Aww…Monday’s Music Moves Me

Aww Mondays

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Wake Me Up When There’s Food

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Last week the theme at 4M was a trip or journey. In our fair city there was a gathering of cycle trail enthusiasts. I didn’t capture any images of the actual races but I did manage a few photos around the vendor area. Trail cycling has become a big deal on our town and several races are held here each year. There are miles and miles of trails that range from paved to off-road for people to use. In fact one can ride from the town square in Fayetteville, AR to the town square in Bentonville, AR, a distance of over 20 miles without getting on a city street. One thing I have noticed about competitive cycling is that the bikes and the wardrobes are very colorful.

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Well that was fun, but I’m pretty sure my bike riding days are limited to the stationary variety for now. For music I will continue a bit of the travel theme and maybe feature a few lesser known artists from the past. The 90’s female country music scene was dominated by Reba McIntire, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, and Shania Twain, but there were other good female vocalists around,  just not A-list performers. One of my favorites was Terri Clark. Terri proved that cowgirls could wear hats too and all you needed to start a new life was “A Little Gasoline”.

Mary Chapin Carpenter was a songwriter turned performer. While she was primarily country you can hear a little folk rock in her music. She would be quite comfortable in the company of a Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, or Jim Croce. We all have good days and bad days or as Mary describes it, some days you’re the windshield and some days you’re the bug.

Perhaps one of the most under rated singer songwriters of the day was/and is Sara Evans. For me, her sound is an almost perfect blend of country and rock ‘n roll.

The 90’s saw a resurgence of the classic country sound. After the “Outlaw” sound of the 70’s country music thrived. But the sound was still a long way from it’s roots and a group of new performers sought to change that situation, and change it they did. Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, and Alan Jackson brought back the roots of country to their songs. On the ladies side nobody did it better than Patti Loveless. She took a classic country song and preformed it in a classic style, proving that classic still has it’s place in country music.

I would like to hear a little more of the classic sound in today’s country music. Maybe it’s time for another new round of artists to remind us that a great country song just needs three chords and a story.

26 thoughts on “Aww…Monday’s Music Moves Me”

  1. Sandee

    Awww on the pup. So precious.

    I used to love riding, but my old bones don’t much care for it now. It sure is good exercise.

    Love the tunes.

    Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week, my friend. 🙂

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  5. Marie Moody

    Awwww I can’t begin to thank you for posting that beautiful cocker spaniel. When I was little my godmother had one called, “Ginger”, and was loved by all. It’s good to relive good memories don’t you think? We found a great dog park yesterday in St. Charles which is the next town over and only 20 minutes to get there. I’ll see if I can find a few pics and post them on Wednesday! Thank you so much, my friend. I use to call my godmother “GodMommy”! We were that close. I just lost her last year. I miss her so much and she had the greatest logic and advice not to mention the greatest hugs and loving looks. We also live near Fox Lake and hubby & I use to ride the bike path every weekend & sometime son our day off. We loved it. You did a great job & picked out some great tunes. Thanks for the introduction to those! Have a great day!

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    1. DrillerAA

      They say that once you own a cocker you won’t be happy with any other breed. That certainly holds true for me. I love dogs…all dogs, but the cocker spaniel holds a special place in my heart. Our current cocker is now two and a half years old and she is our buddy. Between my wife and me, I don’t think she has a favorite human.

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  8. Cathy Kennedy

    John,

    Knoxville hosts a bicycling event each year. We were fortunate to go by one year and I snapped some pix. I love riding my bicycle but haven’t in several years. It would be nice to do again. We always liked riding ours around Cades Cove in the Smoky’s. It’s a one-way loop road that’s closed to traffic on Saturday mornings and that’s the time to do it since most people tend to drive too fast along that narrow road.

    Great continuation of last week’s theme. I always liked Sara Evans and hated like crazy the way her ex-husband did her several years ago stealing her money. What a heel! I never heard if she was able to sue him or if she recouped her money that he drained from her. That’s so sad to hear of those who breach a trust like this. Thanks for sharing your mewsic selection and for joining the 4M crew on the dance floor, partner!

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    1. DrillerAA

      I enjoy the 4M meme because it gives me a chance to reconnect with some music that I haven’t listened to in quite a while or explore the catalog of artists that are new to me.

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  11. Kim

    All of these songs are new to me! I have noticed that about cycling clothes, too Very vibrant and colorful! I wonder if maybe that has anything to do with visibility on busier roads? I don’t cycle, so I don’t really know how they do things.

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  12. Alan B Bates

    Since my knees cannot stand up to the pounding of all the running I used to do, I’ve increased by bicycling by quite a bit and even participated in three “rides” this year (not races). I feel like I am wearing a clown suit when I wear my “kit” my employer provides but I think it is just part of the bike culture. I find the participants friendlier than your typical running road race (Trail Runners are the friendliest of all).
    Mary Chapin Carpenter is one of my favorite female vocalists of all time.
    I love rock and pop music but it seems that Country music has gotten more pop because it is music for grownups and is thus filling a void left by pop artists trying to get teenagers more and more. I would love to see a resurgence in the “classic sound” as a result of the recent NPR series on country music.
    One of the things that amuses me is when country fans start arguing about who is “real” country and who is not. Country music is a big tent is my opinion.

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    1. DrillerAA

      I think “Classic Country” is often defined by what a person first heard as country, but the sounds of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline can be undeniably classified as classic. Various instruments have come and gone as necessary for a classic sound, the fiddle and steel guitar as examples but I think a soulful voice is a requirement and the likes of Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks fit that mold. But you are absolutely right, country music is a very big tent and it covers a large assortment of talented artists.

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  13. Alana Mautone (@RamblinGarden)

    We used to have a bicycle racing event where I live, which honored a bicyclist killed back in the 1980’s by a drunk driver. It was in a residential area of Binghamton, NY and for years I didn’t go. The last three or so years it was held there I fell in love with it (I have to admit, that as when they started to have rock music, too.) Those bicyling outfits were so colorful. Many were professional bicycle racers. It was discontinued two or three years ago by the racing organization, and I miss it a lot. I came back three times to hear these songs and my favorite surprised me – by a mile, Patti Loveless’ cover. Her face, her voice…it expressed the song perfectly.

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