Year 6, Day 259

Good Morning! Today's song is Stayin' Alive by The Bee Gees.

All my extended family has arrived now in waves and it's stressing me out. I literally got up in the middle of the night and ate an entire box of macaroni because I was stressed out. I wasn't even hungry. Don't get me wrong, my extended family are pretty okay to be around. I mean they are kick of closed minded, but their country bumpkins as they call themselves, so I'm always going to see things differently than them. But it's so much family in such a little amount of time and I don't know what to say to them. Plus it's only just beginning. There are more people en route. At least my grandma and I (and sometimes my mom) are making a united front so none of us have to deal with this shit alone. Wish us luck.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 258

Good Morning! Today's song is You Spin Me Round by Dead or Alive.

These guys are an English pop band active from 1980 until 2016. There were seven albums in that time, the first in 1984 and the most recent from 2000. This song is actually their most popular and topped the charts in 1985. It stays around though as a classic because it keeps getting used in popular media. It's been called "one of the best white dance records of all time" by musician Gary Kemp, who was known for being a part of a band called Spandau Ballet. This song was actually covered by Jessica Simpson which is odd, and it's been remixed before. I know recently in Pitch Perfect they featured Right Round by Flo Rida which is inspired by this song (I think that's the right way to put it). You'll see what I mean if you listen to both songs in quick succession. Check it out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 257

Good Morning! Today's song is Don't You Want Me by The Human League.

These guys have also been around since the 70's, specifically 1977 and are made up of Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall, and Susan Ann Sulley currently. Philip is the only original member left, and is the singer and songwriter for the group. They are an electropop band, which was basically the precursor to any electro music that's popular in the newer generations now. To date the have nine albums, the first from 1979, and the most recent from 2011. They've done touring since then, and this song pops up still every couple years because it's used for ads or other things. It's probably their most well known song. Hope you enjoy it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 256

Good Morning! Today's song is Girls On Film by Duran Duran.

These guys have been around since 1978 and are currently made up of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor. They started out as part of the New Romantic scene, which was characterized by flamboyant fashions. Think Boy George or David Bowie. They managed to expand past that beginning though. Over the career of this band, there has been fourteen albums, the first of which came out in 1981 and the most recent in 2015. They've toured consistently in between and have been nominated and won enough awards for it to be too tedious to list them all off. I didn't actually know they were still around, but the band is still here and actually working on their 15th album, so good on them. You can go check out their whole discography through the years if you're curious. I know I kinda am to see how they've changed through the decades.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 255

Good Morning! Today's song is You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi.

When I realized I had a Bon Jovi song saved to feature I knew I had to do it today so I could share a little story with you guys that happened to me a few days ago. I had to go to the dentist for a cleaning and for once my nerves were actually pretty good going to the office because everyone else seemed flustered in some way. The receptionist was busy and she kept saying the wrong name of the office because she works at two of them, then the girl cleaning my teeth had a stomach growling beside my face because she was having a hungry day. What was the best though is that the radio was playing and it started doing a Bon Jovi song, and I was thinking about how I wish I could sing along (I couldn't because I had dental tools in my face) when the girl started humming the song. It was such perfect timing I almost laughed. Anyway, it was a wholesome people moment, and I haven't had one of those in awhile so I wanted to share it with you.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 254

Good Morning! Today's song is Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen.

So the fluid in my grandpa's lungs turned out to be blood. They drained some of it, but they can't do anything else for him so he's officially on palative care now, meaning they'll make him as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. My grandma gave herself five minutes to cry about it before going back to normal because it's not time yet to break down. The rest of my family were not as practical. Everyone showed up at the hospital when I told them what was going on. He's actually not doing too bad though today, other than having high blood sugar, because they changed his pain meds so now he can function at a mostly normal capacity. And he got to see a teeny tiny puppy this morning that's being trained as a palative care dog so he's actually having a pretty good time. I'm sorry about my shit schedule for posting things lately. As you can tell there is a lot going on. For the last five weeks I've pretty much been waking up, going to the hospital, coming home eight hours later, than doing it again the next day. I am going to try to get a song order figured out and some days preset to keep it going if I can. Stay tuned.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 253

Good Morning! Today's song is Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield.

