perfect!

Last weekend I made a very spontaneous decision after learning that my husband’s flight would be coming in late. I grabbed my purse and walked down the street to see a concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. It is a renowned venue in the city and one that I had not been to yet. A show was playing there that night that I had wanted to see and so I was glad that I got the opportunity. Samantha Crain was the opening act and she was delightful. She is a small person and it was just her and her guitar on that huge stage; however, she was able to warm up that audience with her humorous stories, great songs, and fabulous music. Her music was captivating and enjoyable. I loved hearing the songs that I already knew and I heard many new ones that I can’t wait to have released. Enjoy.

SONG OF THE DAY – “IN YOUR ARMS” by Nico & Vinz

October 19, 2014

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On Thursday night I attended a great concert at Beacon Theatre in NYC – Fresh 102.7 Fall Fest. This was the second Fresh Fall Fest and, after attending last year, I was not going to miss it. Last year they had an incredible lineup with Kodaline, American Authors, Daughtry (playing an acoustic set), and The Fray. It was a fabulous show!

This year when I heard the lineup announced, I knew that I was going to make it an annual event. First, let me say that Beacon Theatre is such an incredible venue – just a beautiful, iconic theatre. Second, who gets all those incredible acts together for one night? Fresh 102.7 did a great job of lining up some amazing performers who provided concert goers with a fabulous 3 hour show! We were entertained by Nico & Vinz, Bleachers, Matt Nathanson, Ingrid Michaelson, and Neon Trees.

Last year, both Kodaline and American Authors were the rising artists who got a huge introduction at the show, Daughtry was a big name who played an acoustic set which made it a unique experience, and then we had the big finale by The Fray. This year, it was hard to determine who was the main act. Obviously, Nico & Vinz are rising artists and fit that bill, as does Bleachers (even though Jack Antonoff is a member of the popular band, Fun.). Matt Nathanson played an incredible acoustic set, but there were still two acts left to follow – Ingrid Michaelson and Neon Trees. Really, both of them could have been considered the closing act and they both performed like they were. The performances were amazing and incredibly entertaining.

Today, I just wanted to quickly post a song by Nico & Vinz, one of the rising artists from the night. Nico & Vinz, (Nicolas “Nico” Sereba and Vincent Dery) from Oslo, Norway, have a great stage presence and a really fun sound. I found them thoroughly entertaining and adorable – I especially loved watching Vincent Dery dance. 🙂 I am certain that you are already familiar with their Song of the Summer, “Am I Wrong.” If not, click on the song to have a listen. The second single from their debut album, Black Star Elephant, which was just released this month, is today’s song of the day. It is a song that I just really love and the video is actually very powerful. Nico & Vinz have a sound that is very unexpected. The music combines pop, Afro beat, hip hop, R&B, and reggae; and their lyrics are very powerful with a message to share. They sound fantastic together! I hope that you like this song as much as I do … I just can’t seem to get it out of my head.

SONG OF THE DAY – “CARRY ON” by Fun.

September 28, 2014

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I know this is an older song and it is not Throwback Thursday, but after an experience I had yesterday morning, I just had to post it as my Song of the Day today. One of my all time favorites!

Yesterday morning I went running in Central Park with my husband. We ran past the stage setup and security for the Global Citizen Festival on our way to the reservoir. The festival was last night and the stage was all set up ready for the show. After running around the reservoir we were headed back to the Columbus Circle area when we heard music playing. I stopped and said, “That is Fun.!.” We immediately turned around and ran back to the stage. They were doing sound checks for the concert and Fun. was on stage running through their set. We sat there and watched their entire set. They sounded amazing! We heard four songs, but they finished with this one and then we “carried on” and finished our run.

I have always loved this song and find it so inspirational. It truly is one of those songs that can help you through a difficult time. My favorite line – “May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground.” I have been singing it ever since yesterday morning. Funny how an older song gets a new spark. This song has been on my playlist for several years now, but it is now back at the top.

Just wanted to share this cool experience with you today. You gotta love NYC! Only there would I just happen upon Fun. playing in the park at 9:00 am on a Saturday morning!

SONG OF THE DAY – “SETTLE DOWN” by The 1975

September 9, 2014

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Following the song title’s advice today. 🙂

So, in honor of settling down, I am off to the city for a concert tonight. It is going to be fabulous – an artist that I really like giving a private show at Webster Hall in NYC. This will be a new venue for me and one that I have really been wanting to visit. I love these small, intimate, invitation-only concerts where you really get up and close to the artist.I can’t wait to let you know about it tomorrow.

Today’s song is by The 1975, a four-piece, alt-rock band from Manchester in the UK. The group met at school in 2002 and released their first EP in 2012; three more EPs followed. They recently released their debut, self-titled album, The 1975, in September 2013.

The band consists of Matt Healy (lead vocals and guitar), Adam Hann (guitar), Ross McDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums). They have a really cool sound and are certainly making a big splash. In April of this year they had their first big performance in the US, playing at Coachella Music Festival. I am sure there is much more to come from them and if you have not already explored their music, take time to do it now. They are really good!

Gotta run … I have a train to catch!