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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 – “BACK TO HOME” by Tristan Prettyman

November 4, 2014

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14 hours! Actually 14 hours and 5 minutes!

That is how long a direct flight takes from New York to Beijing, China. I know this because I am on that flight right now. For weeks I have been panicking about sitting on a plane for 14 hours. I am not very good at sitting. :/ I bought me some Sleep Well and in an hour or so I plan to attempt sleeping so that I can try to be right ready to jump onto China time. That is probably wishful thinking since they are 13 hours ahead of my time, meaning that I should already be asleep now as it is 3:30 am tomorrow there right now. I know … confusing! I might as well admit to myself now that there is a very good chance I will not be posting on Wednesday. 🙂

I am so excited to visit China. I have never been to China and there are so many things I am looking forward to seeing, but mostly I am excited to see my daughter! ❤ She has now been in China for 10 weeks and still has another 6 1/2 weeks to go. I can’t wait to hear how much her Chinese language skills have improved and it will be so exciting to see China through her eyes, as well as my own. We will be spending a few days in Beijing, which will be new for her, and then I will accompany her back to Shanghai.

I am posting a new song today by Tristan Prettyman. This song is from her new album, Back to Home, which was just released last week on October 27. I have been a fan of Tristan Prettyman’s music for many years. She released her first album back in 2005. I think her music is so pure, raw, honest, and soulful all at the same time. Sometimes it feels light and breezy, reminiscent of her California surfing background, and other times it is just an incredibly deep lyrical song backed by great music. This album has a much different sound than her older music, but I love it! Today’s song is definitely my very favorite from the new album.

I really connected with this song – “Back To Home.” As I am sitting here on a plane off to China it struck me that I am off to find “home.” Home is not necessarily a place; I have learned that over the last 23 years through all of our moves and changes. Home is where I am with the ones I love. Home is where my heart is … and right now my heart is spread far and wide.

I was texting my son right before takeoff and I said, “I am so excited for you to come back home!” He responded, “In like 2 weeks?” I obviously think we disagreed on how close it seemed. 😉 I am just so excited to have him come home and I guess as I am off to visit one piece of my heart, I started anticipating having another piece return back home. I know that home will always be there. Life is a journey and my little family is certainly having a journey, but I find a lot of solace in the line of this song that says,

“All of these roads lead us back to home.”

No YouTube videos for any songs on this new album yet, so I have attached a recording of the song from SoundCloud. I hope you enjoy this new music as much as I have.

Let’s see … just 11 more hours to go! YIKES!

SONG OF THE DAY – “DIAMONDS” by JOHNNYSWIM

August 20, 2014

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It is amazing to believe that summer is almost over. It has been one of the quickest summers in my recent memory. Where has August gone? It was just August 16 – my anniversary – when I posted last … and it is already August 20. I think I lost a few days.

Yesterday was my dad’s 80th birthday! Where did the years go? Not only does he not look or act like he is 80 years old, but it is hard to believe that he is actually 80! He is the youngest, sharpest 80-year old you will ever meet. I am so lucky to be his daughter! He is a wonderful man and I am blessed to have him as my dad. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Last night I went into the city to see the fabulous musical duo, JOHNNYSWIM, at the Bowery Ballroom. They were amazing! I have been following them for some time and have really been looking forward to the opportunity to see them live. It was worth the wait! They were funny, the music was fabulous, and the chemistry and connection between the two is absolutely electric.

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JOHNNYSWIM is composed of a pair of singer-songwriters – Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano (daughter of Disco Queen, Donna Summers) – who just happen to now be husband and wife. The couple met in Nashville, Tennessee in 2005 and began writing music together shortly afterward, forming JOHNNYSWIM in 2006. They released their first LP in 2008 and were married in 2009. They just released their full-length debut album (Diamonds) in April of this year (2014). It sounds like the past nine years have been an action-packed and adventurous time for the couple.

Abner and Amanda make beautiful music together – both the music and the lyrics are incredible. They blend folk, soul, and rock in a perfect combination and their voices mix together magically. Amanda Sudano even commented on this in an interview with NPR in April 2014, saying that it is sometimes difficult for the two of them to determine who is singing “because our voices are so similar.”

In addition to the incredible music, the electricity between the two of them is palpable. They have an easy banter on stage and their performance and timing are flawless. The stories that they told to the crowd, everything from Abner’s parents to their engagement, kept the audience mesmerized. They truly are the whole package … not only do they create fantastic music, but they are literally the cutest musical group out there – real, joyful, connected, and visibly enjoying the adventure.

 

 

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Today’s song is a favorite, but I honestly love all of their music. I have previously posted two JOHNNYSWIM songs as Song of the Day on this blog already: “Home” on December 1, 2013 and “Live While  We’re Young,” on April 29, 2014. I hope you enjoy this song, which they playfully refer to as their “SUCK IT” song. 🙂

 

 


SONG OF THE DAY – “FEELS LIKE COMING HOME” by Jetta

May 19, 2014

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I just returned from a very quick trip “home.” Home to the place where I spent the first 24 years of my life and where both my family and my husband’s family still live. We have not been home for a visit in almost two years and it just felt incredibly nice to be there. The thing that I loved the most about being there was the time I was able to spend reconnecting with family.

There is so much that I love about being “home” and yet, at the same time, so much about it that feels foreign and disconnected from me. Having grown up there, I notice many things that never change, but at the same time, I realize that so much has changed … that I have changed.