Random quintessential 80's song today for you guys. I do have more modern songs saved to show you, but I've been in an oldie mood for the last little while so bear with me as I flip flop through the decades back into this century. I first heard this song from 13 Going On 30 which is a movie, but I have it saved from when I was rewatching Glee and realizing how many songs I heard there and liked. Let me know if you guys are true 80's people who knew this already or where you heard it from. If it's from me I'm shocked, but also honored.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 252

Good Morning! Today's song is You Keep Me Hangin' On by The Supremes.

So my sister has been home for a few days to see my grandpa. He was doing pretty good in the hospital. They can't fix his heart so whenever that gives out, that's it, but we're trying to get him stable enough that he can come home. Unfortunately the blood infection he first went into the hospital with five weeks ago apparently didn't get completely cleaned out, so now it's moved and the infection is in his lungs. So tomorrow they're going to try to drain out the fluid by tapping him. Like a tree. If it isn't one thing, it's another it seems, but he's gotten through a lot of shit, so hopefully he'll get through this too.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 251

Good Morning! Today's song is Mercy by Duffy.

So this is Aimee Duffy who is a Welsh singer active since 2004. She moved in with her father when she was 15 when shit hit the fan with her stepfather's ex wife, and that's when she started singing in local bands. In 2003 she was on a Welsh talent show in TV where she came in second, but the success allowed her to make an EP in 2004. She got signed in 2007, and did a bunch of television performances before releasing her first album in 2008. That album is where this song is from. Since then she's released another album, has been in a couple of films, and is rumored to have an album coming out sometime this year despite the fact that she's been on a hiatus on and off for the last decade. I don't know, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 250

Good Morning! Today's song is River Deep, Mountain High by Ike and Tina Turner.

I've already written about these guys so instead I'm going to rant about something I found out when I was researching some other people. Apparently some singers have been buying the rights to other peoples' songs and earning the royalties from those. I didn't even know that was a thing, and I don't know how to feel about it. On one hand if the artist has passed and has no family that the rights could pass to then it seems okay, although depending on the age of the song I'd like it to become public domain instead. Then on the other hand if it's a song that someone still living has created and they aren't given the right to their own song because the record label offered it to someone else I consider that just dirty pool. There are singers who have bought songs and then given them to the original artists before (although for the life of me I can't remember who that was...I've looked up way too many people) which in that case I think it's nice and a sweet gesture between people in the industry. It's becoming more of a trend that labels don't automatically get the rights to songs anymore but there are still a lot that get pushed around on the market and are up for grabs. I'm really torn here, I can see the pro's and con's of this, but I want to know what your opinion is. Did you guys know that this happens? Do you feel strongly about others earning the cash from a song they had nothing to do with, or do you think it's comparable to something like buying stocks in a company. Let me know!

Peace.

Year 6, Day 249

Good Morning! Today's song is Hold On by Wilson Phillips.

Wilson Phillips is a group that first came around in 1989 and is made up of Chynna Phillips, Carnie Wilson, and Wendy Wilson. The three of them grew up together. Fun Fact: They all have parents from famous groups including the Beach Boys, The Mama's and Papa's, and The Honey's. The debut album came out in 1990 and was heralded as one of the best selling albums of all time by a female group. The next album was released in 1992. After the album Chynna wanted to go solo so the group disbanded. They did get back together though in 2004 to release an album before slipping back into obscurity until 2010 when they released a Christmas album. They released an album in 2012 that was covers of their parent's songs, and they starred in a reality TV show. Since then they've done a couple of performances on shows but not much else, although they are still together so we'll see.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 248

Good Morning! Today's song is Waiting Kind of Girl by Leaving Thomas.

So these guys are actually from my hometown of Calgary and have been active since 2014. Annika Odegard and Bryton Udy are Leaving Thomas. They were both on a Calgary Stampede Talent Search in 2012 where she won, but he was dubbed the most promising performer. She went on to audition for Canadian Idol, coming in 11th place in 2007, while he released a solo album and in 2013 was the runner up for the Nashville North vocal competition. Leaving Thomas became a thing in 2016 when they signed to a label. This was their debut single. There were some more singles in 2017, then all were put on an EP released in 2018. They had a mini-hiatus before their first album came out in 2019. I'm looking forward to more, so check them out and hopefully you'll be excited too.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 247

Good Morning! Today's song is Act Like You Don't by Brooke Eden.

Brooke Eden Helvie is a country singer active since 2008. She started out in festivals and opening for some country acts before auditioning for American Idol in 2008. She got eliminated before the live rounds, so came back 3 years later to try again. She still didn't get on. She moved to Nashville in 2013 and got a publishing deal. In 2014, she released an EP which did well on satellite radio, which led to her signing with an independent record label in 2015. A single she released at the end of that year ended up on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. It was followed by another EP in 2016. This song came out in 2017 and is from that EP. As of last year she was opening for Garth Brooks, so keep your eye out for more from her.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 246

Good Morning! Today's song is Body Like A Back Road by Sam Hunt.

So this guy has been active since 2008 when he moved to Nashville to pursue music after a failed attempt to join the NFL. He finally got his break in 2012 by co-writing a song for Kenny Chesney that won an award. He wrote a couple others songs for people before getting signed in 2014 and releasing an EP. His debut album came out the same year which went huge, followed by his first tour. In 2015 he opened for Lady Antebellum on their tour, then acted as a backup vocalist for Carrie Underwood. As of now he has had tons of nominations for the stuff he's done and been a part of, but still only has one album out so far. Another is apparently in the works though so keep an eye out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 245

Good Morning! Today's song is Old Church Choir by Zach Williams.

So Zach Williams is a Christian rock singer active since 2007. He started off as the lead in a band called Zach Williams & The Reformation, releasing two albums, one in 2009 and one in 2011. I guess his faith changed and that's why the band broke up in 2012. I don't really know much about that, so take from it what you will. He joined the Brother of Grace as the singer, later changing the name to Zach William and the Brother of Grace, releasing an EP with them. It's a little narcissistic to have to change the name of every band to have your name in it, so I'm not surprised her went solo in 2016. He released an EP the same year, then an album the next year. He's been releasing singles as recent as last year so I'm expecting another album sooner than later, but I guess we'll see.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 244

Good Morning! Today's song is Dibs by Kelsea Ballerini.

Keslea Ballerini is an American singer whose been active since 2014. She got signed to a label at 19, then released her first single, and an EP in the same year. Her album came out in 2015, with a song topping the Billboard Country charts, the first solo female to have a debut single hit number one since 2006. She also ended up with back to back number one singles when this song got that slot as well. She was nominated for two Country Music Awards in 2017, released her second album, and was on Forbes' 30 under 30 in music list. She was a coach on The Voice in 2018 as part of their web series. In 2019 she officially became a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and toured for her album, and has a third album finished that she's been releasing singles from. So keep an eye out for that.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 243

Good Morning! Today's song is Friendzone by Danielle Bradbery.

So we've talked about Danielle Bradbery before. She won The Voice in 2013, then immediately got signed and released her first album that year. She also sang at the Grand Ole Opry, toured with Brad Paisley, and had a song of hers used in promotions for the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. This song was the first single for her second album, released in 2015. She had another album released in 2017, and some singles released in 2018 and 2019 so she's still going strong. Check out her other stuff if you're interested.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 242

Good Morning! Today's song is America's Sweetheart by Elle King.

So we're circling back into some country songs, or at least songs with country twang so if that's not your style then take a break from this for a couple days. Rather than straight up country, this is more pop country or stadium country, which is the newer genres in it. You'll see. I've written about Elle King before so I'm not going to do it again, but I hope you listen to and enjoy the song because she's a great artist.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 241

Good Morning! Today's song is Crush by Madeline Merlo.

Madeline Merlo is a singer from British Columbia whose been active since 2013. She got signed to a production company at 17, and two years later got signed to a label. She released a single which landed on the Canadian Billboard County charts in 2014, then released an EP the same year. She went on tour with Dean Brody and Paul Brandt, then starred in a film called Country Crush. She won the Rising Star and BC CMA Female Vocalist Of The Year in 2015, then released her debut album in 2016. She's had a couple of singles since then, including some last year so check those out if you're interested.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 240

Good Morning! Today's song is Oh Darling by Plug In Stereo featuring Cady Groves.

So Plug In Stereo is Trevor Dahl. He started off in a bunch of different bands, but started making some solo stuff under this moniker and putting it up on MySpace. It got a lot of popularity, so he focused on the solo stuff instead of the bands. He released two EP's by himself, then from what I can figure he got signed and released an album. This song is from that album. He's done lots of touring as support for bands like The Ready Set and Dashboard Confessional. Cady Groves is an American singers active since 2009, and has released four EP's and a bunch of singles. Her label put her with a couple different people to do collaborations, one of which was Plug In Stereo and thus this song was born. You can check out more stuff from both of them and let me know what you think.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 239

Good Morning! Today's song is Old Friends by Jasmine Thompson.