While I was there I kept thinking about this song. Obviously it talks about home and so that seems like a natural reason for the selection, but that is not what drew me to this song. There is just something about the feeling and tone of this song that speaks to me. The song gives a sense of peace about coming home and that feeling of “it feels like I’ve come home,” but there is also something about the song that feels melancholy. To me, that is what it feels like to “come home.”

This is an amazingly beautiful song by Jetta, a young UK singer-songwriter who was born in Liverpool and is currently based in London. She grew up with two musical parents and has been involved with music most of her life. While only a teenager, Jetta spent two years as a backup vocalist for Paloma Faith and, after that, she went on to sing backup for CeeLo Green before breaking out on her own. During all that time, she was busily writing her own music and in 2012 Jetta released an amazing independent video of her song, “Start a Riot” which led her to a record deal. In March of this year, she was listed as one of the “10 New Artists You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone magazine. Even if you don’t think you know her as an artist, you probably have heard this song before as it was the featured song for Google Zeitgist’s “Here’s to 2013“ ad campaign (a must watch video, with over 30 million views). Her debut album is expected out this year – keep your eye out for it.

SONG OF THE DAY – “PLEASE DON’T SAY YOU LOVE ME” by Gabrielle Aplin

May 7, 2014

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The last few days I have been able to get outside for a run in close to 60 degree weather. What a joy! I love the sunshine, being in my running shorts, and having to stop halfway thru the run to remove my long sleeve top and tie it around my waist. That is just pure pleasure. 🙂

Another pleasure is listening to today’s artist. I am posting a song by a young artist (21 years old!) from the UK that I have been a fan of for several years. I have followed Gabrielle Aplin‘s music since 2011 and have often had to purchase it from the UK iTunes site since the songs were not available here in the US. I am, therefore, very excited to announce that her album, English Rain, (which was released in the UK this month last year) was finally released here in the US yesterday (May 6, 2014). In addition to the album release yesterday, she also performed live in concert in NYC last night. I am excited to see her extend her reach into the States and I thought it was a perfect day to post another song by her. I posted my favorite song by her – “Home” – on this page back in December.

I find Gabrielle Aplin‘s music just very honest and easy to listen to. I really like this song and I love the video I have attached where you can watch her perform in her element, standing by herself playing the guitar (or the piano) and singing. She received her first guitar from her parents at age 11 and says that she was influenced musically by listening to her parents’ Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen albums. She is an incredibly talented young lady! Her full EP is definitely worth checking out and I am certain we will hear more from this rising young star.

As you know, another favorite musical group of mine from that side of the pond (Ireland) is Hudson Taylor. The brothers, Alfie and Harry, and Gabrielle are great mates who have known each other for over four years when they all moved to London. In fact, I have discovered that Alfie and Gabrielle are dating… so cute! It is fun to watch these young artists develop friendships with each other and support each other in their respective journeys. Let me know what you think about today’s song – I would love to hear from you.

SONG OF THE DAY – “FREE” by Rudimental, featuring Emeli Sande

March 19, 2014

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Just a quick note today with a song that I absolutely love and a video that I think is awesome.

I think Emeli Sande has such an incredible voice and it melds perfectly with the sounds of Rudimental, an English electronic, drum ‘n’ bass group. The song and the album Home was released almost a year ago in April 2013 to great reviews. In fact, the producer-musician quartet just won a 2014 BRIT Award for Best British Single for the song, “Waiting All Night.”

I find this song empowering. It makes me want to run outside. I love the combination of the music and the lyrics – it just totally catches me in the emotion of that moment of feeling “free.” They did an incredible job on the video as I think it is one of the best I have seen in terms of catching that same feeling that you hear while listening to the song. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

“Whoa, c’est la vie. Maybe something’s wrong with me. But, whoa, at least I am free. Oh I am free!”

 

SONG OF THE DAY – “HOME” by Gabrielle Aplin

December 14, 2013

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Today I am posting one of my favorite songs. It is kind of cheating because I posted this on my daughter’s page well over a year ago, but it is just a fitting song for the day and I wanted to share it.

Gabrielle Aplin is a young English singer-songwriter and musician (just turned 21), and I find her incredibly talented. Her posts on Facebook are always so refreshing, showing her enjoying and appreciating her life’s path. This song is from her third album, Home, which was released in January of 2012. It is a beautiful song and one that she described on a blog post, saying:

“I’ve definitely written about Home before. I had the chorus for about a year before I finished the song. I wrote it when I moved to London two years ago. It’s about realising where home is for you. For me it wasn’t the house I was in but the people I was with.”

That is probably why I always felt such a connection with this song. I can completely relate to the lyrics. The lyrics are amazing; very honest and open. Because we have moved so many times (11 different cities!), I completely understand that moment when you realize that home is so much more than a “place.”

Today I am longing for my two missing pieces. My husband has been traveling almost all month and has been gone, most recently, for the last 7 days. We are having a large snowstorm here in the northeast today, so I am worried about his flight making it home tonight and I am so ready for him to be home (if even just for a couple of days). My daughter has just a few more days of finals left before she gets to come home, and I am so excited to have her back. The house feels very empty when everyone is not here. It certainly doesn’t feel like “home.” I am looking forward to having it feel like home again.

“Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone
Is where you go when you’re alone
Is where you go to rest your bones
It’s not just where you lay your head
It’s not just where you make your bed
As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go?
Home”

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