Jasmine Thompson is an English singer active since 2009. She started out on YouTube singing covers as a kid. In 2013 she self-released four different covers of popular songs, before releasing an album with those on them. One of her covers ended up being used for a supermarket's advertising, increasing her popularity. She released an EP that got some success in Europe and the US. In 2014, she released her second album, was a featured singer on a Robin Schulz song, and had one of her covers used for the trailer of a TV show. In 2015 she got signed to a label and released her first single, followed by her third EP. Then one of her songs got remixed by Felix Jaehn, and his version became huge worldwide. In 2016, another of her cover songs was used for media, this time for two different movies, then in 2017 she released her next EP. She had another album released last year, so she's still going strong and you can check out her other stuff if you like this one.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 238

Good Morning! Today's song is If You Fall by JJ Heller.

JJ Heller is Jennifer Judy Heller and is a Christian folk singer, active since 2003. She started writing while she was in college, then joined a coffee shop band where she met her husband. She started releasing albums in 2004, and has two EP's and eleven albums as of 2018. Two of her songs have been featured on the Billboard Christian Songs Chart, and one has been covered in a TV show by Jennifer Love Hewitt, with another used in One Tree Hill. She mostly flies under the radar, but thanks to YouTube I found this song that I could share with you. Enjoy!

Peace.

Year 6, Day 237

Good Morning! Today's song is He Wasn't There by Lily Allen.

I've featured Lily Allen numerous times so I don't need to do a write up on her, so instead how about an update on my life. So my grandpa went into the hospital on the 21st and he's still there today. They got the blood disease under control, but then he had a minor heart attack and got pneumonia. So he's now waiting to have a procedure to fix his heart that has a 50% chance of working, and then we'll have to go from there. I've gone up there almost every day this week because everyone else in my family is sick, and it's getting to be a lot. He keeps getting better, and then worse, then better again. He scared everyone the other day because he was talking like he was on his deathbed, which could happen, but it wasn't quite that dire at the time. So I'm trying to keep track on getting these posts out, but it might be sporadic depending on how intense these get with my family. I'll try though. For now, enjoy some Lily Allen.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 236

Good Morning! Today's song is Blue (Da Ba Dee) covered by Robyn Adele ft Vanessa Dunleavy & Sarah Krauss.

So this song is originally done by Eiffel 65, but this cover version is done in the same vein as Postmodern Jukebox where it's an old timey style. Personally I find it too be too fast, but thanks to YouTube, you can change the speed. I think it's perfect with the style at 0.75 of the speed, but you guys be the judge. So Robyn Adele Anderson is a singer whose been active since 2011. She started out by being the featured vocalist in Postmodern Jukebox before starting her own YouTube channel. She's done some shows and has been cast in some things including Speakeasy Dollhouse: Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic and The Flying Doctor. She'd been a guest vocalist with a group called The Skivvies, and most recently voiced a singer in Red Dead Redemption 2. I enjoy this song, but I've got to agree with some of the comments on the video, it's not electroswing which is what it's titled as. If you want to hear that style, go check out Caravan Palace. I've featured them on here before and I think they pretty much hit the mark on Electroswing. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Peace.

Year 6, Day 235

Good Morning! Today's song is Come by Jain.

Jain is Jeanne Galice, a French musician active since 2013. So shout out to France today. She did a lot of traveling as a kid with her family and learned all kinds of music along the way in her travel around the UAE, the Pyrenees, and the Congo. She started posting music on MySpace which got her noticed by her future manager and an artist called Yodelice who helped start her career. He invited her to support him on his tour, and they even went on a TV show together to perform a duet. He helped produce her first EP which came out in 2015, just before she released her debut album the same year. The next year she was a nominee at the Victoires de la Musique Awards, and she released a deluxe version of her album with some new material on it. She did some TV spots and a festival in 2017 while releasing songs on YouTube. She performed at Coachella last year so I'm sure that got her even more exposure then before, and it is well earned. So check out her song and I hope you like it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 234

Good Morning! Today's song is Sorry I'm Not Sorry by Tessa Violet.

Tessa Violet Williams has been active since 2013, but originally in 2007 she was known as Meekakitty and was a YouTube Vlogger while working as a model in Hong Kong and Thailand. She quit modeling in 2009 and moved to New York, then won a YouTube competition with one of her videos. In 2011 she was in Nanalew's fan video of Sail, which went viral. She started her music in 2013, with her channel switching from covers to original songs. Her first album came out in 2014, then released an EP in 2016. She was supposed to released her next album in 2018, but she had other projects that delayed it, until she released an EP in 2019. The album then came out later in the year. She's done some collaborations with other people too along the way, but I wont get into all of those. This song honestly I saved because it reminds me of how I feel about my sister when she pisses me off. I'm not fighting with her right now, but I still think it's pretty dead on. Anyway, hope you like it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 233

Good Morning! Today's song is Everybody Wants To Love You by Japanese Breakfast.

Japanese Breakfast is the pseudonym for Michelle Zauner whose been active since 2013. She chose that name because Japanese culture was the closest she had to her Korean culture growing up in America. It's also meant to be a "juxtaposition of Asian exoticism and American culture." Before starting this she also went by the moniker Little Girl, Big Spoon. She fronted an indie band called Post Post, then an emo band called Little Big League from 2011 to 2014 before moving back home. That's when she starting playing around with her own music, releasing her first album as Japanese Breakfast in 2016. She was signed to a label shortly after, and released her second album in 2017. She released two singles last year, so I'm sure we'll hear more from her soon. Enjoy!

Peace.

Year 6, Day 232

Good Morning! Today's song is Criminal by Ash Koley.

This is actually a group from Winnipeg and made up of Ashley Michelle Koley and Phil Deschambault. They've been around since 2004 when the two of them met and found they had good chemistry to work together. Before that, Ashley was in a singing group called Prodigy, and an ABBA tribute band called Super Trooper. They got signed in 2009, and have released five EP's and two studio albums since then, the most recent from 2016. This song in particular was released in 2014, and I've been saving it to use for awhile. Today just seemed right. Hope you enjoy it!

Peace.

Year 6, Day 231

Good Morning! Today's song is Merry Go Round by Suzie McNeil.

Suzie McNeil is a Canadian singer active since 2005. She started out as a contestant on Rock Star: INSX where he came in fourth, then moved to LA and started working on her first album. She supported Pink and her tour in 2006, then her single came out and became big in 2007. Her debut album came out the same year, and a song from it was used to promote a fundraiser for the 2010 Winter Olympics. She toured in 2008, then was a judge on The Next Star, a Canadian talent search, before releasing her second album. She performed at the superbowl in 2008, then headlined an Earth Hour concert in 2009, before starting to release songs for her next album individually onto YouTube in 2010. This song was part of that, and was released in 2011, then the album officially came out in 2012. She released a Christmas album the same year, then started a band with some other people called Loving Mary in 2013. She was said to have already finished a fourth album set to release, but I don't see anything about that anywhere, so I'm not sure if she's still around. Go find out if you're curious.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 230

Good Morning! Today's song is Wide Awake by Katy Perry.

Ugh. I went to the doctor's today and again she made me feel like utter shit and judged me more than my father... which is really saying something. I thought I could stick it out, because at least something was being done, but no. It's a pretty common problem was doctors to write people off as faking it or exaggerating, especially in young women with anxiety issues, and I don't want to be another cautionary tale where my doctor wouldn't listen and then I ended up in the emergency room with something that could have been fixed easily if caught early. I'm feeling frustrated and defeated, so I need to word vomit it out. But this is a good chance for me to encourage everyone else here that if you are in a similar situation, whether doctor, dentist, lawyer, etc., that while they might be "professionals," they don't know your life and are basing their judgement on maybe five minutes of content about you. While their opinion is appreciated and sought, it's not an ultimatum on you, trust your own judgement. If it feels wrong, it probably is. Good luck to you guys, and wish me some too because now I'm going doctor hunting. Thank god there is an online directory now.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 229

Good Morning! Today's song is Thunder by Imagine Dragons.

So I've had this song saved for so long because I needed to get to the point where I could listen to it again. The first time I heard it, was when I was reading the Fallen book series by Lauren Kate (which is phenomenally better than the one movie they tried to make of it). It seemed to fit with the story so well, in a way no other song was, so naturally me being a weirdo I literally played that on repeat for hours while I finished the series. I love the song, but after that I needed to have a bit of a break from it. But now I'm good, and I feel like some Imagine Dragons. Hope you enjoy it.

Peace.